Amazing service, Debbie was so sweet and helpful! Food was excellent and fresh, great sides and the ribs and cole slaw and tri tip were excellent too! Definite winner! Great bread pudding! read more

Canyons Barbeque - Barbeque Near Me - Castro Valley, California

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I walked into Canyon BBQ in the morning craving barbecue, but I had no idea what I wanted. I love spicy food, so I knew I wanted their spicy BBQ sauce on something. Then I saw the posters for their breakfast tacos and started asking questions. The woman at the counter was incredibly patient while I figured out my order, and I eventually decided to I wanted to try one of each. I got breakfast tacos with brisket, tri-tip, and pork, jalapeños and their spicy BBQ sauce, and every one of them was excellent. The brisket is the favorite I think, maybe the tri-trip. But the food ended up being only half the reason I liked this place. While I waited on my food, I was offered a free cup of coffee, which is unheard of in the Bay. Sitting at the bar, I started noticing how the staff interacted with each other. They genuinely seemed to enjoy working together. Maybe the owner(?) was hyping up the woman who took my order who happens to be a very talented local singer. It was super encouraging to witness. The place just felt good to be in. Great food. Great people. Please go. Check out Debra Goulet on YouTube too, if you get the chance! read more

Great place. Amazing beer selection, wonderful shaded patio. Supposedly they have music every once in a while and occasionally breakfast. Supoosedly. read more

The food has always been great each time we come! Really good smoke flavor. As soon as you walk up, you can smell the smoke from the smoker which is always a great sign of good barbecue. We also had garlic bread and Mac and cheese which was delightful. We will continue to come back! Debbie assisted us and provided great customer service! read more

Canyons Barbeque - Ribs, brisket, pulled pork, and tri-tip. Comes with a side of pickles, pickled onions, and pickled jalapeños. - Barbeque Near Me - Castro Valley, California

Ordered online and to go, but ate the food immediately after pickup.. ambiance of the restaurant itself is super enjoyable. Women at the register are friendly. Couple of things - I paid $72, for a 4 meat plate (comes with two sides), a side of garlic bread, cornbread and a bread pudding. Meat was alright. Brisket was kind of dry. Ribs.. eh. alright. Tri tip was okay. Burnt ends were the best of the meats but absolutely covered in bbq sauce. Nothing was juicy AND flavorful. It was edible, but you definitely need water after the brisket specifically. I wanted to like it. I truly like the aesthetic of the place so I had high expectations. I could have easily finished the 4pc meat by myself. (My husband and I shared). But - For $40+ your portions should be significant.. in my opinion. I did like the Mac & cheese though. Potato salad.. not my style (I like the traditional mayo/s&p only so I'll give that one to them). With that being said, those aren't what I'm even mad at. Meat is hard to cook. Overcook it and it's inedible (understandable). Here is what was made for a disappointment meal: Garlic bread SMELLED amazing. When I took a bite.. where's the garlic?? It was nonexistent. Bread is soft but not worth $5 for no garlic. Every good BBQ place has the backbone of a good cornbread. This cornbread is unlike any I've ever tried, and it is laughable. If I were rating purely on that they'd get 0/5. It was no better than cardboard. Flavorless. It looks like maybe they cook it on a cookie sheet or something? Awful. A shame that I have 3 pieces of it. The bread pudding. The sauce they give for it tastes like caramelized butter? As someone who loves bread pudding.. no. It has minimal flavor also. No cinnamon. No icing. Didn't look like the photo on their website either. After looking at yelp I see the presentation of the bread pudding looks appealing but if you've had a true southern bread pudding, this is a SERIOUS let down. I get it, it's a high-production restaurant. But charging $12 for soggy bread sprinkled with cinnamon and drizzled in warmed butter with a scoop of ice cream isn't it. I see a LOT of consistent reviews here and I'm a bit surprised. I guess if you're used to Bay Area BBQ and like your meat well done, this place might be a hit. If you haven't been to any Texas bbq restaurant, you're certainly missing out. This place misses on most points for me when looking at traditional bbq. I'm only disappointed that I spent $72 on my only meal of the day and I didn't eat half of it. read more

