Cole's was a mainstay all four years while I was Banana Slug. Any time me and my ex were in the mood for some serious BBQ provisions, we looked no further than Cole's. The crazy thing is, we never tried anything else on the menu. We went for the first time late in our freshman year, got a dinner combo (3 different meats and a side) and never switched up. For reference, this was our order for the following 3 years at UCSC: Combination, choose (3): BBQ Chicken, Beef Ribs, Hot Links and Macaroni Salad as the side I don't recall the total, but back then (late 90s-early 2000) I believe a 20 covered it. The folks that worked there are always awesome and they were generous with the student population. I would certainly recommend this establishment to anyone looking for a filling meal at a good price. [[HIGHLIGHT]]The dining area is small, but quite nice and fairly quiet as most orders are to-go.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] I'd also urge you to consider ordering an array of different items to see what you like; from what I heard, they make a pretty good cheese burger too read more

Top notch the ONLY reason why I gave 4 starts was my stomach wasn't big enough to finish it all. Best morning leftovers. Service was great, food even better! So glad we chose to stay close. read more

Cole's BBQ & Catering - Full slab of ribs, spicy bbq sauce, onion rings, coleslaw, potato salad, pulled pork & garlic bread! - Barbeque Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

Cute place, hubby loves this place. Me not so much I ordered tri tip sandwich. It had no flavor at all, it tasted and looked like boiled meat strips. I took meat off the bread because I didn't want the calories. They added bbq sauce on the bread which made it inedible. Just no. read more

I stopped in for a 2-meat combo. I got the ribs and tri-tip. The order came up quickly, and the barbecue sauce is good. I'm pretty sure I was given pulled pork instead of tri-tip, based on the photos in other reviews, but the fries were the best I've had in a long time. I'd come back again if I was in the area. read more

Cole's BBQ & Catering - Two-meat combo. Not shown - fries I devoured in the car - Barbeque Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

Me and my friend went at 1pm after the beach. We'd been passing by for years and just never got around to trying it, and I wish I'd gone sooner. This place is so good, the portions and the prices are right, and the people are so nice. $15.50 for 2 ribs and 2 sides is a good deal AND they gave us both an extra rib. We absolutely will be back to try more read more

Cole's BBQ & Catering - Lunch special - Barbeque Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

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I stopped in there today for some pulled pork, fries, chili, and garlic bread. The service was friendly, also has easy parking. [[HIGHLIGHT]]Nice outside eating area.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] [[HIGHLIGHT]]The place has that old school Santa Cruz vibe.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] The portions are large. The food is really good. A definite redo. No picture, I was hungry. read more

They used to have beef ribs, but no more . [[HIGHLIGHT]]Simple local spot where you can see and smell the pits working.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] [[HIGHLIGHT]]Friendly service with indoor and outdoor seating, and decent enough fish and chips and tri-tip.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] It's the kind of spot you come to for the nostalgia and local treatment. Fish was served nice and not, but the fries were limp and had been sitting around awhile, lol. I like their cole slaw, and the brisket with the spicy bbq sauce. Good prices and plenty of local traffic with parking. read more

Cole's BBQ & Catering - Menu - Barbeque Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

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My first time here after years of driving by. Super friendly staff very engaging and outright fun people to talk to. I ordered the three meat plate with tri-tip, pulled pork and ribs . My side pick had to be the fries, which were amazing. The ribs were honestly some of the best I ever had. I'm not much of a tri-tip fan but being in California that's the closest you're usually going to get a brisket. Tri-tip just doesn't have that deep beefy flavor, but it is still pretty good. The pulled pork is average and what you would expect. It is a huge amount of food. I had to get a to go box, which is rare for me. Definitely a good value and good food. I'll be back. read more

Cole's BBQ & Catering - 3 item plate. Huge. - Barbeque Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

Sunday Dinner with the Family- Cole's BBQ Location - Santa Cruz With- my wife Noelle J. and our son Food and Drink- *Two plate combo, Pulled Pork and BBQ Chicken with baked beans and garlic bread. Pulled pork was very juicy and tender. Chicken was moist and tender. Beans tasted like the canned version, meh. (5/5) *Tri-Tip which my wife Noelle J ordered was sub par. It was thinly sliced like a French Dip sandwich, the bread was too thick, the flavor was dull. Macaroni Salad was delicious. (2/5) *Pork Ribs and fries- my son ordered this and the meat was not fall off the bone tender, yet it had a good flavor. The fries were soggy but delicious. (4/5) Customer Service Customer service was great from Start to finish. Itzel and Megan were amazing- friendly and kind. It was busy and they were handling the counter, phone orders and to go orders with such grace! Ambiance- [[HIGHLIGHT]]It's a small building, walk inside and place your order at the counter. There are four tables inside and tables outside. Everything is clean.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] The parking lot is small but there is street parking as well. Prices- excellent prices and good portions. Apple Pay- Yes. Etc. - [[HIGHLIGHT]]Great spot for BBQ in Santa Cruz. Chill vibe. Wonderful Sunday dinner with my family.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] read more

