It's ok.BBQ ribs will do in a pinch but the sides are terrible. You're not in the South Toto...unless you mean South Korea. It's more Korean BBQ than anything. read more

Holy subpar BBQ, Batman! 1.5/5 As much as I love supporting local businesses and seeing them flourish I absolutely have to write this review after the insult to BBQ of a meal I had yesterday. The story of bbq in South San Jose has been a bit of a dark one. Before, all we had was this place, The Santa Teresa Grill before it closed (was good), and Armadillo Willy's (meh). After the ST grill closed I started coming here for BBQ, and would come back every other year or so after being disappointed, then forgetting how disappointed I was after some time and coming back again. The Art of BBQ across the street recently came to save the day and has been my go to BBQ place since it opened, it's absolutely phenomenal and is REAL BBQ. They, however, are closed on Tuesdays so I came here to satisfy my rib craving. It's been a couple years, how bad could it be? BAD! Value: The meat prices are absolutely crazy. $44 for a full rack or ribs? WHAT? I ordered a 2 beef, 3 pork rib combo ($20) and since it comes with no side at that price, I ordered garlic bread ($3). Their sandwiches are a much better value. Food: The meats are boiled!! They're precooked then thrown on a grill for a few minutes to add some char marks. There's no smoke ring, no rub, no seasoning, nothing at all! They just boil it, add some char marks, and douse it in BBQ sauce. Yikes. There's no BBQ here to see folks, just bland meats with no flavor beyond the sauce they're drowned in. I give them kudos for having beef ribs but these were super chewy and still bland. The garlic bread was a good portion and had pretty okay, if a bit subtle flavor. It came out hot and I appreciate it was on a sourdough roll, but it was completely MUSHY which would indicate it was microwaved and not toasted. Come on!! The bbq sauce itself as well is nothing more than tangy ketchup. There's no seasoning or any real depth of flavor. It's. Freaking. Ketchup. I understand bbq sauces are ketchup based, but the final result isn't supposed to still taste (and look, even) exactly like ketchup. They have a Korean menu which I have yet to try, but I'll probably go towards El Camino Real for good Korean food. It might be great, but I'd read reviews from people who have actually tried it. The only saving grace here, kind of, is the hot link sandwich, which I thought was passable and actually enjoyed in previous visits. But please, please don't come here for BBQ expecting any semblance of smokey charred, seasoned, tasty goodness. Do yourself the favor and go across the street (or anywhere for that matter, even the Lucky's deli) and have infinitely better BBQ. As bad as I feel leave this review, I felt downright insulted paying $27, a premium price, for cost cutting boiled meats and microwaved bread. This place is going to have become more competitive to survive, especially with the opening of the Art of BBQ across the street that's cheaper and in the running for best BBQ in San Jose. I won't be back. read more

Placed order on Thursday, they cancelled my order in Super Bowl Sunday at 2:30pm!!! Worst type of communication for a company! They should be ashamed! Could have said something ahead of time! read more

Ok BBQ, but aways premade and when you order they just reheat the meat. Not entirely their fault cause they don't have much business to need the food always cooking. Always thought about owning a BBQ place and there are a lot of things I would change to bring in the crowds. The first thing I would do is buy a smoker and keep the ribs heated and ready cooked in there. A BBQ place is supposed to have a feeling and I don't feel it here. read more

The food is okay, but the service was really good. I was craving BBQ and the place I originally wanted to go to was closed.. so thats how I ended up here at CJs. Located in a kinda shady looking plaza, CJs is owned by what seems like a korean couple. Your food takes awhile to cook, but it's worth the wait because the meat is super tender and literally falls off the bone. I ordered a combo that came with 2 pork ribs, 2 pieces of chicken, and a hot link sausage to share and its was actually a lot of food for two. The combo also comes with garlicky bread and a side of potato salad or beans. I also noticed that they had a korean menu and ended up ordering the spicy potstickers, which were actually pretty spicy but reminded me of the frozen ones you buy at the asian market. They actually forgot about the order but when I reminded them, they felt so bad and gave us free corn nuggets too! And let me tell yah something, while the rest of the food was okay... the corn nuggets were so bomb!! Super crunchy on the outside and kinda sweet and salty on the inside. read more

