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Memphis Blues Barbeque house features southern comfort food including melt-in-your-mouth ribs. There are several other locations in the Lower Mainland.
I like Southern BBQ food. Since it is one of the few places in Vancouver that offers this type of food, I love it here. Friends from Tennessee say it isn't done right, the BBQ sauce isn't sweet. Well, it works for me. Meaty, greasy, messy, and flavorful.
I didn't care for the slaw, not enough flavor there.
I like the decor, but the service isn't there. Don't expect much, never saw a smile. Definitely not fine dining.
The price is good for the sandwiches. I don't agree with the price for other items on the menu.
Come here if you like southern food, but never been down south, apparently.
This was my second visit to this location and I was hoping I was wrong the first time. Gristle, fat, and dry meat (once you get to it) prevail: there's far too much sugar in the beans and BBQ sauce to maintain the balance required for full flavour (any smoky or spicy flavours are completely lost), the collard greens were grey and over cooked, the potato salad contains too much mustard. The pulled pork included one golf ball sized chunk of gristle with pork attached (on both visits). The brisket is good but also dry.
For some reason, the Feast platter claims to serve four, but only comes with three tiny bite-sized pieces of so-so cornbread, and if the sides are to be split between four, each person would be lucky to get three bites each.
As an actual Southerner, I'm not impressed. And I, too, suspect that the ribs are baked. I doubt many of the patrons have been South or ever had true Southern BBQ.
The restaurant is okay - not terribly clean and extremely noisy. The service is predominately self-serve, whether dining in or out - tipping is optional as far as I'm concerned. We chose to take-out this time so that we could actually talk and not feel pressured to hurry during our meal.
It's certainly not worth the $50.
Having been on the hunt for good bbq in Vancouver and not finding any, we decided to go here to pacify our craving. We'll hit this spot a couple times a year. So you have to walk up to the counter to order, it'll help burn off a few of the thousand calories you'll consume. We were greeted by the waitress and she brought out the food for us when it was ready. It was all very efficient service.
This time around we ordered 1/2 rack of ribs and sliced brisket. Having recently had good bbq in the states, we were a bit disappointed. The ribs were ok, some pieces were quite dry and others had a lot of fat. The bbq sauce was the saving grace. The brisket was juicier, but still somewhat stringy. With the meat we got beans, coleslaw, potato salad and corn bread. They were all just ok, but the most disappointing was the cornbread. It's a small triangle of dense bread which was really bland. We like our cornbread sweeter...or even just with some taste to it would've been fine.
For a city seriously lacking in good bbq, this will have to do for now.
This is the second time here both times my meat was cold. I had a half BBQ chicken. It was cold, but other than that okay, just okay. The coleslaw was probably the worst I have ever had. Considering the meal was $12 before my beer and there is only counter service in a nutshell it lacked on almost every aspect. The BBQ sauce was pretty good though!
We just ordered the Memphis Feast for takeout. What a collosal waste of money. I ordered at 5:10pm for delivery. Our meal arrived at 5:33pm. Was the food fresh? Nope. It looked and tasted like bad leftovers, having been recooked a few times - obvious in the fact that it took only 23 minutes for them to "cook" and deliver. The only thing good about the meal was the soda - because it wasnt cooked by Memphis. I have never regretted spending $70.00 as much as I did tonight. You would have had a better meal at McDonalds. The potatoes in the potatoe salad were waterlogged. It was like they previously cooked the potatoes, then froze them unti they needed to make a quick salad. Potatoes out of a box that you just add water to, taste a whole lot better.
The coleslaw - lets just say you could get better at KFC. The refried beans were just a mush - also like it was leftovers reheated 10 times. They even failed on the fries. They were so soggy and overly salted - we couldn't eat them. The cornbread was burnt.
Such a difference from when we ordered a couple of years ago. When I read the latest reviews, I thought that since they did such a great job then, that the reviews may not have been truthful. Be forewarned. unless you have no taste buds and a stomache of steel, stay away. I'm going to call them right now to pick up their garbage and ask for my money back.
Whoever their cook is, he should be fired or should go back to doing the dishes.
I have received bad service or bad product before, but this one takes the cake. I have NEVER EVER written a review before. The fact I am writing one reflects how bad this place really was. I hope you take the favor and go anywhere else. I should say though, the lady taking the order over the phone was nice. Thats they only thing good about this place besides the old fashioned pop in glass bottles. If i could rate this a zero star - I would.
