True BBQ — Restaurant in West Columbia

This place was terrible. Skip and eat somewhere else!

All of these positive reviews must be fakes. I have never felt so betrayed by Google reviews in my life.

No soda machine, no silver wear, no real plates, no real cups, sides were clearly from a can, and meat was laughable.

I was willing to give this place a shot because I would really like to support small locally owned restaurants. So I did, and I absolutely regret it.

I'll begin with what was good, and I can only name one thing. The lady that waited on us was nice.

I ordered the baby back ribs, mac & cheese, baked beans, and green beans.

First complaint, they have no soda fountain machine. Which I believe is a must for a restaurant. If you'd like a soda they can sell you a can. Which is a joke. Also, if you'd like tea they'd be happy to pour you some from the pitcher that is sitting openly on the counter. They provide Styrofoam plates and plastic silver wear as well.

Seriously, I'd expect to purchase a can of soda with a hotdog from a street vendor, not a restaurant that I've come to sit down at and have a nice meal.

But besides all of that, if the food was spectacular I could live with the lack of the most basic restaurant amenities, but the food was terrible.

They only sell 3 types of (homemade) BBQ sauce, which I will just say was questionable at best. I am not one to experiment with my food and I prefer the tried and true. They didn't have any type of (reliable) standard BBQ sauce, only their homemade stuff which I was not willing to risk, so I ate my ribs dry. The lack of even a 99 cent bottle of dollar general BBQ sauce was astonishing.

The ribs were mediocre at best. Mildly tough, and they had a strong taste of charcoal. Honestly, I have had much better at Chile's or Outback. Of course, the lack of sauce didn't help at all.

The mac n' cheese was the only homemade thing I had, and it was awful. Overcooked macaroni with shards of burnt cheese throughout. Barely edible in my opinion.

The baked beans had an oddly familiar Bush's baked beans taste, and quite obviously were from a can that was purchased at the local Wall-mart.

The green beans were from a can as well and they had a strong taste of salt, which is indicative of canned green beans.

In summary, I am all for mom and pop outfits, so long as the food is good. But I will not give this place multiple stars or pretend that their food is not disgusting just for the sake of supporting a small business.

Really, if you want good food food you would be best served by going somewhere else.

Also, the neighborhood this place is located in looks very shady, and I am glad I went during the day. I would definitely avoid at night!

I would also be curious as to when the last time the health inspector paid them a visit, because this place was filthy.

I felt betrayed by all of the misleading reviews and I felt compelled to lead you away and save you from what I had to experience.

You've...

I don't like writing these types of reviews. Prayerfully it will make a difference in the future on giving good customer service. I'm big on supporting our communities and black owned businesses. I normally go to another black owned BBQ restaurant whenever I have a taste for great BBQ. Unfortunately they were closed for vacation. I went online searching for the next best. I called TRUE BBQ before I went on that side of town to get a price on their dinners. A young lady answered, I should have known then the type of service I was going to receive by the way she spoke to me on the phone. I really had a taste for some BBQ. I asked more than once how many ribs came with my dinner? She stated "3." I asked for the total of my order. She said she couldn't give me the total because someone else else will take my payment.

When I arrived, some of the employees were standing and starring. I spoke, all I got was stares. No one bothered to greet me. The young lady who answered the phone waited on me. No hello, or welcome to TRUE BBQ. Not even a thank you or we really appreciate your business. Their attitudes were very cold. I like to look at my order(s) before leaving. What the young lady told me wasn't what I received. It went from getting 3 ribs to it depends on how they cut it. Also after telling me she couldn't give me the total of my order. She was the person that took my payment when I arrived. Her attitude was terrible. Instead of the female manager making it right because of what was told to me, they all just looked until I asked another employee about my order.

Had I known that, I would have never placed my order over the phone. I left disappointed and unsatisfied with my order. The value of a dollar goes a long way with me. I don't mind paying for great service. I left paying $28.18 with less meat on the bone for 2 ribs along with my side orders. The ribs were very dry!

As with the BBQ restaurant I normally support. For $19.20, I get 3 large ribs, chopped bbq, hash and rice w/2 sides. Not to mention the best customer service, greeting everyone as they come in the door, great attitudes, great conversation. Every customer leaves with a smile on their faces with enough food to last at least 2 days.

First impression is the last impression. I will not return. To the young lady, your life is just getting started. You haven't lived yet as my grandmother use to say. I was taught Regardless of who you are or how much money you have, respect will take you further than money.

With those types of attitudes, it makes a person wonder what types of attitudes the person(s) preparing the customer's food has. I'm very happy for the ones that gave great reviews, if only I could have received the same type of...

Super friendly folks and great cozy barbecue neighborhood atmosphere. I have been twice, just to make sure I could give an honest review. I travel five states and eat barbecue every week. Eating and cooking barbecue is my hobby. For the portions and the establishment the food here is expensive. Two small dinners and two cans of Coke almost $30.00 and served in a styrofoam box. I can go in any city in SC and find an all you can eat barbecue joint for about $11.00 each and that includes desert. For drinks we were given two cans, no cups, no ice. Heck, I can get cups and ice at any gas station. The last visit on Friday night only two tables were being occupied and the wait was very long. When our food did arrive they forgot my wife’s order of beans. It took us awhile to get the attention of someone before we could ask for help. We were told there was an “up charge” for ordering pork and beans. After paying we’ve were never offered a receipt. What’s up with that? The food was OK, but not worth $30.00 eating out of a to go box. Very friendly owners, but we left hungry. Had to stop next door at Zestos and fill up on ice cream ‘cause we had no...