I am new to Durham and found great reviews for the food and dog friendliness here. Someone said they even brought a complimentary water bowl out as soon as they arrived. The food was just ok, there was no care or concern for my Goldendoodle or a water bowl and the guy who brought out the food actually just tried to avoid my very laid back dog. Hummm. Maybe you gotta be a regular or, some other specialness about you for true pet "friendliness". I hope you find it better... I'll be checking out other venues. Oh, Sugar did love the hush puppies!
Michael Duda
Aug 20, 2023
5
This is legit some of the best southern BBQ that you can get in Durham. When my friends and family from out-of-state visit, and want authentic Southern food, this is where I take them. Everything here is so on point, that I don't even have a favorite. Try everything. Enjoy, relax, get the itis.
Suzanne Loposay
Jul 23, 2023
5
This place is exactly what you need after a long hike at Eno. The food was so delicious. I never clean my whole plate and I had absolutely no problem doing so. Everything was good. I wish I was closer!
Tom Ayton
Jun 17, 2023
4
Really enjoyed the fried chicken sandwich and the pork was quite good if a little dry. The biggest thing keeping it from a five-star rating were the sides, which - hush puppies not withstanding - felt like a bit of an afterthought.
Rick Mclemore
Jun 15, 2023
4
I really wanted to give this place a five, but it came up short in many areas . First was the fish sandwich . It had a nice portion of fish and the fish was cooked very well .. the problem was the bread . The sandwich just fell apart halfway thru eating it. The bread was soggy , may help if likely toasted . We push the bread aside and ate the fish . Next the hushpuppies were also soggy. Also, we didn't eat them .. the brisket was cooked beautifully and the pulled pork very well also .. lastly a smile can go a long way when you are dealing with customers, and no one seem like they care if we were there or not .
Diana Nowicki
Apr 2, 2023
5
Let me preface by saying we own a Workhorse, so nothing will compare to our at home texas-style BBQ....however, this was a nice day trip near Eno park that was satisfying. We ordered a BBQ plate and shrimp po boy with fried oysters with fried saltinea, Brunswick stew, Mac n cheese, fried okra and a few local drafts. Yum!!! Wish we had room for dessert options but will need to check out next time. Much better than other local NC spots
Rick R
Nov 1, 2022
4
I absolutely love barbecue & always make a point to try any and every barbecue restaurant I come across. Picnic was a welcomed addition to the north Durham area and this place used to be my absolute favorite barbecue restaurant (in the entire country!!) pre-Covid. The barbecue is always very flavorful with minimal gristle & their proprietary Carolina style bbq sauce is some of the best I’ve ever tasted! To finish off the meal, they have some of the absolute best banana pudding I’ve ever had!
So you must be wondering with all the praise, why dock Picnic a star? Sometime around Covid, they started to tinker with the menu a little too much and lots of the amazing sides they offered changed. They completely got rid of fries for the longest time only to finally bring them back as a totally different hard waffle fry. The original style fries had much better flavor & texture. They also changed the original Mac n cheese recipe to a more basic, bland style. Finally, they upped their prices (understandable bc of Covid issues) but their portion sizes also dropped tremendously.
I get they’re doing what they can to stay afloat during these tough economic times but at the same time, you can’t abandon what brought you success imo. I still claim Picnic’s barbecue as some of the best in the country but I can no longer claim them as the overall best barbecue restaurant anymore due to all the changes that have occurred since originally opening. Here’s to hoping they get back to doing what made them so special!
Nam
Oct 10, 2022
3
I’m shocked by the high ratings of this BBQ restaurant. My favorite thing here was the coleslaw, which the veggies in it had a very fine texture.
The brisket & chicken were sooo average. They were not tender & were quite tasteless. I wish they made their own BBQ sauce too; the ‘Pig Whiskey’ BBQ sauce that they had at every table was not good.
