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Buckboard Catering Company
Categories: Event Planning & Services Caterers Restaurants Barbeque Event Planning & Services Party & Event Planning Caterers, Barbeque, Party & Event Planning [Edit]
9265 Activity RdSte 108
(between Clayton Dr & Padgett St)
San Diego, CA 92126
(858) 748-1617
- Hours:
Mon-Fri 9 am - 5 pm
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Price Range:
-
$
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Delivery:
- Yes
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- No
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Lunch
- Alcohol:
- Beer & Wine Only
- Noise Level:
- Quiet
- Has TV:
- No
- Caters:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
19 reviews for Buckboard Catering Company
Review Highlights
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"The tri-tip was incredibly tender and juicy." In 9 reviews -
"Mac & Cheese - Unbelievably creamy." In 9 reviews -
"Pulled pork sandi is great, just like mom used to make." In 3 reviews
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19 reviews in English
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Review from J W.
San Diego, CA
2/26/2012
We used Buckboard Catering to cater our January wedding at the Scripps Seaside Forum. We had gotten a few quotes from the list of other preferred vendors but Buckboard was the most reasonable by far, and hey, who doesn't love BBQ? They did our rentals as well which made things easier and also didn't charge us a crazy markup like some of the quotes we got from other companies. They were flexible in letting us customize everything such as bringing in our own linens or using disposable coffee cups instead of mugs (it's cheaper).
We worked with Mary who is WONDERFUL to work with. She put me at ease when I was getting slightly anxious in the days leading up to the event and proved I had nothing to worry about. We did a complete walk-through a few weeks before the event and she and her staff arrived early on the day-of to make sure everything would be ready on time. We got compliments on the food and the entire staff that evening was helpful, professional, super nice, and great to work with. They went beyond what was required in all areas and some of my guests even commented how nice the staff was. THANK YOU BUCKBOARD! -
Review from Albert W.
Our hero has primarily come to Buckboard for lunch over the past three years, and has seen their focus shift away from their slim lunch hours to focus more on their core catering business during that time. This certainly makes sense, as their location isn't much for a lunch hour crowd.
Lunches are pretty cheap at around $5 or $6 for a sandwich or burger. You can also add two sides for $1.50 or two sides and a drink for $2. The sides are a bit small, but it's fun to mix them together. Their coleslaw is a bit strange in consistency and their mac and cheese seems to be made with some sort of secondary grade vegetable oil-based yellow-hued sauce instead of real cheese. Their chili is probably the best side to get here because it's made with meaty chunks of beef, seasoned well, and thick in consistency.
Is it a decent value for the food that you get? Yep. Are there better places for BBQ around? Definitely.
PROS:
- Large sandwiches that don't skimp on the meat.
- Good tri tip and chili.
CONS:
- The availability of items during lunch hour is uncertain and seems to depend mostly on what types of catering orders they're fulfilling in that time frame.
- No seating at the location for lunch. Plan on eating your orders "to go".
- Beer selection consists solely of Becks.
- No combo meal deals.
- Only open for lunch. -
Review from Alyssa C.
Chula Vista, CA
11/19/2011 1 Check-in Here
This place is scrumptious! I decided to come here while sitting in class and trying to decide where my boyfriend and I should go for lunch and after reading all the reviews, I had to try it.
It was really hard to find and, if my boyfriend hadn't been there before, we probably wouldn't have found it. I had the tri-tip sandwich and mac&cheese and my boyfriend had the pulled pork. Not gonna lie, I'd take this place over Phil's any day, even if the drive is farther. On top of that, the portions were big! I'm normally able to finish my food almost anywhere, but not here. This is now probably one of my favorite places for BBQ in SD, too bad they're only open on weekdays for lunch.
The tri-tip and pulled pork were delicious! Though the mac and cheese was a little to greasy for my stomach, I'd definitely love to try everything else they have to offer. It's certainly no reason for me to write them off. -
Review from Bob W.
El Cajon, CA
2/7/2012
Ate here once and ended up with diarrhea the following two days. I work in the same complex and these people are not sanitary. The back of the place literally smells like a dump which is unfortunate because it's right next door to the mail room. I will never eat here again and I'd suggest you don't either.