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Full Rack of ribs to go with fries. $60.00 Got home. (We live here but never tried) Absolutely inedible. Like a leather dog chew! Fries burnt and disgusting! How they've stayed in business is beyond us. Probably unsuspecting beach goers who want a decent meal. They don't care that you spend your hard earned money for a service. They have no business being in the food industry!! read more

Absolutely loved Cole's BBQ!! Stopped by for some lunch, got the 2 pork rib lunch special- but to our surprise, three ribs! How kind! The lady at the front counter was incredibly sweet, and Cole himself was in the back cooking up our BBQ! Can't get any better than this place, with good service and good food. Not to mention this huge portion of food for only $15.50. First time for us and we most certainly will be returning!! read more

Cole's BBQ & Catering - 2 Rib Lunch Special - Barbeque Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

I use to love this place but the quality has drastically changed. The 21oz ribs were not very good. The quality reminded me on the rib from the hot bar at Safeway except these were dryer and the flavor was off. read more

Coles has been one of our family traditions stretching back for nearly 30 years. I remember both locations in Aptos and in Santa Cruz. By far my favorite is the 1/3 pound cheese burger. The French fries are the best anywhere in Santa Cruz County. I usually pair the BBQ sauce with the French fries. I have also tried the turkey and chicken sandwiches which are also great options. The staff here have always been friendly to us. [[HIGHLIGHT]]I also like their outdoor seating in the temperate climate of the eastern part of Santa Cruz.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] read more

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I just started ordering from Cole's in the past 2 years and can't say enough good things about the quality and value for what I have received. Chicken, pulled pork, hot link, baked beans is my typical order. I order 2-3 times a month via DoorDash. Highly recommend. read more

Great food and great service! I recommend the pulled pork sandwich with extra coleslaw and fries!

Great spot for some good old BBQ. Cole's BBQ caters to the big appetites with portions that are manly, if you're hungry for BBQ and want to be satisfied go to Cole's . Great prices and great service read more

Cole's BBQ & Catering - Pulled pork sandwich with coleslaw and garlic fries - Barbeque Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

First visit but definitely not our last!! To Davina, you are truly the BEST at customer service!! But... it wasn't just that! Your beautiful soul speaks of a place you are proud of! [[HIGHLIGHT]]We loved seeing and hearing the story of how Cole's came to be.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] Wonderful to see Mr. Cole (namesake ) throwing racks of ribs on his outside smoker as we waited at our table. Now let's talk food!! We loved our XL rib and fries combo! Have never had such a fabulous serving in forever!! BRAVO Ribs were fabulous, and the fries...delish!!! ...And every sauce we asked for was brought to our table!! [[HIGHLIGHT]]Seriously, Cole's BBQ may be in a small space, but the space is absolutely giant in every other respect!! Absolutely perfect for us![[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] We'll see you soon, Davina. Happy holidays from Chris & Diane read more

Have frequented this place since 1985 when visiting Santa Cruz area, food is delicious, though sad to hear that they no longer sell beef ribs. Will be in area in a few days and on list for dinner. read more

5 Stars for amazing BBQ! Ordered the 3 meat BBQ plate with Chili Beans and Cole's Homemade Coleslaw!! The ribs on the grill out front pulled us in! The pulled pork, Tri/tip and chicken was delicious and tender!! The coleslaw was the perfect compliment to the meat!! Met Cole while he was grilling ribs! Good guy with a great team! read more

Cole's BBQ & Catering - Business Pic - Barbeque Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

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Staff was very nice with great attitudes. [[HIGHLIGHT]]Place was friendly and clean.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] Tri-tip was AWFUL!! It was served in weird wrinkly slices full of fat and gristle. I had to stretch out these wrinkled pieces to slice off the gristle. My golden retriever ate about half of it. Had I not been at home, 30 miles away when I opened the meat package, I would have returned it. The baked beans were great. read more

