Bird Dog Pit BBQ

I was visiting the Austin area from the SF Bay Area, CA and looking for the perfect place to eat “Texas BBQ” that my colleague highly recommended. I enjoy supporting family owned and operated businesses. I chose Bird Dog Pit BBQ because it was a short drive from my hotel. As I was waiting to order, I overheard the sweet story of Rudy Rivera, Founder and Pit Master and how he had acquired “one of Austins oldest and most cherished brick-pits” and his commitment to continue and build upon the traditions of this business with his passion for BBQ. The BBQ Brisket plate with 2 sides was absolutely delicious! Thank you to Rudy, Johnny, Kati and Sergio for exceeding my expectations of Texas BBQ! I highly recommend a visit for lunch or dinner!

Great newly reopened local barbecue spot! Homey/cozy interior, plus a pleasant back patio. Family favorites were the brisket (rich bark and classic flavor), jalapeno cheese sausage, and green beans. Makes a good to-go combo with Pinthouse beer from next door, or for dining in away from the pizza crowd. Glad they are keeping Austin weird with local small business.

The two gentlemen serving up the delicious meals were efficient and extremely kind. The mac & cheese had a little kick, which was a nice surprise. The brisket is absolutely amazing! Customer can choose between a fatty part or lean part. The atmosphere is adorable in a country decor. Old country music playing (not too loudly). Felt like Sunday lunch at grandmas house with a fantastic meal.

This was incredible! One other group in there with us at lunchtime. I don’t get it—it was phenomenal! The decor was gorgeous and the food even better. The brisket was lean AND tender! The hatch chile mac n cheese was amazing and coleslaw was nice and light and fresh. Highly recommend!

The ambiance here is so cozy and wonderful. The food is super yummy too- we especially liked the ribs and the hatch chili Mac and cheese. Their house bbq sauce was great too- light and sweet. Adds to the flavors but doesn’t take away from the great base flavors of the meats. Johnny was wonderful and took his time telling us about the history of the place. We will be back!

I'm not sure why I've never stopped here. That was my mistake! This place is awesome, quick, reasonable and delicious! Their brisket was falling apart. Their beans were delicious and the Hatch Macaroni and cheese was soooo good! Very reasonable priced I had a brisket plate with two sides, two slices of bread, pickles and onions and barbecue sauce for less than $20. They do have local craft beer options. I was having lunch so no beer today.

It’s surprisingly hard to find a bbq place open on Mondays. Bird dog was a quaint place that has delicious and juicy bbq offerings. You can’t go wrong with the brisket, ribs, mac and cheese and coleslaw. I would say pass on the potato salad. They were alright but others options are likely better.

I personally thought it was a bit pricy for what you got. The ribs were a bit dry compared to other spots I’ve been too. The brisket wasn’t bad but also not the best I’ve had. The sides tasted like they’ve been sitting out a little too long and the BBQ sauce was a bit thin for my liking. The patio and inside decorations were nice. Overall, not my favorite BBQ spot.

Correction to my prior review. The sausage is from Miller's in Llano. It's my favorite around Austin. My last few visits have been great and so upgrading my score to four stars.

This is new management taking over the old Big O's Pit BBQ on Burnet Rd and adding their own touches. They are not very good BBQ cooks. Brisket had almost no smoke to it. It was salty but other than that, it was just a slab of boring meat. The BBQ sauce did little and wasn't much help. Spicy Jalapeno Sausage was hot but not tasty. Big O's was not wonderful but it could be okay for lunch. This is a step backwards. Save your money and go elsewhere.

I had the chopped beef sandwich with coleslaw and iced tea. Service was friendly and fast, which was great since I had a short lunch. I ate every bite of my food and will return!

We bought to go order of the chopped brisket sandwich, chili mac n cheese, plain sausage and cheddar sausage. First is the bread is really old and hard. The chopped brisket is super salty as well as the sausages. It is not a fun experience eating it flavor is overwhelming and did not enjoy it. The mac n cheese is interesting but not that special other.

The staff is very friendly. Some people may love this little place, but its BBQ was not for us. 5 of us came here for lunch and I ordered an extra meal for my husband. I love BBQ and I wish I could have loved theirs. I just didn't care for the flavor of the beans or the BBQ sauce.

Super cool historical building having always been a bbq place. Also considering how any decades it's been the home for restaurants it was spotless.

Been going here since it was The Pit. Was always decent. Became Big O's.. Was a Hit or Miss.. Trted today. Chopped Beef tasted like yesterdays Brisket. Sliced beef tasted the same. Asked for Moist for the Sandwich. It was Dry.....

I ate there today, had the 1/4 chicken and a pork rib. Food was great, both the chicken and rib were well seasoned and tender but not mushy like some BBQ restaurants make it. Crew up front is great, I was impressed and will be back

We pre-ordered a whole (15 pound) smoked turkey from Bird Dog for Thanksgiving. I have to say that was the moistest, tender-est, tastiest turkey meat I have ever had. Everyone was really impressed by the meat, and even dark meat loivers had some of the breast meat, it was so moist and tast. I'm a fan of their everyday BBQ, but this was a level above. Great job!

Not good. Had a brisket sandwich and a baked potato. The brisket was overcooked and dry and seemed to be sitting for a long time and the baked potato had a weird taste too it. Would not recommend.

Our brisket was cooked to perfection and the sauce served with it enhanced the taste even more. Great pintos, too! We had our order delivered within the promised time period.

The BBQ and sides are GREAT! Some friends and I eat there often. I haven't seen any difference in the quality of the BBQ since the new management took over. One of the things that makes this a REAL BBQ joint is that the ambiance is not frou-frou; it's simple and clean.