I have been to this location of Memphis Blues and the Broadway Location. I have decided that I generally like to do take out at Memphis because I like the ambiance of my own home as much as the restaurant and since it is self serve anyway - what's the point of dining in LOL!
Anyways - onto my review.
I went in to get a Memphis Platter (just shy of $40). It includes pulled pork, ribs, brisket, sausage and a 1/2 cornish game hen. It comes with fries, potato salad, baked beans, cole slaw and corn bread.
The my order was put together very quickly (the meat is all pre-BBQ'd so it was just a matter of cutting and putting it into containers, same with the sides). I like the quickness of it as I can be out and on my way.
It was packaged well with the meat in an aluminum container and the sides in a separate bag and individually packed. It all transported home easily.
The meat was good. It is a little on the greasy side - but I enjoy the flavour. The sides are lacking though. The cole slaw is so so (I prefer White Spot style cole slaw which is crunchier and nicer flavour). The potato salad is meh (it is mushy). The beans are good - but they taste a little too much like the BBQ sauce (which is packed on the side as well). The best side is the cornbread. However - they only gave us three teeny tiny pieces of cornbread. Huh?? This platter was suppose to feed four people. Why would there be only THREE pieces of cornbread (and mini pieces at that)?
I would go again if they would be willing to give me this platter with only cornbread as the side (and I mean FOUR x 5 = 20 pieces of cornbread) to provide the cornbread as included and substitute for the other sides.
The next time I visit - I will make this request. I'll update my review then.
I took my wife to MB because we saw a review on TV. We started at the Broadway location, but the line was huge, so we drove to Commercial. Got seated right away. The staff were super, and the food was instantly ready. Unfortunately, my beef rib was WAY too long on the steam table before it got to me. The brisket was better. Alas, the "fixin's" that came with the meal were a huge disappointment. Like KFC sides from the 70's era. Even the BBQ sauce was nasty, and not in a good way. It was also crazy expensive for the level of food and the fact it was served on paper. Beer was pricey too. I really miss Fatso's in Kits. That place was groovy.
We ordered the Memphis Feast platter for $44.00, one lemonade and a water. Wow this place is expensive for what you get. Don't get me wrong, it IS a big platter, however the quality of the food is not. I really, really did not enjoy eating ANY of this and ended up getting a slice of pizza on the drive. I will say though my boyfriend loved it, maybe we have different tastes and expectations of food. I found all the meat tasted really old and it grossed me out. It had a 'frost'-bitten taste or something, just it wasn't right. You order at the till, which is fine but then they expect you to tip. Which I'm not cheap so I gave $5 bucks, thinking that at least the server walking around doing nothing would grab refills, ask how your doing, how the food is or if you needed to take anything to go...NOPE she just directs you to grab your own stuff...literally, we asked for my lemonade to be refilled and our water, she said, " you can get it yourself from the front". Later we asked if we could get the platter wrapped up to go, she said, "you can do it yourself, the boxes are at the front". It took us 10min, we wrapped up everything but needed a bag to it all in, we asked for one...you can guess what her answer was. We felt rushed too while packing as people were standing right beside our table staring at us waiting to sit. Then the server came over and was like "are you guys finished?" and started wiping the table. We couldn't even let the food digest. What a waste of any tip!
Went to Memphis Blues with some friends and ordered the Elvis Platter and it delivered. Great way to try out the various cuts of Southern barbeque cookery. From brisket to ribs it had it all. They have a unique system where you order at the counter and bring it all out when it is ready; it was very fast and efficient. Great value, atmosphere and means to test out southern barbeque. Just a warning that it probably isn't the spot to be if you're seeking vegetables, but I think most would have already figured that out.
Went here with my wife and friend yesterday. We ordered the Elvis Platter for the three of us. Yes, I know it was a bit too much for the 3 of us but our eyes were bigger than our stomachs. The pulled pork, brisket, ham, sausage, beans and potatoe salad were very good. They had a lot of flavour and was very moist. The roasted chicken, ribs, cornbread and coleslaw was not so good. The roasted chicken (or at least my half) was very dry and flavourless, the ribs were like leather, dry and tough. I believe that they let it sit in the oven too long or under the heat lamp. just to keep it warm The cornbread was barely edible. The coleslaw was just ok, I could only take a bite before I had to pass on it for something else. Overall it was ok, nothing to rave about. Maybe I was here on a off day, but i might give it a try again in the future.
