Van's Bar-B-Q
Barbecue · Three Rivers
About Van's Bar-B-Q
Located conveniently off Highway 37 in Three Rivers, Van's Bar-B-Q offers a warm and inviting atmosphere perfect for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Guests praise the friendly service, comfortable lighting, and exceptionally clean restrooms that make it ideal for solo dining or family visits. The menu...
Located conveniently off Highway 37 in Three Rivers, Van's Bar-B-Q offers a warm and inviting atmosphere perfect for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Guests praise the friendly service, comfortable lighting, and exceptionally clean restrooms that make it ideal for solo dining or family visits. The menu features moist, flavorful brisket with a great crust, delicious chicken sandwiches, savory sausage po'boys, and fresh fried catfish. Sides like potato salad, beans, and unique selections such as peach cobbler round out the experience. Whether you need a quick stop to fuel up or a relaxing meal, this local gem delivers outstanding food and hospitality in a welcoming setting that feels right at home.
What Customers Say About Van's Bar-B-Q
Van's Bar-B-Q is a convenient stop off the highway with a wide-ranging menu. The brisket, sausage, and peach cobbler are popular. Some find the brisket dry at times. Friendly service and a clean environment are frequently mentioned.
Popular Dishes
Best For
Tip: It's very convenient right off 37 and connected to a store, making it a great place to stop, eat, use the bathroom, and fuel up.
Features
Frequently asked questions about Van's Bar-B-Q
Van's Bar-B-Q Three Rivers Reviews
What a great place! We have been twice for breakfast and thoroughly enjoyed it!
Brisket was delicious 😋 Can't wait to try the Burgers and Enchiladas next time.. Thank you to the beautiful blue eyed lady that helped me. Very nice restaurant. More people need to try this Gem.... Food Delicious 😋
Omg. The catfish was delicious. The fried okra was to die for! The green beans and mushrooms were oh so specia! The service will bring me back every time I'm in the local area of Corpus Cristi texas.
Lately I've been coming here for the brisket sandwiches and they were the best until recently. The last times I've tried them they've been really dry. They did to go back to old ways of getting this brisket to being the best. Getting better every time I go.
I got the Vans burger. It is one thick meat patti and some brisket too act as a second patti. It was very good. Fries were good too.
Awesome brisket and sausage po'boy. Their beans and potato salad are great, even together (add a lil barbecue sauce to the beans to make them even better). Ask about the peach cobbler...so good it often runs out by end of lunch.
It was my first time coming here. It's very convenient right off 37. There is a store connected to the place, and we stopped. We ate, used the bathroom, and fueled up to head out of town. The food was very good. The service was very nice. Even as we walked to the store side, the lady was just as nice as the other ladies . My new stop as we go out of town or coming back, lol. Thank you
Outstanding place truly in the middle of nowhere. Superb food, amazing selection of food on the main menu, easy to navigate around once inside, clean restrooms that have plenty of useable space, environment was warm and welcoming, food was fabulous, hot, fresh, and delicious. A must stop and visit if you are in South Texas.
The new location is great! Fast and very friendly service with comfy lighting inside. The brisket is delicious and the chicken sandwich w/ bacon is even better. Topped off my meal with fresh peach cobbler. If you're looking for a pit stop while driving north, this is your place to go!
The restaurant was very clean and the decor was beautiful with wooden tables. I ordered the chopped brisket sandwich and although it had a very good flavor, I felt it was a little too greasy for my taste. Overall, a good dining experience.
The only thing great about this place is the southern hospitality. Our waitress was friendly and warm and an absolute peach! The barbacoa taco was super salty and the brisket and eggs were lazy. This place has a lot of potential to be great, they just need to revamp their menu.
Finally stopped in after driving by Van’s dozens of times going to/from Padre Island. Q is a plateful of OK, good stop for the really hungry traveler, but not much in the search for the ultimate Texas BBQ. Brisket had good bark and moisture, but unremarkable. Sausage sure seemed Eckrich, but didn’t ask. Ribs fell off bone, but again little to get excited about flavor-wise. Beans were good, nicely seasoned. Corn ok too. Service friendly. More of a filling station than destination.
Nice little bar b cue spot. Its off the beaten path a doors like it is a new building going up. The gas station next door is still being worked on. Got the 2 meat plate. Brisket and sausage. The sausage was amazing. The Brisket was the flat so a little dry, but had great flavor. Definitely give it a try if you are in the area. Mac and cheese was not good. Onion rings were great.
I'd stop again, but get something else. Restroom was clean, price was ok, my brisket had a good flavor but was chewy. Pickles and onions were on the sandwich, but sandwich was soft bread slices so it got really soggy and bread fell apart. Pickles should come on the side. Kids liked Mac and cheese and the cream corn was good, but the beans lacked flavor.
The new building sure is nice, and the seating’s plenty comfortable. We’ve been eating there on and off for about 16 years. Back in 2019 we stopped in, and that’s when we first noticed things had changed. Maybe it was new owners, maybe it was the new building, but the food just wasn’t the same as what we fell in love with. I get it—things change, and I’m all for it—but somewhere along the way, the flavor got lost. We stopped again thinking hey its been YEARS, lets give them another shot. I ordered a brisket plate, and truth be told, it tasted oven‑baked. No smoke taste, no mesquite ring, none of that Texas soul you expect from good brisket. But bless it… it was a miss for us.
I use to eat here along time ago with my son. I thought I would try it again. The cheeseburger was not very good. The bun was hard and the burger was small but on a big bun. Don't stop here just keep moving down the road. $9.12 give me a break.
Keep driving to the next bbq place. There was only one table with people when we got there but it seemed like the employees had no direction. We all got our drinks quick then the kitchen happened. There were 8 at our table yet the food came out in 3 waves 10 minutes apart. The food sucked. I don't know where to start but not one in our group was happy.
Nice remodel, but obviously not same owners. Brisket and sausage was NOT smoked, it was tender but oven cooked. They label the potato salad as hand mixed, insinuating it is house made, Not 😳 The pinto beans were burnt and had so much black pepper, that is all you could taste. Very sad because we used to stop nearly every time we went to Corpus or the Valley! Never again. Calling this BBQ is false advertising!
Sign in to leave a review
Sign inRemove ads and manage your menu
Explore Your Area
DQ Grill & Chill
Sowell's BBQ
McDonald's
Church's Chicken
Pizza Hut
Taqueria Vallarta
Agave Jalisco
Choke Canyon Bar-B-Q
Chili's
KFC
42 Photos
Explore Van's Bar-B-Q's photos
About Van's Bar-B-Q
How to get there
2648 I-37, Oakville, TX 78060
Three Rivers, TX 78060
Highlights
Services
Dining Options
Restaurant Info
Amenities
The Neighborhood
Location
📍 Explore the Neighborhood
Gaming
🎮 Earn Points While You Explore!
Play Find Me and redeem points for discounts at Van's Bar-B-Q and other restaurants
Earn Points at Van's Bar-B-Q!
Play Find Me and redeem rewards here
Earn extra points and redeem them for rewards at Van's Bar-B-Q
🏆 Rewards at Van's Bar-B-Q
10% Discount
At Van's Bar-B-Q
Free Appetizer
On your next visit
VIP Table
Premium experience
to redeem rewards and earn points
📋 How Do Rewards Work?
Play Find Me
Every 100 score points = 1 reward point
Collect Points
Workers earn 2x points per game
Redeem Rewards
Discounts, free food and VIP experiences
Is it yours? Claim it FREE!
Remove ads and manage your menu