Horn Barbecue

They reopened as of 4/26/24 in their new location. Never been here before as we were planning to go prior, however the original local burnt down.

Run don't walk here!!! Just yum, decadent. Had the long bone beef rib which was sooooo flavorful ($20/lb) Mac n cheese (so cheesy and delish), fries standard and good.

Will need to diet now for a week = worth it totally.

Yes, highly recommend. Bonus super friendly staff!

Next time, brisket (I understand it is what they are know for), Mac n cheese (YES it was that amazing) and try the Cole slaw - get some veggies in as well.

I believe in supporting local businesses so I looked forward to trying this acclaimed restaurant. Turns out it sadly didn't live up to its reputation.

It should stay closed until they learn how to cook brisket without drying it out. The charred building would no doubt be as moist as their dearly priced barbecue with less waiting in line.

If they manage reopen, my advice is to focus on the food and cut out the legend-building pretension. A storied image may get customers to try you once but it won't bring 'em back for more

I've been a fan since Horn opened in West Oakland. All of my meals there have been delicious. The outdoor dining area is spacious. Service has always been fine for me. The first time I visited, Matt Horn was working. He was very welcoming and personable. Q is always "pricey." That's the reputation. Is Horn "pricey" too? Yeah, it kind of is. Perhaps even a bit pricier than one would expect. I was always okay with that because my meals were 10/10 each time. The juice was worth the squeeze.

Please rise again, Horn Barbecue. The Bay Area needs you. I was extremely shocked and upset by the news of the vandalism and fire. Best of luck getting sorted. Can't wait to come back again someday.

Came at 11:30 on a Friday. No line yet. Ordered 2 beef brisket sandwiches, side of beans and Mac and cheese and bread pudding. Total was $75.14 which included a 15% tip. Not a cheap lunch.
I wanted SO much to love this place but kinda disappointing.
Did we come too early in the day and we had the leftover brisket ends from yesterday? The brisket was very stringy and dry and very salty.
The Mac and cheese was ok. The beans were way too sugary sweet and very unbalanced.
The bread pudding had strawberries put on top that were way past their prime. I kinda feel like we got all the leftovers from yesterday.
We sat outside. Lovely artwork on the fences. The area was very clean. Tons of paper towel holders bolted to the picnic tables. Great music playing to the undertones of urban metal recycling crashing in the business across the street.

Pulling up to Horn Barbecue in Oakland, it's always a good sign when you see a line out the door upon opening for the day. With super friendly staff and epic portions of meats & sides to choose from, you really can't go wrong with the array of comforting options!

I went with the pulled pork sandwich and a few friends chose meat plates worthy of a hearty appetite. Thick slices of brisket, jalapeño & cheddar sausage, ribs..all so juicy.

Sides wise, at the time they just brought out a huge tray of fresh Mac & Cheese and that was bomb and creamy. Other sides to note were the Pit Beans and the Cornbread, which came with this honey drizzle..delicious! You pay for the portions, quality and pit master technique, but with flavor like this, it's all worth it.

Coming in on a Saturday, we loved the vibes of a DJ spinning with the weather just right sitting outside. If sitting indoors at the diner~style seating, you can view the squad preparing & getting the brisket ready to go which is a pretty unique thing to watch.

All in all, a super cool barbecue experience in the East Bay!

Man, this is some delicious bbq!

The pulled pork sandwich was calling my name so I got that. My friend got the brisket sandwich. We then got a cornbread each and shared a small potato salad and mac & cheese.

I'm glad we got the smaller portions because we were stuffed! The pulled pork sandwich was delicious! I added more bbq sauce that was available on the table, but that's because I like things saucy. The pork was so juice and the bun was so soft. The slaw gave it enough acidity that I forgot to add pickles.

The cornbread was huge! My friend and I could've shared one. Though a sweet sauce was poured on top, the bread itself was on the drier side. But I kinda like that considering that my whole sandwich, including the bun, was juicy. It was a good textural contrast.

I really liked the potato salad and I'm not even a potato salad kinda gal. It wasn't heavy on the mayo and it also provided the acidity needed to balance the sandwich. The mac and cheese was yummy. I actually likes it with the bbq sauce on top. Shout out to my college dorm mate White Tornado for introducing me to mac and cheese with bbq sauce!

