Phil’s BBQ

Reviews

• Matt M.

  star star star star star 3 June 2026

  This is one of the best BBQ spots in the country! As a big fan of BBQ Phil's coming to east county  was probably one of the greatest additions to Santee. I love the great staff and nice people at the counter even though you pick your own food up when it's ready there still is some one at the table to get you napkins plates and bus the table.
  
  My family and I come here often but this day I popped in for lunch. My favorite thing on the menu are the beef ribs they are a must have there is a lot meat on them and they are very tender and always hot. This time ordered the sausage sandwich it has the perfect amount of spice and the coleslaw and soft bun and bbq sauce make it perfect.
  
  A new addition to the already amazing menu is there chicken wings. The dry rub on them doesn't disappoint and there is the right amount off smoke flavor.
  
  The thing that makes good bbq is the sauce and they definitely have it down. We buy the bottles and take it home put that s**t on everything.

• Mike A.

  star star star star star 31 May 2026

  My wife and I came in about 1pm for a late lunch/early dinner, and we're really glad we did. She's eaten here before, and it was my first time in the place. Zero wait time, literally EVERYONE on staff is crazy nice and helpful. The food is fantastic and fresh, and the portions are pretty huge for the reasonable price.
  The bar area on the side is great place to enjoy your food, talk, and watch sports on multiple huge TV's. The beer on tap selection has a great variety to choose from, and the waiters and bartenders are very knowledgable and helpful getting you the right flavor you're looking for to go with your food.
  Now that we live close, we can't wait to go back more often

• Brian B.

  star star star star star 26 May 2026

  Ready for a huge inside tip? Don't want to wait in long line at Sports arena Phil's?
  
  The bar now has full service at the table. Walk to far side by bar come in bar door and no wait hardly ever. Best BBQ and no line! Also full food service at the bar counter
  
  Enjoy!

• Cinna B.

  star star star star star 23 May 2026

  Love this restaurant!
  Phil's is always consistent. We can count on them to sever awesome bbq every time. We usually order a variety of dishes.  We usually order tri tip sandwich, pulled pork sandwich, beef ribs, pork ribs, love the coleslaw, cold beer, beer battered onion rings, and beans.
  
  Parking is not a problem at this location and you can have a beer or wine while standing in line for your table. The restrooms are clean, and the service is great.

• Danielle R.

  star star star star star_border 22 May 2026

  My husband has wanted to come here since we moved nearly 3 years ago. We often go to the target in the same plaza and smell the smoking in the air and it tempts us so much!
  
  This past Father's Day we finally decided to go there for dinner. I realized, thanks to yelp, about an hour before we left that it wasn't full service here but my husband didn't know until we got there and I told him. He was surprised and thought it would be with the line that is always there. I can't imagine how long the line would be if it was full service.
  
  After about 15 minutes of waiting and hardly moving, my husband was starting to wonder if this was the best choice for dinner. Right after agreeing to wait 15 more minutes to see how far we moved before going elsewhere, a staff member called out looking for parties of 2. I told my husband to ask if we qualified for that since we had the baby in the stroller. The staff member said yes so we got to skip the rest of the line and go sit. We were placed in the bar area along the window which has a bar top and really worked out because the stroller fit perfectly under it and we just kept the baby in the stroller and it was out of the way. We also got lucky because the bar area is full service.
  
  The service was amazing and impeccable. I honestly can't tell you the last time I had service this amazing somewhere. There were 4 staff members working in the bar area taking orders, checking on customers, bringing out food and drinks, and cleaning up. We never needed anything and the timing was awesome for everything. They got us in and out quickly with this amazing service and when we were leaving the group that was 2 behind us in line, was just getting to the front to order their meals.
  
  Adam ordered the  1/2 ribs and fries and I ordered the cluckless chicken and fries. Adam loved his ribs. They were so tender the meat was melting off and he devoured every bite of them. My chicken was good, it was very good but the name is a bit deceiving. I thought it might be a meat substitute, but it is just boneless. The BBQ sauce was just okay, not my favorite. It is very sweet and very smoky. I like more of a savory than a sweet, but it was still good. Although everything was good I do have a wonder about my chicken. The smoky flavor was so incredibly intense that I truly can't imagine it to be all natural. I would not be surprised to find out some smoky flavor is injected in the chicken.
  
  Overall, our food was good but to me absolutely nothing amazing. Nothing worth waiting in that huge line for and if I had to wait in that line and didn't have the amazing service we did, I would probably give 2 or 3 stars but their service saved them. After coming, my husband and I feel there is a lot of hype around here. If we want BBQ in the future, we will probably try a different restaurant but wouldn't turn down a trip if someone invited us here.