We went around lunchtime and the restaurant still had a few seats available. There's also outdoor seating if you prefer to eat outside. The parking situation on weekends is pretty bad. The lot is tight, and it seems like no one knows how to park anymore. The menu is easy to read, but there are no pictures, so you'll have to use your imagination when deciding what to order. I ordered from the meat section. The pulled pork tasted good, but unfortunately, a large portion was fat. I understand pork shoulder needs some fat for flavor and moisture, but this felt like more fat than meat for me. The brisket was tender and had good flavor, but again, the portion seemed small for the price and there was quite a bit of fat. I also found the bark/char to be a little excessive. I know a dark, smoky bark is part of good BBQ, but some of it tasted more burnt than pleasantly smoky. They have sauce and soda stations, plus a sink right next to them so you can wash your hands afterward, which is a nice touch. Overall, the food wasn't bad, but the small portions, price, and amount of fat and char make this feel like a one-time visit for me. I probably wouldn't go out of my way to come back. read more

First time trying Canyon Barbecue, and overall we had a great experience! It was pretty busy on a Saturday evening, but the weather was beautiful, so it felt really nice sitting outside on the benches and enjoying some BBQ for dinner. They have a few outdoor seating areas, which is a nice option, and the restaurant itself was very clean. We ordered the BBQ meal with two meats - burnt ends and chicken, along with a kids meal with chicken and fries. Everything tasted good overall. The mac and cheese had what tasted like a slight truffle flavor, possibly from the cheese, which was a nice touch. The BBQ chicken I received was breast and wings, and unfortunately it was a bit dry. My son, however, got the thigh and drumstick with his kids meal, and his chicken was really juicy and flavorful. I'm also glad they have actual kids portions/meals on the menu. The burnt ends were covered in BBQ sauce and were very flavorful and tender. Their cornbread was not overly sweet which I liked. Overall, a great first experience aside from the dry chicken. We'll definitely be back to try more things on the menu! read more

Canyons Barbeque - Barbeque Near Me - Castro Valley, California

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Delicious Food. Excellent Atmosphere with seating outside and a Band on Thursday nights! read more

Great BBQ joint! Each time we come here, there's such a great atmosphere and even better food. PLUS, you can smell the cue outside, which is the best indicator of a great food. Give it a try if you haven't yet.. come back if you haven't recently. Live blues band every Thursday through September :) read more

Great BBQ! So happy I finally tried this spot in Castro Valley. Big restaurant with both indoor and outdoor seating. Got a huge meat platter because I wanted to try everything along with the green salad. The green salad is large and fresh. I absolutely love the tri tip and ribs here and can't wait to come back for more!! The tri tip is the best I've had-tender, lean well seasoned and cooked to a perfect medium rare. The ribs were delicious-tender but still held their shape. The pulled pork was great in that it's big chunks of meat and it's left as is so I could add my own amount of bbq sauce. I love their spicy bbq sauce and need to buy a bottle in my next visit. Service is fast and friendly. Highly recommend and I can't wait to go back. read more

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GREAT SMOKE BBQ! You can smell this place from a mile away. Been here multiple times finally got the chance to try their breakfast items. I ordered 2 tacos and 1 breakfast sandwich. Tacos was packed with meat and a nice runny over easy egg. The breakfast sandwich did lack meat though compared to the taco imo. Breakfadt Taco 5/5 Breakfast sandwich 4/5 Service 5/5 read more

Canyons Barbeque - Sandwich 4/5 - Barbeque Near Me - Castro Valley, California

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Awesome bbq! Very nice workers! The sides are so goood Not the top of the top but its definitely an above average place in the bay area read more

