This spot has some great food. The fried catfish and okra were the stars - crispy and well seasoned. Service was also superb and space was pleasant. Proteins - bbq turkey was meh - probably not to my liking as it harbored a bit of game in its taste. The ribs were pretty good but, perhaps because I'm not enjoying the NC bbq flavor profile, I just wanted less of the BBQ sauce and more of the ribs flavor. They fell off the bone but Frankly I am not a fan of the flavor from a vinegar based BBQ sauce which has nothing to do with the Pit.
Jeremy “Japarican” Cummins
Being from Texas, I kinda have a standard for BBQ, and maybe it's just too high. But this place was mid at best. Service was amazing and super nice. Food came out hot and fast(not always a good thing especially for BBQ). Ended up getting the Double Meat dinner with Potato salad and BBQ Baked beansI don't know if Carolina redefined what "fork tender" means for the state, but the brisket was not the "fork tender" I get in Texas where it's just literally falls apart and melts in your mouth. Brisket was a bit dry as well even though it was covered in BBQ sauce, and the most I have ever had to actually chew what is advertised as fork tender brisket. Chopped Pork had a jalapeno flavor but none of the spice, so i don't know what they're trying to accomplish there. Overall a 3.5/5 experience with the food severely dropping the rating while the staff held it up.Chopped Pork 3/10Brisket 5/10Potatoe salad 6.5/10Baked beans 7/10Hush puppies 8/10
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 4
Paul Ritter
Fantastic food and service
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Alison K.
Based on reviews, this was THE place to come for Carolina bbq. Huge portion and tasty but not mind blowing. I did end up buying both NC style bottled sauces to bring home. My coworker and I came in during a conference and the restaurant was packed. It was going to be an hour wait to be seated, so we decided to order food to go (which still took an hour somehow). They informed us they were understaffed because they were unaware of the conference and therefore an influx of diners. While we waited, we chilled standing at the bar and enjoyed a drink, and got another to go with the sip n stroll program. Drinks were pretty good - I had gin and tonic using a local NC gin. For food I had brisket, chopped bbq, baked beans, and fried okra which came with a biscuit and hush puppies. Both of the meats were pretty good, though some parts seemed a little dry. I liked the tanginess of the sauce on the chopped bbq and enjoyed the beans. Okra was a little soft getting it to go but edible. Hush puppies were fine. The biscuit was really dry and I did not eat it. They provided a couple extra sauces on the side. I ended up having so much leftover and ate it for breakfast.
Tara Glover
This place is AMAZEBALLS! We went here for my Mom's birthday and our host was Ty and he made it such a fun and amazing experience!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Admiral Ackbar
3-29-12 Lunch. We both had Pulled Pork BBQ sandwich meal. Later, it was recommended that we should have done the Double Combo entree. The sandwich was a potato roll with awesome pulled pork inside. I dowsed the sandwich with their East Carolina sauce, which is phenomenal. Awesome sandwich! Fresh cut homemade fries and same with the coleslaw. Sweet Tea to top off the meal, hello food coma. For dessert, the Banana Pudding was recommended by our server. It was served warm and was very good.We liked the East Carolina sauce so much that we bought a bottle for $5.49 and haven’t regretted it. We look forward to returning here.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Biscuits and Hush Puppies, Pulled Pork, BBQ
Yadiel Lopez
My first time in the pit was not disappointed. Everything was delicious and the service was great too.
Let’s get straight to The Pit with this review. I ordered the skillet cornbread as my starter and I was disappointed the cornbread was very dry, hard and the texture was gritty and crumbly. Honestly I believe it was over cooked. I took one small bit and sent it back. Now on to the Entree, I ordered to BBQ chicken with Collard Greens, Mac & Cheese with the Sweet Potato casserole. The BBQ chicken was very juicy, Smokey and delicious, the house sauce however had a strong vinegar flavor that over powerful the sweet taste. Next up is the side dishes, the collard greens was very good and tasty. The Mac & Cheese is cheesy but lack flavor completely. The Sweet Potato casserole was a winner, not overly sweet which like and it was so creamy with small pieces of pecans for an added crunch, which was yummy. This place is a Must Try!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: BBQ
Dale Richards
Had a beautiful dinner with my nephew (DJ) and his brothers' (Anthony) wife Sharea. We had the most amazing food!! We had the Family Style meal and they gave you Soo much food! You had appetizers, the main course and dessert. I tell you, everything was delicious!! The last pic is the banana pudding, honey!!!! I've never had banana pudding taste Soo good!! When you're in Raleigh, NC, you have to eat at The Pit.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Wings, BBQ, The Pit’S Southern Fried Chicken
Allan Toy
Kid-friendliness: The pit has a kids menu with burger, chicken tenders, Mac and cheese
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Biscuits and Hush Puppies, Pulled Pork, BBQ
Great Customer service. Friendly servers and prompt service. Food was delicious and plenty for the price. We had to pay for parking across the street from restaurant.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Kelly A. Calhoun
I honestly thought I did not even like BBQ - bc I am not the biggest meat eater. But then I met Big Paulie ... owner of PIT BBQ, who is sweetest guy and who gave me the MOST DELICIOUS MEAL which included -LOCAL NC Pulled BBQChopped BBQ TurkeyCorn BreadMac n CheeseCollard GreensFried Okraand OMG - best meal ever. I dunno if it was "cooked with Love" or what, but def a fan of this BBQ and could eat this meal all day.
