Emma Maddaloni
Me and my boyfriend drove by and decided to grab some platters for my family for fathers day. We were greeted as soon as we got out of the car with smiles and happy holidays! I’ve never had such great customer service in my life they couldn’t have made our day any better! They made us feel so comfortable even tho i have never been to a place like this i felt like i was at home talking to family! They hooked our platter up to the max capacity gave us extra sides and free teas and lemonades! He also gave us a sample of the brisket to try right out of the smoker which was an experience i will never forget and enjoyed immensely! While Me and my boyfriend waited for them to put our platters together which only took a few minutes we spoke to the owners wife who was so sweet and friendly and talked about the plans for the place in the future and I couldn’t be more excited to see this place expand to its full ability! You have to stop by and try the amazing brisket and sides everything was amazing I brought it home to my family and they were ecstatic about the presentation! The juicinesses and flavor that this brisket had was unbeatable and cooked to perfection to say the least! I wish i lived over here and wasn’t just visiting my parents bc i would be here every day! I’m originally from texas so i can really appreciate some good bbq out in new jersey and drakes joint absolutely killed it!! I cant wait to get back here and try the chicken! Thank you guys so much for giving us such an amazing experience on fathers day that we will never forget!
… moreKeith Lester
I’ve really been looking for a place that does BBQ right. Great meat paired with great sides. You need both when trying to compare to places down south. I went to Drake’s for the first time this past weekend with my brother and boy did this place not disappoint. We got the rib platter and pulled pork platter. Both items hit the mark. The presentation for both platters were really done nicely. The owner was also kind enough this being our first there that he gave us a little sampling of the brisket and pulled pork along with some additional sides. The burnt end baked beans were probably some of the best baked beans i’ve ever had. The mac and cheese was flavorful and nice and pipping hot. The cornbread was delicious, a nice pairing with the meat. Overall I had a great experience at this establishment. I will be going back to try additional items. The township needs to figure it out and let this man run his business.
… moreRoy Loomis
I live locally and have been wanting to try drakes for a while. We got a Chefs Combo with Brisket and Pulled Pork and a couple of extra sides. I was greeted at my car for carside service which was a nice surprise. The meats were very good but I think the sides are even better. Mac & Cheese with a spin and a spicy kick – very unique. Corn Bread – super moist. Slaw – very fresh. Baked Beans with burnt ends – i am not a baked beans eater but really enjoyed these. I would highly recommend giving them a try.
… moreNicole Walters
Staff were friendly, and just opening the business. I hope they see these as notes for the future and that when I visit again things are better organized. The location is great and I see potential. We spent nearly $100 on our order and were very excited.
My husband is highly allergic to onion, we confirmed there were no onions on the brisket sandwich, but when he went to eat there were pickled onions included
Collared greens had no seasoning. Ribs were smoked well, but not seasoned. Cornbread is not very flavorful or the right texture. Beans are fine but not seasoned.
The corn is great, needs some more seasoning. Sweet tea was good.
Mac and cheese barely had any cheese in it.
Pickled onions and the sausage were good sides. Only provided spicy mustard as a sauce option.
… moreDrew Carpenter
I drove by last Saturday night November 5th, saw lights and smoke so thought I would stop in. I had no idea this place was reopening or what was going on but this was quite a pleasant introduction. I met the owner Dan, his wife and a number of the staff. They were all super friendly, outgoing and very passionate about this endeavor! I walked away with a gang of food. The brisket was my favorite. I’m from Texas and we take brisket very seriously and I would put theirs up against some of the best in the Lone Star state. The coffee cake and cookies were also spectacular. I never thought I would get such a good piece of coffee cake at a barbecue and future ice cream spot but I was pleasantly surprised. The people here love what they do and you can taste it in every bite. I wish them the best of luck go out and support them! Enjoy!
… moreRenee Puleo
Not sure what warrants 1 star from previous reviews?! Because they were closed? How about you come back another time and give them a chance! My husband and I noticed this place months ago but they were closed. They were still doing their build out and it was off season. It’s a “roadside bbq”. Anyway, we stopped there tonight and I’m glad we did! It was towards closing time but they still gave us a platter with very generous portion sizes. The brisket was delicious, seasoned and cooked perfectly. People need to give them a try and show some support. The staff is super friendly and that’s what this world needs right now! We can’t wait to go back. They’re only open on the weekends so don’t give a 1 star if you stop here on a Tuesday and they’re closed lol.
… moreLori Magel
We are here from Oregon…was driving by …stopped had chefs combo…owner and wife were super friendly…food was excellent!
… moreDanny Shymanski
Had a great experience here, the staff was great and went out of the way to make my daughter and I to have the best experience. The food was great and the portions were perfect. We had the ribs, pulled pork and brisket. The sides were awesome, the collard greens were my favorite
… moreWilliam Gilles
My wife and I were excited to try this place as we love new local restaurants and I love bbq. I have a hard time thinking of another place that let me down as much as Drakes Joint did.
The staff was very friendly and offered to bring the food to our car as it was cold and windy. I ordered a brisket sandwich and my wife ordered chili. The total was $42. A bit steep but we wanted to try it and hoped it was worth the money. Not even close.
My brisket was smothered in pickled onions, had what looked like a piece of Kraft cheese on it, and no sauce. The last part confuses me the most considering how the owner states on their website how good their sauce is. The crust on the brisket was great and had a nice smoke ring so I will commend them for that. The onions were too much. You need to let the meat do the talking.
The chili was good. My wife said it was a bit spicy for her taste but I didn’t mind it. But, the kicker is that you get a small cup (maybe 8oz) for about $20. That’s not “roadside bbq” that’s highway robbery. I will say that we accept all responsibility for the price we paid but did not realize how small of a serving you received.
I was also surprised that pulled pork was missing from the menu. I’m an East Carolina bbq fan and pulled pork IS bbq. They’ve got an impressive set of smokers and aren’t shoving some butts in there? What a missed opportunity. That sums up Drakes Joint in its entirety. A missed opportunity
… moreKasey Centanni
Spending almost 200 dollars of six plates of food is on par with this inflation. That being said the good was definitely lacking in our opinion. we all got brisket (because that’s all they had) and sixty percent of our portions were all fat. moving on to the sides; there is no way they put cheese in the max and cheese, literally just cooked noodles in a cup we had never seen anything like it we were all laughing about it though. they were open that one weekend and haven’t open since so who knows; just don’t have a huge sign saying open fri-sun if you aren’t going to be open? just a thought. we would give it another try and definitely order something different if it is available to order.
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