Reviews of Big Mama's Rib Shack (Catering)

Allan Herrera

Good food and customer service. The environment desperately needs a renovation. I don't even think it's air conditioned.

Chavon D. Walker

Updated since I was last here. Nice quiet place.

Susan Faulk

The food is tasty and the atmosphere is nice.

Carla Williams

Best Smothered pork chops with rice

Hitoshi Okuno

so good!

Debbie Neria

Love it

Bru conrad

No air conditioning and no fans and the service and food suck - never again ever.

Derek Walker

They have beef ribs!

Joan Greer

Excellent food! I recommend you try everything.

Dustin Wooten

Being from Memphis it's been hard to find good authentic southern BBQ in the Los Angeles region and when I stumbled across Big Mama's while living in North Pasadena last year I fell in love with them! So delicious! Super friendly staff! AND they have hush puppies!!

Zaccheus Cooper

Great food service is good 10 stars love the food.

David White

Best I've tasted in a long time

Teddy Allen

Love Supporting Black Businesses Since I'm Black Own As Well. THE REASON FOR LOW RATINGS CAME HERE TODAY 2 GET MY GRUB ON SOUL FOOD. WAS SEATED ASK WAITRESS GIVE ME 5MIN, BUT NEVER CAME BACK TO CHECK ON ME. AFTER WAITING 20MIN JUST UP AN LEFT. PLACE NOT EVEN CROWDED NOT KOOL. NOW I'LL GIVE ANOTHER TRY SINCE THANKSGIVING EVE. WILL SEE

Gene Van Horn

Ribs were good

alexandria harper

Horrible service!!! Enter the establishment and waited at the door to be seated as the sign stated. No one ever came to sit us. We stood there a good ten minutes.

sydney mcghee

Poor service long waot but good ribs

Maryfrances Johnson

Great experience, will return!

Eric Yu

A bit pricey, but worth every penny.

Nichole Benton

Anita is a hard working individual with the strength of an Ox !!!! She is dedicated and focused on making it to the end!!! I will miss her presence and commentary she keeps me on my toes and has drive like no other!!!!

Giliw Sapiandante

It's juicy Luke worm

Jeremy Bonnell

Their fried chicken is the best in the area.

Dana Dane

Horrible food and service.

Roland Crozier

Good.

R.

Staff even uses fake southern accents

Courtney Bell

I decided to give this establishment a try, so I walked in for take out. The wait was long. The waitress only had 2 tables and took forever just to take our order. When I got home two of my three orders were wrong. The Mac n cheese was awful and the food was not worth the hassle. I will not be returning.

Joyce Wyatt

Always excellent

Ni Xin

American southern food. Delicious. A little bit slow.

Therese Whitten

Paid WAY too much for what I got. The food needs seasoning! A place that is called a rib shack should be stellar at cooking ribs. This is sorely not the case. The yams taste like they came out of a can. Corn bread taste like it is Jiffy mix. I don't know how you mess up Mac and cheese but congratulations Big mama's because you managed to massacre an easy dish. The greens where not good. I could not finish them for the first time in my life. All of the produce did not taste fresh. The pork ribs had a sauce on them that was awful. I could only choke down 2. The 2 that I did eat gave me horrible heart burn for hours. The sauce was cayenne pepper heavy. I think that was the only seasoning they used. The only reason I took them to go was to give them to a homeless person who would be grateful for a full belly. I don't like to waste food. Who ever is cooking in the kitchen needs serious training! They need to call Chef Ramsey or Chef Robert Irving to come in and revamp the restaurant. The booths are old and worn out! The padding was on its last leg 20 years ago. I was not comfortable sitting on that seat for the length of the dining experience. It is dark and feels like you are in a basement with art on the walls. There are no windows to provide natural light. The other half of the "restaurant" looked more like a "want a be " night club that was just missing the dance floor and disco ball. THE LIVE MUSIC WAS OBNOXIOUS!! The music was WAY WAY WAY too loud!!!! When I go to dinner I want to be able to hear the conversation at the table. I went on a Saturday to visit my girlfriends mom and her friend. The musicians where singing off key and the harmonica x2 was not good AT ALL! I did not appreciate the musical conga around the restaurant. If this was the Gong show I would have pounded the hell out of that gong! It was painful to listen to. All I have to say is sub par food for way too much money. The atmosphere was deplorable. The service was just O.K. I will not be returning. I could not get out of there fast enough.

