Great foods, Services were provided to meet the needs and help customers achieve desired outcomes I felt comfortable and happy with the lighting and decor. read more

Recently went the day before thanksgiving and drove all the way expecting Beef ribs to be on the menu , was disappointed that they had no Beef Ribs and was charged 9.50 $ for a Coors draft on tap ‍ After Ordering The platter with no ribs The brisket was half fat . It's just kept getting worse read more

Ate the Babyback ribs and they were excellent. But on a sad note they don't make Italian Sausage anymore to sell. Apparently management has changed. I've been eating the sausage since Sam was at Time Market. Hopefully someone picks up the recipe. Other than that the our ribs were a good choice. read more

The ribs was not very it did fall off the bone so I am not going there again kind of pricey

The food is real smoked and barbecued. The barbecued ribs and chicken is the real deal. Variety of ways to get a huge baked potato. The servers are friendly and helpful. The live music - bluegrass - is lots of fun. The music band is out on a covered patio on Wednesday nights. It is difficult to get a table, but our server kept looking out for us until a table was available. This definitely a fun place to come and bring friends. read more

Sam's Bar-B-Que - Bluegrass band. - Barbeque Near Me - San Jose, California

My boyfriend really enjoyed this place because of the large portions. I felt like the meat was a little dry sometimes, but the flavors were very good and it was very filling. You buy the food first at the counter. It's great for big parties because there is a lot of seating. The decor and ambience was very reminiscent of an authentic barbecue diner. read more

Sam's Bar-B-Que - Baby Back Ribs - 1/2 Rack platter - Barbeque Near Me - San Jose, California

I had the full slab of pork ribs. If you know the Flintstones cartoons, you will recognize the opening credits where the waitress brings a tray of ribs to the Flintstones' car and the car tips over, we'll that's what almost happened to our table. Those ribs where stacked high and full of delicious tender meat. I can't recommend it enough. My meal came with macaroni salad, which was also delicious. I took more than half of the ribs home with me and had them as leftovers the next day. read more

Sams BBQ is a hidden gem- one of the best BBQ restaurants in the Bay Area! They never disappoint on food or service. And know they've upgraded the seating area with a bar and big screen tvs! We came tonight and got the baby back ribs and chicken combo, pork platter and turkey burger. The food was tasty and well seasoned. We are never disappointed here- highly recommended read more

Sam's Bar-B-Que - Baby back ribs, Chicken Breast, French fries - Barbeque Near Me - San Jose, California

I've had Speed Queen in Milwaukee, Rudy's in Albuquerque, Stay Gold in Oakland and many in between. Tonight's brisket sandwich from Sam's in San Jose was hands down the worst I've ever tried. It was basically roast beef on a soft roll. No juice,no flavor,stringy texture. The cup of sauce that came with it was surely straight from a can. The cup of potato salad was definitely Karen's recipe. The only reason this is not a 1 star review is because some people might desire a dry 20 dollar roast beef. To everone else, "steer" clear of this place. read more

the new owners had reduced the quality of the food. please use the same meat supplier as before you took over.

Our family has enjoyed Sam's BBQ for years and years. For my retirement dinner, we chose Sam's to cater our event. My guests loved the variety and flavors of Sam's. We worked with Brandy at Sam's to create the perfect menu. The deliverers arrived as scheduled and the food was hot and ready. If you're considering a great BBQ house to bring in food for your event, I highly recommend Sam's. read more

Real beefribsandpork pork ribs good coleslaw good beans extra sauce More characters f follow follow read more

My rating is 3.5 stars rounded up to a 4. It is a family-friendly old-timey restaurant with indoor and a fully covered/enclosed patio dining areas. The employees were all friendly, and there is a cute train that runs on an elevated track near the ceiling of the restaurant. I ordered the small plate of BBQ chicken and coleslaw, which comes with garlic bread. I also ordered extra sides of chili beans and potato salad. My husband had a meal with baby back ribs, garlic bread, and chili beans. My husband said the potato salad was a bit bland. The garlic bread was okay, though not as good as it looked. The coleslaw was good. The beans were good. Unfortunately, both my chicken and my husband's baby back ribs were overcooked and dry; it was indeed a disappointment. read more

See all

I like this place and have been coming here since I was a kid. It's getting a little outdated, but it reminds me of an old western themed location. I had the 1/2 rack beef ribs which were amazing and enough food for only 1/2 rack... perfect smoke, but the BBQ sauce (which is theirs) is just ok. The coleslaw is good, but the Mac salad is a little to be desired. The garlic bread is a nice touch too. Service was ok... they were super busy so not as friendly as it normally is, but i give them a pass for this... they were doing the best they could. Parking is ample in the back and there is also street parking as well. read more

Sam's Bar-B-Que - Beef Ribs - 1/2 Rack - Barbeque Near Me - San Jose, California

Terrible place to eat, hi prices and food is dry and over cooked! I've been going there for years but not anymore! Fire your cook!

