« Ballard Restaurants

Just tried Gabriels Fire, I was completely dissapointed. Smokin Petes has been my all time fav, but I thought I would try Gabriels after reading everyones reviews. I will NEVER go back to Gabriels, vs Petes Gabes got nothing on them. The brisket sandwhich was tiny, the Mac and cheese was blah.and no fries? really?..oh well...long live PETES..

I used to be a huge fan but I went there last week and don't think I'll be going back. There were inedible pieces of meat in my sandwich and they've started charging $2 for the coleslaw and $2 for the sides. My side of cornbread was rock hard on the outside and completely dry and tasteless on the inside. Definitely not worth it.

Went there Tuesday night. They didn't seem to be able to handle the "rush". Chicken and pulled pork were good. Ribs and brisket were dry and chewy. Beans were boring, mac n' cheese was underwhelming. I think these guys have the potential, but you've got to manage your business at all times. Make it all good all the time, otherwise I'm not coming back.

Gabe's still rocks. Seems like haters are more likely to post than not. I'm from ATL if that matters and the meat is good. It takes all kinds. This guy works hard and puts out great product. Better than Petes.

We won't be going to Gabriel's Fire again - we gave them 3 tries. My boyfriend is from the south, and is a chef, and I've had a bunch of Texas BBQ.

The sides:
Coleslaw is just cabbage and mayo. Needs improvement.
The beans were just beans and overcooked - not edible. Add some flavor!
The cornbread was extremely dry. I would rather eat a spoonfull of cornmeal.
Mac and Cheese is bland bland bland.


The meat:
We've tried it all. Not good. Ribs are tough - the meat should fall off the bone. Grilled chicken breast? This is a BBQ joint - the chicken should be on the bone. The pork shoulder is OK. They're going to an awful lot of trouble to smoke all the meat, but there's no real smokey flavor at all. The sauce is nothing special.


Service:
Painfully slow. This is a BBQ joint! The guy is reheating the meat to order, one order at a time. This is a crazy way to serve BBQ.

We've yet to have any decent BBQ in Seattle, except at the OK Corral on Greenwood. Hands down the best BBQ place in Seattle.

Tried it yesterday and it's pretty good. Carolina sauce was not authentic, but a lot closer than you'll get with most bbq joints in the NW, which lean heavily to Texas style. Satisfies the need, for sure. Good for a quick lunch.

Ate here for the first time last week and, as suspected, it sucked. Obviously the owners have no work/cultural experience in putting together decent BBQ. I ate the pulled pork with carolina sauce and beans. Beans were very dry and tasted as if they had been sitting in a pot all day with no lid. Maybe re-heated from yesterday? The carolina sauce doesn't taste like anything I've had from the Carolinas. Has the owner even been to the Carolinas to eat BBQ? Apparently not. Then, my favorite: the BBQ is served in a hoagie bun!! Dumbest thing I've ever seen.

Hopefully Gabriel's ditches the hoagie bun for a normal, round bun, gets a plane ticket and goes to somewhere in the Carolinas to taste true "Carolina" sauce and prepares the beans daily, not weekly. Otherwise, please shut down. Soon.

Gabe is doing a great job! Not sure what's the dealio with Kim. His pork and beef are spot on. Seems like he's got new rolls.

BTW we ordered a smoked prime rib over the holidays and it was out of sight. Our guests left only tiny scraps by the end of the evening.

This guy deserves our business. Good stuff.

i went back this last week and the quality has declined dramatically since this summer or they were having a way off night. when it's good tho, you can't beat the price! i want to spend my holiday $$$ there but will rethink it.

So i have eaten here 3 times now. The last 2 times were 2 nights in a row. It is fantastic! The first time we ate here we ordered to go and the portions did seem small. But the last two times we couldnt finish our dinner. I think he has not got the "to go" containers and portions down because when we ate it it was much larger. VERY well priced and we will be going there 1x a week for sure!

Fantastic!
So and I share the 1/2 sampler and it's perfect.
They do deliver but with a $3.50 charge.
I love love love this place and welcome them! Great foor and the sauces are top notch!
Closed on Sunday and Mondays Tues-Sat open till 8pm.
I miss the pizza joint, but this BBQ is a perfect replacement!

I thought this was wonderful. Our portions were very large (perhaps they've changes this), and the brisket and pork in particular were great. I will definitely be back.

every time I go by they seem to be closed..what are their hours anyway?

This place is great. I just had the jerk Chicken and it is spicy and has great flavor. Make sure to ask them to toast the bun, as they use outdoor rolls and they are a lot better toasted. The corn bread was a little dry, potato salad is ok but a little too much mayo, the macaroni salad was good not 74th street good but definitely worth eating.

Excellent tasting food and sauces with great side dishes. The portions are a little on the small side but the flavor is second to none. Highly recommended!

We ordered the Fire Sampler ($60) and was told it would feed 5-6 people. We were serving 5 adults and thought it would be perfect. In many regards it was. It gave us a taste of 6 meats and 5 sides. We all thought the meats and their sauces were great. The sides were good too - cole slaw and mac and cheese were the group's favorites. Our complaint? The portions seemed a little small - especially the sides. Sadly, we only received 4 small pieces of cornbread. I guess we should have asked how many pieces there would be. We'll go back for sure (as will our friends) but might order a little differently.

The beef brisket was absolutley amazing. Everything else was so/so at best.

wow, real Q in ballard? Gotta check it out- pork ribs or baby backs??? I hope they are smokin with mesquite and apple wood- alder is just not the same...However, how can you be a new neighborhood grill and be closed all Labor Day weekend? Trim down on the sauces- do one and do it better than anyone else!

beef brisket was great, but my ribs were a bit dry, and none of the sides was all that...

Went there last week....great pulled pork sandwich with coleslaw on top. Comes with one side, which I had MacN'cheese. All wonderful, will go back for sure!

Does anyone know if he has started up the delivery service yet? He mentioned in a post before that he wanted to start that mid-August...just curious.

Great restaurant! Very inexpensive and the pulled pork is delicious.