Brook’s Family BBQ

Go. Just go. You will blown away. Get the BBQ baked potato with brisket, get the pork ribs, get the sides, whatever you do just get there and bring your appetite. The food and the hospitality are in a class by themselves.
Bring an appetite, bring your friends. If you’ve ever wondered how Soul Food got its name, a visit to Brook’s Family BBQ will leave you wondering no more. Can’t thank you fine folks enough.

Neat little venue. This is located in a booth inside Jones Plaza. Their smoked sausage sandwich was very good.

Great place. The building needs a little love but forget about it because the food is excellent. The collard greens were cooked perfectly with just a little spice. The coleslaw was also well executed with fresh crunchy cabbage, a few golden raisins and not too sweet. The brisket was tender and tasty with good bark. The ribs were extra smokey, hickory, but not dry. The smoke was slightly too much but still very good. Overall we had a great meal and everyone that worked there was extremely nice. Highly recommended!

I go to the University of Houston and park next to this place everyday. I finally decided to try it a few weeks ago and I am glad I came in. Everyone in there is very friendly.
The barbecue was good, but nothing amazing. Their house made coleslaw and potato salad are very good though. I enjoyed that more than the barbecue which is hard since I am a meat lover. However, of all things, I enjoyed their Texas toast the most. It was amazing from taste to texture. The toast was soft, crunchy, and had a nice taste to it.
Again, the service was amazing so it made my first visit amazing. Thanks for having me, I will definitely be back with others.

If you love hole-​in-​wall-​family restaurants, definitely try this place! It’s small, but service is friendly and food is excellent. I had a loaded potato w/​sausage. The potato was well cooked, with generous amounts of grated cheese, actual bacon, and a spicy sausage artfully sliced on top. Yum!
They sell bottles of amazing Brook’s BBQ Sauce for $ 10. After I complimented the waitress on it, she GAVE me a bottle for free! Sadly, I live in Cypress, so I probably won’t be a regular here. But if they open up a branch, I’ll be in line to buy some!

Came here on a Wednesday at lunch looking to get some BBQ chicken, but apparently chicken is special and only offered on certain days at this place.
Food: The turkey was nothing special, and for $ 13 a plate, I expected better. But I had come for the chicken, so I was already setting myself up for disappointment.
The plate comes with 2 sides, so I got collard greens and potato salad. The collard greens were great, but the potato salad was just ok.
Food gets ½ a star
Atmosphere: it’s a cramped little place. Tables too close together, to where I couldn’t even squeeze into a chair. I did like the UH flags on the walls though, and being that this place is located across from TDECU stadium, you always have a wonderful view.
Atmosphere gets ½ a star
Staff: The employees here were friendly and very eager to please. Treat everyone like family.
Staff gets 1 star
Total = 2 stars

I had a spiritual experience that brought on tears of incredible and indescribable joy while eating the ribs… GO

This place is awesome. Great service and food! Loaded baked potato w/​chopped beef is amazing.

I went last night for dinner. Unilocal reviews caused me to bookmark this place. After looking at the menu I was torn between chicken and a brisket sandwich. Their ½ chicken is $ 9.69 and that’s with no sides. I thought that was very expensive. Because I wanted sides I went with the chicken plate which is a ¼ and two sides for the same price. I picked baked beans and potato salad.
Whether you eat in or take it to go the food is delivered in a to go container. The chicken was good and I rated it a 3. The beans tasted a lot like Bush’s Baked Beans from a can. I am sure they are home made but they didn’t turn me on (2). The potato salad was a 3. Ok but not memorable. In fact that was the way I felt about the whole meal (3). The food also came with a piece of Texas Toast flavored with jalapeño’s.
I will say that I am not a fan of their BBQ sauce (2). Just not my taste, sorry.
I saw one of their sliced brisket sandwiches. It was on Texas toast also. Because this restaurant is not near me and I didn’t like their sauce I will probably not return.
Counter service was friendly.

Best dag nab ribs I ever had. If Mr. Brooks moved to L.A. there wouldn’t be any competition. Sorry Big Mista. Sorry Bludso’s. Sorry Woody’s. Sorry Phillips. Game time.
It’s one thing to claim Texas style BBQ… It’s another thing to actually experience GREAT Texas BBQ. Thankfully they’re close to Downtown, about a 9 dollar cab ride. 3 meat platter; Ribs, brisket, sausage. The best. Greens & baked beans on the side… Heaven.
Cherry on top was the customer service. Genuinely nice people. Treated an L.A. boy like family. If I go back to Houston I guarantee I’ll be going back to Brooks. I suggest you do, too.