We love this place. My husband and I been coming to eat here for over twenty years. The potato salad is so flavorful but she runs out sometimes it's such a hit with everyone. I know it takes awhile but she's all by herself. Great food isn't fast . read more

They are rude and have 0 Customer service skills. We came in for the first time to order and misunderstood the menu. We apologized and tried to be nice about it. In the end they were mean and refused to fix the order even though we were going to pay for it. We are a Black family and I would suspect that we are not the first to be treated this way. Do not support a business like this. read more

Always have good food here. Always original stuff. She is always busy but always acknowledges every customer. Makes recommendations based on taste to you. And is a local. She is familiar with local residents and remembers you for the most part. Runs a solid business. Has great food. I recommend the combo sandwiches. Even if you don't eat the sandwiches but eat off the basket it's savory and delicious. If you have time to sit and eat. It is warm in here in the summer months. A place that is more local than diner. More of a dive Hawaiian Korean mixed place. Good selection and variety. The spicy Kimchee is to die for. Home made and fresh tasting as if in South Korea. Again if this was a little more fancy it would be a 5 star. But it works as is. A local great stop to eat for regular dinners. Not to dress up and showboat type of place. No alcohol served here. Everything served to you. Great flavors and textures of the food. Family friendly. Fast service. Good food. read more

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This place was really good and happened to be open on the 4th of July. It was my first time here on the recommendation of my Cousin, and I tried out one of the Happy Combos which included 2 pork ribs, hot link and garlic bread. I wanted to try the potato salad, but they were out of it that night so maybe next time. The ribs were nice and large and very juicy. They still had some give, but essentially were fall-off-the-bone. The hot link was cut into pieces and was not overly spicy, just enough to have a nice kick without overpowering with heat. The garlic bread was also a nice size, basically a 1/4 of a loaf which paired well with the meats. I enjoyed my food and will be back to try some other items. There are some Asian style dishes available as well. read more

There is a reason that the logo is a flame, because this place is fire! We ordered off of DoorDash and was blown away. We ordered the pork ribs, hot links, garlic bread, bbq beans and fries along with 2 drinks and were so stuffed. The ribs were a little fatty but so juicy, tender and flavorful the hubs had no complaints, and he's a picky eater. Hands down best for your buck with very generous portions. Thanks for taking care of your faceless customers, it says a lot about the business and we appreciate it. Will definitely order again! read more

Pork ribs fall off the bone and the beef ribs are so juicy. I really like the sauce too. Great place for BBQ.

Is this a Message from cj bbq to me?? It's a pity that we didn't satisfy you. But You should know we are using short rib with bone or without bone, It's exactly thin cut short rib and expensive.On ramen, the boiled noodle always will be soggy unless taken fast. You guys post pictures of regular looking size of short ribs with bones on your pictures, and think it's ok to serve slices of meat this is 1/3 of the thickness of what a usually short rib would be? And I'm not an expert in meat but those extremely thin slices of meat didn't even have the same texture as short ribs. . As for the ramen. I live literally 3 min drive away. The moment I got home, I digged into the ramen and it was already overly soggy. Also...is that how you talk or respond to your customers. IT'S A PITY?!? you were better off not responding. read more

Decent place for some bbq ribs and some basic garlic bread. The food is alright for the money. The ribs are good and they dont give tiny portions. Would like them to have a better sauce for the ribs or more options of sauce. But overall it's pretty good read more

This was our first time eating at cj s and it was one of the best ribs I ever had in my life. The price was good but the service it was not the best because there was only one person. Idk if it was that specific day that it was only one person working. But the food and the sauce was the best read more

All I got to say is that this is the best BBQ that I have tasted so far in San Jose.Everything I ate was firreee from the homemade garlic bread to the soft and moist brisket. The prices are good but the portions are even better and they've been there for 30 years so that must say something on its own. Definitely a must try if you haven't if you are looking for good bbq. read more

Love all of their ribs - beef, pork, and baby back! They're a little expensive, but worth it.

