Maple Block Barbecue

Review summary

1. J

   Jill

   VIP

   Los Angeles

   10 reviews

   5.0

   10 reviews

   Dined 1 day ago

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 4

   This was our first time at Maple Block. We started with the peach wood smoked chicken wings—not o ur jam. The texture of the wings was rubbery (especially the drumette), but it had a nice rub and good smoke flavor. The buffalo wing sauce accompanying them was awesome. We then ordered 1/2 lb of brisket, ranch beans, a kale salad, and the night’s special—crispy half chicken with salsa verde. The brisket was delicious—half lean, half fatty just as we had ordered it. The bbq sauce was spot on. Beans are always the test at a bbq place for us and they were stellar, perfectly cooked and creamy with just a hint of sweetness. However, the star of the show was definitely the special—this needs to be on the menu permanently!! Half a smoked chicken, fried to crispy perfection, topped with a refreshing herb salad with pickled white onions (which are better than their red), served with tomatillo salsa. This was the best smoked chicken that we have ever had. A refined dish that doesn’t let you forget that the chicken is the star of the show. FYI, portion size is robust, we took home 3/4 of the chicken, 1/2 the beans, and 1/2 the brisket. It made for a lovely breakfast in the morning.
   

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2. L

   Liana

   Los Angeles

   1 review

   5.0

   1 review

   Dined 2 days ago

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Always a pleasure and a treat to enjoy maple block!
   

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3. A

   Alexander

   VIP

   New York City

   7 reviews

   5.0

   7 reviews

   Dined on 17 December 2024

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   BBQ in LA is not as widespread and the joints we have are not that great. Maple Block is a rare exception. Their brisket is to die for. Great service and very laid back atmosphere. This place is a must.
   

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4. J

   Jonathan

   Los Angeles

   2 reviews

   1.0

   2 reviews

   Dined on 15 December 2024

   1. Overall 1
   2. Food 3
   3. Service 1
   4. Ambience 3

   With no notice the restaurant was closed. Multiple patrons were waiting outside with an open sign and locked door until a member of staff came and turned the sign to closed. It’s okay if a restaurant closes after running out of food but you shouldn’t be able to book a reservation if that is the case and not be notified
   

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5. C

   Chris

   Los Angeles

   1 review

   5.0

   1 review

   Dined on 14 December 2024

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Maple Block is the best - really great Texas-style barbecue (i.e., beef, not pork -- Texas, Oklahoma and the Santa Maria region of CA concentrate on beef barbecue, whereas the rest of the south concentrates on port). They have nightly specials (try to rotisserie chicken) and theme nights - e.g. "Steak and Martini Night" which is what we went to on Friday. The staff is really friendly and the food is delicious!! Full bar, and very creative cocktails.
   

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6. L

   Lucas

   VIP

   San Antonio

   1 review

   2.0

   1 review

   Dined on 12 December 2024

   1. Overall 2
   2. Food 2
   3. Service 4
   4. Ambience 2

   It was okay, there’s definitely better places around LA area. If you’ve ever had Texas BBQ, you’ll want to avoid this place, you’ll leave very disappointed. The sausage was fatty, the brisket was dry, the ribs were tough and the beans were soupy and flavorless. The chicken was good, the potato salad and the Mac and cheese were really good but the Jalapeño cornbread was amazing, best thing they serve. Overall it’s a pass unless you don’t have another option.
   

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7. J

   Jan

   VIP

   Las Vegas

   7 reviews

   4.0

   7 reviews

   Dined on 6 December 2024

   1. Overall 4
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 4

   Luke was great - really helpful - his suggestions were right on. Went "the extra mile" with us,
   

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8. M

   Mel

   Los Angeles

   9 reviews

   5.0

   9 reviews

   Dined on 30 November 2024

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 4
   4. Ambience 3

   Meat dishes were very flavorful but the “lean” instructions were problematic. Some of the slices were lean but others were fatty. We asked them to try again but received pushback from the kitchen. “This IS lean.” We complained to the wait staff with much better results. Sides were good to outstanding. Service friendly and helpful but we had to ask multiple times for extra napkins and never got salt, which would have helped one of the vegetable dishes. We were able to get a small portion of BBQ sauce although it seemed (without being obvious) as though they took it as a bit of an insult. Maybe the salt as well. I get that but the customer is always right, eh?
   

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9. J

   Jim

   Los Angeles

   7 reviews

   5.0

   7 reviews

   Dined on 18 November 2024

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   One of the best barbecue places we have been to. Had a party of 6 and got the "Feast" which was a variety of their offerings ( highly recommend it) . The whole party thought it was great along with the service
   

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10. W

    William

    VIP

    San Diego

    11 reviews

    1.0

    11 reviews

    Dined on 18 November 2024

    1. Overall 1
    2. Food 1
    3. Service 1
    4. Ambience 1

    Did not honor our reservation. We called and were told our 3PM reservation was good and to ignore the posted hours on google. Management changed our reservation without asking us in advance to 5PM.
    

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