The Infatuation, a restaurant reviews website in Austin and 11 other cities, has taken its stance on the 20 best barbecue restaurants in Texas. The No. 1 spot goes to a buzzy Austin choice: LeRoy and Lewis Barbecue. It’s one of eight Austin-area restaurants on the list overall.
Reviews on The Infatuation are broken down into sections that make sense at a glance and can be easily compared from restaurant to restaurant. Those include some combination of (it varies) a numerical rating from 1-10, a write-up that considers the restaurant’s overall impact, and an itemized list of menu items considered, each with a short blurb of its own. There’s also a section and sometimes additional tags to represent different lists the reviews platform has included the restaurant on.
The best barbecue list was compiled by three writers who live in Texas: senior staff writer Nicolai McCrary in Austin, and contributors Kevin Gray and Nick Rallo in Dallas. The list compiles short blurbs excerpted from each barbecue joint’s longer review for easier skimming.
For LeRoy and Lewis, McCrary emphasizes the care devoted to many different meats and cuts, making for a well-rounded experience.
“While most of the pitmasters in Texas battle over who makes the jiggliest brisket, Leroy and Lewis turns underdog cuts into headline acts,” McCrary writes. “Towering beef ribs share the stage with chuck roast that’s as beefy and tender as any steak, and even vegetables like miso-glazed carrots have been slow-smoked to bring out their hidden sweetness instead of tossed on the menu purely for a pop of color.”
If readers are voraciously looking for brisket alone, this blurb assures them that despite the focus on the whole cow and beyond, the brisket is “nearly perfect.”
Next on the list is Goldee’s Barbecue in Fort Worth, which is one of the best-known barbecue joints in the state, whether or not people have actually been. The blurb fittingly discusses the famous line to get in, but when it comes to the food, Gray writes that “it’s the curveballs that set it apart,” including “lacquered pork belly or the occasional Lao sausage special.”
In third place is 2M Smokehouse in San Antonio, where McCrary is indeed infatuated with pork, whether it’s chicharrónes with mac and cheese or “some of the best pork belly in South/Central Texas.” He also sings praises of the turkey, an often overlooked offering, and the freshly made flour tortillas.
The rest of the Austin-area joints on the list are as follows:
- Parish Barbecue, No. 5: A bold new trailer as of spring 2025. “Parish is Central Texas barbecue that spent its summers in Louisiana and found a way to seamlessly blend both worlds.”
- InterStellar BBQ, No. 7: An increasingly venerated option for locals and travelers. “This is a barbecue joint that decided getting an A in the classics wasn’t enough and made up its own extra-credit assignments.”
- Franklin Barbecue, No. 8: A nearly universally famous staple. “This is brisket that defined a genre: seasoned simply with salt and pepper, smoked until the fat turns to butter, and moist enough to affect the local humidity.”
- Snow’s BBQ, No. 10 (Lexington): An out-of-the way gem. “You don’t just casually go to Snow’s to eat some BBQ—you have to earn it…. It’s the kind of story that almost sounds made up, and an experience that feels like a rite of passage.”
- KG BBQ, No. 13: A soulful blend of traditions. “Barbecue is at the heart of the menu, but they’re a vehicle for Egyptian flavors rather than just something to pair with white bread and pickles. This is a meal that reimagines the entire Texas barbecue experience.”
- Barbs-B-Que, No. 14 (Lockhart): A creative new spot with a lot of well-earned hype. “Barbecue here is almost unrecognizable in Lockhart’s sea of traditional brisket, ribs, baked beans, and creamed corn.”
- Black’s BBQ, No. 19 (Lockhart): An old favorite with a storied past. “Nearly 100 years later, and Black’s consistently shows us that it can still hang with the new kids on the block.”
The Best BBQ in Texas, according to The Infatuation:
- 1. Leroy and Lewis – Austin
- 2. Goldee’s Barbecue – Fort Worth
- 3. 2M Smokehouse – San Antonio
- 4. Rosemeyer Bar-B-Que – Spring
- 5. Parish Barbecue – Austin
- 6. Cattleack Barbecue – Dallas
- 7. Interstellar BBQ – Austin
- 8. Franklin Barbecue – Austin
- 9. Burnt Bean Company – Seguin
- 10. Snow’s BBQ – Lexington
- 11. Panther City BBQ – Fort Worth
- 12. Rejino Barbecue – Olton
- 13. KG BBQ – Austin
- 14. Barbs-B-Que – Lockhart
- 15. Hutchin’s — DFW
- 16. Blood Bros BBQ – Houston
- 17. Smoke N Ash – Arlington
- 18. Evie Mae’s BBQ – Wolfforth (Lubbock)
- 19. Black’s BBQ – Lockhart
- 20. Reese Bros – San Antonio
