Delivery
No
Payment
Credit Cards Accepted
Parking
Parking Lot
Good for Kids
Yes
Attire
Casual
Alcohol
Beer and Wine
Reservations
No
Cuisines:
Barbecue
Price Point
$$
$ - Cheap Eats (Under $10)
$$ - Moderate ($11-$25)
$$$ - Expensive ($25-$50)
$$$$ - Very Pricey (Over $50)
WiFi
No
Outdoor Seats
No
Add a description here.
05/13/2024 - Jia T.
Excellent
01/07/2014 - Don and Linda
We love Fat Jack's. We have never been disappointed with anything on their menu. We have on many occasions used their catering service, which is great! Their salad bar is the best, always fresh. The staff are always friendly and the service is great.
08/18/2011 - Mary
I think glen must have eaten somewhere else...none of the smoked meats come with BBQ sauce already on them except for the Tennessee style back ribs. And the tiny, no-fat end pieces of the ribs are drier but the moist middle pink (they're supposed to be pink because of the smoking process) are delicious....don't even need sauce. I asked, and even the French dressing is made on premises....the only things not made in house are the potato salad and cottage cheese! And our cocktails were fantastic! Had an Old Fashioned and Brandy Manhattan...generous and inexpensive!!!!
06/01/2011 - Gail Stuart
Wonderful food and a family atmosphere. Great pasta salad with their own signature dressing. Ribs & chicken always a good choice and Cajun Catfish on Friday, yummmmm.
12/31/2010 - Barb from Racine
We live in Racine, Wi but come to Madison for the Badger Hockey games and we HAVE to eat at Fat Jacks first. They have the best back ribs EVER! My daughter makes me bring home pasta salad whenever she can't go. My husband and nephew also like the catfish and son-in-law likes the char-broiled chicken. Sometimes there is 9 of us eating there and we haven't had a bad meal yet.
12/23/2010 - JOE GUESS
SOME OF YOU DONT KNOW GOOD BBQ, OBVI, GREAT RIBS AND CHICKEN, THEY HAVE THE BEST WINGS EVER , ALL FLATS MED CRISPY.. THE TENNESSE SAUSE IS TO DIE FOR " THE PINK IN THE CENTER" IS FROM SMOKE , THIS IS WHAT YOUR LOOKIN FOR ,
I HAVE HAD RIBS AND CHIX EVERYWHERE IN THIS COUNTRY , FJS DOES A GREAT JOB , GREAT FOOD AND SALAD BAR, NICE FIRE PLACE AND THE BEST OWNERS RIGHT FROM THE BEGINING
THE CATERING IS ABOVE THE REST, HAVE HAD 1ST HAND EXPIERNCE WITH THIS!!!
BOTTOM LINE== IF YOU KNOW AND LOVE GREAT BBQ,, PURE AND SIMPLE EAT HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
09/06/2010 - Lauren Thornton
I had a long day and didn't want to cook dinner on 9/2/10 and so I stopped at Fat Jacks and bought a Pork Spare rib dinner for my husband and a 1/2 chicken dinner for myself. The chicken was a wee bit overcooked but otherwise delicious. The rice and beans that came with it were excellent. My husbands meal was horrible. The $17.95 ribs tasted more like jerky. They were so dry it was awful. I will never go there again unless all I'm buying are rice and beans.
08/18/2010 - Drew
I am biased so I will not comment on the my preference but having worked at Fat Jack’s from 1994-2006 Glens comments rubbed me the wrong way. He may not have liked Fat Jack’s but his facts are off base. Two items on the salad bar are from a bucked the French dressing and the potato salad. The rest of the items are all prepared from scratch, most daily. I know, I had to make them all for 10+ years. They also serve a killer Cole slaw made with their award winning vinaigrette dressing. As far as the ribs the St. Louise style spare ribs come with citrus glaze the Back ribs come with a TN Style back sauce. Bottom line like it or not this is mom and pop place that makes 90% of their stuff from scratch.
