Redbones Barbecue — Restaurant in Somerville

I’ve never wanted to leave a restaurant faster. I’ve been going to Redbones for over 10 years - the last time in 2022 - and for as long as I can remember, it was the spot for barbecue and for that authentic Southern vibe. The blues posters on the walls, the music drifting through the dining room, the red-checkered tablecloths, and the lunch trays loaded with food - it always felt like more than a meal. It felt like being at the barbecue. But now, all of that is gone.

First, the food was just terrible. The brisket was somehow greasy and dry at the same time, and the mac and cheese tasted like it came straight out of a Kraft box. The only redeeming items were the cornbread, biscuit, and marmalade.

But the bigger issue is the atmosphere. While the blues posters still hang, the soul of the place has been completely stripped away. Instead of that warm Southern energy, we were met with blasting Mexican music so loud I could barely think. I love Mexican music - but in a barbecue joint surrounded by blues posters, it felt wildly out of place and uncomfortable. The dining area itself felt sterile, more like a hospital cafeteria than a restaurant. Everything seems geared toward takeout now: no more red-checkered tablecloths, no more mason jars for drinks. Drinks come in boring clear glasses, and instead of real utensils, you’re handed plastic cutlery wrapped in plastic with a flimsy napkin - exactly what you’d expect from a takeout bag, not from a sit-down meal. Even the format of the restaurant has changed for the worse - the got rid of the bar looking over the barbeque pit and you can now see into the kitchen (the most unappealing parts)

The service was terrible too. We had three different people rotate through our table, none of them remotely friendly. They didn’t feel like servers - more like staff rushing around to box up orders. Even the bar, which used to be the lively heart of Redbones, was lifeless and sterile.

The entire time, my brother and I kept saying the same thing: Redbones is unrecognizable. It’s lost everything that made it special. I left in shock at just how far it has fallen - and I won’t be going back.

Bottom line: If you want overpriced, bad barbecue served with plastic utensils in an atmosphere that feels soulless, Redbones is the place for you. Otherwise, avoid it...

The girls and I were looking for a nice weeknight, CHEAP, meal. Come on, you know we are classy ladies but we aren’t made of money fools and some of these Best of Boston restaurants may flaunt the best delicacies but they come with a price. If you know me, I’d rather go to a concert or travel which often leaves me high and dry but I am trying to expand my horizons and still venture this little city of ours. Since I work in Davis Square and my friend suggested a savory meal on a dime, Redbones seemed like a no brainer. Conveniently located off the Davis Square Red line stop, my friends met me after work in the upstairs bar. Redbones is a dive, a wonderful, dimly lit, artistically voodoo painted hole in the wall. It has an upstairs and downstairs bar with two dining rooms on each floor. The upstairs has a family kitchen/diner feel to it while downstairs is a darker version. The menu is large and a bit complicated for a first time customer. Our waitress suggested some apps and we started with fried pickles, hush puppies, and fried catfish. Good stuff, but we could have done without the hush puppies because we were served a nice size portion of corn bread before the apps arrived and 3 fried plates may have been excessive. Selecting the main course was in itself a challenge. You could go individual meals, family style or bulk style. Family included meats and sides, bulk was heftier meat portions but separate sides. We decided to go with bulk a rack of baby back and half rack of Memphis pork ribs with side of grilled veggies, mashed potatoes and beans. We hardly started our apps when our meal was served. Talk about efficient, but we felt rushed and overwhelmed on our small dinner table for four (even though we were 3, eating for 7, so what?). Truth be told, this was my first experience eating ribs. I know, I was hardly let out as a child…no not true, I just refused to eat anything with BBQ sauce until I left college and no I don’t know why. Baby back ribs were over cooked, memphis ribs were a little undercooked and the grilled veggies we could have done without. Overall, the meal was filling, okay and cheap (total $30 pp). Excellent selection of beer and whiskey which is always a plus, so we’d...

Let me start by saying: the menu is a bit misleading. The 3 meat combo platter is listed at $31, but if you want to add something like brisket, hot chicken, burnt ends, or really any of the more popular meats (except pulled pork), it’s an extra $4 each. That kind of pricing structure left a bad taste in my mouth—not because the food isn’t good, but because it makes the menu frustrating to navigate. In my opinion, a platter should reflect the cost of its most popular meats rather than having a bunch of annoying premium add-ons. Because let’s be honest nobody goes to a barbecue joint and orders a platter with pulled pork, pulled chicken, and hash—they come for things that I listed above, burnt ends, brisket, ribs, etc.

My second gripe is the portion sizes. At first glance, the tray looks great—and I’ll include a photo—but once you have it delivered to your table ready to dig in, the portions are surprisingly small. The mac & cheese was literally two bites, and the cornbread square was about 1”x1”. For two people, our tray came to $52 after tip, and we both left feeling like we could’ve eaten more. Personally, when I go out for barbecue, I want to leave absolutely stuffed and satisfied—like I won’t need barbecue again for a year. At $26 per person, that should feel like a heaping plate. Splitting it left us both disappointed with how little food there actually was.

That said—the barbecue itself is excellent. They really don’t miss on flavor. My honest recommendation to the owners: raise your prices and raise your portions. The food deserves it. Until then, if you’re planning to share a combo plate between two hungry people, I’d suggest grabbing an extra side or an appetizer to make it a full meal.

Overall, I’d still recommend this spot, especially for the quality of the barbecue. Just go in knowing what to expect when it comes to portion size...