We're so glad we tried this wonderful new BBQ place! The people were friendly and welcoming, the music was top-notch, prices were reasonable, portions were large and the food was delicious! Loved the nice big water glasses too. My favorite was the vinegary potato salad! Yum! read more

Authentic BBQ restaurant. The owner and crew were very welcoming. The food is on point!

This was out first time at CJ's. The BBQ and sides were so yummy. My husband had the pork ribs and I had the beef ribs. Both were great! I was especially fond of the corn bread! Our daughter had the tri tip sandwich. It was so good she didn't want to share!We will be going back! Thanks to Mark and the CJ's crew for a fun and delicious Saturday night! read more

This place is the real deal. The barbque was amazing, and I got to taste a sample of the gumbo - best ever (way better than New Orleans!) The cobbler at the end was to die for. The food was superb, the service was, too, and so was the beer. Such a nice place! Visiting with CJ capped off our experience. We'll be back! read more

Had the most amazing burger, fries and fried catfish tonight. The owner is great. Highly recommend!

Stopped by here wanting some good BBQ. We were not disappointed. This place is great. Very clean with lots of seating. The beef ribs were amazing!! Great smoked flavor and the bbq sauces were excellent. Spicy was just the right kick. The corn bread!!! Whoa now that is a huge piece of bread. It had a great light sweet taste. Not greasy at all. The food was perfect. The owner was talking and helping out. Great wait staff. We will be back for sure! read more

I have eaten at every BBQ joint in the area and CJ's does it right. The ribs and tri tips are unbelievable. The sauce, the sides, the meat was all on point. If you want the real-deal hit CJ's. Everyone else is in the area are faking it. The service was perfect, not too nosey, not too far away. CJ was roaming the restaurant making sure everyone was having a good time. My new favorite in SLO. read more

Fantastic new BBQ spot in SLO! Ribs were outstanding. Meat just fell off the bone. BBQ sauce is amazing. read more

Service was amazing. The barbecue is great. The barbecue sauce they use is awesome coleslaw mac & cheese cornbread was all good. The owner is a great guy. The ambience is good and the music is great too. read more

Called in an order for tri-tip sandwich and side of beans. Service was great when I picked up the food, but the food itself left much to be desired. The tri-tip had zero flavor besides smokiness, and was overcooked (in my opinion, closer to well done than medium). The beans were one-note, being predominantly overwhelmed by sweetness from brown sugar. Not likely to return, unfortunately. read more

Solid menu, great service. Welcome addition to the SLO vibe! CJ deserves you stopping by and you won't be sorry!

Amazing BBQ! Coming here again! Wonderful food, staff, and extremely clean! Tri tip and fries are amazing!

The chicken photo is not CJS's wings. It was a mistake and can't take it out. Babyback ribs were tender but needed to be cooked with salt, Fried catfish, candied yams, and collard greens. Fish fried perfectly, but it needed salt, collard greens were cooked tender except it lacked flavor (vinegar & salt), the yams were mashed sweet potatoes... I was looking forward to some marshmallows on top. I had takeout so I called 25 minutes before I arrived I still had to wait 15 minutes. Honestly, the fish is damn good but my peoples are from the south and this restaurant should cooked like it's repping the south not the SLO locals. But I will be returning. DONT BE AFRAID OF FLAVOR! read more

I went here for the first time. There are very few meat places now on the central coast. I have eaten at some other spots in San Luis Obispo and there is a reason they are no longer in business. I tried the tri-tip dish and it was delicious. The service was outstanding and the overall atmosphere was great. It's nice to see a company that cares for its customers. Hey Ribline, take some notes! The only knock was it could use some better heating but other than that, keep up the great work! read more

It ain't Mo's! For those of you who are excited to have a BBQ place in the same spot as the dearly departed Mo's, you're going to be disappointed. The meat was bland, the music too loud and there was no cozy vibe. Our pulled pork tasted as if the meat had been boiled. It was bland and not chunky enough. It needed more BBQ sauce than I'm comfortable with. The sandwich, overall, was huge, packed high with meat; I could have eaten just half and been very satisfied. The coleslaw and potato salad were just average but the French fries were big and ample. My gold standard for BBQ hangouts is how good the pulled pork tastes. In this regard, CJs failed my test and those of my friends. The server, who was friendly and helpful, did recommend the tri-tip and the pastrami option is intriguing enough to make me return. Maybe I just ordered the wrong thing or should listen to the sever. Negatives: Taste, atmosphere and vibe. Positives: Big portions, friendly service, diverse menu. You get one more chance CJs. Let's hope you improve enough to make me retract this review. read more

CJ can cook! We got a tri-tip sandwich, chicken, hush puppies and gumbo and they were all fantastic. The BBQ sauce is delicious and the tri-tip was so tender. Gumbo is packed with seafood and delicious. Probably the best BBQ I've had in CA. The ambiance is clean and casual, and the service warm and friendly. Will definitely be back next time we are in SLO. read more

Was in during a relatively lite time during their soft opening and they already seemed to have service dialed in. I got the tri tip sandwich and have to say for the locals, it's refreshing not only having Santa Maria style on every menu.... Also it was oh so delicious. Can't wait to come back and try more things. read more

Great new spot! Tri tip is great and the sides are some of the best I've had in town for bbq joints. Atmosphere is great and the staff was friendly! read more

