Frankie the Bull’s BBQ

I had a really hard time not giving just one star, per the food alone. However, I did appreciate the super fast service (which was a somewhat bad omen, i.e. everything is sitting in a warmer for you) and the owner/​host was really nice and friendly. The décor was cheesy but for some reason, I liked it, and the outdoor patio is really pleasant.
There’s the good stuff. Now the mediocre/​not good stuff — the food. I thought I liked the taste of the sausage bites the owner brought us while we waited, but when the taste lingered for the rest of the night, I wasn’t too pleased.
The sides — I chose mac n cheese and the cole slaw. The slaw was actually pretty good, somehow I liked the sugared almonds thrown in. The mac n cheese would have been fine too, except for the weird cheez it crumble topping, which almost ruined it. The cornbread had good flavor but my muffin was burned. My husband’s was undercooked and gooey on the inside, which I would have preferred to overcooked.
Now the really bad news — the pork ribs were somewhat inedible. They had a weird consistency (they fell off the bone in two sheets, exposing a layer of gelatinous sinewy tissue), weren’t hot, and were really fatty, which may have been ok if cooked right? Either that, or the meat just wasn’t very good quality? I was starving, so I did try to go the distance, but ended up having to abandon the meat in favor of saving my stomach.
I’m really sorry this place didn’t work out; there is another place in town for a bbq fix. So if this place wants to stay open, they need to keep up the friendly service and rethink the food and its preparation…

The best pork ribs I’ve ever eaten (and that’s saying something). My wife and I also loved the chicken, the smoked salmon, the coleslaw and the cornbread. We split a «sampler» plate, and had enough take-​home food for two meals each.
There’s been an ownership change (actually a falling out of partners), and the polarizing Frankie The Bull character is no longer involved. Tony, the (sole?) owner is on-​premises all the time, and was an exceptionally graceful host. We got a tour of the kitchen (clean, small, efficient), and he brought out sausage tasters to all the tables. Classy guy. The wait staff and kitchen manager were all VERY personable, and efficient. We felt neither like we ever had to wait, and were also made to feel most welcome.
Another nice touch: there’s a handwashing station right at the front door. It was nice on the way in (lots of finger food), and on the way out (ahem, lots of finger food). We both noticed that the staff is almost obsessive about cleaning up. And they have a «pet table» (on the sidewalk) where you can bring your dog. As we walked in, one very lucky dog was working on a bone the size of a small town.
SO: it’s easy to understand the varied reviews here. Please consider this restaurant a «restart,» and PLEASE evaluate it in its current form. My wife and I think it’s the #1 barbecue in San Diego.

I told you all this place wouldn’t work!
From what I can tell, they sold the place or got rid of Frankie.
Either way… I knew it wouldn’t last.
Now it’s called Bulls Smokin BBQ.
I guess I’ll have to give it a try under the new name and «new owner»…

If this means anything to you, I signed up for Unilocal just so I could review this place. DO NOT eat at Frankie the Bull’s BBQ.
What San Diego needed was a good BBQ place… you know what it got when Frankie’s opened… another crappy one. Both my girlfriend and I got sick from eating here. The mac and cheese was OK… but the BBQ sauce and meat were HORRIFIC.
Can I give this place a negative star rating?
Stay away. Stay far, far away.

cool place and everyone is real nice.
went with the half rack of pork ribs and was glad i did. only thing was that there seemed to be an unusually large amount of fat on the ribs. did not stop me from eating it obviously.
vinegar bbq sauce is tasty and if mixed in with the crunchy coleslaw works real well for me.
they also gave us smoked sausage samples while we were waiting for our food.

