Todds Cookhouse BBQ

Pretty poor excuse for BBQ. It’s very difficult to operate a slow smoked BBQ joint and produce quality throughout the day. This place is expensive and constantly out of many meats.
Been there twice, won’t return.

Went by today and closed with a uhaul in the back, not good!
Update: went by again today and nothing or nobody around, off to another BBQ joint. Good luck.

When we ate here, we were two out of the four people having lunch. Despite that fact, service somehow managed to be painfully slow. It was friendly for sure but inexcusably sluggish. It’s hard to evaluate the foods flavor as all of it (despite taking quite some time to arrive) was served lukewarm. Maybe it’s better at dinner time, but I doubt I’ll drive that far on a chance.

Went here for dinner with my family and they were out of EVERYTHING. It was like 4 in the afternoon. Went out for an early dinner. The food options they had were nothing special. Wasn’t memorable enough to make me wanna go back.

First time coming Here with family of 4 Directly after rodeo because a friend recommend I was expecting really good food, when we got there, there was a little wait so I thought the place was popular, we got sat down and orders our drinks and as soon as they were back they told us that ribs were not available and we asked for a brisket they said they were out aswell so in the end we just decided to leave. Very disappointed

DELICIOUS, BUT I THINK THEY GAVE UP
Was a huge fan of QN4U, have no idea how or if Todd’s is related in any way, but either way I wanted to like this place as much as QN4U. Came in during big hat days and the place was surprisingly empty. We were seated right away. Soooo… I asked for a beer, only Bud or Coors (what is this, the 90’s!?) So I got an Iced Tea. Went for some Sweet N Low, only sugar. Asked for brisket, they don’t do brisket. They were out of Tri-​tip. Fine, got a chicken sangwhich. Twas delicious! Devoured it. Went to the bathroom, no paper towels. Whatever. Maybe it was a bad day for them too. I’ll give them another chance.
Would I go back? Just once more.
Would I recommend? Prolly not.
Could I take a date here? Nah bro. Not BBQ. Unless you’re already married then no worries. She already knows you snore.
Favorite Items: Chicken Sandwich, Jambalaya Rice, The Menu (looks like it was made with a Sharpie then photocopied! Rad IMO!)

The place looks great from outside, but quite possibly the worst, no, most definitely the worst bbq place I’ve ever patronized. One waitress was great and the other might have been on meth or some other low-​class drug option. The menu written on paper and then photo-​copied was sparse to begin with and still they were out of items.
The beer selection sucks even though they have neons of good beers (firestone and Tioga-​Sequoia).
In the end their system didn’t print a receipt either so they ended up emailing me on the following day. This place needs a new owner and new employees and a better more extensive menu and better beers. Other than these issues, the place is fantastic!

I don’t know about everything on the menu but the tri-​tip and hot links are great! They are smothered in BBQ sauce, which I normally don’t like, but this BBQ sauce was wonderful!
As for the reviews regarding slow service and food running out, I admit that I encountered the same situation. However, I think it should be remembered that this is a small business and I wouldn’t expect that they would have 20 servers because really what small business can have a bunch of servers hanging around getting paid if they are unsure of the foot traffic. As far as the food running out, I’m sure they base the amount of food bought and prepared based on an average and some days you are just going to run out of ribs.
So all that to say… I think the food is worth coming back for and I enjoy supporting small businesses! So give it a try and be open to the unexpected!

Great food and great service! Highly recommend!
Had the tri tip sandwich and it was very tender and the bun was the best I’ve ever had. Yum!

