Donnie's Barbecue, LLC — Restaurant in Virginia Beach

Donnie's Barbecue is located in the Strawbridge Shopping Center, a few stores down from the Harris Teeter. I had heard some good things about this place, so my mom and I decided to check this place out. With this place being in a shopping center, parking was not hard to come by as well. Our visit was on July 22, 2020.

We came in around 4 pm that day, so it wasn't busy at all. We were immediately greeted when we came in and then proceeded to look over the menu. After looking over the menu, we both went with the # Platter, which includes two meats and two sides. For the meats I went with pulled pork and brisket. For the sides I went with the macaroni and cheese and two additional cornbread. My mom went with double brisket with cole slaw and macaroni and cheese as her sides. While waiting for the order to be ready, we talked for a bit with the owner and gave us some info about the place. Given the current Covid-19 situation, all orders are for takeout only; dine in is currently unavailable.

After a few minutes, our order was ready to be picked up and paid for. We then took it home to eat. The pork and brisket were nice and tender. The sauces that I got for it were good with them as well. The cornbread was warm and soft, and the macaroni and cheese was great too.

Overall, we had a great experience here and the food was as well. This is now a favorite barbecue spot for me. What's even better is that they aren't that far from me as well. If you're in the area and looking for a barbecue spot, this is where...

Customer service: Actually met Donnie today! He greeted me and my small group with a warm welcome, instructed us how to place our order, he PREPARED the order and brought it out. We're not all from the area. All of us were first time visitors but felt very welcomed.

Price: Can't complain AT ALL here. You can get a lunch special for around $10-12 or get a platter for $13-18. Hell if you want to share, they have meals for two starting around $30-40. There's something for all budgets.

Food Quality: I loved the flavor. I'm from the South and know good BBQ. Great smoked taste. BBQ sauce and sides were very flavorful. Brisket was great but dried out a bit towards the center (literally my only critical thing to say). Ribs were tender and the meat was VERY well cooked.

Portion: Outstanding. Check out my pictures. All sandwiches had meat falling out of the bun. Platters were generous but not overwhelming.

Favorite dishes and shoutouts: I liked the spicy sausage. It was truly spicy and had a great (seemingly) homemade flavor. The ribs and brisket were close seconds. The sauce was TASTYYYYY with a flavor for everyone!

Overall recommendation: For this to not be in a restaurant and be reasonably priced, I was pleasantly surprised. I had never heard of it but my Google fam reviewed it highly so I tried it. I would DEFINITELY return. GREAT experience. Thanks Donnie, you have a great business. Glad we stumbled on your que!...

Just got my NC pulled pork sandwich, potato salad a few mins ago. Took one bite of the pulled pork and hands down the worst tasting BBQ I have ever had. I did not want this sandwich to go to waste so I gave it to my dog which will eat almost anything . The only reason I'm leaving a 2 star review instead of a one-star review is because the potato salad is extremely good and on point. Absolutely terrible BBQ I cannot express it enough. Store bought barbecue in the frozen section is a hundred times better than what I just experienced. I spent over $27 after tax and delivery fee for the worst BBQ I have ever tasted in my life. It did not even smell like traditional BBQ in the least bit. The vinegar Sauce that I ordered additionally tastes very weird I don't understand how a barbecue place could really mess up vinegar sauce and regular pulled pork North Carolina style BBQ I really do not understand. Basically I just spent $27 on potato salad. I would not recommend to anybody I will stick to going out to Bennett's Creek to get my BBQ from...