Barbecue places are typically informal, casual restaurants that focus mainly on serving up quick and tasty meals at an affordable price, and as such you’ll often them in a buffet or cafeteria style format. Shady Oak is a bit different in that it takes everything you would expect from a typical barbecue place — the juicy and flavorful cuts of meat, the generously sized portions, and the feel-at-home hospitality and service — and adds to all of this the atmosphere of a full-service, sit-down restaurant.
On the menu, you’ll find all of your traditional barbecue specialties, including seasoned BBQ ribs ($14.99 for a “Texas Size” platter), hickory smoked beef ($9.99), a variety of pork and beef sausages, and more. All of the dinners come with corn on the cob plus two more side items, so they will definitely be enough to satisfy even the hungriest member of your group. Side items are fairly typical, ranging from cole slaw and potato salad to spicy Texas beans and fried okra. There’s also a small selection of salads available on the menu (while the selection may be small, the portions are definitely not).
The service here is excellent. Our server was actually a new employee and it was his first day on the job, but he did a better job than many of the servers we’ve seen elsewhere. Everything we requested was provided almost immediately, the timing of the appetizers and main entrees was perfect, and our drinks were kept full at all times. The rest of the restuarant staff was equally friendly and helpful — even as we were on our way out, one of the managers noticed we had a to-go box and asked if we would like a bag to carry it in. We didn’t need it so we declined, but it’s little things like this that draw customers back again for future visits (if only all restaurants realized this).
Fresh baked bread served warm from the oven
“Spicy” onion rings (they were seasoned with pepper but weren’t really spicy at all)
Sliced Beef Dinner. The meat was very tender and had just the right amount of hickory smoked flavor.
Smoked Chicken Dinner. The sauce was good, but other than that the chicken was pretty plain.
The salad was huge and came with a fantastic Jalapeno Ranch dressing.
Our chicken fried steak expert gave this the thumbs down, so our recommendation is to go with something else on the menu.
Shady Oak Barbecue and Grill
3408 N Central Expy
Plano, TX 75074
Phone: (972) 509-1551
Website: http://www.shadyoakbarbeque.comAmbiance: 6
Food: 6
Service: 8
Cleaniness: 7
Value: 6
Overall: 6.7
Tags: Shady Oak, barbecue, restaurant review