Customer service: I had dinner here yesterday and left my credit card. I called this morning and was advised that it was in the safe. I came immediately after work and the manager Suzy gave me a hard time. Â She said she was too busy to get my card from the safe and I should come back or wait around until she's free. When I asked how long, she said she doesn't know. Really bad service. Their servers don't even smile. For a restaurant with a Southern theme, they lack that Southern hospitality. She did ask me to come back, that's only after I got home and called the restaurant.
Food: While the brisket and Carolina chopped pork are ACCEPTABLE, they lack that tenderness. The smoke was good though. Forget about the ribs and wings. They're tough and dry. If you really want some good Southern BBQ and wouldn't mind going to the city, try Hill Country BBQ at 26th street and 6th ave. It is worth the travel. I would have given this restaurant another shot but the customer service is just horrible.
Excellent food. Hostess does not know her job and hangs up the phone immediatly after answering question without asking if you need anything else. Food runners never seem to know who gets the food they bring out, so basically walk back and forth until someone notices and claims the item. I saw them place it on a table then walk away only to have left the wrong item then the food sits on the wrong table until someone comes by and takes it to the correct table. Very untrained staff. Very loud bar music does not allow for much dinner conversation. Go for the food but font expect much else. Better yet get it delivered and avoid the aggravation.
Review Source:We found this joint by googling BBQ. Â It looked interesting via the web site, so we decided to give it a try. My first impression was , lets leave. It was dirty and empty. With that being said I ordered deep fried mac and cheese, it was very good. Then on to my lunch. I ordered combo platter cause I wanted a little of everything . What I got was a little of everything leftover from last nite. It was very dried out and tough. Will not be back.
Review Source:The food was decent. My waffle fries were amazing. I ordered the jersey burger (turkey burger w/no taylor ham) and it was ok. Not too bad. But my main issue was the service. The service was AWFUL from beginning to end. I made reservations because my family and i wanted to go there (for the first time) to celebrate a special occasion. The waitress sat us at a tight corner 4 top right by the condiment station where the servers also put in orders. That was a no no...so we moved our seats to a bigger dining room. Our server was not friendly or knowledgable of the menu at all. she talked over us as we asked questions while making our order. she didnt bring ketchup and assumed we knew the different bbq sauces she just sat on the table and walked away. she didnt refill our sodas untii it was time to ask for the check. she was rude and unattentive. everything in me wanted to complain to the manager but my mom convinced me to just let it go for the moment. so i did. but i have to share this review because ppl need to know how awful the service is at this place. i'd consider going back but no time soon. probably not at all. i hope management sees this post. YOUR SERVERS SUCK!!!
Review Source:We had quite a terrific meal here. The ribs and chicken were meaty and flavorful, and the sides were tasty, though the potato salad could have used a little salt. My wife had a watermelon basil-type vodka drink, which I also recommend. The service was adequate, and it's much quieter than Hat City, with faster service. I'll definitely be back.
Review Source:There are far better places in the area for quality BBQ. Â All of the food was just so-so. Â The service is lackluster and inattentive. Â Walking in and approaching the hostess stand, there is often a wait for someone to even come and seat you.
The bar scene is pretty good, and they do a nice job for Monday Night Football. Â That being said, they are pushing themselves as a BBQ restaurant. Â Some of their menu items are decent, but those items sure aren't the BBQ items.
I like Suzy-Qs and will continue to come here maybe once every month or 6 weeks, even though it can be an uneven experience as others have described.
Mainly I come because as a local person and a train fan I love the historic space. Â Back in the 19th century, before air conditioning was ubiquitous, in warmer weather people would go to enjoy the health-giving air at the "South Orange Mountain House" up the hill (burned down in the late 1800s) --a destination resort ! Â I always think to myself that maybe the mountains were higher then. I am not sure if this station was the original Mountain Station (the current train station on the New York-Dover line now with that name is about a mile south). There is an original suffragette poster from the 19th century on the wall in the dining room, and some old pictures of the station can still be found on the walls, I think.
I also love the feeling of the glassed-in porch dining area just off the bar. Â Never fail to enjoy this lovely place to sit in the late afternoon just as the sun is going down.