Canyons Barbeque - Bar - Barbeque Near Me - Castro Valley, California

This establishment offers white mac n cheese. I didn't know how to feel about that but tbh the mac n cheese is so much better than the potato salad. I really tried to like the ps but I didn't get what they were going for. Maybe I'm just old school and prefer a yellow ps with pickle and eggs but for me personally this ps is not it. I ordered 3 meat plate Chicken, pork ribs and tri-tip. The chicken melted in your mouth, with beautiful delicious skin that was crisp. Pork ribs were well seasoned and again melted in your mouth. The tri-tip was some great stuff! Thick but soft and loaded with flavor, I really enjoyed it. It was served with cornbread which was unlike any other cornbread I've had and some honey on it took it to another level. Both plates came with pickled chiles, cucumber and onion which were delicious! They offer variety of beer flavors but I was sober so I took the soda. Restrooms are really clean but the wash hands area is on the outside . I would give this place a solid 8 1/2 /10 I didn't taste much difference between reg bbq sauce and hot bbq sauce but it is great. read more

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If you know me, you know BBQ is at the top of my favorite foods! So when it comes to trying out new BBQ places, I'm always a little nervous. This place was close to where we were going out for a boat ride and got good reviews so I was down. I got a brisket sandwich and it did not disappoint. Also they have craft sodas on tap and I got pineapple cream and it was soooo good. The portions are good and their bbq is solid. The service is good overall, friendly. There's even a cute outdoor area to dine at. read more

Canyons Barbeque - Sandwich + 2 Sides - Barbeque Near Me - Castro Valley, California

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This is the spot for BBQ cravings. Their BBQ options are very good. We love their brisket, tri tip sandwiches. Sometimes if we would get 1-2 lbs of their BBQ for dinner. You get more meat if you go for that option. Place is clean. It gets packed on the weekends. Tips: their kids menu options are GREAT. Portions are good size so sometimes I go with that if I'm not super hungry. My daughter loves the corn bread, brisket and fries. Great place to visit with the family. read more

I had a really great experience my first time here at canyons. I tried the three way combo The bbq was pretty solid - ribs and burnt ends were great but wasn't exactly impressed with the trip tip. A bit chewy and tough but not terrible. Loved the beans! Would pass on the Mac and cheese! Oh the garlic bread is amazing! I must add. What I think made the experience great was the staff, the ambiance and my encounter with the staff member Deb. She was so sweet and kind and shared a little about her music journey with me which was really touching. Definitely made the experience that much better. Location was extremely clean, has ample seating inside or outside and overall just a relaxed vibe for a 2pm on a Thursday. Would probably visit again if I'm in the area but maybe try a sandwich. read more

Canyons Barbeque - Ribs - Barbeque Near Me - Castro Valley, California

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So I have to say that Canyons BBQ breakfast is definitely a secret delicious thing to get. They are right next to Philz, grab a coffee and then get a breakfast taco. They were AMAZING. As well as the breakfast sandwiches. Canyons BBQ meat is always delicious and you can't really go wrong with anything you get Unfortunately, I'm always disappointed with their sides. I can't seem to find a side dish that I think tastes good. I would only come for the meats and skip the sides. read more

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stumbled upon this place while getting matcha, and what a pleasant surprise! We got the tri tip meal with cornbread and fries. It was so juicy and tender. Their bbq sauce is so good. Cornbread was fresh and delicious. Highly recommended this place! Would definitely go back here again. Service: great Ambiance: great place to hang out and get beers too. read more

This place is pretty good and the baby back ribs in particular are better than I have had in years. Service a little lacking, for example, no questions about fatty or lean brisket or corn bread or garlic bread. Ordered a three meat plate with plenty of leftovers. Cornbread is kind of flat and used sponge- like ( not spongy and springy but dehydrated sponge) . The smoked meats are spectacular and it makes this a great bbq spot. Sides are underwhelming. It is a great spot for groups. read more

