Hill Country BBQ

Maybe … I went on a bad day. Drove here because of the reviews and rating but was disappointed with the bbq! The ribs were a bit overdone but taste was good - the brisket was dry and not a lot taste without the bbq sauce, the 2 sides were good. The atmosphere and the staff were great, the location has a lot of history, but with a 4.7 and $29 for a 2 meat plate …. I expected better. I’ll try them again on a better day, hopefully

If you're looking for the best BBQ in Texas, it's 5 minutes from the interstate and worth every second. My family and I were going back home and stopped in. We were immediately greeted by the most friendly staff imaginable, with smiles they made it seem as if we had been family. The owner even checked on us and made conversation. After talking for a minute, he brought a guitar out and played some songs for my kids. All in all, a very family-friendly spot, I would drive 3 hours to eat at any day. Here is to Hill Country BBQ and to years of more delicious BBQ to come. Thank you from my family and I.

Great little find between Hempstead and Navasota! The sausage is great and the ribs are super flavorful. Best side we got was the okra, which is fried to order! Definitely give it a try if you are driving by!

The best BBQ in Hempstead. You've got to get there early to get some of the best banana pudding I've ever had. We tried the baked potato with chopped brisket, a chopped brisket sandwich and okra, which was also some of the best I've had. A must try if you are in the area.

We enjoyed our lunch and even received a surprise. A gentleman grabbed his guitar and sang a song. It was an amazing experience.. We had no idea.

Such a great place! Brisket was great, a lot of meet, almost no fat. Omg, amazing! We also had beans, coleslaw and potato - all delicious. We highly recommend to visit this place!

Just stopped by quickly as it is right off the freeway. Very good sliced BBQ sandwich, potato salad and banana pudding. Service was great. They were beyond friendly here. Will come again.

I purchased the chopped brisket sandwich. It was really good, they beat my favorite BBQ place in flavor. The only thing I would have preferred would have been to have the BBQ sauce kept nice and warm. Ambiance was great also.

Good BBQ here. Country feel and cozy. Grandpa's BBQ. The old Skool way. Friendly service and good taste. You can smell the smoky pits burning.

We went to Retreat Hill to enjoy the Bluebonnets and went to Hill Country Barbeque for lunch. Upon entering, you are greeted by a grizzly bear. There are lot of photographs along the wall of cowboys and bull riding action shots. Thought that was cool. It was not busy when we arrived and went straight to the counter up front. We ordered the family pack consisted of slices of brisket and sausages and side of fried okra and coleslaw. The brisket and sausages were decent for the price. It was not melt on your mouth tender but was also not chewy with plenty of fat. The fried okra was great... newly fried and crispy! Highly recommend as a side. Coleslaw was tasty... not a big fan of coleslaw overall but my liked it. The fountain soda was a little old as water was dripping on the side as I was filling up my Diet Coke. Place is clean. Containers are disposable including utensils so it's easy to cleanup after yourself. Glad we tried it. Lots of locals eating there which is a good sign. They have a pool table and stage in the other room.

The customer service was amazing... I was greeted before the front door closed behind me. I ordered a brisket sandwich and the owner said I think you're going to want more than a sandwich when I let you try this brisket!! Well he was a 100% correct!!! The brisket was so flavorful and moist I ordered a pound of it to go and once I got back to Dallas I was already regretting not getting more!! I'm so glad I finally had a chance to give this place a try.

My husband and I decided to stop at Hill Country BBQ for dinner while on the road. We parked, walked in, and went to order our meal. The woman at the register was friendly and asked us what we would like. I ordered a BBQ brisket sandwich, and to share with my husband I ordered a side of okra, a side of potato salad, banana pudding, and strawberry shortcake. The brisket was good and the meat cut was thick. The sandwich was good with the BBQ sauce, pickles and onions adding a little flavor. The okra was crispy. The potato salad had large pieces of potato with a mustard flavor. It reminded me of the potato salad I grew up eating. The strawberry shortcake and banana pudding were a nice sweet treat to finish the meal. The strawberry shortcake was not overly sweet, and the cake was light. The banana pudding was sweet and the vanilla wafers mixed into the pudding gave it added texture. My husband and I agreed that it tasted like home cooking. The restaurant was kind of dark. There were pictures spread throughout the walls. There was a decent sized dining area with tables and chairs. It's a local BBQ place with an interesting atmosphere. We will probably return when driving through the area.