This place is pretty good I’ve only had the tri tip sandwich and it’s delicious I love there spicy bbq sauce and there potato salad is amazing. Only downfall is that every time we go they either serve you on paper plates or different buns. They’re not stingy with the meat either (: service can be a little slow sometimes but everyone is nice (:

Late Review
Really 3.5 Stars.
The food was good. I had the Jambalaya. First time I didn’t need to ask for hot sauce! Tasty and generous with the meats. Son had Catfish Po’ Boy. Must have been good as he didn’t reciprocate on sharing LOL! X had Beef Sammie said it was good. We shared the coleslaw and beans. VERY good, not overly sweet. The fries were HOT and fresh if a bit oily. The Iced Tea was very good too and I’m fussy about iced tea. It was a bit pricey to me but I may be out of touch. Portions should have been a bit larger for just shy of $ ⁶⁰⁄₃ people. Fresno Co diners insist on value. Pleasant and engaging staff. Kountry-​Kitch décor was cool, especially the lamp shades!

Tried to come to this place despite such crazy reviews for my birthday. Not my choice but my old man insisted on coming here to help me celebrate. We got there and there was not crowded on a Friday night and we figured we were going to have fast service and write a raving review… nope not from me…
Can’t tell you how any of the food tasted because as we just start to sip on our drinks and ordered one appetizer for my 3 year old. Another waiter tells us that everything on the menu will not be available because they had an unexpected party before us and cleaned them out by 8pm on a Friday night. All they had was a couple of orders of chicken wings left and chicken strips. We went to complain to manager who suddenly was not there and left a waitress there to explain how bad she felt. She at least comped us for the drinks and appetizer. I will never come back to this place.

Went there this past Friday with my husband & sister. We arrived around 6 pm, so it wasn’t very busy, yet. Todd’s is supposed to be a sit-​down restaurant now, but they didn’t have any menus available, so we did what used to be normal procedure & ordered @ the counter & they brought our food to us. I personally never minded ordering @ the counter, but if you change to a different format, you should really have menus available on a Friday night.
That being said, the staff was very pleasant & all of the food was delicious! I had the pulled pork sandwich, my sister had the catfish, & my husband, the BBQ plate with brisket & something else that I can’t remember, but I’m sure was just as good as everything else. Even the leftovers 2 days later were scrumptious. I recommend trying it out. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed!

Came here with the family, party of 4 and a half (baby). Lady that took our drink order was really nice, she made my sweet tea pretty good. Food took about 25 minutes or so and i ordered the Cajun combo that comes with seafood gumbo, Cajun jambalaya, hot link, slaw and toast. Best part about my meal was the toast. Gumbo had no rice so it was basically a soup, an extremely salty one. The jambalaya was overly seasoned with oregano. My boyfriend had the Cajun rice and he said that tasted more like jambalaya than what i had. He’s born and raised in Louisiana and has only been in California for not even a year now so it’s safe to say he has his Cajun card. Anyways food wasn’t great. Bread pudding was good. To go it was served cold so had to warm it up.
Now service. OMG I CANT TELL YOU HOW BAD THE SERVICE WAS! There was this curly haired hostess that was of nooooo help at all. I think her name started with a K? I was waiting in the front bar area obviously waiting to ask something, she walks past and doesn’t pay me any mind. And takes a sip of her soda and puts it away before asking me if I need anything. I asked her for 1 container cup and 2 lids and she still didn’t even get that right. I’m in guest service and was appalled by the service. And because of that and unspectacular EXPENSIVE food, I’m never going back!!! Horrible service, crap expensive food… Never again!!! Don’t go!!!

