Had a great ride from Oakland down here to eat at the Bbq pit. Called 2 hours in advance and talked to Nancy. Told here there were 8 of us would be arriving in 2 hours. When we got there, there was a table waiting for us. Same as they did for us last year. Good food, service and price. Thanks Nancy. See you next time read more

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Second Visit -- Unfortunately My Last This was my second time eating at The BarBQ Pit, and unfortunately it will probably be my last. Whenever I'm working in cities outside my hometown, I try to support local restaurants. Since I'm in Merced several days a week, I wanted to give this place a second try and see if my first experience might have just been an off day. First Visit (about three months ago): The service was excellent. The waitress was attentive, anticipated what I needed, and checked in regularly. I was seated quickly and everything ran smoothly. I ordered the BBQ sampler so I could try a little bit of everything. The waitress mentioned that the meats are smoked daily, which sounded promising. That said, the food itself was fairly average. Nothing was bad, but nothing stood out either. The hot wings were completely middle-of-the-road. For the price point, the food felt mediocre. Second Visit: This visit unfortunately went worse. I was seated quickly again, but it took about 10 minutes before either of the two waitresses came to take my order. One waitress took my drink order, and later another came over to check on me. When I told her I was ready to order, she said the other waitress would come back to take it. That interaction felt a little strange since she was already there but wouldn't take the order herself. I ordered the hot wings again (same as before, just average) and a French Burger because I was curious what it was. It turned out to be a regular burger patty on a French roll with lettuce, tomato, and pickles. Nothing particularly unique about it besides the bread. Unfortunately, that's where the experience went downhill. On two separate sections of the French roll, there was visible mold. At that point I completely lost my appetite and couldn't finish the meal. I don't know if the French rolls don't get used very often or if the bread turnover is slow, but either way this should have been caught before it reached a customer. Moldy bread should never make it out of the kitchen. To be fair, the waitresses themselves were very polite. Service was slower than I expected, but they were friendly. When I was leaving they even offered me a refill and a cup of iced tea to go, which was a thoughtful gesture. Unfortunately, being served moldy food is something I can't overlook. Because of that, I don't think I'll be returning. read more

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One of my favorite spots in Merced. We have been going here for years and years. Even after the transfer of ownership, nothing changed (In a very good way) The breakfast here is awesome. My go to dish is either the tuna sandwich on sourdough or any of the smokehouse bbq options. The service great, however it's not the quickest place in town. The ambiance is fantastic, old school / hometown diner. It's like stepping back in time and it feels great. Check it out. read more

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I was really disappointed this time! I have never had an unsavory meal here but today's lunch with a tunafish sandwich was really salty, so much so that it drowned out any other flavor. I really couldn't eat it. My friend had a burger and she said it was delicious. I didn't want to make a fuss as this was my friend's first time there so I brought it home and tossed it. read more

We had an amazing dinner, very casual spot. Got to try the desserts! We shared the Chocolate turtle pie, lemon mascarpone cake and the peach pie ala mode! Yum! read more

I went to this place back in august and my food was not good.I ordered a simple cheese and fries.The patty wasn't very flavorful or even meaty.Just very thin and lacked anything. I did give it a second chance a month later.And my first impression was correct. The food isn't good and not worth spending your money. Do yourself a favor and just make your own BBQ. read more

Breakfast is really good my family and I come almost every Sunday after church. Good old diner feel, service is good. I will mention that I tried dinner once years ago, and it was very underwhelming. I have never been back for lunch or dinner, but definitely recommend breakfast. read more

Good BBQ, good breakfast, and great customer service! Very reasonable prices too! I have ordered take out many times and they always make sure I have everything I need like utensils, napkins, extra sauce, rolls, etc. read more

1/21/25 Getting lunch! BBQ chicken & ribs plate ordered with extra chicken., extra BBQ sauce, an extra roll and onion rings ordered. The worker was kind and said it would be ready in 10 minutes. I went in to pick it up shortly later. Restaurant is Lunchtime! Order split. It came with veggies and baked beans too! BBQ chicken was tender & DELICIOUS! Same with the rib! GREAT! Baked beans were tasty! Veggies were fresh and great! Garlic roll & rice pilaf were Great too!! I had 1 onion ring and it was crunchy & Delicious too! Mother said hers was Great and she really liked the tender meat!! Lots of leftovers! Good service & GREAT lunch! Highly recommended! read more

