Smokey and The Brisket BBQ - La Mesa, California

S. R. S.

Will be back for the brisket!
We tried combo plates and the brisket, Mac and cheese, creamy corn & pulled pork stand out. Fun atmosphere with good food.
Good beer selection on tap and plenty to offer in cans and bottles.

DeadEyeDave

First time visit. My wife and I ordered a full rack of pork ribs to share with a side of mashed potatoes. With lemonade and iced tea, the bill came to over $53.00. The drinks were both weak, meaning they had much less flavor than expected. The meal arrived quickly but was lukewarm. It was served with a couple of slices of cheap white bread. The paper under the meat was soggy and tore easily when we served it to our plates; we had to be careful not to eat the paper. The potatoes were mashed skin-on and were served in a cheap paper tray. Food flavor was good but not great. Our server never stopped by to check on us or refill our drinks. There were barely any customers on a Monday night. We enjoyed the automotive décor.

Gregg F.

I Actually Came Here To Try Their Food. I Wanted To Come Here For My Birthday Dinner On The 23RD. I Came In And Waited @ The Door For 5 Mins And Tried To Sit @ The Bar But They Had Drinks On Table By The Only Seat Available. Oh Yeah So I Sat Down And Waited @ The Table By The Entrance. I Finally Got A Waitress & She Rudely Said You Need To Wait To Be Seated! I Said I Actually Waited For 5 Mins And Tried To Sit Down @ Bar But Couldn't. I'm Sorry But My Leg Was Hurting And I Had To Sit Down. She Just Rolled Her Eyes And Looked @ My Cane And Handed Me A Menu. I Ordered The Beef Brisket. Oh Yeah You Have To Order And Pay For Each Side Separately. I Ordered The Baked Beans And Potato Salad With A Craft Beer. I'm Sorry But The Brisket Was Average. I Actually Didn't Care For The Beans Or The Potato Salad With Mustard And Pickles Either. I Definitely Did Like All The Pretty Waitresses And See Why All My Male Cousins Like This Place. I'm Glad I Had To Use The Bathroom. I Got To See The Picture Of Jacky Gleason And The Firebird Hood In The Hallway. I Would Of Never Known That This Place Is Actually Named After Smokey And The Bandit. Oh Yeah Was Definitely Wondering About The Giant Miller Mural And That's From The Movie Too. Yeah Definitely Not Gonna Celebrate My Birthday Dinner Here.

Jeffrey R.

Brisket and pulled pork were on par. Chicken was dry and not flavorful. Mac n cheese and cowboy caviar were also good.

Whitney C.

First time here with my husband, and we liked it. I definitely recommend the Brisket Nachos. They were delicious. His hamburger, according to him, was good, he gives it 3 stars. My pulled pork tacos were extremely greasy/oily with no flavor, I just had a bite and we had to exchange them for pulled chicken, no flavor either. Our drinks were alright. I wouldn't totally recommend just getting their brisket, I guess it's on their name for a reason.

Lisa G.

This place is a cool place. I rated the food a 4 just be cause I'm not a BBQ person but my husband is and loves the BBQ there. I thought the sides were good.
The services was great . My family and I came here last weekend and was greeted by Emily with a friendly smile. She knew everything on the menu along with the beer menu. She was so kind and made us feel at home and we ( my family ) agreed also with me. Thank you Emily for making are day with your great friendly service. We hope to have you as are waitress again. If not we will request you!!

Olive T.

Smokey and the Brisket BBQ is located right off the 8 freeway in La Mesa. We came on a Saturday for lunch and it was almost packed. Restaurant offers Texas BBQ meals with a big menu of drinks and good selection of meat and sides and has spacious indoor and outdoor seatings. Nice country music playing, sports on TV and a full bar with an arcade room in the back with classic arcade games, pool table and pinball. The walls are decorated with posters of classic car movies. The booths have car seat interior. Great ambiance of the the retro Route 66 vibe. A relaxing family place to have delicious mouthwatering BBQ smoked meats. We ordered variety of combo meals and sides. The smoked salmon especially exceeded our expectation as it was moist with proper Smokey flavors. Sides were amazing as well especially the burnt carrots and cauliflower and baked beans. This restaurant has Happy Hours from 3-5pm and we will definitely be back to try other dishes.

Tijha C.

2/5. I wouldn’t come back here.

Pros: The BBQ beans and French fries were hot and super good sides. The vanilla ice cream scoop that I got with my dessert was also good.

Cons: My appetizer, Mac and cheese with burnt ends, which came with brisket instead was luke warm when I received it. The cheese tasted like nacho cheese and the brisket itself was dry, but the layer of bbq sauce made it edible.

We got our appetizer at 6:15 and didn’t get our entree until 7:06, so be prepared to wait. They were also out of the rack of ribs and bread pudding, so we had to change our orders. Also, don’t expect for you drinks o be refilled because the waitress only came to take our order then our check.

As for the entrees, I opted for the half of chicken and the rub and seasoning were actually really good. The only problem was the it was ice cold in some areas.

For dessert, the churros tasted like they were frozen, definitely not homemade. All in all, definitely not worth the price for luke warm and cold food that takes forever to come out. I would say that everything is edible!

Ps. My husband got loaded fried and was very disappointed because it was also cold and the meat didn’t have any taste to it.