What is the best BBQ in Austin right now?

Franklin Barbecue is still the benchmark, with InterStellar BBQ, la Barbecue, and LeRoy and Lewis right behind, all three of which hold a Michelin star. For new-school cooking, Distant Relatives and KG BBQ are the most distinctive in the country. The full ranked list below balances the destinations against the spots you can actually walk into.

Which Austin barbecue joints have a Michelin star?

In the Austin area, InterStellar BBQ (Round Rock), la Barbecue, and LeRoy and Lewis each hold a Michelin star, which made Texas the first place in the world where American-style barbecue earned the distinction. Franklin and several others hold Bib Gourmand or Recommended status in the same guide.

Do I have to wait in line for Franklin Barbecue?

The walk-up line runs two to five hours and the pit sells out daily, usually by early afternoon. The way most locals skip it now is the online pre-order, which lets you reserve meat for pickup. If you would rather not deal with either, Terry Black’s and Stiles Switch get you excellent brisket with no line.

Where is the best brisket in Austin without the wait?

Terry Black’s on Barton Springs Road moves a cafeteria-style line and rarely sells out, and Stiles Switch is a sit-down room where you can usually walk in. InterStellar is worth the drive to Round Rock and tends to be calmer than the in-town destinations. All three serve brisket that holds up against the famous lines.

Is there Egyptian or non-traditional barbecue in Austin?

Yes. KG BBQ fuses Texas barbecue with Egyptian and Middle Eastern flavors (za’atar, sumac, hummus plates) from a trailer on Manor Road, and Distant Relatives smokes through the lens of the African diaspora at Meanwhile Brewing. Both are among the most distinctive barbecue cooks in the country, not novelties.

Is Korean BBQ the same as Texas BBQ in Austin?

No, they are different cuisines. This guide covers Texas-style smoked barbecue (brisket, ribs, sausage cooked low and slow over post oak). Korean BBQ, where you grill marinated meats at the table, is a separate category with its own excellent spots around town and deserves its own list.

What days are Austin BBQ joints open, and when do they sell out?

Most of the destination pits run Wednesday or Tuesday through Sunday and sell out by mid-afternoon, so go early. Franklin is closed Mondays. The exceptions that are open daily and rarely sell out are Terry Black’s, Cooper’s downtown, and The Salt Lick out in Driftwood.

Is The Salt Lick worth the drive?

For a big group, visiting family, or the Hill Country setting and the open pit by the door, yes. For the single best brisket in the area, the in-town pits edge it. Note that the original Driftwood location is cash-only and BYOB, which surprises first-timers, so plan for both.

Eat · Best BBQ · Austin

The best BBQ in Austin, ranked.

Line illustration of sliced brisket on butcher paper with a sausage link and pickles

The best barbecue in Austin runs from the Michelin-starred pits and the Franklin line to new-school trailers and reliable walk-in standbys. Here are the ranked picks.

The best barbecue in Austin, ranked for range and not just the one with the longest line: the Michelin-star pits, the destination wait at Franklin, the new-school trailers rewriting what a smoked cut can be, and the reliable standbys you can walk into hungry. Built from citywide research and cross-checked against Texas Monthly, the Michelin guide, and the people who line up at 9am. For each spot we give the one thing to order and the catch: the day it is closed, the hour it sells out, the drive out of town. Updated as pits open, move, and sell out.

