Yelp Top 100 BBQ includes San Bruno

Yelp’s 2026 Top 100 BBQ list put five Bay Area restaurants on the national ranking, extending the definition of barbecue beyond Texas brisket and Kansas City ribs. The list, released May 18, included San Bruno’s Mazra at No. 3, San Francisco’s San Ho Wan at No. 5, South San Francisco’s Sofra Grill at No. 13, Sunnyvale’s 10 Butchers Korean BBQ at No. 33 and San Francisco’s Quack House at No. 42. The Mercury News reported the results on May 20, describing a ranking that mixed Korean, Mediterranean and Japanese influences with more traditional U.S. barbecue formats. Yelp said its Elite Squad created the list after identifying highly rated barbecue businesses across the country. ### Which Bay Area restaurants made Yelp’s list? San Bruno’s Mazra was the highest Bay Area entry at No. 3 on Yelp’s 2026 ranking. Yelp described Mazra as a wood-fired Mediterranean-Levantine grill and said it was a place “where family recipes and wood-fired meats come together,” according to the version of the article republished by Dining and Cooking from The Mercury News. The article said Mazra owners Saif and Jordan Makableh also operate a second location in Redwood City. (diningandcooking.com) San Francisco’s San Ho Wan placed No. 5, giving the Bay Area a second top-10 finish. Yelp said “thoughtfully sourced ingredients and precise techniques from chefs Corey Lee and Jeong-In Hwang shine in every dish,” the article reported. South San Francisco’s Sofra Grill followed at No. 13, while Sunnyvale’s 10 Butchers Korean BBQ came in at No. 33 and Quack House in San Francisco ranked No. 42. (diningandcooking.com) ### Why are Korean and Mediterranean grills showing up on a BBQ ranking? Yelp’s list treated barbecue as a broader category built around live fire, smoke, grilling and roast-meat traditions rather than a single regional U.S. style. The Mercury News article said Yelp’s “global approach to the art of cooking with smoke” widened the field to include California restaurants with Asian and Mediterranean influences competing alongside Franklin Barbecue in Texas and Joe’s of Kansas City. (diningandcooking.com) South San Francisco’s Sofra Grill was cited for chef-owner Azad Sinjary’s “fresh take on Turkish and Syrian favorites,” including house-baked flatbreads and desserts such as kunafa. Sunnyvale’s 10 Butchers Korean BBQ was described by Yelp as a place where diners can try 10 cuts of premium wagyu grilled at the table. Quack House, in San Francisco’s Lower Nob Hill, was recognized for Cantonese-style roast meats, with Yelp calling its roast duck the “real star.” (diningandcooking.com) ### Who landed at the very top nationally? Phoenix’s Little Miss BBQ ranked No. 1 on Yelp’s 2026 list. Honolulu’s Han No Daidokoro, a Japanese barbecue restaurant, ranked No. 2, placing Mazra directly behind it at No. 3. Southern California also had a large presence on the ranking. (diningandcooking.com) The Mercury News article said 10 Southern California restaurants made the list, all identified as Korean or Japanese grills, with Yakiya of Hacienda Heights the highest-ranked Southern California entry at No. 11. ### How did Yelp say it built the ranking? (diningandcooking.com) Yelp said its Elite Squad assembled the list after traveling to sample barbecue restaurants that had already drawn strong ratings from Yelp users. The article did not publish a full methodology breakdown beyond saying the ranking was based on businesses identified as barbecue and evaluated by Yelp Elites. (diningandcooking.com) May 18 is the release date attached to the list cited in The Mercury News article, and May 20 is when that Bay Area write-up was published online. Yelp’s full Top 100 BBQ collection remains available on its site, where readers can see the complete national ranking and the Bay Area placements in context. (diningandcooking.com)