Dinosaur Bar-B-Que

A very cool place, but not worth the wait or hype in my opinion. The food was not as good as I was told, and I had the wait over an hour for a table of 4. Good drinks however! Peraonally, unless you have a reservation, I wouldnt go.

It's absolutely amazing. Ya want to hate - so easy in this town - but they are lovely

Please bring back the half family my gainz need protein but the full family is too much skrilla.god bless

Very welcoming and hopping BBQ joint with lots of outdoor space and great prices. They welcomed us with our pup on the patio and gave him water. Drinks were cold and the portions ample. Great value and service!

The brisket is the best I've had Ina while. All the staff has been very nice and the waitresses were very attentive and the food came out quick. Will definitely be back whenever I'm here for work.

I came to the BBQ for a business dinner. Not being a Syracuse native, I was half expecting a Jurassic Park themed casual dinning place. My disappointment at the lack of animatronic Tyrannosaurus Rex quickly disappeared. This place has the very best BBQ north of the Mason Dixon line. If you visit Syracuse, even just over night, make it a point to include The Dinosaur BBQ!

Everything was AMAZING! Our waitress was so pleasant and gave us great service! We will return. Thanks

Looking at there reviews i made the trip as i was craving for some BBQ….

Let me tell you this place is no joke one of the best BBQ i ever had.

Everything was flavorful…. Fresh & mouthwatering items…

I order there Garlic chipotle wings, pulled pork poutine, trio platter with ribs & brisket.

My wife tried there Veggie portabella mushroom burger….

The entire meal was worth every penny.

Service was not 5 but 10 Stars…. Very attentive, friendly & knowledgeable staff.

Will recommend to everyone when you are in town visiting. Do not forget to come here as i will not

This was an absolute must! We had the most phenomenal server and she was dealing with so much while we were sitting outside and we couldn’t ask for better recommendations from her. We are absolutely love the food and it was a classic American bbq type of mean. So worth a visit if you can swing it. Lots of parking on the street and a very cool atmosphere.

Being from Kansas, I went in assuming I’d be disappointed in the barbecue in Syracuse…but I’m still thinking about that BBS sandwich. This is barbecue done right, and the service and price were great.

Had a really wonderful meal here. It was a long wait but luckily they have a great waiting system and so I just put my number down and they texted me when it was ready which I really appreciate it. Got a good seat outside with my dog and we had a good time. Our waitress was amazing giving us good suggestions and supporting us with giving us samples of the cider so we knew what we were going to be getting on what we wanted. She directed us well and we had a great night. The food was delicious and the sources really stood out. Was it the best barbecue I've had no, but was it the best barbecue experience I've had? Yes, highly recommend going and making a special night of it

Our first night in town, we stopped by Texas Roadhouse. Not a local establishment, per se, but you wouldn’t know that from the atmosphere. We immediately felt included in our East Syracuse community; at home among strangers; familiar in the (ostensibly) unfamiliar. Our server was friendly and attentive to our needs, even laughing at several of our jokes that frankly did not render such an enthusiastic response, which we appreciated. The butter rolls were, as always, a flaky delight—cooked to perfection and served piping hot. Our only complaint was that the kitchen mixed up our preferences and a gentleman who wanted a rare steak was served a medium cut. Alas, a minor blemish on an otherwise perfect evening. Overall 8/10.

We next dined at Pastabilities, an Italian restaurant in downtown Syracuse with a contemporary atmosphere. This restaurant had enjoyed a very solid 4.5/5 rating on Google, so we went in with high expectations. There were things we enjoyed about Pastabilities—rife with exposed brick, the interior was intentionally decorated and certainly conveyed a modern vibe. Star Wars was playing on a projector, which was fun. However, wait times were excessive, and our group witnessed as several other groups were seated (also without prior reservations) before us. Whether we were being discriminated against intentionally or not, I refuse to speculate. Once finally seated, our server was very knowledgeable about the menu and made several suggestions about our orders, which we followed. The food was great and serving sizes were reasonable. The bread and olive oil/tomato sauce were impeccable, and helped tide a few hungry boys over until the main entrees arrived, which again took quite a while. I will also point out that my breaded chicken was fairly dry. Unfortunately, the abysmal wait times definitely detracted from the admittedly excellent cuisine. You simply can’t put a price on poor service. Overall 6.5/10 rating.

