Leonard's Pit Barbecue

"Was excited to try new BBQ & they didn't disappoint! Sauce is a little sweet, but good. Nachos were excellent (cheese is really good!) & the pork sandwich was great! No fatty bits in the meat & their cole slaw, while very unique went well on the sandwich! Beans were excellent & wedge fries were hot! Sweet tea was also amazing! Shout out to our server Terranisha for keeping the sweet tea coming! She was very pleasant as well! We will definitely be back!"

"I hate to be "that guy" but here goes: Extremely disappointing! Do the people that own these places not taste their product? Beautiful restaurant & great space. Huge portions. I had BBQ & Ravioli & wife had small BBQ sandwich w/ beans & slaw. Meat was finely chopped & must have sat in a steam pan as it was wet & tasteless, SMOTHERED in a nasty sauce- worst I've ever tasted bitter burned & dark. I've had a few hundred sauces & this is the worst. Onion rings looked good but were doughy & chewy- frozen food service stuff. Beans were terribly overcooked, dry and BLAND/no flavor. Slaw was bland/needed mustard added. Ravioli was good typical probably frozen rav and gravy/sauce was pretty good. It was much better on the bbq than their bbq sauce. Couldn't eat much of our meals. Waiter Mike L. was great. Fix the problems and put sauce on the side. I know many people posted positively early on but look at the pictures. Based on last night I probably will never go back. There over 150 BBQ restaurants around Memphis- 99.8% way better than this. You have to be top-tier to succeed here. If last night was any indication Leonard's won't last long term without refocusing. Look at the pictures. Nasty dark sauce, dry beans, mushy onion ring batter. Terrible performance. The saddest part is there are thousands of guys around town that cook way better than this BBQ at home every day. You can't make it in this town being subpar or mediocre. Worth noting there were only 4 other people in the place. Every friend who has been warned me against going (several). I used to go to the old Fox Plaza place and it was pretty good. This place really is not as good as that. Need to shape up."

"Disclaimer: This is not an objective review. I grew up with Leonard's BBQ. It was the gold standard for Memphis BBQ. My father ate Leonard's back in the 1930s and the quality and taste are about the same now. I got the BBQ plate. My only complaint is that I wish I'd gotten the sauce on the side so I could control the quantity on the meat. The sauce is quite sweet. The onion rings were perfect! The breading is light and delicate. Loved them. The roll was the best one I've had in a long time. It was tender and tasty."

"Ms Loretta is still here, and it’s still great bbq. Sprung for the slab to share and it’s just as good as ever. They are in the soft opening phase but I’d say they are operating pretty smoothly. I’ll be back n the future for the bbq sandwich and Italian pasta combos."