Not sure why Yelp marked them "Permanently Closed," they are still open as of 3/13/26 Link to menu - https://www.39miles.com/p/14234786 read more

The Skewer Bar - Chinese Near Me - San Jose, California

Was looking for a Chinese skewer place and this was one that popped up near San Jose. Quiet shop and not much people for 7pm on a weekday. Service was quick and ordered via the QR code. The skewers are cooked in the back first and are on a warm plate when brought out. I got the beef, lamb, and chicken skewers. They were all seasoned well but bit overcooked as all the meat was tough and stuck the skewer. The tofu skin and bun was good. I got the mini skewers for the beef and lamb because it came in multiple per order but they were thin and not much meat. Would suggest you get single skewers. Parking in the plaza was easy. Skewers were a bit pricy. read more

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Something's changed at this business and it's not the same restaurant as a year ago. The food quality and experience has made me cross this restaurant off my list. Coming into the restaurant it took them a noticeably long time to come and seat us as everyone was in the kitchen. Things that have noticeably changed are there less food options, many food options are no longer 2+ pieces (so that $2 is for one skewer), the fridge that use to be full of drinks is now empty. Their arcade game is gone and no music was played so you could hear everyone's conversation. It was awkward to say the least. The food was not cooked thoroughly and came out underseasoned. I found it crazy that credit cards get a 10% upcharge. I'm usually fine with 3-5% to cover credit card fees but this seems like profiteering from credit card swipes. The final kicker the wait staff demanded a 20% tip. read more

The Skewer Bar - Empty drink fridge - Chinese Near Me - San Jose, California

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Visited here for the skewers but found out that the skewers here just meh, however the Hunan dry rice noodles are amazing. The noodles were at the right texture and are packed with flavor and a satisfying numbing level. I will skip the skewers and go straight for these instead. read more

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I've been wanting to try this place for quite some time now. Tonight, I finally went. I'll admit I was a bit skeptical at first but I wasn't disappointed at all. I've been wanting to get out of my comfort zone by trying new food at a reasonable price. This place is 100% THAT place. They have all kind of skewers for less than $5! I absolutely loved everything that I tried here. My favorite was the Golden Fry rice, string beans and chicken fried skin. The service is speedy and the waiters were kind and attentive. It was refreshing to see how quiet and relaxing the environment was. I will definitely be coming back again soon. I recommend this place to anyone who's looking to try new things at a good, cheap price. read more

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I've been coming to The Skewer Bar for about 8 months now, usually on Fridays. I really like the service. Everyone is very kind, especially the girl who works there. She's always friendly and welcoming. The food is tasty, the place is clean, and the overall atmosphere is nice. It's a spot I truly enjoy coming back to. read more

