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Sonny’s BBQ is a long-standing barbecue restaurant chain specializing in mouth-watering, slow-smoked meats and all the fixings. Sonny’s BBQ in Lakeland offers plate covering portions of delicious brisket, pulled pork, barbecue chicken and ribs smoked in-house over oak wood daily in the 33813 area. Sonny’s BBQ offers deals through its ‘Q Crew Rewards email list, so come enjoy BBQ best sellers like the Sonny’s Sampler, BBQ Pork Egg Rolls, or Sweet Carolina sandwich. Stop by, call, or order online for curbside pickup or delivery.
Long-standing barbecue restaurant chain specializing in meats smoked over oak, plus sides & salads.
Hours
| Friday | 11 AM–9:30 PM |
| Saturday | 11 AM–9:30 PM |
| Sunday | 11 AM–9 PM |
| Monday | 11 AM–9 PM |
| Tuesday | 11 AM–9 PM |
| Wednesday | 11 AM–9 PM |
| Thursday | 11 AM–9 PM |
Address and Contact Information
Address: 5910 Florida Ave S, Lakeland, FL 33813
Phone: (863) 646-2990
Menu Photos
Order and Reservations
Order: Order online
Photo Gallery
Related Web Results
Best BBQ in Lakeland, FL | Sonny’s Barbecue locations
Your local Sonny’s restaurant in Lakeland is serving up the best bbq at 5910 Florida Ave S. View our hours, menu, or call us at (863) 646-2990.
Locations – Sonny’s BBQ
Lakeland – South. My Sonny’s. Dine-in, Delivery, Takeout and Catering. 5910 Florida Ave S Lakeland, Florida 33813 Get Directions, opens in a new tab. Main Phone …
lakeland-menu – Sonny’s BBQ
lakeland-menu. From The Smoker January 18, 2024. Since ’68 graphic … Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina …
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Reviews
Pam M.
I went in to redeem a reward item but it wouldn’t allow me to for some reason based on my phone number. The scanner wouldn’t scan it either. Although the reward item didn’t have a locked picture next to it to indicate that I couldn’t redeem that item, I was still not able to redeem it. I live in Florida City, Florida which is where the Sonny’s BBQ is where I normally go to get my food. I was in Lakeland, Florida so I wanted to try to redeem the cinnamon/apple roll cobbler at the Sonny’s there. The restaurant in Homestead, Florida, had a fire so they are limited in what they serve. Since I couldn’t redeem the reward item, I decided to redeem the buy one get one free pulled pork sandwich and some fried okra. The pull pork sandwich was so very bland it didn’t have any taste to it. They didn’t even toast the bun which made it worse to me. The okra was okay, I found a few not fully cooked pieces of okra. Overall it was much better than the pulled pork. I was truly disappointed in the food. I went back inside to get a fork to eat my okra and I had to wait at least 5 minutes just for the young lady to come over to me. She was very busy getting orders. It seemed like they were understaffed. It was three people already there waiting for there food, a young man and his father then another older gentleman. Another lady came in after me and she asked was I there to order, I told her that I was waiting to get a fork. She said they need help. After the young lady came over to me I told her what I needed and complained about the bread not being toasted. I told her about the sandwich being bland and she said you must have gotten the pulled pork. I have eaten the pulled pork at the Sonny’s where I live and it didn’t taste bland at all when I ate it, which is the reason why I ordered it. She did offer to make me another sandwich but I refused because I had to drive 4 hours back home and it was getting late. The photos I posted is the food I received. I did add hot sauce to the okra that’s why it look the way it does. The young lady in the takeout area was nice and friendly.
… moreShawna M. Pieta
This Sonny’s location desperately needs updated training and better management of take‑out orders. My orders here are never ready on time, even when placed well in advance for curbside or pickup.
For example, my most recent pickup was scheduled for 6:30 PM. I arrived at 6:23, checked in on the website, and waited. At 6:37, I called inside, and the young lady who answered seemed completely uninterested in helping expedite an order that was already paid for. She told me it would be another 20 minutes.
By 7:00 PM, I called again and was told my “ticket” had moved up the list, but the food hadn’t even been started. I asked for a manager but was told he was in the pit helping with a backlog. I could see several customers waiting inside, and I didn’t want to make their delays worse, so I simply requested a full refund and left.