This is not real bbq. I had their special today which was 2 ribs (one beef and one pork), a chicken leg, a slice of garlic bread and a cup of their "homemade" chili. ($6.99 with coupon) Their ribs are boiled then grilled, which is a no-no in the BBQ world. I was still fighting the meat off the bone. chili was real basic and bland chicken wasn't bad, but then again, it was probably baked, then grilled. Sorry, I'm not going back here. read more

Mom and Pop shop owned by a kind Korean couple. Very no frills & casual. I have tried the beef ribs, pork ribs, hot links, and garlic bread. The ribs are fall-off-the-bone-tender but I believe are parboiled and then finished off on the flat top grill, so technically it's not "true" BBQ per se, but I ain't knockin' it. They also have non-American menu items as well such as spicy ramen, pot stickers, Korean short ribs, to name a few. No complimentary water here so either bring your own beverage or purchase one of their bottled options. read more

I was unaware this place existed until I needed to make an emergency order for a last minute date night at home. I was looking for BBQ places that deliver and CJ's came through for me like 911 with their partnership with GrubHub.com. It was second Valentine's Day evening (the evening after the original holiday, which was a Saturday), so the order took about an hour from online to delivery. I have to say that even though most of the food was only luke-warm by the time it was delivered (security in my building didn't give the delivery guy the best instructions, so he got lost), the food was fantastic! We ordered a hot link sandwich, pork sandwich, two pieces of chicken and those little corn fritter nugget bite things (since you need a minimum of $30 order for GrubHub). The hot link sandwich was my favorite, but the pulled pork was also amazing. The meats were tender and juicy, the BBQ sauce was tangy and slightly sweet. The bread rolls were hoagie style and soft and fresh. We paired the meal with La Crema Chardonnay and it was perfect! On top of it all, the delivery guy was very nice and really apologetic for the delay even though it wasn't his fault. I'm so glad downtown San Jose has access to delicious BBQ! I'll be ordering again during my next BBQ craving! read more

Hmmm, where too start? Well first of all if you boil meat and add BBQ sauce that doesn't make it BBQ, and that's what you get at CJ BBQ. The green salad was just iceberg lettuce with two sliced carrots in it and ranch pretty lame, and the garlic bread was nothing but a slice of cheap sourdough grilled with a little butter and garlic powder. I ordered the rib and hot link combo, what I received was two boiled bones with a slight amount of meat sticking to them drowning in BBQ sauce and a cut up grilled link also swimming in sauce, it was no where near worth the price these people are asking for the little amount of meat they serve. The lady that was working was nice but that doesn't make up for the poor quality of food. Lastly when you drown you food in that much sauce you need give more that one picnic napkin, this place was pathetic. read more

I came in and she never acknowledged I was even there. One guy was in front of me and he still had not ordered because she was too busy cooking and serving the place. When an already customer had asked to add something to her order she helped them right away. The service here is very disappointing. I don't know how the food taste since I stood there for 15 minutes and still nothing from her. read more

Best bbq chicken and sandwiches ive had in the bay area! I loved this place when I was younger and now I still am an avid regular. Though quality has gone down at times, they manage to pick themselves back up after a few months. This place is definitely a hole in a wall type joint, I just really wished they either went back to their old look or clean up their restuarant a bit more. Its not dirty, just really clustered. Also ive noticed that they started charging more and giving less food everytime they change up their menu. They no longer have the same lunch specials! Nevertheless I would definitely come back regardless, its still much cheaper and the quality and style of the bbq is better than most around here. read more

CJ BBQ - Sorry I ate a little first.. - Barbeque Near Me - San Jose, California

CJ's BBQ has been a neighborhood favorite for years due to the outstanding BBQ. The ingredients are fresh, service prompt and portions are nicely sized. My favorite here is the BBQ beef ribs. So tender with very little gristle. The pork ribs are superb as well. I also really like the sandwich's here. BBQ hotlink sandwich is out of this world. Well seasoned hotlinks smothered in a sweet and tangy BBQ sauce on a french roll. Simple and delicious. Has its own lot, making parking super easy. read more

What to order: CJ's BBQ's AMAZING combination sandwich! (pork & sausage) Huge portions! I've gotten this sandwich 3 times and every time I can't finish even 1/2 of it. you get 1 side dish and i get the potato salad and it's good. the bbq bean are great as well. garlic bread is huge but i think it could use some seasoning. Pork ribs are fall off the bone, tender, and juicy deliciousness! However this place is literally a hole in the wall, but I think the food speaks for itself. Great for picking up. read more