I've only been here once, and it was a couple of years ago.
We ordered their second largest platter. At the time I found the food quite good. That's because I really love this style of food and it isn't that common around this city. Since our visit we've bought a slower cooker and I'd say we make tastier stuff than what we ate so now that I am spoiled I might knock the food down to 3 stars.
What kills this place for me is the service. Yeah you have to get it yourself. I really hate that and that pretty much rules us ever going back. Not that we don't want to, but when the wife and I are in the car heading out to eat, we always think of this place and ask each other if they want to be the one to go order the food, and we're like no, lets just go to earls. We are lazy and shy people and I expect to be served. We're just one step away from cooking it, and slow cooking is pretty damn easy so may as well do it at home. If they changed to having real service I'd go all the time. You could interpret their promised service as actually being pretty good that day as they did have some kind of person running around and she was friendly but I'll choose to say the non service is an issue in the hopes they change.
Ambience is pretty good as I like blues and the casual atmosphere.
If they had servers I'd give it a 4 overall but they don't so they get a 3.
I went here with three friends, less than the other time. I had a better and enjoyable dinner this time. I do come here for lunch sometime as work is very close for me.
Food: same as the other Memphis Blues. Better as there were less people and more food.
Service: The service here is much different. There wasn't a server when we came and we had to pay for our food before we even consumed it. The speed of preparing the order was the same as the Broadway location
Ambiance: There are MORE tables and MORE room. There wasn't a line up outside to be seated and we were seated in a few minutes.
I definately WILL return to this locations as it much better as in you don't have to sit so close to your neighbour.
This place is the best BBQ available in Vancouver! Perfectly seasoned, slow cooked BBQ that truly is well worth it. The prices are good, but the food is better. Now BBQ is a controversial topic, but if you only care about well prepared food - this is the place for you!
After reading some reviews for Memphis Blue, my boyfriend and I went to the commerical st location. We parked a block away and walked to the restaurant. The servers were really nice. I ordered the Combo plate and chose the ribs with the brisket with fries. Fries were delicious, ribs were a bit dry but I LOVED THE BRISKET! it's a must eat when you go there! My boyfriend had the rib ends (delicious) and chicken (kinda dry). Overall I would say the food was alright... portions were huge! and for $45 it was worth it. Definitely go back again... maybe we'll try a new location next time.
After being an avid review follower and reader of Vancouver Magazine, finally thought'd I'd give the place a try. It's just BBQ, how bad could it be? Bad! Bad! Bad! Must admit we were turned off right away by having to step over the food all over the floor just to place our order, but we forge ahead. (Actually had to ask the floor under and beside our table to be swept up so we could put our feet down comfortably). They are written up as having a decent wine list. (????) Seriously? Okay, so we "be a sport" and order 2 glasses of wine, which we have to pick up at the counter (????) and they are in small water/juice glasses. Come on! Can you not stock cheap wine glasses - here's a tip, don't offer wine! I will admit that this was when the husband came back from the till and asked me if I really wanted to stay. (Duly noted for next time - it was a strong recommendation, not a simple inquiry). Again, we decide to just go with it - the food must be fantastic to put up with the rest of the shortcomings. Food is served (Memphis platter), with about 5-6 meats, 4 "fixins", and not one single thing I couldn't cook better at home, with a blindfold on. Wait, wait, make that my 7 year old. Dry, tasteless and dismal at best. The final topper was using the restroom, that is beyond describing, it is so neglected. I am still wondering to this moment how they can pass the Vancouver Health Board inspections, just based on that alone. Gives me a very good insight to the cleanliness of the kitchen. Shame on them.
