Lucille's Smokehouse BBQ

Recently, my family and I went to Lucille's in Brea. We hadn't been there for some time so this was going to be a treat for us. We were shocked at how expensive this restaurant has become. Their prices use to be a little on the pricy side but manageable, but now they are outrageous. In this bad economy, you'd think eating establishments would seriously consider cutting back on charging customers an 'arm and a leg' for their meals. But the opposite seems to be happening. Lucille's is so-so. Service is a slight cut above average and their food is also. But for what they're charging for meals, we don't think we'll be going back. My advice to Lucille's, ""Bring down your prices."" Now-a-days, many families are in the same boat as we are, and with the prices Lucille's charges, makes it almost impossible to eat there unless one plans on taking on a second (or third, or fourth) job. more

i ordered the full rack of baby back ribs with garlic mashed potatoes and macaroni and cheese. The garlic mashed potatoes was just the way I like them, VERY garlicy. The biscuits and spread were really good! The spread was so good I just about used up all that they gave us for half the biscuit! The best part was that I had leftovers!! I will definitely be coming back! more

The first time I was here about 10 months ago with my girlfriend. We were seated upstairs. Everything was great until right after we ordered our food. A cockroach ran across my girlfriends toes! She jumped up and screamed as it scurried across the floor and back into the huge gap between the wall and carpet near the stairs. The best part is the manager shows up and acts like it is not a big deal (it IS a big deal)!!!!!! Our server was nice, so we left her a tip, but did not eat our meals (the manager ""comped"" them, and our appetite's were ruined). So I start to look into this place more. The wallpaper looks moldy, and I wouldn't be surprised if the walls were too. (Did I mention both times I went there it was raining and there were buckets everywhere to catch the water? Can you say rotten wood?) I end up going back a couple weeks ago for a work party. 10 months later and the buckets are still there! Do we not care one bit about appearance and health concerns???? The more questions I asked the more horrified I got. I have heard from an employee that for a few days maggots were falling out of the ceiling in the kitchen where the Takeout orders were prepared. Where is the board of health on this place????? more

Ordered take out for 10 people through the website. Pick up sceduled for 11 AM. Arrived for pick up and the order was not filled. They had the order in their notebook . This was a 300.00 dollar order. They did get the food out in about 20 minutes. Unfortunately, when I arrived at my destination with it it was not complete. Included was suppose to be 4 whole chickens. What I received was 2 half breasts, the rest leg and thighs. I did not order chicken pieces. I ordered 4 whole chickens. I can't say much for the tri tip either. I will stick to the Long Beach Town Center restaurant. I should have read the other reviews before ordering from this mediocre establishment . more

5 of us went - 5 of us voted NEVER AGAIN COME TO THIS PLACE.\r Food was Average at best.\r Service Was Average.\r We left very disappointed. Pros: Nice Looking Place Cons: Food was only so so more

We have been to Lucille's several times each year. We had guests in from the UK & thought we would treat them to a good American meal. After getting our dinner pager for a party of 6, we went to the bar while we waited. The bartender immediately asked for identification. Two of the ""young"" people were over 27 with a baby, one was 26 and the rest were parents. He immediately said only CA ID's were accepted, which is an untrue statement, so we asked for the manager. The bartender was rude, the manager wasn't much better! He took his time looking in his book for a picture of other country's ID, which this whole process was taking longer than necessary . Needless to say, we were totally embarassed with the treatment they were getting. We ended up packing everyone back into our vehicle and having an outstanding dinner at Taps with no hassle. We will never go back to this restaurant, especially when our British friends, who visit us yearly, are back in town! Cons: Bad Service more

