Barbecue inspired from Korea, Philippines, Jamaica, Africa, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico and the Mediterranean can be found in San Diego County
Grilling season in San Diego goes well into the fall with summertime temperatures continuing past the July 4 holiday and barbecues heating up for Labor Day and football season. There is also no limit on who does the cooking or where the barbecue comes from.
San Diego County has numerous American-style barbecue joints, where meat lovers can let someone else do the grilling for them. But San Diego County is also home to several restaurants serving barbecue-style cooking from around the world. Different regions of the world have their methods of barbecuing, ranging from grilling over an open flame and rotisserie-style cooking to smoking meat in an underground fire pit. Seasonings and marinades also vary by county and region. Here are some restaurants offering barbecue-inspired meats and dishes from around the world, with options ranging from barbacoa from Mexico, jerk chicken inspired by Jamaica and Argentine chorizo.In Chula Vista, Aqui es Texcoco is replicating Mexican barbecue. The restaurant uses a special oven to slow-cook its lamb barbacoa. In Mexico, barbacoa is traditionally prepared in an underground fire pit and seasoned with cumin, cinnamon, oregano, garlic, cloves, salt, pepper and various Mexican chilies such as guajillo and ancho. Barbacoa at Aqui es Texcoco is served by the pound, in soft or hard shell tortillas, or as a quesadilla, tostada or pita sandwich. Plus, the restaurant also offers a lamb soup with lamb broth, rice and garbanzo beans.For Jamaican barbecue flavors, there is Caribbean Taste in Southeast San Diego. Since 2010, this restaurant has been serving various Jamaican-inspired dishes, including barbecue jerk chicken. I have been coming here for several years, and the jerk chicken is sweet, smoky, extremely tender and melts off the bone. It’s slow-cooked over a wood fire. Caribbean Taste also serves sides such as plantains, red beans and rice.Dalu Hawaiian BBQ’s two-item combo plate with teriyaki beef, short ribs, macaroni and cheese and steamed white rice A mix of laid-back vibes with island-inspired food is what customers can expect at Dalu Hawaiian BBQ. It has locations in El Cajon and Oceanside and a menu that includes teriyaki barbecue, short ribs, katsu chicken and slow-cooked kalua pig. On a recent trip to the El Cajon shop, which opened in May 2024, I ordered the two-item plate combo with teriyaki beef and short ribs. The teriyaki beef was served as thin cuts of soft meat, where the saltiness overpowered the sweetness and tanginess. The short ribs were super tender and had more of a sweet and savory taste. The combo plate was also served with creamy and melty macaroni and cheese and two scoops of steamed white rice that acted as a good palate cleanser. This walk-up and order restaurant had wooden benches and tables for seating, a sit-down bar, tiki statues on display, colorful murals on the wall and contemporary Hawaiian music playing in the background. Barbacoa from El Borrego Restaurant in City Heights. Rosario Sotero started selling barbacoa de borrego, or lamb barbecue, as a pop-up food vendor in 2002. A few years later, she opened up her brick-and-mortar restaurant in City Heights, where she and her daughter cook and run the business. El Borrego Restaurant serves lamb barbacoa in tacos, burritos, sopes, rolled tacos and by the pound. Customers can also order the lamb barbacoa broth with rice and chickpeas inside. The barbacoa is slow-cooked and wrapped in maguey leaves for about five-to-six hours, according to Sotero. On a recent visit, I ordered the half-pound barbacoa plate, which came with corn tortillas, cilantro, raw onions and limes. The lamb is super tender and melts apart in your mouth. It has a savory and gamey taste. I sprayed some lime juice on it to add some acidity to the lamb. The onions and cilantro inside a taco also give the barbacoa a nice crunch. El Borrego Restaurant has colorful walls, small tables and Mexican music playing in the front area and a back patio for large groups.Flavors of East Africa lunch combo with spicy and sweet jerk chicken, coconut rice and mukimo. What started as a catering business for Alvin June Owino soon flourished into selling consistently at San Diego area farmers markets and a brick-and-mortar restaurant in North Park. Owino is the owner of Flavors of East Africa, an eatery that is dishing out various Kenyan-inspired foods, including barbecue. Customers can get sweet or spicy jerk chicken and a marinated African grilled steak called nyama chomba. On a recent visit to the North Park location, I tried the lunch combo with spicy and sweet jerk chicken. The meat had a mesquite flavor to it and was very tender. The spicy jerk chicken had a marinated sauce that gave it a pungent hotness. The sweet jerk chicken had a subtle sugariness to it. The combo also comes with various sides. I chose the sweet coconut rice and the creamy mukimo . The service is super friendly and quick, with indoor and outdoor seating.Rotisserie cooking over an open flame is how Fogo de Chão prepares its meats. This form of Brazilian barbecue is called churrasco, which translates to barbecue in Portuguese, where