Restaurant Review: Lockhart's BBQ (Royal Oak, Michigan)

Now that I like BBQ, I enjoy trying new BBQ restaurants. I had an opportunity to meet a couple of friends at Lockhart's BBQ in Royal Oak, Michigan recently. This is the 4th BBQ restaurant I've reviewed since I started my blog with Slows (Slows Review), The Union Woodshop (Woodshop Review) and Bad Brad's (Brad's Review) being the first three. And while Lockhart's is a good BBQ joint, it's not a "great" one and definitely comes in 4th place on this list (the other 3 are very close & I think Slows is my #1 simply because they give you the most food and you ALWAYS have leftovers from there).

Lockhart's smells like BBQ when you walk in and is very brightly lit. It has a cool, laid back atmosphere.

They also have a good list of Michigan craft beers, so I ordered a Short's (Bellaire, MI) Huma Lupa Licious IPA which I've mentioned on this blog before because it truly is one of my favorite beers. While I was waiting for my friends, the server brought out some pickles & pickled onions (and on stray pickled carrot). These were very good & had a little zip to them which went well with the beer.

I ordered a 3 meat combo for my dinner, which also came with 2 side dishes. So I chose Lean Braised Beef, Pulled Pork & Smoked Turkey with Mac & Cheese and Sweet Potato Mash (suggested by our server).

They have 4 different sauces to try: Lockhart’s Signature (traditional sauce with a balance of sweet, tangy, molasses, vinegar and pepper), Lockhart’s Sweet (tomato based blended with root beer and grapes to create a sweet BBQ flavor), Fire on the Red (signature sauce with cayenne, chipotle and habanero peppers), Lock’s Carolina Gold (a blend of mustard, vinegar and pepper).

I tried 3 out of the 4 because I don't like mustard or vinegar, thus the Carolina Gold fell by the wayside. I tried the other 3 individually and I liked them all, with the Fire on the Red being my favorite. I then mixed up all 3 which was a great blend of sweet & spicy.

All in all, I liked my dinner but I didn't love it. I would probably go back to Lockhart's to try a few other items on the menu.

For more more information, visit their website at: http://www.lockhartsbbq.com