Red’s Barbecue & Grillery

Love this restaurant to death but starting to get a little pricey. Dont blame them though. Food and wages keep going up so they have to as well.
Aside from that, the garlic rolls and tri tip are the best! The employees are friendly and good with the service.
They make their own bbq sauce and salad dressing. The ranch is the best i have ever had.
Definitely recommend going here!

Good food. Service is good and I am happy to have this restaurant in Simi Valley where it is hard to find a good restaurants around. I have been here in and out for over 10 years. Quality has been up and down from time to time but still this is the good bbq place you can go for anytime.

Inconsistant.
We’ve been there three times, ordering the same dish, the ½ BBQ Chicken. The first time it was big enough to have for 2+ meals; the second time, it was just enough for lunch?
We also ordered a medium well rib eye which came so over cooked it was past well done and inedible.
4+ Stars for the BBQ Chicken Salad, it’s delicious, however, I ordered one to take home and they forgot to include BBQ sauce.
Service, is always friendly.

My recent birthday celebration experience reminded me why I choose Red’s over any restaurant — including those in my own town 30 miles away — when I want a meal out. We chose the celebration date to accommodate the needs of the eight people in our family totally forgetting it was Father’s Day.
Oh, My. Goodness.
We thought by choosing a 3:00 meeting time we would be in the slow period, but the place was packed. As always, they kept this very busy time light and fun and relaxed for everyone. Only the fantastic wait staff at Red’s can make chaos into a party.
It was hard for me to choose a favorite meal for my birthday treat. Weekends I often enjoy perfectly cooked prime rib (which I can never finish) with a giant baked potato (which I can never finish) after a fresh salad. Or sometimes I go for the fabulous Western Burger with a beef patty cooked the way I LIKE IT topped with their yummy fried onions and bacon (which I can never finish). Sometimes when I’m feeling adventurous I’ll opt for maybe the salmon, which is a delightful surprise as it would not have occurred to me to cook salmon with a sauce but is delicious (but which I can’t finish).
The family loves my leftovers.
About the only thing I can finish is my favorite tri-​tip salad. They never blink at my requests to hold the cheese and the onion, put the tri-​tip and dressing on the side. Just a cheery smile and «Of course.»
My only complaint is that I’ve had to stop ordering the beef ribs to eat in the restaurant. I can only order them for take-​out. They are so juicy that I need to eat them in private.
With a bib.

It is just ok. Mainly the owner and some of the employees sometimes have a bit of an attitude problem. I have had way better BBQ, too. I think Dicky’s is actually much better and friendlier even though Red’s has better sides. The music is WAY too loud which makes dining irritating. They also do not seem to have an gluten free rolls/​bread available. The BBQ sauce is so-​so. Never been impressed. No longer go here.

This place is always consistent. Garlic rolls are to die for… bbq not bad, but doesn’t compare to my dad’s ribs haha. Salads are always delicious. Our server, Rachel, was awesome!

This place was a favorite of my father in law before he passed, so for his funeral his church came together and got them to cater. They were very understanding and respectful of the circumstances and served a ton of fresh tasting food. Of course they don’t serve health food, but they did give us a lot of great options including salad and bbq chicken breast, with rolls, potatoes, and mac and cheese as sides. I would say the chicken was dry at times, but other than that it was a great meal

First time here and it is okay. Now I know how they make their stuff, so I will have to come back and try it again.

Every time I go to Simi Valley I use to eat at Reds for the last 14 years. Today I took my niece to eT dinner
We got there we saw a crowd lined up so we decided to call and ask how long is the wait so we did the lady that answered said we are taking people as they arrive so we entered the restaurant she told us 5 to 10 minutes so we waited almost 15 minutes and 3 people walked in and they were told the same but a minute later they were seated immediately while we are still waiting at this point we decided to take our business somewhere else because they’re picking and choosing who gets to wait or shouldn’t if you know what I mean well they lost a client that will be telling 1000 of client why they shouldn’t come here

