Smokin J's BBQ

“Quaint location, easy parking, great vibes, food, and beer.”

Wandering Photographer★★★★★

A true testament to really great barbecue is when you can smell it before you even see the restaurant—and that’s exactly what happens at Smokin J’s BBQ in Old Poway on Midland Road. The rich aroma of slow-smoked meats drifts through the area from blocks away, instantly pulling you in and letting you know something special is cooking. From the moment you arrive, you can tell this place takes barbecue seriously. Smokin J’s delivers all the classic BBQ favorites people crave. Their brisket is tender, flavorful, and perfectly smoked, while the pulled pork is juicy and packed with savory goodness.

Vita & Vox★★★★★

We drove about 20 minutes just to try the BBQ here, and overall it was definitely worth it. The area itself is really nice — charming old town atmosphere and a beautiful place to walk around. We ordered the Burnt Ends and mac and cheese. The BBQ had really good flavor, very juicy, and you could tell it was smoked for a long time. Personally, it was a little too soft for my taste, but still very good quality meat and definitely worth trying. The mac and cheese was okay — probably around a 3/5 for me. Not bad, but nothing especially memorable. Overall, a great spot if you enjoy tender, flavorful

Gilbrann Casanova★★★★

The food was good especially when it comes to the meats, especially the chicken and pork belly is what stood out to me. The brisket was also good... The prices like everywhere else is it worth the trip? If anything for the pork belly but I also hear they got good burritos

p k★★

I really wanted to like this place. It's in old town Poway where the whole environment evokes nostalgia & charm. The out door dining atmosphere is quaint like days gone by, and although street facing it stayed calm with random traffic passing by. The BBQ is where they lost points for me. And, isn't THAT the reason to b here. Two separate entrees; (ribs & brisket). The ribs were just ok. The brisket had a lot of fat and therefore was quite greasy after it sat. The frys outer wrapping papers also started absorbing quite a bit of grease as we went on. Moving on to their coleslaw. It was fresh &