Barbecue in United States
The BBQ Atlas maps 665 barbecue venues across 447 cities in United States. From Modern, Kansas City, Texas, Carolina and more, it's a snapshot of how United States cooks over live fire. Browse by city below, or dive straight into the venues.
Joe's Kansas City Bar-B-Que
Leawood, United States
This Leawood location extends Joe's Kansas City beyond the gas-station original without changing the deal: you queue, you order at the counter, you eat. It's the barbecue that began life as Oklahoma Joe's — Jeff and Joy Stehney's championship competition team turned pit — before becoming a KC institution. Open most days 11 to 9, later on weekends. No reservations, no table service.
Joe's Kansas City Bar-B-Que
Olathe, United States
Joe's Kansas City has smoked barbecue in Olathe since 2006, one of three in the group behind the famous gas-station original. It's walk-ins only — show up, wait your turn, order at the counter. Open eleven to nine most nights, ten on weekends. The competition pedigree, multiple American Royal Grand Championships, is in the brisket.
JUST SMOKE BBQ
Coachella, United States
Just Smoke BBQ operates Sundays only, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., from a food truck in Coachella. That's the whole proposition: smoke, meat, and the hours they keep. Find them on Queen Court and call ahead if you need to know what's ready.
Kafi BBQ
Irving, United States
Kafi BBQ works the Texas style straight — no fusion, no reinvention — but starts with better meat. Wagyu brisket, Wagyu ribs, New Zealand grass-fed Wagyu ribs, all smoked proper. Open Friday through Sunday; closed the rest of the week. Sells out early. Catering available.
Kelly's Hill Country BBQ
Driftwood, United States
Kelly's cooks Central Texas barbecue on Ranch Road 12 near Wimberley, pit-style and sold until it's gone — which is early most days. Closed Sundays and Mondays; open Tuesday through Saturday from 11 until the meat runs out. Come early or come disappointed.
Kenny J's BBQ
South Jordan, United States
Texas-style barbecue, done over smoke. The menu runs through the essentials — brisket, ribs, sausage, turkey, pulled pork, burnt ends, chicken thighs — each one treated as its own thing, not a checkbox. Kenny and Mary built this place to do one job well. Open most days from 11 a.m., closed Sundays. Friday and Saturday run an hour later. No fuss, no mystery — just smoked meat and the kind of place that doesn't need to explain itself.
KG BBQ
Austin, United States
Kareem El-Ghayesh opened this spot on Manor Road in 2022, and it's already landed on Texas Monthly's Top 50 BBQ list and claimed a Michelin Bib Gourmand. They're open Thursday through Sunday, closing when the meat runs out — which happens early most days. Online ordering is available if you plan ahead. No pretense, no waste. Just smoking and selling out.
Khói Barbecue
Houston, United States
Don Nguyen and Theo Nguyen started this in 2017. It operates Saturdays and Sundays, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., from a rotating Houston location — call ahead or check their socials to know where. Sells out early. Cash or card accepted.
Killen's BBQ
Pearland, United States
Killen's BBQ sits on Broadway Street doing what it was built to do: Texas barbecue, no announcements required. Ronnie Killen runs the pit, and the queue that forms most days suggests he's doing it properly. This is the original location, the place where the small group that now carries his name began — though you wouldn't know it from the signage, which simply says what it is. The restaurant opens Tuesday through Sunday, closing Mondays, and the hours stretch a bit longer on Friday and Saturday nights. It's part of a larger operation now, but this is still where it happens: the Broadway Street address, the pit in back, the brisket that earns its line one service at a time. Show up. Order. The rest takes care of itself.
Killen's BBQ
Cypress, United States
This is the Cypress branch of Killen's BBQ, the Texas barbecue business Ronnie Killen built. The restaurant sits on the Northwest Freeway, serving the same Texas-style barbecue that made the name. It's a working barbecue joint in a strip along the freeway — no pretense, just the pits and the product. Check the website for hours and what's on; Killen's sells what it sells until it doesn't.
Kleinfeldt Family BBQ
Spreckels, United States
Kleinfeldt Family BBQ slow-smokes brisket, tri-tip, chicken, and ribs with oak. Orders go online; they arrive via pickup or DoorDash. The place runs Tuesday through Saturday, closed Sundays, and knows what it does without fuss.
Kreuz Market
Lockhart, United States
Charles Kreuz Sr. built this place on North Colorado Street more than a century ago, and Central Texas barbecue has been its only business ever since. They smoke over post oak wood — the method unchanged, the commitment absolute. Walk in, order what's ready, eat it standing up or at a table. That's the whole thing, and it works.