I am a BBQ fanatic who has traveled the state of Texas sampling some of the best places around fro Houston to Luling to Lockhart. I recently tried Brooks Family BBQ and was pleasantly surprised.
The ribs are smoky and fall of the bone while being seasoned just enough as not to take away the flavor of the meat.
The brisket had a nice smile ring and was tender and flavorful. Making a sandwich with the toasted jalapeño bread was heavenly.
The chicken was perfectly seasoned and smoked to provide a paper sack brown crisp skin on the outside while the near was very tender on the inside.
The sign of good BBQ is when the meat can be eaten without sauce. This is definitely the case with Brooks. However the sauce is wonderful and best describes as a cross between sweet, vinegar with a hint of spicy heat. It’s not overpowering but just a perfect compliment to the tasty meat or as dipping sauce for the toast.
The peach cobbler was house made and delicately sweet with a slight citrus tangy finish and just enough crust. Yum!
So in all this is one of the best BBQ places in Houston and is located right across the street fro the football stadium at the University of Houston. Enjoy!

Let’s just start by saying that the customer service is the best by far in the area. The owner is extremely helpful and accommodating to the needs of the customers.
I had a chicken potato and peach cobbler. The potato was huge and tasty. The peach cobbler had the perfect amount of cinnamon in it and there was an equal portion of peaches to crust. I will definitely go back and I recommend you try them out as well

This place is amazing! I’m very picky about my brisket — I love a flavored dark outer rim with a juicy, tender inside — and that is exactly what I got with this place! The woman at the corner (forgot to ask her name, sorry) was cool and pretty laid back and got our orders in as requested. When the potatoes came I was in awwwwwe! Ha ha. I absolutely loved it! I’d highly recommend this place!

Family friendly people, really fast service… food was delicious… Bbq meat was cooked to perfection… huge servings… special discounts for TSU and UH students with ID.

This is quite the find, I was really impressed. I got takeout, a pound of ribs, brisket, and sausage. I need to do this more to truly judge the range of meats offered by local BBQ places.
The ribs were the star. Very tender, falling off the bone. With a great bark from the heat. They were seasoned perfectly and did I mention tender? Good cut of meat, too.
The brisket was also as good as I’ve had. They threw in the burnt ends so some of the plate included the tender, crumbly ends. Just like the ribs, a good bark and strong flavor.
The sausage I wasn’t as impressed with. Not bad, but I think I’m just not a sausage guy. It’s okay, but for the money, I think I’d prefer to add to the ribs and brisket.
This came with a huge serving of their jalapeño bread. Nicely buttered and grilled. Worth it just for that.
It is a small place, I was there early on a Saturday without competition. The staff (family) was friendly and very appreciative of my business. And if you see John B.‘s review, this is southeast Texas BBQ royalty in terms of being descended from Harlons.
Had to laugh at the music referenced by other reviews, yes, they play some funky jams, when I was there, it was the Wayman Tisdale (former NBA?) channel. Smooth grooves.
Stop by this place and you’ll be happy you did. I won’t hesitate at all to order take out again. Probably could have called ahead and avoided the wait (and helped them not have to scramble).