I had been to the Memphis Blues BBQ House on West Broadway a couple of years ago and remember that it was very good so on my suggestion me and three friends decided to try Memphis Blues On Commercial yesterday for lunch. It was just after 2pm, beautiful sunny day , found a spot outside on one of two picnic tables that they have , so far so good until the food came. We ordered the BBQ Meat Platter which for $35.00 is huge and more than enough for four. Problem is there is more moisture in the sands of the Mojave Desert in mid-August than found on that platter. Everything, save for the pulled pork which was covered in BBQ Sauce was dry. The ribs were so dry they could of been mistaken for jerky. The chicken had to be choked down with my glass of beer and the fries were simply crunchy and dry. As mentioned we sat down for lunch after 2pm on a Saturday, was everything in the oven or on the warming racks since noon, yesterday? A big disappointment in Memphis Blues. Seems like it may be a case of quantity over quality, sure you get a ton of food but if you can't eat half of it what is the point.
We shared a pitcher of beer, for 17.00 not bad however one of my friends decided to have a glass of their house red wine. At almost $9.00 for this glass and not even a proper wine glass , we all had a look of disbelief when he told us how much it cost. What is that all about? I still think the guy made a mistake at the till regardless we won't be rushing back to this Memphis Blues anytime soon to find out if he was overcharged. At this point I am still trying to wash down a chicken leg.
I don't like getting "sides" in little mini-cupettes, thank you. If it's a side, make it a side. The prices justify it. I would say something about the so-called wine served there, but I don't want to get a slander suit. Let's just say some of it is suspiciously (hint, hint) like homebrew.
My girlfriend and I took a drive down Commercial and found this BBQ place. We've heard good things about Memphis Blues so we decided to give it a try. We walked in and it looks like the set of The Dukes of Hazzard. It looked just like what you'd expect from a place called a BBQ house. The smell was mouth watering. You go up to the counter and order and pay as you would at McDonalds. Then you go find a seat and the guy behind the counter brings you the delicious meat. We ordered a sampler meat platter that contained BBQ'd Chicken, Bibs, Pulled Pork, Brisket, Sausage and sides of beans, fries, coleslaw, potato salad, and corn bread. The best things that stick out in my mind was the pulled pork, and brisket which was my favorite. Everything else tasted great too, but if you only choose one item pick the brisket. The platter was huge and looked like it was for a group of six for approx. $40. Great value and I felt meated out and had lunch for the next day. We had a great experience and will definitely be back when we're feeling carnivorous!
Checked out this place last Monday with a few friends. I didn't realize it was an "order at the counter" experience! I would compare it to a fancier McDonald's which serves Southern BBQ.
Food - I tried the pulled pork and it was great. The accompanied fries, cornbread and fixings were equally as tasty. Excellent value for money, clearly because the service is limited and you're basically given your order directly from the cook! Their brand of colas, ginger ale and soft-drinks also deserve a mention... not sure what it was, but it came in a classic glass bottle and was mighty tasty!
I'm pleased with my experience and would visit this place again. I would recommend this restaurant if you're in the mood for BBQ at a good value.
We went there last night, a Saturday night a little past 6:00pm and the small restaurant was full. There was about a 20 minute wait for a seat. It was a very uncomfortable wait as there is not much space at the entrance to stand and it felt very stuffy inside the restaurant due to lack of ventilation. We lined up to order the food like a fast food restaurant. I had a lemonade in which the cashier gives you a cup and you help yourself at the fridge where they store their other canned and bottled pops and juices. The lemonade is supposedly fresh, and it did taste okay. You're allowed one free refill. From the time we arrived there until we put food in our mouths was about over an hour. We were starving by then. I had a small pulled pork sandwich which was quite tasty but only with BBQ sauce on it. My partner had the full rack of ribs which turned out to be just okay. The meat was dry,flavourless and didn't quite fall of the bone as nice, quality ribs should. I don't think we'll be returning to this location.
| 1. | Broadway (5.1 km) |  |
| 2. | Hillcrest Village (31 km) |  |
| 3. | Surrey (32.9 km) | |
| 1. | Cafe du Soleil (18 m) | |
| 2. | Caffe Amici (20 m) | |
| 3. | Brado Pizza (30 m) | |
| 4. | Taste of Paradise (33 m) | |
| 5. | Paris Bakery (39 m) |  |
| 6. | Red Pagoda (43 m) | |
| 7. | Abruzzo Cappuccino Bar (44 m) | |
| 8. | 4 Brothers Pizza (50 m) | |
| 9. | Marcello Pizzeria (54 m) |  |
| 10. | Elizabeth's Hungarian Bakery (62 m) |  |
