Phil's BBQ

History

Phil's BBQ first opened in 1998 in Mission Hills, San Diego, by owner Phil Pace. In 2007, the Mission Hills location closed and relocated to Point Loma. A San Marcos location opened in 2010. In 2012, Phil leased about 7,000 square feet for a new location in Santee, which opened on October 30, 2012 at Old Trolley Square.

A camera system called "BBQUEUE CAM" was registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office and installed at each location, allowing customers to check wait times on the restaurant's website. In 2013, a Phil's BBQ opened at San Diego International Airport with a ribbon cutting in the renovated Terminal 2. Two locations opened at Petco Park: one in March 2013 named "Stadium Food King" and another in March 2014 near Section 113, but both have since closed.

An eighth location opened in Rancho Bernardo on April 25, 2016. Sycuan Casino opened a Phil's BBQ outlet in its "unCommons" in 2019. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the San Marcos location closed in 2020; Pace said the decision was heartfelt. On July 3, 2020, a tenth location in Temecula opened, originally scheduled for March 2020 but delayed due to Riverside County restaurant closures ordered by Governor Gavin Newsom.

The chain plans to open a Chandler, Arizona location in 2027, its first in Arizona, with a full renovation of a 10,000-square-foot former Mexican restaurant.

Recognition

Phil's BBQ earned a spot on the Travel Channel's Adam Richman's Best Sandwich in America in 2012, where its El Toro sandwich took the title of best sandwich on the West Coast. That same sandwich had previously appeared on Richman's Man v. Food. From 2008 through 2025, San Diego Magazine readers voted Phil's the Best Barbeque seventeen times. The California Restaurant Association gave the restaurant its Gold Medallion for Best BBQ thirteen times between 2006 and 2019, and in 2009 awarded it the Gold Medallion for Restaurant of the Year.

In 2013, Phil's was the second most-reviewed business on Yelp across the United States. Business Insider included it among the top 50 Best Barbecue Joints in America in 2016. The San Diego Airport location was ranked number one for atmosphere by USA Today's 10 Best Airport Bars and Restaurants in March 2016. Yelp again placed it second in its top 50 most reviewed restaurants and eateries in March 2022. A February 2026 review on Decor Hint called the experience "jaw dropping."