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    The Hot Box BBQ

    4.3 (87 reviews)
    Closed 12:00 pm - 7:00 PM
    Updated 2 weeks ago

    The Hot Box BBQ Photos

    THE HOT BOX BBQ ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Outdoor seating
    Good for groups
    Good for kids

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    Rayce M.

    I am on the fence about the Hot Box BBQ. Here's why. A small food truck in Guernerville, CA, located next to the mini golf course, Hot Box BBQ is serving mainly pulled pork and chicken in sandwich-style entrees. The ambiance isn't great. There are some picnic tables right next to the road, and the Pee Wee mini golf joint can be loud, and it's quite messy. Not an ideal place to enjoy a meal. During our vacation (we stayed in the neighborhood), I walked over to pick up dinner for the family. First of all, this place isn't cheap. Prices are about what you would pay at a full-service restaurant. After ordering two sandwiches, a salad, and two kids' hot dogs, the gentleman running the truck quoted me 10 minutes. The wait time was far longer than 10 minutes. I didn't get an exact timing, but it was at least double. I got our food home, and it was hot, fresh, and pretty tasty. The smoked tofu was good in the Hawaiian-style sandwich. The chicken was ok, but not what I would call top-tier smoked BBQ food. I wish I had ordered the pulled pork to see if it was any better. The portion sizes were decent for the price. If you like BBQ-style food, the Hot Box may be worth trying if you're visiting the area. However, this isn't really BBQ. They do smoke the meats in a small propane smoker outside the truck, but it's not what you'd really get at a real BBQ joint. Honestly, I will probably skip this spot next time I'm in Guerneville, but that's not to say it's not worth a try at all.

    Classic
    Adam B.

    Delicious food truck permanently located just outside of downtown Guerneville, near mini golf. The thing to get is pulled pork, offered in many variations. I really like when places specialize doing one thing very well. Volcano Pulled Pork: I mentioned that I like hot food, but only when the spiciness is designed to complement all the flavors. So like Szechuan, which is inherently spicy, instead of drowning mediocre chow mein in sriracha. I was assured that this sandwich was strategically crafted. And it was! The sweet spicy tang was perfect against the rich unctuous pork. Loved the crunchy onion bits against the soft bun. Really top notch! So impressive for a food truck. Potato Salad: Creamy with some mild spices and herbs. Some of the potato pieces are a tad too crunchy for my liking. Coleslaw: Pretty standard.

    The volcano with pulled pork and the potato salad
    Krista P.

    Food is delicious always and I like supporting small local businesses. You can get this sandwich with chicken or pork qnd I switch off which one ill get. Both delicious

    Volcano sandwich and potato salad

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    2 years ago

    Such great bbq. I got classic pulled pork my husband went with the one with jalapeño . Both were excellent. Highly recommend

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    1 year ago

    Delicious food. Amazing service. Had a lovely outdoor rib dinner. Would definitely go back. Thanks!

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    5 years ago

    You cannot go wrong with a good pulled-pork sandwich, especially the Maui Wowie! This place is fire to the max

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    5 years ago

    Killer BBQ, and killer menu . Super nice people also! My family and I love this little place! Highly recommend!

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    Business owner information

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    Andre K.

    Thank you so much! We enjoyed serving you.

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    Piknik Town Market - BISCUITS YAHOO!!!!

    Piknik Town Market

    4.3(55 reviews)
    0.3 mi

    Piknik was formerly known as a different restaurant on the main drag of Guerneville, but they are…read morestill serving up awesome biscuits as well as a great selection of gourmet snacks and beverages. Piknik is mostly known for great coffee and biscuits, including biscuit sandwiches and other scrumptious pastries. We tried a few things, which included the banana bread, a biscuit breakfast sandwich, and a few coffees. I was very impressed by the biscuits. The texture is great, and the crunch on the outside is perfect. The sausage, egg, and cheese were a great complement. The coffee was good. My grandma enjoyed the cappuccino, which she often says is difficult to prepare properly. The banana bread was also impressively moist, even after a few days, as we ate it for breakfast during our trip. The staff here was super nice and hospitable. I enjoyed the ambiance, too. Piknik is both a cafe and a market, so they have lots of great gifts to browse as you're waiting for coffee and food. Certainly worth a stop for a quick breakfast if you're in Guerneville.

