Creekside BBQ

Creekside BBQ occupies a spot above Bishop Creek in Pelham, Alabama, just off Oak Mountain Park Road near the entrance to Oak Mountain State Park. The restaurant took over a former Waffle House building and rebuilt it into a barbecue joint with an indoor dining room and a covered patio that looks out over the water.

The restaurant is owned by Javier and Jesus, two operators who spent more than twenty years running another restaurant in Pelham before opening Creekside BBQ. That combined background, more than sixty years between them in the restaurant business, shows up in a menu that pulls together several regional barbecue traditions rather than sticking to just one style.

The kitchen smokes Alabama-style chicken, North Carolina-style pork, and Memphis-style ribs, then rounds out the plates with chef-driven sides instead of the usual short list of standards. Sandwiches include a brisket piled with crispy onions and Wickles pickles, a smoked pork belly topped with coleslaw and a fried egg, and a fried green tomato sandwich layered with goat cheese and pickled onion. Each comes with a side, and the kitchen also runs a double-patty smash burger for anyone who wants a break from smoked meat.

Plates are built for bigger appetites. A quarter, half, or fully pulled portion of chicken is available alongside spare ribs, smoked wings, and a brisket plate that comes with two sides. Two- and three-meat combo plates let a table split brisket, ribs, pulled pork, and chicken without committing to just one cut. Sides run from smoked cheese grits and a feta potato salad to coleslaw, corn casserole, collard greens, baked beans, and fried green tomatoes, and the kitchen finishes meals with banana pudding or a chocolate chip cookie.

Kids are covered too, with a menu of pork sandwiches, cheeseburgers, chicken tenders, mac and cheese, and grilled cheese, each served with a side, a drink, and a cookie. The salad options, a wedge with bacon and blue cheese and a garden salad with cheddar, give the menu a lighter route for anyone not in the mood for a full smoked meat plate, and both can be topped with pulled pork or chicken.

The bar carries a rotating lineup of Alabama-brewed beer on tap, including selections from Avondale, Goat Island, Cahaba River, and Back Forty, along with familiar domestic and Mexican bottles and a rocks-style lime margarita. Combined with roughly forty seats inside and a forty-eight-seat covered patio, the setup gives Creekside BBQ room for both a quick lunch and a longer evening with a drink in hand.

The patio itself is one of the restaurant’s defining features. It sits directly above the creek, is covered against Alabama weather, and welcomes dogs, which makes it a popular after-work stop for people who spend the day at Oak Mountain State Park nearby. Live music plays through the space at times, adding to what the restaurant describes as its overall vibe: casual, unhurried, and centered on smoked meat done a few different regional ways under one roof.

Creekside BBQ is open seven days a week, with slightly shorter hours on Sunday and Monday. Catering packages are available for larger groups and private events, and the restaurant takes orders online in addition to walk-in and dine-in service. For a barbecue spot in a part of Shelby County with no shortage of chain competition along Highway 31 and Highway 119, the emphasis on multiple regional smoking styles under one roof, paired with a genuine creekside setting just outside the state park, sets it apart from a standard strip-mall barbecue counter.

The restaurant also runs weekly specials and posts them on its site, giving regulars a reason to check back before deciding between a sandwich, a full plate, or one of the combo platters built for sharing.