L&M's Fire and Smoke BBQ
Kissimmee, United States
Leonard Brown runs the operation. Find them on Instagram and TikTok; that's where the work speaks.
La Barbecue
Austin, United States
La Barbecue opened in 2012 on East Cesar Chavez Street in Austin. They cook over Texas post oak and keep to a simple schedule: closed Mondays and Tuesdays, open Wednesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Find them at 2401 East Cesar Chavez Street, or online at labarbecue.com.
LeRoy and Lewis
Austin, United States
The barbecue joint opened in 2017 and runs Wednesday through Sunday, closed Mondays and Tuesdays. Hours stretch to 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday nights. It's a restaurant, not a trailer or a side hustle — a proper sit-down operation in the £ range.
Les BBQ
Draper, United States
Les Rhodes Jr. runs a Texas-style operation that moves slow-smoked brisket, oxtails, sausage, chicken, and pulled pork out the door fast enough that early arrival is not optional. They pack orders to ship nationwide, which means the place operates on its own schedule — open Tuesday through Sunday, closed Mondays, and gone when it's gone. Order ahead. The barbecue doesn't wait.
Levant BBQ
Frisco, United States
This is the Preston Road outpost in Frisco — a Mediterranean barbecue restaurant where post oak meets a rotisserie smoker and the menu runs brisket, lamb neck, beef ribs, and beef sausages. The style is Texas; the sensibility isn't. Open daily, eleven to nine most nights, an hour later Friday and Saturday. The lamb neck is the tell — not every Texas pit runs one.
Levant BBQ
Houston, United States
Mohamad founded Levant BBQ in 2024 with a straightforward idea: smoke Texas cuts properly, then season them for the Mediterranean. Pitmaster Daniel Estrada runs post oak through a rotisserie smoker for brisket, lamb neck, beef ribs, and house sausages — all halal, all committed to the premise. The result is barbecue that straddles two traditions without diluting either: the smoke and the method are pure Texas, the spice and the lamb are something else entirely. It's a kitchen that knows what it set out to do and does it daily on Houston's west side, open seven days and late on weekends.
Lewis Barbecue
Atlanta, United States
Lewis Barbecue is what happens when a pitmaster decides Texas-style smoke belongs beyond Texas and opens the doors to prove it. John Lewis started the business in 2016, and the Atlanta location carries the same approach — brisket, ribs, and the rest done in the Central Texas tradition. Open daily from eleven, later on Fridays and Saturdays. The address is 1544 Piedmont Avenue NE. There are other locations in Charleston and Greenville; this is the Atlanta one.
Lewis Barbecue
Greenville, United States
Lewis Barbecue is what happens when a Texas-trained pitmaster decides the South needs proper brisket. John Lewis founded the business in 2016, and this Greenville outpost on Rutherford Street carries the same Central Texas backbone: offset pits, no shortcuts, meat that earns its crust. The style is deliberate — low heat, long hours, the kind of smoke that doesn't announce itself. Open daily from 11:00, later on Fridays and Saturdays. When it's gone.
Lexington Barbecue
Lexington, United States
Lexington Barbecue, going since 1962, is the definition of Piedmont-style North Carolina 'cue: pork shoulder cooked low over coals, chopped or sliced, seasoned before the heat and left alone — no sauce in the pit. Southern Living readers keep voting it the state's best. Curb service available; closed Sundays and Mondays.
Little Miss BBQ
Phoenix, United States
littlemissbbq — barbecue.
Little Miss BBQ
Phoenix, United States
Little Miss BBQ is where Scott and Bekke brought Texas barbecue to Phoenix, and the city lined up for it. This is the flagship, the University Drive location that proved people would queue in the Arizona heat for brisket done the Texas way. No shortcuts, just smoke and time — the kind of barbecue that earns its reputation one plate at a time. What began here has grown into multiple locations across the Valley, but this remains the original. The menu is Texas through and through: brisket, ribs, and sides that let the meat carry the day. It's straightforward food done with care, the sort of place that doesn't need to explain itself because the line out the door does it instead. They've built something that lasts — not by chasing trends, but by sticking to what works. If you're in Phoenix and you want to understand why people talk about Little Miss, start here. This is where it all began, and it still delivers.
Loro Asian Smokehouse & Bar
Austin, United States
Tyson Cole and Aaron Franklin — both James Beard Award winners, one known for fish and the other for smoke — opened Loro as an Asian smokehouse where Texas barbecue meets Southeast Asian flavour. It's a fusion that sounds unlikely on paper and works on the plate, served fast-casual at a bar on South Lamar. Order at the bar. The patio welcomes dogs. No reservations, no fuss — just two chefs doing what they do best, together.