Note to self: Do not take eight year old niece to BBQ, unless you want to go through approximately 30 napkins and have her covered head to toe in sauce. Aside from that...ribs and sauce were good, though not the best ever. They serve your sides (potato or regular salad) in to go containers even if you're eating there, kinda weird. I got the green salad, which is iceberg with some carrots. It was actually really fresh though the dressing was not so great. It seems to be a decent option in the area if you don't want to go the regular arbys/McDonald's fast food route. read more

Let's start this off with a scenario, a White man, Asian man, and African American women come in ready to spend some money on food. They wait for some time and don't get served. I wonder why? read more

Hum, my boyfriend purchased a groupon deal from them, and like many seemed to have a problem. Several times we tried to come to this place. The most memorable was driving at night 25 minutes from Mountain View starving to find this place closed. While their hours stated one thing online, clearly they were not open. Additionally, he tried to come here on his own and was unable to find them open. I did not eat here though, nor did I speak with staff. Simply, a business that does not hold to the hours it states and wastes the time of customers that drives quite a distance just to eat there - is an irresponsible business owner. Hopefully, they will change their tune, or well hours. read more

This is a bargain when it comes to BBQ and it tastes just as good if not better than the more expensive places in the area. Around $6 for lunch, includes box of Ribs and chicken with side and garlic bread or a overstuffed Tri-Tip and Sausage Sandwich for around $5, its a steal. The sandwiches here are really good and so are the ribs (falls off the bone). Right after you order, they take the meat out of the smoker/oven and toss it on a fire grill for a quick char. Don't be fooled upon eithering to see that the people who own and work there don't look like American BBQ experts. I thought I was walking into a noodle house. But they do it right and good. Love the sauce. Extra sauce on the side, please! Happy Grubbing! read more

First of all lets get one thing straight: This is not a barbecue place - its a place that serves roast pork with barbecue sauce. There is a difference. I ordered the combo sandwich and a few ribs. The sandwich was pork mixed with a sausage link. The sausage was closer to a hot dog than anything else and the port was roast pork cooked in a gas or electric oven. No smoke flavor at all. Everything was slathered with so much sauce that you had problems tasting the meat at all. The ribs were boiled then heated up again on the grill. Again this was slathered in the same overpowering sauce. Once you wiped the sauce off there was no flavor at all. Now when I eat food I like to actually taste the food and not just the sauce poured over top of it. Now if this is the type of barbecue that you grew up with then you'd probably really like this place. It has been around for 17 years so apparently there are plenty of people who do enjoy this. Good thing too because I won't be back. read more

First time I went here a couple of years ago, I thought this place was pretty good. Well looks like this place has started to go downhill. 2 out of the last 3 times I tried getting lunch here were not good experiences. One time I came 15 minutes after they were supposed to be open and they weren't even open yet. Just last week, I came in around 1pm (finally the doors were actually open) to order something and the lady behind the counter told me they close at 1:30pm and I couldn't order anything! Seriously?! This place is horrible at running a business. The BBQ here is decent, but I'd rather travel somewhere farther for a place that has more than one worker, doesn't use half a hot dog bun as garlic bread, and is actually open and serves food during their business hours. read more

Ive ordered delivery from CJs various tines but hVe never actually been to the restaurant. The pork ribs are delicious!!! Beef ribs and spare ribs are pretty good. The garlic bread is pretty yummy as well. Potato salad is standard. Over all this my go to for pork ribs in the south bay. read more

I came here today for a late lunch with a friend. I got the pork rib combo sandwich ($5.85) , while my friend got the bbq combo sandwich ($5.85). We both made ours a meal for $2 more, which gets you either green salad, potato salad or soup in addition to garlic bread and either bottled water or a can of soda. Since it was a late lunch, the place was not too busy and our food came out pretty quickly. The garlic bread was huge and very tasty. It was slightly toasted, so it had a nice crunch to it. I had the green salad as my side dish, and it came in a small styrofoam container with some ranch dressing on the side in it's own container. When our sandwiches came out they were piled high with meat! Our server gave us forks because she knew we would need them. The pork meat in my sandwich was very tender. The bbq sauce they use is very tasty, even though it doesn't have much of a kick. I think it would be a nice touch if they toasted the bun of the sandwich. The lady working there, Helen, was very friendly and she chatted us up for a while. We noticed that she talks pretty fast. Maybe she was just excited to have someone to talk to. Luckily a customer came in so we could sneak away, haha. I would definitely recommend this place. The next time I am here I am going to try the BBQ combo. That sandwich comes with bbq beef, pork, and hot links, and I'll ask for my bun to be toasted. read more

Always my go to place for good food and to satisfy my cravings! I recommend CJ to all that will listen.

