Kal’s Bar-B-Q

I went with a colleague from work and we both tried the BBQ beef sandwich.
I had no clue I was being upcharged for my «french roll» bun — but I was.
It was 14.99 for a sandwich, pepsi and fries.
On top of all of it, it wasn’t good. It tasted like the beef had been hanging out in the BBQ sauce /​heater for quite some time… not tasty.
Won’t go back.
***UPDATE: she did give me the $ 1.60 back for the up-​charged french roll.

We eat here every time we come to Sunnyvale. Very high quality breakfasts of steaks, eggs, bacon and potatoes, omelets, pancakes, etc.
Very cheap for food in this area. Coffee very good.
BBQ, hamburgers and the like very good.
Very friendly, hard-​working people own the place.
Highly recommended!

Stopped for breakfast on the way to the office, great Denver omelet and super crispy hashbrowns, they were perfect!

Smells good from the outside. That’s about the highlight. Oh and they’re quick because it seems that most things have been cooked ahead of time and (maybe) they’re reheating things.
Otherwise how do you make a cheeseburger or hamburger in literally 60 seconds. The Kal’s BBQ pork and beef sandwiches are also seriously simmering in BBQ sauce for hours if not days…
They probably only survive because of the high prices and other popular restaurants Everything is a la carte. $ 7.99 for BBQ sandwich, up charge for a bigger bun. Fries were awful. $ 3.99 Onion rings are the Burger King type of breading. And it is mostly breading. Out the door for $ 14 for a less than satisfying meal.
First giveaway hint is the Asian family running the BBQ joint. Nothing against my Asian brokers and sisters. But if you’re gonna have a sign saying best BBQ in the bay up in the restaurant… You better back it up.

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three fluffy panccakes
two tasy pieces of bacon
one nicely cooked egg
maple syrup
butter buttet butter

So, we actually have not been here. Let me explain.
I’ve been on this chili cheese fries with pastrami «mood» since returning from a recent trip to LA. We savored and relished the the versions from The Hat (thin cut pastrami) and Langer’s (thick cut pastrami).
Based on Unilocal,I tried St. John’s Grill and came away disappointed. So, I was looking forward to giving Kal’s a try. So, off we go around 7pm on a Tuesday only to find out that they were closed. Had they gone out of business? Were they on vacation? What was going on? So, I called them in the afternoon the following day to try to find out what happened. The person who answered the phone had a thick, Korean accent and was probably the owner. He told me he closed early because no new customers cane in. «Why should I stay open when no one is around?» were his exact words. Really? How has this business remained around for this length of time given that attitude?
Enough said for me so I pass on even giving him a chance.

I went during lunch last week and the steak sandwich was serious business. The steak was perfectly cooked and ready before I finished paying. I wasn’t expecting an actual steak on my sandwich. I was expecting sliced steak just because it was a sandwich, but it was excellent. The owners were very nice and very helpful. I would go again next time I’m in the area.

You know how it is… backlog.
I’ve been meaning to get this review out. Unfortunately I need to do a do-​over. If there’s one thing about this place. DO NOT ORDER YOUR BURGERS TO GO. I knew something was amiss when I called my order in. The hesitancy in the person’s voice should have been a red flag. A re-​visit is order because really, anything I would write now wouldn’t do this place the justice. So this is a place holder. Besides, its not like I haven’t eaten here before. Albeit it more than 10 years ago.
So before we pay another visit, let’s look at what we know now.
Situated on Sunnyvale’s original main drag, Kal’s BBQ is an oddity. I mean that it fits the neighborhood which is a mix of residential, industrial and business. Like the planning commission couldn’t make up their minds about the zoning laws. Not much has really changed with the exception that there’s more traffic and the new construction are all high rises. But the red A-​frame remains the same with the exception of the advertisement of free wi-​fi inside. Speaking of inside, that hasn’t changed either. Truthfully I’m happy to see that. Unfortunately the burger I called to order earlier was withering in a paper bag atop of the fries. The condiment bar didn’t help much. Settling back in my cube while IT installs updates my machine, I do my best to enjoy a rather staled out burger and equally sad looking fries. Quite a contrast to the satisfying burgers I enjoyed with co-​workers at the turn of the century. We’ll leave it at that.
One thing I did notice that was different, was on my way out, I noticed they had buckets for sale. You know the ones for like mayonnaise. You get can one here for cheap as opposed to three something at Home Labyrinth.
Stay tuned.

Let me just get this out of the way real quick: the extra star is for friendly service.
Despite the mediocre Unilocal reviews I decided to give Kal’s a shot based on a couple of personal recommendations. Wish I would have just stuck to my guns and listened to Unilocal.
I ordered the steak sandwich on the recommendation of the cashier, and she up sold me on some onion rings. She asked me how I wanted the steak cooked (Rare) and I started thinking Unilocal may have been wrong about this place.
Nope. You were right.
It comes out about 5 minutes later. The onion rings were hard as a rock and inedible. The «rare» steak was well-​done and was about the fattiest slab of meat I’ve ever tried to eat. If you know me, you know I don’t often leave food on the plate, but I could only get through about half the sandwich before giving up. No seasoning, bad cook, tough as nails. It tasted like what I imagine meat water would taste like if meat water was a thing. It turned into one of those meals that you’re just shoving down your throat because you’re hungry but not enjoying a single bite of it.
Overall, extremely disappointed and wouldn’t eat here again if it were free.

Ok guys! This not a gourmet joint. No gourmet toppings.
The four stars is for a real mesquite charcoal grilled burger. No pale gray steamed burger here. You put you own fixings on the burger. Lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, jalapeño, mayo, mustard or ketchup.
The owners are super nice and you get your food in a timely manner. You wanna watch some TV… They usually have a game on.
My husband has been going to this place for 15 years. Food is always consistent.