The outdoor seating area is great! I love the string lights and tunes from the dj. The tables are picnic tables so parties of two will have to share one with others. But that's part of the ambiance to get to know people in your community.

We got there maybe 30mins after opening and there was already a line. It's street parking and unfortunately a car nearby got broken into. If you're from the Bay, you should already know not to leave anything in your car. But to get back to the positives: Horn Bbq was fantastic! Delicious food and friendly service. I need to come back to try the ribs.

We stopped by Horn BBQ for lunch today. It was such a treat and way beyond our expectations! I would give it 10 stars if I could!

We came by ~11:10 am on a Friday. As It was 10 mins after opening, there was just one party in line before us who already ordered a couple of Pulled Pork sandwiches. The staff member had just pulled out a slab of the BBQ pork, cut it in half, took out a chunk to start pulling the pork apart, putting that onto the bread, and drizzling BBQ sauce all over the pulled pork. I was already drooling in line. What a show and so fun to watch!

Then came our turn to order. We ordered 1/2 lb of the Spare Rib, which the staff member had given us a heads-up that 1/2 lb = two ribs. While we also ordered Mac n Cheese and a Cornbread, it felt like we should order more meat to share between the two of us. Sensing we were a bit conflicted about ordering another 1/2 lb of meat, they offered for us to get less than 1/2 lb for our 2nd meat; we picked the brisket, and they cut us a slice to share, and charged us by the weight. They also gave us a sample of the pulled pork so we could try that too! #love

The meat was out of this world!!! All three we had were good, and the brisket was my absolute favorite. Spare Rib was good too; it's on the sweeter side and I prefer the more savory, peppery brisket. It's almost like a jerky. You can't go wrong with any of the meat!

All three team members we met were super nice. Horn BBQ is a wonderful place I'll be thinking of for a long time to come! Until next time....

What started out as the best BBQ west of the Mississippi, has unfortunately settled into mediocrity.
I was on the way to golf and decided since I had some time let's see what the line is like and maybe I'll have that for lunch.
You see we spent $700 recently to entertain family from out of town on Horn BBQ. All of these folks were originally from Chi-town and serious BBQ snobs. They know their stuff and a couple are self proclaimed pit masters in their own right.
We hyped this lunch so much, folks from DC, Santa Rosa, and more were there to spend a bit of family time catching up and chowing on what my local brother and I Raved about incessantly.

That day we all agreed it was.... Ok! Not the slap yo grandma earth moving experience I once had. And at those prices, if if ain't good you're going to be fighting mad and will want to slap someone fo-sho!

So thinking that was an off day, plus we got it to go, plus we started eating about an hour after it was picked up.

That's why I decided yesterday to give it another whirl.

Now seeing and tasting through the lens of my familia, the collards too salty, the mac n cheese too mushy. The cut of brisket I got yesterday was gummy hard to cut and shredded into a mess on my plate. Formerly fork tender, now... disappointing.

I've never used their bbq sauce before while enjoying, it's never been required. I used several squirts of the complimentary bottle to make the meat palatable. With two small sides, 1/2 lb of brisket was $50.

Also disappointing! The best thing I could say was I literally parked right out front on typically a busy Friday where lines have been down the block.

Perhaps that was an omen?

Service could take some time due to their high demands.

Parking is limited and a bit sketchy.

Lots of indoor and outdoor seating.

They will cut and weigh your order right in front of you. -1 star for when we came 2 hours after opening and they said they had run out of the Yelp check in deal (banana pudding).

Max and cheese: 5/5, one of the best and a must get
Brisket: 4.5/5
Ribs: 3/5
Sausage: 2/5

If there is a place in Cali that reminds me of Texas BBQ, it would be Horns Barbecue.

The moment the guy brought out the brisket and the juices were flooding out of the meat as he was cutting it... I knew it was FIRE and needless to say the brisket was juicy, tender, has a good smokey taste and a good ratio of fat to lean. Absolute perfection

The staff was friendly and the seating arrangement was cozy.