Guss BBQ - South Pasadena in South Pasadena

Review №1

2024-05-09 06:53:25

Good food portions look small but its deceiving. Itll leave you stuffed. Chicken wings were excellent and they have 5 bottles of sauces on the table that were delicious. 2 meat combo plus ribs is the way to go. Cole slaw and Mac were eh. They had a different slaw served with the wings which was excellent. Service was ok. They were out of a ton of basic alcohol. But oh well. Good leftovers

Review №2

2024-03-25 13:02:25

First time back in a decade and well worth it. The service was fantastic: attentive. We ordered the blueberry cobbler and after informing us it was sold out they offered an option on the house. Cuts were good, the sauces were good, just wish they were spicier. A tad loud.

Review №3

2024-05-13 04:44:44

We dont eat a lot of BBQ, so when we do, we hope its good, especially because its not the cheapest food. After a not so great meal at the last BBQ place we tried (on Colorado in Pasadena) weve been looking for a new place to try and this came highly recommended on Reddit in recent threads about the closure of Slab. We were not disappointed!We opted for a meat combo, a sandwich and a corn bread and shared it all. The cornbread was ridiculously good. Its straight up cake sweet with some tasty vinegary pepper jam and a honey butter. The tri tip dip was tasty, though I could have done with just a hint more horseradish just to cut through all the rich food I was eating. For the combo we got spare ribs, brisket and pulled pork. The spare ribs were incredible but the pulled pork and brisket were delicious too. We got the mac and cheese, garlic mashed potatoes (mmm) and tangy cabbage as our sides - 2 for the combo and 1 for the sandwich. Just a heads up, the tang in the cabbage is blue cheese, not any sort of vinegar, which was unfortunately a very unpleasant surprise for me. Bonus points for having 4 sauces to try on the table. I was personally a big fan of the Carolina BBQ sauce thats mustard-based.All of that to say it was a great meal and we enjoyed it. The service was great too, we had a very friendly waiter.

Review №4

2024-04-09 16:40:32

After some research it seemed ike this was one of the best places to get BBQ in the area, so I made it my destination for lunch and was lucky to find an open parking space in the lot on the side of the building. The strongest point from my visit was definitely the hospitality. I sat in a small booth near the front bar, which was perfect because I enjoy watching the kitchen and staff. My server was friendly and attentive, and I appreciated seeing effective communication between the crew to ensure they were focused on customers and enjoying their jobs. I also noticed many employees dining there, presumably on their breaks, which was a good sign to me that they love their food or the owner takes good care of them.The blueberry mint lemonade was bursting with flavor and super tart! Deviled eggs were tasty, and the salt had great flavor as the perfect complement to apply as desired. The ribs were fall-off-the-bone but a bit on the dry side, although I appreciated how the majority of fat was rendered out. Brisket was OK, and the sauce served over it was delicious and necessary because the meat itself was dry. It was tender enough to cut with a fork but didnt fall apart like a good smoked brisket should, and was lacking a discernable smoke ring, but the flavor was decent. Perhaps my assessment is due to a preference to Texas style brisket though. The beans were very good, and collard greens were cooked well with excellent flavor. Id recommend eating here and will keep it on my list of places to return, but likely focus on the ribs.

Review №5

2024-02-19 19:39:30

Its like being in Nashville without leaving home. The food is incredible and the service is equally good. The place was full on Sunday evening, but we still got seated within minutes, so that was great for us. We had the pulled pork nachos as a starter, and what a start! The nachos were delicious. Everything tasted freshly made. For the main course we chose the Picnic Platter and the Rib Sandwich. Those were to die for! The meat falls off the bone, the BBQ sauce is not too salty or sweet, so its perfectly balanced flavors. The fried chicken was juicy and fried to perfection. The sides were so good too. We got the creamed corn (my mouth waters just thinking about it!), and the cole slaw. We complemented with House Made Lemonade and Orange Cream Soda. Unfortunately, we didnt have room for dessert...so we will have to come back for that, and more. Our server, Scott, was so nice and made us feel at home all through our meal. Im telling you, this is a must go place.

