Red Oak BBQ 7051 Greenleaf Ave
Whittier
562-907-0008
What do you get when you serve up below average BBQ and terrible service? You get Red Oak BBQ in Whittier.
As the name suggests, Red Oak is Santa Maria style BBQ which means meats cooked over oak wood. Santa Maria BBQ is known for their tri tip but some restaurants will cook other meats to, shocking, make money!!!
I got the tri tip and spare ribs dinner, $17.95. The dinner comes with two sides, I got a green salad and onions rings. Both were OK, nothing special. The spare ribs were bad because they had a chemical smell, as if they used lighter fluid to start their BBQ's. The meat was a bit tough but that has to be expected since they aren't actually smoked. But they should smell like lighter fluid.
The tri tip was a little better but nothing great. It was a bit tough, something tri tip, which is a sirloin cut, shouldn't be. It was also pretty bland, I dipped the tri tip into the au jus and that gave it some flavor.
Service was terrible. I was greeted, seated, and got a drink quickly but it went downhill from there. After the drink I didn't see the server for at least five minutes to take my order. I also asked for a refill after placing my order and I had to ask another server for a refill. Then I made a call at 7:55pm and talked for about 10 minutes. I didn't see the server at all during that time. About five minutes later, he tells me I'll check on your food order. I wait for another five minutes and I still haven't gotten my food. I don't know if they went all the way up to Santa Maria but damn it shouldn't take that old to get the food. Finally my order comes. But the onion rings are cold. Nice. I had to wait another ten minutes to get my bill. The place was by no means crowded and they had three people serving. But it was so damn slow and terrible. I think he was just talking to people at the bar in the back and not paying attention to people having dinner. Idiot. The final straw came when I got my receipt for my credit card. Another server, not the server I had, dropped it off and said "Here you go." WTF? No Thank you. Have a nice night. Stupid idiot. Hope you liked my tip.
I would not go back to Red Oak BBQ again. Below average food and TERRIBLE service. Plus the night I went, there were a bunch of young kids running around, crying and screaming. Parents should know that other people are trying to enjoy a nice dinner, they don't need some screaming kid ruining their dinner. Hire a baby sitter or teach you kids some manners.