Service was friendly and fast. Flavor was great! However the meat was on the dry side. We tried beef ribs, baby back ribs, brisket, and some sliced pork. read more

Sam's Bar-B-Que - Barbeque Near Me - San Jose, California

The bbq is delicious, I've been going to Sam's Bbq for years now, and every time I go, it's always good. Thank you Sam's for the great service read more

Great little neighborhood BBQ joint. We ordered the sampler and the baby back ribs. The ribs and brisket were our favorite. The sausage wasn't my favorite but my kids loved it. Lots of leftovers! read more

Great bbq and even better music. Live music always makes the bbq taste better. You need to try this place. read more

Yeah, honestly, Sam's was a little better than I expected. This place was recommended to me by my YouTube viewer Ian Jose, and also got mixed reviews from my friends Nathan & Newton, plus I've never had amazing BBQ in San Jose. Quality is decent, not amazing. I got the combo plate with Beef Ribs, BBQ Chicken, and Brisket. Meat is on the drier side, with the exception of the Beef Rib, which was quite fatty. Brisket was quite poor, one of the worst BBQ briskets I've ever had. Chicken could've been juicier too. Sides are a little small. It's a huge contrast to the meat portions, which are quite generous. Perhaps not the most balanced. The BBQ sauce is pretty good here, which is why I'm giving it a 4 star review. It carries some of the dry meats and makes them quite palatable. Looking back, Sam's BBQ is a decent BBQ spot in San Jose with average food, friendly service, and a nice venue to dine at. Shoutout to Ian again. read more

Sam's Bar-B-Que - Combo plate - Barbeque Near Me - San Jose, California

See all

Ribs tough as leather dry ahh chicken and my potato salad was rancid. I'm not happy about the experience

This was my first time to Sam's Bar-B-Que and it was great. They had so much selection of bbq items, I wasn't sure what to get. We decided to get a combo platter because it sure sounded like a ton of food. The combo platters came with the meat of choice, garlic bread, and two choices of either macaroni salad, Cole slaw, chili, or potato salad. We got the ribs platter with chili and potato salad. We also got a kids meal child's ribs plate that came with fries and a drink. The portions are huge here. Our one combo rib platter fed four people and still had leftovers. I think some of us are it for lunch the next day too. The ribs were good, it had good flavor and wasn't dry at all. I wasn't really a fan of their chili or potato salad. They said that their chili was one of the best but I think I've had better chili. The potato salad was okay too, nothing special. My daughter's child plate was huge. She also had ribs and loved every bit of it. The meat was cooked perfectly for her meal too. She just took that rib and ate it clean. She also had leftovers for the next day too. We also ordered a side of hush puppies. I hadn't had that for years and I just wanted to have a taste of it again. They were really good. They gave quite a few pieces and we kept on chowing on them. There were no leftovers on those, haha. Overall great place for bbq. I hope to come back again the next time I'm up visiting in California. read more

See all

This is the one place where I wish I could've given some negative stars. We came here on Sunday afternoon after church. I should have realized that coming to a barbecue place and not getting the aroma of barbecue is a big red flag. The place itself is really nice. The ambience is pretty good but the tables were sticky and I could see a fly stick to the table. It's that bad. The food was horrible, except for the ribs nothing was hot. It was literally cooler than room temperature. The only thing good was the garlic bread. The regular bread was worse than Subway. Service was horrible as well, asked for sauce and waited and waited more and had to go get it myself. The worst $150 ever spent. Spare your time, spare your dollar go somewhere else. read more

See all

A two star review. Say it ain't so . Sam's was our go to spot at some point. The brisket plate is $25 now. Okay, pandemic, life is hard, food costs are high, workers deserve good wages. But the meat should be tender and flavorful. It is the exact opposite. So hard to chew. I had a dull knife and couldn't cut it. There was no smoke ring, the meat was almost gray in color. The only flavor came from the bbq sauce. Depressing at best. I had been craving bbq for months. Can't recommend Sam's anymore. I will say the staff is friendly and the hush puppies are still great. read more

Sam's Bar-B-Que - Beef Brisket - Usda Choice - Barbeque Near Me - San Jose, California

This is one of my absolute favorite bbq spots in the South Bay. The vibe is rustic old school and the BBQ is delicious and the folks that work there are so kind. My husband and I love a good walk up and order spot. Makes it easy when you want to eat and leave! You get your number and take a seat. Once your food is ready they bring it on over with a full bottle of bbq sauce. My go to order is the baby back ribs, coleslaw and Mac salad with a side of garlic bread. Depending on how hungry I am I do the combo chicken and ribs. Depending on the night you can enjoy some live music on the patio or an awesome special. (I just recently enjoyed a special on a full rack of ribs) They also have some great craft beers on tap for those who like to drink. read more