Ok to good food… good service…
I had asked politely to have the music turned down for my family at 11:05am. It was loud. It stayed that way. 13 minutes later, I asked again. «Jason», the manager on duty on Sunday, June 5, 2016 spoke with me at 11:22am. He was extremely sarcastic. I said the music was still loud. Jason spoke to me, disagreed and said it was down a bit. (It was not.) I went outside to wait. My wife said the music went down for a minute or two… then went back up. I went inside one last time at 11:24. It was very loud.
Hence, this review. I will gladly speak with anyone to convince them to NOT eat here. Jason is most assuredly NOT a people-​oriented person.
Enjoy the food as take-​out. But do not subject yourself to loud music coupled with a sarcastic manager while inside.
Sunday, June 5, 2016 at 2:47 pm — Here is a letter I sent to Red’s. I am a realist. I do not believe they will act upon it. Thus, I post it here for everyone to see. This was mailed to them early Sunday afternoon.
June 6, 2016
Thomas R. Baker
Red’s Barbecue and Grillery
3090 Cochran St.
Simi Valley, CA 93 065
To The Owner:
You have simplified my decision for eating at your restaurant. Our family will not set foot in that establishment again. Yes, your food is good. Yes, the take-​out is laudable. That’s it.
I refer to an incident that happened on Sunday, June 5, 2016. At 11:02 am, my family and I walked into the restaurant. We were seated immediately. So far, it seemed all was well. Except for the music playing. It was not quiet. It was not conducive to eating. It was LOUD. Very loud. I asked a server to «turn it down». They could not. I asked again eight minutes later to turn it down. I was told they needed to get into the office, that only the manager could turn it down. I asked after waiting another 6 minutes. No result. At 11:22 am, «Jason», the manager came up to me. He said it was turned down. It was not. It was loud. He was extremely sarcastic. He then left. And so did I, out of the restaurant. I sat in my vehicle waiting for my family.
They ate. My wife said that «Jason» was giving her dirty looks throughout the eating time. The music had gone down in volume, and then returned to its original loudness.
I called the manager at 12:17 pm from home. I told him I would file a bit of paperwork with the Better Business Bureau. I also placed a
comment. At this point, I will not retract it. Your manager is definitely not a «people person». He is incapable of speaking normally to the customers that singularly make his business successful. He did not do everything in his power to make it pleasant for the clients. He single-​handedly turned a graduation dinner into a fiasco and disaster with his distasteful attitude. THAT will be the flavor of Red’s I will retain.
No matter. I will encourage others to avoid this restaurant. I will gladly make sure that this letter is placed on file with the BBB in a public forum. Your manager, «Jason» behaved as a manager should not. It appears that some form of retraining is necessary for him. Or, perhaps he should be in a «back room» area away from contacting the public. He apparently cannot function in and about the public in a place that serves food.
Thomas R. Baker

We had high hopes since it was my husband’s birthday. Those hopes were cruelly dashed, at least for me. We had lunch here. Our server was friendly and attentive, so no complaints there. The atmosphere and ambiance was plain but acceptable. The rolls were good — not too doughy and light.
My husband had the Petite Tri-​Tip lunch special, which he pronounced okay. The rice pilaf and mashed potatoes that accompanied it were all right as well. I had the mesquite burger. It was horrible. The first one I got was burned, dry, and overall disgusting. I sent it back, hoping for something better. The replacement burger was less burned but just as dry. It was shaped like those perfectly round burgers you buy in the freezer section of the grocery store. The ones that contain a dozen preshaped burgers. It tasted like it had been sitting in the freezer too long, then was taken out of the freezer, cooked in mass three days ago and taken out of the refrigerator to warm up and slap on my plate. It goes down as the yuckiest burger I’ve had in many years. The accompanying sweet potato fries were all right. My ice tea tasted like it was made six days ago.
A table across from us had a birthday, so the servers came over and sung an unenthusiastic happy birthday song. My husband declined to have the same lackluster performance for himself.
Overall: gross and we won’t be returning.

***UPDATE***
We tried Red’s BBQ again last night. I had to give them one more chance. We were sadly let down, again. The baby back ribs were way overcooked, again, and the buffalo wings tasted old and were really dry. Even the mac n’ cheese didn’t taste right. We ended up throwing the leftovers in the trash. I couldn’t even finish the food on my plate. Sad. We used to love this place. We will not be eating here again.