I am a Vegetarian Again (This is something I invented where you eat true Vegan all the time except when you find a place like Ruth Chris or Frankie’s BBQ and you breakdown and order a full rack of beef ribs, devour them and as you swallow the last bite you are Vegetarian Again) and on the rare occasions that I do eat the cooked mobility muscles of my fellow mammals it must be good! Frankie’s is GOOD.
I love beef ribs. I don’t even know how I found Frankie’s but I did a couple of days ago and ordered a rack of beef ribs to take home. Sadly I was given pork ribs, of which I am not fond, but even these were very good. My wife and daughters enjoyed them but I had to just sit and watch. The next day Frankie’s staff, which are excellent friendly and helpful, replaced the beef ribs and I salivate all the way home. My Land cruiser reeked of ribs and it was Oh, sooooo nice. I even pulled over when I saw a friend on the road and said, «Hey smell this» and rolled down the window. They instantly screamed, «Gimme some of that!» I sped away right arm protectively covering my ribs… the beef ones.
I broke down on the long drive and ate one of the sides of beans. they were heaven. I have never had BBQ beans so full of taste and flavor. There were two sides of bens but I resisted and ate only one. My wife agreed that they ere exceptional bens.
The bones were huge and the flavor very BBQie. and very good. Yes there is a lot of fat but fat is what comes on high grade meet bones. Maybe they could offer both high and low fat ribs to appease the squeamish. The extra sauce provided was excellent as well and added even more flavor. The Mac and Cheese side dish was delightful as well.
The reviewers giving only one or two stars must work for the competition, that is all I can figure.
But, I will agree w/​one reviewer that said the bones were not real hot. I found that true as well but all one has to do is ask for hot ones up front, yes? I like my meat Ruth’s Chris sizzling hot and everywhere except Ruth’s Chris, I always do ask for HOT food. Saves time and trouble.
Frankie’s, you are a WINNER in this town which is nearly devoid of good BBQ.
Leo Hamel
ps: The waitresses are not only very pleasant but every one I saw was on the plus, plus side of attractive and my wife says it is AOK to look…

Went yesterday for lunch and the pork ribs were excellent — smoky, not too much sauce. Same with the pulled port sandwich — you could taste the meat, not just the sauce.
The fries were good, and the beans were very good — chunks of meat in them and lots of flavor. We liked the jalapeño flavor to the cornbread. We also tried the mac and cheese — I thought it was good, but my 1 year old LOVED it. I thought the sides were a good size — not a shot glass like some described. We actually ended up taking some mac and cheese home. Also, the prices were reasonable — my sandwich was huge, plus came with fries and a side for about $ 7.
It would be nice if they have fresh brewed iced tea, but that’s a small thing. And real silverware would be great — I hate using too much plastic that just gets thrown out. All in all, though, I really liked it and will be back.
FYI — I heard through the grapevine that Frankie is no longer involved in the restaurant, so perhaps the new owners have taken some of the comments below to heart.

A friend of mine lives nearby and had been suggesting for a few weeks now that we stop in to try it. So, that’s precisely what we did!
First off, a disclaimer. I have no affiliation to Phil’s BBQ, Frankie’s or any other BBQ establishment in town. I am not a «BBQ expert» — you won’t hear me talking about the «smokey rosewood undertones» or stuff like that. I’m just your Average Jane citizen lookin’ for some good eats.
I ordered a BBQ chicken sandwich which was reasonably priced at, I think, $ 7.95. My sandwich was served on a good roll and came with french fries and coleslaw. About the fries, others seem to be mentioning skinny cold, fries. I was served thicker cut fries and they were pretty good — the owners probably took the feedback and made improvements. I actually like the coleslaw a lot. It was sweet and creamy, not too sour.
Ok, back to the BBQ. I didn’t care for the sauce. Everyone has an opinion on BBQ and no BBQ place will make everyone happy all of the time. For me, I found the sauce to be too thin (?) and vinegar-​like. It also had a little kick of spice to it which I didn’t care for. The sauce didn’t seem to compliment the chicken very well. I prefer a sweeter, more tomato-​based style BBQ sauce (Is that a style? What do I know?) That said, I did eat the second half of my sandwich cold for lunch the next day and the sauce wasn’t as objectionable then.
Other people at my table ordered the pulled pork sandwich and the brisket sandwich and gave good reviews. I bet the BBQ sauce goes better with red meat and pork. One person also specifically mentioned that the coleslaw was good and commented that it actually was the best item from his meal.
The food itself was decent quality and the portion size was acceptable.
The décor seemed ok to me… I’m not sure what they were going for though. LOL It was kind of «urban western» in there. :) The outdoor patio looks nice and would probably be a great place to eat once it gets just a tad bit warmer.
The cashier and the waiter/​bus boy were terrific. There was a gentleman, the manager (?), walking around handing out samples. He was an interesting fella and had an awkward sense of humor. We tried joking back with him but he only wanted to seem to make jokes if they were on his terms. Heh. I’m sure he’s cool people though. The Andouille sausage sample I tasted was pretty good; but, again, the sauce would have worn out it’s welcome with me pretty quickly.
In all, I think this restaurant is «OK». I honestly wouldn’t really make a special trip back out there again on account of this type of BBQ not being my style. That said, they have just recently opened and it would only be fair to give them some time to work through the menu and see what works and what doesn’t. I’ll probably wait about 6 months and return with my sister, who is a chef and something more of a BBQ expert than I, and try Frankie’s again.