Exceptional food! We go there about four or five times a year, but every time is a pleasure. Parking is easy and the service is good. Not too expensive. Must go visit! Pros: food, parking more

usually good food and service... but a hnadful of hostesses kept giving us weird looks as if they'd never seen anyone NOT CAUCASIAN. this was very disturbing... in addition our server's, this young caucasian girl, table side etiquette was totally ""gone."" she did not say much as she approached and left the table all night. she NEVER refilled any of our drinks. and more offensive she NEVER smiled. there is something unappetizing about being served by someone who won't even offer you that common courtesy. i found that very OFFENSIVE because i could not help but notice how she was smiling with all her other tables. essentially, this young lady was EXCLUDING us from a service she was providing everyone else. i would hate to think it had anything to do with the fact that our boyfriends were both, African American; because all of the other patrons at her other tables she was serving were Caucasian. there was absolutely no reason for her to exclude us from the common courtesy of a smile. we were all polite and patient with this young lady, but... no response. please, put yourself in my shoes. this made me sick to my stomach. i lost my appetite and did not finish my meal. overall, this was a disturbing and killjoy experience. but i will visit this location again because Lucille's had great food and ""usually"" has great service; excpet for tonight. \r we all know the demographics of brea... for those who only associate with their ""own kind"", they really need to step it up and be willing LIVE outside that little box of theirs.\r i trust and hope the company will take the time to consider our experience and carefully monitor their EMPLOYEE'S ABILITY TO RELATE AND RESPECTFULLY SERVE ANYONE AND EVERYONE.\r looking forward to seeing them on a better day- Pros: great food Cons: needs better server's more

WE WERE AT LUCILLES FOR A GRADUATION PARTY THERE WERE APPROX. 60 PEOPLE IN THE PARTY, THE FOOD WAS SOOOO TASTY, THE SERVICE WAS FANTASTIC SMILING FACES, THE SERVERS HAD SMILES ON THEIR FACES THE WHOLE TIME IT WAS A GREAT WAY TO CELEBRATE! TRY THE PULLED PORK MMMMM AND THE BBQ PORK RIBS! OUT OF THIS WORLD. I WILL DEFINITELY BE BACK SOON! Pros: GREAT FRIENDLY SERVICE, GOOD FOOD more

Really yummy BBQ dishes! The wait is a bit long but for good reason! I would go back again and again... more

to the last person who wrote a review.. get ur facts straight! Lucilles actually smoke most of their meat in the smoker which is in their main dinning room in all their restaurants the chicken is marinated in their own original bbq sauce made with molases and then smoked their brisket is smoked for 24 hours so on and so fourth as well as their ribs... Craig Hoffman the owner of lucilles which is not a franchise and who also owns Huffs Hut traveled with Chris Farrell the executive chef all throughout the south to create this menu and recipes.. am i a spokesperson? no.. but i do work there and believe me this is not why i am saying this even when i am home i crave anything from their salads to shrimp sandwhiches to their saint luis ribs... next thing ill probably hear from you saying is oh its pink and has a ring around it and what i say to u is look it up in the dictionary real bbq has a bark and a ring and its pinkish because its SMOKED!!! not put in the oven ! and its smoked with real hickory smoke! I would love for you to come back and take the smoker tour and learn about the process before you give readers wrong information. Its one thing to put your opinion about the service or the food but the facts need to be correct! have a great day! Pros: great food and tonnns of it! live blues band on fri and sat night! Cons: long wait.. cuz the food is that good! more

I visited the restaurant last week on a weeknight with friends who raved about the food. I've competed in sanctioned BBQ competitions and have sampled food on the BBQ trail from Texas to Alabama and Lucille's could not exist in a BBQ wasteland like the Los Angeles - Orange County area because they don't serve BBQ. BBQ means more than applying bottled BBQ sauce to rotisserie chicken or roasting ribs or brisket in the oven. The preparation involves cooking these meats for extended periods (exceeding 10 hours for brisket or pork shoulder) at low temperatures using fruit woods to add a sweet smokey taste.\r \r If you walk in the kitchen you'll see the same type of chicken rotisserie cookers like you see at Costco. That's fine except that the price for 1/2 chicken is $16.95. The sauce applied to the chicken after it's cooked resembles standard supermarket sauce. The brisket was dry and appeared to have been roasted in the oven at high temperature and was dry and tough. The baby back ribs cost about $27 for a slab and also appear to have been oven roasted. There was no hint of smoke in any of the foods.\r \r The decor was nice and service adequate. Expect to wait an hour or more on weekend evenings.\r \r The price was expensive for BBQ. Expect to pay over $20 for any dinner except chicken and that doesn't include a salad which is extra.\r \r BBQ is high calorie food so save your calories for places where you can have a good meal while you plug up your arteries. Pros: None. Cons: This is high priced school cafeteria quality food. Don't bother. more

