Sonny's BBQ — Restaurant in Winter Haven

May 3rd 2025, I and an acquaintance had the pleasure of eating at this Sonny's. First and foremost before i really get down to the reason for this post it is imperative for me to compliment the Restaurant and Owner 5 Star food, Cooked wonderfully , ( Brisket just right, melt in your mouth and wonderfully tasty) St.Louise Ribs extraordinary, best I've ever had, nice and Rare and tender, Fantastic " Shredded Cole "Slaw", throughly cooked baked potato w/ sour cream and butter. We couldn't have asked for better at any price concerning the quality of the food , taste and preparation. Yet, when one goes to any restaurant the service can be just as important to the total enjoyment of the meal. Before I continue be aware that I personally abhor gossiping so no name will be mentioned of the Hostess, waitress and server, which infact are the same person. This is an educational post for the owner, and individual who waited on us from the time we stepped in to moment we left. When we came in I spoke first asking the hostess for a Booth for two, she then asked " Do you want a Booth or Table ? My friend said " Booth' ( I looked at my friend and we kinda shrugged , my first thought was maybe she was hard of hearing.) We were seated she took quite sometime taking our order because apparently she didn't know the menu , it was like pulling teeth to get a straight answer out of her ( we figured she was new) she then walked up to the hostess desk and wispered to the server and both looked at us and laughed ( OK, that was uncool) Then when the food was delivered she quickly walked off, we had to call her back and asked for silverware. Unapologetically, she acted as if it was an imposition and again mentioned it to another server which was standing at the hostess desk and laughed at us again. We ate our meal, she came by once mumbling as she walked by and I turned around as she passed, we couldn't understand what she said, I turned and stopped her and said " I'm sorry we didn't understand you" she then said "oh nothing , I was just checking". ( We assume that meant she was checking to see if all was well.) Then as she removed our plates , she stacked them improperly really high and they fell all over the table, taking out a food menu stand and food ending up in my lap. Patrons turned to looked due to the commotion, it was a mess now and loud too. I then said let me help you with this, and showed her how to stack plastic dishes and bowls so that they wouldn't fall. Again she acted as if it were an imposition for her. Now, by this time I'm not making anymore consolations for her since food was in my lap and it didn't phase her. We left shaking our heads, bewildered and laughing, commenting to each other of the degree of apathetic and complacent behavior this young girl had and what a downward turn the future had taken for our youth as far as being raised and taught to be able to handle todays, workplaces . That being said, "Dear Owner, Have the staff read this, she'll know it was her without public embarrassment maybe this will help her think and learn something she apparently wasn't taught at home when she was younger. It may help her in the future and we may consider coming back. Sincerely, Concerned for...

An ad came across for $10 pulled pork deals. I had not brought my lunch so decided to try. I have noticed the inside of this new restaurant is tiny and the drive through is huge.

It was 12:17. Ordered the pork big deal on garlic bread with a sweet potato and sweet tea. It was $13 and change. It took a while of me telling them about the ad but they told me to move forward. When I got there they charged me the correct price and handed me my tea, no straw. I got my food, little bit of a wait, and when it was handed to me I asked for sweet sauce and was told that it was in the bag. I pulled forward and into a parking place to put the sweet sauce on the sandwich and there was no sweet sauce in the box or the bag. There was a ton of cinnamon butter and the smallest sweet potato I’ve ever seen. I debated walking back in to get sweet sauce then tasted my tea (straw in the bag) and it was insert. So I pulled back to the drive through and told them and they handed and sweet sauce and a correct tea, I tasted it before pulling out.

I ate the sandwich on the way back to work and when I pulled in was going to eat my sweet potato even though it was small. However I should have completely checked the bag because there was no silverware or napkins. Luckily I had kept the sandwich in the wrapper so my fingers weren’t greasy but I wasn’t going to eat the potato with my hand.

Overall might be a good value but it’s not going to make me leave work again to try. This was at 11:15, I definitely wouldn’t try at a busy time. I know it’s new, we have dined in twice and had minor issues but they were taken care of. But with drive through I went above and beyond going back through. I shouldn’t have to drive through three times...

I gave Sonny's in Winter Haven another try to save myself the drive to Bartow. I run a local family owned 24 hour business so getting a good hot meal for dinner is a must and BBQ is my fave! First off, the atmosphere was great. Tables were nice, restaurant including bathrooms were clean. There's even a nice outdoor area offered. I did have an issue a few weeks back with a curbside order but was simply blown away this trip by the fact that the Manager "AJ" actually cooked my food! While sharing pleasant conversation with me, He suggested I try the Brisket. I did and it was actually better tasting then he talked it up. I ordered a "Family Meal" that consisted of 4 meats, (Chicken, Ribs, Brisket, Pulled Pork) sides and drinks as well. We had the sides of Tater Tots, Mac and Cheese, Green Beans and Bread. In my opinion, all that is well worth the price of this meal. We also had to order some of our favorites from Sonny's on the side (Corn Nuggets and Omg the Fried Okra). Myself, Daughter, Son and a few guests were very pleased with how tender and smoke flavored the meats were. It was all cooked to perfection! The portions we received were very plentiful. I look for taste, consistency, pricing and great service. I think I received all of that PLUS! I get the fact that they're new to our area and within any new business, kinks must be worked through which is why I'm so happy to have returned for another try. THANK YOU "AJ" FOR GIVING ME SUCH A GREAT EXPERIENCE AND WONDERFUL FOOD. WE WILL BE...