I used to love this place. My wife, myself and our service dog would come several times a week to dine outside. Staff have always treated us with great service and respect. I at times would help bus our table or go inside and get our food to help the server. Always a very pleasant experience. Tonight was my wife's birthday, I wanted to take her to Fresno or Modesto for a special dinner. All she wanted was for us to stroll and dine Al fresco, outside as we have many times before. There were only two occupied tables in the whole place, I walk in to get menus and advise the server we would be dining outside. She immediately stated "we don't serve outside" I responded, "we've dined outside many times, that is why we come here. They always take care of us?" I figure I'm not asking for the moon, the place was empty. I would have bussed the table, ran my own food, even ordered inside, but I was sarcastically refused. I manage a very busy restaurant here in town and quite aware of great customer service. The management and ownership should be embarrassed by this waitress & her unprofessional attitude. She is a representation of your establishment! I'm very patient and understanding in regards to the demands of this business, but this has to be the​ worst customer service I have ever encountered in my entire career. If one of my staff had spoken to one of my guests in that manner, she would be looking for another job. Sad to state we will not be returning. It was great while it lasted. Lesson, don't let one bad apple, spoil the whole bunch. read more

A great local establishment. Friendly staff. Great food. For breakfast they have the best chicken fried steak in town. The prices are very reasonable. The restaurant has a very "home" style feel to it. Almost like you're at someone's house. I like that. read more

This place is awesome!!! Food is great, staff is friendly, clean and family owned. Joey and his Dad are great people. Highly recommend. Their homemade BBQ sauce will keep you going back. The breakfast they serve is one of the best in town. Get SOME!!!! read more

how is this place getting such good reviews??? the ribs, although having alot of meat on the bones, werent very tasty. the sauce was cold and not very flavorful. The waitress hardly paid us any attention. There was maybe 7 people in there, and she was busy chatting it up with the other waitress. The place was nice and clean, and the lemon meringue pie was superb, which saved it from a 1 star review. For a bbq joint, there was ZERO aroma of any bbq'ng going on LOL probably warmed it up in the oven is my best guess. Would not come back unless I was there to get pie to go..... read more

Hopefully the food is better than the attitude of the staff. Actually the girl with the red hair and tattoos was nice. I got takeout for a meeting and one of the ladies working was seriously. So. Rude. She acted annoyed I was getting takeout and walked away from the register when I went to pay. The girl with the the red hair was trying to help me pack up the 4 trays of good I bought and she was like- let her do it (meaning me) that way it's her fault if it spills. Wow. guess we'll see how good the food is....I hate when servers act pained that you are trying to give them money. $0 tip for you! read more

The food is OK, the service is better, but the place just has a very unsanitary feel to it, kinda like sitting in a truck stop in the middle of Arizona wondering if you really should try the fresh fish! Seriously though there are other options in town if price isn't in issue. read more

Has a lot of potential but didn't meet my expectations. The tri tip was good, nothing to rave or complain about. Love that the chicken was smoked, but it was bone dry. The ham was okay, nothing special either. The spareribs had incredible smiley flavor, but they were very tough, even for spareribs. The BBQ sauce is very good and balanced. French fries are the crinkle cut fries from elementary school. read more

If the owner tried to open this place in Kansas City, Memphis, or San Antonio he/she would be arrested for saying this was "barbecue." Everything tasted as though they went to a local 7-11 bought packaged sandwich meat and dipped it in some cheap bottled sauce. About the only thing I can say is the server was nice. read more

i got the chicken ceasar salad and two coffees to go. really good. nice service. loved it. :))

Just passing through but bbq sounded good. The food and sauce were very good and the rolls were yummy! Family of 5 (with 3 kids) ate plenty and took home extra order of rolls all for $50. Great little stop, dont judge it by the outside or area. read more

I had not been here in quite awhile. I grew up in Merced but rarely eat out when in town. I had the ribs and they very good. Sides were awesome too. Great value for under $14.00. In any chain the price would be $18.00. read more

We had a very good lunch at the pit today. I haven't been there for 15 years but it was very good food,cooked perfectly,with good friendly service. The price was fair too. It has been around for a while, doing it right. read more

The Bar B Q Pit is a great family owned place in downtown Merced. They make some of the best bbq sauce I've ever had and they slow cook their meat in a pit. Can't get any better than that! They also have a great breakfast. The eggs benedict are my favorite, but I hear they also have great biscuits and gravy. All menu items are very affordable. The great staff and yummy food keeps me coming back. read more

This restaurant was selected as Merced's "Flash Buy" choice this week. That's a group that selects local restaurants to visit to check them out. We could not dine in, so we decided to do take out. It was good food, good service and we will definitely be back to dine in-house. read more

Good food and even better service. The last couple of times that i have been there, I've been given amazing service and friendliness from Cory who is an amazing server. Appreciate the knowledge of treating the customer with respect. read more

what once was ( outstanding BBQ ) AIN'T NO MORE !!! Sure the foreign tourist may like it but this place has really fallen from grace the food really left a lot to be desired, the service was decent don;t ever plan on returning ..sad read more

I must say as places go in Merced (there aren't that many good places to eat) The Bar B Q Pit is one of Merced's finest as far as food goes. The place isn't fancy. It's an old fashioned diner type restaurant. The food is decent. I lived in Merced for many years and never ate in the place and then one day for the lack of places to eat that are any good I went there. They serve good ol' American diner food. I like the Philly Cheese Steak Sandwich. There are several things on the menu that I enjoy. The Crispy Chicken Salad, The fried chicken, Patty melt to name a few. The ice tea is like the old fashioned brewed ice tea that all diners in America used to always have on the menu of drinks. Yummy and cold and quenchy on a hot summers day. The waitresses are congenial they always greet you with a hello and a smile when you come in. They always try to accommodate and they will call you by name if you go there often enough. So all in all I give this place a big thumbs up for food and service. It's not gourmet food but it is good old fashioned American diner food that's for sure.. read more