El Monte BBQ — Restaurant in Leon Valley

Omg!!! Finally a place within San Antonio’s city area with some delicious bbq. The only reason it is getting 4 stars out of 5 is because it really doesn’t have as many options as other bbq places but what they do have is phenomenal. When you pull into the little minishopping strip off Bandera road you go “are you sure?”, but El Mónte doesn’t disappoint. It’s a very small establishment so a party of 20 won’t be good but 6 can be ok at one of their 3 table set ups. The owner and “wife” (really should have asked) are so nice and he cooks all the meat himself. I overheard him telling another group that he gets his sausage from some other place but cooks everything in house and all the sides right there. There are 3 options of meat: pork ribs, brisket and sausage. Honestly none of them really needed the bbq (made by him). But I will say the ribs may have been a little too salty to my liking but my fiancé was ok with them. The rice has more flavor in it then all the Mexican restaurants in my area combined (I live near ollu). This place just opened two months ago but I think it’s going to get big fast. Definitely one to visit if you’re in the San Antonio area. And to the owner of the restaurant: since the hours are limited maybe y’all could get a food truck (if you don’t already) and sell downtown near the plaza once you are able too. Opening the market to everyone that can’t make it up to the Leon valley area. I will definitely suggest to all my customers with Uber and Lyft and I know we...

Howdy good Bar B Que lover's! I have dined with El Monte BBQ a few other times. However, this is the first time I've been very disappointed with the quality of El Monte' meats. I mean it's usually very fine. However, today: 3/6/2021 was a very different story. I Ordered a 1/2 pound of Ribs, 1/2 pound of brisket and two (2) sausage links. First: I was told over the phone that the RIBS were very meaty,. However, Once I examined my order, only to find more bone than meat on the ribs. Although warm to the touch, the dark color of the ribs revealed that they have been sitting around awhile. I questioned the quality, and was told that I could come back at 5:00 for fresher meat. Well Perhaps I should have been told that before I placed and picked up my order.

Second: The Brisket was sort of like the ribs, warm and dark looking, not fresh at all. No nice pink smoke ring.

Third: The Sausage was truly odd tasting, VERY, VERY Salty, and tuff.

BTW: I tried to see if the person behind the counter had any more ribs that were fresher that what I was sold, the gentleman displayed some odd looking ribs, and had the nerve to try and charge me $7.00 for what looked like a sorry piece of gristle and bone. Went home to give the wife her BBQ, she was not happy with the very poor quality. So, I just put it to the trash. I don't think I'll place an immediate purchase from El Monte BBQ at...

You may not hear or see any hype and media attention about El Monte BBQ, but this place is most definitely a hole-in-the wall, appears to be a mom and pops (family operated) business, and may be one of the best kept secrets on Bandera road. Etched in a small strip mall that doesn’t demand much attention, El Monte BBQ serves up some quality BBQ. The brisket was smoked to near perfection and had a delicate balance of spices that gave off a full flavor that didn’t require it to be drenched in BBQ sauce in order to be edible. I had their potato salad, cream corn, and mixed beans/rice. They each had a homemade taste to them and were obviously made from scratch in house. This was a bit surprising since most smaller operations find it more cost effective to purchase sides in bulk. El Monte does have a dine-in area, which is very small, but reminiscent of a grandmother’s kitchen. There are 3 tables and probably has a max capacity of 15 people. Speaking of grandmothers, there is one item that took me down memory lane. On Friday and Saturday, they offer the option of Pan de Campo. This menu item took me back to a time when my grandmother would make this simple, yet traditional and tasty food item. Five stars for...