Rooster's BBQ Deli

I recently had the pleasure of dining at Roosters BBQ Deli, and I must say, it was an exceptional experience! From the moment I walked in, the enticing aroma of smoky BBQ welcomed me, setting the stage for what turned out to be a delicious meal. First off, the ribs were truly the highlight of the meal. They were smoked to perfection, tender and flavorful, with just the right amount of char. Each bite melted in my mouth, and I found myself savoring every piece. The fries were equally impressive—crispy and seasoned well, they provided the perfect sidekick to the main event. I loved how they complemented the rich flavors of the BBQ without overshadowing it. I also tried the large BBQ sandwich, which was absolutely amazing! Generously portioned and packed with smoky goodness, it was a satisfying treat. The Memphis-style BBQ sandwich with coleslaw was another standout; the blend of flavors was perfect, with the tangy slaw enhancing the already rich taste of the BBQ. Overall, Roosters BBQ Deli is a fantastic spot for BBQ lovers. The quality of the food, combined with the warm and welcoming atmosphere, makes it a must-visit in Minneapolis. I can’t wait to return and try more of their delicious offerings! Highly recommended! P.S. my video and pictures didn’t do it justice so take my word for it!

The fried chicken is the best in the twin cities! Amazing. Perfect. I am shocked however by the customer service. Update: <After cooking my order, the guy not only walked over and handed me my food, he mentioned he threw a smoked thigh in there as well at no charge. There is something VERY important to be said about a person who is not only wanting to show their willingness to make things right, but who actually does something unrequested and kind. We've all been frustrated at work, but this guy took a beat and apologized with food. Hard to beat that. Id have been back even if he hadnt apologized, but now i have elevated respect for him.> I dont come here for customer service, just food. So I think it's worth the hassle. I ordered chicken thighs, paid for it and some guy came out to me and tried to negotiate that I get things I didn't order. he was clearly irritated that I ordered only thighs. I only like fried chicken thighs. They are the best. He then tried to negotiate further by telling me what I'd get... pretty bold. I simply stood my ground and was ready to simply get a refund and go elsewhere. But he said he'd make my order after all. Now hey, if before I paid, they said "no"... I'd still be confused, but that would be the best time to negotiate and explain things to a customer. I suspect it has something to do with how they inventory, and supply orders to customers. Trying to maintain chicken part ratios. Makes sense. I still don't want anything but chicken thighs. I guess that's because, I don't care how they manage their inventory. :)

The pictures don't lie. Hands down the worst "Coney Island" hot dog ever. Looked like dog food. I did try it and It was as gross as it looked.

My first time eating at the Roosters was hearing about their famous chicken. So I decided to go over after my meeting. Let me tell you they didn't lie. A&J lost my business the atmosphere was nice with some good old country music the gentleman was nice and gave an extra piece of chicken and told me I didn't have to be dressed up coming there. My response was hearing about this good chicken 🐔 I must be presentable Lol. This is the type of service I like to receive good customers a smile and a warm welcome. O lady gang.

An institution in St. Paul and for my money, the best BBQ pork sandwich in the entire Twin Cities. Discovered this place in the late 1990s and have been a patron since. Great catering as well. Rich is a great human being. For the full experience, dining in at lunch time is a must. The clientele ranges from drywall crews to folks in business attire. Don't sleep on the chicken either. Keep it going Rich.

This place was great,small but great!! Seating consists of two booths and one bench. None the less the spice bbq ribs are great! And the special sauce on the chicken sandwich is next level! Keep up the great work and food!!!

The chicken is great... but...THE PORK RIBS are AMAZING. Actually generous ribs and the sauces are also great. Guy at the store was also very friendly and kind.

Well established neighborhood grill and barbecue restuarant specializing in chicken and pork, that has won various accolades and awards over the years. Have a nice prominent location, service was friendly, polite, accurate. There's a small table and chairs if you decide to eat right away but they'd probably prefer you take away. Floors and counters were clean but windows and walls not dusted recently. We ordered blackened chicken wings and onion rings. Good colors, textures and flavours and could've been really great but just a bit too salty

My whole experience here changed when I went in for the baby back ribs. The staff was ready to serve and they did a commendable job. Parking is easy here but access is tricky for a person with impaired mobility. I recommend you bring an attendant. Better yet have them go in for you. I hobbled in, thankful for the porch railing. The ribs were worth the trouble. They were tender and flavorful. The meat fell from the bone with little encouragement. I chose the mild sauce. It was sweet and very flavorful. It was a fine meal and I'm glad I stopped back here.

