Papa Turney's Old Fashion BBQ

this is a very cool place. the ambiance and decor are awesome. the blues band we watched were great. the food was good. not badly priced. our waitress was very cool and explained everything to us. if I had one thing to say that could be better...go to fountain drinks. otherwise for our first time we had a great time.

Fun place to check out and the BBQ is some of the best we’ve had. The ribs were SO good. The owners are so welcoming. Live Blues music was great! See attached photo of my family with the owners. Great food had and memories made at a place like this.

I'm not one to give praise very easy, this BBQ restaurant has set the bar very high! The rib meat falls off the bone and is juicy. The beans have great flavor and my kids gobbled it up. The Mac n Cheese satisfied my pickiest of eaters and we greatly enjoyed chatting with the owner Mr. Turney himself! Beautiful views, comfortable environment, inviting hosts, this experience truly can not be beat. Thank you so much for turning our return trip from SC to AR that much better for our family!

What a gem we found. We walked in and had live jazz music to greet us on a Friday night. We ordered the ribs and fried catfish plates. Both were perfect and delicious. We received both asks will be back to try other items. Everything tasted really fresh. I have not had really good fried catfish (grew up in Texas) in quite a while and was so excited to find a place who knows how to do it right!

Came for lunch. Overlooks marina and ate on the outdoor porch. The man at the counter was very helpful to us newbies. Wife said the fried catfish was the best she has had. I had a brisket sandwich which was good. Overall I would rate the meal a 4.5.

Best BBQ ! What a gem Found this by accident staying at the adjacent campground. The owner was quite gracious... Blues band amazing… food soooo good… Sweet and savory cabbage.. tender Smokey BBQ and sweet coleslaw… Highly recommend..

The description tells no lies when the owner states once you visit you are family. My husband and I visited from Wisconsin and that’s exactly how we were treated like family. The food was fabulous. Some of the best we have ever eaten. Crooked eye, Tommy and fellas, including the owner where the band playing and they were very enjoyable. It was a a great time. Will definitely drive the eight hours to come back.

We were visiting from Kansas City for the Queens concert and so happened upon this wonderful establishment! The owner greeted my daughter and myself personally and welcomed us! We were both pleasantly surprised of the beauty of the area, the food, and the whole vibe of the place! Thank you for such a wonderful experience!

This was the best bbq food I've ever had!! Owner was super sweet and gave us great recommendations on what to order. 10/10 would recommend and would definitely come back!!

Great BBQ!! Great view as it sits on the bands of the lake. Owner is an awesome guy!!!

We wanted to try something new and we found Papa Turneys restaurant . our family meets in Nashville as a halfway point, an hours drive for us all . It was definitely worth the drive! So glad we went ! the food is delicious . Best BBQ you'll eat. The catfish is very good . They are very welcoming and friendly . Beautiful view as it is at the lake . This Will definitely be one of our meeting places from now on . We're just sorry we missed the live music . Next time !

The live music is great and the ambiance and views are breathtaking. Food is great also but the best of all was having the owners greet you and making you feel like welcome

We found this place on Yelp upon our arrival to the Nashville airport as we needed a quick bite. Upon entering about 30 min before closing we were so graciously welcomed by a gentleman who identified himself as the owner and I feel terrible I can't quite remember his name. So, upon entering we were so welcomed! We ordered and the food was delivered quickly and it definitely did NOT disappoint!! We had the pulled pork and brisket sandwich's, coleslaw, potato salad and Mac and cheese. The food came out hot and delicious!! We would definitely return again to this off the beaten path place with great live music and the friendliest staff.

