On a mobile device? Try our mobile site, optimized for faster browsing.
Mon-Sun. 11:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Loading...
Great BBQ. I absolutely love the brisket. A must if you want something more than pork. A little different than some of the other BBQ places in Durham but well worth the trip. They have more of a Texas sauce which is really nice when you want something more than that vinegar-based BBQ sauce.
I'd keep going if I lived in Durham still and if I ever do return, I'm definitely making a trip here.
Some friends and I were in the area for a wedding and went to the Q Shake for dinner based solely on the Yelp reviews. Needless to say, we had a fantastic meal. The big picnic table was perfect for a large group of people to talk and share food.
The is definably a place to check out
Decent Texas-style BBQ that can be ordered/served in a quick amount of time. They serve Pepsi, so that's a plus in my book.
Yup, I went again. Same as last time, mui grubbin. Brisket (perfectly cooked, smoky, tender), onion rings (cooked perfect, nicely salted batter, crunchy), mac n cheese (cheeseiliciius)
I keep going back for a reason. Carolinians say it isn't true Carolina BBQ. Like I give a shit what they have to say.
Go Q!!!
Great BBQ, and, just 1/2 mile from the office. The brisket is moist and tender, the sauce tangy and… Read more »
I'm not the biggest BBQ lover in the world, especially not "NC BBQ" but I found this place to be fantastic. I ordered the Chili, and although that does sound lame to order at a BBQ place, I tasted many other dishes during this outing. (FYI: my chili was amazing, I added jalepenos for an extra kick!) The mac and cheese was good; interesting with an onion flavor. The fried okra was heavenly. Their "Texas" style BBQ sauce has my mouth watering right now thinking about it. Their "NC", well... not so much. Not because it wasn't great, just because it isn't my flavor. My hubby really enjoyed his ribs. Their sweet tea is fab.
They had a band playing which was really good. Has a very fun family atmosphere. The outdoor seating is really nice! I loved it and would definately go back. Prices are great as well for what you get!
In Durham for work and a friend recommended Q shack for lunch.
Went with the pulled pork plate that featured two sides and hushpuppies.
The portions were huge (though I live in LA and my gauge may be a little off) and I felt like I could have easily shared. Went with mac and cheese and fried okra. I agree fried okra was amazing! Mac and Cheese was okay but not really as good as I hoped. Huge bonus = crushed ice and SUNKIST on tap. I plan on coming back the next time I'm in town.
Supposedly, Q Shack isn't real barbeque (according to native Durhamites), but nonetheless, Q Shack has some gooood food. I like the pulled pork (make sure you add the Q Shack sauce). Not a fan of the ribs (too peppery spicy!). I like the string beans and collard greens.
Next time i go back, I want to get the fried okra. Hmm. Yummy.
It's a little bit of a drive from the Duke campus, but the food is good! Prices are decent. Good hangout with a group of friends.
This place is good. The meats are good, though I don't think the sides were that amazing. It's apparently Texan not North Carolinian bbq, but since I don't have a particular allegiance to either, it's all good to me!
Good:
- beef brisket: tender, smoky, great with both types of barbecue sauce (sweeter Texan or the vinegary North Carolinian)
- baby back ribs: also very smoky, a little spicy, meat pulls cleanly off the bone
- chopped pork butt: super juicy and tender
Pretty good:
- fried okra: tiny morsels of salt and spice
- chicken: tender, but not as flavorful as the other meats
- thick bread
Not as wonderful:
- mac & cheese: way too oily, bland, not cheese enough
- collard greens: personal preference against bitter mushy foods
- hushpuppies: deep fried way too much to taste cornbread or any of the spices, all I could taste was the breading
- thin pickles
This place is awesome. They make really great smoked barbecue that's not too wet, just a little moist. Every other bbq restaurant I've been to drowns the meat in vinegar and a little bit of red pepper, but Q Shack makes a real vinegar based barbecue sauce and applies it perfectly.
They also have spectacular hush-puppies and fried okra.
It might seem a little pricey to some, but consider that barbecue is a craft learned through hard labor and apprenticeship, much like glass blowing and pottery. You wouldn't flinch at paying a little more for a hand-thrown plate, so why worry about a few extra bucks for some barbecue to eat off it? And besides, it's not like it's actually EXPENSIVE, just a little more than other barbecue joints.