Carissa Spisak

Writer, The Austin Newsletter · Updated June 1, 2026

01
Franklin Barbecue
East 11th · $$ · Tue-Sun 11am-sellout, closed Mon
The one Texas Monthly called the best barbecue in the known universe, and the line is the price of admission. Aaron Franklin’s brisket is still the benchmark every other pit in town is measured against. Expect a two-to-five-hour wait, or use the online pre-order to skip it entirely, which is the move most locals quietly make now. Closed Mondays, and it sells out, so this is a plan-your-day visit.
Visit site →
02
InterStellar BBQ
Round Rock · $$ · Wed-Sun, sells out
John Bates’s pit earned a Michelin star and sits near the top of Texas Monthly’s list, and the drive north to Round Rock is the only catch. The brisket is traditional and flawless, but the sides and the specials are what people drive back for. Go on a weekday if you can, get there before noon, and do not skip the pulled pork. Worth the trip out of the center of town.
Visit site →
03
la Barbecue
East Cesar Chavez · $$ · Wed-Sun, sells out
A Michelin star, and pitmaster Ali Clem is one of only a handful of barbecue cooks in the world to hold one. The beef ribs and the brisket are the order, with house-made sausage close behind. It runs Wednesday to Sunday on its own East Cesar Chavez lot and sells out, so treat the posted hours as a starting gun. The pre-order option is your friend.
Visit site →
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04
LeRoy and Lewis
South Austin (Garrison Park) · $$ · brick-and-mortar
Franklin-adjacent quality at lower prices and far more adventure on the menu. Evan LeRoy and Sawyer Lewis hold a Michelin star for smoking the cuts nobody else commits to: beef cheeks, pork-belly burnt ends, lamb ribs, alongside a proper brisket. Since 2023 it has been a full South Austin brick-and-mortar with a bar, not the old trailer. Order the beef cheek and whatever the day’s special is.
Visit site →
05
Distant Relatives
Southeast (Meanwhile Brewing) · $$ · Wed-Sun
Damien Brockway’s trailer, named by Eater among the best new restaurants in America, smoking barbecue through the lens of the African diaspora. The brisket comes with a smoked-mustard butter, the pork spareribs and the chicken with tamarind molasses are not like anyone else’s, and the sides are a reason to come on their own. Parked at Meanwhile Brewing in southeast Austin, so make a beer-garden afternoon of it.
Visit site →
06
Terry Black’s Barbecue
Barton Springs Rd · $$ · daily, cafeteria line
The reliable one, and the answer when you want excellent Central Texas barbecue without building your whole day around a line. The beef rib is the showpiece, the brisket is consistently very good, and the cafeteria-style line moves. It is open daily and rarely sells out, which on this list is close to a miracle. The patio near Barton Springs is a bonus.
Visit site →
07
Micklethwait Craft Meats
East Austin (Rosewood) · $ · Wed-Sun, sells out
A beloved East Austin trailer and a Texas Monthly Top 50 fixture, and the place to understand that great barbecue is also about the sausage and the sides. The house-made links, the moist brisket, and the rotating sides (the jalapeno cheese grits, the lemon poppyseed slaw) are the order. Cash-friendly, weekend-leaning, and it sells out. Go early and order a little of everything.
Visit site →
08
KG BBQ
Manor Rd (Oddwood Brewing) · $$ · trailer, check days
Texas barbecue fused with the Egyptian and Middle Eastern flavors Kareem El-Ghayesh grew up with in Cairo, and one of the most distinctive pits in the country right now. The beef short rib, the smoked-brisket-and-hummus plates, and the za’atar and sumac touches are the reason to come. Still a trailer next to Oddwood Brewing on Manor Road, with a brick-and-mortar long promised. Captures the niche nobody else does.
Visit site →
09
Stiles Switch BBQ
North Lamar (Crestview) · $$ · Tue-Sun, sit-down
The classic sit-down option, a proper room with table service, beer, and no trailer line. The brisket and the beef rib hold their own against pits with twice the hype, and you can usually walk in and sit down. This is the pick when the group wants great Central Texas barbecue without the standing, the heat, and the sellout anxiety. North Lamar, easy parking.
Visit site →
10
Sam’s BBQ
East 12th · $ · daily, open late
The old-guard East Austin institution, smoking on East 12th since the 1950s, and a reminder that Austin barbecue did not start with the brisket-tourism boom. The mutton is the order longtime regulars defend, with brisket and ribs alongside, on a tray with white bread and sauce. It stays open late when most pits closed hours ago. Cash is king, and the room has more history than decor.
Visit site →
11
Cooper’s Old Time Pit Bar-B-Que
Downtown (Congress) · $$ · daily
Hill Country-style barbecue downtown, where you pick your meat straight off the pit before you go inside, and it is cooked over mesquite rather than the post-oak everyone else uses. The big pork chop is the signature, with brisket and sausage rounding it out. It is touristy and it is downtown and it is open daily, which is exactly why it earns a spot. Different style, on purpose.
Visit site →
12
The Salt Lick BBQ
Driftwood (about 30 min out) · $$ · daily, cash + BYOB
The out-of-town pilgrimage, set on a sprawling Hill Country ranch in Driftwood, and the right call for a big group or visiting family more than for the single best brisket in the area. The family-style platter and the open pit by the door are the experience. It is cash-only and BYOB at the original, which catches people off guard, so plan for both. Come for the setting and the ritual.
Visit site →
13
Brotherton’s Black Iron Barbecue
Pflugerville · $$ · Wed-Sun
Worth the short drive northeast to Pflugerville, and a Texas Monthly Top 50 pit with real Central Texas pedigree. The brisket is genuinely among the best in the Austin area, and the brisket boudin is the house specialty that makes the trip pay off. The smoked-meat sandwiches the late John Brotherton made famous are still on the menu. A locals’ answer, not a tourist one.
Visit site →

What we considered and didn’t include

The things we passed on are part of the value. Documented for editorial discipline.

