Houston has developed its own unique BBQ identity over the last few years. You can’t help but salivate when you bite into the charred, smoke-infused beef that has been drizzled with just the proper amount of oil. You can eat from the best barbeque (BBQ) spots in Houston and love that you actually did.
There are many barbecue restaurants in Houston, but which is the best?
Here is our list of 20 restaurants serving the best barbeque in Houston, Tx, that are worth checking out.
1. Tejas Chocolate & BBQ
Location: 200 N Elm St, Tomball, TX 77375
Phone: (832) 761-0670
Greg and Scott Moore, brothers, and Michelle Holland, a business partner, first started Tejas as a bean-to-bar chocolate company with a side business of selling BBQ. Their post-oak smoked meats soon turned into a signature dish that attracted smoked meat connoisseurs to Old Town Tomball.
This BBQ joint offers a good selection of traditional cuisine as well as some creative dishes. Consider a wedge salad with brisket on top or a smoked turkey sandwich with avocado and fried eggs. Try the cornbread pudding and carrot souffle on the side, then pick up some delicious chocolate truffles on the way out.
2. Blood Bros BBQ
Location: 5425 Bellaire Blvd, Bellaire, TX 77401
Phone: (713) 664-7776
This best barbeque Houston restaurant is run by brothers Robin and Terry Wong and Quy Hoang, Houston’s first Vietnamese-American pitmaster. It excels at classics like brisket and sliced turkey breast but also adds an Asian twist to its menu with dishes like gochujang-glazed pork ribs and smoked char siu pork banh mi sandwiches.
They currently have a second Las Vegas place under their belt, as well as pitmaster Quy receiving a James Beard nomination.
3. CorkScrew BBQ
Location: 26608 Keith St, Spring, TX 77373
Phone: (832) 592-1184
Corkscrew BBQ is a barbecue joint co-owned by Will and Nichole Buckman that is located in Old Town Spring, a short drive from Downtown Houston. They serve Pork Ribs, Housemade 3 Cheese Queso, Smoked Beans, and snappy Sausage Links.
Prime brisket, pulled pork, turkey, and link sausage are other excellent options. The Whole Hog, a sizable sandwich topped with pulled pork, sausage, and a few ribs, is the ideal choice for a huge undertaking.
4. Truth BBQ
Location: 110 S Heights Blvd, Houston, TX 77007
Phone: (832) 835-0001
Houston welcomed this modest Brenham restaurant a few years ago; it is located just off Highway 290.
They serve a delicious Texas Trinity of brisket, sausage, and pork ribs along with creative sides like tater tot casserole and homemade barbecue beans that have been flavored with brisket bits and bacon. No wine or beer.
5. Feges BBQ Spring Branch
Location: 8217 Long Point Rd, Houston, TX 77055
Phone: (346) 319-5339
Pitmaster Patrick Feges and his wife, Chef Erin Smith, have a unique combination of skills that make the dishes here special. Due to Smith’s conscious expansion of her wine knowledge while working at Camerata at Paulie’s in Montrose, this establishment is also one of the first to sell premium wines alongside barbeque.
Here, you’ll discover traditional barbeque food like ribs, brisket, and whole hogs with mop sauce and hot fat cornbread as well as creative dishes like cracklin nachos.
6. The Pit Room
Location: 1201 Richmond Ave, Houston, TX 77006
Phone: (281) 888-1929
The Pit Room combines tacos with barbecue in a way that no Houstonian can resist. Beautiful slabs of brisket are produced by this Montrose smokehouse, and they are especially wonderful when served with one of The Pit Room’s tortillas prepared from rendered (and deliciously smoky) brisket fat.
Their menu has a lot to choose from including brisket, pig ribs, beef ribs, pulled pork, smoked turkey, smoked sausage, one beef link, one venison link, and four sides.
7. Burns Original BBQ
Location: 8307 De Priest St, Houston, TX 77088
Phone: (281) 999-5559
In the 1970s, Roy Burns Sr. began selling barbecue on the side of the road in his Acres Home neighborhood, where he quickly established himself as a local legend for his East Texas-style ribs. Later, his sons Gary and Steve would take over, and after a few ownership changes, it is now run by Cory Crawford, a grandson who is working to grow the Burns Original BBQ brand.
