About Us
“Barbecue is not the sauce, It’s what the sauce goes on”
-Chester
How Great Barbecue Came to Connecticut
Chester left East Lyme right after high school to seek his fortune in the Marine Corps. After active duty he moved to Kansas City and quickly fell in love with the local cuisine.
After stops in St. Louis, Omaha and Chicago, he re-turned home to CT to open Chester’s Barbecue. The original store was 300 SF, 8 seats and 1 tiny smoker. Within 6 months he was sleeping in the store to keep up with the demand.
Barbecue varies by region so we try to cover the gambit from Texas Beef Brisket to mid-Atlantic pulled pork. We even added corned beef with mustard sauce after some Customer prodding on St. Paddy’s Day.
We hope you enjoy our barbecue as much as we enjoy bringing it to you. Please let us know if you have any concerns. We are a family owned business and want to make it right.
God Bless
The Dugas Family
Great BBQ isn’t just in the South
There are no shortcuts to great BBQ and we’ve made it our mission to stay authentic to the craft. All of our meats are seasoned overnight and smoked low and slow for up to 16 hours.
REAL BBQ means indirect heat cooking instead of simply grilling. BBQ means REAL flavor, derived from a special blend of woods; including Hickory, and Cherry.
BBQ means the perfect BBQ sauce – and we’ve got that covered. Our signature BBQ Sauce is so good, you’ll want to lick your plate! BBQ is an experience – and, for Chester’s BBQ, that means a relaxed, comfortable atmosphere where you can enjoy delicious food and spend time with family and friends.
“The meat is fall-off-the-bone tender and served on a soft white bread, just as they do down South. Most of our smoked meats are carved to order, whether it's a half pound of brisket or a whole rack of ribs. This helps it to retain the juicitosity (the interior doesn't dry out). We could do like some places and have it sitting in some sort of wetness but that's not how we do. If you know anything about low and slow, you know it requires patience. We in the business to serve good food, not fast food.
The juicy morsels of beef, pork and poultry are seasoned with our own rubs. It's so tender there are no words… Real food is the name of the game and we want to serve something that makes you think of food, family and fun.
What People Are Saying!
"This is a 5 star BBQ in a strip mall that has employees that care and take the time to explain the menu. I was a Chet's virgin til today. It must have been all over my face as the person at the counter took about 2 minutes and explained the menu and how it all worked from ordering to pick up in a manner that was easy for even me to understand."
Jeff K.
"Wouldn't have stopped here if it weren't for the reviews on Trip Advisor. In town on business looking for something different. Their saying is that Barbecue is not the sauce, it's what the sauce goes on! And they serve the food without sauce and even though I LOVE sauce, I could have eaten everything without it!!! IT IS THAT GOOD!!!!..."
"Chester's is the greatest!! All the food is amazing and the chili is truly the best I've ever had!"
Eric Bauer
"Instead of grilling over a flame, Chester's slow-cooks its meat inside of the large metal smokers behind the restaurant. Seating is available inside of the two adjoining rooms, which are decked out in country decor."
