50 Best Barbeque Restaurants in San Francisco

“WOW, porchetta sammie in the Castro? Ridiculously delicious, like you need to order. Not traditional italian porchetta slices of meat, but even better, chunky cuts of buttery tender goodness. Solid smoke aroma and taste without being overbearing. You get a slight tang of the vinegar mop, but again, not overbearing or distracting. We also ordered smashburgers and those were good, but for me the star was the pork.

I'd like to try the trio sampler or go full on into the pastrami on rye! I hear the pizza square is also pretty tasty.

Great addition to the Castro! Finally, great food options and Johnnie's is absolutely a destination! It's true passion people, when you love what you do (BBQ/Smoke meats), it shows! Keep the que going! Best in the city!“

“Just incredible Korean contemporary fusion cuisine. Kept the fundamentals of the Korean authenticity with unique broad appealing western gastronomic desires. Well done!!!👍“

“WOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOW!!!! Smokin D's BBQ far exceeded my expectations when providing super delicious Southern food for my brother's memorial! I would give them 5+ stars if I could! First, owners Daniel and Lareina met with me at the venue a few weeks in advance and carefully went over every detail of each dish that I wanted. Since I wasn't sure if our guests could eat spicy food, they took out the jalapeños from the mini cornbread muffins and any spice from the other dishes I wanted. When I talked about wanting a sweeter coleslaw, Daniel asked if I wanted KFC-style coleslaw, which was exactly what I was looking for. Second, on the day of the memorial, Daniel and Lareina arrived on time with all of the hot and cold food ready to go. All I had to do was show them where to place the trays. Third, after our guests left, Daniel and Lareina were very quick to pick up all of their equipment, which meant that I could go home earlier than expected. Most importantly, all of our guests absolutely RAVED about all of the food, especially about the smoked pulled pork and cornbread muffins!!! In fact, many sent me texts later saying that the food was a "huge hit" and asking me for the company's name, which I was pleased to provide. If any friend wants catered BBQ for their parties, I will recommend Smokin D's BBQ in SF in a heartbeat! SIMPLY AWESOME!!!“

“Could not take a vacation in USA without eating BBQ. Memphis Minnie’s was everything we expected. Good American style bbq. out of the box slaw and tasteful moist meat. If you’re in San Francisco this is a must visit place.“

“I was wondering why all of the reviews are positive but still giving only 4 stars. We visited tonight and now I understand why. There’s definitely an “experience” aspect missing.

People don’t go out to a restaurant just because they need to eat - they want to enjoy the experience of eating out. Everything was efficient: our drinks were refilled, our order came quickly, we were checked out quickly…but the personal touch was missing. No one asked if we had eaten in a restaurant like this before (we have, once), or if we had any questions or needed help. I have food sensitivities and only after placing the order did I learn that I couldn’t eat any of the vegetables. The waiter was fast at asking the chef and returning for the info, but I would have loved “do you have any more questions? Do you need help finding something you can eat on the menu?” That would have made it 5 stars in my opinion.“

“Amazing every time.“

“This place always hits the spot! The flavors are amazing and I love all the banchan dishes. Plus! The rice comes with the food which should be the standard but nowadays other places charge for them.

The dishes are pricey but the portions are large and sometimes you can get a freebie! Definitely bring a friend to share with.“

“I don’t mean to exaggerate, but when it comes to both the food and the service, exaggeration almost feels necessary. Chris was phenomenal, and the food exceeded anything I could have imagined. This place is truly unexpected in the best way—just trust the experience. There really aren’t enough words to describe how amazing it is.“

“Great Food😋 Sports bar atmosphere“

“The best in SF! And please come in the weekend not in weekday!

I have been here 3 times, the first two times on a weekday night, and it was just OK (cold days, don’t know what to eat and just decided to have some light bbq), I don’t quite understand the high rating…but then the recent visit on a Sunday night was amazing!!! Everything was so amazing! Hot and really tasteful that I actually decided to leave a review!“

“Very nice staff and attentive… Food was excellent and fresh.. The establishment was very very clean.. highly recommend“

“Has gluten free soup and the galbi Jjim. The galbi Jjim was filling,and mostly casava, noodles and sauce. Had a good amount of rib meat though. Service was great despite being packed. Only complaint is the amount of cheese - way too much, and I had to remove it to even taste the meats, even though I asked for less cheese. The side dishes were standard for Korean but still decent.“

