While San Diego is home to a bunch of bonafide barbecue joints, in honor of Barbecue Week we rounded up 13 non-barbecue focused restaurants where you can get your fix of finger-lickin’ barbecue-style dishes instead. Here’s where to go...
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13 Barbecue Dishes at Non-Barbecue Spots in San Diego

Fireside by The Patio
With a menu centered around wood and charcoal-fired fare, two barbecue-style standouts at this Liberty Station hotspot include the smoked brisket flatbread with bleu béchamel, roasted garlic, scallion and herb ($14); and smoked half chicken entrée ($22) with roasted chicken jus, goat cheese grits and collard greens.
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Cowboy Star
Lunchtime options at this chic chophouse and butcher shop include two barbecue style sandwiches. First up is the pulled pork, comprised of slow roasted pork, jalapeño barbecue sauce and frisee on a buttermilk roll. Then there’s the brisket: made with house-smoked brisket it’s served with coleslaw on a toasted buttermilk roll.
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West Coast Tavern
Chef Abe’s "barbecue style bites" at this former movie theater include a barbecue rib entrée (baby back ribs with garlic-thyme red potatoes, slow-smoked jalapeño barbecue sauce and a cheddar biscuit); and barbecue pork and waffles, which come with lashings of pulled pork, smoked Jalapeno barbecue sauce topped off with a sunny side up egg ($15).
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Duke's La Jolla
Filled with Asian and Hawaiian-inspired fare, the menu features an appetizer plate of delicious Korean sticky ribs: crispy Duroc pork ribs, spicy gochujang glaze, chicharrones, lemongrass, and peanuts ($12). Plus, a 24-hour Kalbi short rib entree served with house made kimchee stew, sweet potato, bacon, and long beans ($26).
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Leña Craft Mexican
It’s all about wood-fired regional Mexican cuisine here and one suitably slow-cooked dish to keep on your barbecue radar is the carnitas main: slow roasted Stone Valley Ranch pork with a jalapeño/onion escabeche, charro beans, guacamole, and cilantro jalapeño aioli.
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Urban Solace
Matt Gordon serves up a southern-style barbecue pork belly entrée ($26) complete with creamy grits, a red pepper and jicama slaw and braised pickled greens. And, for Blue Grass Brunch, there’s a braised pork belly Benedict served on biscuits with sautéed spinach, poached Eben Haezer eggs and smoked Ancho Hollandaise ($14.50).
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China Max
While barbecue might not immediately spring to mind when you think of this bustling spot - more famed for its classic Cantonese-style entrees and made-to-order dim sum - China Max’ fluffy baked barbecue pork buns are some seriously oh-so-tasty balls of goodness filled with a slightly sweet honey glazed shredded pork - three of which are just never enough!
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Waypoint Public
Richy Sweeney’s Beer-B-Q Pork Benny Bear Benedict ($14) comes on a grilled English muffin with wild arugula, smoked tomato Hollandaise, pickled avocado and Serrano relish at North Park's popular beer bar.
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Bud's Louisiana Cafe
Tucked inside a Kearny business park this no-frills spot serves up a killer pulled pork Po’Boy made with “pulled” house-smoked pork shoulder and topped with house-made coleslaw and a barbecue sauce infused mayonnaise.
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High Dive Bar & Grill
Chef RoseAna Peyron has a trio of barbecue offerings: there’s a smoked pork sandwich made with house pulled pork and pineapple barbecue sauce, served with sweet and spicy cucumbers on a brioche bun and a side of spicy pineapple cabbage slaw ($12). Next, a smoked beef brisket melt ($14), with habañero jack on grilled jalapeño cheddar bread. Finally, every Tiki Tuesday from 5 – 10 p.m., you can get three pulled pork sliders for $2.
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Luce Bar & Kitchen
A little further up the street you can savor a quarter rack of baby back ribs with chipotle, honey barbecue sauce and pickled vegetables ($12 at this Bay Park gastro tavern. Or the slow braised pork sandwich, which comes served with sweet and tangy “Carolina” mustard barbecue sauce and house slaw on brioche ($13).
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Firehouse Pacific Beach
The eclectic menu at this lively PB lounge features a generous sized (one pound to be exact) portion of slow-cooked pork ribs slathered with a chipotle barbecue glaze and served alongside bacon fat mac & cheese Texas toast! Costs $18 – come hungry!
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Rare Form
Stuffed with smoked ham and housemade pulled pork, chef Taylor Martin-Funk’s show-stopping El Cubano bolillo roll sandwich comes complete with (also housemade) bread and butter pickles, Swiss cheese plus a generous serving of whole grain mustard and aioli.
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