Burrell’s BBQ

I just want to say it’s some of the best barbecue I’ve ever had the meat just falls off the bone and the ambience in the backyard is pretty Homestyle very tranquil in Homestyle love it

Hands down the worse damn BBQ I have ever eaten. If I could give negative stars I would!!!
It is completely 100% my fault. I should have know better that I need to read recent reviews. the star rating can be off by great reviews in the past. For this place the great reviews seemed to have died off 2−3yrs ago.
I purchased the baby back rib lunch with Mac & cheese as a side. ½ lb trip tip and an extra mac & cheese since we love it at home.
My first bite of the Mac and cheese and I almost vomited. It was 1000% absolutely disgusting. Mushy pasta, that was Luke work and NO FRIGGING TASTE. The next thing that I tried was the tri tip. Dear lord I felt that I was sent to BBQ hell. It was also lukewarm. Bathed, drenched, swimming in BBQ sauce and hidden beneath what seemed to be a million pickles. I might as well been served pickles. There where so much pickle juice you couldn’t taste anything else.
The corn bread was hard as a damn rock.
The really, really heart breaking part was the ribs. If I didn’t know any better and had I not seen the cashier fix my plate. I swear the ribs seemed to be leftovers. Of the 4 bones received, 2 seemed to picked clean. The other 2 had so little meat on them… seriously what a waste of money.
I actually apologized to my husband for the shitty food and promised NEVER to go back.
The icing on the cake is I have 2 bulldogs and they can be out personal garbage disposal. They every EVERYTHING! Veggie, tofu the works.
I finally found what they won’t eat. Both left the tri tip and bone in their bowls… enough said

I walk in when the doors first open and Ordered (Tri Tip, yams, greens, Mac and cheese and peach cobbler).lemonade was not filled up at all and water
Tri Tip: was kinda tough and did not taste fresh and tender. (Warm and felt it was slices from night before)
Mac and Cheese: little watery and Mac was over cook (to over cook).
Peach cobbler: felt like they use corn starch to thicken up the sauce, wasn’t happy about it.

Excellent ribs! Hush puppies are also a must have. However the corn bread isn’t that good, nor is the outdoor seating; my food was attacked by flies numerous times during my time there. Workers are also incapable of cooking a fish correctly, but were nice enough to cook it again. A must have for BBQ lovers only. Wouldn’t recommend for casual diners.

still the best and our go to spot for true smoked bbq. it also doesn’t hurt that their sides are equally as amazing as their bbq. their dirty rice and mac n cheese alone would make me come back again and again.
to some they just don’t get burrells. they’d rather go to a corporate bbq place that tries to have the look and feel of burrells and they’d be happy to give it 5 stars. it’s the same people that would rather go eat at the cheesecake factory or true food kitchen.

Very good BBQ, some of the best in OC. The ribs are great, especially the beef ribs. We liked the fried catfish also. Very homey place, actually looks like it was a house, and the service is very good. Ordered most of the meats and everything was just right.

Surprised by the poor reviews from the Orange Curtain Crowd, I guess they are just so «Chain Fed» that they cant think clear… anyhoo… been coming here for 27 years… used to save up my money as a teenager and go down to the «Pit», back when I could lay down a rack, 3x sides and a Half a Pecan Pie… my advice now… Spend the money… get all you can to eat and extra to take home ! here are the hot ticket items to me… sausage and ribs, cant go wrong, brisket if you like some fatty, tri tip if you like some lean, the chicken is lean and slow cooked dry, the beans are a Burrell exclusive, the best, even the mashed has some special zing, this style of BBQ is pit style smoked sooo if it may seem dry to you, add the BBQ sauce… its not all thick goo with sugar and fillers, its real homemade… add till just right to your «moisture» taste… BTW… Fred Burrell, the owner is on the level and is one of the best men around, he might not be around where you might see him, but hes still there, and yes, his stories are true ! :)

Still think that Burrell’s is the best BBQ this side of Kansas City, and I’ve had my fair share of barbecue.
Portions are huge and delicious and very reasonably priced for BBQ in Southern California. Don’t waste your time at the chain places (I.e Famous Daves, Lucilles, Dickeys, etc).
Treat yourself to some REAL barbecue and go to Burrell’s!!!

You just can’t beat the sausages or the hushpuppies!