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Breakfast, lunch, prime rib. Yes . And thank you. I leave feeling satisfied. When I walk inside I am greeted and welcomed. The food is SO underrated. Who can you go wrong? Ambiance is superb ! read more

While the food was very good and a lot of it. The staff is something to be desired. I called my order in and asked about the family meals (and what the prices were the family meals were), lady in the other end was super annoyed that I was just not giving an order. When she asked me what sides, I apologized (that had not been to the place in over a year) and asked what types of sides did they have. she exhaled loudly . It was like pulling teeth asking her what types of sides they had. I ordered two family meals. My order wasn't on weekend, and they might have been busy, but being polite wouldn't have hurt. While I liked the food, I'm on the fence about going back cause of the experience. ( maybe this is why I didn't return in over a year) read more

Look ww come and eat there alot. Today the *food* was disgusting. The waitress was great. It was dripping with oil. I have had the patty melt b4. We all love the onion rings, which were wet with oil, not crispy as usual. The waitress had it remake and I was thinking ok, paid and left. I tasted it again.. so gross. Does anyone take a moment to taste the food. Your prices are up but quality in the toilet. Shame cuz its an icon. Im not paying 23.00 for coffee a uneditable patty melt and onion rings that also were undercooked drenched in oil? not butter on rye..wth is it? Taste it its gross at least drain the onion rings which were under cooked. Gross. And the other reviews are correct. You advertise you r a bbq.. nope . Too expensive, booths need updating the duck tape is cheapo and if you are lucky enough to sit in booth by bathroom, it stinks. You could place wall just terrible read more

Was so disappointed and disgusted.Found something in my food Server was definitely kind Said she ask her boss.Boss came and treated me like I was lier .Said it was part of my meal It was a small thread Definitely won't be back read more

Best breakfast in town hands down The restaurant has a great classic ambiance The waitresses are kind and everything I've ever ate there has been FRESH and DELICIOUS Great place to bring family read more

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We went there one hour to close. Not sure what to expect, but the menu looked amazing. Oh. My. Gosh!! Kim was our server and she went above and beyond. Anything we requested she was happy to help. More creamer for coffee, potato salad not coleslaw. And after I had already decided Kim was an angel, our food was brought to our table. THE RIBS!! THE TRI TIP!! Please go to this restaurant. Clean, large, really cool paintings and decorations. Delicious food, amazing staff, and and a hometown diner feel. read more

Barbecue sandwich was practically inedible. This is not barbecue. It seems like it was a barbecue pit and now it's just a regular crummy restaurant. Very disappointing. There was tomato sauce smothered on cut beef and they called it barbecue,. The onion rings taste like shrimp. They probably fried shrimp in the same fryer, that they make the onion rings, you can definitely tell. Girl there was nice but that's about it. Save your soul. read more

This is one of our go to places for consistent good service, good breakfast and excellent bbq meals

Thank you for feeding me and my bf twice while we visited after our Yosemite trip! We drove very far away and really wanted bbq! You live up to the bbq name!! Very yummy! Love the retro vibe! Very clean and staff are friendly and informative!!! Thank u bbq crew for filling our tummies at a wonderful price! read more

Bar B Q Pit - Barbeque Near Me - Merced, California

I love this place, especially for breakfast. The food is very tasty and the wait staff are so friendly. They have good breakfast specials Monday through Friday that are reasonably priced and a $10 lunch special M-F of 1/3 lb. cheeseburger, fries and drink. It is hearty good food with plenty of different menu selections for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Highly recommend. read more

A solid 4 star rating. Good value makes this a hit in my book. Good breakfast and lunch. Service is good. Ambiance is that of a classic restaurant. Not a bad option if you want a good all around experience. read more

Bar B Q Pit - Inside - Barbeque Near Me - Merced, California

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Been going there for years great food and the staff is the best always loved their biscuits and gravy

Excellent BBQ , great ribs !! Good service .. all around great place to eat a BBQ . I highly recommend the BBQ PIT , the best tasting BBQ .. can't go wrong read more

