Lucille's Smokehouse Bar-B-Que — Restaurant in Temecula

👎 A Long-Time Lucille’s Fan, But Temecula Location Was a Huge Letdown We’ve been going to Lucille’s Smokehouse Bar-B-Que for years, visiting various locations throughout California and always enjoying the quality and service—until now.

Our recent visit to the Temecula location was nothing short of a complete disaster and easily the worst BBQ experience we've ever had. Despite a previously disappointing visit, we decided to give them another shot. That turned out to be a tragic mistake.

We ordered the Two Meat Special ($59) with two teas ($9.50), plus tax and tip. Here’s how things went downhill fast:

The biscuits came out first—and they were hard as bricks. We politely asked for fresh ones. The server brought out replacements that were clearly microwaved—soggy, wet, and inedible. Moments later, he returned to say they were actually out of biscuits. Would’ve been nice to know before we ordered.

Then came the “BBQ” meats—and I use that term loosely. The brisket was dry and looked like it had been sitting under a heat lamp for hours, while the ribs were burnt and completely dried out.

The potato salad was literal soup, like it had been scraped from the bottom of an old container, and the fries were greasy and cold.

We didn’t even attempt to eat most of it and immediately called the server over. After physically showing him the issues, all we got was a quick, “I’m so sorry.” No action, no offer to fix the problem—just “Would you like the check?”

I asked for a manager, and eventually a young woman came out. She apologized as well but didn’t offer to replace or comp the food. So I had to be direct: I told her there was no way I was paying $75 for that horrible excuse for a meal. Only then did she remove the meal from the bill and charged us for the teas only.

Look, we didn’t come in looking for free food. We came for a quality BBQ experience we used to trust Lucille’s for, and what we got instead was leftover, dried-out meat and fast food-level service at premium prices.

This is not the Lucille’s we once knew.

We’re done with Lucille’s, especially this Temecula location. What was once a family favorite has clearly lowered its standards and lost its pride in quality and hospitality.

STAY FAR AWAY. Unless you're into microwaved biscuits, dry brisket, and...

Following a little wine tasting in Temecula, with our good friends, we headed over to Lucille's Smokehouse BBQ, in the Promenade, Temecula.

First off, we had a problem parking close-by, as there's a massive parking lot, out front, & it's usually pretty packed on the weekends. Since it was Monday of Memorial Day Weekend, it was even more off the hook! Because of severe pain in my right hip, my buddy dropped me off right in front, then went & parked his car in the Lower 40.

Even though this restaurant was busy inside, the host seated me right away. My wife & friends joined me at the table, a deep booth, capable of seating 6. Right off the bat, I noticed the tile floor beneath our table was extremely greasy & slippery. I asked someone up front, if they could send someone to clean the floor, because all of us were worried we'd slip, upon exiting the booth. A young woman came over & "foot-mopped," the tile, but it was still a bit greasy after that. Rough Start.

Another thing I'm not crazy about here, is the Main Dining Room, where we were seated, is a wide open dining hall, so you feel like you're in a giant fishbowl, & noise levels are always high, when it's busy, like today.

Our server was tremendous, all night! She quickly grabbed us drinks-Iced Teas & water glasses, plus a basket of their delicious sugar biscuits & apple-cinnamon butter. When we polished those off, she brought us more!

We had a $50 Gift Card to use, so we went all out, each couple splitting 3 Meats, Pulled Pork, Tri-Tip & Burnt Ends, with our 2 sides being Mac N Cheese, which was a pretty small bowl, plus some good & Creamy Cole Slaw. The Pulled Pork was by far the best of the 3, which we mix w/ the cole slaw & devour. The Tri-Tip was in second place, perhaps slightly over-cooked, but still super tender. The Burnt Ends weren't cooked long enough, since when they get blackened on the outside, they're more tender & this bark, is deliciously crispy, as well, when executed correctly. Still, it was a pretty damn...

Been a long while since last visit here at the temecula location. We usually go to the one at Victoria gardens. My family and I of 4 stopped in after a pop warner football game with no reservations and it was said 30 mins for a table so we sign in. Little did we know that it was 50 mins later till we got a table. Took another 20 mins for josh the waiter to tend to us. While we ordered our drinks we went ahead and place our dinner order as well. I ordered the 3 meat combo with baby back ribs, texas hot sausage, and beer baked chiken and onion straws for appetizers. My other half had the beef brisket combo dinner and for the little ones mac and cheese with fries along with some ice cream to keep them seated while we wait. Took another 20 mins for our drinks and bread to make it to the table and about 40 mins for our meal. By the time our dinner got to our table we were pretty much full from the appetizers (bread/butter and onion straws and drinks. Meal was good but coud have been great and we would have enjoyed it if had come in in a timely manner. Kids were tired and i was unhappy with the poor service. Josh our waiter was not very attentive and barely checked if everything was okay. We barely touch our meal and we were ready to travel back home to san diego. All and all, food was good and Lucille still a great place to dine in and still highly recommend it. I know it gets hectic in a popular stablishment as lucilles. Maybe we just had a waiter thats not having a good day. 3 star this time for poor service from the waiter. We will try again...