The fact that they serve styles of "barbecue" from other parts of the country is of no moment, just get NC pulled pork and you'll be fine.
Brisket from a Texas barbecue heaven; although not NC style, this is great Texas-style barbecue - - moist, tender and smoky; with a really good sauce. Good hushpups and coleslaw, and the obligatory iced tea make this a great BBQ restaurant. Very consistent, which is another plus. I've only had brisket, pork, and sausage - - still want to try the chicken, ribs, turkey and hamburger (it looks great). Fast, friendly service and reasonable prices make this a "keeper".
Yummmm.... this is the place to take people if you have a mix of tastes and preferences when it comes to BBQ. I have found that not everyone likes Carolina style with the vinegar sauce. Texas style brisket & sausage; St. Louis style ribs round out the menu. The hush puppies are the best around and the sweet tea is top notch. Favorite sides are mac n' cheese and creamed spinach.
Whenever I have someone come visit the first place they want to go is Q Shack.
I'm a fan. This is a no-nonesense barbecue joint that is casual in atmosphere but serious about getting the food right. The ribs are fantastic and the brisket is just as good. People could argue about the sauce but all would agree that food here is pretty solid.
It can get a little warm on the inside, there are large benches to share outside. It's a great place to take out-of-towners or just come for yourself for a quick taste of BBQ.
Beer is a little on the expensive side.
The brisket was A-MAZ-ING! Ditto the fried okra. They made them perfectly with just the right ratio of crispy coating to okra. The batter had som extra zing with salt and pepper that made them just right! The mac n cheese wasn't up to my snuff, but snapped up by my two mac-cheese monster nephews. The coleslaw was a little runny and needed more mayo but hey, when we had 5lbs of perfectly BBQ'd brisket and chicken drowned in sauce, none of that matters.
Go for the brisket and okra, delicious and meets your requirements of meats, carbs and veggies!
After an uninspiring visit to Bullock's, I decided to try the other BBQ spot in Durham. Wow. This was MUCH better.
First of all, this is the best brisket I have had outside the State of Texas. Indeed, the brisket served here is almost a clone of Rudy's BBQ in Austin. I would strongly recommend ordering the brisket here.
The St. Louis style pork ribs were reminiscent of the ribs one would find at Dreamland's BBQ in tiny Tuscaloosa, AL (which, yes, I am aware is not located in Missouri). Like the brisket, they are best eaten without either of the sauces provided at Q Shack.
The jack cheese creamed spinach (one of the specials) was phenomenal. Although it lacked great consistency and might remind some patrons of the Exxon Valdez oil spill, it was a downright tasty Southern treat. If they are serving it when you visit, it's worth the gamble unless you don't like heavy veggies.
Also, I had the opportunity to sample the mac-n-cheese here and it's definitely worthy of finding its way onto your plate. Very tasty. My brother would note, however, that it wasn't "cheesy" enough. Again, everyone has their own tastes, but I enjoyed their mac-n-cheese spiked with black pepper seasoning and onions. Good stuff.
Q Shack, however, did have some faults. Most notably, their accompanying sauces disappointed. Again, that isn't the main focus, but these were bottom quarter sauces accompanying top quarter BBQ. I wasn't impressed with their hush puppies either. Their fried okra was merely average.
I also had my first, second, and third "Lester Burnham" moments on record. This just made me want to take my BBQ to go. But outside of that momentary awkwardness, the rest of the ambiance was worth it -- wonderful smell of BBQ cooking, a nice chalkboard with the specials written, quick service, down home folks, and sweet tea. This is definitely worth checking out in you find yourself in the Triangle.
I'd have to agree the Q Shack is overrated. There wasn't much special here, and it most definitely was not North Carolina-style BBQ. The Q Shack had it's hands full trying to replicate both Texas and Memphis styles, with moderate success. It's a nice enough place, and the BBQ is nice enough as well. However, I strongly disagree with whoever said the brisket rivals Rudy's in Texas. The best thing here, for me, was the fried okra. It was the best, crispiest, softest, ultimate fried okra experience. You could eat it like popcorn chicken for an hour without stopping.
The other thing of note here was that when we showed up on the evening of the 4th of July, we had planned to go see fireworks, but instead we got a bit of God's fireworks. We experienced the most intense and insane lightning storm me or any of my friends had ever witnessed. The sheer light show, combined with the thunder and rain, were fantastic. Props to the Q Shack crew who, upon having their power go out, let people continue to eat and gawk at the nature outside as if nothing was going on.