The location is a tad difficult to get into only because if you miss the entrance it's a long U-turn and you better smash that gas pedal coming southbound. Walk up to the front right, you order, pay and then seat yourself. Silverware is in the front. We got the family dinner that included ribs, 2 large sides, brisket and sausage. Great smoked taste you don't need sauce. Brisket was real moist even next day nuked in the microwave. They play the local country station at the front door on radio area. The parking situation is half pavement and half dirt. They have some nice patrons there; the The only thing I think that could use improvement is the drink selection. Refill that fridge or tube up that soda fountain more. Bathrooms are pretty gross- you should definitely hold it for some other area. I'd still come back and order other things on the menu I missed out on. This is a place for the brisket and ribs in my opinion. The sides are alright. Complementary but not drop dead awesome. Keep it up.

BBQ was ok (chopped beef sandwich and rib sandwich); a bit fatty but flavorful. Bathrooms were not serviced. Sides (potato salad and. Baked beans) were small portions and average taste.

Damn good brisket. Stopped on way home for 2# takeout brisket (mixed lean & moist). Outstanding. Excellent service on a drizzly Mother's Day.

Great barbecue it was not busy when we came in was early afternoon I believe. Enjoyed the food we ordered. Good atmosphere the waitress is good, but she did not come around often.

The only part of my lunch that had any flavor at all was the Mac and cheese to call this Texas bbq is an insult

The brisket was amazing!!! Some of the BEST bbq I've ever had hands down!! So glad I saw it and turned around to try it!!

Food was amazing! We got a potato w/ brisket and a side of sausage, and a brisket w/ sausage combo, we also got a large Mac and cheese and a large French fry, French fries were a tad greasy but so worth it I love the long cut fries they have. We spent around $50 could have fed 4 people with the amount of food we got! Service was very friendly made sure we had everything we wanted and when we were ready to leave made sure we had a bag to carry our leftovers out. Ambiance was fun, rustic and friendly.

This place is LEGIT! The pit master was welcoming and friendly the moment we walked in the door. The brisket was moist and flavorful! The ribs and sausage were delicious! The potato salad, beans & mac & cheese were amazing!!! This is a MUST stop if you are in the area...if not, it's worth the drive!

I believe the brisket and sausage plate I had was good a few days ago. The beans seem to be canned "pork and beans". I potato salad was left over baked potatoes cut into large chunks. I've never had dry potato salad before coming here. Definitely not the worth twenty+dollars I spent. Will not be back. They get a star for having bbq sauce to moisten everything.

Stopped here on the way to Waco and thanks to Yelp, we had great BBQ in a small town, mingled with the locals and enjoyed the rustic country charm. Lots to look at as you wait - small town memorabilia and snapshots of local events. We each ordered a meat plate with sides (mac and cheese and cole slaw) and quickly realized that the portions here are huge and our stomachs.... sadly too small, lol. The BBQ was great -well seasoned and what I'd expect for Texas BBQ. The sides were average but hey, we stopped for the BBQ - it is the star after all. The owner, Dan, is a kind man and quietly brought us a slice of German chocolate cake to share... suddenly, our stomachs were okay for a few more bites! We enjoyed our quick stop in and left happy.

We came here on an off time and there was no wait. I think it was 2pm on a Saturday. We didn't know what to get so we got a sampler of all their meats. Typically I'm a brisket and ribs guy, but their chicken and sausage were so so good. Probably the best chicken I've had from a bbq joint. Definitely our two favorite meats. Their fries were ok: not super crispy, but fresh. I could see live music here being a great time. Everyone working their was friendly as well. It's a yes for me. I can't have dairy so can't speak on the macaroni and cheese. Overall, we had a great experience and highly recommend a stop here if you're in the area!