I have been looking for an excuse to eat here for a while now, and I finally had the chance today.
Ordered the full rack of pork ribs, fries, mac&cheese.
First thing I noticed when I picked up the first rib — gobs and gobs of fat. Yuck! Now I realize that ribs are supposed to have fat (that’s what makes them so good!) but marbled — not slabs of gelatinous fat. ugh.
I would have liked these ribs if they would have come out hotter (they were barely warm). There’s very little (any?) sauce on them as they come out, but the sauce they provide is decent. The ribs were pretty tender with good flavor.
The fries were good — they must have changed fries because these were steak cut with good seasoning on them.
Cornbread was pretty good, although as someone mentioned before, how do you have cornbread without butter?
Had the mac & cheese which was mushy and had Cheez-​its mixed in for extra cheesy flavor I guess.
The lack of beer was a disappointment, but I expect that will be rectified at some point in the future.
One suggestion: provide an extra plate for the bones, etc. Of course, I guess I could have gotten up and asked for one, but I’m pretty damn lazy and I was already in the middle of eating (with sauce all over, etc). It’s just that they cram everything in one basket (surprised a rack would even fit in there) — should really have another spare plate/​container from the get-​go.
Overall it was good, not great. I think it has promise. To recap: beer, and warmer/​less fatty ribs and this place is going to be really good.

I so wanted to hate this place even before I tried the food. I remember seeing Frankie on the show Top Chef and he was one of the people that made me yell obscenities at my TV. Judging by the reviews, people either hate this place or they love it.
My first encounter with Frankie came right next door at a comedy show that I host at (insert shameless plug here) Brick by Brick every Tuesday at 8PM, check it out if you are in the area. Now, try to picture this. The show was going just fine one evening. Matthew Zint was on stage and was about half way through his set. People were laughing and having a good time. In walks Frankie the Bull. He walks right up to the stage and stands there with his arms closed and starts heckling Matthew. Next, he starts making his way to the side of the stage and actually comes up on stage and is now face to face with Matthew. No self-​respecting comic backs down from a heckler and since Matthew excels in this area, it was on.
My first taste of Frankie’s food came from one of the comics who shared his brisket with me. He is a dude from Texas and claims to know his brisket. Right off the bat my desire to hate this place is in trouble because the brisket was pretty friggin good. Now I have to go over there and actually try some of the other shit and hope that I hate it. I’m so happy that they lived up to my expectations.
Ok, just to be fair I ordered a bunch of shit. Four meats and three sides. The brisket was actually better this time because I ordered it without the bun. Normally it is a sandwich — loose the bread. Put on your seat belts because we’re getting ready to take the plunge.
The sausage was OK, nothing spectacular. It was covered with sauce, so I’m not even sure what the sausage taste like, in fact without the sauce the sausage would have been dry. The sauce wasn’t bad.
I don’t own a BBQ restaurant, but I have a BBQ grill and a smoker. The next two dishes should have come from my backyard and not Frankie’s pit. The smoked (?) chicken didn’t seem like it was smoked at all. It was more like it was oven roasted and then stuck in the smoker or one of those LiL Smokey Joe’s for the last half hour. I smoke chickens all the time. It takes hours for the smoke flavor to make its way into the chicken.
The pork ribs were inconsistent. I got two half racks — one was dry and I had to use some BBQ sauce that I had at home, the other was better than the first, but I put BBQ sauce on that one too. My ribs are much better — really, swing by, we’ll twist up a blunt and crank up the smoker.
The side dishes were small. It was like getting a big sample at Costco and then going back for seconds. The mac & cheese was OK, not great, just OK. It was kind of dry and needed salt. I was expecting more because the mac I got had just come out of the oven. That’s as fresh as it gets.
The beans sucked. Lets keep that one simple. They fuckin sucked. They were way over spiced and salty. I spit them out. Salty balls! Salty balls!
The roasted corn salad had a weird flavor to it. I think it was shoe polish. If you have a shoe fetish, you’ll want to order this abomination.
The bottom line — would I go back? Probably not. Not when Subway is across the street. Five dollar foot-​longs yall.