Went to CJ's today after reading the reviews on Yelp. The BBQ was great...everything fell off the bone and had plenty of BBQ sauce. The pototoe salad was very good along with the garlic bread. I got the Lunch Combo (2 meats, garlic bread, and a side dish) for $6.95. I got 3 ribs, a thigh and a chicken leg...along with the bread and pototoe salad. This meal will last me at least 3 meals at home. The owner was VERY nice! She asked if it was my first time and how I heard about it.They have been there since 1991, and of course I have lived right down the street my entire life. I will be taking my family there! read more

My new go to place for late night BBQ! The Korean short ribs are to die for! So tender and fall off the bone! My boyfriend loves the beef ribs. He loves the sauce because he says there is no after taste, "you taste it and it's done." Great service as well! The lady who owns the place is very friendly and helpful! She always suggests something new for me to try when I come here. Great portions and prices. I wish they were open later, though. The hours have changed and they close earlier. read more

Don't be scared when you step inside. It's a lot better than it looks. We tried a little bit of everything and maybe it was starting with low expectations that made it better. The beans and potato salad are really good. Totally different and made from scratch. Meat is so so. It's low quality cuts, but prepared well and a with a dynamite sauce. The ribs are brontosaurus, and get a nice crust on the burnt edges. I don't think I'd order meat from there again, but I could totally see myself getting a bucket of their beans to go, with a little side of potato salad to eat while I wait. read more

I guess I don't get it... We bought a groupon deal and went to CJ's. As we arrived, we discovered that you can only buy certain menu items with the groupon (i don't remember if this was disclosed when we purchased the deal, but i don't believe it was). The food itself was ok to good, but they boiled the ribs before grilling them. I've never seen that before, and haven't since. all in all not bad, but not recommended read more

Food tastes decent, but too little for too much money. Entrees are more like appetizers and sides are all extra.

so my friend asked me if i had ever been to this place and i honestly never even knew it existed. Its only a couple minutes from my house so i had to try it because it had to be good if my friend was willing to travel across town for it ( he lives on the other side of town). I walked in and i was the only customer in the store and the nice friendly asian man helped me. My friend told me to order the combo sandwhich so i got that and made it a combo with a drink, garlic bread, and one side of your choice, i got potato salad. The prices are pretty cheap. The sanwhich alone is 6.50 and with the combo its an extra 2 dollars. I opened the wrapper and was surprised by how HUGE the sandwhich is and very meaty. The sauce is really good and the potato salad was my favorite. The garlic bread is just okay.. its actually more on the nasty side but still edible. I ate half and i was soooo stuffed. Next to try on my list are the ribs! so im definitely going to come back for that. the only negative thing for this place is they only have soda. Unhealthy if your trying to be healthy but if not, not a problem. read more

This place was our savior on Thanksgiving. We needed to bring BBQ ribs to a Thanksgiving dinner potluck, and our regular BBQ place ran out of meat too early and other places closed early for Thanksgiving. Thanks goodness for YELP and CJ BBQ. I found CJ BBQ on Yelp. We got there around almost 7pm on Thanksgiving. The restaurant was absolutely empty. We ordered pork ribs and beef ribs to go. After taking our order, the lady (i assume that she is the owner) started grilling the ribs, so they were freshly grilled and hot. She also put extra BBQ sauce for us. The ribs were very good. Everybody at the party loved them. Beef ribs had a lot more meat compared to the other place we usually went to. Pork ribs were juicy (because of the delicious fat!!!! ;-P ). They were very flavorful. So I ordered to-go, but I sat there to wait for my order, so I did look around so I could yelp about it. ;-P The restaurant is not small but not big. It has about 5-6 tables. They also have Korean BBQ ribs and kimchi here. There are still a lot on the menu that I haven't tried. read more