food was mid. it wasn’t even hot. i was eating cold meat. not tender. the atmosphere was too loud but that’s my opinion.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 3
Scott Cunningham
Popped in to get some potato salad to go to add to a picnic. This was 'medium' for 8 dollars. 1/2 full at best. Not sure we will be back to sample the entrees...
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 2
Service: 4
Jeremy G
The food was okay, I had the brisket and my Fiance had the mac and cheese. The mac and cheese was nothing special to be frank and the brisket was a bit dry.
Our waitress also seemed to really not want to be there, had a I dont care kinda vibe. However the Aussie gentleman that seated us and helped us with questions was fantastic!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 2
Char H
Love the food, live tunes and atmosphere! One of my fav places to visit on our annual trip to Tofino.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Brisket, Brisket Burnt Ends, Mac and Cheeze
Louis Le Sui
We were drawn by the advertisement and idea of a beachside BBQ - which it is. They also had live music ($10 cover) which was a nice surprise. We were on vacation and loved the idea of chilling out to live music on a beach with BBQ.
Alas, everything went downhill fast after being seated. Food never came after sitting in the cold for 75 mins. We followed up numerous time asking where our food was and each time - server said 5 to 10 mins. Time at Roonie's works different from the rest of the world. Be weary.
We left the night unfed, tired, cold, and just overall miserable. Highly recommend not wasting your vacation time here like I did.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 2
Adam F
Not sure why they have so many 5 stars; there is nothing 5 star about this place. Food is ok and service is passable. The live music is a nice touch and cover charge isn’t too much. Biggest disappointment tho has to be the bland meats that are not served hot. It reminds me of food truck or cafeteria meals at a high school, so I wouldn’t get your hopes up. Again, nothing 5 star worthy here but it makes for an enjoyable outing and you don’t leave hungry with the portion size.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 2
Tim Jerome
Lil’ Ronnie’s Beachside BBQ is quite a place to have food in Tofino. The location of the BBQ is right beside Mackenzie Beach, and a quick two-minute walk from it is Mackenzie Beach.
The restaurant has live music during certain hours of the day, with local artists coming by and singing for a few hours during the dinner time service. It’s very nice to have live local music performing, which makes the restaurant feel like a close community where everyone can laugh and sing. Besides the performance hours, it’s a pretty quiet place, which isn’t bad if you enjoy a peaceful meal.
As for the food, I’ll be very transparent and say it wasn’t terrible, but neither was it amazing. It was in between okay and good. Decided to order the Bonanza, which is $35 per person. It’s a Chef's Choice Assortment of Daily Meats (3) and Sides (3). You don’t know what you’ll get until the food arrives, which is nice as it’s a surprise. I ended up getting the brisket, ribs, and turkey breast. Along with the sides came coleslaw and cowboy beans, and I upgraded on the mac and cheese.
The goods of the food—the brisket was phenomenal, I must say—super tender and melts right into your mouth, with a very strong smoky flavour to accompany it. I adored it. As for the turkey breast, it’s really challenging to always make turkey not dry, but this place made the juiciest turkey breast, which made it delicious to eat and made me want more.
Now for the bad Unfortunately, I wasn’t very satisfied with the meal overall. For the price I paid with a friend, it ended up being $80 with taxes, and I was really disappointed. The ribs for starters were tasty, but there was no meat on them. It was eating a bone with skin on it, and that’s it. I was expecting much more meat on a rib, but I was super disappointed with that. As for all the sides, the least favourite part of the meal. The mac and cheese had no sauce whatsoever. Pretty much, it was overcooked noodles with what looked like an attempt at sauce and what seemed like crushed Doritos. I was not happy with that, especially since I paid extra for it. The slaw itself would’ve been much better if it wasn’t drenched in vinegar. My nostrils were burning from the amount that was in it, and my face wanted to get sucked in from the copious amounts that were drenched in there, leaving sloping coleslaw. As for the cowboy beans, I felt like I was eating cement. It was not very flavorful and was just mushy, unfortunately.
And the last thing I will say about this place is portion sizes. Nothing was on the plate—two slices of brisket, three meatless ribs, three slices of turkey breast—along with little bowls of sides for $80 in total for two people. I was really disappointed since I paid that much at any other BBQ place and they brought out plates of quality food. To me, this felt like a waste of my money, and I ended up having to eat somewhere else.