Review №6

2024-01-30 17:43:44

First time customer. Saw the neon sign and stopped by for a quick bite at the bar.Max was behind the bar and helped us out immediately. Super friendly and extremely informative. When he found out it was our first time he really took care of us.We started with the cornbread which was extremely fresh and hot in the skillet. The sweetness/savory ratio was absolutely perfect. I was a huge fan of adding the butter + spicy jam to each bite. Top 5 cornbread I’ve ever eaten for sure.Max also recommended the pulled pork nachos and it did not disappoint. The pulled pork was tender, the chips were crispy, the bbq sauce was flavorful, and the guacamole tasted like it was freshly made a minute ago which goes a long way for me. I feel like a lot of places use guacamole that has been sitting around for a while and doesn’t have that fresh flavor, this place absolutely nails the nachos.Cannot recommend this place more, will absolutely be back to try the happy hour!

Review №7

2024-01-11 05:24:46

After driving past this restaurant for years, my girlfriend and I finally stopped in this afternoon for early dinner - it’s a solid experience; I’ll break it down:Billed as “Southern” food, I’ll say that while there are certainly a lot of Southern-style options, this is more of a “SoCal Southern” than serious Southern venue. And there’s nothing wrong with that!I got the meat plate combo, which consisted of smoked link, Memphis ribs, and brisket. For the sides, I got the mac and cheese, and beans. My girlfriend had the brisket plate, and got the mac and cheese and creamed corn for her sides. We both had sweet tea to drink.Since it was our first visit, the staff offered us a complimentary cornbread appetizer (which we were planning on ordering anyway), which is about a $10 value. It’s served in a cast iron skillet, and comes with honey butter and jalapeño jelly, which is sweet and has very little heat.The cornbread is very good - I preferred the honey butter, while my girlfriend loved the jalapeño jelly. We’d definitely recommend this.We both thought the mac and cheese was great; by far, the strongest of the sides. Her creamed corn was very good, too. Unfortunately, my beans were my least favorite part of the meal. They had a smoky bite that wasn’t sweet as you’d maybe expect, but rather, it was acrid; overpowering and unfriendly to my palate. I won’t get them again; they weren’t horrible - just not my thing.The brisket - she loves her steak, etc. well done, so she loved this brisket. For me, it was very dry - way too lean. I like my brisket to be somewhat fatty and definitely juicy; this is definitely not that. It’s not bad - the bark is very flavorful, and the meat IS good - just not the way I like my brisket. So this is subjective to how you like your brisket done.The ribs were solid; meat came right off the bone and was flavorful and not overcooked.The link was probably my favorite thing on the plate. The sausage is very flavorful with just a slight kick - it is great with or without BBQ sauce.There are multiple sauce options at each table; I loved the Kansas (spicy) sauce, as did my girlfriend - super tasty with just the right kick to it.Our sweet tea was great - refreshing, not TOO sweet, garnished with mint. Super nice.The service was outstanding; our drinks were constantly refilled and everyone kept checking on us throughout the meal. Top notch.I can see us returning, for sure. The venue is three-in-one: a diner-style area with counter, a restaurant style section with booths and tables, and a bar tucked away in the back. It’s been there since the mid-1940s, and it feels that way. It’s aged well, and is definitely worth a visit.

Review №8

2024-04-06 02:31:21

We showed up Friday at 6, which is their busiest time, wait time was 30 minutes for a table or right away at the counter, we picked the counter. Food is amazing, I highly recommend the corn bread, it comes with butter (creamy) and a jalapeño jam that is delicious and not that spicy. The ribs and 2 meat combo (baby backs, sausage, brisket) with potato salad Mac and cheese is too good to be true, sweet tangy bbq sauce makes the ribs amazing. Also got the baked beans to dip corn bread, that was a good idea. Also got the bbq brick chicken with Cole slaw, fresh slaw, sweet and tangy chicken with blackened tips so yum. On April 2024 with 5 sodas and a good tip, we spent 125 and was money well spent . Five stars will repeat.

Review №9

2023-08-27 00:03:55

Good food and lots of it. Bring your appetite, the portions are favorable. They are always pretty busy, so plan your visit accordingly. Avoid the prime lunch/dinner rush if you could.There is also very little parking at their parking lot. And street parking is only 1hr from 9-6, so you might need to find side streets or use the nearby public lot.

Review №10

2024-02-25 03:45:54

Edit: we came for the bbq for dinner. I had the fried chicken and waffles. Freaking amazing. The chicken was so crispy. Waffles were buttery. Service was great even with the crowd.Great for brunch lunch and dinner. A very family friendly restaurant but they they also have a small quiet bar. Love the vintage theme through the interior. They have excellent service here and even better food. Their BBQ is savory and full of flavor. Today I had the blueberry pancakes and boy were they good. The pancakes were huge and flavorful. It seems the blueberries were fresh and organic. They gave us fantastic service.