We were in town and found this place. Staff was amazing and so accommodating. Great bbq place. We had the Tri tip, spicy link, and pulled pork. We had macaroni salad and the baked beans as sides. They were sold out of the ribs and chicken so we didn't get to try those. The bbq sauce was good as well. [[HIGHLIGHT]]We had everything to go but there was great outside seating.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] [[HIGHLIGHT]]Some inside seating.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] read more

Got them on DoorDash, easily a 10 out of 10. We got ribs, tri tips sandwich, cheeseburger, fries, onion rings, Mac salad. Literally, everything was so good, and good for the next day, too. We got all of that, on DoorDash (so it's more expensive) and it was literally only 70 bucks. The price, and the quality is unmatched. Such good food, such a good price. Would definitely come back here. read more

The food was so good! [[HIGHLIGHT]]Felt like such a local spot that's hidden![[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] And the service was nice and fast! read more

Cole's BBQ & Catering - Menu - Barbeque Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

Don't listen to the people leaving bad reviews who more than likely just didn't order the kind of things you should order at a true California BBQ spot like Cole's. Get a BBQ plate with tri-tip and ribs, baked beans/potato salad and a hunk of garlic bread and don't overthink it. It's good. Very good. $27 for a 3 meat combo in Santa Cruz is unbeatable and you will have leftovers (the ribs are massive). Friendly staff who are more than willing to help you figure out if your order is enough for how many people you have and will bring you sauce, drinks, etc. [[HIGHLIGHT]]We don't have many places like this in Northern California, with a big old smoker sitting out in the parking lot and the smell of woodsmoke radiating out a block away.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] Check it out and don't try to be too "California" about it by ordering a sandwich or something. Just get the bbq, it's great. read more

Cole's BBQ & Catering - 3 meat combo (ribs, tri-tip, pork loin), baked beans, and garlic bread. - Barbeque Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

Chewy ribs. No smoke ring. Packaged like a child prepared our order. I can't believe this is the finished product knowing how long they've been serving "BBQ". Very disappointing. read more

Very disappointed with Saturday August 17, 2024 5:00 pm food quality. Terrible. I was expecting a tri tip sandwich full of meat. It only had three thin slices. I looked in front of me then behind and others sandwiches were full of tri tip. I know I didn't ask for the diet menu. Made me feel discriminated. Also ordered the 1/4 bbq chicken plate with sweet potato fries. Warning!! The dipping sauce was chili hot. The fries were perfect. The chicken... terrible. Received the back portion with no skin, bbq sauce and very little meat. The other piece was a wing with tiny feathers in the skin with no bbq sauce cooked with it. I'm very disappointed with this visit. The bad food quality and unfavored service leaves me with a choice to maybe not return read more

The chili is the best in Santa Cruz. Portion big enough for 2 meals. Hope this place does well bc the food is amazing.

[[HIGHLIGHT]]Tables and door are very sticky, suggest there may be stuff going on around the food u dont want going on... if you know what i mean.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] [[HIGHLIGHT]]Because i dont want to assume there not wiping down the tables that would be ridiculous so this must be the case[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] read more

Very kind, knowledgeable, sweet staff members that are patient with me as I ordered a yummy mushroom burger! The food was prepared quickly and brought out to you. You can see the chefs barbecuing the meat outside. Tons of choices to choose from, delightful variety, perfect for everyone. Very lovely and lively place to come to! Shoutout to the girls in the front for making this experience so phenomenal and kind, I appreciate you two! Cheers! read more

Cole's BBQ & Catering - Barbeque Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

Spent years driving by Cole's and the smell of the food was always enticing. We finally gave it a chance and got take out. Everyone enjoyed the cole slaw, the fries had great flavor and the onion rings seemed to disappear quickly. In the other hand, the garlic bread looked like someone sat on it and was bland. We had pulled pork sandwiches which were dry and required more sauce. The top to bottom bun ratio wasn't great, needed another piece of bread. Willing to give it a second try. read more