Stopped in to say howdy!! Glad we did too! Got some ribs, brisket, beans and Mac n cheese! Ribs are fall off the bone tender! Delicious! The brisket is tender with a nice smoke ring. FlavorFUL! Beans are almost there. A little more flavor and smoke would be awesome-er even though their awesome Mac n cheese is rarely attractive for me but this is good stuff! Oh and my son killed the banana pudding! He says it's awesome too! I've used the word awesome enough! Simple bbq - BIG FLAVOR! I'd stop in again! You should too!

OK barbecue, it's got a nice smoky flavor but it doesn't have that brisket crust that most really good Texas barbecue has. Great country interior barbecue feel. Not great barbecue not bad barbecue just OK barbecue.

This was our first time having Texas BBQ and I am so happy this was our first experience. Very cool on the inside. We had the chopped beef sandwich, sliced beef sandwich, loaded potato, and were given two ribs. The owner was so kind and made sure we had a great lunch. Highly recommended.

Nice little hidden gem. Had the ribs, okra and banana puddin. Goodness gracious was it delicious!! We'll definitely be back

I have something special for you When in Hempstead with nothing to do Forget Roast Beef from Arby And instead take your Barbie For some Hill Country BBQ! I kind of want to give this place a 4-star rating, because while we didn't love the barbecue, we didn't really hate it either. It was not bad. Somewhere between a 3 and a 4 but I would usually definitely round up to 4 considering it's a little family-owned place in the middle of nowhere on the roadside, and they make a good effort with their decor and advertising and whatnot. But then there's a little problem. Like a couple of others, we had pretty awful service here, to the extent which I would say we were treated pretty badly - some of the worst service we had on the trip which included a good 100 or so places in College Station Austin San Marcos and San Antonio. I know Barbie came in dressed like a porn star, but we were the only customers in the place for the entire 20 mins we were here, and the girl behind the counter could not hide her disdain for my Bae, and to a lesser degree (perhaps by association), for me. Top notch owners would say "oh sorry for the attitude received, I'll have a word", but this dude (judging by other responses) prefers "it never happened, everyone loves us, you're full of sh**" type responses (to paraphrase). It's out in the rural areas between College Station and Houston so we thought the service would be great, or at least warm or friendly, but nah. It's in a tiny little town but the girl glared at Barbie, barely said a word, and didn't appreciate us asking questions about what was more popular and what we should order. Prices aren't cheap but then a lot of barbecue places are like that, so that wasn't the issue. I noticed many, many 5 star reviews (on here and google) by people who have almost no other reviews, and use the same spelling mistakes and punctuation errors and unique phrases. Not to mention, the owner keeps getting mentioned in so many of those curious 5-star reviews. Fake reviews don't put me off a place, but when you combine that with the owner getting overly defensive over people giving honest bad reviews (I assume honest because we had such a similar bad experience), you get the idea. I mean the owner's name is mentioned more than almost any of the food types on Yelp. And for a tiny town place with not too much media coverage to get over a hundred reviews on Yelp and over a thousand views on Google is odd. Especially with so many places that have been in business longer, get way more traffic, are more popular, with maybe 6 reviews on Yelp and 30 reviews on Google. So you can draw your own conclusions. If it wasn't for the service and those factors I would probably give at least a 4-star. Ironically, I deduct a star for the social media behaviour (in part), which will probably lead to me getting my own defensive message, which will probably lead to me lowering the star rating. But let's not count our chickens, or our cows in this case.

You are greeted by the smell of old grease. The brisket tastes like gas. There is no smoke / bbq smell or taste in anything. The ribs did not take my breath away but they did take away any moisture I had in my mouth. The person behind the counter was friendly enough.

