Before they changed management and when I was eating gluten, the french dip with french fries were an AWESOME combo. This was the first restaurant where I actually fell in love with the french dip...and no one else could compare. Then they changed management... The types of rolls that they used were different and yet the cooks were the same. I'm not sure what happened but the quality of this sandwich went downhill. No matter, I stopped eating the bread, so the sandwich went out the window anyhow. Now I order the linguica and cheese omelet (no matter what time of day), which has been hit or miss. Sometimes the egg is fully cooked throughout and other times I have to send it back (and no, it's not just the runny melted cheese, it's raw egg...). Their fries (from a bag) are pretty good. This place is just okay. read more

Was about to try this place for dinner until I looked up and saw the chef outside in his apron, smoking a cigarette. Will never go there!

We've been dining at the embers for over 20 years. The atmosphere isn't great but the food is great and the staff is friendly (even the chefs). I wouldn't recommend coming here on a Sunday Morning as it's always packed. I've never been disappointed. Yummy breakfast and very tasty sandwiches. read more

Ok..... So I came here for breakfast. Eeeeewwwwwwwwwwww!!!!!!! Had the pancakes. All it was some cheap mix where you just at water. They were like rubber! NEVER BEEN RETURNING TO THIS PLACE AGAIN read more

Spinach omelet was amazing and the service super friendly!! 6 stars if I could Top breakfast place :) read more

Wanted to charge for cranberry sauce with open face turkey sandwich...go figure Will NEVER recommend or consider again

The review that that send out bad take-out is 100% true. These eggs were included in my take-out order. Why are they grey/greenish? I already started eating them before I realized. Completely unacceptable!!!!! read more

The Embers - Grey/green eggs with take out order - Barbeque Near Me - Pinole, California

This place is really nasty. I went last week and ordered BBQ ribs and the "BBQ sauce tasted and looked like Ravioli sauce. I also ordered French toast combo and my sausages scared me . I refuse to give them any more of my money read more

The Embers - Sausages that came with my french toast combo - Barbeque Near Me - Pinole, California

Embers has been around for ever, (well as long as I could remember). Everybody locally knows about The Embers. I really only came for breakfast, which I might say is really good. The staff is always friendly. Prices are reasonable. I live real close by and the best part of living close by is the smell the comes from this place. When you see the smoke coming out of the stack, that means that they are grilling or smoking some meat and the aroma is mouth watering!!! read more

We're regulars here and it never disappoints. We love the mom and pop feel of the place.

I ordered a hot pastrami sandwich. I got thick slices of old ham and cheese on bread. Dry, nasty, disappointing.

Good spot if you get the roast beef on persian... Wood cook beef is excellent, but thats all i enjoyed!!! Would recommend for takeout

Yummy ! I liked the food in this place ! Great family style place! Good lunch and breakfast. Waiter was great and manager checked on us! We will be back ! I will say the the restroom was clean but outdated. read more

The Embers - Yummy - Barbeque Near Me - Pinole, California

Terrible service. First time coming in with my family and we were there like dummies at the door waiting for some sort of greeting or a hi or anything! We were totally ignored. My salad was huge pieces of iceberg lettuce with 2 tomato slices. My husbands gyro was messy with some type of weird meat we still don't know what he ate he's Mediterranean and said it was a disaster of a gyro. If you're going to charge huge prices try having better customer service and better quality of food. 41 dollars we spent for mediocre food. I could've gone to the burrito truck and got something super yummy for less than 10 bucks. I'd rather go to fast food than this I regret giving them my hard earned money.Stay away from this place. read more

Been going here for over 10 years. I can admit they lost a step but still a decent place to keep in my rotation. I recommend getting the open face sandwich. Other than that i couldnt put my name/rep on anything due to all the bad reviews i've read on here. Old style feel restaurant where you can see the food be prepared. read more

I went here today while visiting friends in Pinole. This place has been here since the '70s and looks like it. The place has a homey, quaint quality that is comforting and almost anti-fancy. For the most part, this is a barbecue place, although they serve many other kinds of food. Some of the meat was a bit dry, but some was very moist and tasty. The sauce tasted a little reminiscent of that of Armadillo Willy's, but that's about the only point in common between the two places. Overall, it was okay. Nothing fancy but nothing really negative here at all. I'd want to check out some of the other places in Pinole, but I'd be up for going here again some time. read more

We go here about once a month and take out their Chef's Salad. It is really, really good. Lots of meats, it is HUGE and the salad dressing is excellent. Sometimes we go in and eat - usually for breakfast. They do a nice job of grilling linguisa and the bacon is good. Service is usually very good. It isn't a place where I would go for dinner and not fancy in any way. It is kind of a small town, local, diner. However they have a bit if a unique BBQ Smokey technique that is quite good. However, if you are in the mood for a good salad, try the Chef's Salad. read more

Great food we have never been disappointed. Ribs are the best and breakfast always a great treat

This place is just okay. The food, service and atmosphere are absolutely nothing to write home about. That said, it's not inedible or anything if you want a meat and potatoes type of meal and are in the area. Be aware that the clientele and employees here is not very diverse. read more

I've been to Embers about 5 times, Everytime I have been here, the service has been excellent and so has the food.

