Geno’s BBQ

I just wanted to say when Geno first opened this place it was exceptional! Food was great service from Geno was great! I think the place was always packed at lunch. Then without warning we went back with no Geno or service or anything we came to expect. This place went down bad!

Would like to set the record straight. I’m Geno and I sold Geno’s BBQ But NOT MY Logo, not my name, not my sauce formula to a man from Pakistan in 2006. They weren’t supposed to change how we made sandwiches or modify MY sauce formula. They changed everything and ran it in the ground until they went out of business in 2010 and yes my old place is now another Mexican fast food eatery.
Bottom line? I regret the events that led up to selling my eatery and currently looking to reopen in the east county of San Diego, take what I’ve learned and serve you even better. I don’t really think there is a perfect 5 star anything but it’s nice to have folks think so. I feel we had it going on and I’m sorry my focus was on my sauce and not the eatery. One thing I do know is we did focus on customer service, greeting you when you came in and took the time to really serve you and I feel our food was unique. I miss sitting down with customers and treating them the way I want to be treated. I know my two boys miss Geno’s BBQ as well. I also know you can’t please everyone and there was and will ALWAYS be those who will complain even when being hung with a new rope.
Again, I am Geno and I look forward to serving you again and we will this time be serving beer and wine and maybe a full bar.
Mahalo

For some reason, I thought Geno’s closed some time ago, but I see a lot of recent reviews below.
A friend of mine told me about Geno’s and the Unburger in late 2006 I think. He made a big deal about the sandwich and how good it was — I had heard that before so naturally, I showed up at Geno’s a bit skeptical. On top of that, I lived in El Cajon for some time and remember when the Geno’s building was a ratty Taco Bell.
Boy was I wrong… and I had to admit my friend was right. The Unburger was one of the most delicious sandwiches I’ve ever had. No exaggeration. I believe Geno’s also made their own mayo and BBQ sauce which was phenomenal. It took an already good sandwich and made it addictive. If great (and I mean great) food wasn’t enough for you, the owners were super nice and the restaurant was always clean. Needless to say, I enjoyed many many Unburgers after that first visit and they never failed to satisfy.
Here I am, many years later and thousands of miles from San Diego and all I want is an Unburger. Anyone know what Geno is up to these days?

All I have to say is if you haven’t had their «Unburger», you’ve depraved yourself of one of the tastiest burgers in the states! This place was a favorite stop of ours when we visit SD. The owners were extremely nice people, and they always went out of the way to please us.
A comment about one of the previous reviewers: contradictory to what the previous guy said, this place is about as clean and hygienic as a restaurant can get! Perhaps the reviewer confused his visit to another restaurant or perhaps a visit to Geno’s when it was under previous ownership.
We will can’t wait until they open a new place.

I can see why these guys went out of business.
The BBQ was supposedly Hawaiian style, but it tasted like they bought the pre-​packaged stuff from Costco. Way too salty, and not nearly smoky enough. The tropical sauces were interesting, but they did not go well with the BBQ sauce.
Plus, the place is dirty. I was wondering if I was going to be OK eating there, or if I should run to but some antibiotics for dessert.
Hopefully something better will move into this prime location.

Geno’s is no longer in el cajon. They need to repost their new address.

They went downhill, and then they went out of business. This place is gone! Now about to open as a Santanas Mexican Grill with a drive thru.

was great, you would order somthing and get somthing different. Made it kind of fun. You never knew what you would get. prices went through the roof. Too bad, so sad

I first came here when you would see Geno. There was a «North of the border» burrito, and the items were cheaper. You could tell by the items on the wall that he supported the military, a nice gesture. It also used to be extremely busy. I loved the apple cobbler a la mode.
Now it just seems different. The quality is ok, not quite the same. A few old favorites from the menu are gone. I’d still eat there, but only about once every 8 months or so, just because it reminds me of the period of time right before my first deployment.

Not like it used to be, fatty meat and cold sides, a few years ago i would have given in 5 stars. I do go back every now and again to see if they have improved. Geno please come back and show them the way or at least remove your name from the building.