First time trying ribs just fall apart pulled pork is juicy and delicious turnip greens are perfect potato salad is solid

Definitely do not recommend. My coworker and I decided to meet here for lunch so we could sit out on the water. That was the only nice part. When we walked in, we were not greeted. There was a guy sitting behind the counter, watching videos or movies on his phone or something. I proceeded to order and was told they're out of what I wanted so I got pulled chicken. My coworker then proceeded to order, and he was told they were out of what he wanted also. It would be most helpful if you could tell customers what you are out of when they walk up, or maybe hang a sign. This gentleman was not friendly or inviting at all. We finally got our food and it was brought out into boxes for some reason. We sat outside and ate our food, I got up to go in to get sauces, they have about 25 sauce bottles inside, and they are almost all completely empty. The food does not have flavor, and I'm 99% sure that my chicken was cooked in a crockpot, not barbecued or cooked on a smoker. Luckily, the food was cheap since it was not good at all. I will not be back here. Next time I am looking to have lunch on the water I will return to shipwreck Marina.

Fabulous catfish, bbq and wings. Excellent live music. On the waterfront. Cozy place with a great vibe. Close seating and LOUD. Not a place to have a conversation. lol. Come for the food and music. Food served quickly. Order at the counter and brought to the table. Canned beverages. Nothing fancy.

Everything Mac was dry , hot link sausages was boiled not cool,nachos were very skimpy on meat no sour cream just awful guys sorry but will not be going back!!!!!

Great BBQ and sides, relaxing patio on the water, friendly people. Try the smoked catfish or the pork. Mac and cheese was good too. I wish we had been there for the blues.

The views from this place is absolutely amazing! I got the pulled pork sandwich combo..it was ok! I got slaw and baked beans with it and they were just ok also!

This was the best BBQ I have ever had!!!! Pulled pork sandwich was incredible and the staff was great!

I've been considering telling no one about this place because I hate it when a legitimately awesome small business in Nashville becomes just another tourist trap. But you know what? That's just selfish. So I'm not going to hold anything back. I don't care if you're a local or a tourist. You MUST come here if you're in Nashville, Hermitage, or any surrounding suburb. This place is the opposite of a faddish tourist trap. This place is REAL. Real Southern soul food. Real Southern hospitality. And real MUSIC. They've got live blues music here every night at Miss Zeke's Juke Joint. Miss Zeke's is Papa Turney's wife. If you love the blues, you have to come here. It's one of three blues clubs in the Nashville area. B. B. King's downtown (I don't care for that place, half the music isn't actually blues anyway), Bourbon Street Blues (actually a really nice blues club, but you still have to deal with downtown traffic, parking, and a cover charge), and then this place. No cover, but you can support the business by buying food and drinks, and always bring cash to tip the band! I know this place advertises their BBQ, hence their name, and their barbecue is nice, but that's not the best thing IMO. Food-wise, I love their chess pies! Miss Zeke makes them from scratch, and you can pick them up right at the counter--no need to wait. I also really love their turnip greens--so savory--and if you do want to go the BBQ route, I really dig their flamin' hot chicken (I think that's what they call it). It isn't Nashville hot chicken like I thought when I first went. No, it's actual BBQ chicken, but with some hot seasonings and sauce on it. It's my favorite thing they have BBQ-wise. Oh, and don't forget their lemonade! It's wonderful. I'm assuming it's homemade and freshly squeezed because it tastes like it, but don't quote me on that. The blues music can't be beat. Papa Turney himself plays the guitar and sings with the band. It's real, down home blues music. Saturday nights they have an open mic jam session. If you sing or play blues, come on out and bring your instrument, and they'll let you play. But my favorite night to go is the third Thursday of every month--blues dance night! It just started this month. All of the local Nashville blues dancers, myself included, go out and dance to Papa Turney's music. They even move the middle table for us. It's great. Papa Turney and Miss Zeke are such great people too. Turney will always come and welcome you there and thank you for coming. His ability to run the business, play the music, and greet the customers all in the same night is pretty amazing IMO. This place is the epitome of a locally-run, , family friendly, quality, Southern business. There's literally no reason NOT to come here. It's out in the middle of the boonies, nowhere near all the downtown tourist traps. So make sure to bring your GPS, or you'll get lost on the winding roads! But then you'll see the house on the lake, and that's when you're there. It's perfect. They even serve catfish that I'm assuming they catch from that lake. I haven't tried the fish though; I'm addicted to that spicy BBQ chicken with turnip greens. Okay, I'm out of compliments. Just come here, okay? You'll never forget it, and you'll want to come back all the time.

