Uncle John's BBQ

I really did used to love Uncle John BBQ, but it's been 11 years since I had any, until now and I must say that I was very disappointed in the texture of the rib tips! They were not tender at all,they had a good taste and flavor but they were tuff! They didn't used to be like that! I don't believe that I received the right amount of fries with my order either 😩 but the price is unbeatable! Because everyone else wants to charge you an arm and a leg for some tips! Of course I'm going back there, but I'm going to tell them that I don't want my meat to be tough, and not to hold back on my fries geez!! I was satisfied with the amount of tips they gave me and I loved the coleslaw and the fact that they actually gave me some bread without having to ask! P.S I got the wing's from next door!

I have to admit that the service and food here is much better than I expected. My wife tried the ribs here for the first time a few months ago and they were good with minimal wait time. Ribs are tender and sauce is pretty good as well. We figured why not add some fried and grilled chicken to the order the next time and all 3 items were good. I order online and pick it up at the counter. They are pretty efficient when picking up an online order so that’s what I recommend. Only one time out of 6 did we get ribs that were tough and not really good. I would say those are pretty good odds.

The cashier was rude and my tips were cold. They tasted old. Some parts were cold like they came out of the fridge. It even looks old.

Ordered through Door Dash and was very disappointed and disgusted! My turkey tips and rib tips were hard, dry, tasteless and repulsive!!! The fries were even gross! What happened here? The food used to be so good.. I wouldn't even feed this to a stray cat! I don't even think this is real meat because it made me vomit!

Ribs HORRIBLY BURNT. Not charred, BURNT. After encouraging members of my congregation that, "this is the place for ribs," it was a tremendous letdown and disappointment. No real Pit Master would serve ribs this overcooked (BURNT). I would suggest that Uncle John should double check whose handling his grill. Customers, check your food before leaving.

I don't want nobody to go there. I want to eat all the food to myself, and not have to stand in a long line. The food is too excellent for regular people. The portion size are enough for two people. So if you stay away, I can walk right up and pay!

I went in there last week after not eating there for a while and got the worst experience ever. Award winning barbecue used to come out of that building when Leon’s was there. When Uncle John’s first came out, the food was good. Now it’s like they just don’t give a damn at all. The meat was tough and low quality (full of fat). Ya’ll need to get ya’ll act together. There’s 2 other awesome BBQ restaurants in the area.

I NEVER go here and I now remember why. Sooooo, I ordered the triple turkey situation on DoorDash bout a week ago. A TOTAL WASTE OF MONEY. It was saucy but the turkey tips I ordered were trash. It clearly came out of a bag/box, thawed, heated up then tossed in sauce. The fries were not fresh. On the good side, the chicken legs and turkey links were good. WILL NEVER GO BACK

I'm really confused. I'm not sure why this establishment has only gotten 2.5 stars overall. This place has never disappointed us, PERIOD! Hubby earlier this year decided to try them through UberEats by getting their rib tip and hot link combo. Most hot links I don't like but theirs is really good. We had mild sauce put on everything. Sauce, tips, links were all flavorful and good! Meaty and tender tips. The crinkle fries are good too! We will continue to order from them. They are very fast when you order delivery from them which we always appreciate. Sorry I don't have a picture of the food - soon though. Every time we have gotten food from them, I've been so hungry that I haven't thought about taking a pic, just digging in. LOL Don't let the lower rating reviews fool you. Highly recommend getting BBQ from here via delivery. Thanks Uncle John's!! Huge THUMBS UP!

Man went Sunday before Beats game! They were out of tips, cashier said they only had turkey tips. I really don't care for them but ordered them. Get home don't have turkey tips, Have hot links! Pissed cause phone number didn't work and wasn't going back playoff games were on!