Korean BBQ and the gas-station chainsTwo different things we get asked about a lot. Korean barbecue is a separate, excellent category that deserves its own list, not this one. And the highway and gas-station Texas-barbecue chains are fine in a pinch but not why anyone crosses town.
The Lockhart pilgrimage (Black’s, Kreuz, Smitty’s)The barbecue capital of Texas is a real day trip about 35 minutes south, and Smitty’s pit room alone is worth it. We kept this list inside the Austin orbit, but consider Lockhart its own outing.
Rudy’s and the tourist-first stopsSolid, consistent, and everywhere, with a cult following for the creamed corn. We pointed you at the pits where the brisket itself is the destination instead.

Common questions

What is the best BBQ in Austin right now?: Franklin Barbecue is still the benchmark, with InterStellar BBQ, la Barbecue, and LeRoy and Lewis right behind, all three of which hold a Michelin star. For new-school cooking, Distant Relatives and KG BBQ are the most distinctive in the country. The full ranked list below balances the destinations against the spots you can actually walk into.
Which Austin barbecue joints have a Michelin star?: In the Austin area, InterStellar BBQ (Round Rock), la Barbecue, and LeRoy and Lewis each hold a Michelin star, which made Texas the first place in the world where American-style barbecue earned the distinction. Franklin and several others hold Bib Gourmand or Recommended status in the same guide.
Do I have to wait in line for Franklin Barbecue?: The walk-up line runs two to five hours and the pit sells out daily, usually by early afternoon. The way most locals skip it now is the online pre-order, which lets you reserve meat for pickup. If you would rather not deal with either, Terry Black’s and Stiles Switch get you excellent brisket with no line.
Where is the best brisket in Austin without the wait?: Terry Black’s on Barton Springs Road moves a cafeteria-style line and rarely sells out, and Stiles Switch is a sit-down room where you can usually walk in. InterStellar is worth the drive to Round Rock and tends to be calmer than the in-town destinations. All three serve brisket that holds up against the famous lines.
Is there Egyptian or non-traditional barbecue in Austin?: Yes. KG BBQ fuses Texas barbecue with Egyptian and Middle Eastern flavors (za’atar, sumac, hummus plates) from a trailer on Manor Road, and Distant Relatives smokes through the lens of the African diaspora at Meanwhile Brewing. Both are among the most distinctive barbecue cooks in the country, not novelties.
Is Korean BBQ the same as Texas BBQ in Austin?: No, they are different cuisines. This guide covers Texas-style smoked barbecue (brisket, ribs, sausage cooked low and slow over post oak). Korean BBQ, where you grill marinated meats at the table, is a separate category with its own excellent spots around town and deserves its own list.
What days are Austin BBQ joints open, and when do they sell out?: Most of the destination pits run Wednesday or Tuesday through Sunday and sell out by mid-afternoon, so go early. Franklin is closed Mondays. The exceptions that are open daily and rarely sell out are Terry Black’s, Cooper’s downtown, and The Salt Lick out in Driftwood.
Is The Salt Lick worth the drive?: For a big group, visiting family, or the Hill Country setting and the open pit by the door, yes. For the single best brisket in the area, the in-town pits edge it. Note that the original Driftwood location is cash-only and BYOB, which surprises first-timers, so plan for both.

Related guides

Carissa.

Writer, The Austin Newsletter

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The best BBQ in Austin, ranked.

Franklin Barbecue

InterStellar BBQ

la Barbecue

LeRoy and Lewis

Distant Relatives

Terry Black’s Barbecue

Micklethwait Craft Meats

KG BBQ

Stiles Switch BBQ

Sam’s BBQ

Cooper’s Old Time Pit Bar-B-Que

The Salt Lick BBQ

Brotherton’s Black Iron Barbecue

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