“Our family has been stopping by to eat Pete's BBq since he first opened in 1976, my late father took me when I was 7 years old now I'm 56and still love Pete's, we moved to Fort Worth Texas in 2022, my wife and I came to visit relatives the week and had to stop by and visit Pete and his great food, nice seeing you again Pete, he always brings back great memories.
Thake care and God Bless Pete.“

“Zajang Grill is the best restaurant“

“So this place is a community side grill joint. Drive by and pick up your food and head on out. Strong smoke taste with a Memphis sweet flavor on the pork ribs. Smoked with mesquite the pork has solid penetration. The chicken also had a good smoking but I felt it was a little past done. Im not judging as I know how hard that timing can be and this may not be the norm but the exception.
I am a mac+cheese connoisseur. That being said it was good. Not the best i have had or worst. My critic is that it needs more sauce and maybe less salt.
Baked beans are made with ground turkey of which I assume was smoked and added to the beans for a more smokey flavor. All said and done the meal was enjoyable and hit the spot for my need of some smokey food.“

“Came here for late lunch on a Friday after spending the morning in the Presidio. We were looking forward to eating off the traditional Korean grill and were not sure they had that for lunch. However they had a really good and relatively inexpensive lunch menu and we ordered several items from there. The quality of food, starting with the ban chan, were really good. We had the bimbimbap, kalbi, rice cake soup, seafood scallion pancake. Would return for dinner. Located in a quiet neighborhood in outer sunset, there was a line outside late in the afternoon - not sure how that would look like at dinner time…“

“The food was awesome 😋😋 The atmosphere was good 👍👍“

“Nice place to dine in with family and friends“

“Happy Hour tacos and beer today! The al pastor and brisket tacos pictured were so juicy, tender, and flavorful! 100% recommend! Definitely coming back! 🔥😋“

“We searched 20 min for a parking spot during peak dinner rush. It was worth every minute! Our party of 5 ordered udon, kebabs, BBQ pork, & sizzling Bibimbap. All happy customers & rated it the #1 dinner of our 4 (so far) in San Francisco.“

“great food great price you will be back“

“My family comes here or does take out once every month or so. Favorites are the char siu and duck which just hits the spot. Service is truly exceptional from being greeted at the door to attentive table service throughout. They are so welcoming to my child and that level of attention and care (consistently) is just so rare these days. Just a wonderful place all around.“

“The food was very delicious! I loved everything I ordered! Ribs, beef brisket, chicken, potato salad, Mac-N-Cheese, and sausage! I highly recommend eating here.“

“Ordered from here tonight. It was pretty late - almost midnight so I wasn’t expecting anything amazing but I loved every bite. I ordered a few dishes for myself and a friend and they were like: this is the first time I’ve ever loved everything I’ve tried that someone else picked. We got: pigs ears (just the perfect amount of spicy), cumin lamb (soo good, with the numbing pepper being not too much- it’s usually not something I love because i find it overpowering but this was the perfect spice blend), cucumber salad, woodear mushrooms and rice. It’s a little pricey but the portions are generous and everything was so well flavored. Totally worth it. I lived in China for 2 years and think so far this may be one of my fave Chinese restaurants in sf.“

“Comfort food. Was craving some Hawaiian food so dragged the fellas to south SF to try this spot which was takeout only. My first time I got the Loco Moco (hamburger steak with eggs and gravy on rice and macaroni salad. GAS) and the next night had to come back and try the chicken katsu (also over rice and macaroni salad. ALSO GAS). Also each plate ran us less than $15 for huge portions. I need this spot in Massachusetts.“

“This is our local, “go to” place whenever we’re craving Korean food. It never disappoints. At night, they generally project K-pop music videos onto a large wall, which brings the whole room to life. Lotsa fun!“

“Such a great experience eating at this restaurant. The service was top notch and the pizza was to die for.“

“Honestly a great spot if you’re looking for good value. Prices are low and portions are big.
The dine-in area is pretty small, but most people seem to do takeout anyway, so it makes sense.
We usually just stop by and grab food when we’re nearby. Also saw they have a mystery box after 5pm — pretty interesting idea!“

“Great food and service. I highly recommend this place for date night, family and friends. The only downside is parking is hard to come by in this neighborhood.“

“Best bbq pork, roasted duck, and beef stew in the city. The tea eggs are also super good and savory that we can't get enough of. The staff are super kind, energetic and provide excellent services. My favorite place to come back to everytime i visit the city“

“Saw this place in Instagram and pinned it to my list to go to in Chinatown.