Always good smoked wings here. Â But the service and even the amounts of food in the servings seem to vary from visit to visit! When I was last here on a Friday at about 520 pm with my daughter, no one seemed to mind--the restaurant was very full and the mood was convivial. Â I'm not picky about barbeque and my kids usually have the baby back ribs and are satisfied. I would agree that it is not a gourmet barbecue shack for the person who is a fan of a distinct US regional style, more generic.
They have my favorite chardonnay on their wine list, which always makes me happy (although not sure it is a great pairing with smoked chick wings!) Â I will keep watching for Groupons which help me manage my expectations and chill out when the service is slow.
As an overall restaurant I would say it is okay. Â They do some things very well, service is a hit or miss thing, but the sad part is that their BBQ is just average (too dry and bland).
A solid option, but without great BBQ I just find it average. Â I am from Texas and have had BBQ all over, so I have a pretty high bar, so while others may really like their BBQ it just does not wow me.
Great food & friendly and attentive service. Â Had the combo platter & sausage platter. Especially loved the chopped pork, tender little chunks and the brisket, and the mac 'n cheese. Â So much food, good too that it'll be a dinner for tomorrow. Â Plan to come back & try some of the other entrees.
Review Source:We ordered the BBQ platter with creamed spinach. Babyback ribs were good, didn't care for the St. Louis style ribs they were a little fatty. I've had better pulled pork but the creamed spinach was amazing. I did not like having to add my own sauce at the table. Wish the ribs were cooked in the sauce.
Review Source:Don't go to SuzyQue's BBQ & Bar. Some of the worst service I have ever encountered. The servers are not trained at all and have no idea what they are doing. I actually tweeted at Jon Taffer from Bar Rescue while we were sitting there that this place needs a serious rescue.
The food was not terrible but nothing to go back for. The decor is old and tired. Overall not worth a visit.
I was looking for a new place to try and heard about SuzyQue's BBQ. It's a nice restaurant but didn't give me that southern vibe/atmosphere I expected but their menu selections did. The owner was welcoming and the bartender was nice.
I started with appetizers: the Signature Smoked Wings and the Mac & Cheese Fritters. The wings are slow smoked and although they were tender and well-seasoned, the smoked flavor was overpowering. The mac and cheese fritters would've been delicious - even better than the ones at Cheesecake Factory - had they not been so greasy. For dinner I had the Southern Fried Chicken w/mixed veggies and potato salad. The sides were delicious, the chicken, not so much. It was fried golden brown and the meat was tender but had no flavor.
The good thing is that the food portions are very large. I wasn't expecting that and ended up bring half of everything home.
The "Rating Distribution" (1-5 stars) says it all - SuzyQue's is terribly inconsistent and poorly managed. Â And that's too bad, because the food is pretty good (most of the time).
My wife and I have sat in all sections of the restaurant - from the dining room to the bar area to the bar itself - and received poor unattentive service everywhere. Â The wait staff seems to vanish randomly - drink and water glasses will sit empty for seemingly endless periods of time, as will dirty dishes that need to be cleared. The hostess seems to be easily confused and overwhelmed.
The Bartender - I have no problem with young adults (20s-30s) tending bar to try to earn a few bucks, but they should, at least, know how to "tend" to the bar and the customers. Â Perhaps the problem is that Suzy has only one bartender who has to serve the bar customers AND fill all of the drink orders from the dining room etc.
The Menu - As mentioned above, food is generally good but inconsistent. Â For instance, on one evening my wife had the fish wrap (her staple) and proclaimed that it was one of the best she's ever had. Â Two weeks later, she ordered it again and it bore little resemblence to the wrap she had the first time - everything was different, the preparation, seasoning and the way it was put together. It's not that it was bad, it just wasn't what she was looking for based on her positive experience the first time.
BBQ - Unfortunately, suburban NJ is a BBQ wasteland and I have low expectations when I walk into a place like SuzyQue's. Â However, I must admit that all of the smoked meat on the menu is very good. Â I usually order the sampler ($26) because I like to have a taste of everything - and bring some home. Â My favorite sauce is the orange habenero - a tasty combination of heat and sweet.
