Soul Cal Smokehouse

I really wanted to like this place, as spending several years in the Midwest part of the country exposed me to some terrific BBQ that I didn't even know existed -- sadly, this was not the case here. The brisket was extremely dry and tough. Especially, the fatty part. In my experience, brisket is supposed to be cooked to the point where it pulls apart easily without having to rip away. Definitely not the case here. However, the brisket wasn't nearly as bad as the ribs. They were so overdone that you could barely cut the meat off of the bones with a fork and knife. Properly cooked ribs are supposed to melt off of the bone. This meat was clinging on for dear life, as if it knew it was so dry that no mouth deserves this. On a positive note though, the flavors were pretty good. This could have been a very solid meal and review had the meats not been so overcooked and dry. Maybe this is the standard for brisket and ribs here in California? If so, please do yourself a favor and visit the Midwest/South part of the country for some properly cooked BBQ. You'll thank me later.

Had an excellent first meal here where I got what I believe was the Chef's combo or something. My girlfriend and I loved the brisket, cornbread, and potato salad in particular. As a result we went back a week or so later to have the amazing brisket we had before, purchasing large portions of brisket and cornbread. The cornbread was again fantastic but the brisket was nothing like that first portion we had a week earlier. There were one or two tender parts accompanied with very dry, hard flaky bits almost like jerky that we put in the trash. We were both super let down as a result and if I came back it would be only to order that awesome cornbread again. I know you guys care about what you are doing, gotta police quality more. Consistency is so important.

This is the Restraunt Santa Barbara has Been Waiting For! The ambiance is cool and casual, with a bar from which you can watch everything - and I mean everything - being made. The employees are super friendly and remembered me after just 2 visits (they were even polite enough to put up with all my meat-related questions). As for the food, I've been here twice so far. I've gotten the Brisket both times, plus pork belly this most recent time. I should give some context by saying that I may be biased, since in my time as a Santa Barbara native, I haven't tried a lot of barbecue, but this stuff is the best, most legit barbecue I've ever had. The brisket is AWESOME. Fatty, with a nice thick bark and perfect pull-apart-with-your-fingers texture. The brisket is second only, of course, to the PORK BELLY. Good god, the pork belly. Crunchy, fatty, buttery and tender, the only thing that makes this pork belly even better is pairing it with Soul Cal's spicy sweet honey mustard sauce. I've been trying to think of some hyperbole to use to emphasize how much I like the Pork Belly with the mustard, but it's such a good combination on its own that there's no hyperbole or exaggeration I can think of that would do it justice.

Hands down the worst mac & cheese I've ever had. Their sampler plate was as minimal as the choice of stars that I could give and the meat was mediocre at best. The BBQ sauce was delicious but could not save the lack of flavor of anything in the plate and the only thing in abundance was the cardboard french fries that they conveniently decided not to salt. Save your wallet and time.

Pretty Good ribs, chicken and brisket. The pulled pork I could tell could be good but instead I was served a large chunk of all fat and the only meat was so far beyond burnt it was basically a couple pieces of charcoal and not edible at all. Don't get me wrong I like some dark crust and fat with my bbq but as a chef myself we would never serve that anywhere I have worked ever. It was as if someone burned it badly then decided to cook it in the oven at high temp for a couple more hours for good measure. Next time serve at least some meat and not only the super burnt fat cap. I asked for bbq and mustard sauce and they gave me 2 small containers of bbq that were only 10 percent filled ...like not even a teaspoon in each for a $35 order of food. I wouldn't eat here again.