Bob’s Backyard Barbeque — Restaurant in Violet Township

I have visited two times so far and regrettably, I don't believe that I'll be back for a third.

Firstly, the portion sizes were notably small, especially when considering the price point ($11-$14/meal + upcharges on most sides + tax and tip, it easily ends up $20/person). While I understand and appreciate the effort that goes into preparing food for others, the servings did not sufficiently reflect the value one would expect from such an establishment. This aspect alone left me feeling somewhat underwhelmed, as part of the joy of barbecue is the hearty servings of sides that make a meal feel worth splurging on. I am not exaggerating when I say that a $3 side of baked beans can be consumed in 3-4 spoonfuls, same with the mac and cheese which was an additional upcharge.

Additionally, the flavors of the dishes I tried (brisket, pulled pork, buffalo pulled chicken melt) were surprisingly bland. Traditional barbecue is celebrated for its rich, smoky, and sometimes spicy flavors, built through hours of careful cooking and seasoning. However, the meats I sampled lacked this depth and complexity of taste. Whether this was due to a cautious approach to seasoning or perhaps a different culinary philosophy, it meant the meat did not have any noticeable taste whatsoever unless you smothered it in sauces... The sauces were flavorful and they tried to put in work, but the meat texture and taste had a "boiled in water without any seasoning" sort of quality.

The service was a little slow/confused as it seemed like they weren't staffed properly yet, and the decorum inside does not presently feel like a BBQ joint. The workers treated me kindly and I love to support local businesses, but the food was simply not enough to make me want to try it again.

My hope is that this feedback can be seen as constructive, guiding a reassessment of portion sizes and a bolder approach to seasoning and meat flavor/preparation. I hope to one day come back and revise this review, but I would currently not recommend as I would rate the food as worth $6-$7 of value compared to the $20+ you will pay...

Decided to head out and check out Bob’s Backyard Bar-B-Q in Pickerington. They do all their smoking with apple wood to give a nice smooth taste to the meat. This is a different version of the Lancaster business. Very stylish interior with a lot of wood used. Lighting is very cool. Plans are for them to have a liquor license soon.On to the important stuff, the food. I ordered the Dressed Up Pulled Pork Sandwich, Mac N Cheese, Baked Beans and Cheesy Potatoes. The sandwich had good amount of pork on it, fried onions added a big difference to the sandwich. The sauce that they use for it is homemade as all their sauces are. The Mac and cheese was a baked version which had a nice cheesy flavor. The Baked Beans were made with cinnamon which typically places go overboard with, this was just a light touch. On to Cheesy Potatoes, they were made perfectly, using a riced potatoes and a nice blend of cheese, baked to perfection. Crazy as it be the star of the show was something they give you for FREE at the beginning of the meal which was a sort of oyster crackers that are buttery with seasoning on them. Yummmy!!! Now on to service. My waitress was Kendall, she was amazing, checking on me and giving refills on my drink. A special treat was that I got to sit down and talk with Jared the Manager for a bit. He told me a lot of the background of the business. So cool to hear a lot of the back stories to businesses. Then if things weren’t good enough already. Bob the owner shows up and comes in and I was able to chat with him for a few minutes. This is a very new restaurant and everyone should come out and...

If you don’t feel like reading, service was slow and slacking, and food didn’t even seem edible :) Me and my bestie went today for a quick dinner before going out. It was a huge mistake. I don’t want to make this whole review a rant on them but our service and food was not the best. The girl was quick to take our seats and our order. But when it came time to eat, I wish I didn’t eat anything. We both ordered the pulled pork and Mac n cheese, and then they had sauce on the side. Our food was very quick to come out too which to me is suspicious. When the plate arrived the pulled pork looked like they just plopped it out of a frozen meal from the store, and the Mac n cheese was the same and had random cheese chunks that looked inedible. The pulled pork had little to no flavor and tasted like it was from a wet crockpot/slowcooker, even with the sauce. The Mac n cheese was TERRIBLE, I felt sick trying to eat it. It almost tasted like it was boiled with beer?? And it tasted cooked and uncooked at times. To top this all off, we got our check (took off the Mac n cheese) and were waiting for the waitress to come back and take the card to process and never came back so I had to pay through the QR code Make a smart decision and...