Jimbo's Pit Bar B-Q — Restaurant in Tampa

Bad customer service, small portions!

I ordered from Jimbo's Pit Bar B-Q for a company lunch of 40-45 (max) people so I had them deliver from Tampa to Clearwater. I explained while ordering that these are shop guys, so they eat a lot, and was assured the per person serving they provide would be enough. I paid $7.99 per person and ordered the sandwich platters, they let me split between chicken and pork although the wording on the menu says one or the other which was nice. The delivery was great, the driver was running about 10 minutes behind but he called to let me know and was very apologetic, there's a lot of construction going on in his route so I totally understood and really appreciated that he communicated with me. The food came hot so they did a really great job on the transport. However, the portion of chicken and pork that we received was most certainly not enough for 45 people. In fact, there were several people who did not get to eat. We are a very busy company and do not often have time for extra curricular activities like a company wide lunch. Everyone was pretty excited about it and I find it's a great way to improve company moral when you feed folks. What does not boost moral is promising someone BBQ to run out. I called and nicely asked for a manager and explained that I was a little upset because I had been told that it would be enough and it most certainly was not. He said he was sorry and this only happens every six years or so, but he went on to then make it my fault when he then said, that it's 4oz a sandwich, one sandwich per person, (No where on the catering menu does it say 4oz PP) and then told me that my guys made their sandwiches to big. He said that he did not short change me on meat, it's 13 lbs of meat (also nowhere on the catering menu). I let him know I wasn't implying that he had short changed me, I was simply upset that the BBQ expert (something I'm not) ill advised me on portion. He did not offer anything to me except "Next time make your sandwiches smaller or order more". Mind you, we paid roughly $420.00 + tip to this pit BBQ joint. It's not like we're complaining about a $10.00 experience. I have worked in several establishments that sell food and drink, apologetic words without any resolution in the restaurant business isn't a true apology. I would love to comment on the food, but I did not eat any in order to try to stretch the food as much as could for the guys in my shop who we were doing this for. I heard comments being made that the coleslaw is sweet and that the beans were sweet too. Those portions were huge. I also heard good things about the hush puppies... they also provided a lot of sauces. I also would like to note that they had already insulated delivery into their price at $7.99 per person as that same meal is $6.99 without delivery. They also charged an additional fee for the distance they said would be between $16.00-$25.00. So they were already charging in that meal price $1 for delivery, which comes out to $45.00. Then they charged us a flat fee to bring it. We're 15 miles away and they were already charging $45 to come, on a tap of over $400.00 for the food. Pizza places deliver within 6 miles for a $5.00 pizza, uber eats charges a couple of bucks from anywhere, it seems a little ridiculous they charged a flat fee on top of the built in pricing. That just seems like a racket. I feel like we paid a whole lot of money for heaping portions of coleslaw, beans, and hush puppies with a side of meat. Things happen, sure, it's less about the incident and more about the subpar customer service I received when there was a problem. Thanks to the manager making this such a subpar experience, we've vowed to get a grill and do cook-outs ourselves. You know it's bad when it's turned you off from going outside...

From the time I was 15 in High School until 19 in College, I worked at a pit-cooked BBQ restaurant in NC, often being the pit cook and the rest of the time in the kitchen. So, when I drove past Jimbo’s, not even hungry, I did a u-turn to give it a try.

Jimbo’s uses oak in their pit, I’m used to Hickory. You use what you can get, I suppose, but the wood does matter.

Every table gets pickle slices… nice touch! A+ The large cup of sweet tea turned my taste buds into tiny lil’ nostalgia bumps! A+

I ordered the 3 item combo and here’s my review of the food…

Hush puppies, these were different from what I’m used to, but just as good! The outer crispy texture was FLAWLESS while the breading inside was delicious. A+

Baked beans were pretty good, as was the cole slaw. B

Onto the meat, what should be the superstar of the meal…

1/4 chicken (dark meat). This was over cooked and a little dry, which is hard to do since there’s so much fat in the dark meat. The taste was okay. C-

Ribs… most people think ribs are supposed to fall off the bone. They’re not. And these didn’t, thankfully. This was good quality meat, cooked appropriately, but didn’t have enough (any?) rub on them. They tasted like ribs, not ribs with a quality rub on them. I had to use sauce on them. Perfectly seasoned ribs shouldn’t need sauce because the juices should combine with the rub to create a baked on sauce. B (because they were cooked properly)

Chopped pork - THIS is, in my opinion, the ONE THING A BBQ RESTAURANT CANT SCREW UP. It’s the menu item that makes or breaks you. Well… I did NOT expect it to be mixed with sauce when served to me. Chopped pork on a plate should be served as-is, in my opinion. As a sandwich, different story. But on a plate, the restaurant should leave the meat:sauce ratio to the patron. That said, it wasn’t bad by any means. It wasn’t overcooked (as far as I could tell with sauce mixed into it) but I have no idea what the flavor profile would be because of the sauce - maybe they’re covering up for not having hickory wood for their pit? So, I can’t provide a grade on the pork BBQ which is disappointing.

The sauce was good but nothing to write home about. Adding some Worcestershire sauce and (more) smoked paprika could help.

Will I come back? I’d be willing to give it another shot and hope that the chicken isn’t overcooked (overcooked chicken can happen at any restaurant) and that maybe I can ask for chopped pork without sauce on it.

These are just my opinions based on my experience coming of age as a pit cook in a BBQ restaurant. BBQ is very regional and deeply personal so I’ll say this, give it a try yourself! Based on my experience, I think it’ll be an enjoyable meal, even if it’s not exactly what you...

Stopped by today for lunch. You should know that this is a 'sit down and order' restaurant, not a counter/walk up like most BBQ places. So expect to leave a tip.

I ordered a pork and rib combo with side of fries and baked beans. The meal also came with several hushpuppies. Portions were pretty good in size.

The waitress asked me if I wanted chopped or pulled pork. I asked for chopped but got 'shredded' pork instead. Not really a big deal. Pork was 'wet', like you would get at Publix for making a pork sandwich. Not bad, but unremarkable.

The ribs at Jimbo's were strange.....some of the weirdest ribs I've had. They taste like ham rather than ribs...not saying it was bad, but strange. On the plus side the ribs were not overcooked, though they were on the small side.

The beans were quite good, probably the highlight of the meal. They use a large type of bean and they are on the sweet side (in a good way). Fries were decent as well....though I only got them because they have a fairly limited number of sides available. Hush puppies were a nice addition, though I found theirs to be kind of bland.

Sauce is some kind of vinegar/molasses based combo I believe. It tastes good but is 'weak', needs more kicks to it. They serve it to you in a warmed bottle at the table, which is nice. Service in general was nice overall, though the wait was a little on the long side for a BBQ place.

Overall Jimbo's isn't a bad option for families, as the atmosphere is friendly, there are several TVs on, big tables, and nice service. However, if quality of food is your bottom line, you can do better, as Jimbo's is a little like chain BBQ and can't be classified in any particular southern style (ie, North Carolina, Memphis, Texas, etc) If you are in the downtown area, I would highly recommend Al's Finger Lickin Good at 1609 North 18th St....