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Dillon's Thunderbird
Rating Details »
Categories: Barbeque, American (Traditional) [Edit]
8706 W Thunderbird RdPeoria, AZ 85381
(623) 979-5353
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Good for:
- Lunch, Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
16 reviews for Dillon's Thunderbird
I promised my carnivorous 10 year old son some BBQ Ribs, and he wasn't letting me off the hook until he got some. So we ventured over to Dillion' s on Saturday afternoon, since one of my favorite meals is Pulled Pork, and Dillon's was right down the street.
We only had to wait a few minutes and got a table right away. The atmosphere is understated... not really a place to bring your first date as there is no romantic ambiance here, just rolls of paper towels on each table for those truly dedicated to making a mess. If you come here, it's for the food.
And it's worth coming here for the food. I love BBQ, and this is one of the best I have found in Phoenix so far. My son commented that they had some of the best ribs he had ever eaten (and he's tried a lot). I also noticed that you could buy the pulled pork, chicken, or brisket by the pound to go... already thinking about it for the first week of football.
If you are on the west side and hankering for some BBQ, give it a shot!
I've been eating at Dillon's for many years and my recent visit today was quite disappointing....
The Waitress came by with our beverages, but completely disappeared as we waited and...and waited...and waited to give her our order....(by this time, we could had driven over to FAMOUS DAVE'S in the amount of time it took for her to reappear!) There were only 3 other customers in the whole place, so it wasn't crazy busy (and there was ANOTHER Food Server on duty too).
Anyhow....
I usually order their Pulled Pork, which is never disappointing. However, after seeing Adam Richman (Man Vs Food) eating some BBQ brisket on a recent episode, I suddenly wanted brisket too!
The brisket was nicely rolled on a bun (like a spiral lollipop) and looked quite pretty, but was NOT as moist as the Pulled Pork. It was dry. The homemade potato salad is ALWAYS a winner! The overall portions seemed skimpy for the price ($8 or $9 bucks) for a sandwich and 1 side. (For less money, I could had gone to a Buffet to pig-out and not have to wait for a SLOW Food Server...)
Took awhile to get the check too...ugh! Not everyone who eats there has HOURS to sit there waiting and waiting.
If you want good portions for a good value...this is NOT the place to visit. Slow service and dry brisket will remind me to chose someplace else for lunch next time. ..
These guys have good BBQ, the only problem is they cook to their demographic so everything is over cooked, and they go light on their sauce on some and extremly heavy on many other items. Many bland items, but good happy hour specials and appitizers, and some good spicy bbq items. Kind of pricy for what you get compared to others. Also the ditsy watresses would rather flit with guys in the back than ask you if you need a refill or something.(famous daves is way better) If I lived in sun city I would probably rate this establishment with 4 or more stars but this young buck looks elsewhere for bbq delight. Texaz bbq or famous daves are much better choices.
I've dined at this Dillon's a dozen times or more, it's a favorite in my family. I especially like fresh-fried mushrooms; these guys deliver, and add fresh onion rings and fried pickles to boot. I'm not crazy about the pickles; I prefer hamburger dill slices in the southern style, but these guys deliver on the house made batter. It's light, crispy, and their ancho dipping sauce is on point. This is real barbecue, slow-smoked, and pulled by hand; with sauces as garnish. Choose from sausage, pulled pork, brisket, St. Louis or baby back ribs, or chicken. Full bar and good margaritas, and not very expensive at all. Service: These are among the cutest, most attentive, younger women in the valley. Allow for a little youth, and be wowed by their dedication. Love this place.
I visited Dillons Thunderbird again in search of good BBQ. It was three star worthy. I will probably be back as I have been on a BBQ binge lately in search of the best. This time I had the South Carolina style pulled pork sandwich and it was very tasty.
We ordered taquitos as an appetizer and they were servered very nicely. Five large taquitos each stuffed with a different filling, chicken, pork, beef. All very good.
Worth a visit if you are in the area!
With so many corporate options near by I was elated when mother decided that Dillon's is where she wanted to go for her birthday. Not because the food is awesome or anything like that but because they are still independent and successful.
For years and years we've been coming to Dillon's and I have to say that they are consistently okay. Back in the day when the menu was smaller and their meat platters came with garlic bread twists this was one of my favorites. Does anyone remember the bread twists? Oh those were awesome!
The BBQ here is alright.. not bad, not great.. just stuck somewhere in the middle. Mother BTW, loved her Chicken Club sandwich and IMHO one of the only things to order on the menu.. fried chicken breast, bacon, ham and cheddar cheese on a bun.. it shines in its pork fayyt goodness!
Oh Dillon's. I once, mistakenly took this guy that I was seeing to Dillon's. See, we hadn't really talked much about our eating habits as it was our second or third date (and we'd just met for drinks before this date) but he had marked "meat and potatoes" in his on-line profile. I'm not a meat and potatoes girl as I am Pakistani and these things are inherent to American culture but I was keen on satisfying his supposed love for meat and potatoes.
In order to truly grasp this situation, you have to know that this guy was from the East Valley and kind of a snob because of it- I know that the West Valley has a long way to go (but I live and work here and have to be positive so shut up!) and am not denying that. We had only hung out in the East Valley, and it was my turn to try and let the West Valley shine. Anyway, I was freaking out because I don't know Phoenix that well and don't eat meat and potatoes. So, I called a good friend who is a Phoenix native and she instantly thought "DILLONS!" when I said meat and potatoes.
She was, of course right on, if one is really into meat and potatoes. It turns out that the guy I was seeing wasn't really into meat and potatoes and hadn't thought much about his profile when he had filled it out. I felt like a total freak, as he told me he enjoyed Thai and all kinds of stuff that I actually enjoy. This led to a bit of an awkward albeit fun time at Dillon's.
