S & J BBQ — Restaurant in Pleasanton

This is a below average restaurant, if it can be call that. They have closed dining and only do take out. It's still quite popular for some reason so orders are done with the lady shouting in open air. Yea...shouting. It's harder if you don't speak Chinese. They don't have any respect for the customer, they just take the order and leave you be. That could be good or bad depending on how you see "service".

There is NO atmosphere to speak of because it is a order for take out. The food is above average on most days as they are usually fresh due to the number of customers, unlike Ranch 99 beside it. However, their prices are pretty high for all their dishes. If you want something that is just as good, go into Ranch 99 and the noodle soups for cheaper as well as the BBQ items like duck.

Sometimes the duck is on the fatty side but this is bad and good depending on how you like your duck. More fat typically means the meat and more tender, juicier and flavorful.

Regardless, I rarely go there anymore due to the lack of...

I wish I could give them no star or negative 5 stars!!! Horrible customer service!!!! The man who served us must be the owner of this place! I don’t mind if he doesn’t have a pleasant expression on his face but his attitude was not acceptable!!! We tried to pick the duck we wanted and he said, “ No picking duck!” We were ok with that at first. After couple minutes he handed us the duck in the box. We were wondering where that duck came from???? We didn’t hear the chopping sound and we didn’t see any ducks was being taken down from the rod where they hanged all the ducks! We felt that we were being taken advantage of! The duck was really light in weight too! We were skeptical and asked him why he didn’t give us one of those that was displayed on the window! He then said that we didn’t have to buy it!!! We decided to return it and never come back again no matter how good the freaking duck is!!! These people have to understand that they are running a business in the US⋯⋯NOT CHINA!! Don’t be...

Chinese bbq restaurant. Don't be intimidated by the whole ducks hanging in the front window. A sign of authenticity. Tables turn over quickly in this fast paced eatery. Seating is tight, but that is typical of the segment. Great service. The (A8) spicy beef shank slices were very well marinated and had balanced flavor. The (D11) spicy beef brisket noodle soup has large pieces of tender beef. The meat marinade is often off balance by the five spice in other places for this dish. Not here! The beef seasoning was perfectly balanced. Allowing the freshness of the beef to come through. The soup stock was equally well balanced in flavor and mouth feel. I eat at A LOT of noodle soup places of different cultures. A very competitive segment. 5 stars is hard to attain and they earned it without breaking a sweat. The chefs here have real talent! Check out the video of the D11 noodle...