Smokin' Joes — Restaurant in Palo Cedro

A real hidden gem in Redding! Some of the best BBQ I've found in CA. I respect their clear passion and focus on nailing the traditional BBQ experience, instead of distracting you with overpriced concepts covering up for subpar meat.

We stopped by on a Monday around Dinner time, and we were impressed by the tender Ribs and focus on straight forward flavorful BBQ at a reasonable price. The $22 combo plate had generous portions of tender smokey meat, all of which was quite tasty and prepared with care, served in an authentic traditional BBQ style, even their sides like the baked beans, garlic fries and toast were tasty. I overheard the owner say "Food should taste even better than it looks" and they nail that, although it looked good enough, it tasted phenomenal.

Real deal BBQ in Norcal at a reasonable price, you can tell the owner Joe is proud of his food, he greeted us and checked in about our meal. The location is humble, but the vibes and the expansive view across the street added to the experience. They have a drive through and some indoor and outdoor seating. If your passing through on I5 like we were, stopping by Smokin' Joes is worth it if you want to enjoy real deal succulent smoked meats; instead of overpriced nonsense where they try to distract you with "modern fusion BBQ concepts" or fancy interior decorations and branding because they can't nail the fundamentals of the BBQ genre like you often get with many "BBQ...

Me and my mom love eating at Smokin Joes BBQ. I am always pleased to come into the restaurant, see Joe out in the lobby interacting with his customers, while the counter staff do service with great smiles. Never forget a ranch, bbq sauce, or napkin. They take wonderful care of us here. Bonus discount for first responders, which is pretty cool. I’ve seen Trump hats inside and while I do not care for Trump I’ve never felt mistreated as a clearly liberal flamboyant man. They were out of my favorite today so I got tri tip at the owners suggestion and it was better than any tri tip I’ve had. Not thick and chewy but unique flavor and great size portions. The Oreo cheesecake is to DIE for. It hardly stays in stock so get there at open. I’d like to thank Joe for making me feel welcome today and his sister at the register with her usual exceptional customer service. A++ back there fellas. If foodservice was still my knack I’d probably ask to shadow sometime and learn a thing or two about how to make great bbq. I’m sure it’s all locally sourced meat; makes a big difference, depending on who has the account. Anyway, my mom Norma and I will keep coming and patronizing and hope...

This place is amazing. Not only was our food on point but the service we received today is what will keep us going back. It was me and my two daughters one 16 and the other one 8 and I was getting the family dinner, there are 5 of us total, as we were waiting for our food of course my youngest spotted the little 25 cent candy machine you know the ones that spit out a handful of candy well I gave her 50 cents to get some and the nice gal behind the counter came out gave her two more quarters and a little cup to put them in. The owner and he's father were sitting at the table next to us and can I say what a nice guy he said to my daughter I bet I could fill up your cup with m&m for less them 25 cents and my daughter being the smarty she is new in there was no way that was possible until....he pulled the key to the candy machine out and opened the top of it and filled her little cup up to the top and said "I gotta make sure all my grandkids are taken care of that'd right kiddo your part of the family now." We came home and the first thing she told my husband was she was part of Smokin Joes family. Wonderful...