    One of 2 breakfast places open before 9am, Piknik acts like it... I completely forgive a long wait…read morewhen busy. AND I expect to get my food correctly when I do finally receive it... Got the turkey sandwich and it was a travesty. I had no idea it would come hot-- that should be noted. I told the cashier I was packing it with me for the river. I don't want sticky Dutch crunch bread and HOT lettuce... I guess my bad for not asking. But then the turkey... one single sad slice running the length of an 8" piece of bread. For $16. Absolutely absurd. I only waited as long as I did to get a premium sandwich. After all that, they didn't even wrap it to go and I had to plop the sticky mess into a box myself. Thanks. Giving 3* because they have cute snacks/drinks and the smoked salmon and biscuit for the "Sea Biscuit" were well done. It didn't have the promised shallots though, and all the capers were concentrated in the middle. Not a super pleasant surprise. Don't offer food you can't make correctly while busy. And fire that blond guy who was walking around like he'd never seen a kitchen before.

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    Baked on the River - Brunch Bird

    Baked on the River

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    We always loved stopping there for a danish or brunch - especially on our way to Bodega Bay - when…read morethey were located right off River Road. Now that they have moved to the 3R Hotel with a dinner menu, we wanted to go check them out. They did NOT disappoint. There were 5 of us and every single plate was amazing - definitely all were 5 star meals! We also had dessert and, just like always before, it was incredible. We had the bread pudding and the strawberry crisp. Both were worth coming back for. Also, we thoroughly enjoyed the live music by Jeremy Lipson. What a great guy - very personable, welcomed requests, and his voice and talent were beyond good. Needless to say, we had a wonderful evening and will definitely be going back there again and again. And no...we are not affiliated with this restaurant in any way. I am just stating an opinion! Sorry, I forgot to take pictures, but I sure wish I had done so because the presentation was also beautiful.

    Amazing brunch experience here! Super friendly female server - detail oriented. I had to try the…read moresalmon chowder, which was outstanding that was rich, but tanginess to balance it. My son had the Swedish pancake, and it was delicious too. My picky husband LOVED their biscuits & gravy. He said that dish was "elite" with perfectly smooth gravy (unlike some restaurants that serve grainy gravy). Inside was cozy & welcoming with lots tables. We'll definitely revisit in the future.

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    Korbel Delicatessen & Market - Chicken salad sandwich on whole wheat with pasta salad on the side

    Korbel Delicatessen & Market

    4.2(189 reviews)
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    This was my second visit to Korbel, and it is a quintessential stop while in the Guerneville area…read more The vibes are perfect. Inside and outside seating in and around the beautiful property of the Korbel winery. There are heaters on the patios for cooler weather and water/bussing stations spread throughout the complex. The sandwiches and deli options here are top-notch. The Legacy was perfect, filled with tender tri-tip. The Vintner is filled with delicious chicken salad, and you can't go wrong with any of their bread choices. Best of all are the scrumptious dessert choices. The carrot cake was great, but the dream bars were truly dreamy. The service was great through and through. All around amazing stop for lunch, very reasonable prices, and a must-visit spot in Guerneville.

    It had been a while since I've visited this Market/Deli. Our friend chose here to celebrate her…read morebday after a great hike at nearby Armstrong Woods. The grounds here are always quite lovely and a pleasure to walk past the gardens & nice redwoods to get to the deli. It was quite a bit busier than we had anticipated. It seemed that perhaps they were shortstaffed or not expecting so many people to stop by. We waited in a line to place our order- two of us decided to do the salad sampler. As it was my friend's birthday we ordered a bottle of their brut rosé. When the bubbles arrived, even though the bottle was in an ice bucket, it wasn't properly chilled. We had a glass, but were unable to finish it with the tepid temperature. As we still had almost half a bottle left we asked for a cork or some kind of stopper to bring it home. We were informed they have no such thing. I can't understand how a Winery wouldn't have a spare cork. We ended up passing on the bottle to a group of men having lunch. One friend thoroughly enjoyed the Caesar salad. The two of us that had the salad samples were somewhat disappointed. It seems I had the very last of the pasta salad so my friend was unable to get hers. Upon trying the salad, It had a very strange taste that I couldn't quite figure out. I had both of my friends taste it and they agreed it had a bit of a chalky flavor. Thankfully, when I brought this to the attention to the staff, they were able to let me switch it out. As I mentioned, it was maybe busier than they had expected and were disappointed that they were all out of water as we had just hiked 5 miles in warm weather. Additionally, when we arrived, the Deli was already out of two salads. The outdoor setting is absolutely lovely and adds a big bonus to a dining experience here. We ordered a slice of cake to share to celebrate a birthday and unfortunately, it was on the dry side. Because it's such a beautiful setting and we're guessing they were short staffed I'm rating this a 4 star experience and hoping that at a future time we will be more impressed.