Remarkably delicious tasting and generously portioned tri-​tip sandwich experience with Tod’s takeout service has left me wanting more from this underrated local BBQ place. To be honest I was really skeptical to order from this place yesterday after researching the review– and at first glimpse it seems bad, nevertheless I waived the bad reviews and set them aside. I was adventurous and I wanted to try something more than just Dog House Grill or the other large chains that I was accustomed to: Westwood & Dave’s. The outcome of my visit has left me with the impression that this place has sincere tasting BBQ, great flavors and perfectly smoked meat, flavorful original BBQ sauce, great customer service and reasonably priced for the portion and one of the best tasting trip-​tip in the valley in my opinion (even better than dog house, sssshhhh … don’t tell them)
I ordered my tri-​tip sandwich ($ 7.95/per sandwich so reasonable for the huge portion) and slaw ($ 2 for single) to-​go via a phone call, and the experience was seamless and friendly. It took them about 20 – 30 minutes to prepare my takeout. I got there, and the server was friendly and helped me promptly and she had an old western charm to her too, and since it was my first time there, I was actually surprise that the interiors looks great, very old western and authentic to the feel of old american BBQ.
The taste of the food is really good. The tri-​tip was a real treat. The meat was thickly sliced and very generously portioned, had a smokey taste, very deep flavors and was soft and juicy. The sauce was mind-​blowing, it had a tangy-​slightly sweet flavor, with hints of spices in it, very original tasting, and clearly best tasting BBQ sauce. A step further was the caramelized onion in this tri-​tip giving this already perfect sandwich an extra zing. The buns sandwiching the meat was perfectly soft and tasted great, i thought the whole sandwich was phenomenal, I was having a party in my mouth. I expected the taste party to end just there, then came the slaw and oh my god it was significantly delicious, had the right texture and tangy taste and cream, perfect almost a-​healthy-​side to my already perfect tri-​tip.
Overall I had a delightful experience and I would be back to try more. I would highly recommend the tri-​tip. If your wondering if its going to fill you up? It filled me up real good for $ 11 dinner which I consider a great deal for such great quality food.

I’m done! I was the last, of my family, to rally for this place. You know it’s bad when no one will go with you, to Todd’s. Yesterday, was my last visit. Upon getting out of the car, I noticed a broken beer bottle near my foot. A huge ragged bottle neck was aching to wedge its way into someone’s foot! Be careful. Watch your step!
I ordered the bbq chicken special, which included slaw and French fries. My hubby ordered a chopped beef & sausage sandwich. I also ordered a bread pudding to go.
The «waitress» brought my dinner. Just mine. Hubby and I had a look of confusion, as to where his order was. She went back, to ask. A few minutes later, another «waitress» drops of the bread pudding. «Where’s his sandwich?!», I asked. Now we have two waitresses, and a team of 4 – 6 cooks, in the kitchen; none of which are efficient. Meanwhile, I’m halfway through my dinner, and hubby is staving off hunger pangs, eating my fries!
Finally, waitress number 1 brings the sandwich. At first look, it’s impressive. After a few bites though, hubby thinks he is missing the sausage, and maybe there were 3 meats that were supposed to be on the sandwich. As the waitress whizzes by, he flags her down to ask. She explained that the meats are chopped together. Ok. Well, we looked and all we noticed was chopped beef. I would suggest that you make your chopped sausage detectable. If it’s a part of the sandwich; make it detectable. I don’t want to second guess what I’m eating! I don’t have time for that!
Back to my chicken dinner. My chicken had a nice smoke flavor, and the bbq sauce was delicious. The slaw was consistent, and the fries were hot! All great things, that you would expect from a smokehouse. However, when I went to add the bbq sauce, from the bottle on the table, it was watered down. Bad! Stay away from it. Request bbq sauce from the kitchen. I ate the thigh and leg, at the restaurant. It was juicy. I boxed the chicken breast for later. I will say that it was very dry. Very. Dry. Also, to the cook, when you cut the chicken, to portion. Check to see you have the shattered bones cleaned up. Lots of tiny bones. I love my teeth. I don’t want a cracked tooth. Thank you very much.
Finally. The bread pudding. At first glance. The top was charred, with puffy charred raisins. If you come across that, DON’T ATTEMPT TO EAT it. Bitter! I spit it out. Also, there was an egg shell. Thankfully I saw that, and didn’t chew it.
In conclusion, this will be my last review of Todd’s. I’m a little sad, but I gave it a good try. I’ve eaten at your new place about 8 times. For all the good things you have going: location, smoked food, sides. You just can’t execute the basics: attention to detail, food plating, customer service. You are sloppy, Todd. We’re done!