I went here based off of a 4.5 rating on google maps and have been looking for a good BBQ place. I ordered several items to really sample the menu and most were of poor quality. The food had sat around for a while and the owner microwaved everything to heat it back up! I am from Texas and it is a very bad sign when BBQ is microwaved. The outside sitting area I thought had a good feel to it. Below I discuss each item purchased.
Corn Bread-​best item I had by far, maybe above average compared to other places or could be that everything else was bad so this tasted good. The thickness was too much making it hard to bite into as it didnt fit in my mouth.
Gumbo-​I think he chopped chicken and crab in ½ inch pieces bone and all. There were so many bone pieces in the gumbo it was hard to eat and a turn off. The flavor was ok though.
Dirt Rice-​this came with a small chicken leg. The chicken was very hard. I have no cloue how chicken can be lick a rock. The rice was greasy and there was probably more sauce than rice. The taste was ok though partly because I love grease lol
Mac and Cheese-​blan, no taste, limp, microwaved crap
Beef Ribs-​the meat was tender and had some red to it still, so they were decently cooked. The sauce wasnt that good and again the food sitting around forever and being microwaved didnt help. If this was right off the grill it may have been good, but not great.
Sausage-​well I ordered brisket and got sausage… The sauage was super over cooked and gross tasting. I ate 2 slices and tossed the rest. Even off the grill I have no clue how this could taste good.
Only come here if forced. Figure out when the food comes off the grill and only eat at that time. Stick to beef ribs and corn bread and you may end of with an ok not great meal. This is not a good BBQ place. I’m from Austin and it has like 7 of the top 10 BBQ places in the US so I have a good reference.

This is my go to place, when I need my bbq fix. Good prices compared to other joints. I have been coming here for years and it never disappoints. The ribs are best. I also like the brisket and chopped pork but the best for me is you can bring your own beer YEAHH!!!
Support your local business. So if want some good bbq and don’t wanna break the bank this is the place for you. DID I MENTION BYOB… LOL

I had such high hopes for this restaurant. It had so much potential and could have been great! I really wanted to love this place. Unfortunately I was let down big time. I went in right before 11:30 on a weekday. Me and my coworkers were the only ones there at the time. When I walked in it smelled delicious so my hopes were still high. Ordered a 2 meat small dinner plate. I got the beef rib, brisket, collard greens, mac n cheese, and corn bread. I asked for a cup for water. The cashier directed me to where the ice was. It literally was an igloo ice chest with a grocery bag filled with ice inside. No scooper or anything to get the ice with. I guess you use your cup or hands. So I opted out on the ice. Went to get the water and it is a jug with a spout. It was pretty empty so my coworker had to tilt the jug for me to get my water out. At this point I am a little leery of this place but am still hopeful that the food is going to make up for the restaurants shortcomings.
I waited about 8 minutes and got my food. First off they gave me the wrong sides, but they quickly fixed it so no harm done. I sat down to eat and noticed right away that everything was either cold or lukewarm. Anything that was lukewarm you could tell was reheated. The collard greens were the best part of my meal. The mac n cheese I took one bit of and threw the rest away. It was just a big greasy ball with no flavor at all. The beef ribs were ok. Brisket was smothered in sauce, cold, and not very good at all. The cornbread was so dry I was choking on it. I slathered it in butter but nothing worked.
This place had so much potential and the owner was so nice. Unfortunately it lacked in the most important part, the food.

I went here with my family, not expecting it to be in a neighborhood, but it was cute! They cook and have you order in a house, and tables are set up in the backyard for eating. The only thing is that you do have to eat outside. After dark, it is a little hard to see.
The food was good, I got the sausage and was not a fan of that type (kinda crumbly is the best was I can describe it). The rest of my family liked the food! They do run out of some things and are not really quick to replace it.
I would try it again!

Not only was food warm on the outside but cold on the inside (as if it were microwaved) but when asked server/​manager what could be done to correct the situation we received no help, when asked for money back she flat out said no and made rude comments.
Would not recommend

20 years ago Burrell’s used to be a well know BBQ joint located in the middle of a residential neighborhood in Santa Ana. I went there a handful of times with my boss, who has since retired. Back then Burrell’s was considered one of the better BBQ joints around. Curiousity got the best of me today and got me to go back today. I arrived at 12:30 to an empty restaurant in the same Santa Ana neighborhood. I went to the counter and Fred Burrell was nowhere to be seen, except in ads and old newspaper articles that boasted of how good Burrell’s used to be. Instead, there was an Asian woman in the kitchen, and 2 Hispanic women behind the counter. Interesting since this is an African American BBQ.
I ordered their Rib Tips and Ends and Candied Yams as my side dish. After the Hispanic woman took my order, she went to the back and prepared my order with the Asian girl. My order was ready in about 5 minutes. I quickly drove back to the office to eat it.
The Rib Tip and Ends lunch came with Candied Yams and a piece of cornbread. This was the first time ever that the rib tips were boneless. The meat was tender, but, it seemed to me that it was boiled rather than smoked. The meat did not have a smoke ring on it, or any smoke flavoring The meat was drowned in Burrell’s BBQ Sauce. It was no good. The best part of the meal was the Candied Yams. Sugar can make anything taste good for me. The Yams were just the way I like it. Cooked and sweet. The cornbread tasted funny. I threw it away after taking a bite of it.
What used to be a good BBQ is now a shadow of itself. Burrell’s is not in the same league as Bludso’s. The 2 stars that I am giving Burrell’s is me being generous. It just isn’t good. There are much better BBQ restaurants out there, unless you like meat boiled in bbq sauce.

