Armadillo Willy’s BBQ

Really good barbecue in California. I ordered the Texas trinity– pulled pork, sausage and wet brisket with slaw and beans in the side. Sausage was very yummy. Crisp casing and a nice spicy kick to it. Pulled pork was good with solid smoky flavor. Very tender. The brisket was very good as well with good flavor. Beans were just ok. Nothing of note to them. The slaw was a great twist with a spiciness to it and peanuts mixed in. I ate half of it right when I sat down before I realized what I was even doing. It tastes so good that you want to eat it all at once. I’m glad to have found this in Cupertino. I’ll be back and you should visit.

I love the chicken on the small plate menu if you put extra bbq on there so good. plus everything is good.

I can’t really tell the difference between this location and others. The cashier who helped us was cheerful and even offered us their rewards card. I’m not sure if it’s new but it was the first time the cashier mentioned it to us. The food is just as tasty as other locations, especially their Pit Smoked Boneless Chicken! Yumm! Also, this location has plenty of tables and space too!

Went here for lunch on Tri-​tip Tuesday. Not much of a rush. Waited 15 minutes for my food. Service was messed up as one of the workers was searching for a coaster number. I finally had to go up and ask about my platter.
There was no apology for the food being late. Other orders after mine were filled first. I had to ask why there was a delay, the head person said that one of the people in the back was taking tickets down before they were served. Again no apology for the poor service.
Posted on their website that says the owner reads and personally responds to. No reply in over a week. Not the service I expect. Once we were served a sandwich on the wrong bread, the manager saw this and remade the sandwich with the correct bread even though we had eaten half the sandwich.
I’m very disappointed in this service. The food was still good but service matters.

This is a great BBQ location — we’ve been here several times and for a BBQ place outside of Texas, they do an amazing job. Love the Angus brisket and sides of sweet potato fries and cornbread — so yummy!
We’ve been to other locations of this same brand but did not enjoy it as much — so if you have a chance, definitely stop by the Cupertino one.

Ate a baby back rib and it’s yummy, but not so tender.

I was sorely disappointed last time and they redeemed themselves.
We had a big party and order the «belly buster» package. There was a big platter and indeed belly busting. The important thing was, they were good! I cared about the ribs and they were succulent and tasty. The muffin was crisp on the top and soft inside. The honey butter was an added bonus. Kids ordered the briskets and they were happy.
The beer pitchers were on the smaller side, barely filling 3 glasses. Make sure to order enough.
It is interesting to observe the crowd coming in during our dinner. It is still much less than the old days that line will snake out of the door. But it is clearly picking up on the popularity scale.
(The owner emailed me after my last review. Kids read that thread during our eating time and agreed that he did not convinced us to come back. It was cool that he reads the reviews though.)

Great barbecue served up by a bunch of knowledgable and cordial guys. Enjoyed the entire experience. I had the pulled pork sandwich topped with bacon with beans alongside and the son scarfed down a platter of ribs, slaw, and potato salad. Really, really good! Barbecue sauce was just right and the sides were good as well. Recommended!

Ate here twice recently on a business trip as it was adjacent to my hotel. This is a counter service restaurant. Order at the counter, get a buzzer, serve yourself drinks and seat yourself.
Food was ready in under 10 minutes on both visits and portion size was good for the price. Over two visits I tried the Texas ribs, tri-​tip and Cowboy Sausage. Both the ribs and tri-​tip were tender but both lacked a strong wood smoked flavor… so much so that I couldn’t tell what type of wood was being used. I always try to order with the sauce on the side just so I can get that flavor first, then add the sauce if needed. Of the three meats, the sausage was actually my favorite because of the spicy flavor. The Spicy Peanut slaw was my favorite side with the nuts adding a nice extra crunchy texture. The cornbread muffin was moist but lacked the traditional corn bread texture and flavor.
As a former Texan, I reckon it will do for California BBQ.

Perfect brisket! Get the moist! Good baby backs, too. I would highly recommend this place. My only suggestion to the restaurant is to get more green sides (green beans, sprouts & bacon, etc). Only option is side salad.

Not the best bbq in CA but hits the spot great when you’re craving some classic american BBQ. Went in my with 2 brothers and we kilt it (Belly Buster Family Pack)! Easily serves 3 – 4 people. Love the corn muffins with cinnamon honey butter.