Pulled pork sandwich was 10/10 Fried chicken and fried are trash tho service wasn't the best either seemed irritated i came in but sandwich was fire

I am still getting acclimated to ways of the Midwest and various little quirks that come along with various establishments (much different than my East Coast roots). I do recommend that you try the broasted chicken here. It is exceptional. However, they do have a cut off time where they will not prepare an order even if 30 minutes prior to closing. Definitely arrive earlier in the day if your taste buds are craving this great treat. While I may travel all over to Twin Cities to my favorite food establishments based on service- food quality, I may not become a devoted patron of this establishment ( the nice aspect of having culinary skills), but try this variation of Mel's Diner without the waitresses.

The food and the team at Roosters is amazing, they make all my carry out experiences a success. Just feed about 12 teenagers with it and they were so thrilled. Thanks for everything!!

BBQ is in the name z as me it was more of a chicken house. There was a fight between a worker and a customer. They rushed me out the door as they were closing. Hours were wrong on Yelp. Not the best experience. #spicemeister not approved.

I love this place!! It's not fancy and it's a little cramped with just a couple booths to sit and eat at.... but the truth is, YOU'RE HERE FOR THE INCREDIBLE CHICKEN!! Doesn't matter if you try the BBQ or the FRIED or the BLACKENED WINGS... THEY'RE ALL INCREDIBLE!! The pulled pork is good and next time I wanna try the ribs but without fail, every time I go I just can't pass up on their chicken!!

Once again they've got it right. Broasted/fried chicken was great!!! Rib dinner fall off the bone tender with great bbq flavor and the onion rings nice and crispy... mmmm yep delicious!!

You pick up the ribs with a side of the hot bbq sauce to keep it interesting. You don't expect much from the fries but that's ok because you have that sauce side for dipping. You go home (it's mainly carry out) and make a mess with a friend. Look back on it and say, 'I'd do that again.'

Very good , quick accurate service and delicious meal . This was our first visit but def not our last

Good Food but Rude Customer Setvice. Third time eating here and Customer Service has not improved. Does anyone know who the owner is?

I'm going to go out on a limb and declare this to be the best fried chicken in the city. Seriously. Crispy, flavorful, tender, juicy, delicious. I would love if they offered more options for sides (Mac & cheese, anyone?), but I often just pick up chicken and make my own sides at home. I weirdly haven't tried their bbq items, but the fried chicken alone earns this place 5 stars.

Smoked BBQ chicken- wack. Fries- wack as hell. Soggy as an infants underwear. When the coleslaw is the best part, you know this place sucks ass, and nobody eats the coleslaw. 2.8/10

I wanted to give this place a try after hankering for some barbeque and reading reviews. I have to say the offerings for combos were pretty decent, but the sauce wasn't as great on flavor as I had hoped, and the fries were kinda meh.

Do not let the location or appearance fool you, this place is yummy and they sure know how to make good food! Ordered the Chicken & Ribs dinner and split it with a friend. Both of us were moderately hungry and were satisfied after the meal! I enjoyed the chicken over the ribs and definitely will return for some good fried chicken next time I am in the mood. The ribs were decently tender and had plenty of sauce which is also a bonus when you have extra to dip your fries in! The fries here are the only thing lacking and were not the best, however they are easily made better with the extra BBQ sauce from the ribs. Parking outside is convenient as there are numerous street stalls around. Plan to take your food to-go since there is very limited and cramped seating inside. The food was lukewarm by the time we ate it, but it didn't impact the yummy taste! I think the food is worth the price you pay for what you get. Will definitely return here in the future!

