Food was alright, but probably not worth the wait. This place is super popular. At 830pm on a Friday a table for 2 meant a 40 min+ wait. There were still people waiting when we finished eating. Service is super informal and casual. QR code ordering. I enjoyed the potato and cucumber side dishes. The scallop shell with vermicelli was ok, but perhaps overly garlicky. On the BBQ slide, I enjoyed the beef skewer the most, followed by the classic lamb one. The pork belly was dry. The chicken skin one did not really work, being partially dry and partially chewey. The king oyster mushroom was ok, perhaps slightly under done. The tofu skin roll with chives inside was way too tough to bite through. It's a good late night option and having spicy meat sticks with some beer can hit the spot. I just wish the wait was less intense and the food was more consistent.
Yvonne Y.
We finally tried it last night. We went there the week before on a Friday night. There were 9 tables ahead of us when we joined the waitlist at 8pm. This past Friday, we got there at 7:15pm and there were 2 table's ahead of us. Oh well, we sat in the car and waited for 45 mins before we were seated. Staff are all friendly and courteous. 5/5 for service. Food wise is a bit underwhelming. I've been to many skewers BBQ places in the past - Chinese, Japanese, and Korean style. All of the skewers they serve are pipping hot as they grill it after you place your order. For this place, I would say 90% of the skewers that they serve is lukewarm. What a turnoffs. Although they have a "hot plate" for you to place the skewers, it's more like a serving vessel than keeping the food hot as it is powered by tiny tea light candles instead of chafing fuels. As other Yelpers have noted, they use the same seasoning for all foods. So after a while, you feel kind of bored of the same taste. We ordered a ton of different items for the 5 of us. Nothing really stood out. One thing that is kind of shocking is that they serve Costco Nann and a few regular tortillas as "wraps". I would not recommend ordering that at all. Glad we have tried it as it's pretty cheap. Five of us is $175 before tips. We probably won't go again.
yimeng q.
The culinary expedition to 'Smoked Heaven' was nothing short of spectacular. Each bite of the tender, slow-smoked brisket melted in my mouth, releasing a symphony of flavors that were both complex and comforting. The smoky aroma, infused with a subtle hint of hickory, enveloped the meat, enhancing its juiciness and depth of flavor. The accompanying homemade BBQ sauce, with its perfect balance of tangy and sweet, complemented the brisket beautifully, elevating the dish to new heights. The sides, particularly the creamy coleslaw and savory baked beans, were delightful, offering a refreshing contrast to the rich, smoky meat. 'Smoked Heaven' not only delivers on its promise of authentic BBQ excellence but also excels in creating an unforgettable dining experience that leaves you craving more.
Jianping W.
Best Chinese bbq in Bay Area, beef and lamb skewers are juicy, Korean style cold noodles also go well with everything
Jingyi T.
New finding in San Mateo , good variety of choice of northeastern Chinese food, and even imported local beer. item is a bit pricy but has good portion to justify the price. Definitely will come back at another occasion.
Shihua C.
The best Chinese bbq restaurant in Bay Area. The veggies are fresh and everything is seasoned well. 10 out of 10!
Changbo L.
The food and environment is very good. The BBQ and the main dishes are so good. We will come back next time
Lianghao L.
The rice noodle is surprisingly good, the BBQ skewers are of great taste, not too spicy nor salty. Just the right flavor.
Rebecca J.
You'll definitely want to get here early, this place is popular and usually has a line. I love that their skewers have a decent amount of meat, and everything is so tender and fresh. Some skewers could use more seasoning and sauce, but otherwise everything here tastes really good. Hope that my next few times here have similar, consistent experiences.
Gilbert L.
Great food! Tender meats and crispy outside! Awesome customer service! Staffs are very friendly and clearly explaining each items of our order. Also, they are offering different recommendations to us. Highly recommended to everyone who love grill foods.