The Sides - When the sides are prepared and cooked properly, they are very good. Â But when they arrive at the table luke warm or, in one case, mac 'n cheese cold on the inside, they are not.
Overall, I would say that I have a love-hate relationship with this place.
3.5 stars.
Mac and cheese was amazing and tons of food.
Got the combo platter and it was definitely enough food to last me 2.5 meals. My favorite was the dry rubbed ribs. Had heated up in a small oven at work and was the envy of everyone. Corn bread was meh - maybe it was dried up from reheating. The wings were tasty and very plump. Had tried friend's beef ribs - not a fan of beef ribs usually so not going to comment. Didn't really try any of the sauces on the table. brisket was tender. sweet potato fries were good too.
The service was decent - didn't get offer a refill though for my soda, but I was fine. The owner's wife (?) came out to check on the patrons  - that was nice.  The restaurant also had a bar area with tvs, which look like it could be an awesome place to hang out to watch a game. We were seated by the windows and was relatively qiet so perfect for catching up.
Came with my boyfriend because of a groupon deal. WOW were we surprised. the food was just what i was looking for. I am new to the area and really needed to try out some restaurants and this was a perfect choice. the deal we had gave us to dinners and 2 drinks. My BF being a "hamburger man" decided on the half chicken with fries and baked beans. To see him actually enjoy the meal was awesome. I had the combo platter because i needed a little of everything and thats EXACTLY what it gave me... some of this some of that and a bunch of DELICIOUS!! The mac & cheese totally hit the spot. The meat was fall off the bone and the wings were so flavorful. The variety of sauses was great too. Apple cinnimon flavored, sweet & spicy, traditional, i wanted to take all the sauces home. We will definitly be going back. the only down side was our waitress was a little distracted. we never saw her and if we needed something we had to seek her out and flag her down
Review Source:A Groupon opportunity brought me to SuzyQue's BBQ & Bar, but I'm not sure what it would take to get me back. As far as making it a point to attach the "& Bar" to the name, I'd recommend they hire somebody who knows how to make a drinkable bloody mary before they promote themselves as a watering hole. The three of us had to doctor up our vodka and tomato juices with some tabasco, Worcestershire, and black pepper - all staple ingredients - to get them closer to tasting like a proper bloody mary. Not only was there no horseradish in the drink, they didn't have any horseradish in the restaurant. Might want to think about keeping a bit of that behind the bar, no? SuzyQue's should probably just stick to BBQ, although, it wasn't much better than the bloody mary, unfortunately.
We had their fried calamari which was about as bland and uninspiring as it gets and the "Signature" smoked chicken wings as an appetizer. The wings were the highlight of the meal, setting us up for some relative disappointment when we received our entrees. In hindsight, I would have preferred three more orders of the wings, but instead, my group split the 1/2 Chicken, Brisket, and Baby-Back Ribs. The portions were generous, but as far as BBQ goes, the offerings were just mediocre. The 1/2 chicken was the best of the bunch, and while the ribs were plenty meaty, they lacked the fall-off-the-bone tenderness you expect from southern BBQ. The brisket was flat out not appetizing, with a texture more akin to over-cooked roast beef than moist and smoky beef brisket.
A bit about the sauces they put out on the table: One of the four sauces they have available was a delicious, tangy BBQ sauce. Two of their other BBQ sauces were uninteresting, thinner, and bore no resemblance to any Carolina-style sauce, even though I imagine that is what they were trying to achieve. The fourth sauce was so horribly conceived, I still can't figure out what it was and who decided it would be a good idea to let diners experience that unknowingly. It was some sort of orange marmelade-type of sauce and I'm having a hard time trying to picture what it would complement. It's a good thing that I didn't dive right into that orange sauce without taking a small taste, as it would have easily ruined any part of my meal that it came into contact with. Taste it at your own risk.
The service wasn't anything spectacular, in fact, they seemed understaffed, although it seems we caught them just as they were opening up at 12 PM. Not to make an excuse for them, but it seemed like our server was preoccupied. She did bring us the ingredients so that we could make our own blood marys, which was nice. The prices are a bit on the high side for a BBQ joint, although the portions are very large. Without the Groupon softening the blow, I would have been upset about the quality of our experience for the amount of the check.