With a name like Rooster's BBQ, you are foolish not to order the chicken. The first time I visited, I selected the rib/chicken combo -- and while the ribs were good, it left me wanting MORE CHICKEN. The sides are ok -- but not as good as THE CHICKEN. Do you sense a theme here? I got an 8-pack piece 'bucket' of chicken on subsequent visits so I get more yard bird. It actually costs less. BBQ chicken is good -- especially with the spicy sauce, but I recommend getting the chicken fried with a side of (Spicy) sauce. I skip the sides... or pick up a salad at Cossetta's in 7th.

Roosters has been our favorite place for fried chicken and cole slaw for years. Sadly, since covid, quality has really fallen off. There are much better options for chicken to choose from. Twice, in the last six months, our chicken was extremely over cooked and so very dry. If you pressed on the Chicken pieces with your fingers, they were hard and more like a jerky. The chicken pieces were not consistent in size or shape. They are definitely not the nice juicy pieces we have always had in the past. The managers solution was... we drive across town to return the chicken, he refunded the cost of the chicken, and give us one piece of "free" chicken for our trouble. No consideration for the inconvenience of not having a dinner. I hope they can find their way back but i will be a while before we try again.

I wasn't particularly impressed with the ribs or chicken, I had the combo. I won't return because the cook was using his bare hands in the mix to coat the chicken. No gloves, highly unsanitary. It doesn't matter how it taste if it's potentially dangerous to eat.

Always a decent go to for bbq. Good service every time. In no way the end all be all of bbq.

Best fried chicken in the Cities. Good ribs and pulled pork too. Incredibly tiny dine in space but easy take out

This place is a really cool and typical BBQ joint. The food is okay. First the service was great. Everyone was friendly and it was very neighborly. The workers gave great suggestions and helped these first timers figure out their next steps for tasty food options. Lastly, the food was only okay. I would rank the food a 3 but the service a 4. My blackened wings were more burnt than blackened. The fries were okay but overall I've had better in the twin cities. Moreover, I would go back due to atmosphere and that's about it. I wish I would have loved it most but would still recommend for a try as I am a bit picky on BBQ.

The crew seems fast and efficient, good food, I do plan on come back. I think the fries need more salt, overall great meal!

This place needs to be renovated asap! But the food was amazing as hell!!!!!!! Chicken tender! Juicy! Great fries & pulled pork they need to be on a show! Really good food!!!!!!!

there was one worker and multiple people waiting to be helped. worker did nothing and said nothing to anyone. all he was doing was running around screaming "god fucking damnit, shut the fuck up" at the top of his longs (talking to his timers) waited there till he said something & chilled out. turns out my pick up waiting there ready the whole time. and then got mad at me because he didn't know which pick up was for me?? food was good but felt gross eating it after seeing the guy who made it

If you're not sure what good barbecue taste like you might believe this is a good barbecue. It is average at best, maybe like a chili's or Applebee's. I have multiple smokers and smoke amazing food, so I might be a snob when it comes to bbq. However, I have had good, bad & average bbq all over the world and this was just Plain Jane, no flavor, I asked how long ribs were smoked and was told 6-8 hours. No way were they cooked 6-8 hours, 2-3 at best, they were Overly firm and rubbery, 6-8 hours would produce a fall off the bone, melt in your mouth ribs. A very anti climatic dinner and a disappointment.

I came from Arizona to eat this BBQ! On past trips we have enjoyed all the wonderful smoked meats and sides. The owners are wonderful people who care about their service and quality. This trip I had succulent and tender pork ribs with spicy sauce that was not very hot but really flavorful. The sides of baked beans and coleslaw were very fresh and flavorful. The prices were more than reasonable and the portions large. Parking was not an issue because it is on a corner with abundant on street parking. I highly recommend Rooster's and make a point to eat there when I am in the city. They do a wonderful catering business as well for parties or office lunches. Eat there regularly!

