This review is from my VERY picky 11yr old! We had the tri-tip, ribs and pulled pork. The meats were all tender and exquisite taste. We also had the Mac and cheese, baked potatoes and garlic bread. The potatoes were well cooked the garlic bread was perfect but the mac and cheese was not so good and kinda cold. In general this place has amazing staff and food! Thanks for the fantastic lunch and making my son happy!
Tonight food was a let down. Cornbread was burnt and they gave me ends of the cornbread. They gave me a lot of fat for the tri tip and pulled pork. Most of the food was like eating leather hide. A total let down. The cook cook like he didn’t love cooking food. Because the cornbread was bland, meat was salty, Mac and cheese was bland and potato salad was horrible! Because it showed with the lack of good food!! My wife and daughter wanted to get me BBQ for Father’s Day and they were upset with what was brought home from Salinas BBQ! What they did was maximum the price and minimize the food. I understand we have been thru COVID but the food doesn’t have to be on quarantine! Not including I ordered 2 Mac and cheese and I only got One of them. And the food is very very salty for BBQ!! It’s sad you spend money for a place that have good rating and to turn out I could of bought ribs at stories! And enjoy myself.
The brisket is worth the visit - very tender and perfectly seasoned. The family also enjoyed the ribs. Maybe not quite as much value for the pulled pork and tri-tip, but if you're looking for a good barbecue place this is definitely a great place to visit. For those who are vegetarian, the Berry Bleu Salad is excellent. I would stop here just for the salad, even if you were not interested in the meats. Great proportion on the salad, and very well balanced.
The menu says PINT of mac and cheese…. NO WAY this a pint of mac. It’s a shallow 6inch by 4inch foil tray. $7 of brisket, sure. Its one thing to pay too much for something, it’s another thing to overspend ($15!) and under portion an airplane tray sized kids meal. Especially when the menu clearly says a pint. There’s a reason weights and measures have laws to prevent this type of bad business practices.Btw my thats friends “large” stubby sandwich pictured.Majority of bad reviews all mentioned portion sizes.That’s such a let down because the place is clean, the service pleasant and prompt. But nobody should be taken advantage of. I left here hungry after spending $15 of mac and cheese.
Delicious BBQ spot in Salinas! We arrived around 5pm on a Friday and parked along the curb on Clark Street, which is not too busy. We can see the BBQ smokers from the street. The place is small but had seating inside and outside. I had the 4 rib plate and potato salad, baked beans and cornbread, and my husband had the 2 meat plate with ribs and brisket and the same sides. Everything was fresh and finger licking delicious! We also got the berry cobbler which came in a tin with crust and 2 scoops of ice cream. This was our favorite meal on the whole vacation.
I have been here many times over the last 7 years and have ways had a spectacular experience. Food is delicious, always recommended the brisket or tri tip. Iced tea tastes freshly made. Attentive customer service. Best bbq sauce in town! If you're into hot & spicy I would recommend theirs. Very welcoming atmosphere.*Update* They no longer serve house made iced tea
I ordered online at 9:22 am for a pick up at 5:30 pm. I thought 8 hours would be plenty of time to prepare my order recognizing that they are busy. After standing, waiting for my order until 6pm and watching multiple other customers come up to the counter asking for their orders that were not ready and pointing out that they were not given what they ordered, I decided to ask for a refund and leave. There were no apologies not attempts to rectify things. What a horrible experience and it cost me an extra $50 to pick up my child late. So I had no dinner for myself and my family and it cost me $50 to stand at the counter for a half hour. WHAT A HORRIBLE EXPERIENCE!
Salinas City BBQ is doing things right! I can't speak for the other meats, having not tried them, but the brisket meal was excellent (tender, juicy fall-apart deliciousness). I also have to mention that each of the sides were delicious as well. Sometimes BBQ joints don't seem to put much effort into their sides, but SCBBQ does not disappoint here either. The potatoe salad, Cole slaw, and beans all had great flavor - care, time, and effort was put into everything we ordered. Great job. ?
Overrated for sure.When I came at dinner time, just after 5, they were already out of both ribs and brisket. The sides were quite underwhelming. The garlic bread was abysmal. The portions combined with the quality were not worth the high price. The sauces were run-of-the-mill. Not a terribly professional bbq joint all things considered.Some pros: the tri-tip was on point. Very good, even. The chicken wasn't bad but not great either. The craft beer selection was very impressive.It's not a bad place. I had a fine meal. But at time of writing, it's at 4.4 stars on Google which is wayyy too high. I hold bbq to a higher standard and so should you.
For being here for the first time, it wasn't a bad experience. I ordered the tri-tip sandwich and it was excellent. Meat, bread and barbecue sauce. I wanted the experience of a hot meal from there, so I ate inside. The only item that was less desired was the side order of macaroni and cheese. It literally didn't look good nor was it hot. It had NO flavor. When I go back there again I am definitely not ordering the macaroni and cheese. Maybe I'll try the beans.