Market Bar-B-Que

This place should be avoided! I used to frequent this place with my family when I was young, it was wonderful then. It has apparently since been bought by some sheeny. EVERY selection of BBQ sauce was just ketchup... if you put it all and some ketchup on a plate and dipped a fry into each one, you could not tell the difference. The coleslaw is full of garlic and ranch dressing. The fried chicken was cooked at a temp that made the chicken skin floppy and mushy. When we politely brought up our concerns the ""manager"" shrugged his shoulders and said ""Everyone's entitled to their opinion"" then turned his back and left. The service was terrible and the waitress we were supposed to have seemed to have grudge against us for even being in there... Horrible people, horrible food at a price of $30 a head. If you go to this dump, at least it ain't my fault. I DO NOT COMPLAIN MUCH, but this place made me so angry I signed up for an account here just to leave this review! more

I don't get some of these bad reviews. I love the food here! Seriously... some of the best BBQ I've ever had I love it. Cool vintage vibe and great beer. I think the staff is really warm and friendly. I'd even venture to say the place was family friendly! For those that don't like it... go back to the burbs with your Ruby Tuesday poop meat and have yourself a good time. For us city folk who know good BBQ I'll take some real smoked baby backs all to my self. Yum! more

We walked into this restaurant and the guy behind the counter (who later said he was the owner) was such a jerk! He asked if we had a reservation. We said we didn't. He looked pretty upset, so we thought the place must be pretty busy. He said he'd see what he could do to get us a table but we'd have to wait. He asked a server what was available, and the guy got us a booth right away. As we walked in we noticed the place wasn't AT ALL full (not even halfway on a Saturday night), so we weren't sure what his issue was. The food was awful, but beyond that, the PRICE of the awful food was even more disturbing! Their ribs are like eating packaged jerky attached to a large bone. We also ordered the chicken, which was severely overcooked. And, while we were waiting for our food, we had a good view into the kitchen, folks. Uh, yeah...it was FILTHY! Just looking at the vents above the food prep area had me worried...they were caked with dirt and rust. In the dining area, the table was sticky. The bench I sat on was sticky. The condiments were dirty and sticky. They served my food on a cheap plastic lunch tray with a piece of paper on it. Don't even get me started on the worst coleslaw I've ever had! We were grateful to get out of there. Oh yeah, and that guy behind the counter? He is the only one writing the good reviews on this site, so be wary of them. His picture is actually attached to the only good review here in years! There was one good product...the beer we had. We'll be looking for that someplace else. You could not PAY us to go back to this rat hole. more

This is my first review as I felt so compelled to share our story since it ruined our day. \r \r We were so excited to go get some good ribs as we lived in Houston. Moreover, we saw that the Neely's had gone there. I thought, ""It must be good.""\r \r We ordered ribs and they were so dry and difficult to get off the bone. It also tasted terrible like old meat with no distinct flavor. I was so disappointed. It killed the mood and we were no longer happy eating out. We wanted our money back and leave. How can they charge $26 for ribs that taste like that? I agree service was also mediocre. \r \r I will NEVER go back there again even if I were paid. Sorry. Wish I didn't have to say that. more

Like many others before me, the heritage and reputation of being in business for 60 years (and the Neely's) got me to give them a try, but the quality wasn't enough to make me want to return. The ribs had absolutely no smoke flavor - seemed as if they had been boiled and then oven baked. This is not real pit BBQ - no smoke ring or smoke flavor whatsoever! The texture was tough - I know the meat's not supposed to fall off the bone, but c'mon... Service was mediocre at best - felt like I was imposing on them for being there. Still in search of the best BBQ in MN. more

I was totally looking forward to this place based off some positive reviews from the locals and also to the fact that the Neely's from the Food Network came to this joint but oh man what a disappointment. I remember the first time I picked it up I already knew it wasn't slow smoked. The ribs were super tough and actually required some effort to tear if off the bone. The meat had no smoke ring so my suspicion was proved true that it wasn't slow smoked. Its as if they gave up on slow smoking it and now resorted to a cheaper method of cooking it. Even my first time slow smoking ribs came out better than this. The fries looked like they were from mcdonalds. My girlfriend actually gave up eating her ribs after a few bites. The only thing we enjoyed most was the herb and butter toasted bread. I'm thankful to this day that we didn't order the full rack. Whew! more

THIS PLACE IS FOR PEOPLE WHO UNDERSTAND REAL BARBEQUE. THEIR FOOD IS COOKED IN A WOOD BURNING BRICK PIT . THE FOOD HAS A PERFECT SMOKE RING ON IT, ONLY A NEOPHYTE WOULD ASSUME MEAT TO FALL OFF THE BONE. THE HOMEMADE ONION RINGS ARE THE BEST I HAVE EVER EATEN. GREAT ATMOSPHERE AND FREINLY SERVICE ROUND OFF A MEMERABLE TIME. Pros: BEST BARBEQUE IN TOWN Cons: THE ONLY CON WOULD BE NOT KNOWING REAL Q more

The staff does not want you to be there! Do them a favor and don't go; you will all be happier that way!\r Pros: Food is OK Cons: Terrible staff more

