Lucille's Smokehouse Bar-B-Que — Restaurant in Brea

Update review 6/15/2018. So the restaurant is cleaner now. My last comments about the filth all around the booths that we had to eat in was even a bit much for the managers to take. Seems like they've rolled up their selves and cleaned a bit. But as for the food, every dish we ordered came out stone cold. I mean every single item on each plate was stone cold. This has been a consistent pattern with this place. It's like I'm being served cafeteria food that's been dished up hours ago and put aside somewhere only to be tossed on my plate before I get served it. Dried up, cold with that look that it's been sitting around for way too long. Not sure what the problem is. For the prices that they are charging, some dishes 3X what they should be, you'd think they'd find a way to get your food to you hot and fresh. Food is bland and I'm just tired of being disappointed each time I come here. The very next day we went to Leadbelly BBQ in Placentia and we found BBQ heaven! Never going back to Lucille's ever again.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Original Review 3 years earlier.....

This place has seen its heyday and now its on the down hill slide.

All the recipes are being changed to ensure profit margins stay high. Take the Mac and Cheese. It actually use to be one of the best things on the menu, but now, I'm sure they're opening boxes of Kraft in the back kitchen. Garbage.

They still do an OK job with the BBQ, but like all restaurants that get too many managers grinding out decisions to find ways to squeeze more profit out of a place, the quality of everything has gone downhill.

I don't like eating here anymore for the money I'm paying.

I actually had to endure a floor mopping machine being pushed around my table during my dinner while the worker picked up floor mats and flung them around dropping dirt and debris in my food that I'm shelling out $30.00 a plate for. Never mind the fact that the floor mopping machine was spattering dirty water all over my shoes and my wife's purse that she had on the ground while we tried to enjoy our meal. I was outraged that this couldn't wait till the restaurant was closed.

Of course I'm sure this was another management decision to follow some dim witted plan to keep the place spic and span at all times in spite of the fact that common sense would tell you otherwise.

The employees all act as if they no longer care. And why should they? The management clearly no longer cares about the quality of the food or the customer experience while dining.

If I'm going to drop over a $100.00 for a meal with my family, I can find other places that haven't lost their way in the grind of corporate America profits at the expense of their customer.

Sure, most people will put up with it.... but I won't.

Shame on you Lucille's for taking a place that was once great and turning it into a...

First & foremost, I want to thank our server Jesse, who was away from his family to serve a great meal on Thanksgiving Day. He was very nice, always checked back to see if we needed anything. He was very pleasant! Our evening there didn’t quite start off well though. The young man checking people in, who had reservations, was a very angry person. He yelled peoples names in an angry tone, when there table was ready. He spoke to the servers in an angry/mean tone. He was extremely rude to customers checking in as well.

Lucille’s was extremely busy and seemed quite behind. We waited 45 minutes to be seated, though we had a reservation. We took it in stride because we know how hectic it was inside the restaurant! I was in the restaurant business, so I know how it works. We are very patient people, so we understood the hectic Thanksgiving day.

The last straw for me was when he got very angry and threw several menus on the ground behind him. Very unprofessional to the point of unacceptable behavior. He is the first person people see and go to, when they walk into the restaurant or check the wait time for their reservation. He was not representing Lucille’s in a professional manner!! He would yell angrily into a headset to the people cleaning tables. His behavior was so shocking, I asked to see a Manager. I told her I thought her employee needed a break to calm down & collect his thought. She said she would give him a break but never did.

Close to the end of our 45 minute wait, he dropped 2 ‘F’ bombs. Several people heard him loud & clear! Stranges waiting in the lobby looked at each other & shrugged their shoulders in disbelief! He didn’t seem to care about anyone or anything. It was shameful.

There were several servers who went up to him asking questions and he got very angry and was quite rude to them as well.

This is not the type of behavior I would have EVER expected from a Lucille’s employee! Co-workers around him heard it all. This employee gives Lucille’s a bad name!

When we ate & left an hour later, he was still at the front desk complaining about patrons, it that they were not answering the page, complaining that people kept coming up to ask about their reservation, etc.

Our reservation was at 6:30pm. We got seated at 7:15pm. Finished our great dinner and left at 8:20pm. You might want to speak with servers & other employees about his behavior. I must say, I was embarrassed for them.

Going back to our server, Jesse is an exceptional server. Very attentive, concerned for his tables and very professional. Seems to enjoy what he does, serving other and making it a pleasant experience. Thank you Jesse, for making our Thanksgiving meal an enjoyable one. And thank you for taking time away from your family on this Thanksgiving day, to be a part of our Lucille’s experience for the 5...

It's unfortunate a review needs to be written to warn other visitors of this establishment. Placing the order via phone was a breeze even with the limited menu currently offered. Upon approaching the restaurant, there were over 5 viewable parking places designated for curbside service; this was great to see so we parked there. However, after calling for assistance, the worker said this feature is ONLY offered for online paid meals. This was VERY confusing, but nonetheless we entered to pay for the meal and pick up our food. (The confusion gets more intense...) After handing payment over, we was asked why there is designated curbside service and we are expected to come inside to pay? The manager explained that folks were not paying for meals - people would pretend to pay inside after receiving their meals, but would end up not paying for the food. Okay, weird and it’s understood people will take advantage from time to time. With that being said, we do live in modern times though and suggested for a worker to bring a tablet out to the cars and process payment there before handing over the food? The explanation provided was bogus and no acknowledgement was given to the common suggestion. Clearly there is no purpose to advertise curbside pick up as the company's policy is ridiculous and only applies to online orders.

Yes, this rant is long and sadly was not worth the food received. The food portions were less in comparison to past experiences. The mashed potato container was not full and the potatoes were not as flavorful. The tri-tip meat had lots of fat vs minimal fat in prior visits. The greens were okay, but did not have a lot of meat in them. For months now too, no fried okra is available. It's appreciated the coupons offered from time to time sent via email, but visiting Lucille's will definitely be somewhere we might skip in the future.

Advice to the chain and management at the Brea location, work on a better pick up policy and bring back higher...