Dinosaur Bar-B-Que

Dinosaur Bar-B-QueDinosaur Bar-B-Que
Dinosaur Bar-B-QueDinosaur Bar-B-Que
Bar, Eatery

99 Court St
Rochester, New York, 14604-1824
United States

(585) 325-7090 | map
dinosaurbarbque.com
PLACE STATS
Average:
4.18
Reviews:
28
Ratings:
49
pDev:
7.66%
View: Place Reviews
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Photo of edthehead
Reviewed by edthehead from Maryland

3.85/5  rDev -7.9%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.75 | service: 3.75 | selection: 3.75 | food: 4.5
Large spacious dining areas and bar with a smokehouse type of charm. The food is fantastic and the portions are large. Beer selection is limited with a few micro brews and a handful of macros.
Mar 27, 2023
 
Rated: 4.45 by JLK7299 from North Carolina

Dec 21, 2016
 
Rated: 4.01 by Tomkob11 from Maryland

Feb 02, 2016
 
Rated: 3.8 by mbratt93 from New York

Jan 30, 2016
Photo of RascalIPA
Reviewed by RascalIPA from New York

4.76/5  rDev +13.9%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 4.25 | food: 5
Probably my all time favorite place to go. Great food!!! Service is excellent. I once ordered from there and had pick up service. It was poring rain and they insisted on coming to deliver it to my car rather than me coming in to get it when I offered.
Dec 16, 2015
Photo of E190DRVR
Rated by E190DRVR from North Carolina

4.7/5  rDev +12.4%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 5
Great beer choices, great BBQ and a cool atmosphere. Always packed, go early.
Jun 19, 2015
 
Rated: 3.93 by greg4579 from Pennsylvania

Jan 22, 2015
 
Rated: 4.33 by eflynn2 from New York

Jan 03, 2015
 
Rated: 4.8 by jeffstinson from Pennsylvania

Nov 20, 2014
 
Rated: 4.04 by BeerForMuscle from New Jersey

Nov 12, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by Iamjeff6 from Virginia

Oct 22, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by chefduff2 from New York

Oct 09, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by generallee from Virginia

Jul 20, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by myhopsdontlie from New York

Jul 18, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by Halfbrother83 from Illinois

Jun 30, 2014
 
Rated: 3.25 by km000 from New York

Jun 29, 2014
 
Rated: 4.5 by SteelersX from New York

Jun 20, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by wisegreensoul from Idaho

May 26, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by BierBliss from New Hampshire

Apr 04, 2014
Photo of GreesyFizeek
Reviewed by GreesyFizeek from New York

4.05/5  rDev -3.1%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4
A classic downtown.

The food is the main draw, for good reason. Every type of BBQ is represented, and you can slather their tasty house-made sauce all over it. The corn-bread is to die for.

They have a good taplist, mostly local stuff. Good stuff from Southern Tier, Ithaca, Rohrbach's, CB's, etc. Nothing crazy, but dependable, and turnover is relatively high.

Love the feel of the place inside- high ceilings, cool artwork and decorations. The food is expensive, as big BBQ places tend to be, but no more expensive than Sticky Lips. The food at Sticky Lips is slightly better though.
Jan 24, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by vermilcj from Ohio

Dec 17, 2013
 
Rated: 5 by jasonmmccormick from Pennsylvania

Nov 23, 2013
Photo of Wortman1998
Reviewed by Wortman1998 from New York

4.66/5  rDev +11.5%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.75 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.75 | food: 4.75
Fun place! Busy as hell - all the time! If you like BBQ, and you like craft beers, go give it a try, good stuff! The beer selection is pretty extensive, they carry many crafts and locals including Ithaca and many others. This is a must stop for us when we are in the Rochester NY area.
Oct 16, 2013
 
Rated: 4.5 by Bnjmnlws from New York

Oct 15, 2013
 
Rated: 4.18 by BeerBucks from New York

Oct 09, 2013
Photo of ProudBeerSnob
Reviewed by ProudBeerSnob from New York

3.9/5  rDev -6.7%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 3 | food: 5
Atmosphere: unique; a dive bar BBQ joint you can take the kids to.
Quality: ordered a Lake Placid UBU served cold bit not too cold in the ubiquitous pint glass.
Service: smart alecky wait staff who work to keep things moving as the place is almost always busy.
Selection: nothing outstanding, just a solid tap list. Could have used more porters, brown ales to go with the BBQ.
Food: this is what people come here for. I've never had a bad or even marginal meal here. Ordered the brisket sandwich with fried okra and collards. Delish. Passed on dessert but have had it before and it's great.
Feb 21, 2012
Photo of Billolick
Reviewed by Billolick from New York

