The Pit

They don't have tap water to serve with the meals so they sold us a 16.9 oz bottle of water for $1.75 each. I got a fountain Coke and refils were $0.75 cents. The Shirmp Ceviche had too much vinegar and lime in it and was very bitter. I ordered Baby Back Ribs and they brought Spare Ribs and then corrected it. We ordered one serving of Key Lime Pie that they said was home made and it was basically whipped cream in a round aluminum tin 3 inches in diameter and charged us $3.50. They added the tip to the bill without telling us. Their credit card machine was down (which they didn't tell us at the beginning) so we had to pay cash. For some strange reason they could process debit cards and they had an ATM machine on site that were all working, only thing not working was the credit card machine. Please don't let this happen to you. more

Better called the Pits. BBQ okay. But only restaurant I have been to that does not offer a glass of water. Then charges $1.75 for a dinky little bottle. Shrimp ceviche tasted like shrimp and vinegar for $11.95. What a rip. Key lime pie for $3.95 was lime cool whip in a crummy little crust cup. Then their credit card was not working and we had to come up with the cash. If you are forced to eat their just get the bbq and beer and call it good. more

Service was fast and freindly. Atmosphere much improved, we felt we were on vacation. \r \r Really good, meaty and tasty ribs. Cooked right.\r The perfect combination would be these ribs with Shorty's sauce. more

We have visited ""The Pit"" many times during our trips to Dade County and have had only the best and friendly service. Food was great and you have the option of sitting in the A/C restruant or roughing it a little under the covered bar and table area in the patio where your entertained by mucisians. The only thing that could mess up a day there is a bus load of unruly, board kids who would have best taken to McDonalds in the first place. The owner did the right thing reserving the resturant for paying customers and sending the mouchers packing. And as far as race goes, I can assure you that every race on that bus was represented at the place when they pulled away, but it was good of that ""teacher"" to publicly blame racisim, no matter how groundless it is . more

We have visited ""The Pit"" many times during our trips to Dade County and have had only the best and friendly service. Food was great and you have the option of sitting in the A/C restruant or roughing it a little under the covered bar and table area in the patio where your entertained by mucisians. The only thing that could mess up a day there is a bus load of unruly, board kids who would have best taken to McDonalds in the first place. The owner did the right thing reserving the resturant for paying customers and sending the mouchers packing. And as far as race goes, I can assure you that every race on that bus was represented at the place when they pulled away, but it was good of that ""teacher"" to publicly blame racisim, no matter how groundless it is . more

This was my first visit to The Pit BarBQ since I last stopped there about four or five years ago when I decided not to return. I've eaten off and on at The Pit since the 70's. I recently heard new owners bought it since my last visit, so I decided to try it out. My overall impression was good. \r \r For starters, the restaurant is CLEAN, which was not the case with previous owners. The waitresses were extremely friendly and helpful, as was the owner. They had Baby Back Ribs on the blackboard menu, which are not listed on the regular menu, and they were delicious. I've eaten BBQ all the way from Key West to North Carolina, and west to Texas and beyond; these ribs would be good anywhere. They were tender, well cooked with lots of smoke flavor and very lean. Don't know if they always serve Baby Backs, but if they don't, they should. The tostones were excellent, crispy and not greasy at all. The fried yucca, was okay, but not as good as the tostones. The pulled pork was average in my opinion, not bad, but not outstanding either. The baked beans were also pretty tasty. The stars of the day were definitely the Baby Back Ribs and the friendly staff. We saw a lot of nice looking dishes being served and will try some of them in future visits. \r \r The kitchen needs to improve getting the food out, which took much longer than it should, especially when you're serving ribs, beans and tostones. Desserts (all seem to be commercially packaged) need major improvement, as they are not very good and they are expensive for the size and quality. If the owners invest one hour of their time, they can come up with much better dessert choices, a money maker at restaurants. \r \r Overall, it is definitely worth a return visit and recommendation, but owners need to continue improving and "listening to customers' feedback". I read some pretty combative and argumentative replies from owner to customers' reviews here and other forums and as a business owner myself I can tell you that arguing with customers is really BAD POLICY and doesn't look good, even when you're right. It's better to be gracious and offer polite replies or explanations. Most of all, LISTEN to the customers, they are king, whether you realize it or not. Keep up the good work and continue to improve! We'll be back soon. more

