BBQ 81
Categories: Restaurants Barbeque Event Planning & Services Caterers Barbeque, Caterers [Edit]
San Diego, CA 92116(619) 534-0874
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- Yes
- Take Away:
- No
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Good For:
- Lunch, Dinner
- Caters:
- Yes
Vanessa M. said: "My fiancée and I went there this last Saturday. This place is great, its huge inside, very clean and well organized. There were so many items to choose from on the menu it was hard deciding. I ended up getting the pulled pork sandwich…" read more »
22 reviews for BBQ 81
Review Highlights
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"tri-tip (super tender and juicy." In 10 reviews -
"I highly recommend Brandon and his wife with BBQ 81." In 12 reviews -
"...salad with homemade dressing and mac-n-cheese for the kids." In 6 reviews
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22 reviews in English
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Review from Chris W.
Oceanside, CA
1/22/2012
BBQ 81 catered my wedding in the beginning of January. We had the Tri-Tip, chicken, baked beans, and mac n cheese. Everything was amazing! We only heard rants and raves about how our guests (around 300) loved the food. Brandon and all his staff were very professional and friendly. It was such a blessing to not have to worry about it and know that everything would be great because of Brandon's expertise and experience and it was. Also, I noticed how everyone from BBQ 81 that was serving the food were so nice and friendly.
I would definitely use them again and refer them to any one. Thanks BBQ 81 -
Review from Teddy F.
San Diego, CA
5/1/2012
I used to live next door to Brandon and on holiday weekends and for the Adams Ave street fair and stuff like that he would break out the grill and the whole neighborhood would be on it. Great guy, good neighbor, and a master of the grill.
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Review from Beth M.
San Diego, CA
5/14/2012
It's easy to see why people like Brandon Jessie. He's a nice guy who happens to have some seriously good recipes for all the favorite bbq foods people want. He just catered my husband's 50th birthday party at our house. We had 70 guests who enjoyed the food without exception. We ordered the tri tip, pulled pork sliders, mac 'n cheese, baked beans and Caesar salad as our dishes and everything was great. We didn't have room for Brandon to grill on site, but he brought everything ready to go to our back yard and everything was hot and stayed hot for about 1 1/2 hours. We'll definitely use BBQ 81 again and recommend him to our friends. You should too!
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Review from Ellen D.
San Diego, CA
2/9/2012
I contacted Brandon after reading the yelp reviews. Forever skeptical that a caterer could hit home run after home run, I apologize..the tri-tip was everything the reviewers said.
I placed an order for a party and people LOVED IT!
I'll be calling BBQ 81 again! -
Review from Scotty M.
San Diego, CA
8/8/2011
Had the Tri-Tip, baby Backs, and Beans @ a recent party in Encinitas........The food was exceptional and Big Brandon was humble and very knowledgeable about his food. But the TRI-TIP was the best I have had, it melted in your mouth.Blew doors off of Smokin Joe (and I love his BBQ) and Phil's (I love Phil's as well)...........Very impressed with the food.
Would recommend BBQ 81 to anyone...........
Scotty Manuel -
Review from Sarah S.
Oceanside, CA
1/10/2012
I actually did not end up using Brandon and BBQ 81's services for my event but I just had to comment on how professional and straightforward he was whilst we had communicated. Any issue you have (vegetarians, etc.) he has a solution to solve it. The prices are pretty darn reasonable as well. I do hope to use his services in the future!
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Review from FoodieGal I.
San Francisco, CA
10/5/2010
Wow, fantastic BBQ sauces, yes plural, 3 sauces.
The BBQ'ed meat - tri-tip, chicken leg, and chicken breast - was cooked nicely but it's the sauces that bring them home. We also had sides that nicely complimented the bbq - mac and cheese, coleslaw with minimal mayo.
My friend had her party catered, and these dishes were brought in. Our 20+ group were all big fans, and I heard the pricing was reasonable.