4.18/5  rDev 0%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | food: 4.5
Visited and feasted here several times during a one week Rochester stay. As a big fan of the Dinosaur BBQ empire here in NY state, this place was a no brainer go to place that did not disappoint. By the river, with some out door seating, it’s a multi room joint with the kitchen in full view as you enter. Great and friendly service, the take out girl remembered my name and my favorites after the first visit…love the BBQ and enjoyed several tasty locals brew options upon each visit. If in Rochester, the Dinosaur BBQ is a must visit BBQ and beer option
Nov 10, 2011
Photo of LittleDon
Reviewed by LittleDon from Texas

4.28/5  rDev +2.4%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | food: 4
A BBQ joint that would have a place in Memphis or Austin. Good food, good beer.

I was taken to the Dinosaur by a colleague who had already made a few visits to Rochester. Both of us appreciate a good beer and he wanted to make sure that I made it there since there was little chance that I'd be back to the area. We stopped in for lunch on a Thursday afternoon. The place was easy to find and there was little trouble find parking. The Dinosaur is housed in an old train station and the vibe is honky-tonk, old time BBQ joint (for those Houstonians reading this, think Goode's. We sat at the bar. Decent, but not overwhelming selection of drafts available. Enough locals to have plenty from which to choose. Service was very good. Bartender was familiar with the food and beer and was skilled at managing the customers (there's a fine line between being too attentive and not attentive enough). The food was reasonably good. I had a smoked pork sandwich with a brisket based soup and greens on the side. All very good. Prices were inexpensive. A fresh change from the bigger cities I have to service. Would I return? Good food, great beer, interesting atmosphere. In a heartbeat.
May 28, 2011
Photo of Stoutman88
Reviewed by Stoutman88 from New York

4.1/5  rDev -1.9%
vibe: 2.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4
Visited December 30, 2010

This place was really dark and crowded. When I was seated I could barely read menus, and the waitress was drowned out by the noise. The atmosphere was the only negative I have of this place. Both quality and service was excelent. The selection of beer was good as well. I chose Genny for the simple fact I was in Rochester and it was an easy choice, not bad for an Adjunct Lager. Food was good, had Chicken and Ribs. I find BBQ better back home in Buffalo, but this is quite possibly the best food in Rochester.
Jan 17, 2011
Photo of e11iott
Reviewed by e11iott from New York

3.85/5  rDev -7.9%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 3 | selection: 4 | food: 5
Great location. Depending on when you go this is either a great biker bar and lots of nice bikes and leather with great barbecue, or great barbecue/smokehouse with people coming and going from the blue cross arena from a few blocks away, from a preformance. Either way the food I recommend to anyone, best barbecue in the western new york area. Is normally very busy, get there with plenty of time, the wait is worth it. Plenty of choices about 50 plus total. Verity that goes great with the food. Nice place to take out of town co-workers.
Jan 08, 2011
Photo of alee42
Reviewed by alee42 from Massachusetts

4.43/5  rDev +6%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 5
I don't think there is a better place to sit down and have exceptional BBQ with a good beer. I've been to Dino several times now and every time I go there's always a new beer on tap. The waits are pretty bad on weekends at night, but for me it's a great opportunity to buy a pitcher of the lastest microbrew and stand outside next to the heaters. Last time I went I had a nice pint of the Goose 312 Urban wheat to start, and a pumpkin ale (forgot who makes it) with my beef brisket for dinner. The only problem I have with this place is that the service can be rather slow, but it's definitely worth the wait.

Go here if you love to eat a good barbecued Pig. It's the closest to quality southern-BBQ in all of Rochester.
Dec 21, 2010
Photo of Hoagie1973
Reviewed by Hoagie1973 from New York

4.28/5  rDev +2.4%
vibe: 4 | quality: 5 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5 | food: 5
I visit Dinosaur a couple times a year and it's always great. The decor is rustic like an old barn covered in various metal signs, flags, and various paraphernalia. Blues music (one of my favorite genres) playing constantly at comfortable volume levels so you can still carry on a conversation without getting a sore throat from yelling all night. The meat is unbelievable and every side I've tried has been excellent. Service is fast and friendly. Plenty of craft beer on tap and a nice bottle selection as well. Though they're frequently out of beers listed on the menu, which can be annoying.
It ain't cheap, but everything you consume is excellent. Live music on select nights as well.
A very cool, unpretentious place to hang and fill your gut with awesomeness.
One drawback (other than the beer menu) is that it's almost always packed on any night of the week and you could be waiting for a table for a while.
Dec 02, 2010
Photo of UTvolFAN16
Reviewed by UTvolFAN16 from North Carolina

