Barbecue in Memphis
Memphis has 6 barbecue spots mapped on The BBQ Atlas, spanning Memphis and Texas. You'll find A&R Bar-B-Que, bain.bbq and Central BBQ here, among others. We don't rank them — explore each below and decide where you're eating in Memphis, United States.
A&R Bar-B-Que
Memphis, United States
This is Memphis barbecue done the slow way — ribs, pulled pork, rib tips, and catfish, cooked low and patient. A&R opened in 1983 and has stayed put, a steady presence on the boulevard where it started. Open weekdays until six, weekends until eight. No fuss, no mystery — just the work of four decades.
bain.bbq
Memphis, United States
Bain BBQ put a wood-burning pit in a Memphis house and started cooking Texas-style: brisket, ribs, pulled pork and house-made sausage, fourteen hours over pure oak. It's counter service — they smoke daily and sell out when it's gone, the brisket usually first. Texas method, Memphis address.
Central BBQ
Memphis, United States
Central BBQ started in Memphis in 2002 and has grown into one of the city's most popular modern pits. This East Butler Avenue kitchen runs hickory and pecan over the long hours — dry-rub ribs, pulled pork, the Memphis staples — daily, eleven to nine. Big enough now to be a name, still cooking the style that made it one.
Charlie Vergos' Rendezvous
Memphis, United States
Charlie Vergos opened the Rendezvous in a downtown Memphis basement in 1948, smoking ribs in a repurposed elevator shaft and seasoning them with a Greek-inflected dry rub that helped define the city's whole rib style. Three generations of Vergos have kept it going in the same alley across from the Peabody, and the ribs still arrive charcoal-grilled and dry — no sauce, no need. The entrance is down the alley; that's part of it.
Cozy Corner BBQ
Memphis, United States
Desiree Robinson co-founded this place nearly fifty years ago, and it remains a straightforward operation: Memphis barbecue, done the way it's meant to be done. Open Tuesday through Saturday, closed Sundays and Mondays. They take call-ins and handle catering if you need them. It's the kind of place that doesn't need to explain itself. You know what you're getting when you walk in. That's the point.
The Bar-B-Q Shop
Memphis, United States
The Bar-B-Q Shop sits on Madison Avenue doing real-pit barbecue the way it's meant to be done in Memphis. Frank Vernon started this place in November 1987, and it's been turning out ribs, Bar-B-Q Spaghetti, and Texas Toast sandwiches ever since — the kind of straightforward work that earned Food Network's nod for best ribs in America. They also make their own sauces and seasonings, though they're not shipping orders at present; you'll need to visit in person to take anything home.