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I've had my eye on The Skewer Bar for some time but never got around to actually giving them a try. With my daughter being a selective eater, that has always made me second guess coming here. Since BD has been on a low/no carb kind of journey, he decided to make this dinner for the night. At first glance, this place is very POP and exudes chill vibes. Music is blasting, laughter echos in the restaurant, & everyone seems so relaxed. This is your typical spot to hit up after a long, stressful day of work to gossip, chit chat, & throw back a few bottles over skewered proteins. The menu is accessed via QR Code. I took it upon myself to take screenshots of the menu since there wasn't anything available on yelp to view- you're welcome in advance. LOL. There are a ton of eats!! Proteins available: beef, chicken, lamb, innards, seafood, tofu, & veggies to choose from. Some potential "bizarre foods" that may catch you off guard are: grasshopper, lamb testicles, silkworms, stinky tofu, pork brain, & bullfrog. Staff is very kind but there is a bit of a language barrier. Communication takes a bit of time if you are not Chinese. Don't hesitate to speak up regarding questions or requests, the staff will absolutely do their best to accommodate. Purchases: Lamb Kidney Grilled Beef Bone Marrow Lamb Beef Steak BBQ Chicken Skewers Whole Squid Tentacles Boneless Duck Feet Chicken Wings Chicken Gizzards Chicken Skin Beef Tendon Taiwan Sausage Shrimp Lamb Rib King Golden Durian Rolls [5pcs] Rice Noodle Soup [not spicy] Our tab easily surpassed 100 bucks- but!! As a full disclosure, we are a family who likes to eat. Lmao!! This type of cuisine is easily modified- eat as much or snack on as little as you wish. Each item is customizable to your liking- feel free to omit spice, certain ingredients/seasonings. All of the purchases were pretty good- the standout items were the chicken skins, the lamb ribs, & chicken gizzards. The letdown of the night was 100% the King Golden Durian Rolls. These are nothing like the dim sum version and the durian flavoring is absolutely artificial, no real fruit is present. 4/5 stars. I'd come back again and will absolutely try a few other dishes that I wasn't able to try this time around. My 5yo couldn't deal with the herbs and spices even after we requested for zero spice so maybe this isn't the place for kids. As an added warning, this cuisine is not recommended for those who are sensitive towards authentic Asian flavors and smells. For those who love to try new things or have an extremely open mind, this place is worth giving a visit. read more

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Really wish I took more food photos of this establishment! I personally think the food was amazing and very tasty. My group ordered a variety of food and we would all agree that there was not one item we did not like. To order you scan the QR code on the table and place orders from your phone. The food came out pretty quick. I was interested in the tofu with pepper sauce and was very surprised by the delicious taste. The restaurant felt very "homey" as you eat with paper plates along with the seating giving a very cozy feeling. They also have 2-player Street Fighter near the entrance which is very cool and gave me a nostalgic feeling. The air conditioning wasn't working when we were dining which wasn't much of an issue, I personally wish the prices were a LITTLE bit cheaper for the amount of food you get per skewer. Other than that I would love to revisit this place again. read more

The Skewer Bar - Chinese Near Me - San Jose, California

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Another go-to skewer spot. They have an extensive menu with a wide variety of grilled, fried, and baked dishes. We picked a few from each category and enjoyed our meal~ It was also a great place to catch up with friends over some BBQ! Some of my top favorites were: tofu with cumin and pepper sauce, lamb skewers, king mushrooms, grilled whole eggplant, and stir-fried chicken skin. read more

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Great place for a casual dinner! I love food that feels "unusual." Anything with an unorthodox setup, like hot pot or izakaya spots, is a fun time. The Skewer Bar fits that experience! You order through the QR code and the wait staff brings out items as they come. We ended up getting about 8 different items, so we had a stream of different things to try over about half an hour. Most items are seasoned the same way. It did get a bit tiring, but luckily the seasoning is pretty good, so it wasn't totally unwelcome. The pricing is also great! Dinner for two came out to under $50. read more

A decent alternative to the previous king of skewer's Chef Liu. The meats were tasty and juicy but the portions weren't that great for me for the price. Don't order the mini skewers as those are tiny slivers of meat on sticks. Definitely not worth the price for what felt like leftovers portions. I did like the grilled buns but definitely didn't leave full read more

The Skewer Bar - Chinese Near Me - San Jose, California

Finally came back to The Skewer Bar after trying it via a yelp elite event at the beginning of the year! It was nice trying a variety of items that weren't available in the event. Staff is attentive and food comes out quickly. It also generally has that very laid back and chill vibe inside, so it's a great spot to come and unwind after a long work day. My favorites from this trip were the potato tornado, golden fried rice, corndog with cheese, and the mini beef skewers. I'm not usually much of a fried rice person but I enjoyed theirs so much. Only minor complaint/suggestion would be to add some different seasonings as they essentially use the same blend for everything. read more