They serve a variety of smoky foods, including ribs, brisket, chicken links, housemade sausage, and more.
Additionally, you are welcome to linger and take pictures in front of the Burns mural, which honors the late Bourdain – he was a big fan of the best barbeque restaurants in Houston.
8. Killen’s Barbecue
Location: 3613 E Broadway St, Pearland, TX 77581
Phone: (281) 485-2272
Killen’s has established Pearland as a destination for barbecue thanks to its consistently crowded restaurant. You may grab a tray and choose what you want because it is set up in a cafeteria-style setting. You can pick the succulent brisket, enormous beef ribs, and pork belly burnt ends. When it comes to sides, potato salad, creamed corn, and bread pudding are always good choices.
Killen is now Houston’s most well-known smoked meat king thanks to the expansion of the barbecue legacy to The Woodlands and Cypress.
9. Blakes BBQ & Burgers Blake
Location: 2916 Jeanetta St, Houston, TX 77063
Phone: +1 713-266-6860
The plainly designed interior evokes the early 1980s when Blake’s initially opened. In the Texas barbecue scene, renowned pitmaster Don Blake has established a reputation for producing straightforward yet excellent barbecues.
Try the three-meat meal for a thorough menu overview. There is something for everyone at this restaurant as they serve delicious burgers and salads too.
10. Harlem Road Texas BBQ
Location: 9823 Harlem Rd, Richmond, TX 77407
Phone: +1 832-278-2101
Ara Malekian, the restaurant’s proprietor and pitmaster, handles his BBQ with a chef’s mindset. By making his house-made bacon and butter to cook with and only using vintage, oak wine staves to smoke meats, he puts a sophisticated spin on Texas barbecue.
Enjoy the expertly made sausages and delicious beef ribs at your own pace. Additionally, there are some unique specialties including smoked octopus and lamb chops.
11. Pinkerton’s Barbecue
Location: 1504 Airline Dr, Houston, TX 77009
Phone: (713) 802-2000
The Heights-area structure that houses Pinkerton’s Barbecue is only five miles from the city center. It resembles a home, and Grant Pinkerton, the restaurant’s famous pitmaster, does actually reside above.
Among the meats available by the pound are well-done brisket, enormous beef ribs, glazed and unglazed pig ribs, and smoked chicken. Side dishes include duck jambalaya and jalapeno-cheese rice. For dessert, enjoy a slice of banana cake with cream cheese frosting.
12. Brett’s Barbecue Shop
Location: 606 Mason Rd, Katy, TX 77450
Phone: (281) 392-7666
This Katy restaurant specializes in Texas barbecue, which is so delicious that it earned a spot on Texas Monthly’s Top 50 list in 2021 as well as the Houston Chronicle’s list of the Top 100 restaurants in Houston for 2022. And now it has earned a spot in our best barbeque in Houston list this year. Kinda nice.
Choose epic sides like a stuffed mac and cheese, a cilantro-jalapeno slaw, or savory pinto beans to go with the moist, fatty brisket, pork belly burned ends, succulent pork ribs, or smoked brisket enchiladas topped in a creamy gravy. You might discover a new special, such as a brisket banh mi or the beef cheek confit, depending on the day.
13. Fainmous BBQ
Location: 1201 Oliver St #50, Houston, TX 77007
Phone: (713) 728-9663
Visit Fainmous if you want to enjoy some authentic Tennessee barbeque. The restaurant’s owners, a married couple, were inspired by Knoxville’s hickory-smoked barbecue. Try the smoked chicken wings, turkey legs, and rib tips along with classic dishes like brisket, pulled pork, and link sausage.
Additionally, the barbecue joint serves some of Houston’s greatest vegan and vegetarian barbecue dishes, such as chickpea salad, BBQ cauliflower, and spinach casserole.
14. Gatlin’s BBQ
Location: 3510 Ella Blvd, Houston, TX 77018
Phone: (713) 869-4227
The Gatlin family is one of the founding members of Houston’s craft barbecue scene. This Garden Oaks retail destination is run by Greg Gatlin and his mother, Mary, together with head chef Michelle Wallace. In addition to traditional brisket that has been expertly smoked, Gatlin’s BBQ offers St. Louis-style ribs and many more mouthwatering meat dishes.