We opted to sit outside as it was a nice evening. Unfortunately, the patio area gives you clear view of some abandoned trailer and a large overgrown field. Not exactly romantic or cool.
We ordered a bottle of red wine when we sat down and the waitress was clearly miffed by this. I'm pretty positive she had been working there for years and no one had actually ordered a bottle of wine. It also took a very long time for the wine to be delivered to us, so we were sure that someone had to run out to the local Circle K to get us our bottle of wine.
I ended up ordering the spinach enchiladas (I know, lame) and he ordered a salmon salad. Although the food was decent, I'd probably only suggest this restaurant to a big meat eater. Which apparently wasn't either of us. I totally let the West side down by showcasing Dillon's to an East Valley snob. Argh.
People who like this place have got to be kidding me! The brisket and ribs were dry and tasteless. They try and hide this fact by covering it up with sauce (the sauce is pretty good) but you can't rely on sauce to cover up the fact that your meat is terrible! I should have known I was in trouble when I walked in and smelled bleach, not barbecue. The service was not very good either. I told the waitress about the tasteless food and she just offered me more tasteless food. Had she at least offered to take it off my bill I would have felt slightly better about the experience. Seriously, try the food without the sauce, you will be unpleasantly shocked!
I like this place.
Been to this one and the one on 59th Ave. & 101. The Tbird location is actually a house converted into a restaurant. It's a nice little place for bbq.
The food is pretty good, they have typical barbecue fare like St. Louis ribs, pulled pork, brisket, and chicken. I regularly get the Carolina pulled pork samwich (i think that's what it's called... the one topped with cole slaw). Best pulled pork I've had here in Phoenix.
There is one unique item that makes this place stand out from other places, and that's the Crispy Chicken Wings. It's an appetizer, but you get like 12. The wings are not like the hot wings you get at any bar, they're freakin huge. Plus they are battered and breaded, and they serve all the sauces on the side. Great success :) Haven't found wings like that anywhere else yet.
This is a meat place close to Sun City so dinner at 5 last night was quite appropriate.
Dillon's is decent fresh food in a casual environment. Good for groups, efficient wait staff and big portions. The man was on a brisket kick and since this was a BBQ joint, figured he would try it. It is Kansas style and it was nice and tender BBQ-though not quite "smoked" and definitely sliced on a meat slicer.
The daughter had a pulled pork sandwich that was tender and delicious. The Grandmother had a brisket sandwich, there are other offerings as well-fried chicken, chicken fried steak, fish, etc. Salads are good as are the onion rings they ordered for appetizers. This is no BBQ joint. This is a family restaurant with decent food and decent service.
I am giving 4 stars again mostly due to the great service we have. For some reason, AZ is still ass backwards when it comes to recognizing waitstaff. They are not paid minimum wage (though I am not sure how this is legal). They make about $3.25 per hour from the establishment (this is up from $2.12 two years ago) and the rest is supposed to come out of tips. Any young person willing to work in the Sun City area and depend on tips and actually works really hard to get them deserves a whole star to themselves (oh and an extra tip behind the chintzy tippers in my family here).
Reservations are only taken for a party of 8 or more.
The best BBQ porks sandwhich ever. Juicy, flarvorful, meaty, smokey. Perfect.
I am surprised there are not more reviews for Dillon's seeing how popular it is on the west-side.
It is a good BBQ restaurant, with a wide menu, friendly staff, and quick service (for the most part). Despite being overrun with white hairs, there is a good mix of families and often it gets really loud in their. The BBQ sauce is tasty and the brisket, pork, and baby back ribs are some of the best you will find over here. It is the type of place you can go to and know you will always have a quality meal- no surprises here. It has become a staple with my family and often a place we take out of town company. With locations in Surprise and 67th and the 101, it is convenient to most of the west-side.
I suspect the average age of the regular customer base would approach sixty. This isn't what one would consider a hip and happenin' spot, but Dillon's is comfortable and confident with its role in life.
The servers are generally high school students and forced to wear t-shirts featuring sports teams. They're friendly, but definitely have the "I'm sixteen and this is my first job. Teehee." thing going on. The decor reminds you of a trip to Grandma's, and the music in the bar is just a little too loud.
Once you move past all of that, Dillon's is wonderful. The food is hearty and there are no pretenses. The stews are lovely, and the pulled pork sandwich is great. There are two choices of barbecue sauce and the kids menu provides a few options.
The best part? The onion rings. They're light and fluffy with just the slightest hint of seasoning. You'll have a choice between a full basket and half basket. Just give in and buy the entire thing. The onion rings alone are worth the trip.
tonite had first bad meal here. was with 90 yr old motherinlaw so did not say anything cuz she gets so flustered and thinks anything untoward is her fault somehow. been here plenty and usually very good food across the board. beware the chicken fried steak if the breading could not save it there is a problem, and there was an overabundance of breading on a stringy unchewable hunk of steak. just pushed it around and hid it under gravy so mom didn't notice. little blip hopefully just one bad day and not a sign of things to come, cuz dillon's is a family favorite.
I Love this place never had a bad meal. The Dillons dip is the best french dip sandwich around. I also love the Beef Ribs and the Chilli is OMG Awesome they put brisket in it! Good for kids too!
I have been Thunderbirds BIGGEST fan for many years. I have known the owners since they first opened this Restaurant years ago. Please know that they have the BEST BBQ and also entertainment on the weekends. Along with fantastic parties for special holidays. I will never forget some of the Halloween parties held at Dillons, St. Patricks Day & Cinco De Mayo to name a couple more....This is a perfect family Restaurant along with a mix for the people that prefer to relax and have a great time without children. You will love the atmosphere at Dillons. You will love the Dillons family. It is in a word.....genuine.
