Dreamland BBQ — Restaurant in Roswell

When we pulled into the parking lot of this restaurant we thought it would be sketchy because of the outside appearance. The parking lot need tending to (potholes etc.) The outside appearance wasn't too welcoming but we decided to eat here anyway. When we walked in we were greeted with friendly smiles. We were seated and got our drink orders in. We ordered fried okra as a starter. They came out fresh out the grease. They were very good and crunchy the way mom cooks them, very delish. The only thing wrong was there was a pool of grease at the bottom of the plate. They could have drained a little longer, so we didn't eat the okra that were on the bottom. I ordered the combination plate with 1/4 barbecue chicken and sausage link, green beans, Mac n cheese as sides. The chicken was moist and full of smokey flavor the way it should be and the skin was crispy. The sausage was not too greasy and had plenty of flavor itself. The chicken came with Alabama white (tanish brown) barbecue sauce. It was ok but I'm use to the white vinegar based black pepper barbecue sauce but their version came close. The green beans tasted fresh homemade, very good. The were seasoned with pork. The mac n cheese was just ok. To be honest it reminded me of KFC Mac n cheese, like it came straight out a bag. Overall the food was good and the meat was excellent. I would eat here again but maybe next time do a pick up order. The restaurant itself looked like an old sports bar that they turned into a family diner. Wooden floors and walls. They had old car tags on the walls and big screen TVs in every direction which was cool. The booths were old and kinda small for a family of four. Not a lot of elbow room. When a family sat in the booth behind us, I could feel the back od the seat moving back and forth. It was like we were competing in a sport event. So needless to say the furniture needs updating, like yesterday. The barbecue pit is located inside the restaurant so it was cool to see how they smoke the meat. The bathrooms were very clean. Our server was very nice and down to earth. She kept our glasses full, she checked on us often to make sure we were ok and she offered us to go drinks and boxes. Oh yeah the plates we ate out of were plastic and they served drinks in plastic cups. This wasn't the best place to dine in but the food and the service made up for the old furniture and the not so great decor. It's a great place to catch a game and grab a bite at the bar with the buddies. I did notice a lot of people were placing to go orders. I guess that was an obvious hint lol. I would go back again when I want some...

I'm a longtime fan of Dreamland BBQ due to my time spent living in Birmingham. I now live in Florida, 500 miles from the nearest Dreamland location.

My son and I were on a boys' trip to Truist Park for an event and we made a special trip up to Roswell so my son could experience my favorite BBQ.

We arrived at the location at 11:30a, just shortly after opening, and ordered a lot of food so my son could experience a bit of everything.

When the food arrived, the $30 slab of ribs were cold. Not just cooled off/room temperature, but cold in the center, as if they hadn't been warmed properly.

I get it. It's BBQ. Sometimes you're eating things that finished cooking hours ago, or even yesterday. This is why we have Cambros and warmers to hold food at safe temperatures until it is served.

I brought the cold ribs to the server's attention and she promptly took the ribs away to replace them. She came back and said it would be 10 minutes and we'd have a slab hot off the pit. No problem. We will munch on our sides. After 16 minutes, the manager lady came over and said it would be about 10 more minutes for the ribs.

We asked them to cancel the ribs and to bring us the check. It had already been 25-30 minutes since our food arrived, and they wanted us to somehow wait another 10 minutes? We were finished eating.

The manager lady came over, and I voiced my displeasure with the situation. She graciously comped our bill for the side items.

The waitress and the manager lady were very nice, and I appreciate them offering to comp our food. However, we weren't looking to eat a lunch of free side items. We were looking for a good dining experience at my favorite BBQ rib joint, and to pay full price for it.

I hope they take this teachable moment with their kitchen staff- never send out cold ribs. It's nearly impossible to recover from.

Maybe we'll try again in the next couple years, when we're in the...

After hearing glowing reviews for YEARS, my wife and I decided to give Dreamland a shot. Unfortunately, it didn't live up to the hype, in our book.

We pride ourselves in being pretty good judges of BBQ, and whenever we go to a new place we do so with the understanding that we're likely not going to have a better experience than we do with our own pork butt, ribs or brisket at home. All the same, we're open to being impressed.

Our waitress couldn't tell us if the ribs were spare or baby back, when we asked. That seems like it should be BBQ joint 101 when you train your wait staff. I still couldn't tell you who our waitress is, because she never introduced herself.

We ordered some of the house chips, expecting that they would be made fresh to order and given a liberal dusting of the rib shake rub while they're still hot. That didn't happen. The chips were cold and unseasoned. Not off to an auspicious start.

The ribs were fattier than they were meaty, and still managed to be dry. The pulled pork bark was crispy and dry to the point of not being edible, and had huge hunks of fat that we had to pick through. The baked beans tasted like they came straight from a can. The potato salad didn't seem like it was made fresh. The creamy coleslaw was okay.

The single standout to me was the smoked sausage. If I've had better in the south, I couldn't tell you where it was.

Barbecue is a deeply personal affair, much like one's religion, but it's been my experience that you'll likely convince someone to switch up supreme beings and eternal destinations than you will to bring them to your way of thinking about BBQ. I don't see us going back...