I've been eating Chicago Barbecue my entire life. I consider myself an expert. Uncle John's has been a mainstay for the last couple of years when I hit the city. The hot links are off the hook. I order the jumbo every trip. The barbecue is excellent. The service level is terrible but that's the South Side service level. Just make your order and chill. It's one of the best cue's in town.

They've gotten better over the few years I've been coming here. Rib tips and chicken legs. Sauce is tasty. Turkey tips are very popular here. " Dat Donuts" next door are good too.

I almost got why I stopped going to this place. Last night reminded me. Got a order of rib tips they never serve you hot food. I had to come home and heat it up even the sauce was lukewarm. When I made it home, I had a lot of fatty pieces of rib tips. They were barely seasoned. It was not good. I will never return again. Customer service was not good.

Ribs: TRASH Fried Chicken: TRASH French Fries: TRASH Bread: TRASH Hot link: The only decent thing on their menu, if they don't give you an old, dried out hard one. Their sauce is decent too. All their food seems old and hard. They have potential, but need new leadership- someone who believes in what they are doing, serving food to the community. They need to take more pride in their offering.

The sauce was good ..?! but I ordered online through uber eats and I ordered a med pork tip and when I receive it.. it had all bones,gristle and fat no-meat ! I was very disappointed after hearing a friend of mine who had it on the Fourth of July who said it was great .., Do better with the online orders we deserve the same quality as ppl who come in and place orders...

Uncle John's BBQ on 83rd and cottage got me $ucked up serving these reheated dry brittle as rib tips and fresh out the grease cooked the night before as chicken. Never again will they get my money and this was lunch

Went to Uncle John's BBQ for the first time today. Ordered a small turkey tip. Expected the food to be good by the long line but it's wasn't. The turkey tips were tough and undercooked

Uncle John.. where is Aunt Judy? Your BBQ is okay but it's missing some of that Mississippi or that Texas or Alabama or Arkansas. It's sorta like blue eyed soul--- you know you can listen to them and get a vibe but Robin Thicke ain't ever gonna be Marvin Gaye. I had a half slab. The meat was seasoned well and the mild/hot combo sauce was tasty-- but the meat was tough. Yes, I have good teeth and I didn't buy them from a dentist; but I still had to gnaw. The white bread was good-- and the fries were... just some fries. They weren't French... maybe they were German (no seasoning) but with the sauce one might max. Yawl good and I know yawl not Lem's (I ain't standing outside like that; I have my pride )... but can you put a touch more smoke to your meat and tenderize it or soak it or rub it or something? I ate that half a slab (which cost a little over 20) over two days. I gave up gnawing on day one and figured I'd just eat the rest for lunch on the following day . When I microwaved it-- um--- you know.... you know. Maybe: Play some blues or some Johnnie Taylor for your pit-masters while they are preparing the stars of the show. Don't play Kenny G. Remind them that Chicago is a BBQ town. Remind them of the Great Migration or something. You're good Uncle John but not great but you're definitely better than most. I will be back-- especially if that Lem's line is too long.

Hello, this is my first time ordering & i did it thru uber eats. I had chicken legs n turkey tips. the tips was AMAZING. the legs was 7/10 coulda been fried harder. the fries was a little soggy, I enjoyed them my partner did not. But the sauce was great as well. We seen many bad reviews & wanted to taste.. & they were great! im glad we ordered from here. will be ordering again

Let me start off by saying, I rock with this place!! I've been going for years since the smaller location. The customer service on this experience was HORRIBLE!! I asked for extra sauce on my Jumbo tip and link combo, small turkey tip, and 6 wings. When the cashier relayed the request to the lady who was preparing the food she got a real crappy attitude like I was asking for too much. I guess because they were almost closing. I asked her what she said and she went all off. "I wasn't talking to you I was talking to her!" I asked what her name was and she refused to give it to me. No name tags present or I wouldn't have asked. Then she directed me to the manager who was also preparing food for any concerns that I may have. I asked the manager Nivia Battle (I think that's what she said) was she required to give me her name. She said no. Her attitude was crappy as well. Just negative energy behind the glass. Except for the cashier. I also told the that they need to improve their customer service and that I WILL BE BACK!! I have no complaints about my order at all. Food was great!!! They just need to get someone back there that's actually going to do their job without being so nasty.

