3. Jim Neely's Interstate Bar-B-Q

Wanted to love it, but Service was Terrible & BBQ just OK
Went on a Tuesday eve for a 7pm dinner with three business associates. Service was terrible - slow to offer menus, slow to take order, slow to return with drinks, did not return to refresh drinks, 5 minute wait after three dinners arrived until the fourth was delivered, when asked for drink - did not return with drink, did not return to provide check -- like I said, terrible. BBQ sampler platter was a lot of food, this was good because I have a large appetite. Unfortunately, the food was so drenched in sauce it made everything too heavy and impossible to finish, a rare occurance for me. Overall, this was very disappointing. Expected it to be great but it was a dud. A much better option is Rendezvous, Germantown Commisary and Corky's.

Nasty nasty...we got the sampler platter and it looked a mess...the ribs tasted like they where 2 days old and just reheated...the server rushed are order, dropped food off and never came back...we traveled a long way expecting some good food and this spot was not it...o yeah it was monday so i know those ribs were from saturday

Interstate Barbeque in Memphis
After seeing more than a few tv shows about Jim Neely, I was simply bewildered by what and how I was served. My waitress seemed annoyed by my questions about the menu. I finally tried the sampler plate. My immediate response was, I can beat these ribs in my backyard on a bad day, The sauce was underwhelming too! And was all over everything. The ribs did not taste fresh, which is a cardinal sin in the industry. Who thought this stuff was good, and why??? Don't waste you time and money,it's all hype!!

Better food than most reviews, bad local area....
Went to Memphis w/ my girlfriend for a four day 'foodie weekend' to try best barbecue in the country. Food ranked slightly higher than Marlowe's by Graceland, and way better than Rendezvous. Sausage was awesome, couldn't complain about any item on sampler platter, service was nice and attentive... since we live 10 hours away, we don't get much opportunity to eat often, but next trip will include Interstate BBQ.

Outstanding
Big Jim Neely's Interstate BBQ is maybe the best all-around BBQ joint in Memphis. Absolutely excellent. They do it all well. Really not much else to say.

Grease, Grease, Grease
We just ate at Interstate Bar-B-Q and were extremely disappointed in the meal. We have seen raving reviews on the TV and the internet, the reviewers obviously do not know what good BBQ is. Good BBQ does not come in a pool of grease. Smoked BBQ should be tender and moist but not full of grease. To me BBQ should have a smoke ring and you should smell the meet cooking when you enter...not a sniff. The beef ribs were extremely stringy. The service was great. Our waitress was attentive and saw to our every want...oh if only the food met that standard. This was our first Memphis BBQ on our trip from Indiana...hope we find a better experience during our next meal.

i ordered the sampler plate. best to worse.......slaw and beans were great. beans had bbq in them. sausage was great, spicy link with sauce that went very well with the spices in the sausage. brisket and pulled pork had a goog taste but were very dry tasting. ribs were ok. a little tough but ngood taste. the problem with the ribs was the sauce. sauce had a good sweet taste, but there was twice to three times too much sause on the ribs. service was slow though Mr. Neely was visibly helping staff in all chores. He also was constantly pointing out necessities of coustomers to staff. much , much better than rendesvouz----don't go there----but no where near as good as corkys.

ONCE WHEN I WAS IN MEMPHIS I GOT SOME BAR B Q FROM INTERSTATE AND IT WAS THE WORST RIBS I HAVE EVER HAD. I DON'T KNOW HOW YOU ALL GOT ON TV YOU IT HAD TO COST YOU A LOT, I WAS BORN IN MEMPHIS I KNOW REAL BAR B Q.

I had high hopes here and was very disapointed. Service sucked BBQ was only so..so... Skip this palce and head to Central BBQ.

Great sauce. I really like the hot barbecue sauce.

we ate here on labor day.we were expecting greatness but our experience was terrible.both forks were dirty.some of the ribs were cool,and the brisket was undercooked.i would tell everyone to stay away.by contrast,the night before we ate at corky's and it was the best i've ever had

Food was fair but service was very poor. Staff and manager would walk right by our table and never ask if we needed anything or "How is the food?" Went to Central Barbeque the next day. Great ribs and service. Won't be going back to Interstate.

Big T. You are so right. I heard people talk aout how good this BBQ was so. When a represenative asked to by us lunch I could wait to tell them we wanted Interstate. I ordered rib-tips which looked liked some neck bones and that sauce was the worst mess I ever tasted. I'm just thankful that I didnt have spend my money. Wouldn't tell my enemy to eat there.

Pretty darn good barbecue and sides. The service was solw, but all in all, not a bad place to eat

I really hate to do this, but dammit, the truth must be told!!!!!!!!!!! I went to Interstate with some high expectations. I have been in Memphis for 3 days and have terrorized the town in search to the best barbecue. I went to Interstate and ordered the combo platter which had pork ribs, beef ribs, link, brisked, and pulled pork. Also came with beans, slaw, and BBQ Sgetti. Portion was huge, but this was absolutely some of the worst stuff I have ever eaten. It would have been more of an honor to these animals to throw them in the woods to rot, than to become what I got served. Starting from worst to least worst.......the pulled pork was SOOOOO DRYYY that it literally felt like it sucked all the moisture out of my mouth. The beef ribs were tough and flavorless. The brisket was not as dry, but absolutley flavorless. The link was OK, and the pork ribs were not bad, but in no way would they even make my list. The best thing I did have there was the slaw (delicious), but the beans tasted like ashtray was an ingredient. I had some high expectations, and I dont know if I just hit a bad time of off day, but this stuff was HORRIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! On my BBQ tour through Memphis I would say Central is absolutely in the top 3 if not #1. Unfortunately the BBQ Shop was closed for some reason all 3 days, but I will try and review when I come back. It really hurts to write a review like this about a place with such history and lore, but damn this was unacceptable. A "McRib" would have been better Q' than this was.

Food was very good but service was slow even though it wasn't very busy.

Had heard a great deal about this bbq place...have to admit I was disappointed. Memphis has much better bbq places.

This place oozes culture! With the decoration of high-profile celebrity pictures to its' finger licking good bar-be-que, this place is amazing. Bar-be-que, so good it'll make you slap YOUR momma. I must say I was embarrassed when I left with my shirt covered in Bar-be-que sauce because it was so good. But you better believe, the next time I'm in Memphis, Interstate Bar-B-Q has a shirt dedicated to its delicious bar-b-q!!