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Review from Janelle M.
San Diego, CA
8/8/2011
Okay. Thank you Yelp.
I just held an event for our clients at Birch Aquarium. Buckboard catered.
Summary: They rocked.
The food (tri-tip, chicken, veggies, mashed potatoes, rolls, brushetta, amazing pie ala mode.....) was seriously impeccable. The tri-tip was incredibly tender and juicy. I heard LOTS of good things about the chicken... 'very moist, tender, whatever....' Oh yes... the bruschetta also got rave reviews. Oooo... so did the dessert..... So I guess everything basically did. They had plenty. There was a guy carving the tri-tip. The staff was attentive and there were enough of them.
I felt like it was very reasonably priced.
Birch Aquarium gave us a list of 20 caterers we could select from. This place had the best Yelp reviews and was the only one in our price range. Fortunately for me, they were awesome.
This is a full service place. They provided the tables, chairs, linens, set up, and servers. We did the event buffet stlye... and it worked very well.
They were very familiar and comfortable with the venue. They were flexible when I asked them if they could begin serving dinner about 30 minutes ahead of what we had planned.
Great staff.
The lady who is in charge of planning the catering is named Mary Baumer. She was great to work with. She was very nice about working with our budget and then great when we needed to increase our guest list a a couple days before the event.
I would definitely recommend these guys.... -
Review from Jackie E.
The place might be hard to find, only because the street it's on (Padgett) has no street sign! But once you turn onto it, look for the white signs in front with the menu.
Although it is a catering company, they are open Monday-Friday from 10am-2pm for lunch since there are so many surrounding businesses.
Their Tri-Tip sandwich ($6) is tender and really good! I also heard a lot about their Mac & Cheese, so I got a side of it ($1 for about 2oz). It was $1.50 for two sides OR $2 for two sides and a drink (see picture). So I opted for the latter and got an additional side of chili and a soda.
What is this I hear about Lobster Mac & Cheese?! I guess I've got to ask them about that next time, because I didn't see it on the menu. I wonder if it's only for catered events.
The staff is also super super nice!
Thank goodness Buckboard is so close to my work! Delicious BBQ only minutes away! -
Review from Holly H.
San Diego, CA
11/10/2010 5 Check-ins Here
Thank you, Yelp, for once again letting me know that working in the Miramar/Mira Mesa area doesn't always mean Mexican, Thai, Chick Fil A or Filipino food for lunch.
This place is a little hard to find, there's hardly any signage around to let you know where it's at, but FIND IT.
Here's what I love:
Tri-Tip Sandwich - Lawd, this thing is tasty. The tri-tip is incredibly moist and flavorful. I'm not quite sure if it's smoked or lightly smoked or just chucked in the oven for a few days... and frankly I don't care, just KEEP MAKING IT.
Mac & Cheese - Unbelievably creamy. I purposefully won't eat my entire side of mac and cheeese, just so I can take it home and eat it later. Also, the sandwich is so big that I can't finish all the sides I order anyway. And (!!!!) the sides are only $1!
Ranch Beans & BBQ Beans - Ranch beans = more savory, BBQ beans = sweeter baked type bean. Both equally delicious.
Chili - OMG, the chili. Amazeballs. The last time I was there, Mikee ordered a side of chili and a side of mac and cheese, to which the owner (i think) responded: "Would you like the chili ON TOP of the mac & cheese? That's how we like it." To which we responded: SHIT YES.
Even though they're only open from 11-2, it's worth planning your day around getting in there. Fortunately for me, it's about a 4 minute drive from my office.
I feel so full of win right now. -
Review from Dub M.
San Diego, CA
1/21/2011
I love me some BBQ, consider myself to be a bit of a connoisseur actually. Went to Buckboard for lunch on advice from a colleague and was very impressed.
The Tri-tip is cooked to perfection and seasoned nicely. Pulled pork sandi is great, just like mom used to make. I like to sneak a little cole slaw in there, Phil's broham style.
The sides are fantastic, seriously some of the best mac n' cheese I've ever had. The beans, slaw, and chili are also very well done. These guys mainly do catering, which I hope to experience at some point with a small lunch service during the week.
