Welcome to Prime BBQ
"Prime BBQ, located in San Mateo, CA, offers a fusion of Japanese and Chinese yakitori dishes. With a diverse menu featuring appetizers like Prime Crispy Chicken Skin and Uni Ajitsuke Tamago, customers rave about the flavorful skewers like Gyutan and Wagyu Steak. The ambiance is described as lovely, with quick service and a low-key atmosphere perfect for weekday dining. Customers appreciate the efficient QR code ordering system and the variety of options available, making Prime BBQ a must-visit for those craving delicious grilled skewers and a pleasant dining experience."
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33 W 25th Ave, San Mateo, CA 94403, United States33 W 25th Ave, San Mateo, CA 94403, United States Hotline: +1 650-458-3838
Prime BBQ is a popular Izakaya, Chinese, and Barbeque restaurant located in San Mateo, CA. With a wide range of offerings and amenities including takeout, delivery, wheelchair accessibility, catering, outdoor seating, and more, Prime BBQ caters to a diverse clientele.
The appetizers at Prime BBQ are a true highlight, with options like Prime Crispy Chicken Skin, Deep Fried Shishito Peppers, and Hamachi Kama receiving high praise from customers. The Yakitori selection offers a variety of meats and vegetables grilled to perfection, with options like Beef Tongue, Chicken Wing, and King Oyster Mushroom standing out. The Prime House Crispy Pork Belly and Gyu Hire are also fan favorites, showcasing the restaurant's expertise in grilling and flavoring.
Customer reviews mention the impressive selection of skewers and small bites, with the service being commended for its efficiency and friendliness. While some dishes like the Beef Tongue may be a bit chewy for some, the overall dining experience at Prime BBQ is highly rated.
With unique offerings like Lychee Bacon, Mochi Bacon, and Frozen Thai Tea, Prime BBQ is a must-visit for those looking to explore new flavors and textures. Whether you're a fan of traditional yakitori or looking to try something different, Prime BBQ has something for everyone. So, if you're in the area, don't miss out on the chance to indulge in a carnival of flavors at Prime BBQ.
Excellentatmosphere for a small group. The food is good and fast as well. Recommend so Th drinks.
We had to wait about 25 minutes on a Friday evening for 4 people, but once seated, there is a QR code so you can quickly order and food comes out relatively fast, which is good bc we were quite hungry by that time w 2 little kids. My favorites are probably the beef grilled skewers and lamb grilled skewers. My kids liked the mochi bacon. Ambiance and atmosphere inside was lovely.
I like this place such that the wait is much less than its competitor down a block or so. Skewers are flavorful but I can see why its competitor has longer lines. None the less , the service is good, and I would come here any day if the lines are crazy at the other place. BTW, my profile pic is from this place :)
Great service and great food. We were able to get seated quickly on weekday nights and the host is great. The ambient is nice with good music and low key atmosphere.
Amazing food amazing vibes! We ordered the chicken skin and it was very crispy. We liked the other side dishes but the skewers were spectacular
great food great service! we liked the interior it was very pretty and the food was decent! would come here again.
Uni Ajitsuke Tamago 一品海胆溏心蛋 4 soy, flavorful Prime Grilled Rib Eye 一品炭烤牛肉串 4 chewy, medium juicy, flavorful Gyutan 日式烤牛舌 5 chewy, juicy, medium flavorful Beef Tendon 炭烤牛熟筋 5 soft, sticky, flavorful Pork Cheek 日式炭烧猪颈肉 5 crunchy, chewy, juicy, creamy, flavorful Chicken Gizzards 炭烤鸡胗 3 crunchy, medium flavorful Squid Cartilage 炭烤魷魚軟骨 5 chewy, tender, flavorful Grilled Oyster w/ Garlic 大蒜烤生蠔 5 juicy, flavorful Vermicelli Scallop w/ Garlic 大蒜烤扇貝粉絲 4 small, flavorful Scallop Butter Yaki 日式鐵板牛油爆帆立貝 5 butter, garlic, crispy crust, chewy, juicy, slightly too salty, flavorful
It was an impromptu late-night dinner at Prime BBQ (Japanese & Chinese yakitori) at around 9:45 pm on a Friday. There was a waitlist kiosk at the front door and our party of 4 was #5. It took about 15 minutes to be seated. While waiting, I admired their high ceilings decorated with Asian lanterns and parasols. When we got to our table, there was a QR Code for ordering. We were hungry and got a bunch of skewers and small plates! PRIME CRISPY CHICKEN SKIN ~ flavor is savory and a little sweet. Never knew crispy skin could taste so good!!! Everyone in our table loved it! Definitely would come back for this! 5/5 DEEP FRIED SHISHITO PEPPERS ~ These were a bit spicy and bitter. No one at our table liked them. Edible, but didn't like the flavor. I scraped the seeds out, so it was a bit better. 3/5 HAMACHI KAMA ~ Tender & tasty flakes of fish. 4/5 YAKITORI CHICKEN COMBO ~ Negima, Chicken gizzard, chicken heart, chicken wing, chicken gristle, chicken meatball. This combo gives you different parts of a chicken! Textures and flavors were great! 5/5 GYU HIRE ~ charcoal grilled ribeye. Good, but not as tender as I would like. 4/5 NEGIMA ~ chicken & green onion with yakitori sauce. Yummy! 5/5 TORI KAWA ~ charcoal grilled chicken skin with yakitori. This was good but the appetizer crispy chicken skin was better, IMO. 4/5 CHICKEN TAIL ~ A bit fatty and greasy with a little crunch! My friends ate it and said they didn't care for it. I guess if you're not into chicken butt, you probably shouldn't order this! 3/5 BUTA BARA ~ Charcoal-grilled Kurobuta pork belly. Can't go wrong with pork belly! 5/5 CHICKEN LIVER ~ I tried this, but I'm not a fan of liver unless it's pate! So I could pass on this one. But our friends liked it. 3/5 OKRA ~ I like okra and this was pretty good. 4/5 SHISHITO PEPPER ~ Actually, this tasted better than the deep-fried ones. 4/5 PRIME HOUSE CRISPY PORK BELLY ~ If you like pork belly, you'd like this one! 5/5 LAMB ~ Lots of seasoning goes into this lamb to cut out the gaminess! 4/5 BEEF TENDON ~ This was soft and chewy as it should be. Very good! 5/5 KING OYSTER MUSHROOM ~ smoky flavor with a good chewiness! One of my favorites! 5/5 What a FUN way to start the weekend! It's like a carnival for your palate with so many textures and flavors! Honestly, thought this was better than the yakitori I had in Japan! Everyone in our party was happy with the food. Some items were great, while other items were not to our liking, but everything here was worth trying! The service was quick and efficient while filling our waters and checking in on us too! WE'LL BE BACK!!!
First time visit to Prime BBQ, and we enjoyed our experience. Service was great in that they were quick to greet us, kept our water glasses full, and checked on us often. We were so into our meal that I forgot to capture a few pictures of all that we ordered. However, the standouts for me were the kamo (duck), chicken meatballs, crispy pork belly, and the eggplant with garlic sauce. Hubs enjoyed the crispy chicken skin, chives, and salt and pepper green beans. I didn't care too much for the beef tongue - too chewy. All of the items we ordered were seasoned well. Some items may be a tad pricey, but we enjoyed our meal overall and would return.