Sam’s Bar-B-Que

San Jose, United States

3.9

Open now

20 reviews

Accepts Credit Cards

Contacts

QR code, vCard

Telephone:
+1 408-297-9151
Website:
www.samsbbq.com
Address:
1110 S Bascom Ave, San Jose, CA, 95128
Willow Glen
Nearby public transportation stops & stations:
0.5 miBascom
0.8 miFruitdale
0.9 miHamilton
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Bussiness info

Takes Reservations
Yes
Delivery
No
Take-out
Yes
Accepts Credit Cards
Yes
Good For
Dinner
Parking
Private Lot
Bike Parking
Yes
Wheelchair Accessible
Yes
Good for Kids
Yes
Good for Groups
Yes
Attire
Casual
Ambience
Casual
Noise Level
Average
Alcohol
Beer & Wine Only
Outdoor Seating
Yes
Wi-Fi
No
Has TV
No
Waiter Service
No
Caters
Yes

Today

Today 11:00 am – 9:00 pm
Open now
Local time (San Jose) 12:57 Friday, 30 May 2025

Business hours

Monday 11:00 am – 9:00 pm
Tuesday 11:00 am – 9:00 pm
Wednesday 11:00 am – 9:00 pm
Thursday 11:00 am – 9:00 pm
Friday 11:00 am – 9:00 pm
Saturday 11:00 am – 9:00 pm
Sunday –

Description

Specialties

Sam Carlino Sr. and his son SamJr. wanted to choose the best bbq regions throughout the country to showcase their recipes. since no one region is the best they chose the bbq traditions from their favorite areas. kansas city style ribs with a dry rub and a bit of sam’s original bbq sauce is their signature item. their baby back ribs are extra meaty and always tender. carolina style pulled pork shoulder is gaining quickly in popularity. added to the menu in 2005, it has become the 2nd most popular dish to order. slow smoked for 16 hours with the bone in, and hand pulled. authentic carolina seasonings are then added to the meat to give this dish a real north carolina style flavor. texas style brisket is slow smoked 14 hours and carries the signature smoke ring to ensure it was cooked with real wood, not in an oven. southwestern style salsa marinated chicken is a true classic. homemade italian sausage, smoked prime rib, louisiana hot links, and beef ribs are not to be missed

History

Established in 1992.

Since 1950 Sam Carlino has been providing the Santa Clara Valley with the finest foods available. Sam and his brothers opened the famed Time Market in San Jose in 1950, it was a specialty Market with hard to find items from Italy and other countries. For 30 years Sam Sr. worked hard to create the finest small specialty market in the Bay Area. Sam Jr. learned to make Italian Sausage at the age of 8 years old. He would later become a journeyman Meat Cutter before opening Sam’s BBQ with his father. The wisdom and experience of his father and the exuberance of Sam Jr. and his wife Adila created the chemistry needed to make Sam’s BBQ the South Bays most beloved BBQ restaurant. Multiple awards from numerous publications include 3 ½ out of 4 stars from the Mercury News in 1992 and 1999. Readers choice awards from the Metro, Wave Magazine and City Search. Featured on Best of the Bay television show filmed on location at Sam’s BBQ. Come try for yourself.

Meet the Business Owner

Sam C.

Business Owner

Sam Carlino Jr. grew up in the food business. At the age of 8 years old he was making Italian Sausage beside his father Sam Sr. He would later work in catering, seafood, and eventually become a Journeyman Meat Cutter at Zanottos Market in the 1980’s. Sam joined by his wife Adila worked 100 hour work weeks for years to build the foundation that created the success of Sam’s BBQ. Mentored by his Father, Sam and Adila learned the Old School approach of running a business by providing the finest quality meats and vegetables available for their customers. Service and Quality are the two basic recipes for success. It worked Then and it works Now. Sam also Hosted, Directed, and Produced Who’s Cookin?, a local cable cooking show for 10 years. In addition to a passion for cooking, Sam also enjoys pickin with the various Bluegrass bands that perform every Tues. and Wed. night. Sam plays Bluegrass Guitar and Mandolin, and tries to keep up with the bands. Come on down and enjoy the fun

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20 reviews of Sam’s Bar-B-Que