John Lane

Very good food. Louisiana style with corn bread.

Action Jackson

Good food; good service!

Linda Grønli

Dont go there. Poor service, small portions, strange place...

Sheila Stone

Absolutely amazing food!

Doyle Gould

Very nice people service was no existent I ordered ribs which were tasty baked beans great,. Never got my napkins or cup of coffee French fries were the real deal and just great but cold and soggy finally left after my meal was eaten still no coffee or napkins dark and cold place I won't be back unfortunate because the food could have been really good but was so slow getting to me that I was not able to enjoy it... Could be a really good cafe if the food was served on time place was heated and lighted.. very nice people

Kia Anaya

Food was ok. Did not seem fresh and portion size was off compared to description.

Alan Hart

Delicious all the time and prices are low while portions are huge! Guaranteed winner every visit!!!

adrian martinez

Delicious down home cooking

Nadine Isenberg

Great food. Clean and friendly

Hobart Lundt

Great fried chicken

Marika Snyder

Nice little place for some good food and interesting entertainment. Reasonable prices and some parking on the street.

char whitt

Beautifully operated. Great Family Style Restaurant. Moderate prices, well worth it for the delightful southern dishes.

Raymond Morales

You go there for the Blues there are none better! But the ribs were not bad either.

Howard Roark

Great Pizza!

power play powerplay

Take to long Poor service Small portions not worth the price

-wendy quantumtalk

Cajan music, sports on the screen, mom in the kitchen, and at the table. Home -wendy

Roy Baucham

Best soul food in Pasadena

Gioconda Escobar

GOOD RIBS

Heng Lam Foong

Located on Lake with it's own lot. Good menu and welcoming staff. We've been there several times. It can get hot in the summer even with the large fan that they have. All meals start with yummy corn bread. We've tried the ribs and chicken - the sauce is pretty good. Po boys are good too. Vegetarians welcome - they have a veggie plate of sides including okra, greens, beans, yams, red beans and rice, slaw, Mac and cheese etc. We like it even it's not the most comfortable when it is really hot out.

Lawton Chin

I like it...

Ruth Mehler

Love my BBQ

Susie Phillips

The fried chickens were fine, but the rest were just ok....dirty rice, beans and rice and the Bbq spareribs. The service was fine, but the food came out SO S...L....O....W...omg...

Shirley Johnson

Like chicken wing dinner

Laura Lopez

OMG the best BBQ Tri Tip ever. Corn Bread is so Freaken delicious

D.M. Rajapaksa

The place is quite spacious but desperately in need of an update. The food was ok but worth the price given the surroundings and quality. It does fill you up though.

alaplex100 .

Really good soul food in Pasadena

Ernest Carapetian

Ordered pretty much everything on the menu. Baby back ribs- above average Pork spare ribs - above average Tri-tip - average (kinda though) Fried Chicken- best fried chicken in town HANDS DOWN!!! Sides were good, not great. Cornbread was spectacular. The interior is cozy and clean. Wait staff is super nice !! Definitely recommend this BBQ Spot

Hotpoker .

Prompt fast and courteous service and the food was great

A. .

Food was pretty good. Some of it seemed to be sitting out for a while, no flavor with somethings could use decor change to help liven up the place. But my service was pretty good

Q DopeAF

The staff are extremely helpful and just like family; and the food is delicious.

Lloyd Johnson

The mini Cajun combo is to die for. Best Taste of the South. Updated July 11th 2019. Since Big Mamas is closing, they're already operating as if they're closed. It was really disappointing to go there and they're out of the things that are essential for a Southern Restaurant. I wish them well in whatever they do. Good Luck in your next Restaurant.