A quick note of clarification - this isn't North Carolina barbecue, if that's what you're seeking. It's more...Texas-y, or Memphis-y, perhaps? Sorry, my expertise is in vinegar-tastic NC BBQ. Still, smoky pulled pork and chicken, beef brisket and ribs are all tasty if you're feeling carnivorous, and the mac and cheese is extremely popular. I'm ambivalent on it myself, because it has onions, but others swear by it.
I can't believe I'm admitting this, but my favorite thing to get here is the baked potato. I know, I KNOW, that's kind of not the point, but I like to get the veggie plate, and the potato is so big and filled with cheese and bacon and yummy-ness, as so few restaurant baked potatoes are, plus I can get it with hushpuppies and okra, two things I dig. So the husband can chow down on a big ol' pile of ribs, and I can have an assortment of side dishes, and everyone's happy.
This is a good place for a fun, quick, casual dinner - you can bring a big group and hit up the picnic tables outside on the porch area.
oh SO GOOD. I was starving, because I had just traveled 7+ hours from San Francisco to Durham. I ordered way too much, but was glad I did. =)
I ordered the 2 meat combo plate:
- Smoked Pork Butt: tender and flavorful. I think I ate all of it.
- Chile Rubbed Beef Brisket: again, tender and flavorful. I ate all of it.
- Coleslaw: nice and vinegary
- Fried Okra: crispy and slimy all at once. fantastic!
- Baked Beans: good
- Hushpuppies: kinda heavy to eat...tastes wonderful the day after!
- Mac n Cheese: just ok.
All this (only 3 sidedishes) for $12. GOOD MEAL for sure!
i think i came to this restaurant with really high expectations based on the other reviews and hearing really great things about the bbq in north carolina. unfortunately, the restaurant fell short. i ordered the ribs with sides of sweet potato fries and fried okra, while the sides were all right the ribs were definitely not of the "fall off the bone quality" that i like and their sauce was just average. everett and jones in oakland still holds my heart and taste buds.
This truly is a great southern style BBQ establishment. The staff is friendly, the tables clean, the music is fitting - overall it leads to an environment that lets you enjoy your BBQ. Each table is equipped with several sauces (Memphis BBQ, Carolina BBQ, hot sauce, etc.), ample napkins, and it is not that big of a hassle to refill your own drinks. They have indoor and outdoor dining options. Seat yourself.
My recommendations are their sausage, chile rubbed brisket, or their chopped pork. They have a wide variety of sides: mac and cheese, slaw, onion rings, potato salad, fries, fried okra, collard greens. Of course, you are also given bread and hushpuppies with your meal.
This is definitely a place I will return to when I visit Durham, and it is less than 10 minutes away from Duke University.
This place is great, especially for a transplant to the South, like me. There's wonderful, authentic Southern food, friendly staff, and bluegrass music in the background. The clientele ranges from your typical Triangle yuppie, to truckers, to college students, to folks with teeth too frightening to describe.
I love this place! (Ah, and for those of you poultry-tarians out there, they have a yummy pulled chicken BBQ as well as the traditional pork)
BEST BBQ IN NORTH CAROLINA!
This is awesome Memphis Style BBQ!
Not the more prevalent NC style, abomination. The difference is that Memphis Style is smoke cooked (still slightly pink inside) and is more dry. NC style looks like boiled chitlins that they then top off by whacking a scoop of mayo drenched cold slaw on top of. YUK! Leave my slaw on the side or better yet just give me double fried okra!
Q Shack is a walk up style place, so the food is served hot and fresh. You handle your own drinks and there are rolls of paper towels on the table. A perfect atmosphere to focus on the BBQ, and excellent for groups!
I say that Memphis style is more dry, but that's only in comparison to NC style. The Q-Shack meat is tender and practically melts in your mouth.
They also offer some GREAT "tail gate" specials that we have used for various events we've hosted. The service is SO good that once when they left out something from a special order they hand delivered it all the way from Durham to Hillsboro (where we were having the event). I don't know anyone else that would do that.
Highly recommend copious amounts of this place's food!