Good food, great service, friendly staff and patrons. The live music was great as well.

Catfish was amazing and we sat outside by the lake. We had about an hour before we had to pickup family at the airport and this place was perfect

Food was great, especially the pork bbq sandwich. Service was excellent. Very friendly staff. Highly recommend.

So my husband has gifted me a vacation to Nashville for my birthday, my husband has done everything to make sure that I get the right food or there's gonna be some problems (we're foodies). We traveled to Broadway today to visit the Country Music Hall of Fame. Ok stick with me here it might be a long message but worth it. We had breakfast at our hotel something light, then headed to broadway as I explained up top. The event/Tour was scheduled for 2pm. So we eat at a place called Baja taco (inside the CMHF) the worst experience and the worst food don't eat there I had a quesadilla because you can't possibly mess cheese and chicken but they did the nastiest ever. Wawa sells better! Ok my husband get 2 tacos yuck one chicken one fish (cod) the most driest thing ever and the worst part the no flavor. Ok we continue with our tours and the end is near. Well everything comes to an end of course. It's 5pm I'm hungry my husband said you feel like eating dinner I express how hungry I am. Ok now we are headed to the hotel and my husband said let's go eat at the restaurant I talked about this morning in the water. (By the Marina) location Hermitage I said ok I'll give it a try after the debacle in Broadway! We get to Papa Turney's and was treated immediately upon entering the establishment I tell you from beginning to end it was the most heartfelt hospitality you could ask for from a mom/pop restaurant. Menu.... 1/2 rack rib fall off the bone, Mac & Cheese so creamy! Turnip greens flavor that will make you want to ask for more, grilled cabbage of course the flavor was so good that we asked for more, the baked beans OH MY WORD...... Listen we spent $65 in broadway for the worst and spent $45 at Papa Turney's and I would have given them the $65 with pleasure. The morale of the story is find your 5 star restaurants before spending your money on a place you couldn't even get 1 star for. Papa and Mama Turney I'll be back. Thank you for the best experience In Tennessee.

This review is based on just the food. Service was good. The guy at the register helped us pick from the menu, answered our questions and took our order quickly Sat outside at a corner table overlooking the water. The food was flavorless. I really wanted to like this place but it was just bland. I added salt to everything but it was just not worth even eating. I got the 3 meat combo They come in bread buns... not even toasted or with some Mayo... just plain dry, out the bag buns -.- My order came with: -ribs -brisket -pork All bland and flavorless Side: Mac n cheese Not even the cheese had flavor it was just so sad. Everything came out in styrofoam to-go containers and it just made the entire thing feel childish.

Well I got the grilled catfish. It was fabulous. I didn't even know the place was existed . I was working across the cove and was starving. Drove over to see what was at the marina. I'm glad I did. Very friendly folks and good choice of food. He even gave me a glass of sweet tea for free. Only thing missing was a choice of cornbread. None. I tried a BBQ sandwich for free and their chess pie. It was undercooked but tasty. I'm looking forward to visiting on a Thursday for the live music! The place had a cool blues feeling too it.

My son lived out a Pepto Bismal commercial this morning after we ate Papa turneys last night.

Fish and brisket were very good. Ribs were greasy and very fatty. Liked the atmosphere. Very nice people who work there. They explained the menu and gave recommendations.

Great atmosphere and great food. I've had a few different plates and it's always delicious. Staff is always friendly and willing to recommend something if you can't decide

A small quaint venue with fresh BBQ! Just don't come for the food, visit for the band too! Plenty of photos to check out on the walls. Clean and friendly. I had some awesome pulled pork, which I never eat but was glad I tried it! Cooked well, Mac and cheese was filling and tasty! Very good Cole Slaw! Will Definitely return. This is a place to visit! Located at the Nashville Shores Marina, Bell Road, Hermitage, TN! Channel 5 news in Nashville did a story on Papa Turney's and recognized it as the Last Real Old South Juke Joint around. Great Job Papa Turneys! All Love to you my new "family" members!