THE PIT was VOTED as ""THE BEST RIBS IN MIAMI"" 2011 by THE NEW TIMES.\r \r It is the COUNTRY at the end of South west 8 Street it looks like a PICNIC or PARK setting because of the OUTSIDE TIKI's but in reality is a RESTAURANT. People are welcome to bring their DOGS and sometimes BIRDS and use the outside areas however NO FOOD or BEVERAGE are to be brought in from the outside. The Food is cooked to order and the meats are all SMOKED to give them a unique flavor. Most people do rather eat BABY BACKS than SPARE RIBS because of their tenderness however in most places they boil their BABY BACKS here at THE PIT the BABY BACKS as the SPARE RIBS are placed in the smoker for 4 to 5 hours at a low temperature to achieve their tenderness and preserve their flavor! THE PIT caters to everyone and today THE MENU includes USDA meats like NY Sirloin, T Bone, Churrasco and for those that would rather have a FILET of FISH their is MAHI MAHI and CAT FISH and there are exotic items like GATOR BITES, GATOR SAUSAGE, FROG LEGS, GATOR BURGER and ELK BURGERs. \r \r Just remember there is NO GAS in the KITCHEN everything is cooked with WOOD! It might take a few minutes longer to cook your meal but is worth it!\r \r The place is clean and even though is sorrounded by wood and in the proximity of the Everglades the constant care of spraying eliminates the BUGS and there is an INDOOR DINNING ROOM for those that would rather be inside. \r \r It is very hard to please everyone but you go head and VISIT make your own judgment prices range from $4.99 to $16.99 and a PULL PORK SAND with Fries and Home made coleslaw or potato salad and a Soda is less than $10.00. \r \r Visit THE PIT I can assure you, you will ENJOY your FOOD and your Pocket wont suffer!! And you will experience what MIAMI use to be!! more

THE PIT was VOTED as ""THE BEST RIBS IN MIAMI"" 2011 by THE NEW TIMES.\r \r It is the COUNTRY at the end of South west 8 Street it looks like a PICNIC or PARK setting because of the OUTSIDE TIKI's but in reality is a RESTAURANT. People are welcome to bring their DOGS and sometimes BIRDS and use the outside areas however NO FOOD or BEVERAGE are to be brought in from the outside. The Food is cooked to order and the meats are all SMOKED to give them a unique flavor. Most people do rather eat BABY BACKS than SPARE RIBS because of their tenderness however in most places they boil their BABY BACKS here at THE PIT the BABY BACKS as the SPARE RIBS are placed in the smoker for 4 to 5 hours at a low temperature to achieve their tenderness and preserve their flavor! THE PIT caters to everyone and today THE MENU includes USDA meats like NY Sirloin, T Bone, Churrasco and for those that would rather have a FILET of FISH their is MAHI MAHI and CAT FISH and there are exotic items like GATOR BITES, GATOR SAUSAGE, FROG LEGS, GATOR BURGER and ELK BURGERs. \r \r Just remember there is NO GAS in the KITCHEN everything is cooked with WOOD! It might take a few minutes longer to cook your meal but is worth it!\r \r The place is clean and even though is sorrounded by wood and in the proximity of the Everglades the constant care of spraying eliminates the BUGS and there is an INDOOR DINNING ROOM for those that would rather be inside. \r \r It is very hard to please everyone but you go head and VISIT make your own judgment prices range from $4.99 to $16.99 and a PULL PORK SAND with Fries and Home made coleslaw or potato salad and a Soda is less than $10.00. \r \r Visit THE PIT I can assure you, you will ENJOY your FOOD and your Pocket wont suffer!! And you will experience what MIAMI use to be!! more

This past Friday, my group of summer camp students and I stopped at The Pit to eat lunch. We had come from a field trip in the area and many of the surrounding businesses had power failures. This place was close by and didn't appear very busy. I had never been to this place before and will never set foot in it again. The owner/manager refused to serve my summer camp students. She claimed that since some had brought their own food, we could not have a ""picnic"". I repeatedly informed her that we would be buying food for a lot of the kids who did not have lunch. She continued on with attitude (pointing fingers in my face) and asked what would she do with her paying customers (the place was not full or busy - we have proof of it on video) until she finally told me ""let's see where you end up"". I guess meaning she would take our order and see how much we ordered and decide if we got served food based on that?! This whole encounter with a woman so disrespectful, ignorant, fearful and cruel turned my stomach. I loaded my kids back on the bus and gave the $$ to McDonalds instead. Besides being prejudiced (one of our Cuban teachers told her she was racist and that her behavior in front of kids was shameful) and not serving children (some Mexican, some Columbian, some Puerto Rican, some Black, and some Dominican) she is an awful business person for refusing paying customers during a recession. I had to select 1 star but really you deserve to be served none. more