Finger-licking good! Did a Google search for BBQ while in our way to Northern Minnesota and this popped up. Food was so good, fresh and hot that we timed our return trip home to stop for lunch. Got BBQ Chicken dinner, wings (great flavor and meaty), small pork sandwich (which is huge!) and all fantastic. Tons of fries, so beat to share an order. Not a lot of seating so I'm guessing he does a lot of catering and to-go orders... we grabbed some to go for dinner:)

they have really good BBQ but on Wednesday of last week I was not happy order catfish basket with a side order of cheese curds my ordered the chicken and ribs dinner and both my sons got burgers well my fish completely cook and my chicken was little pink burgers ask for extra cheese they did not get any cheese and the were salty ask them manager my redue he told me super I get I t I'm paying customer

Okay, here. . . we. . . Go! Delivery time was great nice and fast.The portion was smaller than I thought, so I had to order another one for my wife, but the food was awesome !The ribs were tender very tasty. The sauce the mild sauce, was excellent. The fries were crispy on the outside tender on the inside. The dinner roll was good too.You couldn't miss with this dinner meal. I will order again sometime in the future. I was very pleased with what I got so kudos to you

We've been wanting to try Rooster's for some time based on the reviews and awards. Alas, it's exceedingly unlikely we'll repeat. The ribs come wrapped in foil and when I opened it up, half of the meaty side stuck to the foil maybe because of the sugary sweet sauce. The ribs tasted good owing to the dry rub but were dry. I ate about half of them but meat interspersed with bits of foil made for some irritating bites. The pulled pork sandwich was great! No question one of the best around. The meat was tender spicy sweet and juicy. The slaw added a nice creamy crunch. Perfecto! An ample amount of fries accompanied it but were served completely unseasoned and were mealy on the inside and uniform tan but vaguely sweet on the outside. I've never understood why places like this use an inferior frozen product when they're so easy and to scratch make from fresh ingredients and with a much better result. The much ballyhooed fried chicken was desert dry with barely seasoned crust. I can't imagine this fried chicken winning any kind of award. Want excellent fried chicken at a fraction of the price? Go to Knowlan's Grocery Store...

Roosters did not disappoint us with their fried chicken. We had a special birthday dinner and got chicken, potato salad, and beans. The food was tasty, but it was concerning that cook did not have a mask on and the cashier wasn't wearing her mask properly. I believe it probably gets pretty hot in their small space, but unfortunately, masks HAVE to be worn during this virus pandemic.

After all these years of visiting Mpls, Rooster is still one of the two places I've always made a point to visit. Their fried chicken is made piping fresh and hot from the pressure fryer and the seasoning is always on point while the meat is still juicy. Their blackened wings are the best snacks and it comes with their homemade BBQ sauce which is perfectly tart, sweet with a nice enough kick to keep things interesting. Unfortunately, it may be another long while before I get to visit Rooster's again since my sister is done with her schooling here. All in all, Rooster's is the place with the Best Fried Chicken in MN.

Repeat performance for moi. Roosters is the real deal. BBQ for BBQ lovers. I have a crush on Roosters. But I'll share...

This place is LEGIT the chicken here is so delicious and so full of flavor. Their mashed potatoes here are so creamy and man is their gravy good. I'm so surprised they don't have biscuits here! This is always our go to place when we're craving fried chicken.

Roosters is hands down the best BBQ in Minnesota. Every time we get food it's an easy 11/10! Friendly staff, quick wait times... you name it roosters is the best! We drive from 45 minutes away to eat at Roosters, that's how good it is! Please do yourself a favor and grab some BBQ from Roosters!!

This is a first for me. I looked up this place for directions. Great, Easy. South on 35E to Randolph. Left on Randolph. Down 1 block on the left. Plenty of street parking available. All very good points and worthy of 1 star. I go in and am greeted quickly by a friendly server/cook. Place my order for 2 coneys and a canned beverage. Total came to $9.24. That seemed high to me, but did not do the math there and was not given a receipt. He quickly put 2 dogs in the fryer. Deep fried dogs is not a preferred cooking method for me. But it is not my shop and I don't get a choice of how it is prepared. I understand they need/want to cook quickly and the deep fryer is the tool of choice for that. Being the only customer there, my coneys were prepared quickly and brought to me at the booth. They only have 2 and 1 small table. This is more of a takeout joint. But at least they can accommodate someone who wants to eat and run. I eat the first coney. Very decent coney sauce. Saucy enough and meaty enough. The sauce was flavorful and had the onions/mustard I asked for. Just not as much as I would have put on at home. I take in the second coney. The sauce holds up well in the Sara Lee buns they use. The buns I use at home become very mushy/sloppy quickly using the cheap buns I use. I may have to rethink the brand of buns to use. They told me they use skinless beef franks. Skinless, yes. Beef, not so sure. I left thinking these are very decent coneys, just more expensive than I think they need to be. I run a few errands and pick up some items on my way home. I am back home in less than 30 minutes. I set down my bag of goodies. That's when this went from 3 stars to 1 star. I immediately had to take a seat at the porcelain throne. My deposit into the sewer system was large volume and soft(diarrhea I think the med term is called). I sit down at my desk, check the website for the pricing. 2 coneys @ $3.48 ea. 1 canned beverage @ $1.16 ea. Total should be $8.12 plus tax. I think total with tax should have been $8.70 (maybe St Paul tax a few pennies different.) My total was $9.24 The website pricing and shop menu board pricing were the same. I was overcharged fifty four cents. Certainly not a huge deal. But the porcelain throne experience is. Will I be back? Not for coneys for sure.

