We were looking forward to the opening of this place, but were very disappointed with our first (and last) meal there. The staff were not trained well (couldn't answer questions about the menu), the side dish portions were way too small, and the ribs weren't very good. The worst part was the high price for all of this mediocre experience. read more

Was driving to eat some seafood at the port and my mom mentioned this bbq place. Gotta admit, at first we really didn't wanna go but we did. All 8 of us! We ordered the #1 which had a rack of ribs, rib eye, whole chicken, 2 sides, bread and we ordered one other side plate. OMG!! Food IS BOMB! We couldn't stop eating. Everything was cooked just perfectly. Perfect taste! Side dishes were finger licking good and the cashier was super nice. She was very patient with us since we couldn't make up our minds when ordering. (Cashier with pinkish/purplish hair). I would definitely recommend it here.. Yummmmm! read more

Don't order food from this place between lunch and dinner. Ordered take out and all that I got was a recooked hamburger left over from the lunch crowd that didn't get sold and the pulled pork was tough, chewy and cold. Food is over-priced and barely a notch above McDonald's microwaved reheated food! Dave's BBQ is much better and less expensive. read more

My go-to place for BBQ in Oxnard. I always order the same thing so cannot attest to much other than the pork sandwich, which is fantastic. Homemade chips are great too. read more

The food is great! I always get the hot links! The only thing is service isn't the best. I've been there a couple times and it's always the same cashier I get I'm guessing he is part of the family who owns it or he is the one that owns it idk but you don't get greeted to come in or acknowledged if there's someone in front of you and he stepped away he doesn't say "hi I'll be right with you" he just does what he doe. Kinda makes you feel ignored and takes his time and them helps you. Also doesn't say thank you either but I will admit the food is great!.. i go for the food but I really have low expectations of service when I go... that's the only thing it makes me hasitate to go every time I want a hot link sandwich read more

I was very disappointed with the quality of the food. I really had high expectations due to all the great reviews I read. Definitely never going back. read more

I really enjoy the service , the food , the relaxed atmosphere , its located in a great area , the BBQ nachos with Tri tip is so so good , great comfort food , I definitely recommend it , nice dining area with big screen TVs , very accessible parking and reasonable prices , if you haven't tried CJs , you definitely need too read more

Let me just say...this restaurant delivered beyond ALL of my expectations. The beef ribs were fall-off-the-bone delicious, my blackened salmon was the best I've ever had, and my daughter's Mac n cheese was creamy and cheesy goodness. I asked about the collard greens I chose with my salmon and discovered that they source them locally. Makes all the difference in the world. We will definitely be coming back! read more

The worst customer service I've had in a long time! Manager wouldn't honor Axxess coupon as written.

We had CJ's cater our company Thanksgiving BBQ and it was delicious! Not only was the tri-tip, pulled pork, and chicken a big hit, but Chris, the owner, was very helpful. The food was ready right on time and packed correctly for transportation. For the amount of food we ordered the cost was extremely reasonable. The whole AG Millworks team would like to say THANK YOU!! read more

I agree, this place is underrated. For me, a bbq joint lives or dies by it's sauce, and CJ's delivers on this. Their spicy sauce is everything a great bbq sauce should be (with the addition of a little extra hot sauce, but thats just me). The meat is good (get the tri tip, you can't go wrong), the sides are decent (I recommend the bbq beans or the sweet potatoe fries), and the prices are not bad. read more

I have been to CJs twice and i have been disappointed both times. My recent visit today was horrible. The Tri-Tip was tough, pulled pork wasnt even tender (was it even pulled?!?), the mac and cheese didnt have cheese (how does that happen), the hot wings werent dry and to top it off, its seems they cooked the food at a gas station!!! The aftertaste was horrible! It was like I was eating gas! What a horrible place. Overpriced too. The only good thing was the beer! read more

We had some very tough and tasteless/bland barbeque. Truly most California Barbeque is way out of line and not worth eating. Sorry California, you are so good in so many other ways! I am from Chicago and this sort of Barbeque would not last a day there before being run out of town. read more

