By Kathy Chouteau
Richmond’s pirates have stolen the hearts of the masses, judging by their rave reviews and the long line of patrons waiting outside their door. Black Star Pirate BBQ, the city’s newest foodie sensation located at Point San Pablo Harbor, celebrated its grand opening in early October 2020 and has already garnered media accolades and a 4.5 star rating on Yelp during its short existence.
As the Standard’s Mike Kinney first reported, Black Star is the brainchild of Tony Carracci, onetime owner of San Francisco restaurant Cha Cha Cha during the 1980s, as well as city nightclubs including the Cat Club, Pounds-SF and Fat City in the 1990s and 2000s. One look at Black Star’s tempting menu selections—serving up brisket, tri-tip, ribs, cowboy beans and the like—and it’s easy to see how this Barbary Coast “Captain Cook” eventually uncovered buried treasure in Rich City.
Carracci and his pirate crew’s magic managed to entice an SF Gate writer to Point San Pablo Harbor. Calling Black Star “one part New Orleans, one part old-school Haight-Ashbury,” (nailed it) writer Freda Moon described her recent three-meat, three-side combo meal of tri-tip, ribs and pulled pork as “comforting and distinctly flavorful” and said the experience made her “remember what creativity, at its most essential and vital, feels like.”
Aside from its SF Gate accolades, Black Star Pirate BBQ was also named the #1 new restaurant in a “14 New Restaurants to try in the East Bay” article by Eater SF.
If a video posted by Richmond Mayor Tom Butt on Facebook is any indication, SF Gate and Eater SF aren’t the only ones trekking out to the city’s outer limits to check out Black Star. The video clip featured a long line of patrons waiting for their turn to sample Black Star’s menu, prompting the mayor to report that “Black Star BBQ has gone viral! The line was a block long to get in. They were providing beers to people in line while they waited.”
Want to see for yourself what all the buzz is about? Black Star is located at 1900 Stenmark Dr. in Richmond and is open Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Delivery is available via Grubhub. Click here for more info.