Went there based on reviews but I have NO IDEA how they have such good reviews! We ordered 2 family packs. The employees acted like they'd never taken such a a large order. Our ribs looked and tasted like they were boiled . Not good. No flavor, definitely NOT smoked... Pulled pork was great. Sides were awful. Mac n cheese tasted old and dry. Family pack supposed to come with pie. They had no pie so we got some sort of cake. It was hard as a rock and dry. Not somewhere I would go again.

Food wasn't great, wings tasted more boiled than smoked. Limited selection of beverages as well and no ranch or blue cheese for the wings. There was a nice view, no wait and nice staff. Maybe order the Bbq and you'll have a better experience.

We went to see the Hermitage and decided to have b-b-q for dinner. We wanted something local rather than go back to downtown Nashville. We did good. We were greeted by music from Scott Ramminger. It was great. He and his band played the blues. Everyone was friendly. The owner came over to see how we liked our food. The cook also checked and brought as some ribs to try. We were lucky to come in when they were not busy. We were also lucky to come when they had turkey legs. The meat was all delicious and tender. The turkey fell off the bone. The hot link was excellent, nicely spiced. The ribs were juicy. The coleslaw was home made, chopped not shredded. The sweet tea and lemonade satisfied our thirst. Chess pie rounded off our meal. Thank you all for making us feel so welcome and the great food.

Super fun place, great sides, excellent catfish. Definitely will come back again - conveniently located. Friendly staff, right on the water.

Great find! The owner plays in the band and the music is great (Blues) Food was outstanding! Between the three of us we had a big selection of the BBQ items and all cooked to perfections. The baked beans were about the best I have had..

Wow, my first experience of smoked catfish, and Nashville hot chicken was impressive.

Once again when traveling we turned to Yelp for help. What a place. It's in a boat marina. Not super easy to find but when a small place like this, nestled away in a remote spot is PACKED you know you hit pay dirt. There was a constant take out business. They have sit in as well. Michael Turney is the owner and was on site along with him family who work there as well. Awesome prices, big portions and spectacular food. Place smells like a great smoke house and the food reflects that. Michael introduced himself. Great guy and a veteran I believe (thanks for your service). An added plus was live blues music with a band led by Michael Turney. I strongly recommend this restaurant. This is a small home town local gem that I look for where ever I go.

Stopped in at lunch and had an amazing brisket sandwich. Great view at the harbor, delicious food, and friendly service.

Fun casual place at the marina with outstanding music - jam section and really good food! Only beer selection, could be bigger and they can offer some wine.. staff super friendly.. definitely to come back..!!

How have I missed out on this place all these years? This is literally some of the BEST barbecue I've ever eaten. And I had clients in Memphis and went to Rendezvous dozens of times. They've got NOTHING on Papa Turney's: the ribs were off-the-chart good. I wish they had a liquor license, but you can't have everything. Go for the food, go for the music. Just GO. You will be a happy camper!

We are from out of town and found this place in yelp. Turned out great. We ordered to go. The food was ready when we went to pick it up. And everything was really great. I would highly recommend this place.

We love trying local places whenever we travel and this one did not disappoint! The view is spectacular. The lovely woman who helped us was friendly. The food was delicious! We got pulled pork and pulled chicken, Mac and cheese, potato salad and baked beans. Everything was spot on. Got to love the hole in the wall jems like this one!!

This was the first BBQ spot we tried when we moved to Nashville and honestly, it's still in my top five in the city. Please @ me about this topic, I'm down to defend PTs. We recently ordered food to snack on while watching the Super Bowl, so it could at least feel like an event. There were four of us, 3 adults and 1 toddler, but we still ordered 1lb of chicken, 1lb brisket and 1lb of pork along with beans, Mac n cheese and coleslaw. It was a feast! We ordered it for lunch, but planned on eating it for the next three days, which we did... ever have a brisket omelette? Everything was amazing, the chicken was loaded with flavor and wasn't dry, the brisket melted in your mouth and the pork was smokey and juicy! You can't go wrong with the sides here! My favorite are the beans, smokey and sweet! The photos I posted aren't from latest visit. Sadly, I took photos and they are MIA. The ones attached are from previous dining experience, pre-covid.