We were on our way to Llano to eat at Cooper's but found ourselves unable to make it by closing time since it was a 4 hour drive, so we decided to eat at Cooper's in College Station instead. On the way we passed Hill Country BBQ and trusting the Yelp rating decided to give it a try instead. BIG mistake! Not a good plate experience at all! We had sliced beef, sausage, ribs, potato salad, beans and bread. The best thing on the plate was the bread followed by the potato salad. The beef was tasteless, too fatty and had no smoke ring. I hate to be negative, but we have cooked a better brisket on the Traeger. Unfortunately, we had to order to-go because of COVID-19, but the girl taking our order had the personality of a tree stump. I would advise anyone considering this place to keep driving.

Great food that was bountiful! Very attentive staff. The decor gave us a real hill country experience! Memorabilia was fun to look at.

Very nice atmosphere and the food is good old fashioned BBQ. My family and I came across this restaurant while traveling to Santa's Wonderland and have made it a point to stop by every time we go now. The gentleman who hangs around the front is very nice and invites you to try food out before you order. Got to talking with him about some of the duck mounts he has in the restaurant. Nice people, great food, and the classic country music playing on the little stereo out front reminded me of my grandmas kitchen where she would have a little stereo going the same way! Look forward to the next time.

Great BBQ, Great service, Great People. Have never had a meal I wasn't happy with here. Get the half chicken half beef sandwich

Drove out to Hill Country BBQ over the weekend (just a 30 minute drive) and boy was it worth it?!! This place is quaint and has a pure Texas vibe to it. I ordered the loaded potato with brisket and Barbara Bush banana pudding and my husband ordered brisket, sausage, and potato salad. Everything was absolutely amazing! Wow. How did we not know about this place before?? I have to add, though, that the banana pudding was probably THE best I have EVER had in my life. Service was superb and the regular customers were friendly and welcoming. Their decor has tons of historical rodeo photos and they pay homage to the Bush family. Super cool place!

Checked reviews here before I stopped in to try it out. locally owned and not a chain so its gotta be good? Nice very old town country style and feel here. Service and staff very friendly A+ Had the brisket moist/sausage plate w/green beans and a drink. $17++ not including tip little pricey yes Honestly was a little disappointed in the brisket, wasn't hot, plain nothing to rave about no flavor but the sausage was pretty good, beans were soggy and falling apart then again it was 2:30pm so maybe wasn't the freshest. There were flies around my table too so... I don't think I'll be returning.

Convenient location. Great service!!! Good food. Will be eating here again!!! Recommended

After seeing 4.9 stars we went out of our way to check it out. When we walked in there was a guy singing and playing guitar. Off to a great start. But the food disappointed us... my sausage sandwich was cold. Mac and cheese was cold and was more like soup..VERY watery. Not cheesy or creamy at all. My friend said his beans were good and sliced beef sandwich was ok, far from great. Sorry for the bad news!

The food and the service was amazing. we will definitely make the hour drive again. They are very tentative and super friendly.

i had the chopped beef sandwich and it was delicious! it was loaded with meat and was so juicy I needed a fork by the end. the owner was so nice. put this one on your list!

Do yourself a favor and go somewhere else. The food is average. The services are horrible! Two girls, one at the counter and one chopping, both are down right ugly (attitude!) They greet and smile at everyone in there except for us. They ignore me when i tried to pay instead fixing their very very old cash register. The owner is encouraging everyone to give him a good word on google but ignored us when he walk by our table (multiple times) Husband ordered lean chopped brisket sandwich, all come fat trimming and burnt stuff?!? I order brisket and sausage, come out average! Very uncomfortable place! Read the reply, apparently they need both bbq sauce lession and southern etiquette. FAIL!

What great BBQ! Chopped beef and sliced beef sandwiches were huge and delicious. Ordered more BBQ to take home. Definitely will stop again!

Man o man. This is simply fantastic barbecue! Little place in the side of the road and the friendliest people ever! Fresh food and fantastic experience!