Canyons Barbeque - Yummy meat, mediocre sides, good value - Barbeque Near Me - Castro Valley, California

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If you're taking Ozempic or some kind of GLP-1, don't come here. It ain't going to work son. You're going to eat a pound of brisket, a pound of ribs and a pound of burnt ends finish it off with two sides of mac and beans. You'll burp a little bit then you'll look at the menu again for seconds read more

Canyons Barbeque - Just some brisket and ribs. Just move along now, try not to slobber over your phone - Barbeque Near Me - Castro Valley, California

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Food was fantastic!!! Ambience was comfortable both inside and out! But the most impressive part of this establishment is our server Debbie! She was so kind, wonderful, inviting, and truly special to this business! Thank you for all of your help with decisions for lunch and you have a heart of gold!!! read more

Food and service were great. Food was ready in a matter of minutes. Great setup with outdoor tables.

Friendly counter staff. Food came fast but it was obviously slow cook. Good vibe from the music to the decor. The food was excellent! Eat here! read more

Canyons Barbeque - Barbeque Near Me - Castro Valley, California

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Our go to bbq spot!!! Everything here is sooo good, friendly staff n live band performances... n did I men tion the beeer !!?? Such a great selection!! And Debbieeee for a quick second of meeting her , is a delightful sweet person who...is an artist!! Look her up on youtube ! So yea, food, environment, drinks, entertainment, milleui, staff, everything... 5 stars :) P.s. the 1 star reviews on here r uncalled for and r haters lmao read more

Canyons Barbeque is located on CV Blvd and has a shared parking lot with Castro Valley Marketplace and all the other businesses in that area. Canyons BBQ is a pretty spacious restaurant with a large patio area and inside seating as well. A bar with artisanal draft beers. A couple of tvs. Two separate multi-user men and women's restrooms. The service waa friendly and welcoming. She recommended a couple of her favorites which were the Pulled Pork and the Chicken. We wanted to get the Burnt Ends, but they were sold out of them, along with their Pork Ribs. Sadness. We ended up getting the Large Brisket Meal: served with 2 sides and bread (4/5). We chose Mac & Cheese and Potato Salad. Choice between Garlic Bread & Cornbread. The brisket was lean, smoky, and tender. Both of our sides were very good. My wife said the garlic bread was tasty and good. Support your local business. read more

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This is our first time here and we will definitely come back again. We ordered the 5 meats to share. All meats were tender juicy and smoked deeply... burnt ends and brisket were my faves!!! The corn bread and garlic bread were also great! Other sides worth mentioning were the beans and coleslaw which complemented the meats perfectly. Ambiance is nice! It gives out an authentic western vibe. They have live band every thursday on the patio. A must visit if you want smoked delicious bbq. They also sell merch inside! They have a wide selection of canned beers. Two thumbs up for us ! Service was great! Friendly and efficient staff. Debbie was great!!! read more

3.9 stars $38(?) 3 meat combo meal + cornbread and 2 sides. A good local spot but if you already got a decent BBQ near you, no need to come here. ...unless you really like Kansas style pork ribs. Cornbread: Not my style or I had better? Can't decide. Beans: simple but well seasoned and good. Mac Cheese: simple but nicely seasoned. Pork ribs: just my style with a sweet barbecue sauce rubbed on. Wonderful. Feels like Kansas City style. Burnt Ends: mixed. Has rendered fat? Out of this world. Lacking a fat layer? Chewy and a touch dry. Brisket: it was fine but I've had much better. read more

Canyons Barbeque - 3 meat combo with 2 sides and cornbread - Barbeque Near Me - Castro Valley, California

Wonderful food and great service! We go there often (I usually get the baked potato with meat read more

Came here on a weekday night, wasn't too busy. This is CV's best BBQ joint and it is phenomenal. I ordered a 2 meat combo brisket and pork ribs with mac n cheese, cold slaw, cornbread. Come early and hungry if you want certain selections of meats and cuts! read more

