Bludso's BBQ — Restaurant in Santa Monica

I don't write many reviews but since I have grown up eating BBQ my whole life (my family being from the south) it is something I am a bit picky about. I first heard about Bludso's from a work acquaintance and they said it was some of the best BBQ in LA. I looked it up online and only saw the La Brea restaurant, which, being a bit of a drive, I told myself I would eventually visit when I had time. They do Texas BBQ and even though I have found some decent BBQ places in LA, I've never found much brisket that I liked. Every time I would look up the restaurant location on La Brea, there was too much traffic so I put it off. Fortunately, much to my surprise, I looked it up recently and found they had opened a Santa Monica location. Great! Much closer and easier to get to.

I went in on a weekend and it was relatively busy, even though they had only been open an hour. I had read some iffy reviews about service there but they seemed friendly and I was quickly seated. Unfortunately, they didn't' have any of the lunch specials available, as they don't offer them on the weekend. They don't offer plates either; everything is a la carte. Fine, I guess. I just ordered some brisket, two sides, cornbread and a tea.

They brought it quickly but I was shocked at how small the portion of the meat was; it was basically a single thick slice of brisket. Something tells me they didn't weigh it. Not a good start. I'll keep it simple on the rest of the stuff.

Tea -- Tasted not good. Kind of tasted like grass or hay and had little flavor.

Cornbread -- Decent but looked like it came from a box where you add water and an egg. Nothing like the homemade feel like they do over at Baby Blues.

Mac and Cheese -- Ok but nothing spectacular

Coleslaw -- Again, decent but looked like something you would buy at Ralphs

Brisket -- Was tender enough but almost had a watery consistency and was way, way, way too salty. I've heard you can't use an industrial smoker within the LA city limits, and someone else in a review said they don't smoke the meats there, so maybe that was part of the issue. Regardless, it too had little flavor other than the salt. I've had better brisket in the airport in Dallas than this.

Again, the service was good and the waitress was friendly but the worst part about the whole thing was the price. For all of the above it was close $40 without a tip! Crazy. Not at all worth it imo.

There are better BBQ places out there, for sure, so I most likely will not go back here. I can only guess that the reason people give it high reviews is because they want to support the business or they just have never had good BBQ before. It's possible that some of the other meats are better but if you do Texas BBQ and can't get the brisket right, I can't imagine anything else would...

Our food was super yummy, FIVE STARS!!!! BUT....

We arrived around 3:15pm on a Wednesday. The place was almost empty, but there were plenty of staff! The interior is stark, brick walls and concrete floor with lots of TVs on the walls. The atmosphere is cold with white tile as the backsplash wall. There are booths in the back annex area, but we were guided to the tables. I asked to sit in a booth. This back area is near the employee entrance, and not one employee smiled and looked at us as they passed.

This is two blocks from the hospital in health conscious Santa Monica and their menu has very few healthy options. They have salads with Buttermilk or Ranch dressing options.

Luke W was are server and he brought us our drinks within 5 minutes. I ordered an ice tea and my husband, a beer, Lagunitas in a can. $7. My ice tea was in a plastic cup but my husband got a chilled pint glass.

I ordered the LUNCH SPECIAL which is the BEST DEAL for $17. My chicken sandwich came with a drink ( ice tea) and 2 sides: I chose the cole slaw and Mac N Cheese. My husband ordered the Lean Brisket $25, with a side of fries, $8, and baked beans, $7.50. His meal added up.

The food arrived quickly on alunimum baking trays with dull paper liners. All dinnerware is white plastic. Nothing fancy, nothing breakable. All meats are not made here, they are trucked in daily. The fries were great. Bravo to the kitchen! The flavors of the meats and food were VERY TASTY!!!

When I asked Luke W for more ice tea..... he forgot and after waiting 10 minutes, I walked up to the Ice Tea Station and asked another server if she could refill my ice tea. I got more tea, but no ice. Luke quickly rushed over and apologized. My husband also asked for another beer, and Luke forgot again, until my husband caught his attention after another 20 minutes passed.

We were finished and the check arrived quickly. I wanted some clarification on the bill and Luke W got really defensive. We left around 4:15pm, so the restaurant was not busy.

Bludso's motto is Low and Slow like a '64. I think it should be SLOW and SLOW like 2023!

I will not...

Ok, here we go..... Never did I think of eating BBQ in Santa Monica where I live. I travel all over and my favorites have been Texas and Missouri for BBQ. I have drove by this place the last couple of years and didn't give it a second look thinking just another San Mo eatery.... I never thought that I would write a review like this about a BBQ spot right in my hometown of SaMo. Wife and I decided to come here tonite and were greeted by the nicest staff, not pushy but everyone was friendly and warm. We were seated right away and drinks served up fast. We started with the BBQ dry rubbed wings appetizer. Bang! Right outta the blocks my wife was excited and said they were the best; dipping sauce was jammin too. We ordered the combo platter with Brisket and chicken with Cole slaw and Mac and cheese. This is where it starts getting crazy folks.. the Cole slaw was good but my wife and I both agreed that the Mac and Cheese was crazy delicious. The brisket was just awesome. Chicken was moist too and flavored nicely. I ordered the Dino rib and it is an absolute must order. If you don't order this thing your going to be seriously missing out. To top it off the banana pudding is the best I've had as well. All in all, the amount of food we got for the money was very generous. How in the world have I had a BBQ joint sitting right here in my own backyard and it has smoked all the other BBQ joints I have eatin at all over this country!!! That's a huge statement as I do lots of reviews. Mr Bludso, you got it licked my man.. Your staff; top notch from Terry and Oscar to everyone needs to ask for German to be their server. This young man is just the nicest guy and does his job very well. I would highly highly recommend all the food that we had. Everything was absolutely delicious and the staff topped off the dining experience. I don't mind paying for food when it's at the level...