The two of us walked in hungry and ordered way too much. I ordered a cheese burger which included a huge side of fries. On top of that we ordered a large sweet potato fries. WAY too much fries. The Trinity plater which consisted of three type of bbq meat. I was so full after my burger I didnt get a chance to truly savor the flavor of the trinity plate. However I took it to go and my mom ate it all that day. I liked the place and will go back again. Next time I will only order one plate.

Love the cheeseburgers here!
Cooked perfectly to medium doneness and the bun is to die for!
Fries on the side with chipotle bbq sauce does it for me everytime!

Compare your receipt to the menu.
I did…
After I had come in for a quick sandwich ($ 6.99) with a side of fries ($ 1.99) and ordered a fountain drink. I paid the bill of $ 13.95. The guy behind the register took my money and handed me a pager.
I started thinking about the price. $ 13.95 for that order? How much was the drink? I looked at my receipt and low and behold they charged me $ 2.99 for the fries.
I returned tot he counter and spoke to another guy. Turns out he is the manager. I pointed out the error and he quickly produced a dollar making some excuse that I had not specified the that I wanted the «side» or the «full order» of fries. I wandered back to my seat and started thinking about it.
My receipt said «side» of fries.
These guys are ripping us off one dollar at a time. I wondered how many other menu items are a bit higher and got really angry.
Think about this: If they average 300 people a day through the doors and skim a dollar off of each person, that is a six figure income ($ 109k) over the course of a year in stolen money.
I cancelled my order, got my money back and left.
I WILL NEVER EAT HERE EVER AGAIN.

Yummy BBQ! Baby back ribs fall of the bone. Loved the habanero ranch that came with the Cajun fries.
Vanya was very helpful – recommended items and was really knowledgable about the menu. While eating, my husband and I couldn’t help but notice how great she was with every customer she encountered.

I was walking around the area and the smell of tasty meat wafted into my smellers… checked my watch: 4pm. Time for dinner!
I got a small plate with brisket (half juicy, half lean) and texas toast. I asked to switch my side from fries to toast after they already started assembling, and the cashier/​cooks were chill with it — «I’ll just eat those fries later, heh,» said the teenage cashier. Thanks, kid!
I was so happy with my super buttery toast. I love bread. The brisket was also really good — juicy much better than lean (the delicious taste of fat) but both very edible.
The meal satisfied my BBQ craving. I would have appreciated a better garnish than a slice of lettuce and two tiny pickles, but not a major con.

After an uneven experience at one of the other locales a friend wanted some Q so i decided to give this locale a try. Much bigger than i thought and it’s been here for a while now. Surprised id never gone in considering i worked not too far away a while back. It was a late lunch but it seems we came during a good batch of meats. Trinity plate with brisket, ribs, and sausage. Id say the sausage was ok but the bark, moistness and tenderness from the ribs and brisket were really good. Sides of texas toast and tots were solid. Service is friendly from the cashiers. Glad to see the level of Q here is moving up from my past experiences.

Mmm… meat! we’ve been coming to armadillo willy’s bbq since the location opened before Unilocal was around.
my family likes to order takeout from armadillo. on several occasions, we’ve had the texas family bbq rib pack. it includes a slab of ribs, cornbread, and two sides. their coleslaw is a fave (except that i don’t eat it because there are bits of cilantro); everyone else loves it. the other side we have is potato salad
one weekend, we had the rib pack for lunch. then my grandma and aunt were coming over, so we had it again. haha. asked to get another side instead of the cornbread since we already had some leftover from lunch; they let us have baked beans instead.
the ribs i make at home are better than any i’ve had but when it’s 100 °F out, who in the right mind would turn on their oven for a couple of hours?
takeout it is!!!

AW BBQ is one of those places where you can go for ribs and it’s going to be the same every time. Tonight’s dinner was a Texas Family BBQ Rib Pack for $ 40 which includes: 1 slab of ribs + sauce, 4 cornbread muffins, 2 sides of choice (we chose green salad with balsamic vinaigrette and baked beans). For a Wednesday night, the place wasn’t crowded at all and our food was ready within minutes. Our host, John, was pleasant and came by our table a few times to check up on us. See my photos.

Star rating based on Bay Area options, still not much compared to the real deal, but very good. The ribs were well executed, competition style. (competition style looks for the combination of bite and tenderness, most people prefer fall off the bone) The brisket was just right. The sides are really excellent.
No question I would go back here for lunch or dinner.

Préférez définitivement celui de Los Altos.
Pas de bar (donc pas de Margarita; je me rabats sur le vin… servit dans verre à eau (pas de verre à pied !).
D’une manière générale food moins bonne.
Bref, déçu.