See all

My first visit to Sam's in several years. I was hungry and in the neighborhood, glad I stopped by. I tried the smoked chicken salad. Not used to the Smokey chicken flavor, but it was good. I bought the 1/2 rack of baby backs for my fiancé w/ a side of chili and potato salad. I tried it all and it was good. The baby backs were recommended by the young man who took my order as a customer favorite. The other person at the counter was super sweet. I do want to come back to try the ribeye and brisket. There's plenty of parking in the back and on the street. Plenty of seating inside and out on the covered patio. read more

See all

Great food. Lots of meat choices. Try the baby back ribs, brisket, or sausage. Even has a small bar--beer & wine only.

went here very excited as I knew Sam. really wanted brisket which was very very disappointing as it was cooked like leather. The "garlic" bread did not taste like garlic and had a ton of green stuff on it?! The hot link I ordered had multiple pieces of gristle in it. The one yummy item was the mac salad. As to the ladies room at 5pm there was no toilet paper or toilet seat covers. I was so looking forward to this meal and was let down. I attempted to contact the restaurant, but after two tries the owner was not responding. obviously he doesn't care. Food generally sucks and bathrooms were a big problem. There's better bbq elsewhere and I'm sorry to say, Sam would be disappointed as well. read more

Ordered bb ribs. What we got were not bb. They were tough and dry. Large bones, clearly not bb.

Absolutely delicious their beef ribs are amazing. The customer service is OK but the food is very scrumptious if I could give more than five stars, I would. read more

We hadn't eaten at Sam's in years & my last memory was not great. We'll I've changed my mind. We ordered a brisket sandwich with beans and coleslaw and baby back ribs with beans and potato salad. All items were delicious. The beans were terrific. We will surely choose Sam's next time we want BBQ. read more

Smells amazing, chicken a little dry but hot link and brisket were delicious. Fried pickles, and fried zucchini were great. Will be returning read more

This place has the most delicious, fabulous barbecue sauce I've ever tried, and I'm from Texas, and I've been to Missouri and I've been to Tennessee. If you are a fan of good barbecue in the San Francisco Bay area/Silicon Valley, this is your place. I can't believe I just found this hidden gem. Enjoy!! read more

The staff is really friendly and accommodating. Everything I've ordered is great. I ordered a half slab of ribs and was surprised how meaty they were. Oh, and I love their garlic bread. read more

Haven't been here in a year and I have to say I won't be coming back . The portions seem smaller and the meat was dry. And not to mention I paid close to $40 for my plate. I guess they need to pay for the new bar they added and the menu that is now displayed on TV's which is hard to read. read more

This place has gone downhill. Ambiance is nice. Service and staff are still nice and friendly. But most importantly the food, and attention to detail, has fallen off. The cooking sucks. Maybe they just stopped caring? April 2024, ordered beef ribs and while the meat was tasty, it was also very dry. So that tells me they cooked them too long or had heat too high. How do you screw this up after so many years of business? Disappointing because not many places serve beef ribs. July 2025, ordered the 1/2 lb cheeseburger and asked for medium. To me, and most places I've been too, medium has just a tiny bit of pink. Burger came out well-done (fully brown, dry closer to the edges) with crisp burnt marks. I mean damn, are they not cleaning the grill before cooking? That's a $16 burger that taste worst then some fast food places. So yeah, not great which makes me a little sad because Sam's has been around for a long time. read more

My wife and I have eaten at Sam's since it originally opened. In fact, I knew the owners the food's always been excellent and the pies were made in house to perfection tonight Saturday night. We ate there and the quality has fallen from a 10 down to a two. The quality of the main dish was average at best while the potato salad look like something that came out of a Safeway market. The meat had no flavor!My wife had the ribs which were smaller than normal with a lot less beef, then came the dessert which we had ordered, which was Apple Pay mode. They served it cold. In other words they didn't warm the apple pie at all. It took five request to get them to deliver that poor apple pie under no circumstance what I recommend this restaurant going forward I believe Sam must've sold it. There were only three people in there taking care of the restaurant on a Saturday night with a line out the door. read more

I remember when Sam's opened in 1992 and it was a fun place to have lunch. So tonight when we went we were greeted by Elenor who was so friendly and hospitality oriented. Elenor brought our food out to us quickly and asked if she could do anything else to help us. Great customer service. It was amazing. The sampler platter was Tasty, yummy and delicious. They had live music with a duo group called Whistle Creek. Caroline and Aaron were amazing. I loved the whole experience 100% read more

See all

Sam's Bar-B-Que is located in San Jose. I didn't realize I had not reviewed this establishment when I was looking for a BBQ place. So I decided to drop by. They offer takeout as well as limited dine in. The staff were friendly and attentive as I ordered a BBQ Beef Brisket Plate. My food was ready in a few minutes. The Brisket was good. I'll definitely be back again. read more

wasn't the best . very unseasoned food taste undercooked isn't as tender as thought would be .