I came here around 2 on a weekday and it wasn’t crowded which was nice. I had no clue what to order since everything sounded good on the menu. The man taking my order noticed my indecisive puzzled face and recommended the steak sandwich. Damn, 10 $? Eh fuck it. «Sure, I’ll get the steak sandwich.» Fries? Yes. Soda? Yes. Now it’s 15 $. All I was thinking was that I hope to get a large amount of fries. I love fries.
The sandwich and fries come and by my surprise the steak was pretty freaking big — it hung out about 2 inches on all sides of my bun :) nice. Biting into it i noticed that i had no desire to put any sauce on it, which makes me know that I am eating good food. The fries were lacking in quantity which I didn’t like, but they make up for it in quality. They taste really, really good.
I plan on coming here again for the breakfast because that looks really good too.

Pretty strange, but the BBQ place makes good breakfast.
I was hungry, and saw the sign.
WHOA. Not what you would expect. Everything fresh and cooked right in front where you can see it.
Eggs right the first time, hash browns perfect, and great value. Nice plating too.
Bacon was monster thick cut, maybe cut by hand?
Toast was huge, served with extra butter.
Milk served with a frosted mug.
Everything was clean. The staff was friendly and outgoing.
I would love to see what these guys could do with a t-​bone.

Awful. If I could give them no stars, I would.
First, my husband called in our order. The man couldn’t understand anything he said. He asked him if he wanted special plates, which were thicker paper plates that cost an extra FIFTY CENTS more! They don’t put condiments on any sandwiches, but they didn’t provide any lettuce or tomatoes at the condiment bar. The spare ribs were dry. They gave me exactly 20 french fries, which look like the kind that you get in a bag at the freezer aisle, and the fries I got looked like the last that were in the bag, broken and tiny, plus overcooked. The burgers we ordered were supposed to be well done, but they were red and bloody inside. The salad was warm and tasted like they kept it right next to the grill, super greasy. When you request the French roll for your burger, expect the first 4 bites to be just bread. They don’t even try to shape the burger to fit the roll.
The only good part was the hotdog. My husband thought it was tasty and cooked well.
It was truly disgusting. I’m still hungry. I guarantee that we will never go here again.

First time here and it was very good. I had a rib eye sandwich and was very good, I’ll be back for some ribs soon.

After not visiting for a long time, I decided I wanted a burger with whatever the heck fixings I wanted, so I returned.
I ordered a burger, plain, no fries or drink. Just a burger, not even a cheeseburger. $ 7 Insane!
If the burger had been good, maybe the price would have been justified, but not only was the meat flavorless, but the bun was stale! Hard!
Two stars instead of one because the staff is very nice and for the free fixings bar. Unfortunately neither are enough for me to ever return. They are nice people, I wish I could support them, but the food makes it impossible.

This is not a BBQ place. If you want a grilled burger or a hot dog, I’d give it 2 stars, but they hold themselves out to be «the best Bar-​B-​Q in the Bay Area». Not even close! Chili out of a can. Chopped beef or pork served off a griddle. If you want BBQ, don’t come here. If you want a pancake or a hot dog and you’re stuck in the area, it’s just ok
Update: I decided my original 1-​star rating was a bit harsh, so I’m adjusting this to 2-​stars. The food is ok, but it’s still not BBQ and, in my mind, not worth making a special trip here. If you’re in the area and need a quick bite, Kal’s will fit the bill.

This is a dive — but it’s my kind of dive !!! Have had the BBQ for lunch and Breakfast here several times and it’s a bit of the southern style comfort in Silicon Valley. I like to come early to beat the traffic from the East Bay and kill time having Breakfast instead of Killing Myself stuck in traffic — so this is open at 6:00 AM to accommodate !!!

I work up the street from here, so I decided to phone in an order. I called and placed an order for a chili cheese dog and a hamburger both with fries. The guy on the phone seemed like he had a really hard time hearing me.
When we went to pick up the orders everything was done in a timely matter. I asked for extra cheese on my chilli dog and one of the old guys seemed to bothered. He said do you REALLY need that much cheese, and I said yes please. It took him a whilw to figure out how he was going to charge me for the cheese, then he did .50 for a slice of American cheese.
The food was amazing and I can’t really complain. American cheese slices on a chilli cheese dog was different, but tasty.
Not so great service, but excellent food!

This was my first time here, drove by and saw that they cooked on a wood mesquite charcoal broiler.
I ordered the Steak Sandwich which is a big good sized Rib Eye steak on a soft French roll for $ 8.89. Also got an order of fries and onion rings all for about $ 14. Steak was amazing and so were the fires and onion rings. They also had a bunch of condiments you can add yourself (onions, tomatoes, lettuce, pickles, ketchup, mustard, mayo, ranch, thousand island, Italian dressing, oil and vinegar…)
Kids got the cheeseburger and kal’s burger. Husband got the low carb platter $ 9.99 with a ½lb hamburger steak and tossed green salad with tomato and choice of dressing. Everything tasted great! Was a little warm inside, which is my only complaint.

This place is out of the ordinary !! I really like the steak sandwich and hambugers. They even sell a good breakfast. The old style barn just give character to the place. A very interesting place to have a lunch ! But beware this place does get packed and parking may be a problem.
The one thing is the customer service ! The owners walk around randomly start talking to you like they have known you for years. Now that is how you treat a customer and make them feel comfortable !
One of my favorite lunch stops in Sunnyvale !