YUM - you should check them out. If I move to SoCal, I gotta have some more. -
Review from Stephanie S.
San Diego, CA
10/17/2011
100%. Best. Tri-tip. Anyone. Has. Had. Ever. Just...wow. We fed 60 people at my wedding on Saturday. There was not one ounce of it left. I was AMAZED. Brandon is THE BEST guy to work with. he is definitely reliable, and has a great personality. I hired him all the way from Wyoming for my San Diego wedding without a chance to taste the food. He brought samples over for my parents and my bridal party, all ended up being equally impressed. I was nervous (being the control freak I am), but trusted the palates of my comrades. It ended up beautiful. He showed up on time with everything he had promised. Unreal food, and an awesome team. Bravo!
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Review from BJ A.
San Diego, CA
7/14/2009 1 photo
BBQ 81 is a catering business that a couple runs. They do on site catering for events and they will even cook on site. I used them for two different work events and I've seen them set up at some of the Adams Avenue street fairs.
Their food is UNBELIEVABLE! When you see the custom bbq pits this guy rolls with you'll understand why.
I think the tri-tip is the best. Starts with a dry rub and slow cooks to tender perfection.
Ribs are great too. It's his own recipe for bbq sauce. It's Kansas style sauce with a little kick (sort of sweet, sort of smoky, sort of hot) that I could drink from a cup and be happy.
Then there's the sides. I think my heart nearly stopped when I had some of the Mac and cheese b/c it was so rich & cheesy. I ate some of the slaw to keep me alive; seems to have worked.
Anyway, these guys rock. Check 'em out at the street fairs or give them a call to have them cater your event. -
Review from Sarah W.
Chicago, IL
7/7/2010
Brandon with BBQ catered our wedding and we could not have been happier. Every single guest was satisfied and raving about the food. We did the pulled pork with sweet hawaiian rolls (incredible BBQ!), tri-tip (super tender and juicy!), collard greens with bacon (every plate scraped clean!), mac-and-cheese (my fav), and baked beans (my husband's fav). We had enough food to feed an army. Brandon does not go half-way! We are still getting compliments on how delicious the food was months later!
Also, Brandon did an in home tasting before the wedding and we even got a ton of food then. The prices are very reasonable - almost a steal for how much you get! And the leftovers stayed delicious for a long time (not too long though because they were devoured!).
All in all, it was a great experience and we could not recommend them more highly. Great job! -
Review from Armen C.
Glendale, CA
1/20/2010
The link above is incorrect. Here's the correct link to their website: http://www.barbeque81....
This is hands down the best barbecue I've ever had in my life. You've never had collard greens melt in your mouth like these did. The pork would almost fall apart in your hands. The chicken was juicy, and the ribs were not over seasoned, and fell off the bone.
We're using them for a summer party again this year. -
Review from Jennifer S.
San Diego, CA
2/3/2011
We hired BBQ 81 for our October wedding in 2010. First, let me say that the food was fabulous. Brandon cooks a tri-tip that is out of this world. We received many compliments from our guests on the food. My problem with BBQ 81 was due to their very poor customer service.
After we signed a contract with them they were very slow to respond back to us via phone or e-mail. We would often have to leave/send multiple messages. The week before our wedding we had an appointment with them and they stood us up and did not call or respond to our multiple voicemail messages for five days. The day of the wedding they showed up an hour after the agreed upon time and without the tables they had agreed to bring.
I like Brandon and Harper very much. There were extenuating circumstances for the missed appointment. My rating would be much higher if they had responded to phone messages in a reasonable time frame, and had bothered to call and cancel our appointment instead of just standing us up. -
Review from Gary J.
San Diego, CA
4/14/2011
Brandon catered an event for me in February 2011. The food was outstanding! It was a public event, but Brandon made sure we had ample food, all at the right temperature. We had his tri-tip, chicken and baby-back ribs. AMAZING!!! He is very communicative and straightforward. I highly recommend BBQ 81.
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Review from Jeff L.