I can't decide if SuzyQue's BBQ & Bar is more poorly represented as a BBQ restaurant, or as a bar. It was not the worst BBQ I've ever eaten, but it's far from the best. I can say with confidence, however, that the bloody mary is on the bottom of my list. There's a lot of room for improvement. I think fixing the deficiencies of the bar would be a bit easier than overhauling the cuisine, but if they condensed the menu, buried any trace of that orange sauce in a vat beneath the Earth, and took more pride in the BBQ dishes, it might be a start. I'd recommend they start with baby steps and figure out how to make a bloody mary.
I ordered the brisket and pulled pork with a side of onion rings and french fries. This food is not barbecue. There is definitely no smoking going on anywhere near this establishment. The brisket was not only the worst brisket I've ever had but also one of the most unappetizing pieces of meat I've ever seen. The fat was not rendered at all and the meat was as tough as an overcooked steak. It came out on a plate full of grease.
The pork was barely edible. The fries, onion rings and cornbread were all good but I just can't see how this place can call itself a barbecue restaurant. Whoever's tending the pit (frying pan/oven) back there should be ashamed of themselves.
Pros:
Huge portion
Owner personally did table touches
The taste of food was good and not too drenched in BBQ
The waiter friendliness
The groupon was worth the trip for sure (no problems using either, just required reservations)
Cons:
The entrees could have been hotter (the appetizer wings came out SUPER hot)
the service was slow -seemingly a little understaffed
We had the smoked wings,BBQ platter (they were out of brisket) and the chopped pork with the baked beans, greens and creamed spinach. Â All tasty.
Overall, I'd go back for another visit - will update!
Possibly the worst meal I've ever had. Â My boyfriend and I love BBQ and we're big fans of Dinosaur BBQ in Newark. Â We live right in West Orange, so I took him here for his bday. Â What a disappointing embarrassment. Â The food was disgusting. Â We didn't even finish our meals. Â Awful doesn't even describe it. Â I think they boil the meat and put supermarket bbq sauce on it. Â Gross and wayyyy overpriced. Â We were still hungry, so after dropping $90 (we still tipped well because the waitress was nice) we ended up at Burger King for his bday. Â I was mortified. Â I saw they were running a groupon... still not worth it! Stay away!!
Review Source:As I sit in my lunchroom eating leftovers that taste like a delicious campfire I figured I would write my review.
Bbq platter is gigantic and very delicious. Obsessed with the chopped pulled pork.
Mac and cheese so good, as were the mashed potatoes.
Decadent heavy and good for the soul but definitely not for anything else.
Service was pretty bad so 4 stars!
The live music Fri n Sat nights intrigued me and so I made reservations couple weeks back for a Fri night  for me n a girlfriend. It was near the Wilshire where we were staying. We arrived at 9 30 n asked to be seated by the band. Not the best view but they sounded great. It def had the feel of like a chain type restaurant but the live band really kicked it up, they were older, bluesy n playing pretty sick. Sadly when we placed our orders (my salad w/ grilled chicken, her grilled chicken wrap) the waiter returned and claimed they ran outta chicken. Who runs outta chicken?? It was all good cuz the waiter was cool n gave us a round of beers on the house for the inconvenience. Chicken, what chicken? haha.. So I wouldn't go outta my way but for tunes n fair priced food I wouldn't cancel them out either ;)
Review Source:Overpriced and underwhelming. Not much in Lunch specials. Had a short rib sandwich. Pretty uninspiring. For 13 bucks Id expect better. I think Tops Diner makes a FAR superior short rib sandwich with soup, and better sides for 10 bucks. The toasted french bread on this thing here just doesn't fit with the rib meat. Â Waffle fries seem store bought. Â Kind of loud inside considering only a few people. I wouldn't go back. There are better places that are way cheaper than this.
Review Source:My husband and I spent some time in Georgia and the Carolinas this summer and had been looking for a local place in Jersey that served decent Southern BBQ. We decided to take a chance on Suzyques and we were not disappointed!
We both ordered the brisket with mac and cheese on the side. He had daily vegetable (mix of green beans, carrots, lima beans, etc.) and I had the baked beans.
