The Amarillo Restaurant and Tavern

The husband and I met downtown Monroe for dinner after our usual romantic Friday night date at Lowes and were trying to find a place to eat. As we were debating our usual favs we walked past this BBQ place we previously didn't know was there.

The menu and vibe looked awesome so the only question that remained was would they be able to feed me. We strolled in like the senior citizens we are 2 mins after they opened and were seated right away. Our server was super chill and immediately knew what gluten free was and that I could have all the meats and all the sauces.. which was basically what I wanted. Who goes to bbq and gets anything other than meat? Check your PriOratays.

Because my eyes are bigger than my tum I went for the sampler.. and I have no regrets. Pulled pork, half breast chicken, ribs and baked potato what else could one ask for? I enjoyed it for a couple days. The husband had the stockyard sandwich and loved it. I also ordered a couple of their jalapeño poppers on happy hour and they were spot on.

We loved the friendly laid back service, awesome BBQ cookin, and their knowledge of gf. This will definitely become one of our local town haunts.

Love this place. Food amazing, fresh, good variety & from scratch! Staff super friendly. Atmosphere comfortable. Drink awesome. The smoked jalapeño margarita is to die for!

The restaurant is on the main drag in Monroe, nice place but probably no AC? It was hot in there and I'm not sure if the open doors were any help.

BBQ is pretty good, brisket, pulled pork and chicken were great, ribs weren't the best. Fries are delicious and crispy and coleslaw is nice and creamy.

Service could use a bit more training, the girls are friendly, but no water without asking? In 96 heat and a hot restaurant, water should be the first thing coming to the table. No refills or check ups if anything else is needed.

Dear lord above, thank you for this gem of a place in Monroe, Wa!

Hands DOWN, the best BBQ I've ever had. Seriously, from the heart of KC, New Orleans and Atlanta - The Amarillo will more than satisfy your thirst for excellent BBQ!

I had the Philly BBQ au jus dip.

I almost ordered one to go - it was that amazBALLS!

Take the hour drive from despicable Seattle to this charming little city with fab views of the mountains.

Stopped here while antiquing and shopping in Monroe. We saw a billboard for this place on the way over so it stuck in my mind. When I saw it, I knew that was our lunch destination.

I had a Shiner Bock, which I will usually do when in a Texas BBQ joint. My wife had an Iced Tea. We settled on the BBQ for Two for lunch and we got a lot for our money. It included your choice of 3 meats, 2 sides and 2 slices of cornbread. We chose the pulled pork, brisket and 4 ribs as our meat choices. We chose the mac & cheese and the spicy campfire beans for our sides.

All were wonderful! The mac & cheese was saucy (like my wife!) and tasty (same!), and the cornbread was a great compliment to the meats. They serve the meats "Texas Style" with no sauce on the meats but plenty of homemade BBQ sauces on the table. I tried all 3 and they were pretty good. The hottest one wasn't as hot as I'd imagined it would be. The brisket was perfect! It had a light char on the outside and the meat was lean, very juicy and tender. The shredded pork was very good and the ribs were meaty.

Service was good and friendly. Food was great. Meat sweats didn't happen but I got close. Give this place a try when in old town Monroe. It won't disappoint!

Absolutely excellent spot to grab BBQ and other stuff.

I was on the hunt for chili cheese fries. What I was thinking was like, drippy, greasy chili, gobs of cheese, and greasy fries - you know... something gluttonous. I saw that the Amarillo had a tray'o chili friends. It's... literally a family-sized tray for the large order. So, needless to say I was sold. I wasn't feeling getting normal BBQ that day, so we got burgers to go with it - I got the BBQ burger (which was topped with BBQ sauce, fried onion strings, and pulled pork) - and some Mac and Cheese (theirs has blue cheese in it!).

I got it for take-out, ordered on their website, so the chili fries were packed in a foil lasagna tray and were super hot - aka: fresh, and will make it home. Everything else was also packaged very carefully and traveled really well - they use little plastic containers with lids, wrap stuff in foil, etc... I got there right when they said it would be ready and it was still getting packed up. That took about 10-15 mins. Not the end of the world, but they did seem a bit disorganized because I was asked if I'd been helped like 3 times (again, not the end of the world, just funny). There wasn't anywhere to hang out, waiting for take-out, so I just awkwardly stood to the side of the front door.

The inside of the restaurant was decorated like a country house mixed with a Texas bar - light-colored tables and chairs, beer signs on the wall, TVs all over the place, and a huge, fancy wood bar in the back.

The chili fries ended up being a hearty, stew-like chili with beans, brisket, etc. It wasn't what I was searching for, but it was heavenly nonetheless. The burger was also impeccable - sweet BBQ sauce, good meaty patty (cooked to the correct temp - even after traveling), extra meat on top (the pulled pork), crispy onions... wow. The mac and cheese with blue cheese in it was also a hit for our family.

After that first trip, I've visited again - this time to get their actual BBQ. I had a similar experience with the pick up - had to wait 10 mins past the time they said it'd be ready, but it was fine. I had the sausage, brisket, and pork ribs - and everything was incredible. The sausage for me was a major stand-out. So flavorful - fennel, a little sweet. Also got the smoked beans, which were so flavorful and amazing and the cornbread was crumbly and delightful without being dry. I also didn't try the BBQ sauce on the previous visit - this time I got the "original" and "hot" - and both were incredible. It's a Texas-style sauce - both are pretty sweet and have an apple quality to them. Really great, though. The hot wasn't like - "burn your face off hot" - it was pretty tame, and definitely my fav.

Anyway... At the end of the day, The Amarillo has definitely earned its place for me - as a great option for Chili Fries, Burgers, or BBQ. So, I'll definitely be back soon.

Staff was amazing and friendly and the BBQ was some of the best I have had in all of western Washington!

Delicious bbq!
I have been searching for a good bbq place and I have finally found it! The meat is cooked pretty good. The ribs are a little dry but the brisket is so moist! And the spicy bbq sauce is awesome. And their mac and cheese? So good. I've never had mac and cheese with gorgonzola before. It was such a good flavor! The fries are also super crispy just how I like my french fries.
Overall, my first visit here was great and I am super happy with my experience. I can't wait to be back maybe to try some happy hour!

Good BBQ and very attentive service! Super nice hostess and wait staff. We had the Pork Shoulder and Baked Potato with the works. Very down-home and unpretentious. Plenty of food and helpful staff. Beautiful antique bar.

Cool place and had great Mac and cheese. Nice outdoor seating. Open very short hours though.