My friends and I went looking for Love's BBQ in Brea, and found that it had been changed to Riley's BBQ. Riley's is at the corner of Brea Blvd and State College Blvd. in the Von's shopping center.

From the outside, there's no real indication that it has changed name. The only indication is "Riley's Barbecue" painted on the glass by the front doors. The outside looked like it needs some repainting. We stepped inside and felt like we stepped into an old Love's circa 1980. The inside was full of wood paneling and dark wooden booths. We were getting apprehensive about eating here, as the inside looked very, very tired. We went for dinner on a Friday, and the restaurant didn't have too many people in it at all.


Our waitress was quite friendly and brought our drink orders rather quickly. All three of us decided to get the "wagon wheel" BBQ sampler. That has BBQ baby back, BBQ beef, BBQ chicken, buffalo wings, and three side orders and cheesy bread.

After a 15- to 20-minute wait, our waitress brought out a wooden box filled with BBQ meats, corncobs, and a set of tongs stuck in the middle. I figure it's supposed to represent a wagon, but without wheels. It's quite impressive looking! Our waitress brought out our side orders, extra napkins, and wet wipes. Our side orders were onion rings, steamed veggies, cheesy bread, and cole slaw.

We set out to work on this mountain of food. The BBQ beef ribs were excellent, not the most tender, but very flavorful. The BBQ baby back ribs were excellent, again, not the most tender, but full of flavor. The chicken was good, but a bit dry on the inside. There was an odd type of rib, perhaps the St Louis rib(?) that seemed to have a unusual amount of fat on it, and it wasn't that flavorful. The corn on the cob was very sweet. The side dishes were good, too. The buffalo wings weren't very memorable.

We managed to work through about 80% of the big pile of BBQ before we called it quits. It sure was a lot of food, and only some of the buffalo wings were left over. Our total bill came out to $47.75, including tax, for three wagon wheel BBQ entrees and three soft drinks.

For a fair cost, Riley's is somewhat good. The food is quite fair, but the atmosphere is quite lacking. If you like Love's BBQ, then Riley's mimic's it quite well. Riley's is located in a somewhat remote area away from other attractions, so it's bit of a drive to any evening entertainment. If you are looking for a more festive and upscale atmosphere to go along with your BBQ, I'd probably go to Wood Ranch or Lucille's.