Smackin good ribs in St. Paul you say? Sounds like a good place to start the summer of rib tasting around the city. This is the type of place that makes my mouth water a little when I walk in the door. Busy, little place that obviously spends more time paying attention to the food than some big fancy open area for people to mingle around or sit and eat for that matter. Only a couple of tables but anything like this should be as good on a nice summers day for takeout. The baby back ribs were very good. Tender, well cooked with a nice sauce on them. Finger licking good for sure. Had the coleslaw and it was OK, not bad but not great either, Ribs though were the reason for the visit and they were very well worth the trip. Long ways from Maple Grove, almost Canada far but damn good and worth the drive! KT

Maybe I had too much expectation for this place since I saw that they have beef ribs on the menu. Well, it was disappointing, they do give you a few bones but every rib bone I have had hard burnt end on them that I can't even enjoy it. The fries were just basic fries and the coleslaw were basic too. Nothing "wow" at all.

I ordered the beef ribs for delivery, and I thoroughly enjoyed my meal. I usually shy away from beef ribs as they're often tough, but these were really tasty. Loved the coleslaw. Happy I gave Roosters a shot

We ordered the 8 piece fried chicken. The dark meat was moist but the flavor was so so. The chicken skin was not battered and had a slightly salty taste but no other seasoning. You have to ask for BBQ and hot sauce. I thought it was strange no BBQ sauce was came with the order, being that the name of the restaurant is BBQ Rooster. I'm used to chicken and BBQ places where the house made sauces were boasted. Onion rings were awful. Corn meal-like batter and not at all tasty. (And I'm typically a fan of onion rings.) Also ordered sides of coleslaw and mashed potatoes. Not extraordinary. Coleslaw and mashed potatoes were bland. The gravy tasted homemade and was pretty good. For dessert, I ordered the banana cream pie-I wouldn't recommend-it was like it come out of a Sara Lee box. And a slice is nearly $4.00! It was graham cracker crust and lots of cream, little custard and sparse bananas. I was expecting home-made or at least par with Baker's Square. Overall I was disappointed. It is a small business in the middle of a neighborhood-which I like to support. Others have liked it, but it's not for me. *Note: I didn't order the ribs so maybe I missed out?

You had me at fried chicken and ribs... On the way to Wild game and wanted something cheap and greasy beforehand. We were lucky to get a seat, since there are only two tables...Ordered an 8 piece and a full rack of ribs. Fried chicken had a lighter batter and juicy as mother. It was definitely du bomb...Ribs were the shorter spareribs, cleaned, smoked and sauced with awesome hot bbq...I would prefer these ribs over any where else I've been in MN...smokey, spicy, and tender but enough texture to still have a little meatiness to it...fries were also pretty good...place is divey and kind out the way, but totally worth it.

Big Daddy's has better ribs, Roosters has better chicken and pulled pork; ribs are still very good. I hope you stay through this. Those puled pork sandwiches are amazing, also the chicken.