I hate giving 1 Star reviews but here goes:
WORST eco-​offender I’ve seen in a looooong time. Plastic utensils, plastic plates, paper cups. Poor mother earth. The amount of trash this place creates in one day is unimaginable.
If you’re going to have a themed restaurant, stick with the theme. The décor is western, I mean everything had some cowboy motif; but the music was off. Beetles, Aretha Franklin, Peter Frampton. Huh? Plus the radio from the kitchen competed with the restaurant’s music, so you’re hearing two different songs simultaneously. Anyway, you order at a counter from the menu on a large whiteboard. Cashiers wear cowgirl hats. Waitresses were nice.
THE FOOD: Average. We ordered 4 beef ribs with 2 sides, plus the ½ brick onion rings. Meat was decent — a little tough on the outside, but juicy inside. The sides were infant portions. The mac n’ cheese tasted like cardboard. Husband liked the coleslaw (I didn’t try it). The «brick» of onion rings was interesting. I wasn’t sure how to eat it; with a fork or my hands. It literally is a brick of very finely shredded onions (no rings), all tangled up together, fried. There was much more crispy breading than onion. I’m on the fence about it. They were not great warm and fresh, but later that night they were yummy cold as leftovers.
Unfortunately, I will not be back due to the choice the owner has made to be so incredible wasteful, which also made the rating go from a 2 star down to 1. Hopefully they make some improvements — fast. I would be willing to edit my review if so. Good luck!

I actually really liked this place aside from the seating options — but I will get to that later. I was pleasantly surprised when I arrived at Frankie the Bull’s and it had a fun and snazzy décor. There is a huge outdoor patio and a small interior and you order at the counter. The staff was great — especially for a new place. They were accommodating and helpful. Frankie came out and interacted at various points with customers too.
So let’s get to the food. .. I thought it was pretty good and the prices for the sandwiches were great! The bbq sauce had a smokey and spicy flavor. For a huge sandwich that was cut into sections of sausage, pork and beef brisket with two sides of our choosing it was only around 7 or 8 bucks. However, the beers, even domestic beers were on the pricey side. I picked the mac and cheese and cole slaw and both were delicious.
The seating was my only concern as it was a cool night and there was only one heat lamp outside on a huge patio making it inadequate. We opted to sit inside at one of the high tables, which I found to be a little uncomfortable.
Overall, had a good experience and I will probably be back soon when I am in the mood for plentiful bbq at affordable prices.