I wish I could’ve have had a better couple meals here. I went on opening weekend hoping for the next big thing for the Fresno area. But unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. The first time we showed up there were out of 90% of the meats and sides, so we left and went to Limón. So I guess I should thank Todds for being out of food, because the meal at Limón was fantastic.
Anyways back to Todds… I was really excited about trying this restaurant so we went back the next day early so we could guarantee all the food would be available. We waited in line for roughly 20 mins. I’m very patient for good food, so the wait didn’t bother me.
We ordered most of the meats available so we could give it a true review. All the meat selection was fair. Nothing I’d go back for, but maybe it’s because they were new. So a few weeks later we tried Todds again. But unfortunately, that was the nail in the coffin for me. I probably won’t be visiting again until my Unilocal friends change my mind.
Until then, I’ll just be dreaming of a good BBQ joint j. The Fresno area.

I was already kinda aware of all the mixed reviews of this place, so I wasn’t sure what to expect with their bbq here. After my recent visit though I might understand why.
Ordered the two-​item plate, and chose the brisket and pork ribs. It wasn’t that busy when I came in, but still kind of took a while for my meal to come out. The ribs and brisket looked GOOD, and had the nice looking smoke rings which made me glad, but when I started eating both, I could hardly taste the smokiness or the seasonings. Surprisingly bland for both, which might explain why both of the meats I ordered were kind of drenched in their bbq sauce. Both meats were moist and tender though, so idk what the deal was.
Other than that, clean place (besides a pair of shoes that seem to have been lying around for no reason next to a table), ok service, and decent prices for how much you get.
I’ll definitely give this place another try, but for now I’ll stick to Westwood’s for my brisket fix.

I can say about this restaurant is «Very Impressive»! I rarely if ever pay for BBQ since I own a Weber Performance and I can do it myself at home. However, my boss wanted BBQ so I couldn’t disagree with him, he’s the boss.
We got there about 12’ish and it got packed fast! As mentioned in another review, the entrance does bottleneck pretty bad, but whatever. I was undeceive between the Pulled Pork Sandwich combo and Tri-​Tip Sandwich combo. Ultimately I went with the Tri-​Tip Sandwich since it was on lunch special for $ 11.49. Tri-​Tip Sandwich, beans, fries and drink; Great bargain! The cashier was pleasantly nice and had a great attitude despite the large crowd behind us.
We got our drinks and sat down. I excused myself wash my hands and by the time I got back the waitress already had brought my boss his food (Fried Shrimp Sandwich w/​Onion rings) No later than two minutes she brought me plate. It was two petite steaks smothered with BBQ sauce on a buttered toast, cup of beans and fries. Everything was delicious! The Tri-​Tip cooked to perfection (pink), beans had pieces of bacon plus a bit spicy, and golden fries. The fries could have been better, but as a glutton I finished them of course. «Todd’s Sweet Memphis BBQ Sauce» was very flavorful and addictive; yum!
Friendly service, fast wait time during lunch, and excellent food. Restaurant clean, restrooms could use some renovation and easy parking. I loved the bucket lamps in the booths, they are upside tin buckets with bullet holes in them~very cool!
Highly recommended and will be back with the family, or boss :)
Definitely a fan, Nice job Todd and staff!

First time checking this place out and I’m glad to have found it! I came on a recommendation and despite some of the bad reviews I wanted to make my own opinion.
We came with a group for lunch. The only bad was that the food took a while but it was really worth the wait.
The way it works is that you order at the counter near the front door, find a place to sit and they will bring your meal to you. The place was probably ¾ full for lunch and we got our meals after 25 mins. It’s not bad for a restaurant but for lunch it is pretty long.
I ordered the pulled pork sandwich with fries. Loved them both actually. The pulled pork comes on a a brioche bun with coleslaw and bbq sauce. The tang on the sauce was exactly what I was expecting. The crunch on the slaw was a nice texture contrast to all the ingredients. The fries are very good too. They are a little thick and crispy which I like and seasoned with pepper too!
My friends ordered the big Texas and tri tip sandwich and they raved about their meals too.
I highly recommend this place. I be back, that’s for sure.
It’s also worth noting that the Todds Cookhouse location in Oakhurst is now under difference ownership and not associated with this location.
Happy eating!