Bear + Flag Roadside — Restaurant in Monterey

Me and my partner have been going here since summer, it was one of our favorite spots to eat at after hiking. The staff are friendly and helpful, plenty of parking and inside and outside dining available. They used to have the best sandwiches (our favorite was the Paisano) and french fries in all of Carmel. Unfortunately not any more :( Now the main focus is smoked BBQ. We have been here twice since the switch. Let me preface by saying: I have high standards and tolerances for good BBQ. I tend to be critical of places claiming to offer authentic smoked BBQ. I have not found one in Monterey county or in the Bay area, yet. When I was growing up in Tennessee, I worked and trained in a BBQ joint with a commercial smoker every summer. At home, now of course, I have a Traeger because I am lazy. Anyway, the actual BBQ isn't bad here it's just not something to write home about. It's average to just below average in my opinion. 1) Brisket okay but dry, no smoke ring not much smoke flavor. 2) Ribs definitely not smoked but oven roasted, dry and sauce soaked (not actual BBQ). Basically, I paid for oven baked ribs.Oddly, the Pork ribs were listed as smoked St. Louis style ribs. They were actually not St. Louis style but baby backs which have less flavor and tend to dry out easily even smoked, not to mention oven baked :(. As I said, the ribs are not actual BBQ. I cannot comment on the other meats. The sides are very good. We like brussel sprout slaw and the carrot harissa faro side (BTW these are vegan according to my sister). Maybe with more time and with a little trial and error they will get it right. I empathize with their efforts. It ain't easy, I've been there. BBQ is an art with a steep learning curve. Brisket is the darn hardest to get perfect, I know. Persevere! In the mean time: any chance you can bring back the sandwiches? :)) I appreciate the management's reply. For sure I'll give you guys a try in the future. I know getting BBQ right takes time. (Please fix the rib issue :) Good to know the sandwiches are still available. I'll call ahead to check availability on my favorite obviously the Paisano. The sourcing I understand, you aren't going to...

OK, first honesty is very important to me and I don't like saying bad things about anyplace. I expected great things by the reviews average 4.5 very good score and owner responds to many reviews. Here's the good stuff, great menu ,good service indoors and outdoor dining options . Very clean well maintained and obviously does a good job serving great tasting food. However, my experience was not impressive. I ordered their flagship Bear and Flag double burger and fries .I was only 1 of 3 customers, and It was definitely not busy. It took 10 minutes for my burger, OK it arrives at my table in a bag wrapped up, same with fries? I was asked to go when I ordered? I said no for here and sat down at a table. So I unwrapped the burger and was surprised at the appearance of the bun. Look at the picture it's smashed, so I took 2 bites and also realized it was barely warm . The fries were on point, I walked up to the counter and asked if that's how they served the burgers, smashed? The girl said no and offered a new bun ,I politely said no. The 2 things that brought my experience crashing down were so easily fixable. Also chopped lettuce and thinly sliced tomatoes did not present well. I hope the owner reads this and please just look at the pictures you can see the bottom bun in paper thin, the only way that happens is if you really press down on the burger. The meat was cooked perfectly and was high quality just presented poorly. I am going back and trying some other BBQ options and hopefully can give a...

You can often judge a good BBQ restaurant (or most any restaurant) by how busy it is. When I arrived for lunch at 12:45pm on a Thursday, there were zero customers. I asked about any recommendations and tri-tip was highlighted along with the burger. I ordered the 2-meat plate with tri-tip and brisket along with the beets and jalapeño brussel slaw for sides. I expected the slaw to be popping with flavor but it was quite creamy and washed out. The beets were nicely roasted and seasined but the many pistachios seemed out of place in this side dish.

Honestly this was not great BBQ. It wasn't aweful, to be fair, but it was a bit disappointing. There was not enough seasoning on the tri-tip and both the tri-tip and brisket suffered from no real moisture (aka dry). I suspect they might be suffering from longer hold times in a less than ideal holding system. Might benefit from wrapping in butcher paper while it sits... Perhaps an earlier lunch would provide result in more moisture in the meat. The pickled onions were good but really nothing too special. They put a drizzle of bbq sauce over the top of the meat but none on the tables or around the togo condiments/utensils. So basically, you have to go up to the counter and ask for more sauce. Yet packets of ketchup in a BBQ restaurant are freely displayed...? There wasn't enough bbq sauce to even really formulate an opinion of it. Too bad...really...