Hunter Reese
This place is simultaneously good for locals (barbecue products are representative of local culture) and for visitors. When I ate meat, I really liked the pulled pork. Now that I'm pescatarian, I'd definitely suggest the soy nuggs or the portobello sandwich. Shrimp are ok too, but they're not as unique as the other options.The atmosphere, while only somewhat culturally genuine compared to competitors, is very attractive and suitable for tourists. It feels a bit upscale, especially given the reasonable prices, for those used to traditional joints.Friends who drink alcohol have all enjoyed the cocktails.Vegetarian options: If you're looking for real barbecue (or even just trying to find an accrptable place where carnivore friends want to go), this is where you'll want to go. Soy nuggs, portobello sandwich, and a great array of sides and appetizers will satisfy you.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Pulled Pork, Pimento Cheese
Kenneth Beamer
I'm not entirely sure why it took 45 mins to get our food when we saw others who ordered after us get theirs within a couple mins, but when it finally came, it was delicious.The Chopped BBQ was super moist, but the star for me was prob the biscuits if I'm being honest. We took a couple back to the Vrbo and had them later out the fridge and the rich, butter flavour shone through even more cold.Fried chicken was satisfactory; a nice crunch of the breading and super moist.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 3
Recommended dishes: Biscuits and Hush Puppies, Wings, Chopped Barbecue, The Pit Sampler Platter, The Pit Bacon Cheeseburger, The Pit’S Southern Fried Chicken
Daylin Simons
Great meal. This KC native really enjoyed the BBQ chicken. They accommodated our large party and the service was wonderful.
This spot has some great food. The fried catfish and okra were the stars - crispy and well seasoned. Service was also superb and space was pleasant. Proteins - bbq turkey was meh - probably not to my liking as it harbored a bit of game in its taste. The ribs were pretty good but, perhaps because I'm not enjoying the NC bbq flavor profile, I just wanted less of the BBQ sauce and more of the ribs flavor. They fell off the bone but Frankly I am not a fan of the flavor from a vinegar based BBQ sauce which has nothing to do with the Pit.
Being from Texas, I kinda have a standard for BBQ, and maybe it's just too high. But this place was mid at best. Service was amazing and super nice. Food came out hot and fast(not always a good thing especially for BBQ). Ended up getting the Double Meat dinner with Potato salad and BBQ Baked beansI don't know if Carolina redefined what "fork tender" means for the state, but the brisket was not the "fork tender" I get in Texas where it's just literally falls apart and melts in your mouth. Brisket was a bit dry as well even though it was covered in BBQ sauce, and the most I have ever had to actually chew what is advertised as fork tender brisket. Chopped Pork had a jalapeno flavor but none of the spice, so i don't know what they're trying to accomplish there. Overall a 3.5/5 experience with the food severely dropping the rating while the staff held it up.Chopped Pork 3/10Brisket 5/10Potatoe salad 6.5/10Baked beans 7/10Hush puppies 8/10
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 4
Fantastic food and service
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Based on reviews, this was THE place to come for Carolina bbq. Huge portion and tasty but not mind blowing. I did end up buying both NC style bottled sauces to bring home. My coworker and I came in during a conference and the restaurant was packed. It was going to be an hour wait to be seated, so we decided to order food to go (which still took an hour somehow). They informed us they were understaffed because they were unaware of the conference and therefore an influx of diners. While we waited, we chilled standing at the bar and enjoyed a drink, and got another to go with the sip n stroll program. Drinks were pretty good - I had gin and tonic using a local NC gin. For food I had brisket, chopped bbq, baked beans, and fried okra which came with a biscuit and hush puppies. Both of the meats were pretty good, though some parts seemed a little dry. I liked the tanginess of the sauce on the chopped bbq and enjoyed the beans. Okra was a little soft getting it to go but edible. Hush puppies were fine. The biscuit was really dry and I did not eat it. They provided a couple extra sauces on the side. I ended up having so much leftover and ate it for breakfast.