9÷19÷14 12:38pm — Funkalicious! That is the one word that best describes this East Texas style BBQ joint. I was greeted by a stereo blasting out the Gap Band’s «You drop a bomb on me». In my mind I was dancing all the way up to the counter. Felt like I was back at the high school dance listening to a funk play list from the 70’s & 80’s. The BBQ roots of this family stretches back 50 years to Nacogdoches. Harlon brought his family to Houston in the 70’s and started Harlon BBQ (out of biz). Marlon continued the family tradition and open his restaurant December 26, 2013 across the street from UH’s new football stadium. No relation to the Brooks Place in Cypress. The service is great; they pour the love on their customers.
I scored Brooks Family BBQ an 84 out 100. This is Reserve Grand Champion Texas BBQ with a little Funk.
Smoke: Hickory and Mesquite. There is a steel barrel smoker outside but its most likely for catering, since outdoor cooking is forbidden. Not a stick of wood in sight and their Facebook page is littered with rotating steel racks. Its a gasser.
Brisket: Very Good. An nice bright red ¼in smoke ring beneath a respectable black bark. Slice thin but it tested and ate tender. Well done. Good smoke flavor. Seasoning was mild but you could taste a hint of salt. No sauce needed. Not bad for a gasser.
Ribs: Very Good. Fall-​off-​the-​bone spare ribs. Even though these ribs were overcooked they were very moist. The red savory salty pork suggests these ribs may have spent a night in a brine. Love it. The moist seasoned bark suggests these ribs spent their final hours wrapped. Lot of love goes into these ribs. No sauce needed.
Sausage: Excellent. A pork link that was a cross between East Texas and Mexico. An East Texas spicy sausage seasoned with Chile powder. One minute I thought I was eating Chorizo the next I think I am eating an East Texas link. Marlon said they purchase these links from Frenchys. Very bold spice flavor and long lasting aftertaste. A little orange grease on the plate made me wish for a tortilla. No sauce needed.
Sauce: Good. A purchased product with a private label. Since nothing here needs sauce who cares. A sweet thick red sauce with a little spice that lingers after the tangy fades away. It does complement all the salty flavors. It does the job.

We came here on Saturday after driving from San Antonio. at 1PM, we were the only customer there. Service is decent.
We ordered the Ribs plate and chopped beef sandwich with two sides
The ribs are good, but not memorable.
The sides, Cole Slaw and Potato salad are pretty good.
The chopped beef sandwich is good, but I think that is because the bread (which is awesome) made it better.
I think it is a good neighborhood BBQ place, middle of the pack IMO.

Brooks has some good BBQ. It may not be the best in town, but it’s certainly in the conversation. The venue is small, located across from the UH football stadium. The inside is clean though, and they have a nice big screen TV inside broadcasting in HD.
The brisket I had was juicy, full of flavor, and not too salty. My friend had the chopped brisket sandwich on jalapeño cheddar bread. He acted like it was the best sandwich he had ever eaten. I also tried the turkey breast. It wasn’t bad but I really came for the brisket. The BBQ sauce they provide goes with it really well. I noticed they had a salmon salad on the menu that sounded good. I’ll have to try that next time.
As far as sides go, you can’t go wrong with their collard greens or their cole slaw. I’ve never had cole-​slaw with cranberries mixed in, but in an odd way, it goes together with this slaw. Their collard greens had a nice smokey flavor to them. I was also impressed that they make them pork-​free. I wasn’t impressed with their sweet tea, and their lemonade looked like country time. Next time I’ll stick to water or a soft drink.
What puts Brook’s over the top was their service. Everyone working there, from the owner to the cashier and server was awesome. They were very attentive, super friendly, and I could tell they valued our business. If they keep this up, they’re going to have lines out the door like some of the other local BBQ joints.

This is my second time here. I gave this place a try the week they opened. Based on that experience which was OK for an establishment that had just opened I decided to give them another try before writing a review.
So today’s visit went well. The staff is always friendly and courteous even though there are usually only 2 to 3 people working and they are usually overwhelmed. This does not take away from their attentive nature.
The food was awesome. All the meat was tender. The ribs practically fell off the bone. Their potato salad, mustard, was awesome and anyone that knows me know I’m very particular about potato salad. Im really not a fan of the sauce I usually get it on the side so it’s no big deal. The portion sizes are huge it’s like I bought 2 meals for one price; I had so much food left over. I don’t know about everyone else but I love a 2 for.
The place is small but clean. I noticed they added new menu items barbecue grilled salmon and a barbecue grilled salmon salad. I will have to return to try these items.

Where do I begin?
How about service? Nicest people you’ve ever met. Truly made you feel welcome and really wanted us to enjoy the food. The plates came w two sides and when my fiancé and I couldn’t settle on just two… they offered to give us more just to make sure we tried them.
Got it all to go and ate this feast at home. Bought two plates but it lasted us two dinners bc of the large serving sizes!
They must have some secret family recipe bc the flavor on the beef and sausage was to die for.
This place just opened but they’re already doing all the right things!
We will definitely be back… and will probably have them cater our next party!
Great food and super friendly service goes a long way!