Beale’s Texas BBQ — Restaurant in Huntington Beach

Had an unfortunate experience but none that had to do with the taste of the food. Waiter was not educated on the menu and unfortunately led us to a conversation with the owner who was condescending with his syrupy sweet customer service voice while taking away our food trays before a decision was decided on our issue. He spoke down to us like we either didn’t understand what we ordered and mansplained to my bearded husband what a short rib was and then that we couldn’t afford to get what we wanted even though my husband said “‘I don’t care what it costs I’ll pay it” the problem was their menu and the waiter who didn’t know to tell us what we ordered didn’t exist even though the menu didn’t exclude any meats from being a part of the “plate choices” The owner decided what he wanted to do to remedy the situation already made up in his mind and didn’t want to hear what we wanted (which was to buy a whole other plate! But either he was judging us because we aren’t Huntington Harbor type or just is stubborn) His remedy was to take away the three choice meats and replace with a short rib plate which is one rib but he will “add a second for this inconvience” That’s not even CLOSE to what we wanted! We are avid BBQ family even just returned from a Texas trip that week where we checked a few top 50 in Texas BBQ off our list. We like to sample multiple items when trying a new place out…. This place is not run like a Texas BBQ. My tri tip (i only ordered because that did not have brisket that day) was sashimi style thinly cut with un even slices that came pre drizzled with their bbq sauce! (I don’t like to have bbq sauce on every bite so I was bummed) My second choice was Hot Links and I had a massive pile of the cheap meat drenched in BBQ sauce. The choice of sides is super stereotypical with no flair. In Texas they get creative like Green Chile Mac and cheese, Serrano glazed Brussel sprouts, wasabi coleslaw…. I only got to take a bite of the their basic coleslaw before I left crying over the altercation and the way the owner handled our questions about why we received rib tips and not the short ribs we spent 20 minutes getting the waiter to get our order correct. He kept repeating RIB TIPS for my tri tip and rib tips for my husbands desired short ribs (which is the excluded meat) The ambiance was cool, clean place. We had high hopes for this place but sadly can’t support business owners who act the way he did. Rather fire up my smoker and cook for myself then to deal with...

None of the food tasted like anyone with any kind of passion smoked this food. Before I start I will take responsibility, everyone knows the best bbq is served early, I didn’t order until 7:30pm. And maybe we didn’t order their best meats, but when I think Texas BBQ I always think beef.

Item by item: Brisket - had zero smoke ring and must have been wrapped from the first minute it was cooked. It was also clearly sitting in a heating tray for a long time. The top was dry and inedible, the bottom was not great but I could chew it. We threw 60% of it in the trash. Short Rib - was good, you could see the smoke ring, was a little tough. Ribs - were good, best thing we ordered. Beef Hotlinks - clearly just the standard Sysco food services hot link. Not worth getting. Chili - I prefer a Texas chili so seeing this loaded with beans didn’t excite me. Flavor was fine. Mac n Cheese - clumpy and congealed. Cooks clearly never heard the term Roux. Decently seasoned but way too many raw noodles. Cheesy Honey Cornbread - no cheese no honey. It was a corn bread sheet cake. It was dry. Yams - I didn’t try, my wife didn’t compliment them. Beans - also didn’t try these, wife ate a bite or two.

As a fun bonus there was a piece of chicken bone in the peach cobbler that almost broke the wife’s tooth. But we didn’t find or look to more. Could have been an accident.

The kid working the host stand was nice and gathered our order pretty quick. No one else in the staff interacted with me.

There was a live band playing that sounded pretty good even if the volume was a little high for how empty the restaurant was.

All of this is a matter of opinion. But I regret not driving to a better place further away. I also accept the time I ordered wasn’t ideal and maybe they’re known for their pulled pork and chicken (I’ll...

Before i get into the review. I will say if you go here, the entrance is at the back off the building connect to where the parking lot is. I walked around this place 2 times, thinking i missed the entrance while all along the door i thought was just an employee entrance was the main entrance to the building. It was my first time trying this place. I read some reviews before going. I ordered the 2 meat combo and came with 2 sides. I choose brisket and hotlinks with potato salad and ranch style beans. The brisket for me was tender and flavored well. The hotlinks were just average. I like my links cooked a little more than those were. I also didn't care for them being tossed in bbq sauce, I would have preferred no sauce. Now the sides, on the other hand, weren't my favorite at all. The potato salad was not good. For me, it was too sweet and way too wet. It's like they made it with miracle whip and no mayonnaise. It also lacked salt but had TONS of pepper in it. The ranch style beans were meh. They weren't as sweet and also had a ton of spicy at the back end.

I did find it odd that this place offers no sliced bread with the meals or for purchase. The only bread option they had was cornbread. I did purchase one, and it was about $7 for 1 piece, which I thought was absolutely ridiculously priced. It was worth 2 dollars at most, especially after tasting it. I can tell the batter used had more flour than cornmeal. The texture was so off-putting. The flavor of the cornbread was very sweet. I like my cornbread to taste like cornbread, NOT cake.

Also, I ordered this all take out, and when I got the bag, they didn't put any utensils or napkins in the bag. When I went back inside to purchase the cornbread, that's when I noticed....