This place is AMAZEBALLS! We went here for my Mom's birthday and our host was Ty and he made it such a fun and amazing experience!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
3-29-12 Lunch. We both had Pulled Pork BBQ sandwich meal. Later, it was recommended that we should have done the Double Combo entree. The sandwich was a potato roll with awesome pulled pork inside. I dowsed the sandwich with their East Carolina sauce, which is phenomenal. Awesome sandwich! Fresh cut homemade fries and same with the coleslaw. Sweet Tea to top off the meal, hello food coma. For dessert, the Banana Pudding was recommended by our server. It was served warm and was very good.We liked the East Carolina sauce so much that we bought a bottle for $5.49 and haven’t regretted it. We look forward to returning here.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Biscuits and Hush Puppies, Pulled Pork, BBQ
My first time in the pit was not disappointed. Everything was delicious and the service was great too.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Pulled Pork, Potato, BBQ, The Pit’S Southern Fried Chicken
Let’s get straight to The Pit with this review. I ordered the skillet cornbread as my starter and I was disappointed the cornbread was very dry, hard and the texture was gritty and crumbly. Honestly I believe it was over cooked. I took one small bit and sent it back. Now on to the Entree, I ordered to BBQ chicken with Collard Greens, Mac & Cheese with the Sweet Potato casserole. The BBQ chicken was very juicy, Smokey and delicious, the house sauce however had a strong vinegar flavor that over powerful the sweet taste. Next up is the side dishes, the collard greens was very good and tasty. The Mac & Cheese is cheesy but lack flavor completely. The Sweet Potato casserole was a winner, not overly sweet which like and it was so creamy with small pieces of pecans for an added crunch, which was yummy. This place is a Must Try!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: BBQ
Had a beautiful dinner with my nephew (DJ) and his brothers' (Anthony) wife Sharea. We had the most amazing food!! We had the Family Style meal and they gave you Soo much food! You had appetizers, the main course and dessert. I tell you, everything was delicious!! The last pic is the banana pudding, honey!!!! I've never had banana pudding taste Soo good!! When you're in Raleigh, NC, you have to eat at The Pit.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Wings, BBQ, The Pit’S Southern Fried Chicken
Kid-friendliness: The pit has a kids menu with burger, chicken tenders, Mac and cheese
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Biscuits and Hush Puppies, Pulled Pork, BBQ
Restaurantji Recommends
Great Customer service. Friendly servers and prompt service. Food was delicious and plenty for the price. We had to pay for parking across the street from restaurant.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I honestly thought I did not even like BBQ - bc I am not the biggest meat eater. But then I met Big Paulie ... owner of PIT BBQ, who is sweetest guy and who gave me the MOST DELICIOUS MEAL which included -LOCAL NC Pulled BBQChopped BBQ TurkeyCorn BreadMac n CheeseCollard GreensFried Okraand OMG - best meal ever. I dunno if it was "cooked with Love" or what, but def a fan of this BBQ and could eat this meal all day.
This place is simultaneously good for locals (barbecue products are representative of local culture) and for visitors. When I ate meat, I really liked the pulled pork. Now that I'm pescatarian, I'd definitely suggest the soy nuggs or the portobello sandwich. Shrimp are ok too, but they're not as unique as the other options.The atmosphere, while only somewhat culturally genuine compared to competitors, is very attractive and suitable for tourists. It feels a bit upscale, especially given the reasonable prices, for those used to traditional joints.Friends who drink alcohol have all enjoyed the cocktails.Vegetarian options: If you're looking for real barbecue (or even just trying to find an accrptable place where carnivore friends want to go), this is where you'll want to go. Soy nuggs, portobello sandwich, and a great array of sides and appetizers will satisfy you.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Pulled Pork, Pimento Cheese
I'm not entirely sure why it took 45 mins to get our food when we saw others who ordered after us get theirs within a couple mins, but when it finally came, it was delicious.The Chopped BBQ was super moist, but the star for me was prob the biscuits if I'm being honest. We took a couple back to the Vrbo and had them later out the fridge and the rich, butter flavour shone through even more cold.Fried chicken was satisfactory; a nice crunch of the breading and super moist.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 3
Recommended dishes: Biscuits and Hush Puppies, Wings, Chopped Barbecue, The Pit Sampler Platter, The Pit Bacon Cheeseburger, The Pit’S Southern Fried Chicken
Great meal. This KC native really enjoyed the BBQ chicken. They accommodated our large party and the service was wonderful.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5