Great food, friendly staff, good portions. I would give a 10 if available. Nice rustic appearance. Down home BBQ

My husband happened upon Hill Country BBQ when working in the area last year. He then went two more times and hasn't stopped raving about it since then! Flash forward to this week when we are both in Houston for work. He insisted we drive over an hour out to Hill Country BBQ for lunch and...IT WAS TOTALLY WORTH IT!! The smoke flavor was amazing...barbecue sauce was delicious...sausage had just enough spice and most importantly to me they had delicious Mac n cheese! As a couple we can't recommend it enough here! Food is amazing, generous portions and they are so friendly they recognized my husband from when he came here last year!

Justbatopped and had an awesome meal on our way to College Station. We ordered chopped beef sandwiches to eat on the road, and they smelled so good we decided to eat there. Awesome beef- the balance of smoke and rub was great- and the blend of bark and fat in the meat could not have been better. We will be starting a new tradition while driving his way!

Expensive, but nice small mom and pop atmosphere. Brisket was a bit dry. Sides were good!

One of the most unique places with very good barbecue. The owners are very friendly. Definitely stop in.

Great BBQ , brisket was good - family pack was good for 2 adults and a child . $30. Worth the stop very country !

The most bizarre dining experience my husband and I have ever had. Like we were in a David Lynch movie. We came for the reviews as we traveled through town. The place itself is a typical TX BBQ joint. Animals on the wall, old photos. That's where the normalcy ended and the oddities began. The interactions with the wait staff...like they were prisoners that had resigned themselves to this BBQ lot in life. There was no banter, no talking, no warmth. Complete silence other than when taking orders. We almost wondered if some tragedy had happened right before we walked in the door. Somber, unfriendly. Like we had walked into a private conversation they had to put aside to take out orders and go back to work until we were gone. The food was a solid 2 stars.

Good bbq great sauce good price had brisket and ribs both were delicious. Definitely get the fried okra it was awesome. Very quiet nice atmosphere

This place is a great dive for BBQ, but it is hard to find. It is below the highway and difficult to see. The decor is really rustic and wonderful if you like corrugated aluminum siding! the ribs are good ( I ordered them) and my wife and daughter got the brisket place which was a lot of meat and very tender. The BBQ sauce was Carolina style (less sweet and more vinegar) which I love. The fries were excellent and I tasted the potato salad my daughter said was great and I can confirm. They had a room with a stage that was closed when we were there but it looks like it could hold a huge party. Recommend!

Let me say the food is pretty good! The Owner is rude, arrogant and just not nice! When he takes a phone order he's manners are less than friendly. When you go inside he absolutely as rude as he is on the phone. Staff has no customer service skills either. Although the food is good they are pricey and not worth my hard earned money! Try First Class BBQ as alternative.

Best bbq and hospitality I've hard around here. Right out of Hempstead on hwy 6 N. It was President George Bush Sr.'s favorite bbq restaurant. Him and Barbara stopped there every time they went to College Station.

Excellent food and good music! We just followed the signs for great BBQ. Wow I don't know who was singing and playing but we loved the entertainment. Thank you!

This place does very good brisket (doesn't even need sauce), spicy cheddar sausage, & banana pudding. But I am also a fan of their 1.5" thick pork chop plate & pork ribs. I also enjoy their "ranch potatoes" which is mashed potatoes mixed with bacon and cheese and other assorted spices - pretty good. Oh! Gotta mention their spicy BBQ sauce: ask for it! Mmm mmm PS - I rarely give 5 stars, so 4 stars is usually my most pleased rating. A place must be 'supurb' and leave me in awe for me to dish out a fifth star, so don't let the 4 stars fool you... go taste their goodness.

Meh, I guess after trying pecan lodge in Dallas and franklins in Austin this place left a lot to desire with their brisket.

Brisket was perfect!! Moist but not dripping. Sausage had a little kick. BBQ sauce was excellent!! My son loved the Mac and cheese. Staff was friendly and helpful. Small inside but enough seating to work. Stop by next time you are passing bye. You won't be sorry!