DB's Rustic Iron BBQ

Michael Shaddox

2024-04

Rustic Iron BBQ appeared out of the corner of my eye like a mirage in the middle of the West Texas Desert.I had been driving for hours to Terlingua TX, on my way to Big Bend National Park.I was tired, hungry, and hot.The AC in my old truck doesn’t work and temp on the day I visited was a very warm 119 degrees.I pulled in to DB’s RIB after their lunch rush in the early afternoon.The place is a modest metal building w a covered patio at first glance.The inside, by contrast, is a well designed, from the bar to the bathrooms, with all the charm of a rustic, desert, BBQ restaurant.It was warm and inviting, and the smell of smoky Mesquite wood was perfect.I ordered the two meat plate with brisket and ribs. It was so so good.The ribs were perfectly smoked and didn’t need any kind of sauce or seasoning added.The brisket was moist, but not fatty, easy to eat, sliced, perfectly smoked to perfection.The owner of the place, “DB”, came out to my table to see how everything was, (which it was obviously perfect), sat down, and we exchanged stories about pretty much everything you could imagine. He was an absolute delight to talk to.I guess I wasn’t expecting the owner of a restaurant as good as his was to be as down to earth as he was, as compared to the bigger city restaurant owners who tend to stay in the background when it comes to customer relations.I highly recommend DB’s Rustic Iron BBQ!Best BBQ in Texas!

James Benton

2024-04

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Brian Bownds

2024-01

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Amanda M

2024-02

We came here to celebrate a friends special birthday. I had the two meat option with cole slaw and potato salad along with The barbacoa and brisket. The barbacoa was excellent, the brisket was slightly dry. My husband had the tacos and they were excellent. The service we got was outstanding, the young gal just went over the top to take great care of us. It was Sunday night and the game was on booming through the in house speaker which made conversations a bit challenging. The lighting is glaringly bright and would be better on a dimmer. The high top tables are accompanied by stools that are so high it’s impossible to get your legs under the table, that should be remedied.

Cindy Svec

2024-01

We came on Friday for the “Papas”. Those are baked stuffed potatoes with everything on it. I think it’s probably better to come and get it way earlier in the day than we came (5:45pm) - only one papa was left and the whole thing was kinda melted into a puddle when we opened the go box 20 minutes later. Taste was quite good. We got a half pound of ribs - if you’re a hungry adult, better get at least a pound and don’t forget to ask for some sauce - we didn’t get any! Decent smoked flavor. We would try again if we were going to be here longer.

Alan Stuart

2024-03

The smoke flavor was prominent and delicious. The pork ribs and brisket had a nice smoke ring with a semi-spicy, peppery bark. The potato salad was very good, but the beans were a little bland.The bartender's special margarita was fantastic.My only complaints are:The pulled pork was a little dry, but the sauce helped a lot.The pork ribs tasted great, but they were not quite fall-off-the-bone. It was more like competition ribs with a heavy bite mark.My chair was just an uncomfortable folding chair.

Kasandra

2024-02

I experienced very friendly service and laid back atmosphere.The chopped brisket sandwich was a good portion of brisket and I really enjoyed that the bun was toasted. The brisket was a little on the dry side which is why I gave the food 4 stars. The bbq sauce was different but good! I enjoyed the huge pickle and jalapeño that came with the sandwich.Overall, I would encourage people to try the bbq as I liked my meal and it filled me up after a long day of hiking. I was by myself so I could not try more food and there were a LOT of choices. I would go back if I was in the area!

Tracey Jane Turner

2024-04

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Leonard Dick

2024-04

Cash register clearly indicated what discounts were offered. Made sure to tell cashier I wanted the discount I qualified for. He assured me he had it handled. Guess what, he didn’t honor the discount I noticed on reviewing the receipt. Had I paid attention I most certainly would not have given the tip. Inattentiveness by cashier.Unfortunately the sausage was the worst in memory. The skin was so tough you couldn’t bite through it. Had to take lengthwise cut sausage pieces with skin off sandwich to eat. Expectation is for sausage to have a “bite” to the skin but not to be tough as shoe leather. Not appropriate for a sandwich. The sausage itself was the big brother of convenience store Slim Jims in taste as well as consistency.

R H

2024-04

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William Smart

2024-04

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Caroline Matera

2024-04

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Walter Skinner

2024-04

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Grayson Bolin

2024-02

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Blue Man

2024-04

Very disappointing.The pulled pork I had wasn't great, I had batter that was not drenched in sauce.The potato salad was nothing special, potatos, mayo and some spices. The beans where also like from the can with some added spices.I first got the wrong meat and the wrong side, there was only one other table.And the ambiente, well rustic is one way to call it. A very flowery way. Old and rusty a more precise way.And all that for a price I could have two three meat plates at other places, with better meat that still tastes like it.

John K

2024-04

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MacGyverman

2023-05

Food is good, but portions for the price was not great. My brisket (red tray) was dry and sad, but to be fair the fresh stuff (black tray) looked amazing as it was being cut. I'll add photos. The ribs were good but not as good as Chileens on 17 north of Phoenix. Pulled pork was ok too. The other reviews are what got me to drive out of big bend 40 minutes to get food here. If my food were what the other reviews said, I would have, but not for what I got. The live music was nice. Restroom seemed clean and water was warm fast to wash hands. I would give DB another chance for fresh ribs and brisket.Live music is good but loud if the doors are closed. Spring and autumn might be best for doors open.

