Salinas City BBQ

This is my favorite BBQ restaurant in the greater Salinas area. Whenever I have visitors from out of town this is where I take them. The ribs are out of this world, the tri tip is always good, and don’t miss out on the brisket. More often than not, there is some live music. And I almost forgot the chicken. I rarely order chicken at restaurants but the meat here is slow cooked like everything else so it is another treat. Order a combo plate so you can taste everything. Arrive early evening. You want to make sure they haven’t already served all the brisket.

All I can really say is wow. I’ve been trying to come up with some great things to say for the last couple of hours after I ate here this evening. The only term that seems fitting at this point is, «wow».
I used to come here all the time when I was growing up, when it was Smalleys. I’ve never sat down and eaten here though, it’s always been pick up and eat at home. It was always my favorite place to have BBQ growing up though. I’ve spent 10+ years away from California, and I just recently moved back. It hasn’t lost its touch one bit.
I came in tonight with my brother, I just really wanted a steak after a long work week. He suggested this place, so we went. The only real complaint I had was the parking situation, or I should say, lack there of. If you park up the street some, there are empty office buildings with plenty of parking. We were greeted and seated right away, and had a drink order completed within the first few minutes of sitting down. They have a great home feeling about the place that I dug.
I ended up ordering the 14oz Ribeye. It came with a baked potato, mushrooms that were marinated in something that was just amazing and a side salad. It was priced at about $ 31.00, a little steep, but I’ll pay for quality any day of the week, and twice on Sunday. When I got my steak, it was cooked to perfection. My brother and I were completely awe struck on how good the food was. I could die a happy man after eating that steak.
Needless to say, I’ll be returning as often as my wallet will allow me to. If you’ve never been here, make sure you come in. It’s worth it. I’ve been all around the nation and this is on the top of the list when it comes to BBQ and steak in my book. Great food and great service.

Amazing, the only place in the Monterey area that serves actual bbq, and this coming from a guy that spent a lot of time in the south. Don’t cheat yourself treat yourself. Great management and service. I normally get the brisket and tri tip

Expecting great food and service but only got okay food and very poor service
Never served our salads and never got drink refills

Great BBQ spot! One of the best I’ve been to by the coast! Customer service is awesome and gets the food in a timely manner! Have great craft beer section as well as wine. You will not be disappointed

Got food to go. I won’t go back. The meat was dry and overcooked, the potato salad bland and the sauce lacked pizazz.

The pork ribs were hot off the grill and excellent. The service was swift and friendly. We would come here again.

I really like this place and a frequent visitor for past two years. For past couple of times I visited here it was a disappointment. I ordered brisket sandwich and both time more than half of brisket was chunk of fat. Really difficult to eat.
Either they have changed their meat supplier or the way they cut their brisket. Quality has certainly gone down.

The best Tri Tip sandwich around. Before moving to California I lived in Texas for five years and this place is on par with the best of the best from the Lone Star State. Not to be missed if you’re a meat lover.

OMG the dust on celling fan that was above our table, I thought it was going to fall into my food at any moment. Never seen window dressing hung up by clothes pins and pillow cases. At 3pm I ordered a serloin steak only to be told they ran out so i ordered ribs with a salad and baked potato and then was told they ran out of potatoes. Ordered a salad the prices where enormously big not bite size. Ordered a half loaf of garlic bread and only received 4 small pieces. My husband order same but with a hot link. We reminded waitress about hot link when it did not show up with the ribs. Just as we are finishing our meal the hot link was done. Price was a bit expensive also. Also waitress was not attentive at all, never came back to make sure everything was ok or to ask if food was good. Just haned me the bill. I do not recommend this place.

Never in my lifetime would I have guessed that I would find amazing BBQ in Salinas, especially in the middle of nowhere.
One look at the gorgeous smoke rings and you know they mean business. What really stood out to me is that they don’t drown their meats in sauce and let the rub and meat speak for itself. Honestly, you don’t need the sauce but they sure are delicious as well.
A solid array of draft beers and a few Televisions around to catch the game while you chow down on some delicious BBQ… sounds like a winner to me
Overall Thoughts
Suspend your doubt for a moment and you’ll come to see that amazing food can be found in just about any place

This place is so awesome you must stop and enjoy the BBQ! and if you want a cobbler order ahead of time because they do run out.