Must have been on a Friday after work when we came here, which was around 4pm.
No other patrons at this time, which was a plus I guess.
Think I got a Small Combo Dinner (which is 2 meats + 2 sides) for $ 10.95, I got the brisket and a hot link, with macaroni & cheese + coleslaw, my husband got the Large Combo Dinner (which is 3 meats + 2 sides) for $ 14.50, he had bar-​b-​q chicken, beef ribs and a hot link with macaroni & cheese + baked beans. The brisket was okay (not dry, but not adequately juicy either) and the hot link just tasted odd to me. I am used to firm hot links, this one fell apart and crumbled as if it were some sort of ground sausage in a casing? Not my preference. My husband said the barbecue chicken was good, but the beef ribs were small and he felt the same way I did about the hot link. The mac & cheese and cornbread were the winners here. They don’t have fountain drinks, so you have to buy a canned beverage or their lemonade or iced teas. I believe our bill ended up a little over $ 30., not worth that at all.
Waiting for our plates took 15 minutes or maybe more. Their outside seating has an allure, much like a company picnic feel. But the 2 staff members there, lacked in customer service skills. And considering there were no other customers, you would think things would be different.
I’d spend a little bit more and go to a chain like Famous Dave’s or Lucille’s Smokehouse.

So our company Christmas lunch was catered by Burrell’s BBQ. So we got to try their chicken, BBQ ribs, brisket, baked beans, mac salad, dirty rice, corn bread and side salad.
Chicken was a little dry and I couldn’t taste any of the seasoning on it.
BBQ ribs didn’t fall off the bone like how I like it.
Brisket was dry, but they do provide sauce for those that want extra but it didn’t make it any better.
Baked beans were my favorite thing there, it was sweet and stayed in their bean shape.
Mac salad was okay, not much flavor either.
Dirty rice was passable.
Corn bread wasn’t all that good.
Side salad… well…how could you mess that up.
For the service, they brought it to us! There was only one person that came over to set up the food on the tables that we provided. And he helped serve us after. Super friendly guy as he would talk to us while he piled food onto our plates.

Went to Burrell’s for lunch today w/​a friend. Neither of us had been there in about 10 years. We remembered the food being very good, so we were anxious to try it again.
We both ordered the dinner plate with pulled pork and spare ribs, with dirty rice and baked beans as the sides.
Let me start with the good. The baked beans were very flavorful, tender and firm. The sauce was excellent, and there were good pieces of meat mixed in.
The dirty rice was good, but nothing to rave about.
The pulled pork was moist and tender, but it had no smoke flavor and tasted like it had been cooked a few days earlier. The carnitas at Del Taco is better.
The spare ribs were very disappointing. They were dry and, like the pulled pork, had no smoke flavor. They too tasted like they had been cooked (baked?) a few days earlier.
The cornbread tasted OK, but was dry. No butter was served with it, but they did have margarine packets (Country Spread, or something like that) when we asked.
I noticed, as did another commentator, that the place was empty. We got there around 11:45 and left around 12:30. We were the only customers having lunch, although a couple people did take food to go. Not a good sign for a lunch place though.
My friend also observed that the large smoker sitting in the driveway next to the lawn where you eat had not been used in a long time as it had no smell of smoke and had been collecting pine needles on top of it for some time. Another small smoker was just the same.
Next time I’ll head to Beach Pit BBQ or to Lou’s Beanery and BBQ in Huntington Beach.
Brad C.

Yikes. Due to the mixed reviews of this place, I decided to be nice and give it a try. BUT I WAS SO DISAPPOINTED.
I ordered the pork shoulder dinner with mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, and cornbread.
The potatoes were okay, they were real at least.
The cornbread was dry and tasted soapy.
The Mac was neon orange, way too overcooked, and very bland. It just tasted salty.
The meat… Where do I begin? It was so sour it was like eating vinegar meat. It was disgusting. It was pretty much inedible. It was just so gross. No real meat flavor, just overpowering smoke and sour flavors.
I really wanted my 12 dollars back, but I didn’t want to offend the guy. He seems like a really nice man, but his food needs work!
I would not recommend this place to anyone.

So I am on jury duty and looking for new and good lunch spots. The last few days I walked east, but today I decided to head west from the courthouse and try the bbq here. Let me tell you, it is as far from the beige strip mall joints in the OC as you can get. I felt like I was in a real down south bbq joint, no frills, just good food. I tried the beef ribs lunch plate with candied yams. 3 smallish ribs, but meaty, with a nice helping of yams, corn bread, and some iced tea. Food is served in a clam shell to go container and seating in on the park benches outside, right in the midst of a residential neighborhood. Talk about mixed use zoning.
Everything was great, except the peach cobbler I went back for to have as desert. It just wasn’t that good. I could have also done with a little more heat in the bbq sauce, but then again, I like things spicier than average. It was definitely a keeper, though I don’t know how often I will get back.