The brisket was tender, juicy and smoky. It had so much flavor that it didn't really need sauce, but I put some on anyway just so I could sample it. There was a sweet sauce and a spicy sauce and both were great. The macaroni and cheese was unbelievable. It was baked and incredibly cheesy. I can see how people might be put off by the texture of the creamy cheese on the inside because it's a bit different, but it's very good. The noodles are also not your typical elbow macaroni, but still excellent. The baked beans were a great balance of sweet and a touch spicy and they had a nice texture. They contained kidney beans, so again, probably not for the traditionalists, but I loved them. Also, both dishes came with cornbread which we both found to be very flavorful, but a tad dry.
The iced tea was also very good. Sweet, but not overwhelming.
Honestly, the only thing keeping us from giving five stars (Full disclosure: I was just so happy to get free cornbread that I didn't really care that is was kind of dry.) was the really lousy service. Our waitress was seriously inattentive to the point that another waitress came over to check on us. We could see her standing around and talking behind us, so there really wasn't an excuse for that. The food came out quickly, but that was basically the last we saw of her. Also, the live music was cool, but when the hostess asked if we wanted to sit near the band, we said no and that we would prefer to be in a quieter section. She proceeded to seat us in between two large parties, even though there were other tables.
I'm not sure if they offer carry out, but we might look into that for next time. Either way, we'll be back for the amazing food.
I used to really enjoy this place. You'd call me a regular. It's convenient, cheap, and friendly. But recently things have gotten sloppy. My boyfriend  attempted to split a check between cash and card which was a 50/50 split. The server took the cash and charged the card the entire amount. Suzy rectified the situation which we appreciated.
I want to continue to support this local business. I would strongly suggest that Suzy hire a restaurant floor manager.
Also, they often close long before 2am. Last call can be as early as midnight.
Lastly, I suspect I've gotten food poisoning from them. I can't be sure, and don't want to make false accusations but I'm pretty it was from this establishment. I still go here from time to time for drinks and live music, but that's about it.
I realize my review is only a few days old, but I went back last night, cause I may seriously be addicted to the Rock Shrimp.
They changed the presentation, and it's SPOT ON.
My husband had nachos, and he liked them, we sat at the bar and were excited
that they had live music! And it was GOOD live music!
We would've stayed longer, but we needed to get home for the sitter.
Suzy is great, and attentive to all the patrons. Nice to see someone taking an active role in their business.
I kinda wanna go back right now for the Rock Shrimp....
I came here because of the groupon deal and have a love for BBQ. We were seated in the back of the restaurant. There is a bar in the front. The food is good. I ordered Calamari, BBQ Combo Platter (2 Baby Back Ribs, St. Louis Ribs, and Smoked Wings; a Beef Brisket and Sausage & Carolina Chopped Pork) with Mac and cheese, creamed spinach, and red beans. I couldn't finish my meal because the portions were a lot.
The service is alacritous, Â conscious, and genteel. I would come back to order the mac and cheese and Carolina Chopped Pork.
We went here because A) we had a groupon to try SuzyQue's and B) we love BBQ. Â There was no wait and we were seated immediately in the main dining room. Â The first thing out of our waitresses mouth was "do you have a living social deal or groupon?" Â Why yes we did.
We started with the wedge salad. Â Half a wedge of lettuce over tons of blue cheese, chopped cherry tomatoes, and bacon. Â It was tasty, and large enough for two, but after a few bites it was too salty for my liking.
For dinner we each ordered the BBQ Combo Platter. Â This is definitely a good entree to start with if you are new to this restaurant: brisket, chopped pork, St. Louis Style Ribs, Baby Back Ribs, and chicken wings. Â Just to note: I think people who don't like the ribs here must not be fans of dry rub. Â I love dry rubbed ribs and these were good ribs that I would definitely come back for. Â Normally I don't go crazy over Baby Back Ribs, but these were big, meaty, and oh so good especially covered in their St. Louis Style vinegar based BBQ sauce. Â I didn't care for the chopped pork, but the boyfriend liked it. Â In fact I think he liked everything because he almost wiped his plate clean. Â
In terms of the sides get the mac and cheese. Â It is so freaking amazing good that I easily would have been happy ordering mac and cheese for dinner in a BBQ Place. Â The sweet potato fries are like any other. Â The potato salad was nice and creamy with a vinegar bite. Â
The boyfriend says 2 thumbs up. Â Large portion for the price which I find nice. Â Would definitely come back for the mac and cheese and "baby back ribs...BBQ sauce."