#fatjared say...If you want an awesome location, great people, AMAZING BBQ, and to truly feel cared for by the people feeding you, come to Papa T's. I have been a long time fan, and I will still defend it as one of if not the best places for BBQ. I know reading that you would think it is a 5 star review, but I have very strict criteria, and even for my guy Mike Turney (the owner) I have to stick to it. To get 5 stars from me you have to be perfect, because 5 stars is perfect in Yelp. Unfortunately, the brisket at Papa T's was lacking pretty hard for me when we went. Dry brisket, shredded not cut, and automatically came on a sandwich, which it did not specify on the menu. It was good, but not great. Other than that, this place is always spot on. They have live music, it's right on the water, menu is old school, cool pictures all around the place, and the food is just awesome! Ribs!! I promise GET THE RIBS!!! I have a video from when I first went in 2016 where the bones broke and I ate the bones they were so tender. The flavor is great and the portion size is huge for what you pay. The cabbage we ordered was amazing, and I barely tried the beans because my wife absolutely CRUSHED them! The great thing about Papa T's though is the people. They care about you. They ask how you're doing. They want to get to know you. Your family and your kids will have so much fun just because of Mike. He pours his soul into this place, and I am so happy he made it through COVID. Make the trip. It's worth it!

Had the 2 plate order with ribs and brisket along with Mac and cheese. I was disappointed to see the brisket was chopped and probably wouldn't have ordered if I had known, what a mistake that would have been, the flavor of the brisket was great, with a wonderful smoke flavor. Then I tasted the fall off the bone ribs. They have their own rib they use and it added great flavor. I used their hot sauce, which was good, however not spicy enough for me. The Mac and cheese was only good, some bacon bits or brisket mixed in would have made a world of different. Note I am only debating the small things as it was a 5 star experience.

We stumbled upon this place as we were passing thru cross country and we were lucky enough to be here on a Wednesday for the open mic jam. Word class musicians on a small stage. Met Mike the owner who made us few at home. Good vibes all around and good bbq. I'd give this place 1000 stars for the awesome experience if I could! Thank you Mike and all the best to you and your little place on the lake!

worth the stop!! so good! we are from Texas and wanted to try some Tennessee BBQ before we headed back. I looked up places on our way and picked this one because you can't go wrong with picnic tables clothes at a BBQ place. it's a little off the beaten path and with it being at the marina during winter it wasnt too busy making us a bit skeptical. however, the service and the food was phenomena!! 10/10 recommend!! amazing bbq. we really were expecting much, we have some pretty outstanding bbq back home, but this beat even some of our favorite Texas spots!

This may be a sleeper pick for one of the best BBQ spots in the greater Nashville area. The sides are amazing (greens,beans, and Mac) as well as the sauce. Legitimately had some of the best pulled pork I've ever had here. Went back less than a week later.

The food is overhyped, No flavor and dry. I spent $50 and I want it back! The Mac and cheese taste just like noodles can't even taste the cheese. The smoked cabbage was disgusting. The wings were extremely dry, the baked beans taste like they were straight out of a can and the sausage link was nothing to rave about. The brisket was the best thing I had and even then it was a 1/5. If I could give 0 stars I would! The portion sizes are decent but the ribs were extremely dry too. NO FLAVOR AT ALL!

Food is amazing! The smoke catfish is so so good! Staff is friendly and very helpful! The blues music with Crooked Eye Tommy was spot on and the jam session was so cool! Highly recommend all around food, music and great staff!! Don't miss this spot!!