Where do I begin? The brisket, the chicken. ooh don’t forget tri-​tip! For me the best item is the tri tip sandwich. fabulously bbq’d on warm garlic bread. But get here early. they sell out fast.

If I get an artery blocker from eating too much bbq, I want that bbq from this place.
The pork rib was amazing. Best I’ve had in years. I had pork rib /​tri tip combo. Tri tip is good but not as amazing as pork rib.
The pork rib was crispy on the outside, tender and juicy on the inside. The glaze was just perfect. Not too over powering or overly sweet. The balance of tang, kick, sweetness was great.
Next time I come, I will have 6 pork ribs and a side of coleslaw. Friendly owner, awesome food — a fantastic place all around.

If Unilocal had 10 stars that’s what Salinas BBQ would get. The brisket was all sold out so I got the pulled pork. No words can describe this smoked goodness. The sides (coleslaw, potato salad and a slice of garlic bread) were on point. This has to be the best BBQ I’ve had, to include North Carolina and Missouri. Simply awesome!

Otw home from Monterey, we looked for a place to eat brunch. So we decided to eat bbq otw. I ordered 2 meats (chicken & pork ribs). It comes with garlic bread and 2 sides. I got coleslaw and beans. Okay so heres my comment for the food, for the chicken and pork ribs its really good, chicken is juicy and lil bit crisp on the outside. Flavor is okay. Not too much flavor inside of the chicken. But the porkribs is really good, there’s a smoky flavor and sweet on the pork ribs. And you cam actually see the brown sugar on the meat. Sides are horrible. I love beans but this one i dunno. Coleslaw it tasted like ready made or store-​bought.
Garlic bread is good!!! Ohhh btw service is good. I think its becoz we got there right when they open.

Back here again today. Got the 6 rib meal with buttered toast, beans, and potato salad. Delicious as always, but it takes awhile for the food to come out after ordering. The ribs where juicy and fulfilling. Finally got to try the briskets today and boy where they juice, tender, and full of FLAVOR. I’m definitely getting a meal of the brisket next time! I’m drooling just thinking about it again.
I didn’t have a beer today but they have an excellent beer selection on tap all the time!

This place is great! As i am walking up I see a very cute older couple. The man is wearing overalls and a cowboy hat. Sheis wearing all denim and has big Dolly Parton hair. They asked me if i had eaten there before and i said «no first time, I’m not from around here.» The mans says «us either we from Arkansas (in the coolest accent). They were soooo classically American cute. Wow this place must be special if people travel from Arkansas to eat there. I posted apic of a waittress taking their order… they are barely visible but they’re there.
Regarding the spot, when you walk up… you know its gonna be a legit BBQ experience… complete with some big *ss smokers out back, a rocking chair on the porch and a heavy black front door. The surrounding area feels like you might be the victim of some kind of crime… but then again Salinas gives me that feeling a lot… jk…it has a mysterious small town but jot really sort of feeling…
Ok regarding the food, I got a 4 meat combo to go. The meats i ordered were ribs, hot link, trip tip and smoked brisket. All good!!! Brisket was my fav!!! The hot link is seriously spicy so dont get it if you can’t deal. The ribs have deep flavor and fall off the bone. The tri tip was a little chewy but good. The coleslaw was standard and thr beans were good and had little chunks of pork and i got a whole garlic clove. A slice of garlic bread was served… i love all garlic bread!
This fed two the Hangry foodiecouple very well… it held up well 55 miles north of Salinas ans microwaved just for a little bit!!!
Looks like they have a lot of beer choices but I didnt get one for the drive home…

Wir haben auf unserem Aufenthalt in Salinas hier gegessen. Als wir dort waren war der laden so voll das wir warten mußten. Wir wurden dann von freundlichen Einheimischen eingeladen sich mit an den Tisch zu setzen so war die Wartezeit doch nicht so lang. Das Essen ist super und jeder der auf BBQ steht muß hier essen. Das steak war perfekt und auch das pulled pork ließ keine Wünsche offen.

