RFK Cuisine · BBQ · Austin
Best BBQ Restaurants in Austin 2026
Central Texas smoke · Austin · 8 pits ranked · Updated June 2026
Compiled by the Restaurants for Kings editorial team · Published June 27, 2026 · Updated June 27, 2026
In November 2024 the Michelin Guide arrived in Texas and did something it had never done anywhere on earth: it gave stars to barbecue. Three of the first went to Austin pit rooms, at InterStellar BBQ, la Barbecue and LeRoy and Lewis. The city that already drew dawn queues for Aaron Franklin's brisket suddenly had the validation the rest of the smoke world only argued about. Austin barbecue is post-oak smoke, salt-and-pepper rubs, and meat sold by the pound at a counter until it runs out, usually by mid-afternoon. The wrinkle in 2026 is beef itself, priced at historic highs, which is why a pound of brisket now lands north of thirty dollars almost everywhere. These are the eight Austin pits worth the line in 2026, ranked on the smoke, the room and what the bill buys, with the cut to order and how to skip the queue where you can.
1.Franklin Barbecue
Aaron Franklin's USDA Prime brisket is the bar every Texas pit measures against; book the online pre-order to skip the dawn queue.
Franklin Barbecue, on East 11th Street in East Austin, is the pit that made the modern brisket pilgrimage. Aaron Franklin became the first barbecue specialist ever to win a James Beard Award (Best Chef: Southwest, 2015), and his USDA Prime brisket, with its black pepper bark and rendered fat, is still the reference everyone else cooks against. In 2026 it carries a Michelin Bib Gourmand and was named Texas's number-one barbecue by Southern Living for the fifth straight year. A pound of brisket runs around USD 34. The famous workaround for the hours-long line is the online curbside pre-order at preorder.franklinbbq.com; a new Franklin Backyard event space near Manor Road opens in spring 2026. Closed Mondays, and it sells out most days by early afternoon.
Pre-order online or queue at open; the USDA Prime brisket, the pork ribs, the sausage, the espresso.
2.InterStellar BBQ
John Bates brings fine-dining polish to the smoker; go to InterStellar for peach-glazed pork-belly burnt ends and a Michelin star.
InterStellar BBQ, far out on Ranch Road 620 in northwest Austin, is where a fine-dining cook turned his hand to smoke and earned one of the first Michelin stars ever given to barbecue (2024, retained 2025). Pitmaster John Bates came up through Austin restaurants Wink and Asti before opening here, and it shows in the detail: the peach-tea-glazed pork-belly burnt ends are the signature, alongside a textbook salt-pepper-garlic brisket. It was Texas Monthly's number-two barbecue in the state in 2021, the highest-ranked Austin joint that year. Plan on roughly USD 25 to 35 a head. It runs Wednesday to Sunday until it sells out, walk-in and queue only, no reservations, so come early on a weekend.
Queue at open; the peach-glazed pork-belly burnt ends, the brisket, the green-chile cheese grits.
3.la Barbecue
The Mueller family's market-style brisket and beef ribs earned a Michelin star; don't book, just queue East Cesar Chavez, Wednesday to Saturday.
la Barbecue, on East Cesar Chavez in East Austin, carries a Michelin star (2024, retained 2025) and four generations of Texas pit pedigree. It was founded by the late LeAnn Mueller, of the Mueller barbecue dynasty, and is now run by her wife, Ali Clem; the pit room early on helped train future stars like Esaul Ramos. The cooking is pure Central Texas market style, sold by the pound at a counter: a deeply smoked brisket and the giant, beefy plate ribs are what to order. Pricing floats at market rate per pound. There are no reservations, only a line: it runs Wednesday to Saturday, 11am to 6pm, and the meat goes when it goes.
Queue at the counter; the fatty brisket, a single beef rib, the chipotle sausage, the sweet-potato pie.
4.LeRoy and Lewis
Evan LeRoy smokes beef cheeks and barbacoa instead of the usual brisket-first canon; go to LeRoy and Lewis for the most modern plate in town.
LeRoy and Lewis, in the Garrison Park stretch of South Austin, took one of barbecue's first Michelin stars (2024, retained 2025) by refusing the brisket-first orthodoxy. Pitmaster Evan LeRoy, a 2025 James Beard semifinalist for Best Chef: Texas, built the menu around new-school cuts: smoked beef cheeks are the signature, joined by brisket, barbacoa and a rotating board of daily specials that lands after 5pm. It grew from a 2017 food truck into the current brick-and-mortar with co-owner Sawyer Lewis. Plan on around USD 25 to 35 a head. Walk-in and queue only; it is one of the few top Austin pits that runs into the evening with its specials.
Queue and check the specials board; the smoked beef cheeks, the brisket, the barbacoa, the house sides.
5.Micklethwait Craft Meats
Tom Micklethwait's house sausage and moist brisket from a converted 1940s church; go for the sides as much as the smoke.
Micklethwait Craft Meats, now in a renovated 1940s church on Tanney Street in East Austin after relocating from its longtime Rosewood Avenue trailer in early 2025, holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand. Pitmaster Tom Micklethwait makes a name as much for the sausage and the sides as the brisket: the moist brisket, the house-made links, the pulled pork and the lamb come with some of the best beans, slaw and lemon pound cake in the city. Meat is sold market-style by the pound. It runs Thursday to Sunday, 11am until sold out, walk-in only. For a complete plate rather than just a slab, this is the one.
Walk in early; the moist brisket, the house sausage, the beans, the lemon pound cake.