Loved my dinner here at this newly opened Chinese skewer spot in San Mateo. I came here Saturday evening with 3 other friends. We arrived around 6 pm and added ourselves to the Yelp waitlist. At that time, there were 11 parties ahead of us. We got seated an hour later around 7 pm. Definitely a popular place! The decor was done in a traditional Chinese style which I appreciated. Most of the tables I saw looked like they were for parties of 4. You order on your phone by scanning a QR code. Everyone at the table can collaboratively order together and the checkout cart updates real-time, which I thought was convenient. They have a ton of different meat and vegetarian skewer options, as well as some other non-skewer dishes such as duck blood with vermicelli. Everything we ordered was good, but some of my favorite skewers were the chicken wings, lamb, bacon wrapped enoki mushrooms, enoki mushrooms. I think they use the same seasoning for all skewers, but it was delicious so I didn't mind that. The only exception was the chicken wings, which also were very tasty. I also really enjoyed the vermicelli with duck blood. There was also a musician playing a guqin (or guzheng?) live, which was a nice addition to the ambiance. The meal was pretty affordable too. We ordered a ton of food and paid around $35 pp after tax and tip, which I thought wasn't too bad.
Feng Kelysa
The most delicious thing is the stinky tofu, which amazed me! The beef skewers inside the pancake are super delicious!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Ness S.
Be prepared for a wait as this is a rather popular restaurant . Everything is automated. When you come in you sign your name and provide a telephone number where they can text you to let you know that your table is ready. We came out on Monday night after 8 PM and even then there was a 15-20 minute wait. Having said that the food was well worth the wait. We ordered several beef skewers, lamb skewers, pork skewers, shrimp skewers, and even mushroom skewers cucumber--they were delicious. I thought all of the meat skewers dishes were excellent, except maybe for the pork. My personal favorite was the beef , although the lamb was a close second. I also really liked their cucumber salad. It was a pretty hearty dish, which had a bit of a kick to it and came with lots of peanuts that were in it. The roasted eggplant dish was wonderful as well although heavy on the garlic, The ambience is Chinese barbecue style, nothing extraordinary but that's not what you would expect in a restaurant like this. Definite five stars for me.
XIAO LIU
The food is fresh, the beef skewers and mutton skewers are juicy, not woody! The service attitude is very good!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Eugene T
Really good skewers and appetizers! Would come again next time for
Food was alright, but probably not worth the wait. This place is super popular. At 830pm on a Friday a table for 2 meant a 40 min+ wait. There were still people waiting when we finished eating. Service is super informal and casual. QR code ordering. I enjoyed the potato and cucumber side dishes. The scallop shell with vermicelli was ok, but perhaps overly garlicky. On the BBQ slide, I enjoyed the beef skewer the most, followed by the classic lamb one. The pork belly was dry. The chicken skin one did not really work, being partially dry and partially chewey. The king oyster mushroom was ok, perhaps slightly under done. The tofu skin roll with chives inside was way too tough to bite through. It's a good late night option and having spicy meat sticks with some beer can hit the spot. I just wish the wait was less intense and the food was more consistent.
We finally tried it last night. We went there the week before on a Friday night. There were 9 tables ahead of us when we joined the waitlist at 8pm. This past Friday, we got there at 7:15pm and there were 2 table's ahead of us. Oh well, we sat in the car and waited for 45 mins before we were seated. Staff are all friendly and courteous. 5/5 for service. Food wise is a bit underwhelming. I've been to many skewers BBQ places in the past - Chinese, Japanese, and Korean style. All of the skewers they serve are pipping hot as they grill it after you place your order. For this place, I would say 90% of the skewers that they serve is lukewarm. What a turnoffs. Although they have a "hot plate" for you to place the skewers, it's more like a serving vessel than keeping the food hot as it is powered by tiny tea light candles instead of chafing fuels. As other Yelpers have noted, they use the same seasoning for all foods. So after a while, you feel kind of bored of the same taste. We ordered a ton of different items for the 5 of us. Nothing really stood out. One thing that is kind of shocking is that they serve Costco Nann and a few regular tortillas as "wraps". I would not recommend ordering that at all. Glad we have tried it as it's pretty cheap. Five of us is $175 before tips. We probably won't go again.