The Skewer Bar - Chinese Near Me - San Jose, California

I love me some Chinese style skewers! Our group of three came on a Sunday evening and were able to be seated right away. They have QR codes on the table which you can scan and place your order. After sending our orders in, our food started coming out after about 5 minutes. I got the mini lamb and mini beef skewers along with an order of spicy noodles. The spicy noodles were good but also kind of small for the price of $9.99. I loved the mini beef and mini lamb skewers (10 for $5) because even though there's a small amount on each skewer, since there were many sticks, it felt like I was eating a lot LOL. My boyfriend prefers the thicker meat skewers so ultimately, it's just your preference. The seasoning on the meat is delicious, a good mix of savory spiciness. I tried a bite of my boyfriend's lamb chop and it was really good too! I was debating on ordering one for myself but ended up just ordering a toast since the lamb took the longest to come out. The toast was a good dessert to end the meal with. I think there are cheaper skewer places that I've been to, but the price isn't the worst. The vibes are decent and they play good music. Parking was also really easy to find. Definitely give this restaurant a shot if you're in the area! read more

The Skewer Bar - Mini Beef Skewer + Mini Lamb Skewer + Toast - Chinese Near Me - San Jose, California

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Went here on a random Tuesday night with some of my girls. It was relatively empty so we got seated right away. I love how efficient it is with the QR code for menus. We ordered: salted egg corn: 5/5 enoki mushrooms: 2/5 bit too salty for me but pairs well with noodles beef skewers: 5/5 chicken skin: 4/5 some pieces weren't as crispy buns: 5/5 Pork belly: 4/5 LOVED the corn and buns the most. Deducted a star because a lot of the things we wanted to try were sold out like the oysters. Overall, I would come back again for a quick bite to eat! read more

Great authentic Chinese barbecue, the meat are well spiced and charred appropriately. The surface is relatively quick, perfect for a conversation style dinner, however, the weight can be long during Rush hours. My favorite is the eggplant, and any other meat other than the lamb skewer. The lamb is not bad, just not amazing. read more

Delicious food - note the mini skewers are very small. I would just avoid that in general. But the other food is amazing Great and quick service Nice atmosphere. Plenty of indoor seating read more

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Came here Saturday night with my boyfriend. The restaurant is located in the Morrill Target plaza, but faces Landess Ave so it looks like there's only one row of parking, but you could park in the Target area and walk over, although it is not brightly lit in the evening. The restaurant was loudly decorated, which means lots of art on the wall and different types of lamps. They also had a King of Fighters arcade in the front which is free to play. You first order through a QR code. The menu was extensive and included non-skewered food, although we stuck to just skewers. Although the seasoning for all the skewers were the same, the vegetables really stood out to me. The best items in my opinion were the A-choy, mushrooms, and beef. The lamb was good too, but I found the smaller pork skewers tough and hard to remove from the sticks. The buns were good too. The waiters just bring out the food when they are ready and place them on tray in the middle of the table. There's also a holder to hold the used skewers so you can track how much you ate. This is definitely a place to come and drink with friends, but it was enjoyable even without alcohol! Would definitely come back here. read more

This is a nice, casual place to grab late night dinner with friends. Water is immediately put on the table and you're expected to order and view the menu via the QR code. Which of course is a bit impersonal but it standard with a lot of Chinese restaurants. The skewers comes out as they're ready and get placed on the stone plate thingy in the middle of the table (doesn't keep it warm, it's just a place to hold the skewers). It's kind of funny watching the waiters come out with the skewers literally in hand and not on a plate . All the skewers are very tasty but I don't recommend the mini skewers, not enough meat on the skewers to be worth it. The bread dessert is good and I'd recommend! They can miss your order so I would double check that everything came out before paying. Pricing is standard for skewers (I think) which is to say it's definitely not the cheapest as we paid about $47 per person for what we ordered to get full. read more

The Skewer Bar - Chinese Near Me - San Jose, California

Service: normal nothing bad or extremely amazing Ambiance: cute, lots of cute designs on drink packages, large drink selection that is pretty aesthetic Food: delicious! Not too oily like other spots, tastes clean. Was surprised about the corn portion read more