No registration required
Place rating: 3
San Jose, CA
Starting with what I enjoyed most; this place has fast service, live music a couple days a week and makes a great BBQ sauce. (self serve)
I was really looking forward to some outstanding bbq on my first visit. I ordered the two meat dinner with two sides.
My buddie had the beef ribs and pork. The meat was scarce on the ribs and the pork was thin sliced and was dry with lots of fat. I had the babyback ribs and sliced pork. The ribs are presmoked and then warmed up on the grill once ordered. The Meat tasted just as I described, warmed up. I like my meat cocked hot and served fresh. Cole slaw tasted pretty good but nothing to write home about. All portion are decent.
Would never recommend the sliced pork. I’ll try the pulled pork or chicken next time. The
Bluegrass band was entertaining. If you want to sit in the covered area where the band plays make sure you call & make a reservation. All tables filled up quickly. Friendly, music loving crowd.
Place rating: 5
San Jose, CA
My fav BBQ!
Love the rib and chicken combo!
Place rating: 5
San Jose, CA
It’s rare that you’ll find me sitting inside a BBQ restaurant so I’m glad that I was convinced to come and try Sam’s Bar-​B-​Que. The BBQ sauce is so addicting. I ordered a pulled pork sandwich, covered it in BBQ sauce and ate the entire thing. It was so delicious.
Place rating: 5
San Jose, CA
Went there again just two days ago. What can I say these guys know how to do great BBQ. Don’t come here for the sides, they don’t have many of them and they ain’t nothing fancy. But again if it’s BBQ and meat your after paradise awaits your arrival!
Place rating: 5
Denver, CO
Very good. Staying in downtown San Jose for work for a few months and this is a great joint. The brisket comes in fatty or lean (great choice cuz I like mine more lean) and the sauce is perfect: the sweet tea was cane sugar and lemon and mint infused — so very good. Highly recommend.
Place rating: 5
San Jose, CA
This BBQ place has been a San Jose favorite for a long time and you can tell why when the food is this delicious. I came in on a Saturday night and there was lots of parking and tables available. The outdoor seating area is covered and there are heaters so we chose to sit outside, and even in January we were comfortable. I ordered the North Carolina pulled pork platter with the coleslaw and potato salad sides. The platter comes with garlic bread as well. Overall, I was very satisfied. The rub on the pulled pork was in the sweet side up front, but had a nice smokey finish. The pork was tender and moist. The only thing I Was craving during the meal was some vinegar to cut the richness of the pork. The coleslaw was also on the sweet side and I thought it was pretty standard. The potato salad was my favorite side. It has a nice tang to it and I liked the mustard ratio. Absolutely perfect to counterbalance the sweetness of the pork. The garlic bread has a bold garlic presence, but thankfully it doesn’t last after you eat it. Date nights will be thankful for that tip. All in all, I think the portions to price ratio are spot on and this place definitely has it going on with flavor. Worth checking out if you are in a BBQ mood!
Place rating: 3
Aptos, CA
I’ve been ending up here for years. So I’ve seen the rib size shrink a little. The food it good, the sweet tea and the live music is great, but the BBQ sauce is the best. Sometimes the ribs can be tough, other times it’s fall off the bone. Sometimes the chopped beef sandwich (which got more expensive) is the best thing and other times it’s an oily mess.
BBQ is hard to get right all the time, every time. But the food more often than not is good and I’ll be back for sure.
Place rating: 5
San Jose, CA
Smothered everything in BBQ sauce! Wanted to take the bottle home.
I shared a pulled beef sandwich with my boyfriend. It was like eating expert beef, made by experts. You get to put on the BBQ sauce yourself ^^
Place rating: 5
Redondo Beach, CA
A favorite Bbq restaurant in San Jose.
Serves great smoked baby back, beef ribs, chicken, sausage, beef brisket, etc.
Also great for catering and large groups with their party trays, meats and sides.
Place rating: 3
San Jose, CA
Heard about this place from a co-​worker since it was close to the office and decided to try it out. I love all kinds of bbq (kbbq, japanese bbq, american bbq, etc) so I had to give this place a try… especially since I wanted to find a good all-​american bbq place in northern california that could… MAYBE compare to Phil’s bbq in San Diego (bomb dot com literally).
Got the bbq plate – 2 meats and 2 sides – for about $ 17. If you’re feeling extra in touch with your inner carnivore, you can go a la carte (ALL meat) OR you can opt for the sampler plate which includes a bit of everything – 3 meats and 2 sides – for about $ 19. My friend ended up getting the sampler since it was his first time as well and wanted to try multiple meats.
