MO’s Smokehouse BBQ

I just was not impressed. Meat was good, but the bread… I can’t get past the dry, flavorless, seemingly stale bread they serve their meats on. It was a little over $ 30 for a meal for two people, so we were both really appalled that they can’t serve better breads to complement their meat. There are too many other BBQ options in our county for us to want to return. Sweet Potato fries in our friends’ basket were great, ours arrived over cooked and crispy. They do have orange soda, which I was stoked about.

MO’s offers decent BBQ but I think there are better choices around, especially in this area where people are serious about their BBQ. Also, I thought it was quite expensive for what you get.
Service was friendly and the atmosphere is really cute but the food just didn’t impress me. I won’t be back.

Disappointed and probably won’t return. Ribs were cold, obviously not re-​heated sufficiently before serving. Didn’t love the Memphis dry rub either. Potato salad and beans were just blah. Wing sauce was all vinegar and no heat.
Others seemed to like their pulled pork sandwiches. Service was fast and friendly. Restaurant and bathroom were clean.

I had Mo’s on a trip up US-​1 several years ago. I have had BBQ all over the US. Mo’s was okay, but bland. The meat had only a little flavor from the smoking process. I have to believe that the wood used was not very flavorful. The BBQ sauce also had little flavor. It was tomato-​based, but it did not have much hint of any other flavor besides tomato. I have had better, and Mo’s did not leave me with a significant impression even though I ate it several years ago. I remember the restaurant, and I remember that it was not memorable.

Mo’s BBQ has been a favorite of mine for years, particularly for pork ribs. That said I’m concerned quality is starting to drop off, and that my very average large family order including sampler plates was more than just an off night. Ribs were inconsistent, one order was was fall off the bone (not exactly the Mo’s standard, but tasty), while the other order bite off the bone, dry in lacking moisture, both fats and natural meat water based moisture, they were not so much overdone, but maybe over pressurized (as Mo’s does use pressure cookers), kept to long in dry heat conditions?, whatever the cause the meaty part if the ribs was dry, and so was the pulled pork, as well as the BBQ chicken. The pulled pork the meat is so dry but has exterior moisture in a way that makes it even hard to save with BBQ sauce. If it wasn’t for the BBQ sauces I love so much, and the sides the meal would have been a true dud. Not what I expect from Mo’s. Overall this made just an average meal, not terrible, despite my disruptions above, but not that outstanding, craving BBQ dinner that would make my cardiologist cringe.
Mo would have never served this meal, managers, cooks, wake up your doing something very wrong. Fix it, you can do better than this and consistently were for years.

I have heard great things about this place. So my boyfriend and I tried it out. I ordered the pulled pork sandwich and my boyfriend ordered a bbq salad. The man at the register said the pulled pork sandwich was amazing. I received my sandwich. It was awful. It had no flavor. Sauce was barely put on sandwich. Very very plain sandwich. Nothing to write home about. My boyfriends salad was soggy and seemed like it was a day old. Nothing special. Definitely not a satisfied meal and the worst pulled pork sandwich I’ve ever had.

I asked to get garlic on my tri-​tip sandwich and they told me no they don’t allow people to add garlic to things anymore because I don’t order enough. I think you guys should start making a larger order for garlic Iv had a lot better

I usually go to the location in Pismo Beach so I wanted to check this location out since I was in SLO for the night. Food is still great here. I usually get the combo ribs. Their side dishes are awesome, the beans, potato salad, and the corn bread are amazing. Parking is a bit tricky around here but that’s just how it is.

People say that another nearby BBQ place is the best. But time and time again Mo’s has proved it is by far some of the best smokehouse BBQ in the state. So wish Orange County had this blessing. The BBQ sauce is amazing, and gluten free for those concerned. The killer garlic fries are indeed killer!!!

At Mo’s Barbecue in downtown San Luis Obispo. I recently found out that I didn’t win the lottery and the anger activates my primal urge for meat bros.
I get the BBQ Sampler ($ 20 after tax) and it turns out that you CAN substitute the chicken for other meat. I chose tri-​tip.
Taking it to go.

Mo’s is hit or miss. It used to be great, but now not so much. The meat is not as tender? flavorful? I’m not sure what I mean, but something’s missing, and has been for awhile. Also, I know this is a BBQ place, but a little presentation wouldn’t hurt. Our food was just thrown on our plates – C’s hamburger was barely in the bun, my pulled pork was dribbled all over my plate.
On the positive side, the kids who were working were friendly and the potato chips are wonderful!!!

Stopped in here on our way back to SF from visiting the Hearst Castle. The place is centrally located, parking out front metered, we got lucky. The food was pretty good, we ordered the bbq sampler which was pretty reasonably priced for two adults and a 4 year old that rarely eats. Ribs were very good, wasn’t tough at all, we opted for the bbq sweet sauce on the ribs, chicken and pulled beef. I liked the ribs best, didn’t try the chicken and the beef was alright. Beans seem like they were from a can but either way they were good. Service was pretty good and friendly, and the décor was cool. Would return.