06/29/2010 - Kirra
My grandparents love this place and I've never been so I thought for a last min diner I'll stop by, I got the ribs and they were sooooo gross! The middle ribs were to pink and the outer ribs were dry! One good thing was my 4 yrs loved the chicken strips, so that made it all okey. But I'll never return!
06/16/2010 - Joe
I stumbled upon this bbq @ 9pm just before closing. I cant tell you how surprised I was about the quality of these ribs. These have to be the best ribs in wisconsin. I will eat here on every trip to this area.My mouth is watering just thinking about it. I cant believe that somebody would actually write something negative about this place. I know there are those who couldn't be satisfied no matter what you gave them. Please ignore those reviews and Enjoy. Joe from Chicago go Bears
12/04/2009 - amy
good Cod, never a wait. A Monona Gem
11/04/2009 - Barbacoa
Fat Jacks is more like a mid-west style supper club that happens to serve some smoked items than an actual barbecue restaurant. From the salad bar and garlic bread to the complete lack of traditional BBQ accompaniments like cole slaw, cornbread and beans, everything seemed out of place. There were three sauces on the table: One that tasted like ketchup, one that tasted like spicy ketchup, and one that actually was ketchup. None of the salad bar items were made in-house (you could taste the plastic bucket it came in) and the service was inattentive and uninterested -including the cashier who was more interested in texting than helping guests. I had a sampler that consisted of small portions of St. Louis style ribs in ketchup sauce, pork shoulder in ketchup sauce, dried out beef brisket in ketchup sauce, and baby backs that had some kind of citrus glaze that was inexplicably not available on the table but was probably the best thing offered. I did see that they offered grilled steaks at a very reasonable price, and might go back to try those if not for the poor service. It looks and feels like a supper club, so they might make a decent steak. As for barbecue, no thanks.
09/22/2009 - Glenn
I've been eating at Fat Jacks since it opened. It's my favorite place to eat in the Madison area. The all you can eat specials on Sunday, Tuesday, & Wednesday are great. They have the best BBQ sauce of any place I've ever eaten.
09/08/2009 - mike
If these are the best ribs in Madison don't order ribs in this town.
08/14/2009 - Matt
I'm originally from Texas, I was convinced that all BBQ in Wisconsin was aweful. I stumbled on this place looking for lunch before a meeting oin Madison... WOW best BBQ in Wisconsin hands down... Liked it so much I now make the trip to Fat Jack's from Milwaukee frequently!!!
03/08/2009 - MenuPix User
I love Fat Jacks - certainly the best BBQ in the Madison area - Go on Sunday night for the all you can eat bbq chicken special, its less than 8 bucks! and so delicious! I also highly recommend the fish fry. The only thing I would warn against is ordering a 'cocktail' - i have tried the ld fashioned and the gimlet, both bad..stick with beer, its better with bbq anyways!
12/20/2008 - Rick
Excellent service and great food in a casual and friendly dining atmosphere. If you like ribs with pizazz, this is the place. Of all the bbq joints in Madison, Fat Jacks is my favorite. You can dress up your ribs as you like them rather than having to slop through a slurry of self-proclaimed award winning sauces pushed upon you in other establishments.
Great for kids and adults alike. Wait staff is friendly and accommodating and the salad bar is always fresh.
Great food at a great price and excellent service, what more can one ask?
07/24/2008 - Pam Totzke
We have been dining at Fat Jacks since it opened and have always had "WOW" service and food. We have also used Fat Jacks for catering and have had great comments on the food quality!
Great food, service and prices have earned Fat Jacks a great reputation in Madison!
The only reason that I gave an 7 on atmosphere is that there is a smoking section!
06/17/2008 - MenuPix User
WOW!!! This is some great 'Q' The service is great and they have a great salad bar!!!
12/29/2007 - MenuPix User
The best barbecue we've ever had, and we've had a lot of barbecue!
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