The food came out in 15 minutes, which was pretty fast. I dug into the sides first – I got the macaroni salad (not a big potato salad fan sorry) and coleslaw. Definitely your typical macaroni salad… nothing too special (the one at Phil’s is SO creamy and. just oh my god), but the coleslaw was good – I liked the slight acidity. Moving on to my babyrack ribs and pulled pork, I have to say I was disappointed. The food wasn’t exactly hot, there wasn’t a rich/​deep smokey flavor (though they claim of having it smoked for 14 hours), and the meat was a little on the dry side (maybe from over-​smoking it?). I kind of had to half-​drench my meats in the bbq sauce to make up for the dryness… but the bbq sauce was on par – good balance between sweet and tanginess. My friend that also got babyback ribs thought the same. The brisket and hot links, though, were actually not as dry and more tender so I’ll probably try that next time.
I was super hungry, so I expected the food to taste extra delicious but… no wow factor here. The staff is very friendly and attentive, and prices are decent so… I’d probably come back just to try the Carolina pulled pork burger/​brisket sandwich just because my coworkers gave those a thumbs up.
Place rating: 4
San Francisco, CA
This place is AWESOME for some good BBQ! My coworkers and I came here for lunch on a Monday and I got ribs and pulled pork with a side of garlic toast, potato salad, and beans. Reminiscing over the meal is making my mouth water. The portion was just enough to give me a sample of many things Sam’s BBQ has to offer. The ribs were well seasoned and tender. The pulled pork was juicy and incredibly tasty. All of the sides were well done. To complete my meal, I also ordered a sweet tea drink. I was pleasantly surprised how well the sweet tea complemented the meal and it was not overly sweet. Overall, I definitely recommend this joint for BBQ. If you want a good sampling of what they have to offer, order a combination plate. Everything was well portioned to leave you satisfied of your meal. I will be back to try out their other offerings.
The décor is more old and rustic. There’s a parking lot in the back of the restaurant. We ordered at the cashier first before assembling tables together for our approximately 10 person group. We didn’t wait long for our food and the service was friendly.
Place rating: 3
Berkeley, CA
Pros: good pork chop
Friendly service
Cons: ribs were a bit dry and tough
Brisket was dry and flavorless
Place rating: 1
San Jose, CA
This place was terrible. I haven’t had any luck finding good BBQ in the Bay area yet. I ordered the brisket with macaroni salad and chili, because the sides were recommended by the cashier. The brisket was cold, dry, and tough, the macaroni salad was not very exciting, and the chili was just okay. It came with garlic bread, it was meh. Everything I tried was a bit boring and missing flavor. Will not be coming back.
Place rating: 5
San Francisco, CA
I first came across Sam’s Bar-​B-​Que when I was searching for good ‘olé American bbq in the south bay. I actually came across two bbq spots with great reviews. the other one being Smoking Pig BBQ. You can say I believe in equal opportunity or that I’m a fatty and/​or foodie, but I went through a phase where I taste tested both bbq spots to see which one I liked better. «And the verdict is.» I actually prefer Sam’s Bar-​B-​Que just slightly more because their brisket is more tender (smoked for 14hrs!), chili is delicious, & garlic bread is yummy.
Parking is spacious and filled with the wonderful smell of BBQ. There’s outdoor covered patio seating and if you dine inside, look up to see the train choo-​choo by along the wall. For some odd reason, I’m always looking for bbq on a Sunday when Sam’s BBQ is closed so in the end I find myself dining at Smoking Pig BBQ more frequently.
Place rating: 3
Los Angeles, CA
I came here on a Friday afternoon after checking the good ratings of this restaurant. I ordered the half rack of baby back ribs. The portions were huge and the flavor was okay but not the best BBQ I have ever had.
I just WISH it was served a bit WARMER. Due to the temperature of the food, the food overall didn’t taste as good as i expected.
There was no waiting list, It was self serve and there were plenty of parking spaces on the back of the restaurant which was a plus.
Place rating: 4
San Jose, CA
A very nice lady took my to-​go order over the phone. Her name was Angie, she was informative and helpful. My order was ready on time when I arrived.
Food was delishhhh!
Place rating: 5
San Jose, CA
7÷28÷15 (update): Came back for more! I really had a craving for some MEAT tonight so this was the first place that popped into my mind since the last time was so yummy…