Came on a Monday late afternoon, the place was empty. Ordered full rack of pork ribs with sides of beans, mac n’ cheese & fries. The ribs were overpowered with a sour smokey flavor & the meat was so tough I literally spit one bite out into my napkin & didn’t touch the remaining portion of my unfinished ribs. The sides are in SUPER tiny portion cups, about 4 bites each & both were nothing great. The fries were actually petite frites style, when I’m eating bbq I want big steak fries, not pussy little overseasoned potato slivers ala Café Chloe.
So here’s the finale to our meal…
Frank comes out in his chef uniform & tells us about being on Top Chef part 2. (I was previously unaware of this) He goes on to talk about beer, scandalous stories that happened on the show, etc. All the while obviously intoxicated swaying from side to side spitting on himself a couple times. Feeling half scared half sorry for the guy, I just sat there smiling waiting for it to be over so I could sprint out to my car.
I don’t wish bad things for any business, or for anyone to fail with their business. This place really really needs help, I hope it can evolve into something better. If something doesn’t change fast I wouldn’t expect to see it around much longer :(

It would be good for all who read this to first know a few things about my local BBQ history, before relying on my review solely.
1) I like Phils pork ribs
2) I like Phils BBQ sauce
3) Phils sides could use improvement
4) Phils doesn’t have mac n’ cheese, which to me, is insane
Ok, now for Franks
1) The beef ribs were tender but not tasty
2) Franks bbq sauce wasn’t good, at all
3) The mac n’ cheese wasn’t that bad
4) The fries sucked. Very flimsy
5) The staff was nice
Would I recommend this to anyone: No
Would I go back: No
I’m not hating on this Frank guy. I actually like and watch Top Chef. I didn’t go because of this. Actually I didn’t know until I read this paper while waiting to eat at Hodads, that Frank from Top Chef owned the joint.
it proves one thing. San Diegans may not be the culinary experts when it comes to gooey duck or beluga caviar, but we know BBQ. Not preparation so much, but how to eat it which is always the best part. Frank, I love ya man, but you need to go back to the drawing board.
Gino Carta’s review of the same place: Terrible (if you know Gino that’s all it takes)

Tired to sample Frankie the Bull’s BBQ the week they were scheduled to open, walked into the place and was informed they were not open– yet, come back in a few days. Okay, no problem, I get it, time to practice and get things tweaked, so we waited a few weeks. Decided that a late lunch on Saturday afternoon would be a great time to check it out.
Wanted to sample several items, so we ordered a pulled pork sammy, a beef brisket sammy and the «sweet spicy andouillle sausage» listed under the «finger foods» section– figuring finger foods translated as appetizers. Guess not, the sausages came after the sandwiches, but I’m glad they did, because hands down the andouille was the best thing we tasted. Have to admit I was dubious about going in after reading the uneven reviews, but figured it was best to see and taste for myself.
Both sandwiches were a fair value, loaded with meat on a tasty roll, served with fries and slaw. For $ 6.49 each that’s a fair deal. The andouille sausage served a la carte, swimming in a tasty barbecue sauce spiked with onions was very good, but a $ 5.49 not nearly the value of the sammies. Would have liked something with it, maybe a chunk of the cornbread– read on Unilocal it was good, but it’s not offered on the printed menu as a side, only included with platters– what’s with that?
Before the food arrived, an anonymous waiter/​cook/​owner (never introduced himself, even though we asked) came by our table and said, «would you like to try some liver sausage?»
«Sure, I’m game, I’ll try it.» He watched, I tasted.
«this tastes like andouille sausage to me.»
«it is, I just tell people it’s liver sausage to see their reaction.» Huh? Why?
«I notice you only have it as an appetizer, it’s good, why not offer it as a sandwich or on a combo plate?»
His reply– «we tried it as a sandwich special, it didn’t sell, so why bother putting it on the menu!»
Duh? Maybe if you put it on the menu it might stimulate sales. Fact is, it was much better than the pulled pork which was suffering from an overdose of liquid smoke. Fortunately, the chef was more restrained with the beef brisket.
Service was so-​so. I’m not a fan of ordering at the counter. It’s too much pressure trying to read a unfamiliar menu and decide with guests cued up behind you. Would much rather sit down, enjoy a beverage and then decide. They certainly had enough staff to offer table service. So why after the food is dropped, are you on your own if you want anything else– ketchup for fries, extra BBQ sauce, hot sauce or an extra plate– wait there aren’t any plates the sandwiches are served in baskets. Good presentation, but not handy for sharing, cutting or stabbing food with a fork. And yeah, we tried the mac and cheese and have to agree with some of the other reviews– pretty dry, with a nice reserve of grease in the bottom of the little cup– how do you screw up mac & cheese? Easy, leave it on a steam table all afternoon.
The highlight of our adventure was watching the unidentified artist working on the patio mural. He’s talented– renders a fair copy of classic frederick remington cowboys, chuck wagons, etc. Almost worth the trip to see the mural. Wonder if they’ll figure out a way to light it at night?