The Skewer Bar - Chinese Near Me - San Jose, California

I have try a lot of skewers places and this has always been my favorite. It's the flavor that kept me stay loyal to them. They used to have frog legs dish and it was my favorite to get along with the skewer. They speak mostly Chinese/ broken English. It's a small spot with a traditional decoration. It gets busy quickly so plan ahead :)) read more

The Skewer Bar - Chinese Near Me - San Jose, California

I've drive past this place and many times and finally decided to try it. I thought we were grilling the bbq stick ourselves but it comes out cooked. It's a very small casual dining spot. Has a QR code menu and order online. Service was very fast. I'd say it's a great place with a bigger group than 2 people so you can try all the different things in the menu. If you like weird stuff like pig ears and gristle and tendon. This is the place for you. I recommend the chicken gizzards, chicken gristle and the beef tendon. It all has the same seasoning on the meat. Wish they all had different flavors. The noodles looked good but we ended up with steamed rice. Overall decent place and would return to try something new. I give this place a 3 1/2 star. read more

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We tried this place recently and enjoyed the food and the atmosphere. The service was also good. We will definitely return.

I was super excited for these skewers, but I was so disappointed by this presentation. Only 4 skewers? Can't tell the meats apart. read more

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Been here so many times and we crave for it every weeeek. Beef tendon is our must order item, we love all the skewers there. We see people ordering golden fried rice and finally tried it, honestly it was okay. Highly recommend Beef tendon Pork knuckles Lamb is good too Gizzard is good too read more

The Skewer Bar - Chinese Near Me - San Jose, California

Before change of ownership, I used to come here once a month. I recently dined in and did not enjoy the experience. They took a lot of items off the menu and they also changed the seasoning on the food. It is very different and a lot less flavorful. I will not be returning as I was very disappointed. read more

After change of ownership the place doesn't taste good anymore. Flavorless and took a lot of the original things off the menu. I used to like getting the tin noodles but the broth is all just oil. read more

-not as much grilled aroma as Chef liu but this is the only other option that comes close -they didn't light up our hot plate -the meat on the lamb skewers were so tiny it's as though you pulled the meat off and whatever was leftover stuck to the stick read more

The Skewer Bar - Eggplant - Chinese Near Me - San Jose, California

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Overall, very good taste on everything. Good charcoal flavor, and strong cumin garlic flavors. Not too salty or sugary, well balanced. Order again: Chicken gizzard, yellow croaker, octopus beak (but need to cook longer). Lamb kidney - comes with a piece of fat and then kidney. String bean - good, soft/young. Iron plate enoki mushroom - comes with a very good thick cajun sauce. Steam bun - tasty, sugary. Soft tofu skin - good mixture. Spicy cuttlefish - tasty, good flavors. Likely: Mini lamb, beef skewer - very tiny, but also very tasty. Beef tendon - could be softer, more jelly like. Pork ear - one piece good soft, other few pieces was too hard. Scallop vermiceli - good, lots of garlic. Lamb ribs - very well made, but fatty. Popcorn - ok, but not crunchy. Pork kidney - prob not. Backstrap of bull - why. read more

Great for the vibes!! They have a huge variety of skewers but each skewer was pretty small, so our group ordered a bunch. The skewers were all very flavorful (I liked the tofu skin the most) and very heavily seasoned. read more

The Skewer Bar - Chinese Near Me - San Jose, California

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I was craving Chinese skewers and we were in the area, so we stopped by here. We got the spicy enoki, tripe, chicken gizzard skewer, mini beef skewer, scallop with vermicelli, spicy river snail, bone marrow, and fried milk. My favorite dish was the spicy enoki since the flavors were so good, followed up by the chicken gizzard, and in 3rd place the fried milk. Next time I'll skip the scallop with vermicelli since it had so much garlic on it. I usually like garlic but it was so much that I couldn't taste the scallop. We were almost done eating when we noticed our bone marrow never came out so we told them about it. They definitely forgot it because it came out shortly after we told them. If I am craving chinese skewers and I'm in Milpitas, I'd come back. read more

