Clyde Cooper's Barbeque - Raleigh

A must in raleigh! great service and eat! southern kitchen best!

Nice dive. Not a lot of choices for a small lunch, but they had a bbq hotdog basket that was the right size and pretty good. The price was pretty good for being downtown.

I've heard about this place for years. Many people I know like it however I've rarely been in the area to try it when I have a BBQ craving. I finally decided to take the drive. I stopped in around 2 so if there was a lunch crowd it was gone by then. I helped myself to a booth. Everyone I encountered was quite friendly. I ordered ribs and fried chicken with baked beans and collards. Ribs were well cooked but they were missing something. The sauce was applied to the ribs post cooking and not allowed to caramelize so it was just sitting on top of the rib. Fried Chicken was hot and crispy. It needed a bit of salt but otherwise good. Collards were highly rated here but I think mine were from the bottom of the pot as there was a lot of fat from the seasoning meat them. I would try another veggie next time. Baked beans were good and came out piping hot. I enjoyed them. I wanted to order some to go. They were a bit sweet but it was balanced by the saltiness of the meat. Skins and Hushpuppies were good. I would go out of my way to come back here for another combo plate. The place is kind of nostalgic and I see why people enjoy it. I'm not a fan of the message they have around credit cards. Say you're taking cards now and keep it simple. People rarely ever carry cash these days so you either have to take cards or risk your business.

My friend and I went there last week and I was really surprised and disappointed. The Bar B Q wasn't good at all, the cabbage was in huge pieces and extremely spicy to the point that I couldn't enjoy it, and you could literally see all the red pepper and the cold slaw wasn't good. I have been going there for over twenty years and I can honestly say I was very dissatisfied with the food but the collards were delicious as usual. Carolina Bar Q is so much better; I regret that I didn't go from the beginning.

I've tried eating here 3 times and every time they are out of 2+ items! I'm sure the food is delicious since they can't keep it stocked but I would love to actually be able to try it sometime! I even called this time before I drove over and they confirmed they were not out of anything yet. 5 min later they have suddenly run out of their chicken and mac and cheese. So essentially, probably good food because of the demand, but wish it would be available more frequently Edit: I would absolutely love to try y'alls food! As I stated above I did call to check on item availability and was given incorrect information so I hope you can understand that I was given the impression that calling would also prove fruitless/foodless