The menu is extensive and has a little bit for everyone’s craving for the day. You know it’s a good sign when you walk in and you hear the uncs and aunties yappin. It just means this place is authentic !

The Satay Beef Noodle soup was great. It has a spice in it I can’t pinpoint, but it made it unique to any other beef noodle soup I’ve had. I was expecting a taste closer to bun bo hue, but no it’s something different. Still very tasty! The cucumbers innit was a surprise and it worked very well.

The chicken wings came out piping hot and crunchy. The chicken itself didn’t have much flavor tho.

The chow fun is something I’d order again. The beef was cooked with a Smokiness flavor to it.

This spot accepts card for payment, so I am happy that I didn’t have to pull money at an ATM. The staff is very friendly and can give recommendations“

“Best BBQ I've ever eaten! Moist, great smoke AND nice people!“

“Great service and food 😋👍🏻“

“Absolutely authentic & very fresh food! Customer service is top notch! Their IPA is on point!“

“Best roast duck & rice plate in SF for $11. I've patronize Top's Cafe since forever! Before covid this was full service restaurant. Still serving the community as a deli like service. Come and enjoy the flavors! You won't be disappointed.“

“Great Food! And Very nice Small Restaurant“

“Went to Purple Rice 🍚💜 for lunch craving Kimchi Jiggae! They did not dissapoint 😋. I had the Kimchi Stew with pork, and it came out SIZZLING hot 🥵 . The service was fast and friendly, I will definitely be back very soon 🫶🏽“

“The Hongkong style B.B.Q is so delicious“

“Absolutely fell in LOVE with this place and this will be my go to place for dim sum in SF from now on. I discovered this gem when the line at good mong kok bakery was too long. There seemed to be plenty of locals in the restaurant so I decided to give it a shot. I spent around $40 got plenty of dim sum for the family to go around. The dim sum was hot, plump, and filled with meat!

We tried new moon last time, and was extremely disappointed because it was cold!! Plus, the have seating in the back. We will be coming back here. Bring cash!“

“Really solidly good Hawaiian food. I had family visiting from France who wanted to try Hawaiian food and they loved it! Especially high praise coming from Parisians used to amazing restaurants. It's a small place and nothing fancy but the food is really, really good. If you haven't been, you should definitely try it!“

“Loved the pulled pork loaded Mac“

“Terrific Dim Sum and other Cantonese dishes. We are particularly fond of a rather plain sounding dish, noodles with scrambled eggs and shrimp. Not plain at all. In spite of having to drive across town, this has become our go to Chineese restaurant.“

“I’ve walked Noriega street multiple times and never realized there was a good Korean restaurant here! It is easy to miss unless you’re looking for The Crew, which is why I’m glad a friend recommended this place to me.

What I liked about eating here is that the food is served HOT. We had the soft tofu soup, seafood pancake, stone pot bibimbap, and 1/2 serving of galbi. The portions are generous and it fulfilled our craving for Korean food. The banchan (small plates) is average at best, but that did not deter from the experience. The food we did order was exceptional.“

“Delicious Filipino food 👌🏼“

“Kahlua pork and cabbage is phenomenal. Very smoky and tender. Needs 2 rice to take it down. Kim chi tasty too. The bbq beef is great too. Various musubi for your choice. They have the Hawaiian sun drinks too, but that's how they getcha.“

“Our work just got us this pizza for lunch after a bike ride and I have to say as a square pizza lover; it was amazing. Not greasy, fresh ingredients even being delivered and amazing cheesy-crust edges. 5 stars pizza for sure. Btw the staff was able to accommodate a pizza for 35 people with very little notice. Sadly I ate it all before taking a pic!“

“Their scallion chicken was delicious. Char Siu was very good and the crackling roasted pork was seasoned perfectly but had more fat that I would like.

The uncle chopping the meat was very friendly in your typical Cantonese way.“

“Amazing fresh food! Huge portions! Chicken katsu & misubi are my go-2 😋 support our local businesses!“

“My first time stopping by 02/27/25 to order take out and the beautiful lady who took my order was very friendly & polite. She gave me accurate timing of wait which was 15-20mins. The chicken chowmein and salt& pepper fried chicken wings did not disappoint my son’s tastebuds lol. Glad I checked this place out, I will be back 😊“