I ordered fish filet dinners, rib tips, jerk and bbq'd, hotlinks, coleslaw, and the drumstick specials. The fish was fired too hard...probably fried at too high of temperature. The drumsticks look OK, I didn't try them. I ordered for another family member. Oh the fish is too salty. Maybe the grease is not fresh and too many fried foods in the grease. The hot links were nice...many of the tips were burnt ends, not as pictured on their site. Times are rough...GIVE THE PEOPLE WHAT THEY WANT!!! Not the worse but your best products. After spending over 100 dollars to feed my family and half the food is not edible. I hate wasting money. Anyways, I won't order again.

The food was horrible there were a few juicy tips covering the hard burnt tips. I asked for mixed sauce and they gave me all hot. It is over priced and not worth the cost. I questioned the cashier about combos and she acted as if I was bothering her. While I was there 2 customers returned their meals complaining about the texture of their tips. I should've left but I was hoping mine was tender and delicious. It was absolutely disgusting. Once upon a time this was a great place to eat NOT ANYMORE SAVE YOUR MONEY!!!

Small plate size be aware. Look how small this 15$ meal is!!! Are your serious. Don't order online like I did, I was just being lazy (my fault) amount came to be 40$ for this. I was just here a couple months ago, ordered the same thing only difference size tray of food and I ordered in person. Quantity and quality have to be in the same room at least.

This is my favorite BBQ spot here in the Chi-. However, the best time to go is early evening. I warn you to not go early in the day. During that time you'll receive meat left over from the previous day.

Best BBQ on the Southside to me. Again, that's, to me. I love the jerk tips with mild sauce on the fries only. It's my go-spot when I dont BBQ myself.

When you are one of three establishments that Wikipedia says established "Chicagos Styled Barbecue" (known for the invention of the aquarium smoker and the prominence of rib tips and hot links) the food is good! When I buy a gallon of their sauce for use at my home -- YOU KNOW THE FOOD IS GOOD! Enough said! (Original Leon's and Lem's's round out the trilogy of MUST TRY barbecue houses on the south side of Chicago).

I recently ordered from this establishment through Uber Eats with high hopes, but I was left disappointed. I hate to have to leave this review but it's an honest one. I paid $17 for a small tip priced at $13.55 (taxes included) and received mostly bones! They did include an extra slice of bread, but it didn't make up for the lack of actual BBQ. After a few small bites of rib tips, the very bottom of my order was all bones with sauce on them. The amount of BBQ you can get elsewhere for the same price will surprise you. I will not be returning.

SLAB BBQ is better it's definitely good to have options Uncle John's be stand you with the sauce.

One of my favorite barbecue restaurants.This place never disappoint me. I love the rib tips and chicken combo

This Ish is garbage. I ordered tips cut small, and sauce on the side! These MF's did what THEY wanted to. Tips not cut all, sauce hot! Tips cold Azz as ice. Never again! L= Loser

Great food and pricing even though it's always crowded the service is exceptional and speedy! The only downside is sometimes you can't place orders over the phone.

The ribs were extremely hard. Ordered a link rib lunch special. The link was decent, but the quality of the ribs plus how they were cooked, was poor. Not to be gross but so hard I had to spit it out. Money wasted

The food is excellent especially the hot links and the pork tips. The service is a bit slow but I can attribute that to the crowds that are drawn here.

I got a lot of bones in my tips the last time I ordered.The service was good. A lot of people in and out .Get you a dat donut while u there.

Ordered through Uber Eats for lunch. Food was delivered hot and fresh and was delicious!! We had rib tips and a hot link. The links were very good as were the tips the mixed sauce was good as we ordered extra.