Pulled Pork Sandwich and the Brisket Sandwich are ahhh-​mazing! Its been a while since I’ve ate at this spot and when i did it definitely didn’t disappoint!
My coworkers and I decided to order full size sandwiches with the intent of saving the other half for dinner. We placed our order over the phone and picked it up in 20min. The man that helped us was really cool and was all smiles.
We took it back to the office to eat. I ate at my desk and ohhhhh man, after the first bite I already knew there was no stopping me! The hot BBQ sauce had me sweatin and was tangy & full of flavor, the brisket was so tender and moist, and the bread was soft. .. i’m making myself hungry just thinking about it!
My coworkers did the same exact thing. We didn’t even touch our side dish — mine was potato salad and theirs was beans. The other side option was coleslaw. Anyways, the sandwich was just too good to put down. .. we forgot about our side.
One big problem is the location. There is no parking lot, only street parking. Right next door is the Food Bank so don’t be surprised to see lines of people getting their food.
Next time I eat here it will be when I don’t have to return to work. I was in a food coma after I ate and the struggle was real trying to keep my eyes open that afternoon. Plus, there were some craft beers on draft that I wanted to try.
Come by if you’re in the area, its worth it!

A tous les français: essayer cette adresse ç est vraiment super! Le tri-​tip est fabuleux et le Cole slaw pour accompagner délicieux. Et en prime un cadre un peu dépaysant et vraiment us !

Wir suchten ein gut bewertetes Restaurant für unser Abendessen in Salinas und sind daraufhin zum Salinas City BBQ gefahren.
Von innen sieht es eher wie ein Familiendiner aus, die Bedienung war sehr freundlich und hilfsbereit. Eine große Auswahl an Bieren steht zudem mit Erklärung zur Verfügung.
Nach vier Wochen USA und diversen Restaurants muss ich sagen, das Beste Steak und die besten Rippchen gab es wirklich hier im Salinas City BBQ. Das Steak war perfekt, anders kann man es nicht sagen, geschmacklich hervorragend und man merkt die Qualität des des Fleisches und das Können des Grillmeisters.
Für die Rippchen gilt mitnichten die gleiche Aussage, so lange zart geräuchert und dabei so zart und keineswegs trocken im Geschmack, absolut fantastisch!
Die Beilagen waren ebenfalls nicht zu verachten, eine klare Empfehlung für den Krautsalat und die Bohnen.
Wir bereuen es, nicht noch einmal dort gegessen zu haben… Ein absolutes muss in Salinas und berechtigt wie auch selten volle Punktzahl.

Let me try to be as specific as I can here:
Smoked Brisket — I keep hearing about this glorious mystery but they run out so quick. I’ll try to catch it before I leave.
Tri-​Tip — I’ll go ahead and say it: this is the best Tri-​Tip I’ve ever had. I’ve been to San Luis Obispo and tried their award winning Tri-​Tip and it doesn’t even compare. They smoke it here with this think crust of seasoning that keeps it’s coating all the way around. When you bite into it you bite right through that coating of seasoning and the meat is freshly carved just for you as indicated by the severe juiciness and unheard of delicate nature of this Tri-​Tip.
Smoked Chicken — I can’t belive this random unassuming bbq restaurant in Salinas, CA can make smoked bbq chicken that had juicy smokey flavor all the way to the bone. Seriously it’s outrageously flavorful. There’s a smokey sweetness in every bite and although I appreciated the sauce they gave me on the side I really didn’t need it at all for any of their meats.
Ribs — okay these aren’t the best I’ve had but they are the most authentic. I mean the quality of smokey sticky goodness made me feel like I was at a family cookout. And once again they got the flavor all the way to the bone.
I’m coming back ASAP to see if I can get some of this smoked brisket, but seriously this is in my top 3 best bbq I’ve ever eaten. They should open up a school to teach the world how to do bbq justice.