meat is slowly cooked with little to no seasonings. This steakhouse offers various meats such as picanha , 24-ounce ribeye, alcatra and a 42-day dry-aged tomahawk steak.The mixed grill plate at Mal Al Sham with two beef kabobs skewers, one chicken kabob skewer and one chicken tikka skewer with a side of rice and salad. “The Taste of Damascus” is how Mal Al Sham brands its restaurant. The El Cajon eatery serves Syrian and Mediterranean dishes, including barbecue meats cooked off a large indoor charcoal grill. For this guide, I sampled the mixed grill plate, which came with two beef kabobs skewers, one chicken kabob skewer and one chicken tikka skewer with a side of rice and salad. The chicken tikka was slightly dry, with little seasoning, and tasted similar to pollo asado from a Mexican restaurant, with hints of lime and mesquite. The beef and chicken kabob skewers were juicy and bursting with herb and spice flavors, such as onion, garlic, parsley, cumin, coriander, and paprika, with a mesquite finish. The rice was fluffy and slightly sweet. The salad was light and refreshing with diced cucumbers, red tomatoes, lettuce, red cabbage, parsley leaves and dressed with lemon and olive oil. Mal Al Sham has indoor and outdoor seating with Syrian music playing in the background.One of the most highly rated Korean barbecue places, according to Google and Yelp customer reviews, in San Diego County is Manna Heaven BBQ. It has five locations, including the original in the Convoy District, which opened in 2010. Guests purchase raw cuts of meat and grill themselves at their table. Some of the meats available are bulgogi , flat iron steak, short ribs, beef tongue, pork belly, beef brisket, Korean chorizo and teriyaki beef. Marinated meats are infused with a combination of soy sauce, ginger, garlic, sesame oil and/or Korean chili paste. Manna Heaven BBQ also has locations in Chula Vista, downtown San Diego, National City, Mira Mesa and San Marcos.Flame-grilled meats prepared with Filipino recipes are on the menu at Nanay’s Best BBQ. Customers at this restaurant, between Sorrento Valley and Mira Mesa, can order barbecue chicken and barbecue pork. The meats are marinated in soy sauce, garlic, banana ketchup, calamansi and brown sugar, according to staff. The barbecue can be ordered in one or two-item combo plates, which come with steamed rice. There is also lumpia, pancit, sisig, lechon, longanisa and other Filipino foods on the menu.In the kitchen with Executive Chef Yovani Palacios during dinner service at Piedra Santa. Seen here is Morcilla, a grilled Argentine traditional blood sausage. In the kitchen with Executive Chef Yovani Palacios during dinner service on July 31, 2025, in San Diego, Calif. In the kitchen with Executive Chef Yovani Palacios during dinner service on July 31, 2025, in San Diego, Calif. In the kitchen with Executive Chef Yovani Palacios during dinner service on July 31, 2025, in San Diego, Calif. In the kitchen with Executive Chef Yovani Palacios during dinner service on July 31, 2025, in San Diego, Calif. Entraña served with garlic and tomatoes at Piedra Santa. In the kitchen with Executive Chef Yovani Palacios. In the kitchen with Executive Chef Yovani Palacios during dinner service at Piedra Santa. Seen here is Morcilla, a grilled Argentine traditional blood sausage. Argentine-inspired barbecue can be found at this downtown San Diego steakhouse, which serves three types of grilled Argentine sausages: paisa chorizo , morcilla and a grilled beef and pork sausage. All three come with Argentine chimichurri, bell peppers and onions. Piedra Santa also serves its churrasco de asado de tira, a grilled Argentine bone-in short rib, and it comes with a customer’s choice of two sauces: chimichurri, bordelaise, bearnaise, or horseradish and peppercorn.For 20 years, Puerto La Boca has been curating Argentine and Italian food in Little Italy. This steakhouse serves Argentine-style cuts of meat. These include a 12-ounce sirloin center-cut , a 14-ounce bone-in rib-eye steak , grilled beef short ribs, picaña and the restaurant’s signature 12-ounce skirt steak. All meats come with a choice of steamed vegetables, saffron rice, fries or mashed potatoes. Plus, Perto La Boca offers 20% off its appetizers at the bar during happy hour, which includes its grilled Argentine sausages.One of the newer places on this guide is Sura Korean BBQ in East Chula Vista. It opened about a year ago and mixes buffet-style dining with self-cooking table service. Customers can get basic meats such as teriyaki chicken and pork belly, along with cooked sides like chow mein, fried dumplings and white rice at the buffet stations. Premium meats such as soy boneless short ribs, beef tongue, ribeye, kurobuta sausage and black tiger shrimp are brought to the table for guests to cook on the grill.A colleague recommended Tita’s Kitchenette for its Filipino food and barbecue. This mom-and-pop shop grills pork and chicken Filipino barbecue on skewers. The meats are charred on the outside and tender on the inside, according to a staff member. The barbecue chicken is sweet, while the barbecue pork has a more savory flavor. Guests can also order other Filipino food items such as pancit, lumpia, sisig and the dessert halo halo.
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