Canyons Barbeque - Barbeque Near Me - Castro Valley, California

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Excellent food, brisk environment, and blues coming out of the speakers. Good, varied beer selection. The gaucho sandwich was particularly delicious. Debbie was especially nice! read more

Not bad, not that great either. Very average, inside was done up nice. It's one of those typical overpriced mediocre BBQ spots where they serve everything on a square tin. The corn bread was pretty bad, beans were more like chile and not baked beans. I guess that's just a matter of preference, the ribs were pretty tough, brisket was actually very tender. Flavor on the ribs and brisket was good though. Mac n cheese was decent. Overall, it's just okay but the prices didn't reflect the quality. I probably wouldn't go back. Oh yeah, the workers decided to mop the floor 2 hours before closing with some super loud water rake and all anyone could hear was this rake dragging on the loud concrete. That was pretty annoying. Food was 3 stars, loud noise and expense dropped it to 2 stars. read more

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Consistent, yummy, and relatively quick. I've been here a number of times and there's so much to be appreciated. Confident staff, clean environment and ambiance was good. I've come here for the last 3 years and can always fall back on some bbq read more

They have plates that are not worth the cost. The minimal amount of quality of meat versus what you pay is not worth the prices. Every time we go the Tri tip , pulled pork and brisket is dry. Tit seems like they rely on the bbq sauces to help with the flavor too. Because by themselves, there is not much flavor. The good things are the sides are above average and tasty. They have a soda fountain with cane sodas which is unique read more

Stopped by for lunch and had a great experience. The food was flavorful, well-prepared, and portions were generous. We ordered a mix of meats including the tri-tip, brisket, and ribs, along with several sides. Everything came out fresh and the meats were tender with a nice smoky flavor. The tri-tip was cooked well and had a good seasoning, the brisket was moist, and the ribs were meaty and easy to pull apart. The mac and cheese, potato salad, and coleslaw were all solid choices, and the garlic bread was a nice addition. Service was friendly and the staff were helpful when explaining the menu. Prices felt reasonable for the amount of food we received. Overall, a very good local BBQ spot that we'd be happy to come back to. Worth checking out if you're in the area and looking for quality barbecue without a long wait. Ambiance and staff were great too read more

Canyons Barbeque - Family meal - Barbeque Near Me - Castro Valley, California

Extremely Disappointed -- $30 for a "Large" That Felt Anything But Large I've been to Canyons BBQ many times and have supported this business repeatedly. Unfortunately, my visit on Sunday, 8/09/2026, was the last. I paid $30 for a "large" meal, and even left an additional cash tip. What I received was an embarrassingly small portion for that price. The fries were spread across the plate in a way that seemed designed to make the serving look more substantial than it actually was. I understand food costs are high. I understand meat is expensive. What I don't understand is charging $30 for a "large" meal and leaving a longtime customer feeling like they were taken advantage of. Watching the cook behind the counter scantily arrange the food onto the plates as orders were being prepared should have been my warning sign. Unfortunately, I had already paid. This isn't about expecting an enormous amount of food. It's about expecting a fair and honest portion for the price being charged. When I spend $30 on a meal, I shouldn't walk away wondering why I feel like I got so little for my money. After being a repeat customer, I have to say this experience was incredibly disappointing. The worst part wasn't the portion itself--it was the feeling that the value simply wasn't there. So, Canyons BBQ, congratulations. You've lost a customer who had been willing to come back and spend money with you. I won't be returning. I'll be taking my business to Back Forty from now on. At a $30 plus tip meal, customers deserve better than a plate that leaves them feeling shortchanged. That's not a large meal. That's a large disappointment. read more

Canyons Barbeque - Supposedly "two" orders fries. Brisket portion was only 3 slices. - Barbeque Near Me - Castro Valley, California