This the first time was at this place.
I had the Barbecue boneless chicken with Barbecue beans and tasted potatoes.
The lunch portion was a good size for lunch. The beans and chicken was good I didn’t care too much for the roasted potatoes
The serve Bian was nice an attentive. When I told him it was my first time he explained the menu to me also the most popular items. I would come back
I like the fact the soft drinks where in Mason Jars

I came here on a recommendation, having just moved back from Tucson. I don’t often go out of my way to leave poor reviews without the intention of leaving businesses (Mostly kitchens) with constructive critiques as to allow them the chance to correct their poor aspects, and low standards.
Having been a head chef for a number of years, I expect the most of places that serve BBQ. When I think of BBQ I think of freshly cooked juicy tender meats, bursting with flavor, and when I ordered the chopped BBQ chicken salad, with bacon, I expected nothing short of a blissful afternoon meal.
The chicken, however, looked as if it had been cooked days prior, which judging by the size of the meagerly portioned, poorly seasoned and lazily dressed breast, is completely unacceptable. I would have gladly waited the 6 extra minutes to have a freshly cooked and well seasoned piece at the price that I paid for a sloppy salad.
The bacon, was not being held at a proper temperature (neither hot enough nor cold enough) and had begun to become translucent, and tasted of nothing more than grease. Again, something you shouldn’t expect from a BBQ joint that boasts such great food.
I may return once more, a long while from now, but something tells me that this isn’t a new issue. The only reason they didn’t get a worse review is because the service in the FOH was impeccable. At least you have charming people to recover your back of house tragedy.

First off I must we had a fantastic visit all around.
Brian P was our server and promptly took our drinks out followed by some amazing rolls. This was my first time at Reds and it struck me as being very similar to Wood Ranch, similar rolls and same BBQ sauce. If you don’t dip your rolls in the BBQ sauce you are missing out!
Brian was very personable and friendly, relating his young kid to our daughter. Made for some fun conversations.
I had ordered a combo of Tri-​Tip and Baby back ribs. I didn’t even get to touch my ribs as I was so full from the portion of Tri-​Tip.
I was wondering about the quality of meat since mentally I was comparing it to Wood Ranch but I was not disappointed one bit. It was a lot of high quality food cooked to perfection.
The side order of veggies was a little bland but that is my only minor note that was easily corrected with a touch of salt.
We had a great evening during a busy time and left with smiles. For a party of 6 with 2 kids and no appointment it was a perfect meal no other restaurant has matched in some time.
Please keep up the fantastic service. I can’t wait to eat my ribs tomorrow for lunch.

I have been to this location 1x but frequently had delivery when visiting friends in Simi. The order has been messed up a lot (I make modifications like «no cilantro») due to poor attention to detail. My friend really enjoys the delivery aspect so we continue to order from here despite the fact that they mess things up every time and the quality of food is going downhill. I’ll be reaching out to my Unilocal community for delivery alternatives next time.

GREAT LUNCH SPECIALS
I mean… TRI-​Tip for $ 7.99?! Pretty dang good and huge refillable ice tea
Nice casual ambience and family friendly… Service is great even when it’s busy! The rolls are off the chain too yum!

The audacity of this place to call their food barbecue is absolutely laughable. They need to visit Oklahoma, kansas City, or Texas for a tutorial. I paid $ 17.00 for a sandwich and tea that could have easily been an item in a Denny’s menu which is where they must have gotten the idea for bbq sauce in a syrup dispenser. To top it off, they can’t split the bill, so we had to circle items along with our card number just to pay for this garbage. I gave it 2 stars since I usually reserve the 1 star ratings for explosive diarrhea.

Every so often, you just crave for barbecue

The bread and potatoes are bomb! Good place to eat with friends and family. Plus our waiter is really nice!

So I was super excited to order Reds for take out, only to be disappointed that the dinner menu (at dinner time) and the «take out menu» we’re different. The meal said 2 sides and a salad. That’s only for dine in?! What?! The price is the EXACT same but you don’t the same meal?! So annoyed. Then to top it off I specifically asked for my fries to be well done and of course they came out soggy. When I asked for a side of ranch she told me it would be 1.00! This would never happen at Wood ranch. Obviously this place is not focused on making the Customer happy, it’s all about making money. Won’t be back!

Nice waitress Ashley.. but had the Santa fe sandwich was a little dry, french fries soggy ask for them to be cook crispy.

I literally just got off the phone with an incredibly efficient employee, Megan. I order at 7:48 pm and the order was complete within 90 seconds and while processing a credit card transaction. Great customer service and the BEST rolls I’ve ever had.

