Big Bubba's Bad BBQ — Restaurant in Paso Robles

Second time I’ve visited and will be my last. The first time we were greeted, seated and had a real life waitress. Now you need to go up to a manned counter that had three tablets to place your order. The menu has been condensed. It’s listed above but also on the tablet. Let me just say if you’re going to come with more than one other person to the counter to order, DONT. There isn’t enough space. My husband wanted something from the bar but we couldn’t place the order on the tablet so we had to close our order out. There was an option for a tip. For whom?!? Husband still tipped. Then he went to the bar but had to stand there waiting because the one person there was pulled away (?). We waited for our food. The cook was calling out names as the order was ready for pickup. Part of the time I couldn’t understand what she was saying. A word to the wise about customer service-do NOT make an apology over the sound system like it’s a public service announcement. I observed people picking up their food. Where are the trays to carry everything? Do we have to ask for it? Why? The drink station is hidden on the opposite side of the restaurant. So are the bathrooms. You have to ask because it’s not that obvious. We got our food. The public service announcement came before the text message. How useless is that? Husband’s salad was HUGE. They got my order wrong. Not only did he have to go back for my fries but it wasn’t the garlic fries I ordered. Food BETTER BE ON POINT! It was not. I love Cole slaw but this was very wet and it tasted weird. Move on to the meat. It was fine I guess. No options when you order brisket? No pickle, onion or sauce? My regular fries were in a basket the size of my meat and coleslaw. Overall, I didn’t finish my food which is next to never. I came for the meat and I ate it. At least the facility is clean and so are the bathrooms and the couple of girls that work there are nice. Aside from that, it is not enough to bring me back unless you take it back to a real person taking my order and changing the size of your sides. Additionally, your corn should be ON THE COB, not loose like you bought a can in bulk. Nothing here made me feel it was different, special or that it...

Service: 4/5 Food: 2/5 Atmosphere: 4/5

TL/DR - This place does not deserve the landslide of negative reviews that almost kept me away. Service was not bad, the place looks neat and the food was not worse than Denny’s, like multiple other people said.

Service: My server was new, but was great. He didn’t have all the answers to my questions, but he went and got them. That’s all great in my book.

Atmosphere: It’s a neat place, with some character. While I was here, there wasn’t anything happening, but I hear they have live music. I wouldn’t mind bringing a family here.

Food: 1) I like BBQ, and I am picky because I have had some darn fine BBQ in my time. 2) Having said that, I would rate this place above a handful of awful places I have been in the not distant past. Dickey’s is worse than here (bleah, just thinking about that place...). It is nowhere near ‘awful’.

I would rate BBBQ’s as OK, food wise. Was there fat on my baby back ribs? Yea. Was there more fat than meat? Absolutely not. And they made up for it with the quantity of the 1/2 rack, it was a generous portion.

My Cesar salad was not tiny, and they didn’t skimp on the croutons. The lettuce did not look unappealing.

I only have one outright complaint, their choice of only BBQ sauce. I found it to be overly sweet and not very flavorful. It was not bad! But they really should have at least one other flavor, perhaps a similar base with some more heat or kick to it. I’m not in the camp that says a place needs to have 6 different sauces, but if a place is going to stick it out with only one flavor, it needs to be a blue ribbon winner. This sauce will probably only appeal to a certain segment of the public as a...

Wonderful atmosphere, especially for the tykes. They have an animated buffalo hanging on the wall, a giant fire pit in the form of a wrought iron teepee, and some other BBQ-esque features, including a jail cell table.

Now with all that being said; I wish I could tell you that the food; which is what one mostly comes for, when going out to eat, was up to the rest of the place...it's not. While my brisket sandwich was honestly, very edible and of good portion, I apparently was one of the lucky few at our large table of twelve.

When one lays down thirty dollars for a trio meat plate, you don't expect the brisket portion to be seventy percent a hunk of fat, from the brisket's point, but that's what my buddy experienced. He also commented that for the price, the beef rib was cut far too close to the bone for his liking...it nearly resembled the spare rib, which was his third meat selected. Neither of us was overly sold on their house sauce either, which seemed to lack any sort of BBQ 'kick'...and that was just 'us'.

Two of our friends ordered the BBQ Porkloin plate, and both found it majorly over-cooked and super dry. This was so bad, one of the gents gave up eating it while his wife looked on in shock.

Worse of all; the place made no attempt to satisfy any of our dissatisfied diners in our group...THAT IS TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE!

All in all, come for your kids, and leave your BBQ 'hopes' behind at your own backyard grill.

One final note; the place is no cheap date...not that most BBQ joints are, but this one is...