San Diego, CA
3/31/2011
Brandon the owner and head grill master made some of the best BBQ l've had in SD for a party we thru, He is a big guy but a gentle giant, the baby back ribs were falling of the bone and seasoned just right. Near perfection.
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Review from carly b.
San Diego, CA
10/16/2011
Brandon is awesome. He is so nice. We are having him cater our wedding and are so excited. He's been so helpful and willing to work with us in every way to have the menu that we're most excited for. We highly recommend him and his company. All the men in the family can't wait to smell barbeque cooking outside during the wedding! Makes it a great day for everybody!
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Review from Damien S.
San Diego, CA
4/13/2010
I love me some BBQ. And i thought that Bulls BBQ was good...BBQ 81 has it perfected. They are masters of all sorts of BBQ meats, but i would have to say their Baby backs are the best. The best thing about it is that they don't skimp on the sides.
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Review from Rob L.
San Diego, CA
9/13/2009
We had BBQ 81 cater our party last night and they were a HUGE hit!! A lot of times you can have an event or party catered and the quality is questionable. Well, I can tell you that with BBQ 81, everything was top notch. The service was great and, more importantly, the food was incredible! The meat on the ribs literally fell off the bone, the tri-tip was amazing and the mac and cheese and beans were homemade and great tasting. I highly recommend Brandon and his wife with BBQ 81. If you love barbeque and want your guests to rave about the food at your party, check these guys out. You won't be disappointed.
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Review from Juanita D.
Diablo, CA
7/18/2011
Brandon catered my daughter's 21st birthday. The food was fantastic. I really loved the chicken. He was on time and perfectly professional. Everyone loved the dinner.
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Review from Carmen L.
Orange, CA
6/7/2010
We had BBQ 81 catered for our wedding last weekend. The food was amazing. All of our guests asked us where we got the caters from.
Brandon worked with our budget and did the BBQ on site with no excharge charge.
Hopefully, they will have their restaurant one day, ao we can stop by to have some great BBQ in future. -
Review from Robin M.
San Diego, CA
2/14/2010
We had BBQ 81 cater a birthday party and the food was fantastic. Pork ribs that melt in your mouth, awesome steak tri-tip and rich, creamy mac and cheese. Brandon knows BBQ - great smoky flavor and quality food.
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Review from mark C.
Laguna Beach, CA
7/20/2009
I have used BBQ 81 on numerous occasions. Birthdays, high-end charitable fundraisers. Each time, they have simply blown the crowd away with the quality, authenticity and presentation. I own several businesses, including an interest in a small restaurant chain, and STILL we have used BBQ 81 whenever possible. If you like BBQ. If you like great food served by nice people. Look no further. This is a mom-n-pop deal owned by people who do whatever it takes to exceed expectations at every turn.
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Review from Christina S.
San Diego, CA
3/25/2010
I hired BBQ 81 for my husband's 40th birthday. The food was soooo delicious!! They brought thier BBQ onsite for us- what a show piece for your party. The BBQ was gi-normous! Their homeade sauce was not spicy, tangy and perfect. Adults and kids gobbled everything up! The tr-tip was a huge hit, so juicy. The chicken was ridiculously tender and sweet, I don't know how he does it! My husband had to have ribs at the party- so glad we did. They meat fell off the bone! My 5 year old was nuts about them too. People continued munching on BBQ after dessert. Harper made the best Ceasar salad with homemade dressing and mac-n-cheese for the kids! My family doesn't do the macaroni or potatoe salad. BBQ 81 gave us great options and worked with our budget!! So rare. They responded immediately to me eventhough I was last minute. Harper was so polite and enthusiastic on the phone-love her! Brandon and Michael stayed out in flashfloods and wind to prevent the coals from cooling- they were so drenched but food turned out awesome-Is that committment or what?!! I had guests asking for the BBQ 81 restaurant but they only cater- darrrn! I am already craving their Tri-tip, chicken and ribs! Next big party- I will book them again!