Food and service no longer consistent. Management treats customers rudely. Cons: They've stopped caring about their customer more

JUst fantastic ribs really cool place on top of it more

the ribs were tougher than a rusty nail, and had less flavor. It was not smoked at all. Wonder bread? WTF?? This place is FUBAR Pros: worst BBQ ever Cons: service service service more

I ordered a full slab of their spare ribs for a takeout order. The woman at the counter asked if I had ordered the 12 bone slab and I said that I had. When I got home little did I know that was exactly what I got. 12 bones surrounded by a few bits of dried up meat! For 30 dollars a slab I think it is reasonable to expect more. Worst ever. Wouldn't waste my money on these things again. Cons: I more

I love good bbq. The Nicollet Market BBQ is TERRIBLE!!. The funny thing .. I went to the Wayzata Market BBQ and loved it. Best brisket sandwich I've ever eatin. I tried the same sammy at the Nicollet Marktet BBQ.. It tasted like something died on my plate. The meat had NO smokey flavor, and the brisket sandwich was accompanied with sloppy over-cooked onions, Sorry to say this but even the bbq sauce had no kick, Tasted like ketchup.\r \r I started out ordering babyback ribs but had to send those things back. The meat was tough, no presence of a rub, and the smokey taste was missing .Tasted like they were cooked in an oven, not a pit. If Markets philosophy is that they want you to taste the meat, I'd say... cook me some meat that's worth tasting!!! I'm not surprised the place was half empty on a friday night!!!\r \r I ain't going back!!! Pros: delicious coleslaw, good french fries and nice wait staff Cons: Oh Boy!! more

Our family went Christmas Eve. Empty. It seemed as though our being there was a great inconvenience to our server. She was rude and inattentive. Our food was cold. Our bill was over $100 for 4. I e-mailed the next day to state our dissatisfaction... no response. Followed-up a week later with another e-mail... no response. I will never go to Market Barbecue again, and would not recommend it to anybody. Absolutely NO customer service. Cons: Food cold, poor service, no response to complaint, over-priced more

Well overpriced average food. Baby back ribs should fall off the bone. We had to use a steak knife to pry and saw them apart. A steak knife! High ratings must have come from people that have not been to a Texas Roadhouse or any restaurant with good ribs. We were quite disappointed with the whole meal. Everything else, but maybe the beans was disappointing for what we paid. We will not return. I got a membership to this site just to be able to warn others not to waste their money here with all the options in the area. Pros: Service was the closest Cons: Food, price, atmosphere more

I watch the food network all the time low and behold the Neelys came to Minneapolis, they seemed to think that Market bbq was the best place to find bbq in Minnesota. after seeing this episode i thought i would give the place a shot so i went to there downtown location they were very busy so i knew it was going to be good. my family and i had the pork and beef ribs we are all used to getting the sauce on our ribs these ribs have the sauce on the side after trying these ribs i agreed with the Neelys they are the best i will for sure be coming back =) Pros: Great food fun music Cons: had a long drive more

I had the spareribs. They were dry and tough, and not well-flavored.\r \r The whole point of indirect cooking methods such as smoking is to tenderize tough cuts of meat. The whole art of doing this is accomplishing the tenderization without drying out the meat. Market failed in both regards on the pork ribs, which is unacceptable.\r \r The chicken was not bad, but the spare ribs were a huge disappointment.\r \r The sides were good, I really enjoyed the slaw. Service was nice and I really dug the atmosphere. Perhaps I was there when the pit boss was having a day, but I really had high expectations hearing about how great the place was. If you want a real Southern BBQ experience, there are much better options in the area (Baker's, Qfanatic, Scot Jamama's, and Ted Cook's come to mind). more

Through my experience the Market Bar-B-Que has always been the best place in Minneapolis to get great BBQ. I've gone there as long as I can remember and I've always had a great experience. I'm a big fan of the ribs and homemade bbq sauce and I like that they a pit smoked like its done in the south. I've also had their chicken which I was very impressed with how moist and tender it is. I feel like the market has a wonderful charm about it that I don't find at big chain restaurants and I think that it?s their dedication to great BBQ and friendly service that keeps me coming back! Pros: Atmosphere, BBQ ribs, friendly service Cons: interesting bar crowd more

If you're staying in downtown Minneapolis, forget room service - this is the place to go! Right on Nicollet Avenue (we call it Nicollet Mall.) Great food!!! Pros: Ribs are never cheap anywhere, but they're pretty reasonably priced here Cons: Messy more

I've heard great things about Market BBQ today and a few friends and I decided to grab take out from 3 bbq places within the twin cities to compare. Market BBQ by far had the worst ribs. We got a full slab of spare ribs and they were not tender and seemed like they were cooked quickly at a higher temperature. Market told us the smoked chicken wings were very popular so we tried an order of those as well. They were okay, nothing special. The best thing was the cole slaw and that does not bode well for a bbq place. My expectations were not met and Market will not be getting repeat business from me. Pros: Easy takeout set up Cons: Price exceeds quality more