First time at this new restaurant. Was lively and crowded Saturday night. Great service. Food delivered very quick. Great menu. Friendly staff. Reasonable prices. Had pulled pork sandwich. Lots of food. Not too spicy. Could have had a tad more smoky flavor and BBQ sauce, a tad I said. Single toilet men's restroom could be an issue. Yes I'll be back. read more

I ordered the baby back ribs with a side of macaroni and BBQ beans. Everything was DELICIOUS! The macaroni was extra cheesy. I will absolutely be returning! read more

Finally got to try this spot and was not disappointed! The food was great (the cornbread is a must-try side, came out nice and warm and you get a very generous piece) and the service was amazing - the two servers working when I went were so sweet and helpful. Looking forward to coming back to try more! read more

Warm clean atmosphere with great service. Food was excellent. Would highly recommend.

The food is soooo good. We went there a couple weeks ago and it was such a good change up in our usual restaurant rotation. Everyone was super friendly and food was out really quick. Please go try their tri tip and corn bread! This is a must try! read more

Was in SLO for work so had to come in for lunch and try this new bbq spot. Was greeted with a big smile when I came in and since I was solo took a seat at the bar. I love that they have Pepsi Zero, ordered coke zero but either works for me, and it comes in a giant mason jar. For my meal I got the tri-tip sandwich with fries. The sandwich was huge and loaded with a ton of very tender tri tip covered in a great sauce. Very impressed with the bread, great tasting but even more it held up despite the juicy steak and sauce. Also ordered a piece of cornbread on the side and it too was on the giant side. It came with butter but it passed the test, no butter needed, it can stand on its own. You can tell the kitchen is still finding it's groove but you could hear the great communication. Finally, I took off 1 star because it did take a little longer than usual to get my lunch but my server apologized for the wait with a big smile and as it's still the first few weeks so totally understandable. Also don't want them being too cocky too fast with a 5 star :) read more

Best burger I've ever had! I can't wait to go back! I'm not a huge bbq person but really enjoyed the simple burger which was perfectly cooked. read more

I came in for the grand opening and the atmosphere was great! They were so busy but the food was out in a reasonable time and it was as great! I will definitely be back! read more

First impression good, welcoming. Until we didn't get served for a while. Someone got us beer but then didn't take our order for another 10, but we were the only people in there (one table was leaving). Beer ended up being on a separate check for some reason. Server was having a hard time. We got the full rack of baby back ribs, bbq chicken breast, fries, potato salad, Mac n cheese and cornbread. IMO everything was just ok. The ribs were alright, don't think they make their own bbq sauce so it was pretty basic but cooked well. The bbq chicken-wouldn't get again it was even more basic-just breast filets with bbq sauce on it, we were expecting something different. The Mac n cheese-the cheese had soaked all in the pasta so it was pretty overdone and not cheesy-it was probably better before sitting in a warmer for forever. The cornbread didn't have much flavor but it was a huge piece. Fries were good-beer batter, but they only gave us a few. Ranch was good! Potato salad was good. You get two sides with each main which was nice + rolls and pickled onions. It was a nice amount of food. Sad about the chicken, Mac and cornbread! Hopefully they work out the kinks. read more

The food is . The service was fantastic and priced right. If you're looking for legit Mac n cheese, collardgreens, look no further. This place is amazing. read more

Given the fact it was the grand opening it wasn't busy. First I wanted sushi and then I went to check cjs out. I sat down for 15mins and no one came to take my order even though the hostess and another guy looked right at me. He then came over and I asked him a question and he said they don't have it even though it was on the menu. Not sure if I will be back read more

Went here with my family of four, the food was very reasonably priced and the portions were big! We even had leftovers, I would definitely recommend. read more

In an impulse, we saw that the restaurant had opened. We were initially worried about the price as the interior looked so upscale. But, meals were affordable at 18-25 dollars and food was amazing. Corn bread was one of the best in awhile. Service was amazing and owner came out to talk to us. Wonderful guy. read more

ribs were delicious. The fries were also very good. The service was excellent as there is just 1 guy doing it by himself and he manages to keep everything running smooth. Overall 9.5/10 read more

We've had baby back ribs to take home 3 times, juicy, tender, cooked to perfection ribs, smothered in tasty bbq sauce. Looking forward to other menu items. SLO is lucky to have CJ's Bbq! read more

Baby back ribs were delicious! Fries were great as well, nice mix between steak and breaded fries.

Highly recommend. Came to the soft opening on a whim while making our way north to Cayucos and I'm sure glad we did. This place is real deal serious bbq folks! I would give 6 stars if possible. I hope business goes well for the owners because we plan to come back next time we're in the SLO area. read more

Holy let me start with the food, the way that those beef ribs tastes in my mouth were phenomenal and don't get me started with that Mac n cheese. John, the server, was a great sport and the way that he treated the customers was with love and care and he treated us with so much charisma. Visit this spot if you want a fun atmosphere with friends and family! read more

Breath of fresh air in the "Santa Maria style" mecca that is SLO. I've only gotten the fried catfish, but it's so good it's hard to choose anything else. Seasonings are definitely unique for the area, but in a good way. All the sides I've tried are great and good selection of beer. I wish they had a booth at farmers market just to get their name out there. Definitely try this place, you will be back. read more