Hip Hop Bbq Shack

Ohhhh my goodness this place is so special!! I have very high standards for Southern bbq but the bbq sauce here is THE best bbq sauce I have ever had in my life. I don't know how they do it!

The owner, Chef Mae, is so utterly delightful. She said she wants anyone from anywhere to come in and feel like they're eating at grandma's house, and she knocks it out of the park (of course it helps that my grandma's name is also Mae!). The place even has games and fun odds and ends to play with. :) And of course classic paper towels at the table -- you'll want them!

The biggest star is the food though, and it definitely delivers on being the best bbq in the Bay Area imo. Aside from the unbelievable sauce, the pork ribs especially are nice and tender, and the collards, mac and cheese, and cornbread are exquisitely and authentically seasoned. I just finished eating a big meal here and I'm getting so hungry again already just writing about it!

Ordered takeout for a dinner party and the Jack Daniels baby back ribs were a hit! Meat was tender and generously bathed in sauce.

It was a little challenging getting the order placed via Yelp/messaging, but a phone call straightened everything out quickly.

** Please be advised that you will be charged a mandatory 15% service charge (gratuity), on top of which sales tax will be calculated, so you're going to spend 25% more than you're quoted.

Come for: the mac and cheese and the brisket! Chef May.

Know that: they have a little parking lot but parking on El Camino is easier. There is going to be a ~20-30 min wait between ordering and eating - enjoy the games.

A hidden gem! Hip hop BBQ shack is both an homage to hip hop history and to Chef May's culinary lineage. When you walk in, you'll be greeted by classic rap album decor, a bunch of games at each table, and the pit master herself.

Ordering is simple enough, read off the written board that can change and order by the meat (they don't do combo plates).

I ordered the beef ribs, brisket, collard greens, and the honey rolls. Everything was good but the star of the show was the brisket. Flavorful, tender and just the right amount of fatty. The sausages and beef rib were good too, though part of the beef rib was still a bit tough. The mac and cheese is definitely not your kraft version and you should get it. Collard greens and honey rolls helped give a little flavor break from all the bbq.

I should note, our bbq tray had 3 different kinds of bbq/hot sauces drizzled over it and they are all delicious. Let her know if you don't want heat.

Chef May also makes an effort to support local community artists and businesses so let her know if you have a collab idea. Come eat some delicious bbq and support a local establishment!

Y'all, this place is such a hidden gem! Hands-down, best barbecue I've had in the Bay
Area! Forget Everett & Jones, forget Capelo's. If you want bona fide southern flavor, this place is IT. I'm a former Texan that can happily say I have finally found my new favorite place.

I was a dummy and came here on 4th of July without pre-ordering. There was a bit of a wait because people were ahead of me waiting for large catering orders and the chef was a one woman show. She had to bounce between taking orders and cooking. I didn't mind waiting though. There was a working vintage Pac Man arcade game, mini basketball free throw machine for 2 players, a tiny billiards table and board games to keep you entertained. My husband and I were busy playing with everything.

Hip Hip Bbq Shack has such a homey and warm ambience that harks to family kitchens that invites patrons to interact like neighbors. The gentleman I was talking to gushed excitedly that he was especially looking forward to the Louisiana red beans and rice. It unfortunately sold out so I didn't get to try any. I ordered brisket, rib tips, collard greens with ham, and honey buttered cornbread.

The brisket was a beautiful perfection of flavorful melt-in your mouth meat topped with a barbecue sauce with mustard. Ribs had a light crusting of different herbs and sauce. Rib tips were small sections of meaty flavor bombs. Cornbread was soooo freaking good--my husband kept saying it was the best cornbread ever. I loved that the cornbread had a light texture, was moist but not wet from the honey butter, and had just a touch of sweetness. How did the chef achieve this?!

I'm already dreaming of coming back to try burnt ends, pulled pork, gumbo and the chef's other specialties. I cannot recommend this place enough--chef's food is so good that people bring it to their parties.

Some pointers: She is occasionally open for lunch time on days that she has large catering orders. Chef updates her business hours on Yelp daily to reflect when she'll be in. She also takes phone in orders ahead of time and can schedule pick up times. If you miss your pick up time, you'll have to wait a bit while she prepares your order fresh. Good barbecue is not made in minutes after all, it takes love and time.

Ribs! meat falls off da bone!! For reals... it's been like 30+ years since frequenting this spot and it looks like I might be coming back more often and bringing some friends along..

This little spot has the best barbecue sauce that I have ever tasted!! A definite return when I come back to this area.

STRAIGHT GAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I will definitely come back to this place. Best BBQ in the bay in my opinion!

Omg! I just came for the melt in yo mouth Brisket, but got confused & ordered the Mango Jerk Chicken....& I'm from KINGSTON, JAMAICA. This is a the best food close to yard yu a fi cum tru.

This place used to be Rib Shack but now it's called Hip Hop Bbq Shack. The big sign above still has the old name and the owner, May doesn't intend to change it because it's so popular to many. I thought they shut down after the pandemic but they just did a lot of improvements. We were feeling like BBQ and with no luck at Gorilla's, I found this on Yelp and surprised to see it was the same establishment we visited before.

When we got there, the outside parking lot was transformed into an outdoor dining for tacos and quesadillas. They had a guy cooking outside and it was packed. Hip Hop runs the taco dining too. If you want Bbq ribs, you dine inside. We met the owner, May who was very sweet and friendly. Told her that we're glad they reopened.

We ordered the Baby Back Bourbon Ribs, Brisket, Cornbread Muffins, and the Brown Sugar Beans. May also gave us 2 free Mac and Cheese samples!

The Ribs and Brisket were heavenly and the sauce, superb. I was in bbq heaven! Surpasses the other bbq places we dined at before. May recommended the Brown Sugar Beans and I'm not really into beans but when I tasted it, Omg! I could eat the whole thing! The Mac and Cheese was so creamy and delish. Do come here with a big appetite and wash it down with a cold coke.

May told us stories about her family from New Orleans and the Bay Area. It was very nice chatting with her during our dinner with 70s music hits playing. She even gave us a complimentary bottle of rub for steaks, ribs, and everything!

Hip Hop Bbq is only open for dinner from 6:30 pm to 10:00 pm Wed-Thu and till midnight on Fri-Sat-Sun. On Sundays, she also serves specialty meals like Duck, etc. and does catering too.

Thank you May for a delightful evening of excellent bbq! We will definitely be coming back for more!

We found this place on a whim. There weren't many reviews, but the IG page seems to have a decent following.

Unfortunately, $68 worth of food left us hungry. Maybe one of us could've been full if we ate it by ourselves. Maybe this was an off night?

F O O D
The food was just ok....
- The ribs were great. They don't fall entirely off the bone, but it was still tasty.
- Mac and Cheese was tasty, although it came in a small cup.
- Brisket was cut with the grain and not against the grain making the meat super tough. There wasn't a perfect balance of fatty vs lean -- the entire thing was lean and looked more like scraps vs slices of brisket (what you'd get when cutting the slab against the grain and across). I would definitely skip this one.
- The links looked haphazardly cut and didn't seem to really stand out.

This was my mother's day dinner and we ended up cooking more food after finishing this one.