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AJ's Ranch Road Grill

3.5 (111 reviews)
InexpensiveBarbeque, Tex-Mex, Burgers
Closed • Closed

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AJ'S RANCH ROAD GRILL ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Casual
Moderate noise
Dogs allowed
Good for kids

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Recommended Reviews - AJ's Ranch Road Grill

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Reviews With Photos

David R.

Nice little hole in wall. We stopped here after dropping my son off at Texas State. Brisket quesadillas were on point. Good bbq sauce but need more of it. Good green chili ranch sauce. Fries were excellent! My son had pulled pork sandwich combo. Should be served with coleslaw and pickles and jalepenos on the sandwich. Quality of meat is great. Good smoke. They let you BYOB from liquor store next door, which I did. The folks were nice, service was good. My son will be going here often for good food at good price. He will like the brisket grilled cheese and brisket nachos... Check this place out next time you are in quaint San Marcos!

Brisket quesadillas and tots
Jeremiah G.

I've lived her for over 3 years and not only didn't know about this place but also never want. This place confuses the heck out of me. It's a bbq place, that doesn't look like a bbq place, that stays open till 3AM?!?! It just doesn't seem to make sense for San Marcos but guess what IT DOES!!! Now the only thing that I've actually only ever gotten here were the brisket quesadillas and the tots but boy oh boy it is amazing. If you are in the area and can't really decide what you want, options are limited in San Marcos, then I'd stop by. I'm not a huge fan or bbq but if you kinda are. Try them out.

Smoky roast beef.
Jimmy H.

I know my wife Amber gets tired of us eating so much barbecue. I try my best to accommodate her when I can. Happy wife, happy life, right? AJ's Ranch Road Grill is a restaurant located in San Marcos that serves mostly BBQ items but also has a few other non-BBQ items. When we pulled up to the joint on a Sunday, I could not detect a whiff of smoke. I know we were in trouble. Amber ordered the burger, and I got the Hungry Man's Combo. It came with 1/4 lb. brisket, 1/4 lb. sausage, and 1/4 lb. pork ribs. The plate came with two sides so I chose fries and macaroni and cheese. While we were waiting for our food, I had a bad feeling. When I got my plate, my fears were confirmed. The smoked meats were reheated. AJ's must smoke their meats some other day. The marbled brisket was dry and chewy. It was like eating a flavorless well-done steak. The pork rib was okay. The meat required some effort to come off the bone. It was smoky, but other than that it was boring. The sausage was decent. It tasted fine but was super greasy. The highlight of the meal was the sides. That is not positive sign if you are a BBQ restaurant. Amber was also not a fan of her burger. AJ's Ranch Road Grill is open till 3 AM in the morning. If you are drunk and hungry, bad food can still taste fine. That is coming from my experiences. Outside, the sign said that they had Tex-Mex as well. The Tex-Mex items were BBQ tacos and quesadillas. I am no expert, but I am pretty sure that is not Tex-Mex. Hays County BBQ is still the place to go to in San Marcos. Edit: So instead of addressing the issues for future customers, the owner questions my integrity publicly. Well there you go.

Specials

Ben and Alex went above and beyond packaging my stuff up for me, super dope employees will be back.

Stoner Mac

I went to Aj's last night for the first time and it was SO GOOD!!! I got stoner mac & cheese, fries & green beans and it all tasted amazing. I can't wait to go back for more!

Brisket sliders
Chiqui B.

Was looking for a snacky snack and drove past this place on my way to Zelicks. It's a tiny little grill with a drive through. I went in and it's all Texany and kitschy I love it. The girl offered some suggestions, from the menu but I just wanted something small. Lucky for me they were running a special for their sliders. Sweet! I got two brisket, and two pulled pork for cheap. The pulled pork was my favorite and the sweet jalapeño buns were a great complement. If their pulled pork is this good, their BBQ can't be too far off, right?

Clean lobby

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5 days ago

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6 years ago

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6 years ago

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8 years ago

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4 years ago

This is hands down the best place to have a pulled pork sandwich. Even the tea was amazing. Will be back for the Philly fries.

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Andrew N.

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4 years ago

Honestly the best brisket I've had to this date. Oh, and the brisket nachos are to die for.

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5 years ago

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8 years ago

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13 years ago

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8 years ago

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11 years ago

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5 years ago

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8 years ago

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7 years ago

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6 years ago

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8 years ago

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7 years ago

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13 years ago

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12 years ago

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12 years ago

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13 years ago

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11 years ago

Best thing ever at 2 in the morning. Easy going place with good ribs and great sweet tea

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4 years ago

Currently having the worst most liquid shi in my life bc I had 1/2 of their chopped brisket sandwich that wasn't even good.

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9 years ago

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6 years ago

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8 years ago

Only been here a couple times, but the food was great! Try the stoner Mac and bbq sandwiches!

