Barbecue in Kansas City
Kansas City has 8 barbecue spots on The BBQ Atlas, with Kansas City-style smoke on the menu. You'll find Joe's Kansas City Bar-B-Que, Arthur Bryant's and Chef J BBQ here, among others. We don't rank them — explore each below and decide where you're eating in Kansas City, United States.
Joe's Kansas City Bar-B-Que
Kansas City, United States
Jeff and Joy Stehney opened this in 1996 inside a working gas station at 47th and Main — it started as Oklahoma Joe's, born from their championship competition team, and people have queued past the pumps ever since. Anthony Bourdain put it on his list of places to eat before you die; the American Royal put Grand Championship trophies on the wall. Open 11 to 9 most days, 10 to 10 Friday and Saturday. Still a pit, a queue, and a former gas station.
Arthur Bryant's
Kansas City, United States
KC institution with thick tomato-molasses sauce and sliced brisket on white bread.
Chef J BBQ
Kansas City, United States
A barbecue operation in its own city, doing the style it knows. Find them at (816) 805-8283 or online at chefjbbq.com.
Jack Stack BBQ
Kansas City, United States
Jack Stack BBQ runs on hickory — the wood that built Kansas City barbecue, burned slow in pits that don't rush a rack of ribs or a tray of burnt ends. This Freight House location carries that method into the Crossroads, a few blocks south at 101 W 22nd Street. It's one of several Jack Stack rooms around the city, each turning out the hickory-smoked board the brand is known for. Call ahead if you need to: 816-472-7427.
Jack Stack BBQ
Kansas City, United States
This Martin City location is the original Jack Stack — the Kansas City restaurant where the Fiorella family built the hickory-smoked reputation the brand now trades on. The pits run hickory, and the board is Kansas City to the core: burnt ends, crown prime beef short ribs, ribs and brisket, smoked over the long hours a KC pit demands. It's a full sit-down room rather than a counter, a fixture on Holmes Road for decades. Call ahead on 816-942-9141 — the burnt ends in particular have a habit of selling through.
Jack Stack BBQ
Kansas City, United States
This Jack Stack sits at 4747 Wyandotte, a few blocks from the Country Club Plaza's fountains and shops, running the same hickory pits as the rest of the family: ribs, brisket and burnt ends, smoked until they're ready. The dining room fills most nights, especially Friday and Saturday when the doors stay open until ten. Order at the counter or take a table; Sundays close earlier, so plan accordingly.
Slap's BBQ
Kansas City, United States
Slap's opened in 2014 and takes the competition circuit seriously — 25 to 35 KCBS contests a season — and it shows in the hickory-smoked Kansas City barbecue, which moves fast enough to sell out most days. Dine in, take it to go, or order ahead. Come early.
Woodyard BBQ
Kansas City, United States
This is a straightforward barbecue restaurant that cooks with local wood and keeps the hours of a place that knows people will come. Open late on Friday and Saturday — past midnight — and until eleven most other nights. It exists. It feeds people. That's the point.