First time having breakfast here while doing change oil across the street. Very Good! Fresh, clean and people are nice. The ember omelette is a killer! read more

I've been coming here ever since I was a little girl The Waitresses are super sweet and the cooks are amazing they always greet you right when you hit the door and try to hold a conversation with you as long as possible if you go there frequently you get to know them a little bit better one of the waitresses daughters came in and she was super cute said hi to me right away it just as a nice family environment to be in read more

A family tradition! When we've gone to visit Grandma & Grandpa in Pinole over the years, it has always included a trip to Embers. The waitresses treat us like family and the food is home-style good: breakfast, lunch or dinner! read more

Lawd. Where do I even begin? I've come here a few times and like the food but the women that work there are probably the rudest women I've ever encountered. I'm starting to think their borderline racist. Each time we've come here they've sat white people before us even if we were first in line, the service is slow, they're not friendly at all. I'd say stay away and just hit whatever other breakfast place you were thinking of other than this one. read more

Don't know what everyone is complaining about? Service was good, eggs benedict was good. No complaints. Seems like all of the millenials living at mommy's and daddy's need their chins wiped for them. Some day they will become adults. read more

This place is great. The service is good, the crowd is mixed considering it is Pinole. The food was good and the portion sizes are very good as well. As we have kids, they were very accommodating to us and providing things for them to do while waiting for the food. They even brought out the food for the kids first. Big plus for that. read more

Very disappointed. Ordered bbq ribs and bbq chicken. Got home and find fried chicken instead of bbq. Chicken was dried looks like left over pieces from dont know when . Ribs dried too. Price is high too read more

The Embers - Barbeque Near Me - Pinole, California

horrible, i usually oder dinner from this place. it's most of the time hit or miss. the last time, i ordered a chicken fried steak dinner. all i got was a dollop of mash potatoes, a meat patty of something, and bread. no gravy and no vegetables. don't even want to get into what the rest of the order looked like. this is the worst food i've had from them. read more

I enjoyed my visit to the Embers. (This was pre lockdown) The food was decently priced and we both had a good time. I was surprised it wasn't busier at the time, but it gave to room a mellow feel. Will definitely order from in the future. read more

This place has been there for FOREVER and I hope it never goes away. I don't like that I smell like smoke(from the oven) when I leave. Otherwise it is great. Years ago they used to have a smoking section where you could smoke cigarettes! Remember those days!? My favorite: Open faced roast beef sandwich on a persian roll with BBQ sause all over it! YES! read more

One of my favorite places to eat. Beef on a Persian roll. The sauce is great. The cooks got it right. Used to go to the Hickory Pit for the same thing over 30 years ago. Brings back found memories read more

Wow! That was the driest pork sandwich I've ever choked down. Literally had to sip water with every bite! The BBQ sauce was watery and flavorless too. Told my server how dry it was, and she said they sometimes come out that way. Not gonna gamble on another visit! Great for people who like bland, overcooked food. read more

We went again after a long hiatus and because the service in there is well kinda unrefined. We hadn't even got our buts into our chairs before we were asked what we wanted to drink. When you are with kids, this MATTERS. Then the waitress who's been there at least as long as we've lived in Pinole took our order and wrote everything down on her paper pad. She was great at suggesting that I could get the pancakes that my wife wanted but couldn't with her meal. I got her hash browns and she got my pancakes! Score and thank you! Well hers came with country potatoes! She made it right and of course this was not a big deal. But when they brought the cheeseburger to our table which none of us had ordered it brought me right back to why we hadn't been there in so long. The food was excellent for sure I liked the smoky ness of my steak and everyone else liked there's too. I would rate 3.5 stars... read more

Good, old fashioned, unpretentious food. Maybe 3 1/2 stars. The steak/shrimp combo is good. Salads are unremarkable but edible. Don't order wine. Whatever I had was barely drinkable. Tea is Lipton's or something like it. Not fancy, but they can cook a steak. read more

All I can say is that when I asked for fresh fruit the waitress looked at me as if I asked for a dead person. "We only have canned peaches. " wrong place to go. read more

This place is sad! If you are black this is not the place for you, I am a younger black man. I came here with my black girlfriend, the older white lady was rude, she gave us attitude for no reason my girlfriend thought I was tripping but when the lady brought us the water she threw the straw down in a very aggressive manner and looked at us with her face turned p at us. I told my girl to get her stuff and lets go. I felt so unwanted, it made me very sad that we still live in a racists world, the old ladies in there don't like black people don't do it read more

I have been loving this restaurant for years, it was the closest thing to the old Rods Hickory Pit of yesteryear but in the las 6 monthes it has really gone down hill. It seems as though their making major cuts in the meat quality and the way they prepare the food. And yes the young man that serves the drinks is very rude. BIG DISSAPOINTMENT. Hopefully the owner will read this reviews and make some changes. read more

This is my favorite place for breakfast. Love the french toast, waffles pancakes. The eggs and hash browns are in hearty portions. The staff is always friendly and very attentive. read more

I wish I could give this place no stars. It's disgusting. The food quality is horrible. I never really take the time out to write reviews, but this place was definitely worth it. Yuck! Please don't go here. I beg of you. read more

We recently moved to the area and decided to try this spot after hearing so much about it. I can see that the locals may love it but for those who didn't grow up on it, not sure if there is as much love. I got the prime rib dip - very thick but slightly dry. My husband got a bunch of breakfast food and it was pretty ordinary to me. The food wasn't bad but as the 2 stars rating says "Meh. I've experienced better." If I ever want breakfast in the area, Cafe Soleil is my spot! read more