Overall 2.5/5
With the lack of food there was for the price I paid for and some decent service, which is not really much to talk about since service was okay and just okay, my personal opinion would be to find another place within Tofino to eat unless you get the protein via 1 lb and spend tons of money on it. The only thing that saved this place was the local artist and the brisket and turkey breast being amazing; otherwise, the rest of it was not worth it taste-wise, visually, portion-wise, and for the price you’re paying, you can go to another restaurant and get better food. Overall, it's a real shame, as I’ve heard many good things about Lil’ Ronnie’s BBQ, but it ultimately led to disappointment.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 3
Recommended dishes: Ribs, Brisket, Potato Salad and Slaw 8 Each, Mac and Cheeze, The Platter
Mackenzie Heil
Feeling super frustrated found out an artist I love was going to be playing here I emailed months out saying we (party of 6) were driving up just for this event and never got a response tried calling with no answer finally got an answer that said you won’t need a reso we can sit 300 people, showed up day of and got turned away. Feeling super bummed.
caroline Reeves
This place ROCKED. Some of the absolute best bbq I have ever had! It deserves a 5 star rating. Brisket was maybe the most tender brisket we have ever eaten. The ribs were tender and so flavorful. The sausage was insane. The sides absolutely slapped. The drinks were great and the service was 10/10. Literally no complaints, no notes, no reason to rate this anything but 5 stars! The live music was so fun and if we come back to Tofino this will be a MUST visit again.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
clint bull
The brisket is absolutely perfect, tender and tasty. The service was a tad abrupt but not terrible.Everytime we visit Tofino, this is a must have
Worst service ever Waited forever to get our meal And gave us wrong amount of bill DO NOT COME HERE
Jeroen Tenbergen
Very nice place to spend a night combining delicious food, friendly service and nice live music. During our stay at Hotel Zed in Tofino we found this spot and head over for a delicious BBQ plate.
At the entrance we paid an additional $5 fee per person for the live music but this is clearly indicated on their website and definitely well spent.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Christopher Clyne
Best BBQ in tofino. Great vibes and staff at Ronnie’s
food was mid. it wasn’t even hot. i was eating cold meat. not tender. the atmosphere was too loud but that’s my opinion.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 3
Popped in to get some potato salad to go to add to a picnic. This was 'medium' for 8 dollars. 1/2 full at best. Not sure we will be back to sample the entrees...
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 2
Service: 4
The food was okay, I had the brisket and my Fiance had the mac and cheese. The mac and cheese was nothing special to be frank and the brisket was a bit dry.
Our waitress also seemed to really not want to be there, had a I dont care kinda vibe. However the Aussie gentleman that seated us and helped us with questions was fantastic!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 2
Love the food, live tunes and atmosphere! One of my fav places to visit on our annual trip to Tofino.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Brisket, Brisket Burnt Ends, Mac and Cheeze
We were drawn by the advertisement and idea of a beachside BBQ - which it is. They also had live music ($10 cover) which was a nice surprise. We were on vacation and loved the idea of chilling out to live music on a beach with BBQ.
Alas, everything went downhill fast after being seated. Food never came after sitting in the cold for 75 mins. We followed up numerous time asking where our food was and each time - server said 5 to 10 mins. Time at Roonie's works different from the rest of the world. Be weary.
We left the night unfed, tired, cold, and just overall miserable. Highly recommend not wasting your vacation time here like I did.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 2
Not sure why they have so many 5 stars; there is nothing 5 star about this place.
Food is ok and service is passable.
The live music is a nice touch and cover charge isn’t too much.
Biggest disappointment tho has to be the bland meats that are not served hot. It reminds me of food truck or cafeteria meals at a high school, so I wouldn’t get your hopes up. Again, nothing 5 star worthy here but it makes for an enjoyable outing and you don’t leave hungry with the portion size.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 2
Lil’ Ronnie’s Beachside BBQ is quite a place to have food in Tofino. The location of the BBQ is right beside Mackenzie Beach, and a quick two-minute walk from it is Mackenzie Beach.
The restaurant has live music during certain hours of the day, with local artists coming by and singing for a few hours during the dinner time service. It’s very nice to have live local music performing, which makes the restaurant feel like a close community where everyone can laugh and sing. Besides the performance hours, it’s a pretty quiet place, which isn’t bad if you enjoy a peaceful meal.