Try the pastrami turkey sandwich, the smoked chicken wings with raspberry-habanero or Thai chili sauce, and the dirty rice made in the Cajun style. You might want to think twice about ordering any other kind of bun after trying their brisket biscuit sandwich for breakfast.
15. Roegels Barbecue
Location: 2223 S Voss Rd, Houston, TX, United States, Texas
Phone: +1 713-977-8725
Russell and Misty Roegels are in charge of this establishment, which Texas Monthly named one of the greatest barbecue spots in Houston. Their brisket is a thing of beauty, topped in a fat cap and encircled by the familiar, crispy bark.
Homemade sides include potato salad, collard greens, Texas pinto beans, macaroni & cheese, and bourbon banana pudding.
The restaurant welcoming atmosphere for families, and has a laid-back setting.
16. Dozier’s BBQ
Location: 8222 FM 359 FULSHEAR, TX 77441
Phone: 281-346-1411
When pitmaster Jim Buchanan took over the culinary operations at Dozier’s in 2020, one of the legendary barbecue establishments in the Greater Houston area received a boost in vitality and originality.
Buchanan, who is well-known in the area for his work as Buck’s Barbecue at Lucky’s Lounge in EaDo (and earlier at Pappa Charlie’s in EaDo), got to work immediately converting Dozier’s traditional menu into a modern craft barbecue menu.
Dozier’s is well renowned today for its delicious selection of brisket, pork ribs, turkey, sausage, and boudin.
17. Triple J’s Smokehouse
Location: 6715 Homestead Rd, Houston, TX 77028
Phone: (713) 635-6381
Although the meats at Triple J’s are excellent, the sauce is a necessity. Its well-balanced flavors combine perfectly with the brisket, sausage, and ribs and are so wonderful that you can soak an entire plate in them.
This is especially true with the Raven’s Bowl, a massive mound of fries covered in cheese and chopped beef. They have been in business since 1994 and offer every type of service imaginable. They are so amazing that they participated in and cooked the barbeque for the 2004 Super Bowl.
18. Goode Company BBQ
Location: 2422 Bartlett St Houston, TX 77098
Phone: 713.529.4616
Since the late 1970s, Houstonians have enjoyed a barbecue at Goode Company BBQ, which is prominently situated on Kirby Drive and faces sister restaurant Armadillo Palace’s giant silver armadillo. They have such a devoted fan base that not much has changed in the present.
As soon as you enter the ice house-style restaurant, you are met by animal trophies and antique pictures that document the establishment’s nearly 50-year history. Pick up a tray, move it down the counter, then select your meats and sides as you go. Everything is cozy and inviting, particularly the well-known pecan pie.
The pies can be ordered for delivery anywhere in the United States.
19. JQ’s Tex Mex BBQ
Location: 4816 N Shepherd Dr. Houston, 77018
Even without a physical site, Joseph Quellar has established a reputation for his Texas BBQ with a Mexican influence. Limited pick-up ordering is available on JQ’s website for his whole smoked brisket and tamales, which can be picked up at a specific location.
Houston has developed a strong love for Quellar’s brisket birria tacos, which are where he truly shines. The infamous birria tacos, which are occasionally sold at pop-ups and in the Rice Village Farmers Market and M-K-T Sunset Market and ooze with Oaxaca cheese, have become a local favorite.
20. Smokin’ Z’s BBQ
Location: 6 Herring Dr, Bayou Vista, TX, United States, Texas
Phone: +1 832-586-6160
Smokin’ Z’s immediately gained a following for their Central Texas-style barbecue down by Galveston Bay. In addition to their excellent versions of the classics, Zaid and Mallory Al-Jazrawi give bold twists on practically everything ‘cue-related.
The Cheese Champion, a grilled cheese sandwich with brisket, and The PBLT (pork belly, lettuce, and tomato) are favorites among locals. Among the smoked meats are brisket boudin, the Loco Link sausage, which is made in-house with pepper jack and cheddar cheese, and soft and flavorful glazed pork ribs.
