Holé Smokes BBQ — Restaurant in Costa Mesa

Came to pickup an online order and they wanted me to verify I gave name and the exact order. The guy looked at it knew it was mine and said he still needed more verification. I asked what more verification does he need and he couldn’t even tell me. So the manager walks by and at first says I can handle it but they still insisted they needed more verification even though they weren’t telling me what to see. I went to pull up the receipt from my bank account before realizing I did pickup through Uber eats and after showing the Uber eats receipt she goes I don’t see ur name on it. Felt I was getting profiled and it was quite honestly ridiculous so after realizing they were doing too much she gave me the food and I said “aye yai yai” in a joking way and walked out with a smile on my face because I knew they were being a bit racist, and once again ridiculous, just genuinely a weird encounter. This older female manager then comes outside as I’m getting into my car and screams about a full minute later, WHAT DID YOU SAY? WHAT DID YOU SAY? I looked at her speechless in disbelief and just smiled and got in my car. Never seen a customer service worker lose it like that over absolutely nothing. Also didn’t know saying aye yai yai after being held up for five minutes and getting racist vibes from employees warranted that kind of crashout. She must have been extremely bored and sad. I was hoping it was maybe one of those places where the service sucks cuz the food is great but it was genuinely also the worst bbq I’ve ever had, way too salty. Saltiest and worst flavor on a brisket I’ve ever had. I understand there’s protocols to go by but they were doing too much and then exiting the restaurant you work for to go in the parking lot to yell at a customer is just senseless. The Mac n cheese and ribs were okay but price wise and portion wise nothing is worth it. If you like fatty, poorly seasoned, and low quality bbq this is the...

I loved the location in Long Beach (which they reverted back to a Hole Mole) so when I heard they were opening up in Costa Mesa, I had to come and eat here.

Off the bat, when you walk in - it smells fantastic! We ordered the Hole Trinity, Smash Burger, Brisket and Pulled Pork Sandwiches and tried out all of the meats and a couple sides. My favorite was obviously the brisket, but the ribs and tri-tip also stole the show for me. Be aware though, the tri-tip is cooked at MEDIUM RARE - so if you don't like that, then order something else. All the meats were the perfect blend of smokiness, saltiness and tenderness. The broccoli slaw was my personal favorite for the sides, the dressing is on point. Mac and Cheese was the perfect blend and the Chips and Queso - SO good!

In my opinion, portion sizes were great. Obviously if you need more food, then order more lol generally, meat is expensive and that's what you pay for. So come expecting that especially if you have a big appetite!

My family and I had a great experience eating here - the service was GREAT and the staff were so kind, personable and helpful! I would honestly come back just for the service alone. They answered all of our questions and had great recommendations.

Would highly recommend to come early since meats are limited. They have Happy Hour at the bar DAILY from 3-7pm on Weekdays and 3-6pm on Weekends. Parking and location is great!

I would definitely come back and will be recommending Hole Smokes to all of my friends...

We were there on day two of their official opening, and it was busy so we sat the bar. Bartender was busy but still took our order quickly. Definitely friendly and knew the menu and items even for day two. We got there around 7:15ish on Friday and they were sold out of chicken and by 8 had sold out of brisket (I may have gotten the last of it)

I got the two meats brisket and hot link, with cowboy beans (beans with brisket in them) and she got the brisket sandwich with fries. The brisket tasted just slightly salty at first but was still incredible with an amazing smoke ring. The hot link was smokey and spicy and really stole the show for me. The beans were just beans and I don’t think I ever saw a piece of brisket. I was pretty full anyway from the rest of the meal though so I just left them. The sandwich and fries were also fantastic I was told. The just have the one bbq sauce right now and it’s delicious but I’m definitely hoping they bring the heat with a second spicy sauce soon!

Parking lot was packed on Friday night which surprised me because when I’m over there during the day it’s usually dead. Still found a spot quickly.

Overall I’ll definitely be back, this was a great new spot and I highly recommend it! Friendly service and...