Looking forward to trying the ribs, which aren't normally served at lunch but can be called in 24 hours in advance...IT' ON!!! -
Review from Megan B.
San Diego, CA
12/2/2011
We hired Buckboard to cater my sister's wedding reception. I initially emailed 10 different catering companies for quotes. Of the quotes I got back, Buckboard was one of the cheapest, and far and away the best menu for the money; better even than most of the more expensive quotes.
We chose a menu and then went and did a tasting in advance. I was impressed that their main chef met us at the tasting to discuss the foods and go over any changes we wanted. Although all their food was delicious I was glad we did the tasting because we ended up making some changes that I wouldn't have thought of until we tried the different dishes.
We also rented tables, chairs, linens, etc from them which they delivered the day before (no extra charge) so we had plenty of time to decide where we wanted things set up.
On the day of the event they showed up with 4 staff/servers for our 40 person event, even though it was a buffet meal and the contract only called for 2 staff/servers. They servers were all superb, they went far and above what I would have expected for a buffet meal; walking around to refill drinks and collect dishes, serving the meat at the buffet line, etc. They also set up a work station tent outside by their truck so they didn't take up any of our limited indoor space.
Most important of course was the food, and it was SPECTACULAR. Appetizers were cheese display and asian barbequed meatballs. Dinner was teriyaki glazed beef, teriyaki chicken with pineapple, mango pasta salad, garlic & broccoli stir fry, coconut jasmine rice, asian slaw. The two favorites were the asian barbequed meatballs and the garlic & broccoli stir fry, but truly all of the food was very good.
The level of service and quality of food you get from this company is truly excellent, and for the price it simply cannot be beat. -
Review from Debbie L.
San Diego, CA
11/16/2009
They're now open for lunchtime business from 10am-2pm Monday-Fri and they serve great food at a great price! $5-$6 for burgers, hot dogs, burritos, pulled pork sandwiches, bbq chicken sandwiches, and they serve a great tri tip sandwich. The tri tip is very tender and their bbq sauce is great. Mine came with lots of meat. My only slight gripe about the sandwich is that I wish they had toasted the bun.. but I think they do that sometimes. You can ask them about it.
They also make a great tasting chili and various sides to go with your meal. About the sides though - the cole slaw is different.. i'm pretty sure it is a yogurt base so it may not be for everyone. And the mac and cheese tastes like macaroni with some american cheese/velveeta melted on it (which was okay to me but I thought it might be good info to have in mind). Ask for chili mac and cheese though - it's off the menu but delicious if they happen to have fresh chili on hand. Their potato salad seems like a people pleaser.
Everything is very flavorful - and garlic-y. Definitely a place to try if you work in the Sorrento Valley, Mira Mesa area. Also call ahead 30min to get ribs. $9 for a half, $15 for full order.
The place itself is more of a hole in the wall rather than a full service restaurant but you order your food at the front and take it out with you or sit down and eat - there are a few seats available.
The service is excellent. They're really nice - don't be shy and ask them questions.. they really hook it up! My friend asked some questions about their sides and scored a free side out of it (so he could try it).Listed in: Sorrento Valley/Mira Mesa…
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Review from Rachel K.
San Diego, CA
8/14/2011
Amazing! Just used them for a dinner fundraiser and everyone raved about the food. The staff is also fantastic to work with. Everything ran smoothly because they are friendly, efficient and know all about the ins and outs of event planning.
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Review from Catherine K.
San Diego, CA
1/12/2011
at the high recommendation of my boss, a coworker and i embarked to find this hidden gem. it was actually a lil' funny how lost we got driving in that lot only to find it right in smack in front of the street as we were about to leave and look elsewhere. once you figure out where it is, super easy to find.
the people there are soooo friendly. i love that about businesses. no matter how good food may be somewhere, if the service sucks, then you'll never see me again. but here, it's the best of both. super friendly people, super good food.