The Momshell

2023-05

After a rough day of hiking this was the perfect place to eat! Not only was it friendly and super clean but it was delicious. I had the brisket sandwich combo. I've had a lot of brisket in my life but this was one of the best. It's was lean with just enough fat at the edge to make it just the right bite. The sauce was tangy and sweet and just a hint of heat. The bun was amazing. So many BBQ places have decent enough meat but they flop on the bread choice. Best bun on a brisket sandwich I've ever had. Large enough and soft but sturdy enough to hold a very generous portion of beef. The red onion slice and pickle made it just right. Totally would eat there again!!

Philip Moreira

2023-06

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Kristal Newman Bentley

2023-05

Great customer service. Was in line behind a local and they couldn’t say enough about how good their meat was. Brisket and Turkey tacos for me. With the cilantro cabbage mix for the top, it looked like a celebration! Beans had incredible flavor. Wide variety of canned/bottles beers and sodas to choose from. So happy we stopped by.

Hunter Dale

2022-05

First off the BBQ is the best in Texas. I’ve been coming to Big Bend from Dallas since 2019 and saw this place come up for a BBQ truck on the side of the road to the awesome place DB has now. It’s a great location eating in the mountains, indoor and outdoor seating options. I got the 3 meat plate with sausage, ribs and 1/2&1/2 brisket. Only $36 for that and 2 sides. Very reasonable price. The sausage is absolutely killer, whatever’s inside that casing is something of magic. The ribs are without a doubt the meatiest ribs you will find at a restaurant and you will eat them all the way to the bone. The. Lets get to the brisket, the fatty brisket was amazing as always but what really struck me was the lean brisket. This was THE juiciest most tender cut of lean I have ever had. I sat down and had dinner with DB for about an hour and it was one of the best restaurant experiences I’ve ever had.

Kimberly Johnson

2023-07

My husband and I came here for some bbq and it was pretty good! We are from the houston area so this bbq definitely competes with bbq found in HTX. It was good, the ribs were good and the brisket was great, it had a crispy flavorful outer layer that tasted soooooo good. The ribs were very flavorful and fall off the bone tender. The turkey i didn't like but my husband really did - i didn't like how smokey it was (a little too much for my liking) but the cole slaw and potato salad was delish! Will come again and highly recommend!

James Quinn

2023-05

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Shelly Paasonen

2024-02

Two of us shared The Marilyn which was $55 for 5 meats and 3 sides (prices increases since menus were posted), plus 2 house margs for $5 each. The price is reasonable IF the BBQ was good. We substituted the sausage for double brisket. The brisket was super fatty, the ribs still had the silver skin on it, everything came out cold and way over cooked. The ribs did not fall off the bone… they were super tuff and took a lot of chewing to swallow. It was as if they cooked the meat the day before or that morning then just reheated it. The portions are small too. As for the sides (tater salad, coleslaw, and beans), they were pretty good, but definitely not homemade… they tasted familiar… like store bought which tasted good. I just expected more/better especially in Texas! Maybe they were just having an off day 🤷🏼‍♀️

Carl Alston

2022-05

We ate the sampler dish that included pulled pork, brisket, ribs, sausage. Also got sides of coleslaw, smoked beans and potato salad. All meats were great! Staff was nice and live music was a great touch. The best non-eating part of the experience was when the proprietor brought out the most beautiful smoked brisket fresh from the smoker! I wanted to buy it right then and there.Features: Dining was semi-outdoors with outdoor option. Entire side of building was open.

Caron Heywood

2024-04

Brisket sandwich - one fatty and greasy the other dry! They didn’t arrive at the same time. Beans Were very watery and tasteless- a few mouthfuls for $6. I was charged $2 for using credit card! Wish I’d known would not have added tip.The meal was very expensive for 2 sandwiches and sides. Beer extortionate- prices not displayed.Very disappointed after reading reviews.

Onne Lei

2024-02

The pork ribs from DB's Rustic Iron BBQ is my gold standard now, it's hard to compare the other pork ribs after having one from here. It was a perfect hearty meal after a day hike in the national park. It was so good the first time we had to buy second time to go before heading back home. Don't miss out on great bbq when you're around the Big Bend area!

Jennifer Kessler

2024-04

So, this is a conflicted review. The brisket was really good……surprisingly good, but it was not hot. The potato salad was really good but I prefer a dill pickle relish versus a sweet one. The beans were fire hot temp wise, but the flavor was meh. We must have hit a time between happy hour and ?? It was just a bit deserted and odd feeling. So here is my big complaint, well complaints. When we walked up/in the young guy (server?) had food service gloves on but was outside by his car. I pretty much knew he wasn’t going to change them when he went in. Yuck. Then my bbq plate was served with 1 slice of white bread. TX BBQ places I grew up on and usually visit it is sitting out for you to help yourself so I had to ask young guy server for extra bread…..he brought it out with his bare hands……not just handled it but carried it and put it on my plate. As good as the brisket was, it felt wrong that I had to dip it in the beans to get it warmed, hygiene issues and all that for $25 for 1 meat plate. For all the great reviews, it was a big miss for us. Husband said both of his meats ($30) were not warm, wasn’t impressed with the ribs. Pulled pork ok, but temperature of food was puzzling.

art_tho Romeo

2023-11

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Alex Zhang

2023-05

This BBQ place is legit. The meat is very flavorful and juicy. The TV was playing country music and the other Tv was playing cowboy channel, really getting you into the vibe. We got the combo for two person with mixed cuts, it was recommended by the owner and he is very friendly and told us this is the most popular. The jalapeño pickles are really good