My first time here. i had a baked potatoes supreme topped with chunks of tri tip. Yum! Started off with the artichoke dip & chips. It was ok. I also tasted my daughter’s bbq beef/​tri tip sandwich which was really good.
I didnt take pics because i gobbled down my food. Sorry.
Overall great customer service great hot rolls and bbq was tender and flavorful.

GREAT LUNCH SPECIALS
I mean… TRI-​Tip for $ 7.99?! Pretty dang good and huge refillable ice tea
Nice casual ambience and family friendly… Service is great even when it’s busy

5 stars for the bbq chicken salad, ranch and rolls. I’ve been coming here since I was a kid. There are things they do very well and others not so much. Know what to order and you’ll be glad you did! I hope this place sticks around for years to come!

Pretty good food but I think you should get more food for the price. The atmosphere is nice and the staff is very attentive. It’s a good place to go to lunch with a friend but wouldn’t make it a place to go on date night.

Been coming to this restaurant since 1999. Their barbecue is always terrific however their service has fallen behind. I brought that to the attention of the manager Danny. He was very sarcastic and unhelpful. I Will take my money somewhere else for better service.

I really don’t get why this place has 3 stars? This place is my favorite BBQ around by far, large portions and great prices. The owner is always working hard for you to have a good experience and has kind staff. They have all hands of specials like the early bird and even once we came during the week and randomly were told it was customer appreciation day and was heaven a free icecream Sunday in a huge martini glass

My husband and I love this place. It’s worth the drive from Tujunga to Simi. We’ve never had a problem with the food or the service! Their prices are extremely reasonable. You get huge portions every time. My dinner was around $ 20, on top of being started off win a soup or a salad. The service is always excellent. We are seated and served very quickly. The food is so good! The tri tip is my absolute favorite! Their fresh garlic rolls are to die for. We can’t wait to come back!

Been coming to Red’s since we moved to Simi. Terrific food and a friendly staff makes this one of the places we always consider for dinner.
Worth the trip for the garlic rolls alone.

I should have know from the start. We were going to Red’s for my son’s birthday, I am a Simi resident since 1972 and I been to Red’s over the years and it use to be good! Unfortunately the OWNERS are not very in tune to there business or just don’t care, as they have many young adults who work there and they could CARELESS about the key to business! Customer Service!
Here is my first mistake, I called prior to arriving and Megan answered the phone. I asked Megan do you take reservations and she stated only on bigger parties which did not apply to me. I said ok can you please tell me how long the approximate wait would be, Megan’s response (totally unprofessional) was I work in the take out area and I could not tell you, you should just come down and see? I said I planning to come down however I just would like to gauge how long it would be since I had another person to meet me. She was RUDE and hung up on me?
Stupid me we came anyway. The wait was only 10mins no big deal. Now we get a table and our waitress is Jennifer. We order our drinks and dinner from Jennifer who isn’t very friendly either, she brings our meal I had ordered the Chopped Chicken Salad, it was suppose to have the dressing on it, it was dry as can be and the looked old and wilted. After she dropped the salad off and our drinks she was no where to be found, I had to wait a long time until I could flag her down and tell her about the salad and lack of dressing and that I was out of water???
Service was HORRIBLE! she brings me some dressing and has me hold my glass away from the table to pour a refill of water instead of doing it herself?
Then unfortunately one of my children who ordered from the child’s menu could not drink the lemonade it came with so I had to flag her down again and ask for some milk for him and instead of Jennifer saying no problem she said Rudely again that will be a dollar more?
The last straw that broke the Camels back was my other son ordered a dish that included a dinner salad and guess what Jennifer never brought it, I had to flag her down now a third time and ask for it??? UNBELIEVABLE??? Not once did we see a manager come and apologize or offer to do anything for us with all the BS we put up with???
I would suggest staying away from this place THEY JUST DON“T CARE ABOUT QUALITY, SERVICE OR CUSTOMERS!!!
Opps last but not least as they nickel and dime you to death at this place, my child had a ice cream desert included with his meal and we asked Jennifer to please put a little chocolate syrup on it and guess what she said??? that will be .99 cents more when she returned with his ice cream she said guess what it will only be .25 cents??? WOW This place is a JOKE!!!