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Wow, a real mixed bag here. Some little disappointments mixed in with overall satisfaction. Ate inside and wait for food was just a little too long. [[HIGHLIGHT]]Yeah, they could work on cleanliness, but overall, I enjoyed the laid back interior dining area.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] [[HIGHLIGHT]]The deck looked great too.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] Got a 2 meat combo and I have to say, the value here is pretty damn good. Not stellar, but good, considering you're in a touristy area of Calif. Got chix + pork loin plate for $23.50 I believe. Chix was about a B+; great flavor and texture and a very generous portion...I'd say the equivalent of 1.5 large breast. The big downer was the pork loin, a C-. OK , it was a slow day...I'm guessing that not many ppl order it so it sits there and gets dry. But yeah....I ate it all but the slices were too dry and chewy. The next disappointment was the huge piece of texas toast or garlic bread..whatever they call it. Huge, and actually pretty fresh, tender bread, but the butter side was not in the last bit crispy or toasty. It was like they had toasted it 4 hours ago, dipped in butter, and then let it sit in a steamer for 4 hours. I chose slaw as my one side and was pleasantly surprised by the generous helping! Great slaw...fresh, basic, not trying to be anything fancy. And yes, as many Yelpers have already said, the fries are BOMB! I took about half of the ones that came with my friend's burger. Burger was meh but fries were hot, greasy, salty, super crispy. YUM. For two medium hungry adults, I think a 2 or 3 meat platter is the way to go. Add an order of fries to round it out and then share everything. Hopefully we can bump Cole's up to 5 stars at my next visit. read more

My best friend used to live in Santa Cruz, and when I told him I was going to pay a visit, he recommended trying Cole's. I walked into the quiet, little joint on the outskirts of town and placed my order with a really nice young man. I ordered the three-way combo with tri-tip, pulled pork, ribs, cole slaw, and garlic bread. Well, as my momma used to say, "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all." The garlic bread was okay. read more

Cole's BBQ & Catering - Three-way combo with Tri-tip, pulled pork, ribs, cole slaw, and garlic bread. - Barbeque Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

The food here is mid at best with the only exception being their fries. If they only sold fries this would be a 5 place.

I love BBQ and seeing Cole's I figured I would get my Q on. I ordered the tri-tip plate with famous fries and a side of slaw. My buddy had pork ribs and beans. His ribs were okay, but a bit chewy and lacked much flavor. My tri-tip was disappointing. West coast CA is a tri-tip mecca but this had little flavor and a lot of fat. A long slow cook would have melted the fat and infused a smokey flavor. This serving had copious amounts of fat and little flavor. We both liked the BBQ sauce and I liked the spicy sauce, but later it did not like me. The slaw was very plain, not bad, but zero special attributes. I loaded it with a garlic pepper spice we had at home and it was better. The beans were okay also, not a deep smokeyness, more a sauce smoked with liquid smoke and some brown sugar. My fries were great, I really enjoyed them, as did everyone else. Also the garlic bread was really delicious. It disappoints me to write this because good Q is hard to find and I always look for reasons to like and go back. I wont be in Santa Cruz again for a while but I will not miss Cole's. After reading other reviews, maybe I missed something? 4 of us tried this food and were of the same opinion. Sorry guys, but this one just does not hit any notes for a guy that can even enjoy just a spoonful or great sauce. read more

Food is good most of the time, never had issues with the burgers, sandwiches or ribs other than pricing. The price always goes up a dollar every time I go. Other than that I love when they make the sides fresh and if I crave a burger that's good in quality, it's only 5 mins away. read more

Cole's used to be my go-to barbecue spot when I came to Santa Cruz in 1990. Then I forgot about them since it was off my regular beaten path after coming back to Santa Cruz from Silicon Valley. Stopped by and the food was as good as I remember from back in the day. The spot is small but clean and the staff were all friendly, polite and professional. I love Cole's and will be back when I have my hankering for good BBQ!! read more

Cole's made me create my first review! Why? Because the food was filled with love and happiness. From the people who assist you to the cook in the back, the food was incredible. Takes me back to my southern Baptist grandmother whose food I lived for! You know that itch you just can't scratch, Cole's food scratches that itch! I never wanted to be that person who reviews food but... damn, damn, damn! You know what I'm talking about! Hidden local Santa Cruz gem! read more

This is just an all around good idea. The portions are massive and the food is delicious. It tastes fresh. It's a messy meal, but they are pretty good at packaging it up to go. A bit pricey, but worth it. Pay at the register. read more

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The BBQ was pretty good, and the 3 meat platter is perfect to split between 2 people. Prices are good, and the staff has always been friendly when I stop in. read more

Tried Coles twice now. First time got the bbq chicken which was pretty dry if I'm being honest. But it's hard to do bbq chicken right. We tried it again. This time I got a burger. The mushroom burger to be exact. The Swiss cheese I chose was a little bit chewy but the burger was actually really good. Fries and onions rings are good too. Service was great. The cashier was really helpful and nice and gets a plus because she used hand sanitizer before grabbing my soda cup to refill it Next time I'm craving a burger I'll be back. read more

Cole's BBQ & Catering - Barbeque Near Me - Santa Cruz, California