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Ask the Community - AJ's Ranch Road Grill

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I am such a fan, 4.5 stars. The rib sandwiches are as good as it gets…read more In the parking lot of Wonder World Park, just off old Bishop. We got there Thursday a little after 4pm opening in a downpour so there wasn't a line. The day's special--written on a white board--was an alligator po boy and Mr R had never had alligator so that was easy. For myself I chose the soulful catfish bites from the menu at the window (he posts the week's menu on FB, although I didn't see sides mentioned). As sides I chose sweet potato fries and okra, for dessert the blueberry cobbler. One lemonade and one sweet tea. Lord, it was tasty. The gator po boy had a soft white sub roll, untoasted, with iceberg, pickles and tomatoes. The gator chunks were about 1.5 to 2x the size of chicken nuggets, with a perfect crunchy coating and not greasy. The meat was not dry, the flavor was good. The catfish bites were a little smaller than the gator chunks, and with the most perfectly seasoned, crisp, ungreasy, cornmeal coating. The fish was cooked perfectly and couldn't have been hotter/fresher out of the kitchen. The sweet potato fries were lightly salted, cooked expertly and came in a generous pile. The okra came in a light batter and tasted so fresh and green--Mr R fell in love with them (he'd only had okra boiled/wet before), but also blasphemed them with ketchup because he's a terrible person. Each plate came with ketchup, tartar sauce (more like mayo, really), and hot sauce. Two packets of each condiment for each plate which was more than we used. The cobbler. OH! The cobbler. He'd upsized it as a kindness for us, and I still don't know how exactly he made the sugary crunchy cobbler bits as half of them *still* had powerful crunch this morning after sitting overnight. The blueberry part was lovely jammy sticky but not over sweet. It was a wonderful dessert yesterday and a fabulous breakfast this morning. My single point of retraction? The now-moved-on LeStourgeon had the superior po boy set up (in my nascent opinion) with toasty bread and more produce to include romaine, onion and avocado plus a schmear of mayo. That's it, outside of that this meal was perfection. It's not cheap, the wait's never been excessive, it is WORTH it. Forgot to mention he also had a table/chairs set up under a tent which is a nice alternative to eating in your car if you can't wait to get home with good food.

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San Marcos BBQ - Ribs, Loaded Mashed Potatoes and brisket

San Marcos BBQ

3.7(18 reviews)
3.0 mi

This is the second location of San Marcos BBQ. For the long time residents of Central Texas, it's…read morewhere the old Fuschak's BBQ was. And let me tell you, this is now the best BBQ option available in Hays County. A dear friend and I went last night and decided to sample a variety of the menu. I'll give you the play by play. Brisket. (Moist of course.) Cut to perfection. Plenty of bark with the classic Texas salt & pepper rub and seasoned with smoke. Unlike some of the other places, though, San Marcos BBQ's smoke flavor isn't overwhelming or overpowering. Definitely some of the better brisket out there. Pork loin. Possibly the most pleasant surprise I've had at a BBQ place in a while. While it was lean, it was still moist and unlike a lot of pork BBQ, it had a bark that gave it seasoning. The pork ribs were the least impressive part of the meal and would've benefitted from a bit more seasoning. Sides? The Mexican/Spanish rice was a great surprise and made a very nice accompaniment to the BBQ. The mac and cheese was the worst part of the meal as it was a huge serving of cheese sauce with a few elbows of macaroni underneath. Both sauces were good. The regular BBQ sauce was thick and slightly sweet. The spicy sauce is easily the spiciest sauce I've had -- and it's a new favorite of mine. I also appreciated how you can order tortillas for your BBQ. In other words, build your own BBQ tacos. I can't think of anything more Texan than that. Definitely the best BBQ in Hays County. Just skip the mac and cheese and go heavier on the brisket and pork loin as opposed to the ribs.

I LOVE BBQ and have high standards. (Maybe I'm a BBQ snob?!)…read more Stopped by for lunch on a Friday. I got a brisket & chicken plate with mac&cheese and cabbage as sides. (I ordered green beans but they were out.) Service was excellent and fast. Prices were good and the serving sizes were healthy. Unfortunately, the brisket was dry and didn't have a whole lot of flavor. Slightly better than pot roast. I admittedly like a lot of bark on my brisket and don't use BBQ sauce. Chicken quarter looked nice, but was also quite dry. Cabbage was okay. Ironically, the Mac & Cheese was the best part of the meal. The inside of the restaurant is supposed to be "rustic" but it's more rundown. Rips in the table coverings & seats, stains on the ceiling tiles, etc. Parking was easy. In general, it's not a place I'd recommend to a friend or drive out of my way to try. You might not be disappointed, but I definitely wasn't impressed.

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San Marcos BBQ - Very cute decorations

Very cute decorations

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AJ's Ranch Road Grill - bbq - Updated October 2026

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