This place is wonderful! The tri-tip sandwiches are the BEST around! They have an extensive menu with very reasonable prices. The employees are always pleasant. We really like the atmosphere which is why we are repeat customers! read more

I love the barbecue chicken salad they serve here! It's always good and the salad greens and avocado are always fresh! Also love the barbecue tri tip sandwich... read more

This place is amazing, the beef ribs are incredible and the tri tip is tender, wings are very good too, me and my coworker put away a couple pounds of this amazing BBQ. Will definitely be a regular lunch n dinner spot from now on. read more

A friend and I visited the recently opened CJ's barbecue on Victoria in Ventura tonight. It was our first visit. The restaurant is nicely decorated. All the staff are friendly and very helpful. We both ordered the BBQ chicken salad. It was a generous salad with fresh, crunchy lettuce, cucumbers, tomato, avocado and a generous portion of tender, moist chicken. A warm, toasted roll was served with the salad. It made for a delicious and satisfying supper. We will definitely return to try the Tritip. read more

Just Barbecue is SO much better than this place. The taste is just so bland. I had ribs and chicken. The chicken was pretty good but the ribs were horrible. It was dry. It could be perhaps because I came in the evening. read more

Customer service was not good and the food was the worst I've had from any restaurant. While we were sitting at a table, waiting for our order( which was expensive) I noticed a half eaten beefrib on the floor by my feet- GROSS! When we got our food to go and were walking out, my friend almost fell due to frenchfries being on the floor like banana peels. I was till willing to give CJ's a try- benefit of the doubt, but when we made it home to our food I completely lost it. The meat was overcooked, the "biscuit" was store bought and splashe with butter- what happened to FRESH! The "sweet corn" was canned corn without a doubt. The lid of the plastic container was melted and shriveled up from them (CJ's) microwaving plastic. I tried to force myself to eat this food just to justify spending $23.00 for 2 dishes but ended up just throwing it in the trash and making myself a PB&J sandwich. I have NEVER reviewed a restaurant and never thought I would but this was a horrible experience which I feel strongly about informing others before going there (CJ's). I hope my experience was an isolated incident but still, I will NEVER return there- for what? canned corn which has been microwaved, tri-tip that has been cooked from who knows how long ago, NO WAY. Save your money- there are less expensive way to make yourself sick if that is what you are after, i.e. spin yourself until you throw up, it's free and the food on the way out might taste better than CJ's. S read more

Good food good prices friendly people. I recommend the 8oz chicken breast with fries and chilli. Clean establishment.

Cj's is the biZnazz! They got the best BBQ in VENTURA COUNTY sure. I've tried Marshall's, JUST BBQ, In The Sauce, all that. CJ's is hands down the best. CJ BURGER!! Burger, avocado, BBQ sauce, bacon, cheese, onion rings, mayo/must, side of Mac n cheese=$6.50!! The Mac n cheese is homemade style, so don't be expecting some Kraft Mac n cheese.. They got that clam chowda wit the bacon too, and they got chicken nachos man. The tri tip is alllll smoked out and got that pink ring in it... The service is always top notch, they got new castle on tap. This the type of place that that white boy on that diners drive ins and diners show needs to check out cuz man, CJ got the bomb BBQ. BBQ so good! Make you wanna slap yo momma! read more

This place is not worth it I wasted 65. BBQ sauce is not good staff has bad attitude. The food has no tasted. DO NOT ORDER GUMBO paid $14 for a small plate. Ended up leaving the whole plate. Asked the staff if I could sample a little before I order they said can't do it so I order it. After I tasted it I found out why they don't let you sample it. Is u sample it you would not buy it. I was sick all night the tri tip was dry. They used the fake bacon bits on the potato skin. They charge $0.50 for refills on kool aid and sweet tea. I should of went to a good restaurant for the amount of money I spend. Again my stomach still hurts from this place. I learned my less. The staff goes clean tables than go back and takes order and handles the most net. Never once Did I see them wash their hands before they served the food or dry the dishes and put them away. So I know why I got sick from this place. The girl server especially had a really bad attitude. If u want to over pay and throw ur money in the trash eat here the food is nasty. But u might of well save ur self money and go somewhere else. When I want BBQ I rather drive to Santa Paula and have Best BBQ the service is good u pay way less get more food and better tasting. read more