Ezeal Sankofa-Ra

Very good food, and staff very nice

Gary Corbin

OMG experience, very delicious Bar-b-que...

Karen Husman

The absolute best barbecue and fried chicken around. Family owned and operated, it's a neighborhood gem.

Claire Lee

Having been to New Orleans myself, I would say this place serves pretty good southern food! I had the Fried Catfish and hubby had the mini BBQ combo. Both entrees come with two sides. We chose dirty rice, fried okra, Cajun fries, and greens. I would recommend getting the mini BBQ combo as it has a sample of meats (1 rib, 1 tri-tip, 1 sausage, and 1 chicken piece)

Annette Garcia

I had the best time of my life and the food was delicious

Dabashya H

Good!

Alan Quintos

Lunch was great especially the bbq chicken sandwich. Service was excellent and plenty of parking.

Rick Daza

Been going to Big Mama's for over 15 years. Always the very best BBQ and Soul food around!!!

Dwight Jones

Good food.

Shirley Hendricks

Big Mama's has great Catfish, the yams are

Krystyle Plair

Not the place to go in the summer time no AC

fortnite gamer

they keeo hanging up on me but they answered for my boyfriend he oreder but guess what i wont be going to pick it up .we have spent money here and ususlly marcus orders the food .he didnt answer in a professional way he said hello.what who?! go back to the hood with thaqt Shizzzit!! fake barbecue and microwaves yams!!

James Cline

Great music... Saturday nights!!

Charles Hammerstein

The best down home southern cooking.

Viva la RESISTANCE

I really love the food here but I gave it 4 stars because the overall experience was great but there was a small mistake about my food. There were some parts of my food that were cold but other parts were warm. I didnt want to bother them so I just dealt with it and still at it because I didn't want to bother the employees there. But over all I did enjoy the experience.

Alice Yip

The food is okay but the wait was too long. It took over 30 minutes to get our main course. I had to walk up to the cashier and get my bills or I would be sitting there for another 5 minutes. There was music tonight but I didn't stay for the music. The prep work was deafening. I will not go back again.

Marti LeNoir

The food and the service was EXCELLENT.

Mark Robinson

First time here, delicious!

Annie Slifkin

Fun, food and music. A great Saturday night out.

George Bush

I had high hopes for this place. I even gave my wife a good sales pitch on why we need to go. I typically don't leave less than five star reviews but I think the food was bland and the service when we walked in, there was no one to greet us for a few minutes. Our server was actually pretty good. But I think the menu and the decor needs some updating.

David Ruelas

Nice quiet spot in Altadena CA. Sport bar, beer, ribs what else does a man want.

Kelcey Richardson

Excellent greens

Tanya Miller

Here for a Saturday night Blues Music show. Special menu with the greatest hits. Everyone at my table is satisfied. Started with a side salad and two hot cornbread muffins. My friend chicken was perfect. The collard greens and yams are tasty. Portions are good and pricing will definitely get me back. The entertainment is hopping and the crowd is lively! Could use some more service staff. But, that aside I have found a place to which I definitely will return for the friendly service, delicious down-home food and great Saturday night entertainment!

Javier Cadena

Really slow service

DeDe Brinson Hassell

Nice and quiet lunch at Big Mama's. We enjoyed the atmosphere, blues music playing in the background. Reasonably priced and delicious soul food!

Ernest Rogers

Great service, delicious, authentic soul food. Amazing BBQ sauce on the ribs and chicken. I love the corn bread. The fried fish is my favorite, snapper and catfish are both a great choice.

Selena Robinson

The food was good if you are willing to wait for it. We went here on a Saturday night since we heard the food was good. I had the spare pork ribs and my family had the fried chicken wings and pork chops. Are server was good but overwhelmed this night. It toolk awhile to get our orders and to finally get our food. Then server disappeared at the end because her shift was over and never informed us. We tried to pay and it took while just to get our check.

Mark Washington

Down home cooking :)

Den Law

Friendly and helpful service. Nice atmosphere.

dwayne brown

Best chicken in Pasadena

Jon Batalla

Old times reminded in each dish offered .. Mello yet great .