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Great restaurant for summer time fun. 2 meat combo is enough to fill two people since it comes with bread and 2 sides too. Brisket was flavorful. Burnt ends was covered in a lot of sauce. Their housemade bbq sauce was also delicious. On thursdays they have live music during the summer. And on the weekends they have free coffee to go with their breakfast in the mornings. read more

Q the Roof Another of the eleven locally-owned and operated Real Smoked BBQ locations, which include: Barbeque Pit (South SJ), Aptos St BBQ (Aptos [duh]), South Winchester BBQ (West SJ), Wagon Wheel (Mountain View), Salinas City BBQ (Salas), BBQ 152 (Gilroy), Trail Dust (Morgan Hill), Crossroads (Carmel-by-the-Sea), Mission St BBQ (Santa Cruz), Redwood City BBQ (RWC [doy]), and they also run Real Smoked BBQ Catering. Their locations all feature the same two things I crave most in life: real, wood smoked American BBQ and quality local microbrews. The Good: *Their meats are almost always good to great. I've found their burnt ends and ribs to be the most consistent items on the menu, and the brisket can be a little hit-or-miss, but fortunately, the day we went, it was terrific. *Service was fast and friendly. *Fast-casual: order at the counter and they bring it out to your table. *As mentioned above, quality local beer selection on-tap *Rewards program thru all their locations that earns you points that can be used for discounted meals. *Huge outdoor space The Meh: *Sides have always been their weak spot, but Ib will say they've improved their beans a lot over the years, and the 'slaw is generally not bad. The cornbread is sorta strange, too, but it's edible. The Ugly: *Limited street parking and there is a shared parking lot in the back, that was fairly packed on a random weekday afternoon. Conclusion: Solid Q, great beers, and a patio. Not much else you need in life tbh. read more

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When there are no food pictures, food must have been that good. Came in during lunch and we were greeted warmly and food was amazing. We ordered four meals and they came out fast and hot and the plates loaded. $109 for four people, which isn't bad at all considering how much BBQ costs. The favorite is the Mac & Cheese and Burnt Ends. They have a considerable beer menu. After we ate, their amazing staff person, Debbie, came out to ask if everything was good for us and to chat a bit about upcoming events. We make come out to try their breakfast and I'll try to make sure we get food pictures. read more

Canyons Barbeque - Barbeque Near Me - Castro Valley, California

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I would probably give Canyons a 3.5 if possible. It's pretty good value in terms of portion but the brisket was a bit too salty for me and the burnt ends were a bit too sweet. The breakfast taco was really good but kind of steep at over $5 per taco. It's a nice local spot overall read more

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Came here for lunch and I was super excited to try! The parking is a little tight in the back of the market place but there's also plenty of street parking. I love downtown Castro valley and it's always nice to see all the other blossoming businesses in the area! The outdoor seating area is so cute outside, they have a fire pit, plenty of benches and over head covering for the sun! It's great! The inside is super nice too- very clean and have great working air conditioning! It was such a beautiful day yesterday that we decided to sit outside. The service is great! Everyone is so kind and willing to assist with any questions we might've had on the menu! They also offer samples of the beer they have on tap! The food was absolutely delicious! I ordered the burnt ends with my choice of two sides being potato salad and their Mac and cheese! My boyfriend ordered their tri tip sandwich with Coleslaw on the side! Both our plates were basically cleaned off before I got full! My plate also included a choice of their garlic bread or their cornbread and ofcourse I had to get the corn bread. It was so good! Not overly sweet, super fluffy with the perfect crust. For a business that's so close to home, their Barbeque was a 10/10 for me!! Absolutely delicious and the price point is totally worth it! The service, the cleanliness, the staff and the quality of food was all 10/10 for us! We will definitely be back! read more

Canyons Barbeque - Tri Tip Sandwich, Coleslaw, Potato Salad, Mac and Cheese, and their burnt ends meal with cornbread! - Barbeque Near Me - Castro Valley, California