I order the large rib tips it was terrible all I got was a bunch of fries loaded with barbecue sauce and little pieces of tips the ones that's scraps never again the thing is restaurants like this feed you the garbage or leftovers knowing you can't send it back I just don't like this place

I love their Turkey Tips and Chicken wings the food is always hot and fresh... My only con is they give you very little fries with your order. Extra fries are 4$

I hate to do this, but unwarranted disrespect from an establishment that you support and try to circulate your money in the community with should not be tolerated. Making the long-short I waited 30mins inside the restaurant for my food, myself and another customer, and they called six people who ordered after me before they called me. My # was 50, they were on 56. I asked if my food had been sitting on the staging table and they forgot about it, I checked my food in the store, and it wasn't hot, they did. Instead of being apologetic and offer some options, I was met with rudeness, shortness, and disrespect. They made my order over, which took 3mins at this point, but cashier doubled down on the disrespect by putting an order in the bulletproof turnaround, but and walked away to help another customer. There were 4 others in the restaurant, and didn't know it was mine until she said "that's your food, you want it or want it to get cold again?". I never raised my voice, used profanity, and even asked her to "calm down" and "why are you speaking to me like this? I didn't do anything but pay and wait on food" the first encounter before my food was remade. At any rate, mistakes happen, but disrespecting customers who did nothing, twice, after making a mistake is unacceptable. I'm extremely disappointed that I won't be going back here anymore, but you can't be Wrong and Strong for no reason with customers!

I was at uncle John's on Tuesday march 18, 2025 my order number was 61. I ordered a large combo a small combo and four wings. The tips were not edible. They were tough and I bought this for my 84 year-old aunt. The only thing she was able to eat out of it was the fries and the hot Link this is the third time that I've bought a combo that was so tough. The tips were so tough you couldn't eat them. I've tried to call the number over and over again. No one is answering. I'm not sure why they have the number and I've been to uncle John's a number of times at least twice a month but these last few times the rip tips have been so tough. You can't even eat them so I guess I'm on my way back to Lems with their bad attitude but the food is edible. Uncle John I think you're cooking your food too quickly or something is wrong. The last three times that I've been there the rib tips have not been edible. Can't chew them.

I liked it better under the previous owners, when it was Leon's BBQ. Old memories tend to die hard. Not that there weren't parking lot challenges, self-appointed doormen looking for tips - not necessarily rib tips.

The sauce is super sweet. The meat lacks flavor. It doesn't really work and I have a strange aftertaste in my mouth that doesn't say bbq. I was told it's hit or miss and this was a miss. Fries super soft after 2 minutes in sauce.

That had to be the worse food ever...will not be going back...it was so dry...so not worth it

On the southside I expect excellence. This is Below average. Service was good. It's a counter. You order. You go. Go to Lems on 75th, it's much better. I never thought I would say this: northside bbq is far far better. It's true. I can say this because I work on the southside and live north. I go to all the spots. I'm adventurous. If you don't go everywhere you don't have a real opinion. You have a bias. Yelp is the home of bias. Try harder. Don't be scared to explore. Yeah. You

The rating is a negative 0, I drove 30 min away to get food. I get home open the second order to find a glove on top of my food. This is very insanitary and in disbelief because the gizzards was good. You guys have to do better this is not acceptable.

So I heard a lot about this place and finally came. I will say that the food was good. The sauce was amazing and I'd give the food quality and taste a 5/5 What sucks about this place is the price.. for the amount of food you get, it's very overpriced. I suggest someone get the jumbo tips and have food for leftovers than getting the medium (which is what I got) which cost me $16 with tax. The parking lot is shared with other restaurants so if you come in a busy time you won't find any. What also sucks is that there is no place to sit. You literally have to only do take out. Overall, I liked my experience but am still looking for the best bbq in Chicago. So far this was my favorite, but I'm sure there's better.

