Smoked brisket and sides on cutting board

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When it comes to mother-watering barbecue, especially in a large state like California, there are plenty of places to satisfy your craving. But if you're in Southern California specifically, there's one popular eatery that might just appease your appetite for dishes like pulled pork. From what we've heard, that spot is called Destination Smokehouse and Eatery, located in Murrieta, California. 

The SoCal smokehouse has garnered quite the following with its viral-worthy dishes on social media, especially on Instagram where the restaurant has more than 660,000 followers. Even the smokehouse's Facebook page has 227,000 followers at the time of writing.

If that's not enough to convince you to head to Murrieta, it's maintained a nearly 4-star rating based on almost 400 reviews over on Yelp. Although, we have to warn you that a Reddit post does discuss how pricey it is, but smoked meats are often not cheap to order out anyway. Even a Texas-based publication, a state that surely knows about smoked meats, lists Destination Smokehouse and Eatery as one of the best options outside of The Lone Star State, specifically for its smoked oxtails (yum!).

Pulled pork, pastrami, and more of the dishes you can dig into at Destination Smokehouse and Eatery

You might want to know what's up to order at Destination Smokehouse and Eatery, so Mashed checked out the menu. As you might expect, there's a slew of barbecue dishes available, including its brisket & cheddar on Texas toast, pulled pork, sliced prime brisket, and those aforementioned oxtails. There are also sandwiches with smoked turkey breast and toppings like avocado and the restaurant's Maui pulled pork. To complete your meal, consider side dishes like baked beans, macaroni and cheese, coleslaw, and Texas toast to soak up those juices from the meat at the bottom of your plate.

As for the restaurant, Destination Smokehouse and Eatery, its Murrieta location opened back in July 2024. Prior to that, it was apparently a coffee shop in Hemet, California. The barbecue-centric eatery is closed on Mondays but operates the rest of the week from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. for you to try it yourself and capture an Instagram-worthy shot. And if you don't live in California, here are the best BBQ restaurants in every state, including Dinosaur Bar-B-Que in New York City and Pierce's Pitt Bar-B-Que in Williamsburg, Virginia.