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    Koala's Fine Food - Tiger roll was beautiful!

    Koala's Fine Food

    3.9(324 reviews)
    0.4 mi
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    I didn't really know what to expect since they were serving sushi and burgers. However, I had a…read moredecent time dining here with my family. Service was excellent and accommodating. There are an indoor seating as well as outdoor. Food time took a little longer and didn't come out around the same time. This is probably the only restaurant serving sushi in Guerneville Area. Chili nachos - wow. Their fries are addicting! Nicely well made and chili was a great combo with it. Crab Rangoon- interesting texture on the wraps but inside was good! Lion king - warm, nicely baked. Flavor was there. Dinner combo - katsu and California roll. Their katsu were on the thin side which made it super crunchy. I wished they had the sauce on the side. The California roll was imitation crab. Dragon Roll - wished it had more eel and without their spicy mayo sauce

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    Coffee Bazaar - Breakfast Big Burrito & Classic Breakfast Sandwich

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    3.7(318 reviews)
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    Excellent, straight to the point service and morning drinks. Very prompt and friendly service, with…read moregreat sandwiches and pastas on displays at the front!

    It is so disappointing that we've lived here for almost 3 years now and can't get a decent cup of…read morecoffee or sandwich. We went in this morning because our sink is backed up in the kitchen and didn't want to deal with dirty dishes. My wife ordered a "large" cappuccino and was shown the small size cup normally a cappuccino is served in. She asked if they could just put both in one cup. Someone else described "the blank look with a what do you want?!" Look. Spot on. My sandwich was ready very quickly which was surprising as I have waited long after we've received our coffee on previous visits. We then waited for my wife's large cappuccino. The person who is making coffees took off her apron turned to another girl I walked off. My wife stepped up to check on her cappuccino as other people after her had gotten their coffees. The girl handed my wife a cup after pouring the almond milk in and my wife tried it and it was cold. The person then put it on the steamer to make it hot. I'm not a cappuccino expert, but I'm pretty sure you're supposed to steam the milk or cream before pouring it in. We took everything home as we're only about three minutes from coffee bizarre and I was disappointed in my sandwich egg cheddar cheese sausage on a English muffin everything other than the eggs seem to be microwaved what I thought when my sandwich was made so quickly.

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    Coffee Bazaar - Counter for ordering

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    Nimble & Finn's - Salted Caramel in a waffle cone, very delicious

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    4.5(221 reviews)
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    My friend loves ice cream and this is one of her favorite ice cream spots in downtown Santa Rosa…read more She's raved about Nimble & Finn's for quite some time and when she finally brought me there, I must agree, the ice cream was to scream for. First off, it's a women-owned business. Yay! If you're lucky, you might meet the owner, she's super sweet. The atmosphere is welcoming, clean and chic. It's a mix of midcentury modern with a side of hipster vibes. I loved the interior decorating as well... especially the beautifully painted ice cream art on the wall. It was the prettiest and most spacious ice cream joint I've visited. I got a double scoop. Pear Caramel and Lavender Honeycomb! Loved the honeycomb bits mixed in the lavender. The ice cream was smooth and creamy and the flavors popped. Very satisfied with the ice cream here and would like to try some of their other flavors in the future. They not only have delicious ice cream, but they provide beer, cider, ice cream cocktails, and a variety of grilled cheese sandwiches. Found out there's a daily Happy Hour from 3pm-6pm! Love that Nimble & Finn's is a safe and well decorated space for the ice cream loving community, in the heart of Santa Rosa.

    I came here and before even asking me what flavor ice cream I want, I got a question asking me…read moreabout my disability status. Yes, I have a dog. Yes, you are doing business in a dog town where I just ate dinner at a place that didn't say a word about me having a Pomeranian. Then I went to a bar where Pomeranians are completely fine too. If you don't like dogs, and the first question you ask is if someone is disabled, get the f*ck out of Guernville you fake bank ice cream. Bye No wonder this place has been through 5 different names in 5 years.

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    Nimble & Finn's - Outside

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    Nimble & Finn's - Outside

    Outside

    Nimble & Finn's - The front of the store

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    The front of the store

    The Hot Box BBQ - sandwiches - Updated September 2026

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