Ol' Ironsides Barbecue and Banquet Hall — Restaurant in Wood River

3-Meat Sampler Platter with baked potato... 7/5/2025

I chose sliced brisket, pulled pork and rib meat ends. The brisket was tough and dry. Not much of a barbecue smoke flavor. Pulled pork wasn't bad. Had a decent flavor, pulled apart well and wasn't dry. The rib meat ends were smokey, quite dry and a bit too salty. Baked potato was relatively small and seemed steamed rather than baked. Overall the whole plate didn't have a pleasing appearance.

There's three BBQ sauces here. Original, Sweet and Spicy. I liked the Sweet best of all. It has a good flavor. I probably liked the Spicy least. All were pretty good.

I was there around 4:00 on a Saturday afternoon. It's a pleasant place and wasn't loud with music playing and people attempting to talk over over it but low which I appreciate.

I was greeted by a gentleman that I assume was the owner Dave. Real friendly guy. The waitress that served me was attentive, provided very good service and was also friendly and welcoming. My drink was refilled without having to wait and ask. Overall satisfied with the service provided here.

This is the kind of place that one might root for because the people are genuine and good people. Barbecue is one of the more difficult to prepare and serve consistently. I get the impression that they might be attempting to do too much, perhaps. They offer a wide variety of selections including several desert options too.

My experience was underwhelming with respect to the food. Maybe it wasn't one of their best days. Anyone can improve. Everything else was very good.

*All my reviews are independent and are based on my own personal experiences with the aim of accuracy and being truthful. Yours might be different. None are submitted having a personal relationship or vested interest in any...

I wish this was a five star review but unfortunately the food here is not good. We tried the following things:

BBQ sandwich Curly fries BBQ tacos Smoked chicken wings Onion rings Corn dogs Philly

Of the things we had, the things that were good were the corn dogs and curly fries. The onion rings were fine—nothing to write home to mom about. Oh also, the bread that the sandwiches were on was very good.

To the saddest part of the review: all the BBQ meat that we had was not good at all. Maybe the driest BBQ meat I’ve ever had—the wings and the meat on the BBQ sandwich. I ordered brisket on my sandwich and thought they made a mistake and gave me pulled pork because I’ve never seen brisket pulled like they had it. Honestly though, it’s difficult for me to believe that it was brisket. It tasted like extremely dry pot roast.

The service was kind but not very attentive. Also, they forgot a salad that was ordered at our table.

Overall, I unfortunately cannot recommend going here, I certainly won’t be coming back. There are many better places in the area to spend hard...

Great barbecue spot on beautiful Cairo’s west side, immediately off Hwy 2. Owner/founder Dave, is great to visit with and loves telling his story of learning the business of smoking meat! Nice menu, and daily specials to please everyone in your tribe! Stop in, you’ll be...