4.08/5  rDev -2.4%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 3 | food: 4.5
i have been to dinosaur barbeque twice now, they were about a year apart, and both times were great, the barbeque is better than some down here in the south witch is saying alot considering i am a barbeque nut. the plate are gigantic. the beer selection is ok, i do like the fact that alot of the beers they have are local. so there are usually beers that i try for the first time. so if you are around the city of rochester i would def. recommend stopping in and getting some damn good food and a few brews. i will go there everytime i come up to rochester!
Oct 14, 2010
Photo of drsyko
Reviewed by drsyko from New York

4.05/5  rDev -3.1%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4
I love this place!! Went on a Saturday evening with a party of 4, got there around 5 and we only had to wait a little bit for a table. Waited in the bar, which is a very cool room with old-school (the style, not the movie) memorabilia on the walls. Not a bad place to watch colege football. We actually chatted with a Hell's Angel and he let us use the extra seats at his table (and offered to let us sample his food, haha). Place definitely was getting packed by 5:30/6pm.

Food was great (even though I am not a BBQ/smokehouse person) and portions are HUGE. Two of my friends shared one meal (and not one designed to be shared). Lots of local beer offerings. Our server was knowledgeable about the beer, and though it was a crowded night we weren't rushed out.

We all left stuffed and happy - I'll be going back soon.
Oct 07, 2010
Photo of Reiksguard
Reviewed by Reiksguard from Rhode Island

4.5/5  rDev +7.7%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4.5
Dinosaur is a great Barbeque joint- hands down. We have hit the original one in Syracuse a few times, but the Rochester location manages to be larger, but still keep that blend of biker-bar with a welcoming smokehouse. Food is top notch if you are into smoked or slow roated meat.

I was very pleasantly surprised to see the large beer selection (22 on tap, 44+ in bottles) - most of them being craft beers. Several local selections from micros that don't even have bottling lines. I might have to make this place my new drinking hole when I come back into town.
Jul 07, 2009
Photo of Flashy
Reviewed by Flashy from Vermont

4.33/5  rDev +3.6%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4.5
Went here with a party of 10, four adults, six kids under age 12. Had no problem parking and our trip was hassle free. Called ahead and was seated as soon as we got there, though it was crowded and got more so before we left. Started with a pitcher of Arrogant Bastard ($14) and then a pitcher of Rogue Dead Guy. The lines were clean, the beer fresh. The place has an awesome beer list and the barbeque is awesome and reasonably priced. Strong list of regional beers.
Our tab came out to $140, which was great for 10 who pigged out. If you are looking for great beer and great barbeque while Rochester, look no farther.
The only down side would be biker bar atmosphere, but that was certainly no deal breaker.
Apr 26, 2009
Photo of atpben
Reviewed by atpben from Texas

3.98/5  rDev -4.8%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5 | food: 5
Been to this location twice. Second time was on Saturday and they had a great local band playing some great tunes. The food is awesome. They have a variety of combo platters. Their brisquette is quite amazing. The beer selection is above average. Lots of beers from New York are available. I had the brooklyn Black Choclate Stout on tap, Dogfish Head Indian Brown, and the Palo Salto Maron. Decent german bottled beer selection too. Lots of benches to sit outside when the weather is warmer. Great place and good times.
Apr 15, 2009
Photo of armock
Reviewed by armock from New York

4.25/5  rDev +1.7%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 5
I love this place each time I go back home I hit this place up. Expect to wait a while for your table though. Its a pretty cool biker blues type place with some badass food. I recommend getting the tres ombres a little bit of every animal on your plate. While you wait that hour for your table you can stand near the well stocked bar. A good number of brews on tap of regional and micros plus more in bottles. If you want to eat good and have some good beer it can put a dent in the wallet. They usually have some live music at night thats good. All in all if your in Rochester you have to go get a meal and some beer here its well worth the wait.
Oct 07, 2007
Photo of crispybone
Reviewed by crispybone from Massachusetts

4.38/5  rDev +4.8%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | food: 5
While swinging through Rochester on a business trip, we went here on the suggestion of a few locals - locals whom I will definitely thank later.