My experience today was horrible to say the very least. I'll keep this short and as sweet as possible as I don't care to even relive the situation I had today. This is the first restaurant review I have written. My Boyfriend and I frequent Oxnard often, today we chose to have dinner at CJ's..I ordered the Snapper..as I was eating..I went to take my next bite and there was an object that clearly looked like a worm or for better words a parasite. Fleshy color and when I moved it with my fork it was squishy. I notified the woman behind the counter, she came to the table and agreed and appeared to be shocked at the worm like object. She quickly took the piece of fish with the object and said she was going to show the cook. After about 5 minutes she came back to the table and had no explanation but agreed that it did look like a worm. She kept apologizing and said she was the owners girlfriend and she would let him know. Although she was not rude, she agreed that I had every right to feel disgusted and verified she would feel the same. At that time my boyfriend asked to see the object and she explained that it had been thrown away. Very strange. He then asked for refund of the meal at which time she said she didn't know how to issue a refund. We left very displeased and worried about the possibility of me getting ill. We will not be returning here. read more

You shouldn't be allowed to even have one star for your complete and utter disregard for a wedding party catering of 60 people that was planned over a month in advance. When taking on a catering job for a wedding rehearsal dinner and committing to the event, at a set time...don't you think you should show up? Doesn't it seem like good business practice to call someone and let them know if there are any hiccups in the process? Making excuses after receiving close to 40 phone calls in attempts to even reach you, over an hour after the said drop off time of the food is pathetic and clearly you shouldn't run a business. No one cares how good your food is or how good it could have been. When you try to create a pity party for yourself after the fact, no one cares. Had you called earlier and said all of the same "excuses" we could have made other arrangements without the stress of dealing with you. You should feel extremely embarrassed and you should know that word of mouth is great advertisement, but in your case it won't work that way. Good luck with your new location, on no sleep and with a random emergency that suddenly comes up....no one feels bad for you. Grow up. read more

greasy food u need a new COOK every time I come here is so disappointing that im not coming anymore TOO MUCH GREASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We've visited CJ's in Ventura, several times this month. Mostly for the BBQ, we purchased the family deal that feeds 4 but really can feed 6 easily. Very saucy and smoked bbq. My family raved about the chicken being tender. The tri tip and ribs were tasty. The chili beans were a bit sweet which we're accustomed to savory not sweet chili beans. The potato salad was creamy. The 4 rolls it came with were a bit burnt on the bottom. My gf went back a few days ago to try the shrimp poor boy sandwich and was disappointed. She had the 1/2 sandwich (about 6" long) one side of the bread had bbq sauce the other half of the bread had some sort of red spicey cream sauce, 3 frozen breaded shrimp with the tail on, lettuce and tomato. All wrapped in tin foil which made the lettuce and tomato wilty and mushy. She was expecting popcorn tail off shrimp like most poor boys have. That included one side and she purchased a small fountain drink. Total $11! It helps to be consistently great on all your offerings on the menu. We're now apprehensive to try other things beside the bbq, like the salads, burgers, seafood or other sandwiches. It seems like a hit and miss here. read more

Ordered the meat sampler, tri-tip, chicken and baby backs, at opening time, 11 a.m., on a Thursday, to go. Good service, smelled scrumptious. Unfortunately, it turned out to be dry and tough, smothered in an incredibly sweet and cloying sauce, with a strong aftertaste of liquid smoke. The "chicken" turned out to be pulled pork (I think), very stringy. The opening-time service was so fast there is no doubt the meat was cooked the day before (or was it microwaved?) A Texas native accustomed to truly gourmet fine barbecue--from Oakland (ask the Raiders) east to Maryland (Dixie pulled pork with slaw and pepper sauce)--I was amazed to see signed testimonials on the wall from my own Dallas Cowboys. Think I'll wait till they're back in Oxnard for summer training, then give CJ's another try. They can't POSSIBLY be as bad all the time as they were at opening time on Thursday, Feb. 21, 2013. read more