George W Evans Jr

Great southern style food! Loved the ox’s tails and greens meal!

Tron Spears

Go get it Dena!

Nader Emamjomeh

A fantastic and most authentic southern food restaurant in West-coast??? Who knew...a must stop-to-eat place

Jyvonne Love-McKinley

They make you feel at home

californiakidd69 .

Great food.

shawna jenkins

Horrible ! Waited long for food just to come out cold and waited EVEN Longer to pay ! Only had two servers (which were friendly) but the place seriously needs to do better . ROSCOES IS BETTER !

stewart mcadoo

We had a good time here.

Kyle Hartsfield

It was a terrible experience. The staff didn't know what was going on and the management knew even less. I ordered togo and upon arrival I was treated with neglect. They also didn't know where my order was or who took it. After about 20 minutes they brought my order out. It took over an hour from the point I ordered to the time my food was given to me. The old lady who gave me the food acted like she did me a favor. She said "That's all of it." And shoved my food at me. I let her know that I would not be returning to which she replied "I know. We're closing for good." I replied "Thank God." Also, the food was of poor quality. There closing for good and there's a reason why. Don't even waste your time on this poor excuse for a BBQ restaurant.

Craige Williams

Great food and great people...yum

Clifton Dye

Awesome Food and Entertainment with Cadillac Zac.

Jen Lee

A nice place in LA for some mean bbq - you don't see too much of this around LA.

Carl Ponder

Not only BarBQ but an extensive soul food menu as well. Closes at 9pm and occasionally live entertainment. I stumbled upon them by accident and was quite pleased, met the owner found out they've Been there 15 plus years. I ordered my standard for first time BBQ joints, ribs,potato salad, baked beans and also opted to try the baby backs. The spare ribs were meaty but not very smokey, in fact they could have passed for very good oven cooked. The baby back were cooked the same but not as meaty. I like baby back ribs but these were disappointing don't think I'll order a second time. The sauce tasted house made, tasty and mild but not exciting. The potato salad was standard akin to Costco or Sam's Club. Personally I perfer mine to be creamer with smaller chunks and with some ranch mixed in. The beans were standard pinto in its own gravy with onion. They were not baked or special in any way. I will return to try other items along with repeats of the ribs. 3 stars not bad not great but good enough for return business.

BustA Groove

Lots of options for carnivores.

JR Greenfield

Great sweet potatoes.

Danny Allen

Good is good, however long wait to be served

Sheila Anderson

Went for lunch on a Saturday. The food was delicious and the service was great.

A.J. Stanford

Simply The Best!

charles hammerstein

Great

Helenamarie Watts

Need you around more in altadena and Pasadena grade A++

Marlon Constantine

Great job!

Edna Johnson

Food was wonderful.

Lori Reems

Cozy great food

Keysha Williams-McMillian

My food was good...and hot...we enjoyed everything. The White Wine Spritzer was Very Tasty.

Troy Coe

Go For The Pork Rib Dinner!

Naomi Berris

Great Southern style food with somewhat of a hint of California. Southern favorites served authentically, very good service, fair prices. A small bar with a big screen TV for sports/breaking news, etc. A good place to bring the entire family, or a couple on a date. Tables seat just 1 to 4 for a cozy meal, or choose a booth to seat 6. It's not very big inside, and the space is used very wisely. Friendly and courteous staff who always aim to please. They serve more than just ribs. This was my 3rd visit and have been very satisfied each time. Try it you'll love it and come back again just as I have...

kiarra gaddis

Very nice and good food

Ernestine Blue

Sorry to hear they are leaving and will miss their fried chicken.

SH

Great southern soul and cajun food. Friendly service in a funky ambience.

Shan Roberts

The sides were really good. My ribs were more bone than meat. But flavors are right on.

Polibra Wilms

Good food; large portions

Embraced The Hate Sports Talk

A little pricy for the portion sizes, great flavor tho.

