Bar-Q (Bark) | BBQ — Restaurant in Richmond

Upfront confession: I love BBQ, but am a bit picky about it.

Last weekend I received the on-line Bar-Q offer of a free pulled pork bbq on a bun when also ordering at least $10 of sides, drinks or other food. Today I was finally able to stop by for lunch. Upon entering Bar-Q (2600 W. Main St,), one senses a good vibe from the staff taking orders and preparing the food. I chose the cornbread, fried okra and a fountain drink along with the pulled pork with slaw. One places their order at the front and then walks past the midway point of the bar to the register. While confirming my order with the cashier, the bbq and cornbread appeared and the cashier placed a glass on the tray, explaining that a server would bring the fried okra to me once it was ready, and suggested I take my tray to the table and fill my glass with the fountain drink I wanted (root beer), which I did. Once seated I noted the cornbread was in a loaf shape (2"x3"x3/4"), and slightly darker than the typical cornbread. Not including the bar, the restaurant seats fifty to sixty between regular long tables that can seat 8 to 10, hi-tops that seat 6 and several shorter tables that seat 4. I chose the table with no one else seated there, which happened to be close to the fountain drinks. After about 4 minutes of getting my drink and taking initial bites of the pulled pork and cornbread, the server brought my order of fried okra, steaming hot. I had forgotten to pick up a fork so asked a passing server where I could get one and she brought me a full set, with a smile on her face and a bit of banter.

It was not overwhelmingly noisy - probably under half full, though customers in the order line who arrived after me were out the front door - so the ambiance was to my liking and I could just focus on the food and service. Everything was very good and proved to be equivalent to two full meals for me! Obviously Bar-Q is a meat heavy restaurant and not a fine dining, white linens place, but for what it is, it does everything really well. The pulled pork was excellent ... just the right balance of tender, moist pulled pork, bbq sauce and slaw flavors, all on a bun that didn't disintegrate in my hands. Oh, and the smallish roll was piled high with pulled pork and just the right amount of slaw. The cornbread was easy to eat and delicious ... small enough to hold in your hand, dense enuf to not be crumbly, with just a hint of sweetness from molasses (I'd guess) which would explain its color, lack of crumbly, and taste. The fried okra was an added plus for me since I've never cared for it any other way, though in my experience even fried it's usually 'meh'. Sliced in 1/2" roundss, lightly breaded and fried, it was really the best I've ever eaten (the dipping sauce made the dish, adding just a hint of heat that allowed all the flavors to come out). Even the root beer fountain drink worked well with the food... not so strong that it overwhelmed the food flavors, yet enuf flavor to stand up to the bbq and dipping sauces. Back to the server, she kept her smile and light banter going as I made my way thru the meal, even when she brought me separate containers for the half servings of everything I decided to take home for another day. The restaurant owner or manager (I think) came by as I was finishing up, asking how everything was. To a person, all the restaurant staff walked with purpose, spoke with a smile on their face and in their voice, and seemed to know their responsibilities and work well together.

All in all, this was a WOW first experience with a new place just getting it's legs. One of the rare restaurants that really knows what it's doing, and does it all well.

You shoud try it; I'll...

Ok. Here goes. I've been on the Best BBQ in Virginia Quest since 2012. So far this makes 76 BBQ joints I've been to since then. So i arrived to there location after 12. I did find a free parking spot on the street a little ways down. The Restaurant is in a old house converted into a restaurant as many restaurants in the area are. I walked in and was greeted from the staff. I made my way back of the restaurant and sat at the bar, which was wheelchair accessible for those that need that option. So I asked the man that was making drinks behind the counter if he was the owner. He said yes I am. He is the owner and pitmaster Jayme Campbell. He was very nice and polite and it was extremely busy. So briefly i explained to him my quest. He was interested but like I said he was very busy. So the inside is kind of like a cafeteria style ordering. They prepare most of the food up at the counter you can see them prepare the food and they have sneeze guards at the top of the area where they're fixing the food. So I placed my order with a young man at the register. Down at the end of the preparing area there's a cash register and that's where the bar begins. The restaurant has one TV back behind the bar, it appeared to be a full service bar. The seating was a assortment of bar stools in front of the bar. Higher bar stool tables and stools. And long tables and padded seating up against the wall and chairs on the opposite side of the tables. And tables up front near the storefront glass. It had plenty of natural light. The restaurant was clean. Bathrooms about average and cleanliness. They also have an option at your table where you can order from the QR code and they will bring it to your table. The other option is they take your name and you pay for it and they call your name when your food is ready. Okay so I ordered the 2 meat platter, two pork ribs and a quarter pound of pulled pork, and cornbread, green beans, kale, and they're smack and cheese. To wash it down I did get a big bottle of deer Park spring water. They also have a fountain for soft drinks. Which is Stubborn soda. The pulled pork was delicious, juicy and a hint of smoke flavor. I did add there N. C. Style sauce to it. It had a little kick to it. My favorite N.C. style sauce is vinegar and crushed red pepper. The pork ribs were juicy and tender and excellent flavor, and I added their dark barbecue sauce to them. The ribs are probably in the top five out of 76 BBQ joints I have visited since 2012. The green beans were good, seasoned with a little heat. The mac and cheese was great. With a little bit of heat and nice and cheesy! The collard greens were great using what appeared to be bacon for seasoning. The cornbread was not the traditional yellow cornbread. It was more like a pumpkin spice cake. Check out the menu they have a lot more options. All in all. Great BBQ and homemade sides desserts. My Q-Review numbers®️. 4.7 out of 5. Please...

The food tasted really good — I won’t deny that. But if you’re looking for a smooth dining experience, prepare for a roller coaster.

When I arrived around 1 PM, there were three full groups already crammed in front of the ordering window and a line trailing out the door. It was immediately clear the staff were overwhelmed and the place was operating beyond capacity. Despite being packed with more customers than available seating, they were still allowing dine-in service. Tables were dirty, no one was cleaning the lobby, and the second a table opened up, people were practically fighting to sit down. It felt chaotic and uncomfortable.

At the order counter, the woman helping us was very kind — but that friendliness stopped there. The rest of the staff looked visibly stressed and honestly seemed bothered that we were even there, especially the man cutting the meat, who acted as if serving customers was a burden. It created a very uncomfortable atmosphere and really added to the sense that the place was poorly managed and overwhelmed without proper coordination.

Ordering was another challenge. They were already out of half the meats and sides — and after I had already paid, they called me back to the counter to let me know they were also out of the meats I had selected. At that point, options were even more limited, and I had to scramble to pick substitutes. It made me wonder: do they not prep more food throughout the day? This really shouldn’t happen — especially not before the lunch rush is even over. Making food in intervals throughout the day would solve so much of this.

To make matters worse, you have to order at one counter and pay at another, which feels unnecessarily inefficient. My food took about 20 minutes to come out, and my pulled pork was already cold by the time I got it (since they were out of chicken). I had specifically come to try the advertised burrito, only to find out it won’t even be available until August 10th — which wasn’t made clear anywhere ahead of time.

And the portions? Definitely not what was shown in the promotional videos. If you’re going to cut portion sizes because you don’t want to make more food, don’t charge me nearly $37 for a limeade and a two-meat plate with two sides.

Big flop for me. The food was solid, but the chaos, understocked kitchen, and lack of organization made this a...