Best Barbecue Restaurants in El Segundo

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.

Great experience! My friend and I thoroughly enjoyed the Avocado Egg Rolls, a Smokehouse Burger, and the Cherry Chipotle Glazed Salmon. Our server was friendly, attentive, and knowledgeable about the menu. The only downside was the horrendous parking situation at the mall. That’s what we get for dining out a few days before Christmas. Lol.

Overall good - however, the server was serving too many tables and therefore we did not get the service from Sean as we deserved as paying customers. In fact, we waited for over 10 minutes to get silverware for the table, finally I got up and went to the kitchen to pick the forks and knives for the table - so there is an opportunity for improvement.

Great location. Our Brisket topped salad and brisket tacos were excellent. The coconut shrimp starter was unadorned. Looking around kitchen seemed to have issues with timing. Service was spotty. Great location before game/event.

We visited on Monday, December 9 for my son’s 21st birthday. I wanna say our server’s name was Isaac. I’m not sure I got that right but he was absolutely amazing. We sat at the table right next to the front entrance. He was the best server. We had a great time and we truly appreciated him making it a great night.