Unfortunately, this isn’t a one‑time issue — it happens every time we order from this location. We used to go to the Bartow location (before the fire) and never had these problems.
I cannot rate on food as we never received it.
We will not be returning to this Sonny’s and will gladly drive farther to another location. The lack of urgency, poor communication, and consistently late pickup orders defeat the whole purpose of takeout. This store either needs additional staffing or serious retraining. Sadly, they’ve lost our business.
We did receive our full refund and that’s about the only positive note we had with this experience.
… moreFor example, my most recent pickup was scheduled for 6:30 PM. I arrived at 6:23, checked in on the website, and waited. At 6:37, I called inside, and the young lady who answered seemed completely uninterested in helping expedite an order that was already paid for. She told me it would be another 20 minutes.
By 7:00 PM, I called again and was told my “ticket” had moved up the list, but the food hadn’t even been started. I asked for a manager but was told he was in the pit helping with a backlog. I could see several customers waiting inside, and I didn’t want to make their delays worse, so I simply requested a full refund and left.
Unfortunately, this isn’t a one‑time issue — it happens every time we order from this location. We used to go to the Bartow location (before the fire) and never had these problems.
I cannot rate on food as we never received it.
We will not be returning to this Sonny’s and will gladly drive farther to another location. The lack of urgency, poor communication, and consistently late pickup orders defeat the whole purpose of takeout. This store either needs additional staffing or serious retraining. Sadly, they’ve lost our business.
We did receive our full refund and that’s about the only positive note we had with this experience.
K Rogers
I’ve had Sonny’s BBQ before, and while the food is decent, it’s not so exceptional that customer service can be an afterthought.
On this visit, I stood at the check-in area and was completely ignored. At least 10-15 employees walked by without so much as a greeting. Not even a simple “We’ll be with you shortly.” That’s basic hospitality.
When guests walk in, acknowledgment matters. Even a quick verbal touchpoint shows awareness and professionalism. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen here.
Disappointing experience
… moreOn this visit, I stood at the check-in area and was completely ignored. At least 10-15 employees walked by without so much as a greeting. Not even a simple “We’ll be with you shortly.” That’s basic hospitality.
When guests walk in, acknowledgment matters. Even a quick verbal touchpoint shows awareness and professionalism. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen here.
Disappointing experience
Rob Thornton
Don’t show up early. I have eaten here lots since the Sonny’s in Hillsborough County closed, but not again.
I showed up before 11 and there was nobody in the parking lot except the employee cars and a cop working a traffic crash. I waited until after 11 and the doors were still locked. I waited and stood by the door on my phone until somebody drove up to the drive thru…. that worked fine. They ordered and drove around, but the front doors were still locked!
Good BBQ is all about timing. If this place can’t even figure out how to open the front doors on time, Lord only knows when they are gonna open their smokers doors!!
… moreI showed up before 11 and there was nobody in the parking lot except the employee cars and a cop working a traffic crash. I waited until after 11 and the doors were still locked. I waited and stood by the door on my phone until somebody drove up to the drive thru…. that worked fine. They ordered and drove around, but the front doors were still locked!
Good BBQ is all about timing. If this place can’t even figure out how to open the front doors on time, Lord only knows when they are gonna open their smokers doors!!
Stacie Jozwiak
absolutely HORRIBLE. placed an order at 6:15 online to be picked up at 6:45 and did not receive it until nearly 7:45!! Apparently they were short staffed. understandable, reach out to customers or update the website to reflect wait time will be >1hr. no contact received AT ALL. Then my order was made incorrectly!!! Wrong sandwich bread, barely any meat, missing sauces, and my sprite was completely flat I did take it back in to be corrected and it was, but that only added MORE TIME. WILL NOT be returning to this location and definitely not recommending to anyone craving bbq in the area. go to 4 rivers or Mission BBQ instead.
… moreDavid Gagnon
This Sonny’s does not deserve to be open. For the last few years, service here has been slow. Food would take 30 to 45 minutes, slow or busy, to be placed on the table. I came for a small family event afew days ago, seems this locations goal is to break their own record. My family sat for 72 minutes without getting our food. The table next to us sat for almost an hour and a half. They finally told the waitress they were leaving. Our reorder of ribs to 35 minutes, for 3 for 4 ribs each. What’s crazy is, there were just a handful of people sitting. Half was waiting on their order.