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Came here on a rainy night with my wife. She's been recommending this spot for a while. It turned out to be a perfect place to sit down and grab something quick. Just don't expect to get full off the skewers alone. It did take a while for the first set of skewers to come out, but after that they came out nonstop. The cucumber salad was really refreshing. I was a little disappointed that a lot of items were out of stock, but the place was clean, cozy, and overall a nice experience. I'd definitely come back for a quick bite. read more

Really fun spot to come for dinner, super vibrant and colorful from the outside and you get a huge whiff of bbq smell that gets you hungry. This place is perfect for drinking dinner/drinks. The skewers are coated graciously with that five spice/peppery seasoning but isn't too salty. Has just the right amount of heat also and they come out nice and charred. Some faves where the mini beef skewers, actual beef chunk skewers, chicken gizzard, chicken skin, and the spicy enoki was super good ! We ended up ordering so many things to try that it's easy to lose track of things as you order from an eye pad and with the appeal of the food you just kind of end up tapping everything. Service was really quick though as our food came fairly quickly and piping hot! They also have a little arcade machine inside that you can play if there's a wait read more

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Skewer Bar is a must try if you're looking to dive into the flavors of Northern Chinese style skewers! From skewers, side dishes, beer and an abundance of non-alcoholic drinks ... it really doesn't get better than this. Great place to get together, drink and have some small eats and yap. Definitely, not a place to be "full" and more of a social and/or drinking food. They have $1 cans of Snow beer, which an easy to drink beer and nice and light. Perfect for cutting through the spicy and oily skewers. 10 Mini Beef Skewers - sooo tiny, they give you 10 skewers for a reason. Each has the tiniest morsel of meat, I would pass on this. It does taste good and is nice and fatty, just so small. Lamb Skewers - delicious, fatty and not too gamey Chicken Skin - super crispy, think pork rinds but with chicken Tofu Skin - a great substitute for the prior but made with tofu, slightly crisp and a good chew Squid Tentacles - nice bouncy texture and fresh tasting Taiwanese Sausage - sweet, savory and fatty. Steam Bun - steam buns brushed with their signature spice blend, this is a good accompaniment to any of the meat options Fish Ball with Roe - if you know, you know. Soft, but bouncy fish bowls with roe filling. Kabocha Fries with Salted Egg - this was a shock to the table, but the kaboca fries were thick cut, hearty with a light tempura style breading. Light and crispy with tender interior. The fries are then tossed in a salted egg sauce and was the perfect blend of salty, sweet and fatty. I really enjoy the cumin and chili forward spice blend they use for a majority of their skewers. Very addicting and accents all the meats and non-meat well. Service was quick, skewers came out quickly. Vibe was really chill, just everyone having a good time over skewers yapping it up and spilling tea. Comfortable seating and the place is a decent size. read more

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Service is really realiy really bad. We ordered 2 rounds and one of the dish from the first roubd that we ordered at the very beginning didnt come out til much later. There's no way it would take more than 1 hour to prepare. We finished all the other dishes and kept checking on that one order. Been ignored. And finally we wanted to cancel and the ownwer or manager grumpily said let him check on it to see if it's ready before he can cancel it just come back and said it's coming. No apology. No nothing. I would give this place a ZERO star if I could. Such a waste of time. read more

The Skewer Bar - So u're telling me this takes more than an hour to make???? - Chinese Near Me - San Jose, California

This is a great place for skewers. The service is quick and friendly. The place is clean and well organized. The food tastes good. read more