John J Shin

Great service and the ribs even better

Awkward Michelle

I’m not usually harsh on reviews but the food was dreadful. I ordered the jambalaya with the fries and fried orkra. The jambalaya: Dont get me wrong I love spices and spicy food but it had so much spice you could even taste anything else! And all the meat and shrimp was chewy, I felt like if I threw it on the ground it would bounce. And some parts of it were sour. The fries: not the worst but the potato wasn’t cooked through and still raw. Orkra: Okay, it was a breath of fresh air compared to those other 2, although there was barley any breading at all on the orkra. Who the hell is cooking the food? Do they not taste anything or look at anything? Nothing tasted fresh. No wonder it was pretty much completely empty. Plus the atmosphere was strange and tacky. The only reason this is getting 2 stars is because the waitress was nice and patient.

Mark Okino

Friendly service. Ribs are terrific but I remember their crunchy chicken wings. A welcome break from the sweet barbeque.

Sam Matthews

I absolutely loved it!!!! Best sauce. Awesome bbq food. I wish I took a picture to post before I devoured half my plate before I realized!! Awesome gumbo!! I went crazy!! Bbq combo, gumbo, Cajun fries, collard greens and the wife had baby back ribs. It is a must try!!

E.Carter

Real Soulfood!!

Sarah Marshall

The service is really bad but the music is fantastic

Jon Shieds

Great food, great people running the restaurant and Excellent service.

Jackie Derra

Small not well lit

Joi Kruger

Super tasty southern food. Served by one of the owners, who was very friendly and hospitable

Karen Farr

I love Big Mama's beef ribs, greens and mac & cheese. Peach cobbler and ice cream for dessert.

Sylvia Chewning

Stopped here on my way back home and was impressed! Food was hot and flavorful! I don't normally like everyone's bbq sauce and their's was da bomb. I wish I had gotten more to eat later.

Curtis Walker

Food and service was great!

Ellia Young

I will never come back to this so-called establishment ever again! I didn't even get to order because the waitress with the curly synthetic wig and the waitress with the "braids" totally ignored my mom and I. The one with the curls hurried to seat the couple standing behind us;she seated them twice because they were dissatisfied with their first table. We didn't even recieve a hello, one second, or eff you get out,nothing. We always try to support black businesses, but we will not support a black business that ignores potential patrons. I'll never return! This occurred on 8/19 at 6 pm....

Larry Ramirez

FIRE, highly recommended

Colton Case

Great Bar B Q. My husbands band was playing there

Annie McKnight

First time food was good. Slow service

Cynthia L Lopez

Oh yes! Go!!

Edward Rivera

Great food

loc power

(Just very inconsistent service) ordered 2 sides of cornbread one was very hot the other was stone cold. I ordered a rib plate with cajun fries on the side but they gave me so little fries not like before when it was good portion. They need to put enough fries for the price your paying. The waiters need to be trained and consulted on how to be professional and greet customers with smiles, they should also be trained on courtesy and to be fast and aware and to check on their customers at the table. They love to disappear in the back, Service is way to SLOW, the waiters are very SLOW. That's why im giving the one star because of the service of the waiters. I will give the food 3 stars for the price your paying, a bit overpriced but over all okay. Get ready to wait a very very very LOOOONG Time⏰

Donald Casey

I wasn't impressed with the food and poor customer service.

Frank Yates

Best. Live music. Great fix

Donnita Piggee

This restaurant has fantastic food and wonderful service. It is family owned and ran with love and dedication!

Delaney McWhorter

Amazing food amazing service amazing everything and there was an adorable little girl in there that was the owners daughter and she had such good manners but definitely I suggest going there

Kevin Sewell

Really a 3.5, but a 4 for Cali. I grew up near the border of Louisiana and Texas and I grew up on some of the best soul, Cajun, and creole food so I don't think it's a fair comparison. the meat was all cooked evenly and was super tender, pretty flavorful. I think the best thing was definitely the collard greens and probably the dirty rice. The people are super nice, too!

Michaela Grinnell

Great waitress and dlelicious cornbread....everything else was SPICY though

Donald Walker

Food always good, closing perm July 20, I was told