HOT JOHNNIE’S SMOKEHOUSE

Dutch Crunch is a f'ing amazing sandwich - tender, smoked brisket, melted pepper jack cheese, garlic aioli, pickles, pepperoncini, and a sprinkle of dill. On a perfectly crunchy Dutch crunch role. With waffle fries (get extra garlic aioli for dipping).Johnny graduated from the prestigious Le Cordon Bleu culinary school, but there's nothing pretentious about this down home eatery.Take out or dine in their lovely patio.So good!

The Marble Rye sandwich is delicious. I can taste it while writing this review lol the food is great. I've also had the chicken sandwhich once before. The sandwhich was HUGE. Great selection of items to choose.They have a large back patio area that has heating and a cover. Perfect for not so fun weather. Many chairs and tables to sit. I seen online that they also host events in the back area. Most recently a Drag brunch. The interior of the restaurant is clean and the staff were kind and nice.

I had a wondeful time here at Hot Johnnie's Smokehouse. The food (especially the brisket) was just super amazing and tasty. The service was just very quick and efficient. The ambiance is calm and very cozy.5 stars.

Great vibes , excellent food - what else can you ask for on a sunny (or rainy) day in the amazing castro?! Super dog friendly too, so it doesn't get any better than this. They have a cute back patio perfect for private events too. Cheers

Came here for their drag brunch and had a really good time! The place had great energy and the food was solid. It seemed like they had their full menu and then some more brunchy items as well. Since it started later in the day, it was great that they had lunch items and not just eggs and sweets. We got some pastrami nacho fries to share, then I went with the chicken and garlic rice plate. I liked both items, but really loved the crispy chicken for my main. We ordered bottomless mimosas for the group and were shocked when they brought out a bottle per person. Totally get why they did so that we wouldn't have to be asking for more throughout the drag performance, but the bottles did get a little warm as we worked through all 8 of them. The show was super fun! There were 4 different queens all with their own vibe and energy. you have to pre purchase tickets online, which are $8 a piece.

Stopped by on a Friday afternoon. Got to try the pastrami nachos and chicken parmigiana on Dutch crunch. The pastrami is definitely high quality here and has solid flavor. Hard to go wrong with cheesy waffle fries. The chicken parm sandwich was also good - well balanced, crispy chicken. I do wish there was something more to it (maybe a spicy kick) just to bring it up a notch. We sat in the back patio which was relaxing and comfortable, self serve water available as well. There was also a ping pong table. Had a good time here and I would come back to try their other menu items!

My friend told me about this place and decided to give it a go! This place is located in the heart of the Castro and it's nice to see a smokehouse type place in the area! You walk in and place your order on the self kiosk. As I scrolled through the menu, one could smell the delicious aroma of food coming from the kitchen! I ordered the hot pastrami sandwich with fries and iced tea. My friend ordered a beef sandwich along with a plate of ribs to share. We sat in the back patio which is really cool area to enjoy your food and nice quiet ambiance. There is a ping pong table in the back which one could play with friends. When the food came out, the ribs were perfectly cooked in a glaze that was delicious. The meat fell off the bone and the taste was very flavourful. My sandwich was full of flavour and was so delicious. My friend also agreed and his sandwich was delicious as well. The sandwiches were full of meat and we both were so full.The price point is a little on the higher side, but with all prices going up and the amount of meat you can see why it's a little more. The ambiance was very chill and very enjoyable. Street parking at meter is limited, so best to walk, bike or take public transit. Def a place to go !

My oh my - a solid pastrami sandwich in SF.Service was quick and friendly! Ordered upfront and ate in the beautiful dining patio area out back. It wasn't too busy (surprising imo) and we found seats pretty quick. Great place to have a 1:1 / small hangout. Sandwich was great. Not too salty, and the slaw the marble rye came with fit perfectly with the sandwich. I ate it up! I did wish there was some more spice to the sandwich or bottle of hot sauce somewhere but that's just personal preference. Beef flavor was the star of the show and it was so juicy.My group also shared a seasoned crinkle fry and these were alright. A little flimsy sometimes and crunchy other times so felt inconsistently good. This place deserves more hype! I will be back to try their chicken sandwich (it looked insane when I peeped at other peoples tables)

Excellent place to rent out the patio for a small work party 15 people was enough space to walk around. The plastic enclosure kept us warm from the cold wind outside. This was my first time here. It was a catered event and the food was lovely presentation and were labeled so we knew what we were eating. My favorites were the Walnut Arugula salad, fall off the bone Smoked Spare Ribs and sweet Smoked chicken wings. We met the nice owner who takes care of the guest to make sure everything is going ok. I saw him come in and out, setting up the venue, delivery the food and setting things up. With such great tasting catered food, I will definitely come back to try what they are famous for which is the pastrami sandwich people out in front orders for takeout. So yummy in my tummy. I am so well fed like Garfield the cat. lol

As much as I admired my 2021 review of Hot Johnnie's, today's visit proved that it's time for an update. Hot Johnnies is now Hot Johnnie's Smokehouse and lots else has changed since my previous visit: The menu, which I'd previously have described as "all Pastrami all the time" (in a good way) is far more varied now. Varied enough, actually, that I'll probably stop telling people to "go to the pastrami place". The other reason I'll stop telling them that is this: During today's visit the kitchen was 100% out of pastrami. What? Well, that pretty much derailed our plans. The folks I came with still wanted to stay (it'd been my suggestion... for pastrami) and here's what we ordered instead: * Smoked Porchetta Sandwich* Original Spicy Fried Chicken Sandwich* Waffle-Cut fries &* Walnut & Augula Salad (with Fried Chicken)Try not to hear "we all wanted pastrami" when I tell you that the person who ordered the Porchetta Sandwich preferred the Fried Chicken Sandwich and the person who'd ordered the Fried Chicken Sandwich preferred the Porchetta Sandwich. As usual, I was the one with the salad which was good and satisfying but I kept wanting the fried chicken to have some more flavor than it did. I think we all just wanted the pastrami. Since my last visit the back patio seating (the only seating) has been covered in see-through plastic which, on a day as warm as today, really left us emphasizing the "hot" in "Hot Johnnie's". It was like a sauna, with no cross ventilation at all. Worse, most tables were getting sun; when a table with some shade opened up we quickly moved. though the stagnant air remained. I still like what Hot Johnnie's is putting out but I now have some caveats for future visits: 1) Stay only if they have pastrami and 2) Dine-in only if it's a cold day. It'd be nice if some tables were available outside of the covered space but right now that's where the ping pong table resides. Oh, that's right: they still have ping pong and board games.