Came to Twin Cities for Thanksgiving. Asked and looked around for some good eats. Since I am very fond of chicken that is fried I looked for what was good in the hood. Rooster's BBQ Deli comes up for their fried chicken. This place is a hole in the wall. I love grimy places.There are two booths and two small tables to sit at. You will be close to your neighbors. It's more of a BBQ spot than a chicken joint. By looking at the BBQ awards on the wall, I got the impression that these guys get down when it comes to BBQ. My mind was set on chicken so that was what I only got. Next time I will definitely have to try everything on their BBQ menu. Back to the chicken...The chicken was made to order so that when you get it, it's piping hot. I can't complain. It was crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. The batter was lightly seasoned and I found myself savoring the crispy skin. The chicken was not bad, but it wasn't to die for. I didn't find myself saying that I wanted to come back for the chicken. I would take Rooster's fried chicken over KFC any day though. The fried chicken was AIGHT, but I definitely NEED to try out their BBQ menu. 3.5 Stars

Baboy was looking up fried chicken. We must stop here. It's actually in my old neighborhood and I never stopped here before. We are actually eating our way through the city on our last day here so we just ordered a little food to sample. Fried chicken and it comes with fries. The chicken is moist and and tasty. I'm not a super fried chicken fan freak like Baboy but it's good. I let him eat the rest of mine so I can continue saving room for the rest of the food we are going to ingest.

Nothing fancy here, just solid tasty BBQ and fried chicken. The 1/2 chicken dinner is a steal at $10 including a can of soda. The Memphis BBQ sandwich is also very delicious. Go hot sauce everytime! Plan on taking to go (they accept call aheads)

Pulled pork sandwiches. So many ways to enjoy them and Rooster's does them well. While mine was warmed up on the grill vs the microwave, the meat had a nice taste to it and you could tell that it was slow cooked as every bite of my sandwich was excellent. The spicy sauce wasn't overwhelming and the amount of pork I received was more then fair compared to other sandwiches I've had at other establishments. The fries also are quite tasty with a unique seasoning salt that reminded me of the old King of Wings that used to be on Broadway and Washington in Mpls. Sigh.... My only two complaints? The coleslaw was ho hum and tasted premade and the Space Invaders II table top game was out of order. I will also be going back because the baby back ribs seem to be around $4-5 less expensive per rack then other places in town...which is in line with a true Texas roadside BBQ stand. Which brings me to question; with all these hog farms around the Midwest, why is our bbq so expensive?

Rooster's is a neighborhood darling; which I can understand, to a certain degree. Comfort food at a reasonable price is generally going to be popular, but it's somewhat ubiquitous and I haven't come across anything on their menu that is breaking any molds. They are popular for their broasted chicken, ribs and pulled pork sandwiches. The chicken is quite moist due to the pressurized frying, but it is also quite greasy as a result. The smoked ribs, while fairly flavorful and moderately tender, have a faint amount of smoke flavor, but no discernible smoke ring in the meat. The pulled pork sandwich is pretty good, though I would forgo getting it Memphis style since their coleslaw is pretty lackluster. All BBQ items come with your choice of a mild or hot bbq sauce; I definitely recommend the latter, it's quite good. Takeout is pretty much the name of the game here, though there are a couple of booths for dining in (if they're not already taken by people waiting for their orders). As you can assume, ambiance is minimal at best. They also have different daily specials, as well as the everyday special of a small pork sandwich and fries for about $7 (the 'small' is still pretty damn big).

The service here was always a positive. I've made at least 4 trips to try out various items. I enjoyed the fried chicken. Just like everyone has said, it was moist and tender. It's definitely an upgrade over KFC and Popeyes in terms of quality and flavor. Unfortunately, I think as a whole, the fried chicken here is just average tasting once you get past how moist it is. The flavor just isn't there for me, especially in the breading. The Coney Island Dogs are ok. I know that some places use the minced chili, I prefer the un-minced variety. If you like minced chili, which in all honesty does make it easier to eat, this will be an above average item for you. The fries could use more seasoning and could stand to be a bit more crisp. I'll go here over the chain restaurants any day, but temper your expectations.

The fried chicken is definitely better than Revival. I do not understand why Revival is rated so high by the food critics. Maybe because they do not have to pay for it with their own money.

"OMG" was the initial response due to that smell when you walk in.... it smells delicious. I ordered a Memphis Style BBQ Pork Sandwich and it was amazing. The fries are really good - hot and fresh. The cheese curds were delicious. My husband got the chicken and ribs ... and he loved it. No complaints. I just want to go back again and again now.