Absolutely incredible barbeque. And, since this is a BeerFly review after all, they have an impressive selection of beers on tap. I dove into a couple of flights of samplers as a perfect compelement to my food. It was good to see they had many regional beers in addition to the "tried and true" broadly distributed ones. A busy place, but surprisingly we were seated immediately. Noisy with random strange stuff hanging all over the place? You bet, but in my book that's actually a good thing in a barbecue/beer place.

Will certainly, 100%, return to Dinosaur on the next trip to Rochester!
Apr 02, 2007
Photo of slander
Reviewed by slander from New York

4.2/5  rDev +0.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4.5
Bar.
Buh.
Cue.
9

I am pleased to announce that the "First Annual Beer Advocate New York State Beer Fly Guide Dinner And Drinks Statewide Review Conference And Regional Beer Sampling" (FABANYSBFGDADSRCARBS) was a complete success. It's true. John was an excellent host, and there was no (Evil) Davo to ruin things as he's only a NYC city guide and a foolish man. "Were there long difficult hours, was there much to review?" you ask. Turf lines were maintained, beer that previously had only been inside of a keg had to be relocated to glassware at our direction, talk was talked and walk was walked, yes, much was accomplished, a complete success, everyone's still going on about it. The only little, well, almost unmentionable, not even an inconvenience really, hardly worth mentioning and all, but, uh, due to a minor glitch in mapping software, the location for the conference was not as centrally plotted in the state as anticipated. I drove 5 hours and John drove 5 exits up the highway. By the time this oversight was detected, all the reservations had already been made; corrective actions are already in place for the SABANYSBFGDADSRCARBS...

An exterior seating pen holds picnic benches and bar counters on the outside posts wrapping around the front and side of this old train station building. Entering through runs you into a long dining room with a dozen and a half tables and booths that extend out over the Genesee River below. Cut way to the bar area over your shoulder, it's an airport hanger of a room. An "L" shaped wood bar with an awning above seats about a dozen. The bar back is a dark wood unit with a cut way through to I don't know where, and glassware, taps, booze, shirts and BBQ sauces in a case, candles here & there, neon beer signs running above and a small center TV. 4 raised tables adjacent to the bar, 6 tables in an elevated corner, and a small stage at the end of the room with some guy there playing the blues). The room is plastered with flags, beer trays, B movie posters, beer signs & tins, BBQ ads, blues posters, and they've got paned dancing dinosaur paneled windows looking in towards the entranceway, similar more so to the Syracuse location than NYC but then not.
24 taps spread over 2 towers of 6, each at different ends of the bar, and a row of 12 on the bar back. Local and regional upstate New York State micros (Middle Ages Dino Ape Hanger & ImPaled Ale, Custom BrewCrafters Cream Porter & Oktoberfest, Rohrbach Scotch Ale, Ithaca Cascazilla, Saranac Black Forest, Post Road Pumpkin, JW Dundee's Honey Brown), regionals beyond (Victory Hop Devil, Magic hat Fat Angel & Jinx, Sam Adams Octo & Lager, Rogue Dead Guy, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Blue Moon, Yuengling), and macro imports (Guinness, Bass, Stella, Boddingtons). I had 2 pints of the CBC Cream porter because it was that good. You can get a beer flight here and they do growler pours as well. Also some 4 dozen bottles inclusing Anchor, Boulder Mojo IPA, Brooklyn Monster, Ommegang Rare Vos, Victory Storm King & Prima Pils, Sackets Harbor, Pete's Wicked Ale, Sam Adams.

Had the smoked chicken & rice soup and the combo plate for dinner (beef and pork). Sides, sides, Cajun corn and mashed potatoes (why don't they have the Syracuse style salt potatoes everywhere?) Portions were generous, and the BBQ was excellent. I've found the Dinosaur locations to be consistently good.

When we got set to leave, John's coat was not on the coat hook on the wall behind us where he had left it. This was a problem as he drove and his keys were in it. I'm telling you right now, If someone pinched his coat, I'm going to ding them really badly on "atmosphere" (Yeah, that's right. Not the kind of place you can leave your coat unattended). Turns out someone thought it had been left behind and turned it in at the counter up front. Okay, all is good again. The conference continues!!
Dec 22, 2006
Dinosaur Bar-B-Que in Rochester, NY
Place rating: 4.18 out of 5 with 49 ratings