The culinary expedition to 'Smoked Heaven' was nothing short of spectacular. Each bite of the tender, slow-smoked brisket melted in my mouth, releasing a symphony of flavors that were both complex and comforting. The smoky aroma, infused with a subtle hint of hickory, enveloped the meat, enhancing its juiciness and depth of flavor. The accompanying homemade BBQ sauce, with its perfect balance of tangy and sweet, complemented the brisket beautifully, elevating the dish to new heights. The sides, particularly the creamy coleslaw and savory baked beans, were delightful, offering a refreshing contrast to the rich, smoky meat. 'Smoked Heaven' not only delivers on its promise of authentic BBQ excellence but also excels in creating an unforgettable dining experience that leaves you craving more.
Best Chinese bbq in Bay Area, beef and lamb skewers are juicy, Korean style cold noodles also go well with everything
New finding in San Mateo , good variety of choice of northeastern Chinese food, and even imported local beer. item is a bit pricy but has good portion to justify the price. Definitely will come back at another occasion.
The best Chinese bbq restaurant in Bay Area. The veggies are fresh and everything is seasoned well. 10 out of 10!
The food and environment is very good. The BBQ and the main dishes are so good. We will come back next time
The rice noodle is surprisingly good, the BBQ skewers are of great taste, not too spicy nor salty. Just the right flavor.
You'll definitely want to get here early, this place is popular and usually has a line. I love that their skewers have a decent amount of meat, and everything is so tender and fresh. Some skewers could use more seasoning and sauce, but otherwise everything here tastes really good. Hope that my next few times here have similar, consistent experiences.
Great food! Tender meats and crispy outside! Awesome customer service! Staffs are very friendly and clearly explaining each items of our order. Also, they are offering different recommendations to us. Highly recommended to everyone who love grill foods.
Restaurantji Recommends
Loved my dinner here at this newly opened Chinese skewer spot in San Mateo. I came here Saturday evening with 3 other friends. We arrived around 6 pm and added ourselves to the Yelp waitlist. At that time, there were 11 parties ahead of us. We got seated an hour later around 7 pm. Definitely a popular place! The decor was done in a traditional Chinese style which I appreciated. Most of the tables I saw looked like they were for parties of 4. You order on your phone by scanning a QR code. Everyone at the table can collaboratively order together and the checkout cart updates real-time, which I thought was convenient. They have a ton of different meat and vegetarian skewer options, as well as some other non-skewer dishes such as duck blood with vermicelli. Everything we ordered was good, but some of my favorite skewers were the chicken wings, lamb, bacon wrapped enoki mushrooms, enoki mushrooms. I think they use the same seasoning for all skewers, but it was delicious so I didn't mind that. The only exception was the chicken wings, which also were very tasty. I also really enjoyed the vermicelli with duck blood. There was also a musician playing a guqin (or guzheng?) live, which was a nice addition to the ambiance. The meal was pretty affordable too. We ordered a ton of food and paid around $35 pp after tax and tip, which I thought wasn't too bad.
The most delicious thing is the stinky tofu, which amazed me! The beef skewers inside the pancake are super delicious!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Be prepared for a wait as this is a rather popular restaurant . Everything is automated. When you come in you sign your name and provide a telephone number where they can text you to let you know that your table is ready. We came out on Monday night after 8 PM and even then there was a 15-20 minute wait. Having said that the food was well worth the wait. We ordered several beef skewers, lamb skewers, pork skewers, shrimp skewers, and even mushroom skewers cucumber--they were delicious. I thought all of the meat skewers dishes were excellent, except maybe for the pork. My personal favorite was the beef , although the lamb was a close second. I also really liked their cucumber salad. It was a pretty hearty dish, which had a bit of a kick to it and came with lots of peanuts that were in it. The roasted eggplant dish was wonderful as well although heavy on the garlic, The ambience is Chinese barbecue style, nothing extraordinary but that's not what you would expect in a restaurant like this. Definite five stars for me.
The food is fresh, the beef skewers and mutton skewers are juicy, not woody! The service attitude is very good!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Really good skewers and appetizers! Would come again next time for
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5