Our tour de Syracuse next brought us to Dinosaur BBQ. Folks, spoiler alert: Dinosaur is the undisputed, undefeated heavyweight champion of Syracusian dining. You’re going to want to visit with a group of 4-6 and you’re going to want to order the Family Stylin’ BBQ plate. The side of mac and cheese was honestly the best mac and cheese I can ever remember consuming. Although notably bereft of the Dinosaur meat for which the restaurant was presumably famed, the Family Stylin’ selection of meats was cooked to perfection. Nothing that we ate was less than spectacular. Our server was friendly and knowledgeable. We were seated immediately and the food was ready with seemingly impossible rapidity. If you are in Syracuse for one night, this should be where you eat, no questions asked. Don’t think, just do it. Overall 10/10.

Thursday afternoon for lunch we dined at J & B Sandwiches in Lowville, NY. Food was slightly overpriced and of low quality. Their pizza slice was, without a doubt, reheated Home Run Inn brand frozen pizza. It is difficult to express in words my disappointment at receiving frozen pizza when I had hoped for a fresh slice of New York style thin crust. If you have ever lost a loved one, perhaps you will be able to sympathize. Service was somewhat slow and overall atmosphere was poor. Would not go back and would recommend you steer clear of this one. Overall 2/10.

Finally, we enjoyed a meal at The Preserve. Service was spectacular—my water was refilled numerous times before it could even be emptied. The food was good. Salmon was slightly over cooked, but the chicken alfredo was positively scrumptious. I also feel obligated to warn the reader of the enormity of their fried dough. Our server had mentioned offhand that “it’s definitely shareable” upon our ordering said menu item, but it exceeded our wildest dreams in terms of size. This fried dough could have fed a midsize Northeastern city city for several days. We enjoyed its cleanliness, high quality service, and quality food. Overall 7/10.

My first time there & would definitely go back.
Definitely suggest the one in Syracuse NY

The hostess was rude as hell, but our waitress was very friendly. The atmosphere was a little different, but fun.
I'm not a huge BBQ fan but would definitely go back. Our table had The Cuban, BBQ cheese steak with pulled pork and cheddar, chicken sandwich, fries, and macaroni and cheese. Everyone was very happy with their meals and took home what wasn't eaten, and ate it later. The portions were decent and the food looked appetizing when it arrived.

Food is solid. Great service and cool atmosphere. Their sauces are fantastic.
I look forward to going back.

The pomegranate Cosmo (pictured), the white lighting, and the donkey punch were all delicious. Poutine was a good bang for the buck with plenty of brisket, but it could have used more cheese.

Best Brisket I ever had. The employees were great as well! Wish they were near my home in Florida!

So, this is a hard place to review. I've got a good menu with a good amount of different options and the smells coming out of there are great.

If you are not well versed in barbecue then dinosaur is fantastic. Place to get your feet wet. Sides are plentiful. The meals themselves are are good portions. The sauces have a lot of flavor and it's a cool experience.

If you are a barbecue enthusiast, they are decent. It's one of those things where I think for a lot of people who visit for the first time. Dinosaur is the first place they've been to that really specializes in barbecue. And that's going to make most places that happen to have barbecue on the menu look pretty tame in comparison.

I also think given where we are in Central New York, it's a very distinct flavor profile. If you are used to Midwest or Southern BBQ recipes and meat choices you will get some of that. But a lot of things at dinosaur are 100% more on the sweet side rather than savory or spicy.

They have their own unique take on things and that's why I think it's absolutely a four star. There are two other places in the Syracuse area that in my opinion make better barbecue as far as the food goes. The dinosaur does a really good job with nystaff good atmosphere and easily readable menu and a good location. 100% worth a visit if you have never been. Big ups to the fried green tomatoes. Those are awesome.

Side note, charging $10 for a margarita is hilarious and they're $3 Sweet tea is pretty good

In town visiting for a wedding and stumbled across Dinosaur Bar-B-Que, would highly recommend! We sat at the bar, both bartenders were super friendly and attentive. The food was also so delicious!

Any time we are in the Syracuse area we always make a point to stop at Dinosaur BBQ! For how popular it is, you never wait too long for a table. Service is amazing and they always provide a big bowl of ice water for my husband's service dog. 10/10 at this place!

I was with a large party which was incomplete the hostess was very rude and would not seat us then after a long time they were very rude and did not give us menus or anything they also threw the menus at a disabled person

Poutine, fried green tomatoes and brisket are delicious! The simmered greens were cooked with too much vinegar so I'd try a different side next time. Service is excellent!

We waited 45 minutes for a table on a Saturday night. Worth the wait.