The new Phil’s has the same great taste without the wait. Orders can be phoned in, but I went to the new Sports Arena location and they had an imposing line, but after 10 minutes we got to order food and it was ready in another 10 minutes. That beats the normal 1 hour wait that they used to have. The kitchen is about 3 time as big.

More importantly, one member of the party had a food allergy and the manager checked on the ingredients by calling the head chef on his cell phone.

The ribs were delicious and the meat fell off the bones, as well as the corn which was sweet and didn’t need the butter. You normally don’t find corn like that here in San Diego. Probably the best Bar-B-que in SD.

although they have moved to a bigger location, the taste is still the same.

always call in your order before you go, instead of waiting in the ridiculous line.

I first heard of Phil’s BBQ because my sister had a magazine along the lines of “discovering San Diego”, and this was listed as one of the most popular locations in all of San Diego. They are opening another location in Point Loma shortly.

I’ve been there twice now. The first time, the wait was 45 minutes, and the second time, the wait was about an hour and 15 minutes! Both times were on a weekend, so I think the wait is considerably less on a weekday, but still – that’s a little ridiculous.

Honestly, the bbq is good, but not waiting an hour and 15 minutes good. if i had been eating by myself, i would have left and gone somewhere else. The bbq is good and reasonably priced, but I still don’t get what all the fuss is about. My advice would be to phone order and go to pick your food up in the time frame they tell you. It’s really not worth it to just sit there (actually stand there, b/c most of the time the tables are packed too) and wait.

I’d recommend the ribs here, and even better – the ribless dinner. They’re just as tasty, cut into nice bite-sized pieces, and you don’t get your hands dirty. The onion rings are pretty good, but I’m not really a fan of any of the sides i’ve tried (baked potato and mac salad are pretty standard).

Anyway, bottom line is – bbq is consistently good, but place a phone order and pick up if you can.