Meat was burnt & dry!!..not good as they once were Service was nice Sauce was sweet Will not return here again

Terrible!!!!!!! Bought a small tip with fries and sauce and 6 wings with fries (sauce on the side). The chicken was horrible and so were the rib tips. The taste of the chicken was off and the chicken was old. I ate the first piece and had to pick at the chicken to remove all the veins that burst. All I saw was dark veins in each wing( not pleasing to the eye). The ribs were over cooked and dry. The fries were non existent! They didn't even try to fill the tray with fries . I will never try this place again. It's just sad that mostly all the restaurants in our neighborhoods are completely falling off. No one cares anymore about putting out good food. I'm scared every time I try restaurants in our communities because of the poor quality that's given. Never again!!!!!!! I wish I could give 0 stars ugh! I threw that food away just wasted money on horrible food again, ugh.

Fabulous food and service. I drive from Beverly but its worth it every time. The sauce is very tasty.

I went there about 2 weeks ago and I went in twice because someone tasted the rib tips that I had and asked if I'd go & get them some. Yes, they were edible and fresh enough... Finger licking good along with the 5legs & 8pc wings I had to share of course. #gys!

Everytime i hit this spot, it's for the turkey tips and turkey links. It is always a hit. The service is usually quick and spot on and the people behind the counter are always nice. Very clean spot, plus it shares its location with a donut shop next door. I actually may go back today

I now live in AZ and came home to visit and had a taste for some hot links. My niece recommended we try Uncle John's because they had turkeys links. I was a little nervous because I had never heard of this place, but to my surprise the links, especially the turkey links were very good along with the rib tips. The meat was flavorful and the sauce was on point. Uncle John's is now listed as one of the go to spots that I will hit when I come back home to visit.

The New Mexican lady who says she is the manager is horrible. How is possible to get more fries on a small order of turkey tips than a medium order. I told her the problem and she looked at me like it is what it is...when I got my order it was about 7 or 9 fries. I'm done. Charge more but service and product level decreased. You just lost a good customer...

Thank you. Crazy that it's hard to find the right links and tips in the great city of Chicago but you folks do it.

The barbecue ribs was good however the chicken wings was not and not to mention the rude A.A lady who were taking debit and credit card orders who desperately need to take a customer service class. No thanks I will not be going back

I purchased Tip/ Link combo Friday, Dec 15th around lunch time. Both Hot Links were old and very dry! Definitely not fresh. Tips were just okay!

When there is absolutely no other place to go in the Chatham neighborhood... On a good day you might get some good food . It wasn't my day, it wasn't worth the long wait... not much attention is payed too the quality of the product. The barbecue sauce, taste like Christie's barbecue sauce in Los Angeles full of sugary taste . Yuck! I think our Barbecue Houses on the southside have a obligation responsibility to put the best foot forward. Apparently they have no feet. this Barbecue House the owner should really be ashamed of himself. When I was a kid, and went to the (Rib Joint) on Saint Laurence st between 49th Street 50th street in Bronzeville, France E. Willard school was across the street Smith drug store was on the north west corner. The Rib joint was the name I was served Hot Links, and Ribs with Potato Chips and bread and don't forget the coleslaw. Now this place's make you pay for coleslaw as a side,the sad thing is it's not at all good. Anyway I don't recommend this, establishment.two stars only because . It's the only one around to go to. SCM

Not sure why this place so many negative reviews. Their customer service was great, they were friendly and welcoming. I ordered their large tips and 2 links combo and it didn't take long to get my order. The tips were perfectly cooked and the links were actually hot and spicy how I like them. I also ordered them with hot bbq sauce and it also had the perfect kick. The fires weren't that great, but when covered with that hot bbq sauce, they somehow become tasty. Everything tasted fresh and although it's a little deep down south, I still would consider coming down here. Please don't take all these negative reviews to heart. Give them a try, you won't be disappointed!