I used to go here all the time when Geno and Bob owned the place. Was friends with Bob’s son so I always got the hookup. Loved the garlic bread, and went between the unburger (an awesome steak sandwich full of sauce tomatoes, cheese, onions, and lettuce) and the Santa Ana (a smoked turkey with bacon, avocado, cheese, and tomatoes.
The bread is great, and made great garlic bread.
Unfortunately, the restaurant went through an ownership change, and is now a ghost of its formal self. The service was poor, items were gone from the menu, and the food quality had made an obvious change.
I used to list this as one of my dying meals, but now I barely have reason to go back. The atmosphere is sad, and the food is given in much smaller portions for much more money now.
Come back and save this place Geno.

Wow, this place went downhill fast. My buddy and I ate lunch here today. It took 30 minutes to get our food and it was very disappointing. The brisket sandwich was fatty and did not have very much meat on it. The meat was not flavorful at all, could have been packaged for all I know. The sauce was good, the only thing better than before. The Seven onion rings that composed my «side» were not good at all. The fact that they were all the same size should have been my first clue that they were processed. If you’re in El Cajon and craving BBQ there are better options, much better.

Geno’s was OK when it was Geno’s. Phil’s and the old Fargo’s are still the benchmark for BBQ in San Diego. Change of ownership hurt this place BAD! How can you cook BBQ, especially pork when it’s against your religion. Pretty hard to know what you’re selling if you never taste it. Another business bought for the sake of buying a business. Meals should be prepared with some heart & soul. Non –existent here. ABSOLUTELY PASS THIS ONE BY!

Used to be one of my favorite spots when Geno ran it… Only tried it once since then, and found no need to really go back :-(which stinks. It WAS my favorite.

This place is OK. The surf videos are fun to watch, the place is small. My recommendations would be the pulled pork or the BLT. They have different names for each sandwich but you can figure it out when you read the menu. Not sure if I would make a special trip here.

Place is probably closed by now

I daresay that Geno’s ribs stand worthy, in my book, to rival those of Phil (of Phil’s bbq fame.) The sauce here is unique and delicious, worth the trip alone. The pricing is a little steep, considering that the building is a converted old taco bell, otherwise I would have given five stars.
The sides are tasty, try the cheesy mashed potatoes.

The menu at Geno’s is pretty basic. My favorite sandwich is the Wipe Out. This pulled pork sandwich covered in cole slaw is a little messy but has great flavor. If you’d like to continue the exploration allow me to suggest a side of mashed potatoes. Together they make an awesome comfort food package.

I liked it. The food was pretty tasty. I mean for West Coast BBQ. I can’t remember if the service was good or bad so it probably wasn’t too bad. Nice sauce selection.

We used them for catering for 6 events (2007) and ended up changing caterers out of frustration.
We ordered his burgers and hot dogs, with fixins and cookies.
First and foremost, we cater for our customers, not to please the caterer. He REFUSED to allow ketchup at his hamburger and hotdog stand. «Use the Geno’s Sauce — it’s better!» Ok, listen nimrod, your sauce it KETCHUP with SOY SAUCE mixed together and offered in three levels of spicy. BIG FUCKIN’ DEAL. Not all of our clients wanted his goofy sauce (make it at home yourself — secret recipe in previous sentence), and it was irritating how anyone who asked for ketchup would get the lecture on how his sauce is better than ketchup. It is saltier, yes, and it adds essence-​of-​chineese-​food into your burger, yes, but it’s NOT for everyone.
Second, the owner’s temprament leaves much to be desired and he is difficult to work with. He seemed crabby and irritated as he flipped burgers at most of our events, and he was VERY rude to us after we didn’t hire him again (he called and asked for the next gig and we politely declined). He gets downright insulted if you ask for ketchup or aren’t pleased with his sauce. Nevermind that the dogs and the burgers are soaking in it in the trays, so you can’t just get a plain dog or plain burger.
Because of the above I can’t recommend Geno’s. If you’re going to use him anyhow, on the plus side I thought the trailer with the built in speakers for some ambient music was cool, and he seemed to have plenty of EZ-​Up style canopies to make it comfortable while getting food in the sun. Just don’t let him see a ketchup bottle, and tell are your customers that they need to have their dogs and burgers with Geno’s special sauce or face the wrath of Geno.