Opal Lounge

We had so many high hopes coming here. Whiskey and BBQ, what more do you want!Unfortunately the BBQ was kind of meh. The sides were fine with the exception of the corn bread, it was hard, dry, and just not great.The meats, and the entire table ordered several kinds, were all wet and not in a good way. Like they sat in a steam table for too long.The sauces were just ok, nothing too crazy to write home about, and the meats needed sauce.I did like their sausage, it had great flavor but that was just about it. And the house pickles were good.Oh and the portions were kind of small, for something called the "Meat Sweats" we didn't even come close to breaking a sweat because we figured something at $75 with that name should feed more than one person. If I were to have eaten it all by myself I still wouldn't have had the sweats.

Bringing my next review to a local level this time. The Opal Lounge is on South Tacoma Way in a cluster for several blocks of restaurants and bars. I've been wanting to try it for a while and very, very glad that I did.They have a pretty good tap list of ciders and beers to choose from which I definitely liked accessed. They have a great happy hour menu which we ordered a considerable amount of food from. We had their tacos with BBQ pork in them, Jalapeño Poppers(Sorry, the restaurant name for these escapes me) and a pickled plate which had pickles, peppers and eggs and nachos with pork. Delicious! What actually prompted us to come here was that they had meat loaf as the special that night so Steve and I shared that too. Excellent!Definitely coming back here to enjoy their food menu some more!

Best BBQ I've had in Tacoma. The Cubano and pickle plate are wonderful and the baked beans are sooo good! Lots of moist smoky delicious meat on the ribs and a great selection of spirits to go with. Highly recommend if you like lots of flavor in your mouth.

Ended up here on accident while we were walking down the street. Don't let the outside scare you. Inside looks newly revamped and gorgeous. It was completely packed which surprised me! Guess everyone knew about this hidden gem but us! We waited FOREVER for what seemed like the one waitress to acknowledge us. She clearly saw us, but didn't say hi or anything until all of her other tasks were done. Which was super tacky... can't say hi? Do the 1 minute hand signal? But! In the world of shortages of workers... I'm just glad she showed up. When she finally did she was super pleasant and friendly. The cocktails were subpar. I had one that had clearly had some kind of smoke applied to it though it didn't mention the smoke in the description. It tasted like an ashtray. It was very heavy handed. The next drink was less dismal but nothing exciting. Just order beer. It goes better with barbecue anyways. The barbecue was good. Very good. I had the 4 meat special (ribs, brisket, pulled pork, hot links) beans, cornbread, and greens. Zero complains about my food. Beans and cornbread maybe the best I've ever had in my life. Will do again. My friend had Mac and cheese which was good. Not life changing like my beans though. Lol. Overall a great eat. 100 percent will do again.

Great bbq to eat around Tacoma. Service was good too! Has the nice ambience vibe. Didn't think it'll fill me up but it's pretty filling and left with full stomach.

This place is a Tacoma the Gritty City classic. Great atmosphere of laid back music, nice booths and fantastic food/drink servers.We came for dinner and was impressed by the Opal Burger, the Ribs, and the Brisket. Might just be our new hangout...highly recommend!!!

Service was great and very accomodating to me just chillin doing work on my computer. Everyone seems to be having a really goof time at 3pm on a saturday. The ziggy cocktail was really freaking good, full of flavor, not too sugary, and a great introduction to Mezcal for me. I would come back for a chill hangout with co-workers, or a nice place to catch up with an old friend. Bartender seems a bit overworked but she was really sweet and genuinely kind.

I grew up in Tacoma and returned to visit this summer. I'm so happy to see the improvement to many of the old neighborhoods with south tacoma way being no exception (and the closest to my childhood home).. The Opal Lounge immediately garnered my attention, being family friendly, with bbq on the menu, and an old building charm inside that is impossible to beat... I ordered the mix and match tacos with one of each meat selection. The meat was all nicely smoked and moist. The smoke flavor was front and center which I absolutely love. Their sauces, while not necessary, added a little extra zip. I can't wait to go back and try a few more selections...

Food: Quick and delicious. I ordered the half nachos and was amazed at how much food there was. Nachos were on point, the chicken was juicy and the bbq sauce had a nice zing to it.Service: Friendly and professional.Ambiance: Clean, not at all how I expected the inside to look. I love the decor, it was inviting yet fun.

What a gem! Staff is amazing! Always very nice and friendly! Their BBQ is great! They make great old fashions! Great place to meet friends for good food and drinks!