What a nice bbq joint in SLO. A large menu with tons of bbq options. If yiu can’t decide, order a meat combo. Chicken, ribs, pulled pork. All kinds of sides and craft beers too. I had a half rack of ribs amd they were really good. Tender and meaty. They also have a few different homemade sauces if you need them. The best were the fried green tomatoes.

My friend said I had to try Mo’s-best bar b que ever. So I didn’t feel like waiting at Firestone and walked in for lunch. There’s a reason there’s no line and the place was empty. The food is meh. My kids did not like the Mo burger at all. My tri tip was unremarkable and barely warm. Literally meat in a store bought bun with very little bar b que sauce. I know they had a «sauce» bar, but for $ 8.95 it should be warm and on the sandwich. Coleslaw had no taste and had too much liquid. The people serving are very nice, restrooms are clean, you can hear the sports (but that’s because nobody is there).

Ordered take-​out from here while in town on business. Really great food. The garlic fries are to die for, a must try! I got the pulled pork, which was pretty good, only thing was it didn’t come with enough bbq sauce. I even ordered extra sauce but it still wasn’t enough.

Ate bbq ribs, 3 sizes half (4 ribs), ¾ (8 ribs) & full (12 ribs) with two styles. Also ate their bbq combo. All were very good. Street parking outside. Watch TV inside when eating. Several tables to eat in or take out.

Mo’s is absolutely amazing. I’ve been coming here since I was a kid and the food is as delicious as it’s always been. The pork ribs literally fall off the bone, the chicken is super tender and juicy, the tri tip is flavorful and tender, the beans are to die for, and the butter that comes with the cornbread muffins is crazy good. Also, the original bbq sauce is awesome.
Mo’s catered our wedding and did all of the cooking on-​site over a big open-​pit bbq. Our guests raved about it, there was tons of food, and the price was really affordable compared to most wedding food options. Janet who runs the catering was so sweet and so amazing to us. She gave us free food whenever we came in to coordinate for the wedding and my husband just about died of happiness. Mo’s was my favorite vendor that we worked with for the wedding by far because of how accommodating and nice they were.
I highly recommend eating at Mo’s whenever you’re craving some authentic bbq or if you want unique, fun, affordable, and delicious, crowd-​pleasing food for your wedding or event! Love you Mo’s!

I’m sorry to give this place 2 stars, but with a plethora of other BBQ places within walking distance, the food here just does not measure up. I would not recommend this place to out of towners.
The meat is not as flavorful and tasty as their «award winning ribs» sign would suggest.
The customer service is great, and the ambiance is nice because it’s quiet and empty…

I usually come here with a party of 8 or so and their ribs and service never fail to meet our needs. We usually get a couple racks or so, Sweet Carolinas or Philthy Phil’s being our ribs of choice. The fries and chips are also very good paired with all the meat we get and I often buy their sauces so I can get a taste of it at home. The décor is also unique and adds a nice touch to the atmosphere.

After having tri tip sandwich at Firestone, we walked to try this place. It was empty while Firestone was very busy. The interior was very nice with all pigs and cows. The tri tips was not tough but not that soft. It was juicy. It Was bitter from the grill. The bread was soggy. I didn’t like the bbq sauce or salsa. The bake bean was ok with a bit bitter after taste.

Amazing fries — and I always get the fried green tomatoes. That’s actually the main reason why I stop in here or ask people to meet me here. Hahaha! Good ribs too though. :D
(Why are people putting 3 stars and then saying how phenomenal the food is? That’s so odd!)

I love BBQ, but this place usually make me sad and wish I had some good BBQ.
It seems that over the years they have gotten a bit homogenized, almost like you would expect the quality of food to come out of a major chain restaurant.
Last time I was in it was nearly 10min until closing time, and they still had tri-​tip left. Which is good, because I wanted tri-​tip, but bad because it meant they didn’t sell all they had prepared… what do they do with the leftover each day?
I got the tri-​tip sandwich and coleslaw, baked beans, and garlic bread.
The meat was just okay, a bit too dry and not smoked much (in terms of flavor). It was not a terrible sandwich but with Firestone and Old San Luis BBQ making such quality tri-​tip daily, it’s hard to justify this spot.
It needed lots of BBQ sauce (the sauce was good) which is not usually a great sign for BBQ.
The coleslaw was easily some of the worst I have ever tried. Bland and soured at the same time. How is that possible? The garlic bread was fantastic and I could have eaten it all day. Along with the beans which were quite good and went great with the bread.
The service was sad and depressing. It was the end of the day I get it, but I don’t like feeling like I just got some of the cashier’s sadness transferred to me when I order/​leave.
Oh well.