Me and my fiancé had high hopes after reading an article on the SDSU newspaper about it. Considering the owner/​chef was from the Top Chef show– we both know why he didnt win.
We had the sampler. The chicken was cold, the smoked salmon was a cold brick and I sent it back for some microwaved chicken wings which were also half heated. The ribs were not piping hot fresh out of the grill like they were supposed to be. Everything seemed microwaved.
This is a pathetic excuse for a restaurant. To early to tell to see if we get sick from this food. Save yourself the money and make your own fresh HOT BBQ at home.

I visited this place yesterday without knowing the Top Chef history behind it, so I didn’t really have any expectations, just looked like a cool place from the outside.
Overall, I wasn’t very impressed with the food. The ribs were very tender, but they were dry. They had a nice smoky flavor, but could have used a little sauce which wasn’t available at the tables or the condiment station.
The mac and cheese was OK, but the consistency was a little pasty and the roasted corn salad was forgettable.
I would go back if I’m in the area, especially considering they just opened and may still need to take care of some wrinkles.
However, whenever I get a BBQ craving, I’m still driving directly to Phil’s and waiting in line.

I work next door to Frankie the Bulls at Brick by Brick which partly owns a portion of Frankie the Bulls BBQ and I have sampled everything on the menu. I was asked to test out everything and give them my honest opinion. With any restaurant I will admit it takes time to get your menu right and they are pretty much there. I have watched the food go from okay to excellent. This is good BBQ and it keeps getting better daily. I can understand other peoples gripes and complaints. Give Frankie the Bulls a few months to adjust and get things really rolling and you will see. I dare anyone who has written a bad review about the place to come back in 2 months and then try the food again. I think you will change your mind.
Sulo

My sister and I stopped by for lunch today and were very pleased.
Food was delicious. Love the BBQ sauce… just right. She had the beef sandwich with sides of beans and fries. I tried the Chicken sandwich with same sides. All the food was great. I can not wait to go back soon.
Staff were all friendly and service was very good.

I ate here for the first time earlier this week and I don’t know if I believe any of these reviews are genuine. I feel like all the 5 star reviews have an ownership interest in the place and all the 1 star reviews have an ownership interest in Phill’s.
To me the bottom line is that this was a pretty okay food experience. I ordered the pulled pork sandwich and I enjoyed eating it. I got coleslaw and fries on the side. The coleslaw was boring and the fries were okay. My girlfriend got some baby back ribs. I tried one and it was tasty — but the meat seemed a little dry. To be honest, Phill’s baby back ribs are better — but I don’t really think that means the ones here are bad. Phill’s has some of the best baby back ribs ever.
Other than the food, this place seems pretty poorly run. There were like five ladies walking around in super tight jeans with Cowboy hats on doing virtually nothing. When an order was ready, one of the ladies would bring it to the customer’s table. They are not really waitresses. I had to get up to get my own ketchup even though it was only 5 feet away and there were 7 cow-​girls standing by the ketchup doing nothing. I don’t understand the theory behind paying all these cow-​womans to stand around and bring food to people. The place is tiny inside and does not have that many tables so one cowboy woman could have done the job without any help. I could just picture chef Ramsey roasting the owner about this on an episode of kitchen nightmares.
Anyways, I don’t want to be too harsh about how poorly run the place was because I went there on the second day it was open. I think it could improve over the next couple months or so. Plus I don’t really care if the place employs a bunch of cow-​women to do nothing. It’s not my business and if the owner wants to lose money paying people to do nothing that’s between him and Gordon Ramsey. And if I have to get my own ketchup that’s okay too. I’ll be back here to eat again at some point.