The locations on 98N are never this slow. I I’ve in Winter Haven and if people wait more than 15 m8nutes, its a long wait for them. And they are almost always busy. The food quality between the two are night and day. South Lakeland location food was off, so much that I didn’t even eat my second order. None of us did.
I, and family will not be dinning at this location. The waitress was very nice and told us that they are slow because they make a few sitting inside then do a few DoorDash or Uber Eats and then do a few drive thru. Sounds like management needs to be fired or shown how to runna business. Why don’t the other locations have the problems that this location does, consistently, for years, and never get beyond them? Spent $140 for barbecue that would have tasted better if Denny’s cooked it. Never again eating in Lakeland for barbecue. Keep the waitresses, fire the owners and/or management. Won’t stay in business long taking an hour for dine in, not if the food isn’t good.
… moreThe locations on 98N are never this slow. I I’ve in Winter Haven and if people wait more than 15 m8nutes, its a long wait for them. And they are almost always busy. The food quality between the two are night and day. South Lakeland location food was off, so much that I didn’t even eat my second order. None of us did.
I, and family will not be dinning at this location. The waitress was very nice and told us that they are slow because they make a few sitting inside then do a few DoorDash or Uber Eats and then do a few drive thru. Sounds like management needs to be fired or shown how to runna business. Why don’t the other locations have the problems that this location does, consistently, for years, and never get beyond them? Spent $140 for barbecue that would have tasted better if Denny’s cooked it. Never again eating in Lakeland for barbecue. Keep the waitresses, fire the owners and/or management. Won’t stay in business long taking an hour for dine in, not if the food isn’t good.
Judy Leonard
MY WIFE AND I GO TO SONNY’S A COUPLE OF TIMES A MONTH WITH ANOTHER COUPLE AFTER CHURCH. OUR SERVER CATHY IS ALWAYS FANTASTIC. TODAY WE GOT THERE JUST AFTER 11:00 AM. EVERYTHING I ORDERED HALF CHICKEN WITH FRIES WAS GOOD AND HOT. MY WIFE AND THE OTHER COUPLE HAD PULLED CHICKEN BEANS MACARONI AND A CORN MUFFIN. EVERYTHING WAS COLD OR LUKE WARM AT BEST.SO I AM ASSUMING EVERYTHING THEY HAD WAS LEFT OVER FROM SATURDAY AND NOT HEATED PROPERLY. BEING THEY HAD ONLY BEEN OPEN 5 MINUTES . THIS IS NOT ACCEPTABLE. NEXT TIME THIS HAPPENS WILL BE ARE LAST TIME EATING HERE. THANK YOU, USE TO BE A LOYAL CUSTOMER WALLY
… moreB E.
So painfully disappointed. We came here to celebrate a family members birthday. We drove over an hour and a half. And half of the restaurant is not being seated on, the table and chairs blocked off. Majority of items we were interested in on the menu was “unavailable”
We couldn’t even use a highchair for our toddler because of the poorly laid out available seats. And no milk available for toddler.. again with the menu being given and then told the majority of the menu is unavailable. I dont think ill be wasting my families time or my hard earned money returning to this establishment.
… moreWe couldn’t even use a highchair for our toddler because of the poorly laid out available seats. And no milk available for toddler.. again with the menu being given and then told the majority of the menu is unavailable. I dont think ill be wasting my families time or my hard earned money returning to this establishment.
Missy Keck
Really good bbq. We had a bowl and the daughter had the pulled pork. Great service. They were really busy too. Had pork egg rolls and the corn nuggets. Just super yummy. Try them out soon
… moreThe squishy family
I came here for my lunch break, they’re usually pretty quick with getting food out and today it took forever, and when I finally got my food, there was a long black hair in my brisket, when I made the server aware of the situation it was brought up to management to which they just offered extra fries after claiming they didn’t see the hair. Poor customer service, poor experience I’m very disappointed. and also, they did not even try to accommodate the food or drop the price on anything.
… more