I really wanted to like this place. People are super friendly. The atmosphere is cool, they had a great band playing. It's a great venue to finish up a day on the water. They look like a legit barbecue place that I hadn't tried in Nashville yet. I travel for a living and like to try out barbecue places wherever I go. It really pains me to say that this is my number one worst barbecue experience ever in 30 years. I came in and grabbed a quick brisket sandwich before a boating trip. It was OK. I asked the guy at the register what he recommended and he said the ribs were really good. So after my boating trip, I came back and ordered a half slab of ribs because I was starving after a few hours of water sports. I was shocked when I tried to eat them-these were inedible! I spent $24 and a actually threw them away and went through a burger drive through on my way home! They must boil or store their ribs in some kind of liquid because these were so mushy that the bones were actually starting to disintegrate! The grit from the bones was dissolving into the meat! It was like eating sand mixed with meat paste. This was something I didn't know was possible with ribs! Truly disgusting. Please Papa Turneys! Y'all seem like amazing people trying to create a "Memphis like" experience. Please up the quality of the bbq to at least a "C" level!

Food is delicious. Kind of a dive but we also eat at strange times due to our schedules. They have beer and a deck looking about at the water/marina. Everyone is always nice. We recently moved closeby and look forward to going more often!

Great pulled pork. Good ribs. Brisket was chopped (not sliced) and was drier than most humans would prefer. Owner was really nice and tried to make up for the rude cashier who had yet to find his true calling (which was certainly not in a customer-facing job). The greens were fabulous and the slaw was average version white people mayonnaise slaw. The pecan pie was convenience store quality, the fudge pie was fantastic. We will definitely be back for the pulled pork, greens, and fudge pie. We will avoid the pecan pie and the squirrely scrawny rude cashier as though they were on fire.

The most disappointing thing of eaten in Nashville. My first time here. I'd heard so much about the food scene. The bbq scene. And misleading in it's names. I ordered gumbo spicy. Lb of beef brisket. Hot chicken. Look at the photos. Does the meat look like brisket or hot chickens? They both look like pulled meat. With no texture or differentiating characteristics. I sampled the meat. Could barely choke any down. As you can see by the empty containers I used all the sauce they gave me. Did it look like it made a difference in the meat? Me either. The gumbo not pictured I threw out immediately. It had no spice nor seafood. What kind of "gumbo", is that? Anyways be careful out there my foodies.

One look at this place from the outside and you immediately think, "another overpriced tourist trap thats charging you for the view and serving mediocre food." Lets be honest, thats how most waterfront restaurants are. What a pleasant surprise to find one that isn't. Papa Turney's hooks you up with some legitimate Q at a reasonable price. Great views and live entertainment are just gravy on top. I went with some pulled Chicken and sides. It measured up to many of the other places around town with good barbeque cred. Indoor / outdoor seating is available. Friendly service. Good food. I'd be a regular if I lived in the area.

So I'm hanging out in Nashville again wondering where in the world I can get a good catfish dinner. I've already tried the usual suspects around town and while they were OK it wasn't what I was really looking for. Someone suggested Papa Turney's BBQ at Nashville Shores Marina. I had been there once before and had ordered the smoked catfish. I remembered I really liked it. So that's that- I'm going to Papa Turney's!! I get there mid afternoon so it's not very crowded but there are a few people eating out on the deck. The deck overlooks the Nashville Shores Marina at Percy Priest Lake. Great view! I order a catfish dinner and for the sides I chose potato salad and turnip greens One thing I really like about Papa Turney's is it all of their side are homemade right in house. It's a family owned joint and they all pitch in. I've never tried the barbecue or the ribs but I've heard from more people than one that they are just beyond excellent. Anyway my catfish fillets came out and I had to say they were perfect!! Two big thick fillets, cornmeal dusted and fried and they were hot and perfect!! I'm very picky about my catfish and I'm telling you this is really good fried catfish. They also offer the dinner with smoked catfish. I've had before Mo it is really good. But my absolute favorite of all time is fried catfish fillets. In my opinion around Nashville there are none better. Papa Turney's also has live music. They have a stage in side and a great deck outside that wraps around the building and overlooks Percy Priest lake. It's a great place to spend an evening emptying a few beers with good food, great music and good friends. They're open year-round now too. If you're in the area be sure to stop by and tell him that Cindy says hi.