I love Red’s! It is one of the better barbecue placed in the area. We have been coming here for several years and always have a good meal. They also offer delivery which is just as good.
Most people come here for the tri-​tip. It is delicious and even the smaller portion is a good size. There are plenty of sides to choose from and they are all good. The baked potatoes are a little extra but are quite large and tasty. I have tried some of the other steaks and they are all worth a try. I highly recommend the chicken and ribs as well. The rolls are also a must have item. And don’t forget to get an order of the shredded onions!
We have always had good service here. The waiters are attentive and make sure to keep the drinks flowing and bring extra rolls if needed. The restaurant is clean and well kept. There is plenty of parking in the surrounding lot.
Red’s does get quite crowded on the weekends, so expect a wait if you go on a Friday or Saturday night.
Once per week, they have Customer Appreciation Day and they serve giant brownie sundaes to each table. The day changes each week, but if you are lucky, you end up going on one of those days. We have been lucky enough to hit it a few times.
We also have Red’s delivered quite often. They have a large selection of meal deals to choose from on the delivery menu. The food always comes fresh and hot. Delivery may take a little longer on busy nights, but it is well worth the wait.

If you like your BBQ SAUCE with a side of meat, Red’s has got you covered… If you like your BBQ dry rubbed, yeah, Red’s would look at you as if you ordered in Chinese.
The food gets the job done, especially when you haven’t eaten all day, but is it the best BBQ ever? yeah, no.
If you are in fact craving a whole chicken (like I normally do) and/​or beef ribs & brisket, and you live in MIDDLE OF NOWHERE SIMI VALLEY, then Red’s has your back… Albeit a little sticky.
We got take out, and thankfully so because I was able to RINSE MY CHICKEN OFF in the sink… So I would actually be able to TASTE THE CHICKEN as opposed to the syrup-​laden smoky sauce. Once rinsed, it tasted far better, although a little dry. The person I was eating with flat out said: the sweet BBQ sauce masks the rather dry meat.
So you decide… If you’re a BBQ fanatic and just want to curb your craving, head to Red’s, but if you’re PICKY AF… You might want to make the trek to Hollywood… ;)

The manager, David M, made this the most unpleasant experience I have ever had at a Restaurant, let alone Red’s BBQ. I have never been cursed at by restaurant staff before, let alone one of the managers.
I would HATE to work under this person. The way he berates his customers and employees is completely reprehensible. I never want to interact with this person again. He was using the F-​bomb towards his customers??? What the heck? He even asked, «Are u f*cking retarded?» at one point during the conversation when I happened to ask him the same question a second time. Just wow.
He told me how Red’s BBQ did $ 32,000 in business that night and that I was not important enough to warrant his time or frustration (he continued to be frustrated anyways after saying something so rude). He seemed more intent on getting off of work so he could smoke a bowl (he implied doing it in the restaurant after the customers were gone while his workers cleaned the dishes) than wanting to be helpful to customers or his staff.
I won’t come back to Red’s BBQ as long as David is still being employed here.

I have been coming here for many years. My family is in Simi Valley, so even though I do not live here, we come here often and most of time we are in Simi, we go to Red’s. I like this so much that I even had my wedding reception lunch at this place too.
Their portions are generous. We usually share 2 – 3 items with side dishes together or my husband will get half chicken (lunch special) or I will get tri-​tip salad or bbq chicken salad. I especially love their garlic roll and if you dip it with their bbq sauce, it’s amazing! The staff can be hit or miss since some people are better than others. However, overall, the service seem to be good in general.
Foods: 4 stars
Service: 3.5 stars
Atmosphere: 4 stars
Overall Experience: 4 stars

I come here with my coworkers, either just to eat here, for a team outting, or for a coworker’s bday.
The workers here are nice and pretty punctual and definitely check up on you if you need something, even if you’re sitting in a corner.
I have heard the salads aren’t too bad. They have daily meal things everyday and also have lunch special. I am usually here for the lunch special for the tri tip 6 oz with 2 sides, I pick french fries and steam veggies.
They are nice about the refills also. I have gotten the watermelon lemonade. It’s yummy. You can ask for more watermelon than lemonade too if you want less sugar.
For birthdays, they give the birthday person a giant margarita glass with ice cream in it.
For customer appreciation, they give out giant margaritas with brownie and ice cream (so I have heard from a coworker) to everyone. My coworker happened to have gone at lunch that one time. It’s random so maybe it might be your lucky day!