BJ’s Barbecue — Restaurant in Sparks

We have seen this corner restaurant for several years now, but it had never been in our thoughts when seeking out an evening out, or a spot for lunch. We are now kicking ourselves for not trying them earlier!

We decided to give them a try for lunch on a Saturday.

It was around 1 ish when we arrived. We were greeted and sat without any wait, by a charming host. I believe she also tended the area where one could purchase BJ's Signature Seasonings, along with other BJ's BBQ items. When being seated to the right of the entrance, you'll pass by her area when entering and exiting, so if you too are a BBQ King/Queen... grab some seasoning on your way out! We were seated in a comfortable booth (on the right) near the windows, where we could see the mountains in the far.

Our waitress greeted us immediately! And took our drink order. We decided on ice tea for a change, rather than just water. We are tea lovers... hot or cold, we know our tea. This tea was fresh, crisp and lightly flavored with a fresh lime on it's rim (as we had requested lemon). Although it was a 41° day out, the refreshing tea hit the spot!

The menu had several choices to choose from. Our waitress was very knowledgeable in the menu and assisted us in understanding a few things, as it was our first time there. I opted to have the BBQ pork sandwich (which came on a freshly baked hoagie bun) and a choice of side, I choose French fries, along with a green side salad with Ranch. Hubby wanted a variety so he picked a combo plate, choosing pork ribs and brisket, macaroni and cheese, along with chili topped with cheese, onions and jalapeños (his plate came with two side choices).

My salad arrived almost immediately! And within 3-5 minutes our entire lunch came as well! We were in shell shocked, as to how fast our meal came, and with the amount of food 😳 that was sitting before us! They served us up on mini sheet pans! Loved this vibe!

My (5"x4" (+/-) tin tub) of fries could feed a whole table of four (but it was just he and I)! My BBQ pork sandwich was to die for! The pork was lightly covered in my choice of medium BBQ sauce (there were three to choose from, with the last being HOT). The meat was so extremely tender and flavorful, even without the sauce. It melted in your mouth. The bun only complimented the flavors to its fullest. The crisp French Fries where not just from a bag, they were from freshly cut taters! Upon my tray also layed a huge sized dill pickle spear, that was very tasty! My salad was not of head lettuce, but from that kind of mixed lettuce spinach kind. It was OK, but I would have preferred head lettuce (not too sure if that was an option, as I didn't ask). The ranch dressing was very tasty and came on the side.

My hubby's platter had a nice sized portion of pork ribs that fell off the bone. It, too, was extremely tasty even without the medium sauce he had chosen. His brisket was not thinly sliced but rather had a thickness to it. He didn't need a knife to cut it, rather, his fork alone could separate it into bite-sized pieces with merely the tines... no fork wibble wobble cutting needed either! Both meats were topped with a good-sized amount of BBQ sauce. His two sides were severed in small ceramic bowls. His meal also came with a nice sized rectangular piece of cornbread and a pad of butter, while his chili came with a package of oyster crackers!

Our waitress was attentive on making sure we were satisfied and checked on us frequently, even refilling our drinks without even asking.

The ranch country atmosphere was pleasant, the openness of the eating area nice and reminded us of old-school dinner where one could talk across the room to one of our friends if they too had also been dinning.

The restrooms were very clean. The staff were friendly, even the busboy greeted and thanked us for dining with them on our way out.

All in all, a great place to eat! Don't pass this little gem up when you are hankering for flavorful BBQ!

They are open until 8:30pm (Tues-Thurs), 9pm (Fri-Sat), and are...

I don't know what happened. We had a group of 10 (including toddlers who could be seated in high chairs) and said we could split up if needed. * We were told it would be between ten and thirty minutes depending on what seating they could figure out. Fine. We waited and waited some more. We saw a group of people who had been waiting with us when we arrived be seated, eat, and leave. We waited with six hungry kids for an hour and then when I walked to the back where we were supposed to be seated, myself, to see what the situation was, I was met with a bunch of sparkly clean tables ready for seating.

We were so angry and hungry that we just left and went to Chick-fil-A. The wonderful workers at Chick-fil-A served us in minutes with warm smiles and gave us an extra juice box and five milkshake coupons! Sheesh. BJ's could learn a thing or two from them. And no, I don't mean the quick food, I just mean the smiles and kind workers. And now I'm laughing reading the reviews here because any bad or even slightly critical reviews are taken so offensively and unprofessionally. And don't even tell me I should've talked to a manager about it because AIN'T NOBODY NOTICED US THERE FOR AN HOUR. AM I SUPPOSED TO GO BACK TO WHERE THE LINE COOKS ARE TO GET ATTENTION?! Also I noticed some people at the bar were frustrated waiting to be served as well so at least we weren't the only ones. I was about to take it personally lol

Edit: in response to your response, I understand you were busy. I was more than patient and no we did not need 3 tables. Two and a couple high chairs would have been fine and I said we were fine with being split up if needed. I was more irritated that nobody updated us for that entire hour. No one came to apologize and tell us it's really busy. Nobody said anything. We were completely forgotten about. A thirty minute wait is one thing but an entire hour with not a single word from anyone working there? That's insane. This was a regular breakfast place, not some fine dining experience worth waiting for. Us millennials have way too much patience. My step mom said she would have been yelling at people and leaving after...

My husband and I are new to Reno and have always seen this restaurant on the side of the freeway and wanted to give it a try finally. Good bbq is hard to come by and my husband is a bbq pit master (bias as that may seem lol). Anywho we decided to give it a shot and grab take out. We got the barbecue feast which had two pint size sides of your choice and three meats of your choice. And a side of cornbread. We chose mashed potatoes and Mac and cheese for our sides. We chose the half slab of pork ribs, half pound of brisket and the half chicken. Let’s start with pros: Service was great. Portions sizes were great. No lies there. Corn bread wasn’t the best I’ve had but had a cake finish to it. Wasn’t bad but not worth going back for. The COOK not the flavor on the pork ribs were actually really well done. Now let’s start with the cons: OVERBOARD FLAVORLESS. From the sides to the meat to the sauce. Really disappointing. No flavor whatsoever. It’s like they didn’t use any seasonings but salt and pepper but even then that was lacking. The cook on the chicken was so dry. The skin was not tight like you would expect a bbq chicken to have. The brisket wasn’t tender enough and didn’t pull apart. The sauce like oh my goodness the sauce was WATER and had no flavor whatsoever. Like no seasonings were used which is crazy for a bbq place. Now the sides. Listen mashed potatoes were okay. The Mac and cheese was very disappointing like didn’t even taste like anything. Even the cheese had no flavor. They may have won the votes in 2022 to win the rib cook off but definitely did not win votes with my husband and I. Unfortunately we will not...