I ended up getting bbq at the Mo’s tent during the Thu night farmers market. The thought of baby back ribs and baked potato plus the not crazy long lines appealed to me.
The baby back ribs were yummy. Tender and tasty. Loved the bbq sauce on it.
The baked potato wasn’t as good. The potato was fine but the pulled pork wasn’t that tasty though it was tender and there simply wasn’t enough cheese. I had a lot of dry bites of just pork and potato. Maybe some butter would have helped?
They were super nice when it was my turn to order because I didn’t know what to get and asked for recommendations. I told them it was my first time here and they were patient and helpful despite the queue behind me.
Note: They take credit card at the farmers market.

You would think after living in the Deep South I would be tired of BBQ.
Well our new DDS office staff recommended it. Soo after wandering around we decided BBQ sounded good.
Walked in and it has the typical bbq décor.
We were greeted and helped quickly.
Of course I had to check out the restroom! lol.
It was Spotless!!! Wow, two places in one day!
So we ordered not BBQ but Salads and Garlic Fries.
Both were great I had the tri-​Tip salad and it was loaded with sooooo much stuff!!! Black beans, peppers, corn, Tomatoes, TriTip of course. No skimping on the amount of toppings they put on it.
Ditto for The Man’s Salad.
The Garlic. Fries — were also loaded shredded parmesan minced garlic hint of lemon and oil parsley. They were GRRRREAT!
My Salad was big enough I could have easily split it.
Next time maybe we will try the BBQ
Yes service was good efficient timely. No complaints.

On the day after Valentine’s Day the love of my life and I took a romantic 32 hour road trip to Central California to give our new car its first real test drive. How I ever lived without an iPOD player in my car is anybody’s guess, but it is sure nice to be able to listen to hundreds of different songs without lugging a bunch of CDs along with you, or worse, be exposed to commercials.
Anyway, after a couple of pit stops in the Bay Area, we drove the 125 miles from Salinas to San Luis Obispo without any breaks, which is certainly near my upper echelon in terms of endurance. Arriving in SLO at about 1:15, our new car found us with sore asses and hungry tummies. Even though it was a beautiful Sunday in Mid-​February (don’t get me started on THAT conundrum), we found parking easily and set about finding a place for us to indulge in lunch.
As it is the home of Cal Poly, SLO has more than its share of brewpubs and coffeehouses, and certainly more than its share of hipsters inhabiting those establishments (not that there’s anything wrong with that — hipsters are people too, are they not?). But given that we didn’t want to wait forever for pub food, we looked for an alternative. At the corner of Monterey and Osis we stumbled across what seemed to be a reasonable prospect — a BBQ joint.
I’m happy to say that the place more than met our expectations. I had the Louisiana Hot Links while the wife had the Tri Tip Sandwich. All went down easily. One gets a choice between coleslaw, BBQ Beans and potato salad as a side — I had the coleslaw, which was ok.
While the meat sandwiches were tasty and there was a variety of sauces for which to lather our food, I kind of wish the side options were a little better, which prevents this establishment from getting the coveted Tim B fifth star. Still, all things considered, a pretty decent choice, and spending $ 21 for two for lunch ain’t half bad.

Very, very happy they had salads here, and the tri-​tip was good. I loved the beans and corn. There was a good portion of meat on top, which had a smoky flavor. I also really enjoyed the chicken strips (in fact, I sliced them up and tossed them in the salad, too, and enjoyed them more than the tri-​tip). The shredded chicken sandwich wasn’t bad, either. The condiment bar was also a big plus.
I was sad about the corn muffins, which were way too dry for my taste.

Having to face a full ½ day of meetings at CalPoly SLO I decided to take advantage of the morning for some quiet time and good food. Mo’s Smokehouse BBQ was it! Got there just before the lunch crowd and had the friendly server and the dining room to myself. She agreed that the Hot Chickin’ sandwich I was thinking about was a good choice. What was served was more than good! It was delicious. Nicely grilled chicken with plenty of seasoning served in a soft bun. I enjoyed my peaceful lunch and ready for my meeting.
Next time? BBQ ribs for dinner

Terrible, toute l’Amérique dans cet établissement, le service attentionné, le plats copieux et savoureux, ambiance familiale, je recommande, c’était parfait.

On the BBQ-​grubbin’ salad-​lover scene, no one is doing it better than Mo’s. Between the Tri-​tip Salad ($ 10) and the Cobb Salad ($ 10), it’s pretty much a toss up. The ingredients are consistently fresh, the ingredient combos are amazing (tri-​tip & avocado, grilled chicken/​hard-​boiled egg /​bacon), and their house dressing is easily subbed as a fry dip, it’s so good.
Service is friendly, and the entire décor is fun and unique — although I have fantasized about what would happen to that giant surfing pig that hangs from the ceiling during an earthquake.
They have a sauce bar — 5 different sauces, and their french fries are hot and fresh. Pulled pork sandwiches topped with cole slaw are a personal fave at Thursday night Farmer’s Markets.
I’ve unfortunately only experienced a small percentage of the menu, but that’s only motivation to come back. A great place to bring friends from out of town, and an integral part of the SLO experience.