Since moving here a year ago in Merced got to say employees are so nice and the food is amazing I love barbecue food and this is a goatee barbecue place in Merced read more

Living not too far from here for almost a decade; I never stopped here, but today was my first time and I will definitely come again. We were sat right away, the interior being an adorable diner style (the pig outside being one of Merced's landmark almost). The service was so sweet, our waitress had everything we needed without us needing to ask, coming over and checking on us with great hospitality. The food was amazing, and big portions too. For a first timer I recommended the BBQ taster plate, as it has a bit of everything; chicken, beef, ham, and ribs. Would absolutely recommend and will be coming again :) read more

Bar B Q Pit - Taster plate with sides of mashed potatoes, baked beans and corn on the cob - Barbeque Near Me - Merced, California

If you don't have a variety of Bbq sauces , it's questionable. If my meat comes smothered in a bright red sauce it's questionable. It's a no for me . The chicken tastes boiled before broiling , the ribs from yesterday and I think Canadian bacon was ok . The waitress was great . Ambience not Texas . I should have tried the cinnamon rolls . read more

Bar B Q Pit - Canadian Bacon with Pizza sauce - Barbeque Near Me - Merced, California

Good food, good service, great prices. We also love that they have a senior menu. Quick service.

Nearly empty, ignored for a bit, drink order taken, coffee tea. Nearly 30 minutes later after inquiring about drinks waitress stated "she was just about to get them" did take our order at that point and approx five minutes later showed up with coffee and tea. No cream. Asked for cream. " oh you want creamer." Yes please. Finlly Came back with cream. Before steaks arrived another unidentified person came and asked if everything was ok. We said no service was unusually horrible and she basically said we had a right to our opinion and if we didn't like it we could leave. She just kept repeating it and we decided to oblige. I offered to pay for coffee and tea she just kept saying Goodbye have a goodnight etc. We left very sad to lose our favorite hang out for the last nearly fifty years. I guess it's true. All good things must end Bye bye BBQ pit. With that attitude and cystimer service you'll probably be the next empty building down town. It's a shame read more

My son and I came in from out of town for a bike race. Hungry, starving, this was pretty much the first spot we saw to eat at after checking into our hotel. We drove by, saw the awesome little pig statue out front and decided to stop in. My ratings on restaurants usually follow a formula of quantity, quality, value, and expectation. Bar BQ Pit hit ALL the marks. Let's start with expectation. It's BBQ, so you sort of expect it to be a little hometown inside. What I liked about this place was it was genuine. For example, you go to Armadillo Willy's or famous daves, and you know they hired an interior decorator to call the American Pickers to get the cliché tacky stuff that adorns the walls. There's an artificial feel at the chain BBQ resturaunts, yet here it feels like some of the Klipsch stuff adorning the walls has actually been here since the 40's, slowly collecting over the years. Value, Quantity, and Quality. These 3 go hand in hand. My son and I ordered the same thing, the fried chicken dinner. We also got a side of riblettes to try some of the BBQ. The Riblettes were fall off the bone tender, while the BBQ sauce on them tasted fresh, as if the tomato paste was made onsite from fresh tomatos. The chicken was a half chicken, fried. We were expecting maybe a drumstick and maybe a breast, but this was a breast, wing, drumstick, thigh, and wing. The breading was excellent covering every part, the fry was perfectly crispy. The chicken itself tasted fresh, as though it had come from one of the chicken farms we passed on our way to Merced. The Vegatables were fresh as well. A nice trio of broccoli, carrots and Zucchini. An added touch was the Zuchinni was cut into rings and fried. This wasn't *just* a simple affair of 3 vegetables steamed together. The potato was a potato. You can't really embellish much on a baked potato, but it was covered with butter and sour cream. It was served with some garlic bread. Maybe the bread wasn't anything to write home about, just your standard sliced sourdough. Then again, you don't come to a BBQ joint for bread. Service was pretty quick and snappy, our waitresses worked hard to keep us taken care of. By the end of the meal my son and I were too full for desert (My son actually took his breast back to the room and ate it later) Overall, if in town again I would eat a meal here. Certainly want to try that french dip. read more

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This staple of Merced always has the most friendly and dedicated people to serve! The old diner look has a lot of fantastic ambiance and history. Nothing beats the food, especially after church! read more