1. Rib Eye Steak «Bone In» Cowboy Steak $ 25.95: I really really wanted their smoked prime rib since seeing it on their menu the last time, but alas I was told they only serve it Fri and Sat after 5pm. Sigh. Oh well, so I figured I’d «just» get a rib eye instead. Got me medium rare, of course. So… I’d have to say, this is one beautiful piece of meat!!! Amazing char on the outside, and glistening red. Just perfect finish, grill marks and all. Unfortunately, the meat itself isn’t the best. I mean, it’s fine and all, but it doesn’t have the dense and rich taste of high-​end super aged good stuff. The marbling and quality is probably similar to the cheaper steaks from Safeway. But that char finish goes a long way to improving the taste, so I guess it kinda evens out. And yeah, they did cook it medium-​rare for the most part. Oh, and I love the size – it’s really huge. A hulking mass of beauty. Good size for real men. 6⁄10
2. Beef Ribs ½ Rack $ 17.95: So, I’m not as enamored as last time. I think the shape and meatiness of my last visit was a good glitch apparently cause this time they resembled standard beef ribs far more, though still heavily trimmed with very little fat left (not a good thing to me, but I can see how many people would like it this way.) The flavor is still as awesome though, if not more so. Very concentrated beef flavor and so smoked practically all the meat is pink from the smoke ring. The sauce that is baked in is sweet but a little different than your typical BBQ sauce – I like it. Very dense meat, full of flavor. But… I dunno, it just didn’t feel as special as last time. I think maybe this time it just was a little lacking in bulk – not much meat and my gf who typically eats little quite easily ate her share. You get 4 ribs btw, and keep in mind that since they’re so heavily trimmed, they’re the equivalent of maybe 3 standard sized ribs. 8⁄10
Sides:
1. Fries: Standard steak fries. 5⁄10.
2. Coleslaw: Actually pretty good. Nice fresh ingredients and plenty creamy. 7⁄10.
3. Chili: I dunno if I was just too hungry today or what, but it tasted really good to me today despite just average feelings last noted. Lots of flavor and textures. Even liked the beans themselves. Well, whatever, was pretty good to me today… 8⁄10.
Still really need to try that smoked prime rib!
5⁄5
#bbq #beefribs #ribeye #steak
Place rating: 2
Milpitas, CA
My friends and I were having a fatty day and decided to order some BBQ from Sam’s for dinner. We ordered a half rack of the baby back ribs, a pound of brisket, and 2 hot links. Our order was ready for pick up within 10 minutes, which was a plus.
As for the food quality, «meh» really does describe our experience pretty well. The meat was a bit dry and not very well flavored; it was missing some of that smoky flavor that you would expect. Seeing that we also had BBQ from Smoking Pig right before, Smoking Pig beat Sam’s out by leaps and bounds. I may give this place one more try, but from that one experience we weren’t impressed or fulfilled at all.
Place rating: 4
Cupertino, CA
*~*The full bbq experience all under one roof*~*
I was in the mood for some bbq beans. Unfortunately, they didn’t have then beans but they did have brisket, potato salad, and fries!
To top it off, live blue grass on a Tuesday night! As soon as I walked in I felt like I was in Disneyland. Old west double doors and everything!
Definitely recommend for the experience!
Place rating: 3
San Jose, CA
It’s been four years since I’ve eaten here. This is my dad’s favorite BBQ place in town. He argues it’s the best and I believe him. I love this place too!
We came here about an hour before closing. It was fairly packed. They offer two type of seating: outdoor and indoor. The outdoor seatings have the heater running so it was very cozy with today’s chilly weather. Inside, there’s a small train running around the room. Wooden tables and chairs are placed around the room.
You come in and order up front, then take a seat. Your food will be brought out to your table. Very simple and fast.
I always get the pulled pork/​beef sandwich and my dad orders the ribs. The sandwich was about $ 8 and it comes with a side of your choice. You can get potato salad, macaroni salad or cole slaw. All of which are great with the sandwich. My sandwich had a large amount of meat in it. It was well worth the $ 8. I was a little disappointed with the appearance of my sandwich though. My plate looked really empty with just a sandwich and one scoop of side. It felt like something was missing from it!
My dad ordered the full rack of ribs. And it was well worth the price. It’s super juicy and covered in that BBQ sauce. Finger licking good!
I love the staffs here. They are super friendly and very helpful! So plus one star for that.
Downside, my cup of water had lipstick stains on it. Yes it’s true. I took a picture of it too. Even though I was using a straw, it still wasn’t pretty to look at. I passed on the drinks for the remainder of the night.