As for the food, I’ll be very transparent and say it wasn’t terrible, but neither was it amazing. It was in between okay and good. Decided to order the Bonanza, which is $35 per person. It’s a Chef's Choice Assortment of Daily Meats (3) and Sides (3). You don’t know what you’ll get until the food arrives, which is nice as it’s a surprise. I ended up getting the brisket, ribs, and turkey breast. Along with the sides came coleslaw and cowboy beans, and I upgraded on the mac and cheese.
The goods of the food—the brisket was phenomenal, I must say—super tender and melts right into your mouth, with a very strong smoky flavour to accompany it. I adored it. As for the turkey breast, it’s really challenging to always make turkey not dry, but this place made the juiciest turkey breast, which made it delicious to eat and made me want more.
Now for the bad Unfortunately, I wasn’t very satisfied with the meal overall. For the price I paid with a friend, it ended up being $80 with taxes, and I was really disappointed. The ribs for starters were tasty, but there was no meat on them. It was eating a bone with skin on it, and that’s it. I was expecting much more meat on a rib, but I was super disappointed with that. As for all the sides, the least favourite part of the meal. The mac and cheese had no sauce whatsoever. Pretty much, it was overcooked noodles with what looked like an attempt at sauce and what seemed like crushed Doritos. I was not happy with that, especially since I paid extra for it. The slaw itself would’ve been much better if it wasn’t drenched in vinegar. My nostrils were burning from the amount that was in it, and my face wanted to get sucked in from the copious amounts that were drenched in there, leaving sloping coleslaw. As for the cowboy beans, I felt like I was eating cement. It was not very flavorful and was just mushy, unfortunately.
And the last thing I will say about this place is portion sizes. Nothing was on the plate—two slices of brisket, three meatless ribs, three slices of turkey breast—along with little bowls of sides for $80 in total for two people. I was really disappointed since I paid that much at any other BBQ place and they brought out plates of quality food. To me, this felt like a waste of my money, and I ended up having to eat somewhere else.
Overall 2.5/5
With the lack of food there was for the price I paid for and some decent service, which is not really much to talk about since service was okay and just okay, my personal opinion would be to find another place within Tofino to eat unless you get the protein via 1 lb and spend tons of money on it. The only thing that saved this place was the local artist and the brisket and turkey breast being amazing; otherwise, the rest of it was not worth it taste-wise, visually, portion-wise, and for the price you’re paying, you can go to another restaurant and get better food. Overall, it's a real shame, as I’ve heard many good things about Lil’ Ronnie’s BBQ, but it ultimately led to disappointment.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 3
Recommended dishes: Ribs, Brisket, Potato Salad and Slaw 8 Each, Mac and Cheeze, The Platter
Feeling super frustrated found out an artist I love was going to be playing here I emailed months out saying we (party of 6) were driving up just for this event and never got a response tried calling with no answer finally got an answer that said you won’t need a reso we can sit 300 people, showed up day of and got turned away. Feeling super bummed.
This place ROCKED. Some of the absolute best bbq I have ever had! It deserves a 5 star rating. Brisket was maybe the most tender brisket we have ever eaten. The ribs were tender and so flavorful. The sausage was insane. The sides absolutely slapped. The drinks were great and the service was 10/10. Literally no complaints, no notes, no reason to rate this anything but 5 stars! The live music was so fun and if we come back to Tofino this will be a MUST visit again.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The brisket is absolutely perfect, tender and tasty. The service was a tad abrupt but not terrible.Everytime we visit Tofino, this is a must have
Food: 5
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Brisket
Restaurantji Recommends
Worst service ever
Waited forever to get our meal
And gave us wrong amount of bill
DO NOT COME HERE
Very nice place to spend a night combining delicious food, friendly service and nice live music.
During our stay at Hotel Zed in Tofino we found this spot and head over for a delicious BBQ plate.
At the entrance we paid an additional $5 fee per person for the live music but this is clearly indicated on their website and definitely well spent.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Best BBQ in tofino. Great vibes and staff at Ronnie’s
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Ribs, Brisket, Brisket Sandwich, Brisket Burnt Ends, The Platter, Perfect
I have not been for a long time but on my next trip to Tofino I will definitely eat here. David
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Now this is the SPOT.
Everything we tried was scrumptious, but if I had to choose a favourite, it would be the ribs.
Great music (even though we missed the live tunes at 6:30 - their playlist was awesome) and friendly service make for an awesome atmosphere too.
A must try in Tofino!
Dietary restrictions: Gluten-free and dairy-free options
They also have vegan nachos (didn’t try)
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chicken Wings, Ribs, Brisket, Perfect
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