we had the tri-tip sandwich w/mac & cheese and chili for sides. all of it, GOOD. like, GOOOOOOOOOOD GOOD. the tri-tip was so tender, easy to bit into, and huge!! they gave so much meat for that sandwich, i had to pull out a couple pieces because the sandwich was falling apart from the super soft buns. i'm surprised i finished the entire thing because it was so big, but then again, not surprised because it was THAT good. mmmm. ooh and then the bbq sauce? i'm kinda picky w/bbq sauces in general but this was the perfect taste for me. a great balance of sweet and tangy.
the mac & cheese was the creamiest mac & cheese i've ever had. and it wasn't one of those dolled-up mac & cheeses w/bacon or chicken or anything; just straight up mac & cheese and it was delish. we've heard to mix it w/the chili, so we did just that. and YUM. great combo! we also got a nice surprise as we were leaving: a free ice cream cookie sandwich! how generous! the perfect lil' dessert to refresh the palate!
overall, great experience. i can't wait to tell everyone about it so they can go, try, and rave about the goodness. :) -
Review from Gary A.
San Diego, CA
12/15/2010
I was recently at an event that was catered by Buckboard and the minute I walked in all I heard was talk about the lobster mac & cheese. "You HAVE to try it. RIGHT NOW." So I did, and no I was not disappointed. Wow. So good. Seeing at the reviews here pretty much seals the deal. Buckboard, you have a new fan.
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Review from Jennifer P.
San Diego, CA
12/9/2010
Buckboard catered the Mingle Bells annual Holiday Party for the Advertising/Marketing/Public Relations industry. They were awesome. Lobster mac and cheese was to die for. They were very friendly, accommodating, professional. All was great!
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Review from Mario G.
La Jolla, CA
9/23/2009
Buckboard did an AMAZING job at our wedding this past weekend. I have to admit I was a bit skeptical about contacting a bbq caterer for our wedding at first, but figured I would give them a shot. They were professional, the food we tasted was unbelievable, and Mary seemed like somebody we could work with. Not only can buckboard do bbq, it was clear they could do fine dining as well no problem, at a reasonable price as well! We couldn't have been more right! Mary went out of her way to help us with things we did not anticipate and at no point were any balls dropped. The food served at our wedding tasted as good as the samples served during our tasting. The staff was professional yet friendly. We got numerous comments on how great the bartenders were as well at keeping people entertained!
Thanks for coming through and helping to make our event everything we hoped it could be!
Mario and Jill -
Review from Kim D.
San Diego, CA
3/5/2011
Yep, it's true, these guys are great for catering. I had a fancy anniversary party for my in-laws and had them cater the event and it was fantastic. Don't be afraid to have a high end event with these guys, it worked out just fine for us. Although it was an upscale event we weren't afraid to have some yummy tri tip, Mac and cheese and an awesome potato bar with toppings. Everything was delicious and I was glad to not have "snooty" food...everyone loved it. Buckboard was reliable and flexible. Mary who is in charge of setting up catering is great. My mother in law has leukemia, so they offered us flexibility for cancellation in case she got too sick. I am so appreciative of that. Just a great company.
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Review from Jordan S.
Lakeside, CA
3/5/2010
This place has the best Tri-tip I have ever had. I don't know what magic method they use but man is it delicious. The sides are great too BBQ beans and chilli are awesome.
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Review from Heather R.
San Diego, CA
12/13/2010
I could not get enough of the Lobster Mac'n Cheese and Spicy Thai BBQ Meatballs. The sliders you provided were to die for. Wonderful job on all of it. Triple thumbs up.
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Review from Jeff K.
San Diego, CA
8/24/2011
I booked Buckboard Catering for my wife's 50th birthday party. We held it at the David Alan Collection in Solana Beach (a most fantastic venue btw). These guys came through for me and my 100 guests in a way that no simple "thank you" could ever express. We chose from their Calserv gourmet menu and the pasta station from their Buckboard menu. I'm pretty sure we ate every last tasty morsel. I had no idea the pasta station was going to be so cool. They set up and cooked the yummiest food right on the spot. My guests were super impressed by the food - several saying it was the best party food they've ever had! They also took care of the beer and wine and even the flowers. I actually didn't have to do anything but enjoy the party (which was a first for me!). If you want the best food and service - these guys are it. Kudos to Fadi, Humam, Anthony, Megan, Bill and Mary! You guys are the best!!!!
