600 W Harbor
San Diego
619-231-9680
The movie "Top Gun" just celebrated it's 25th anniversary. One scene in Top Gun, was filmed at Kansas City Barbeque. It seems as though being in Top Gun is Kansas City Barbeque's only claim to fame.
This was my second stop on my Veterans Day tour of San Diego. I first went to Broken Yolk, and a few hours after Kansas City Barbeque, I went to Old Town Mexican Cafe.
When the San Diego Padres opened their new ballpark, Petco Park, in 2004, I went to a game and while exploring the area, I went to Kansas City Barbeque. It wasn't really that good but I decided to see if they had improved. I found out that two years ago, Kansas City Barbeque, had a fire in the back portion of the building. It took awhile to rebuild, but they have reopened.
Kansas City Barbeque is located in a great area, right next to the Seaport Village trolley stop and some nice views.
Spare ribs lunch plate, with mac and cheese and corn on the cob, $11.95.
The ribs were overcooked. They were too mushy and the slightest touch and the meat fell off the bone. Good BBQ, the meat should have some pull. It should be tender, but not fall off the bone tender. There was a decent, not great smoke flavor.
The BBQ sauce was just dressed up ketchup, so that didn't add any taste or flavor to the ribs.
The mac and cheese, was from a mix. How do I know? The cheese sauce had a gritty texture to it. That means they couldn't even follow the directions of the mix.
The corn on the cob was so bland and flavorless. They need to buy better quality corn or put something else on the corn.
Service was terrible. There were three servers working. But, there wasn't anybody at the hostess stand, so I waited about ten minutes until a somebody finally came and lead me to a table. The table was on the patio, but it was dirty, with grim and dirt all over. They need to change the table clothes and give the chairs a good power wash.
Then I waited and waited for the server to come and take my drink order. About ten minutes later, the server comes. She is friendly but that's the only good thing I can say about her. I'll admit I didn't go inside the building, I sat on the patio, but she just wasn't around. I get my food, but she doesn't refill my drink. I had to wait to get the check and then I had to wait another five or more minutes for her to pick up my check and get me my change.
Kansas City Barbeque is living off being in a movie 25 years ago. The food is below average and the service is terrible!! There is no reason to go back.