Good food!!! Good service!!! That's all you need to enjoy a good meal! I only do "takeout since Covid but the inside is clean and comfortable!!! read more

Food was delicious and hot.Server was attentive and professional.Busboy was awesome.Place was clean and inviting

I guess it took me awhile to finally post a review of this fine restaurant. Sorry for the delay, but it took my buddy to send me a photo of the weekend menudo he enjoyed before I finally got around to posting a review of the June, 21, 2014 dining we enjoyed at this fine restaurant. Gee... I'm just getting things off my memory and from my previous posting, which is not like I do today. So please excuse me... When you choose a "Cajun Chicken Fried Steak" breakfast, you have many options, such as... Hash browns or home-style potatoes? Or... beans? Bisket, tortillas or toast? ... What type of bread? How do you want your eggs cooked? The varieties are endless and Bar B Q Pit makes it "your way." I trust my friend Dan's breakfast opinion totally, so I followed him, and we ordered the same thing: Cajun Chicken Fried Steak. Oh yeah! Mind you, the "Cajun Chicken Fried Steak" breakfast is not on the menu, as the menu advertises a "Chicken Fried Steak." Since Dan is a regular at the restaurant - he eats breakfast at the restaurant every Sunday before church - he knows everybody, and he knows the protocol. So, upon his suggestion, we both asked for the "Cajun option," which includes Cajun seasoning into their already awesome gravy. So, if you're a lover of chicken fried steak, home style potatoes, with a bit of a kick, this breakfast if for you! I loved it!!! "Cajun Chicken Fried Steak" isn't on the menu, as you have to ask. But, just "Go For lt!" The meat was so tender, as you didn't need a knife to cut it, the gravy was thick, spicy - not hot - and totally delicious. Eggs over easy were cooked perfectly, and the home style potatoes were GREAT, including diced onion and pepper. Truly a great breakfast! When you're in the mood for a great breakfast in Merced, look no further than Bar B Q Pit, as they have all the bases covered. If your specialty isn't on the menu, just ask, as your friendly hostess will chat with the chef and see what he/she could do for you. It all works here! Menudo is served on weekends... What more could you ask for? read more

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We ordered catering for 2 large events (over 200 people each) in the same week and I cannot recommend the team at Bar B Q Pit enough! The service we received from start to finish was perfect and Maricela and her husband went above and beyond to make sure things were set up correctly and on time. We got so many compliments on the food (a tri tip meal with beans, potatoes, salad and roll). We will definitely be ordering again! Highly recommend booking for your next event! read more

My fav for breakfasts. They're quick and clean. Service is good too. Parking a bit tricky at times but good.

My husbands family used to own the Bar B Q Pit in fact they started it. It still is good and has the best sauce I've ever tasted. I used to have the recipe for the sauce and of coarse I put my own spin on it made it hot, sweet, and of course original but the whole experience at the restaurant was better since I didn't have to make anything lol still good after all these years read more

I stopped in for a quick senior meal, and my socks were blown off how well it was cooked and how good it actually tasted. I would recommend this restaurant to anybody. read more

Bar B Q Pit - Barbeque Near Me - Merced, California

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Great home style BBQ with friendly and attentive service. The ribs are the best in town. Fall off the bone and finger licking good! Mashed potatoes and baked potatoes are good. read more

This is 'Merica at it's finest! Old fashion Diner turned into a one off BBQ shop with all the good stuff you can imagine and some that you wouldn't! I would never have thought that HAM was something you might order at a BBQ spot but I ordered a 2 meat plate of some sort and the HAM was nearly the show steeler! They have a few different BBQ sauces and you will want to order your meat without so that you can figure out what you like best. We went with Original and added a little hot sauce to the mix to keep it real read more

11/6/2023, It's been awhile since I bought the family BBQ chicken and ribs dinner. It's acceptable. Everette and Jones BBQ in Oakland or Berkeley is the world champion, though. read more

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wow! The day after the 4th of July in Merced,Ca, . I got the baby back ribs and my mom got the tri- tip. The meat was great. The customer service was top notch!!!!! We ordered take out- but I have to say the waitress was on point. The regulars there have good manners! 2 thumbs up.. Old school restaurant setting , very spacious. . read more