This past Friday, my group of summer camp students and I stopped at The Pit to eat lunch. We had come from a field trip in the area and many of the surrounding businesses had power failures. This place was close by and didn't appear very busy. I had never been to this place before and will never set foot in it again. The owner/manager refused to serve my summer camp students. She claimed that since some had brought their own food, we could not have a ""picnic"". I repeatedly informed her that we would be buying food for a lot of the kids who did not have lunch. She continued on with attitude (pointing fingers in my face) and asked what would she do with her paying customers (the place was not full or busy - we have proof of it on video) until she finally told me ""let's see where you end up"". I guess meaning she would take our order and see how much we ordered and decide if we got served food based on that?! This whole encounter with a woman so disrespectful, ignorant, fearful and cruel turned my stomach. I loaded my kids back on the bus and gave the $$ to McDonalds instead. Besides being prejudiced (one of our Cuban teachers told her she was racist and that her behavior in front of kids was shameful) and not serving children (some Mexican, some Columbian, some Puerto Rican, some Black, and some Dominican) she is an awful business person for refusing paying customers during a recession. I had to select 1 star but really you deserve to be served none. more

The food was excellent, nice juicy ribs, delicious gator meat, and absolutely amazing french fries. But every positive opinion went down the drain with the WROST SERVICE EVER! our waitress explained the menu to us very well, took our order and came to us just once after that. As i looked around i noticed there was a couple of other people looking for the waitress as well, if this is not bad enough later on we found out that the "waitress" [who also refused to serve us water] is also the owner of the restaurant wich explains why she wouldnt give us free water. The pit is a good place, with delicious food, but if thats their idea of good service then i feel very sorry for this place, because like other people IM NOT GOING BACK! more

The Pit BBQ was nominated by THE NEW TIMES as THE BEST BBQ in MIAMI for 2011. It is west on the Miami Trail or SW 8 Street and the trip is a journey to what Miami used to be. Today the MENU has exotic items like GATOR and FROG legs but there is a bit for everyone at a reasonable price. For Meat lovers there is a Churrasco, T-bone and Sirloin for the Seafood lovers there is THE BEST Shrimp Ceviche and Dolphin fingers you can have. You can seat outside under The TIKI or inside the Dinning room and you can go in car,byke, horse or helicopter you will find a parking. The food is excellent you wont regret THE TRIP and your pocket will not be empty when you leave. more

Ask for water if you dare. They use well water so it looks like lemonade. A nice bright yellow. Food is less than ok. A Wendy's burger is better tasting than the food served here. Sorry will never eat at this place again. I recommend shortys Bbq for real southern home cooking. more

Great ribs! And great pulled pork sandwich. But the atmosphere isn't so great. more

This place used to be the best in South Florida, but now its a one star place only because CitySearch wont allow me to give it no stars. The original owners got bought out a few years ago and with it went any semblance of decent flavor in the food or service by the employees. The ""BBQ sauce"" tastes like they simple poured a little white vinegar into a bowl of ketchup. The ribs were tough and the pulled pork was extremely dry. Its very sad that what used to be the best BBQ around a few years ago is now not even worth stopping at if you happen to be in the area. I wouldn't eat there if it were free and I eat BBQ every chance I get. more

This place used to be the best in South Florida, but now its a one star place only because CitySearch wont allow me to give it no stars. The original owners got bought out a few years ago and with it went any semblance of decent flavor in the food or service by the employees. The ""BBQ sauce"" tastes like they simple poured a little white vinegar into a bowl of ketchup. The ribs were tough and the pulled pork was extremely dry. Its very sad that what used to be the best BBQ around a few years ago is now not even worth stopping at if you happen to be in the area. I wouldn't eat there if it were free and I eat BBQ every chance I get. more

The Pit Bar B Q is an experience you shouldn't miss. more

the pit barbeque is the best on town... !!!! more

the pit barbeque is the best on town... !!!! more

Uuggh..I was so excited to make the trek out west for this and my husband and I were completely disappointed...the BBQ was room temp and very swiny tasting...I got a raging stomach ache to as we were leaving. Gross more