This is the best barbecue I’ve had in Southern California. While it’s not traditional barbecue their barbecue tacos have the best texture and their barbecue pulled pork was savory, sweet, and delicious. The brussels sprouts are hands down the best in San Diego county with or without the pork belly addition!
Stopped in today and had the 1/4 Chicken with fries and sprouts.. That was an awesome lunch today, and as a southern yall making some mighty fine BBQ here in Encinitas CA!
Holy cow. Must try the brisket dish and pork belly tacos. You’re eating a Michelin trained chef’s food right smack dab in little Leucadia. It’s a must stop if even for the experience. Outdoor setting, snug up against a fun bar with bar games.
I cannot stress this enough, this is God level food. You would be doing yourself a disservice to not prep your body like a professional eater before coming here, so you can ensure youre able to eat as much off the menu as humanly possible. If this were the 1690s, these men would be tried for witchcraft as it is impossible to believe any mortal person could make something so good.
Great local spot for food. Its a little pricey, but thats to be expected around these parts. The owner seems to take pride in his work.
Wow! The brisket plate with Brussels was great!
Amazing food! Loved the pork belly tacos and cant wait to try some brisket
Great food and cool spot outside. Had the Brisket and highly recommend.
Brisket Bahn Mi! Who would have thought, Texas and Vietnamese? So damn good.
Omg!!!!! Drop the mic! Best ribs!!!!
Definitely my favorite restaurant in Leucadia.
This brisket was delicious!
Total reviews rating 4.4
22 Reviews for Smoke and Salt Restaurant 2024:
Review №1
2023-06-04 23:55:03Came here with high expectations due to the reviews. Not sure if this place was having an off day but it did not live up to the hype entirely.My rating is torn because the the meat was phenomenal but the sides were cold and just overall “meh”. I would not recommend ordering the Mac and cheese. But the pulled pork was so tender and perfect. Not sure if this is addressed anywhere but this place is technically a food truck, which is fine, but my god it was pricy for food truck standards.Again, overall feelings about this is 50/50. If I was to go here again, I would split a meal.
Review №2
2023-07-20 23:57:26This place is amazing! Best barbecue Ive ever had. Had the pulled pork, brisket, fries and slaw. Also had all of the sauces. Super unassuming, awesome outdoor space and of course connected to a full bar. What else could you possibly want!? 100% must visit.
Review №3
2023-09-08 21:28:26We randomly found this spot while visiting nearby Carlsbad. Its a food truck in the patio of a bar. It was absolutely delicious and a great hidden gem! There were out of a few items, but the guy working the truck gave us all the info and made great recommendations. Highly recommend the Brussels sprouts!
Review №4
2023-08-17 23:02:49We took a short bike from the house cause we hadnt been there before. Its behind the Leucadian and has a great backyard feel. Four of us ate and we shared all of it. The brussel sprouts were a full plate. They were crispy, well cooked and the seasoning was perfect. They didnt skimp on the meat in the pull pork sandwich which has a great Korean inspired slaw. Fries were hot, crispy and not too salty. The Mac and cheese had a blend of cheese that gave it a smooth texture with flavor. The special was a mix of brisket and beans which tasted great a gave a chili vibe. This will definitely be on the food rotation.
Review №5
2023-07-22 06:48:51It was difficult to find. Then, figured out its a food truck in the backyard of a bar. The prices were extraordinarily high for 2 spare ribs. More bone on them than meat. The mac & cheese was good but not $8 good. Then a 4% surcharge. And a flip of the register to ask you to tip 18% or more for walking in and picking your food up. Good food, not great. Too many other places treat me better for less money.
Review №6
2023-08-13 16:42:19Thoroughly average barbecue. I am not certain what is driving the great reviews here. Maybe people who have never had good barbecue? We ordered the brisket and the pulled pork. Both were so incredibly dry that it was hard to chew. We also ordered the mac and cheese which was decent. Mostly because it was hot.
Review №7
2023-08-20 19:17:40The food is really mediocre at best and we were excited to come here after reading about the Brisket Banh Mi. I would love to sit down with the chef because all the food is imbalanced - The Banh Mi needs crunchy bread, a well balanced acid from the pickled veggies and a nice, complex flavor. Here you only taste the barbecue sauce in soggy, cold bread and unfortunately the brisket does not come through at all. Also in a bahn mi the inside of the bread needs to be extracted so that it looks like a burrito instead of like a sandwich. The fries are incredibly salty and overall the food menu is around 50% overpriced for what you get (this is a food truck after all with plastic cutlery). I will say that the brussels sprouts were really tasty, but at $12 a pop the pricing is out of whack. There are some really good elements in the cooking, nice creativity but please work with someone on the flavors and execution. Atmosphere is really nice, so if you just want to hang this is a nice spot.
Review №8
2023-08-24 21:10:33Only giving 2 stars because the staff is nice. I am from Texas so maybe my expectations for BBQ are too high but this brisket was the worst I have ever had. It wasn’t sliced properly, had no flavor, and way too much fat. Super disappointed - not edible in my opinion
Review №9
2023-08-19 14:23:06Be forewarned that you can only access this restaurant by providing ID at the bar “hosting” their food truck in their outdoor area. We arrived excited to try the food and were turned away by the bar staff because I didn’t have my wallet, even though I showed them a photo ID on my phone. I had no intention of having a drink in the bar, I came for the food. Worst policy ever. Ruined our night. I won’t make that mistake again!
Review №10
2023-10-13 21:45:231 word - WOW. This place does BBQ right, one bite of the ribs took me right back to Texas. Phenomenal food. Such a solid spot to hang out and watch sports on the big screen TVs