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Salinas City BBQ - Steakhouse in Salinas, California

Salinas City BBQ

4.3 (1369 reviews)

700 W Market St, Salinas, CA 93901

Barbecue restaurant

About Salinas City BBQ - steak house in Salinas, California

Homey eatery supplying smoked meats, steaks & basic sides, plus a rotating menu of craft brews.

Customer Review Summary

Salinas City BBQ offers extremely delicious food with a friendly atmosphere. The restaurant's cleanliness, especially the restrooms, is commendable. Many reviewers rave about the brisket and various sides like cornbread and macaroni & cheese. However, there are inconsistent experiences, with some days yielding fantastic meals and others leaving diners disappointed, particularly with the quality of the meat. Service has been noted as variable, with some staff exhibiting unprofessional behavior. While some customers have left frustrated, others enjoyed specific dishes and even returned for items like bread pudding. Overall, first-time visitors are mixed in their experiences, but many express a willingness to return.

Key Features

Service options

  • Delivery
  • Takeout
  • Dine-in

Highlights

  • Fast service
  • Great beer selection

Popular for

  • Lunch
  • Dinner
  • Solo dining

Accessibility

  • Wheelchair accessible entrance
  • Wheelchair accessible parking lot
  • Wheelchair accessible restroom
  • Wheelchair accessible seating

Offerings

  • Alcohol
  • Beer
  • Coffee
  • Comfort food
  • Quick bite
  • Wine

Dining options

  • Lunch
  • Dinner
  • Catering
  • Dessert
  • Seating

Amenities

  • Bar onsite
  • Restroom
  • Wi-Fi

Atmosphere

  • Casual
  • Cozy
  • Trendy

Crowd

  • College students
  • Family-friendly
  • Groups
  • Tourists

Payments

  • Credit cards
  • Debit cards
  • NFC mobile payments

Children

  • Good for kids
  • High chairs
  • Kids' menu

Parking

  • Free street parking

Pets

  • Dogs allowed outside

Customer Reviews

Rating Distribution

4.3 out of 5
5
876
4
263
3
92
2
53
1
85
Based on 1369 reviews

B (Tía Briza)

2 months ago

Extremely delicious food! Very friendly folks! I'm very picky about about restrooms and their cleanliness, their restroom was spotless. Definitely worth the drive here. We will be bringing the family here.

Danielle

6 months ago

Seriously...... INSANELY DELICIOUS! We loved the entire experience at Salina City BBQ. We came at a weird hour (around 2:30pm) and the restaurant was pretty busy - I think that speaks volumes by itself. The atmosphere is what you'd expect from a BBQ restaurant - casual and comfortable. All the staff was friendly. The brisket was perfection and their BBQ sauces were so tasty! Loved the cornbread, macaroni & cheese, and the homemade pickles. First time we tried Salinas City BBQ and certainly won't be our last!

Jack Bauer

1 month ago

I've been here a ton of times! It's really inconsistent, idk why. Somedays are a 10/10 and some days are a 3/10. Service is meh. I spent almost 90 bucks and tipped 30, that's kind of unacceptable. The sides were solid as usual, but the meat was super fatty and meh. The meat itself, taste amazing, but the quality is low tier. I had a 4 meat combo and a massive chunk was just a ball of fat. Over all it was okay today, but I will keep in mind for tipping. Not worth 90 bucks. I will say they offer an amazing uniform discount though. Maybe they just had a bad night?

SILVIA

3 months ago

Loved the cornbread. The meat was a bit dry, and the Mac and cheese tasted like Alfredo pasta. Overall, I enjoyed my food. It was good, I would like to come back to try something new.

Carlos Andrade

6 months ago

We had the 4 meat combo to be able to taste a variety of things. The brisket, chicken, tri-tip, and ribs were all cold and very dry. There was one table open and when asked if the table could be cleaned due to it having old beer and other trash on it, the employee rudely asked why we picked a table that wasn't clean and then muttered something when told there were no other tables. The same guy also talked trash about the employees in the kitchen in front of us which seemed a bit unprofessional. I would not recommend this place, but it did seem busy so maybe we just came on a bad evening. It definitely seemed priced way above what it should be.

Stephanie Roy

Very disappointed. I had expectations since everyone was praising the restaurant.. I asked for lean brisket and nothing but fat. I asked for beans, and got potato salad instead. They gave me beans that tasted more like chili, which I don't like. My sausage was so dry, not edible. Left everything on my plate. Wasted $35! Food was disappointing, but staff was pretty nice. Can't blame the cashier, she gave impeccable service.

Heather Lang

4 months ago

We loved their bread pudding so much that we went back a second time specifically for that and didn't even get bbq 😆🍞

Leng Ooi

Perfectly done tri-tip and brisket where the flavors are all the way through the meats. Best tri-tip I had that's not too dry or too mushy. The sauces are well balanced. They have a few taps of local beers to wash it all down!

Location

Contact Information

Hours of Operation

Friday 7 AM–9 PM
Monday 7 AM–9 PM
Saturday 7 AM–9 PM
Sunday 7 AM–8 PM
Thursday 7 AM–9 PM
Tuesday 7 AM–9 PM
Wednesday 7 AM–9 PM

Price Range

$20–30