-Zac Morris
Q Shack isn't bad for what they offer. They offer a large variety of BBQ meats (pork, brisket, ribs, chicken, etc) but nothing really stands out for me. The prices are good for the quantity of food you get. They do offer a large variety of tasty sides which I enjoy.
I guess if I was hungry and wanted BBQ, I wouldn't mind coming here.
Just got back from this Joint. Gota tip from someone at Duke that said this place is the shiznit for BBQ. Have to say, it was pretty good, the Brisket was tender, moist, melt-in-your mouth kind of good. The chicken was tender, a bit spicy. I was really looking forward to this okra everyone keeps talking about, but mine was kind of cold and not that crispy. It probably had sat there for awhile... so my advice, if you really want the okra, ask for a fresh batch!
As a northerner, I can't profess to be an expert on BBQ. However, I was traveling in NC and stopped into the Q Shack based on other Yelp reviews.
The brisket was great and the St Louis ribs were OK. I really liked the BBQ sauce in the squeeze bottles on the table, but I don't know if it is homemade or out of a jar. The hush puppies were really great, too.
Liked that the place was clean, had really efficient service and a few good local micro brews to try. The best part was that they had a 4 piece bluegrass band playing in the corner. They certainly added to the ambiance, and they were not so loud that you couldn't think straight. I had brought a book to read, but I never opened it because the music was entertainment enough.
To boot, I had a two meat plate with two sides and a beer, and I got out of there for under $20. All in all, a great place for someone from north of the Mason-Dixon line.
solid bbq shack.
pros: great prices, nice variety
cons: no service
This bbq joint is really good. They have a good selection for bbq (chicken, pork, brisket, ribs...) and a great selection for sides (mac and cheese, hushpuppies, slaw, fries, onion rings, salad, okra...). Its pretty much mix and match so you can get whatever you are in the mood for.
Their sandwiches are sooo good cause its served with toasted extra thick bread.... yum.
Also, their side salad rocks. Its not a wimpy, wilted salad but one with tomatoes, avocado and egg. One downside is that they only have ranch and blue cheese dressing.
Pretty good~! What a fun environment for BBQ! I went here with some co-workers and we enjoyed a nice lunch. The food is OK. The hushpuppies were sooooo yummy! As for BBQ, I think it was tasty but not the best BBQ I've ever had in my life. I'd say - taste-wise - the place was satisfactory. I'd definitely return.
It's the bomb! I patronized the joint twice within three days. The second visit was with three other pork lovers whose only interaction during the meal was passing the bottles of BBQ sauce to one another. That says it all.
Great BBQ. Period. I prefer the brisket, but the pork and chicken are equally tasty. The hushpuppies are good, but the rest of the sides are nothing special. Don't over-order the baked beans. They're quite spicy, so it's difficult to eat large helpings.
The atmosphere is very casual, with an outdoor section of picnic tables.
Wayyyy overrated, I can't believe there are actual people in the world who find the Tennessee school of barbeque palatable, and while Q Shack may be a bit saucier than the strictest interpretation of said school it's still a derivative and thus a culinary cast off. Make the trip further south instead for a proper student of Mississippi 'que, it will certainly be worth it.
This is the only NC restaurant that's made this California palate incredibly, and uniquely happy. This is not North Carolina bbq, but it is good bbq. The brisket and ribs in particular standout. Hushpuppies are good (I have no idea how authentic they are, but I like them better than most I've had). Fries are good. Jalapeno deviled eggs are also good. The mac and cheese has an odd not cheesy taste. The beans also have an overpowering (not overly spicy hot...just odd) taste in my opinion, but my friends love them. Portions are giant. 3 item combo can easily be split between two people.
Q Shack has great food. I did get a little sick once from the avocado in their version of a cobb salad, but it wasn't a huge deal. However, this place doesn't have a ton of seating. It probably has about 10-12 tables inside and probably 6-8 outside. They are all picnic tables for seating. Add that to how popular Q Shack is, and there are times you can't get a table. Also, since it's a walk-up & order type of place, the line can be pretty long sometimes. Not a huge detriment to the Q disciples, but enough to deter some impatient souls that are flexible about what to eat that night.
Durham, NC
Category: Barbeque
Durham, NC
Category: Southern
Durham, NC
Category: Fast Food
Chapel Hill, NC
Category: Barbeque
Durham, NC
Category: Restaurants
Some of my favorite dining destinations in the…