The Skewer Bar - Chinese Near Me - San Jose, California

A popular skewer place that serves spicy Chinese bbq. The interior is small and seats are limited so expect to wait during peak eating hours. At 6pm on a Friday, there was already a short waitlist. There were some parts of our meal that I liked, and some I didn't like. I really liked the mobile ordering method via QR code, it was simple to add additional items to our table throughout our meal. This method also eliminates the need to interact with the servers, some of whom didn't speak English. The service itself was just okay, they just bring you skewers from the kitchen and won't stop by again until you flag them down. I'm not sure what the point of the griddle on the table is. It seems like it has the capability to be lit to keep the food hot, but none of the tables had it on and the servers didn't bother to light any. It just appears as a fancy holder for the skewers. I think the griddle would've helped because some of the skewers came out lukewarm or cold. I really liked the beef skewers - delicious, tender and juicy. However, many of the skewers were dry, especially the pork ones. We did not finish the mini pork skewers because they almost tasted like jerky - they were so dry and chewy! Like most Chinese BBQ restaurants, all of the skewers have the same spicy flavor. I thought the spice was at a good level and the meat was definitely very flavorful. However, some skewers were way too oily for me. It's greasier than other Chinese bbq skewer places I've tried. We were also surprised to find, not one, but TWO hairs in our potato salad. (Photo attached of one of the hairs) After a disappointing meal, that was the cherry on top. (Or should I say...hair on top) I would say this place is average to below average in terms of meat quality, grill technique, service, and spicy flavoring. Maybe it's good for Bay Area? Not sure. For me, it's nothing special and I will probably try somewhere else next time. read more

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The only thing I wish they did was use heat foe their trays but other than that, the skewers are really good! I enjoyed the potato swirl and crispy tofu skin. The service was just okay and this place is pretty packed. We initially signed up on their yelp waitlist but they didn't bring us in unless we stood at the door. read more

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Tasty skewers, sides and more! I don't know how I forgot to take a photo but their beef steak skewers were the best. Juicy chunks of beef doused generously with their signature seasoning. You'll find that most if not all of their skewers have the same seasoning, but it's a really delicious seasoning at that! If you're prone to flavor fatigue, it's a good idea to order a few sides to switch it up. I really liked their cabbage, deep fried potatoes, and flat jelly noodles w/spicy sauce (don't know how I didn't take a picture again). The flat jelly noodles were so chewy, flavorful, and spicy. Cucumber salad was a solid refresher and the golden fried rice was pretty plain. The only items I wouldn't order again would be the BBQ chicken skewers (dry) and the oyster (small). Service was pretty much the bare minimum of bringing out our food. They didn't light up the candle to keep the skewers warm, and also were a bit hard to wave down for the check. But loved the neon light signage here and they have games to play. The vibes also brought me back to China! read more

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I am craving this spot as I currently type this. They've got the best seasoned skewers and friend rice I've tried at a skewer place. It's the perfect explosion of umami flavors. I would consider this more of an upscale skewer place as you don't get too many quantity for the price. But the quality and selection of items were so great - for example they have bone marrow which most skewer places don't carry. Everything is more on the savory salty side so I recommend pairing with a good side of rice or good cold beer. read more

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@theskewerbar_sj was such a lively place to hangout and enjoy some meats on sticks. We enjoyed their mobile ordering where you scan a QR code and can add and order as you want. The food came shortly after and it kept piling up! Which we did not mind at all, we said keep 'em coming it seems like each item was the same seasoning and it has a bit of a kick to it and was good. We love the variety of meats, rice, noodles, snacks you can get. They even had meat we've never tried before like chicken head! The interior was also nicely decorated and the vibes definitely reminded us of a bar which fit the name perfectly. Only thing is if you need service, it's kind of hard to get their attention since they're always on the move. If you're looking for a real Chinese restaurant experience with quick food, or just a place to hangout with friends, be sure to check them out! read more

The Skewer Bar - Chinese Near Me - San Jose, California

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