I was never big on bbq ribs, but this place is pretty hard to resist. The portions are enormous and the bbq sauce is sweet like honey. The chicken, on the other hand, is a bit dry, but then again, why would you order chicken at a place that specializes in ribs? I loved the environment- it has a very Southern salon feel with their checkered tables and coat hangers~ It gets pretty busy so reservations might be efficient if you're dining with a larger party, and beware- you might walk out a bit stinky if you're going on a date. Pros: ribs!, ambience Cons: long wait, chicken more

If are looking for a bbq place that will give you way more food than you can eat! Lucille's is the place! I always really enjoy their side dishes. The shrimp poyboy is yummy and the ribs can't be beat. The only thing I try to stear away from is the corn on the cob... never sweet enough. I also like leaving the restarant and getting a tootsie roll pop for the road. The smoker let off a great smell that can wafted all around the dining room and outside. I always just go in a very small group (max 4) but big groups might want to get reservations. They are busy every night of the week. Pros: Tootsie Roll Pops - Sidedishes Cons: Too Much Food more

Lucille's restaurant has amazing food. The service is great too. The atmosphere is like an American Southern saloon and the music goes with that. The bar service is good as well. The only thing is that they don't take reservations and so if you ever go for dinner, on any night of the week, there is a wait. However, it's well worth the wait. Their meat platters can easily feed 2 people. I highly recommend! Pros: Food and Service Cons: The Wait more

BEST BBQ CHAIN AROUND.BEEN TO THIS ONE AND THE ONE IN RANCHO CUCAMONGA.BOTH GREAT.CAN'T WAIT TIL THEY OPEN UP IN TUSTIN AT THE NEW CENTER ON JAMBOREE.GET THERE EARLY OUR YOUR GONNA WAIT.RIBS,PORK CHOPS AND PULLED PORK ARE FAVORITES.SIDES ARE AWESOME.NEVER MADE IT TO DESERT,LOOKS GOOD THOUGH. Pros: ANYTHING BBQ Cons: NOT OPEN YET IN TUSTIN more

The chicken was dry and stringy. Their apple butter sucked. We were in a large group and the wait staff were very friendly. The food was uninspiring. People who ate their greens, said they were terrible. Pros: lots of parking, nice wait staff Cons: lousy food more

BIG, MEATY, SWEET, SPICY, BEEF RIBS!!!!!!!! THE CAROLINA HONEYS ROCK!!! ALSO GREAT FOR TAKE OUT FOR PICNICS/TAILGATES!! FUN FRIENDLY STAFF, SOUTHERN MENU, GREAT SAUCES! TRY 'EM ALL......FUN FOR AFTERWORK DRINKS/APPETISERS....NEW LOCATION IN IRVINE!! Pros: REALLY GOOD FOOD, NICE PEOPLE SERVE YOU Cons: AVOID ON FRI-SAT WAY TOO CROWDED....BUSY more

The BBQ brisket sandwich is great! Its one of the few places that compares to what you can get in Texas. The peanut coleslaw is worth getting as well! Fun atmosphere too!\r Pros: Food Cons: Nothing more

I was a bit skeptical when I walked into Lucille's, but my friend and I were wowwed by the experience. Great fried okra, baby back ribs, pulled pork, and collard greens. The chicken was super moist, even the white meat. The sauces were tasty. The only miss of the night was the vegetable medley. The apple pie a la mode was scrumptious as well. I will definitely go back!!! more