Food was ok - ribs were dry but sausage was yummy. Huge portions but definitely not the best BBQ ever. The mixed vegetables were definitely canned but the mac n cheese was delicious. It was a nice quiet mid afternoon meal until halfway through some older woman, I assume the owner, decided it was a good idea to sit down with her kitchen manager and reprimand him. There were plenty of empty rooms in the place where she could have done this but she decided to do it in front of customers trying to enjoy their meal. Thanks for making us feel unimportant as customers. She caught me looking at her and asked how I was doing so I preceded to tell her that she shouldn't do that in front of us. Â Employees in ear shot were grinning. Â :)
I hope the wait stuff spit in her food.
A lot of mixed reviews about this place. Â I hope I can help settle the steam. Â
Excellent smoked meats, cooked to near perfection with a delicious rub smothering them. Â A basket of tasty sauces which need to be spread liberally to appreciate the flavor. Â Combining the saaaawwwce and the rub leaves your mouth short circuiting.
The mac and cheese also has a smokey hint to it and it was delicious. Â
It is very hard to find decent bbq in Essex County and well worth the trip to order from their BBQ menu. Â I can't talk about the other food since it defeats the purpose of going to a smoke house for bar food.
Very disappointed. Â Having bought the groupon for this place and going several months ago I was excited to try some BBQ and I had high hopes for this place. Â Being as it was new a few months ago I was going in blind. But now that I see the rest of the reviews it confirms what I also thought about the place.
The place does not do BBQ right. Nor does it do desserts right. I think I would have rather gone to McDonald's. Â
Don't waste your time trekking here unless you happen to live within a 2 mile radius or you might be sadly disappointed.
All-around bad ribs. I shouldn't really give Suzy's only one star but these were some bad, bad ribs.
GroupOn helped us find SuzyQue's but unfortunately, even an enormous discount really couldn't help us make this a satisfying experience. The service was friendly and quick, but the food was the issue.
Family ordered the combo platter, St Louis Style Ribs, and the Baby Back Ribs. All the ribs were tough and very dry. The restaurant gives you four difference sauces to dip or pour onto your food, but none of them really tasted that spectacular, so I didn't feel like they helped. Even if the sauces were good, these ribs were way too overcooked and the meat was clinging to the bone for its life. These might have been the worst ribs I've ever had, they were next to impossible to get meat off of and by the time I did, my teeth/mouth were tired from pulling.
My sides weren't anything better. The cornbread is just not good, because of it's hard and dry composure. My macaroni & cheese featured a weird and unusual cheese, which no one could make out, but everyone thought was weird. This mac&cheese might be good for some because of the difference of taste and the amount of cheese used (A LOT!), but it didn't hit for me. My only side that were decent were the sweet potato fries, which were crunchy and tasty.
With a $98 bill between three people ordering two beers a piece, two full racks of ribs, and a combo platter, this bill is an eye-soar. It was NO WHERE NEAR the price of the food. I think if the bill was $50, SuzyQue's would have received a 2 star rating, but with almost $100 spent, it can't receive anything but the dreaded 1 star. I won't be back for any reason. Sorry Suzy.
The 5 best restaurants in the 2015 Denver Restaurant Week
3,611 Views | Category: Denver
The complete list of 2015 Denver Restaurant Week businesses
1,972 Views | Category: Denver
The tourists' guide to Portillos: 5 must have dishes
3,318 Views | Category: Chicago
Pho = Pronounced "fuh" not "foe" for pho-king sake
2,915 Views | Category: Denver
Indulgery selected to exhibit at Collision Conference
2,987 Views | Category: Press Releases
Not Logged In
BUSINESSES
Local Businesses
Near Me
My Favorites
SOCIAL
Blog & News
MY ACCOUNT
Login
Register
Contact Us
Add Your Business