6.KG BBQ
Kareem El-Ghayesh folds Egyptian spice into Central Texas smoke; go to KG BBQ for brisket with dukkah and a different idea of the genre.
KG BBQ, a trailer beside Oddwood Brewing on Manor Road in East Austin, is where Kareem El-Ghayesh, the self-styled Egyptian cowboy, smokes Central Texas brisket and seasons it with the spices of Cairo. The Bib Gourmand kitchen (2024 and 2025) and James Beard semifinalist plates brisket alongside dukkah, sumac and za'atar, smoked lamb, and a spiced house sausage that bridges both traditions. It opened in October 2022 and quickly became one of the most-talked-about pits in the city. Plan on around USD 20 to 30 a head, walk-in and queue. This is the Austin plate that tastes like nowhere else.
Queue at the trailer; the spiced brisket, the smoked lamb, the dukkah sides, the koshari when it appears.
7.Terry Black's Barbecue
The Black family's giant beef ribs down a cafeteria line on Barton Springs Road; go to Terry Black's when you won't queue at dawn.
Terry Black's, on Barton Springs Road near Zilker, is the high-volume crowd-pleaser of the list, run by the Black family of the Lockhart barbecue dynasty. You move down a cafeteria line and point: sliced brisket, sausage, and the enormous, photogenic beef ribs are the order. Sliced brisket runs about USD 39.48 a pound. It holds no Michelin recognition and trades partly on tourist traffic, but the smoke is genuine and, crucially, there is no dawn queue, just a line that moves. Open daily, walk-in, with online ordering for groups. When you want serious Austin barbecue without the wait or the sell-out anxiety, this is the practical answer.
Walk the cafeteria line; the sliced brisket, a giant beef rib, the sausage, the creamed corn.
8.Distant Relatives
Damien Brockway reframes barbecue through the African diaspora; go to Distant Relatives for pecan-smoked chicken and the most original plate in town.
Distant Relatives, a trailer at Meanwhile Brewing in southeast Austin, is pitmaster Damien Brockway's project to tell the story of barbecue through the African diaspora. The cooking is genuinely distinct: pecan- and hardwood-smoked chicken with chile vinegar butter, a serious brisket, and burnt ends served over black-eyed peas, with sides that draw on West African and Southern pantries. It was Eater Austin's Food Truck of the Year in 2021, has earned a James Beard semifinalist nod and sits in the Michelin Guide. It opened in February 2021 and runs walk-in and queue. For the most intellectually interesting plate in a city full of brisket, come here.
Queue at the trailer; the pecan-smoked chicken, the brisket, the burnt ends with black-eyed peas.
How Austin eats barbecue
Austin barbecue runs on queue culture and the clock. The best pits open mid-morning and sell brisket, beef ribs and house sausage by the pound at a counter until they run out, often by early afternoon, so committed eaters line up before the doors open. The dominant style is Central Texas: post-oak smoke, simple salt-pepper-garlic rubs and no sauce required, with meat handed over on butcher paper rather than off a reservation list. The one new variable in 2026 is the price of beef, at historic highs, which is why brisket now clears thirty dollars a pound at almost every pit on this list.
Two things reshaped the scene recently. The first was the 2024 arrival of the Michelin Guide, which stunned the barbecue world by starring three Austin smoke joints, the first stars the genre had ever received anywhere. The second is a new generation of pitmasters bending the form, from the Egyptian spice at KG to the African-diaspora cooking at Distant Relatives. For the rest of the city, the tacos and the fine dining and the Hill Country wine, the full Austin dining guide maps it, and the global picture sits in our best barbecue worldwide pillar.
Where not to look for it
Skip these for real Austin barbecue
The reheated brisket at a downtown bar or hotel buffet. The smoke that has sat under a heat lamp since 11am on Sixth Street is not the city's barbecue. For the real thing, pre-order at Franklin, queue at la Barbecue, or skip the line entirely at Terry Black's cafeteria counter.
Valentina's Tex Mex BBQ. Miguel Vidal's beloved smoked-brisket-taco hybrid closed its Buda brick-and-mortar permanently and its truck is no longer running in the Austin area, so do not make the drive looking for it. For brisket with a Mexican accent, KG BBQ and the city's taquerias carry the idea forward.
Frequently asked
What is the best barbecue in Austin?
Franklin Barbecue is still the benchmark, with Aaron Franklin's USDA Prime brisket the cut every Texas pit measures against. But the 2024 Michelin Guide gave one-star recognition to three others, InterStellar BBQ, la Barbecue and LeRoy and Lewis, so the honest answer depends on what you want: Franklin for the classic brisket, InterStellar for fine-dining polish, la Barbecue for market-style purity, and LeRoy and Lewis for new-school cuts like smoked beef cheeks. See the full ranking above.
Does Austin barbecue have Michelin stars?
Yes. When the MICHELIN Guide arrived in Texas in November 2024 it awarded one star each to three Austin pits, InterStellar BBQ, la Barbecue and LeRoy and Lewis, the first Michelin stars ever given to barbecue anywhere, and all three retained them in 2025. Several more Austin pits hold Bib Gourmands, including Franklin Barbecue, Micklethwait Craft Meats and KG BBQ. No barbecue holds two or three stars.
How do you skip the line at Franklin Barbecue?
Use the online curbside pre-order at preorder.franklinbbq.com, where you pick a date, pay in full and collect during a set window without standing in the walk-up queue. The walk-up line still forms hours before the 11am open and is part of the experience for some, but the pre-order is the reliable way to guarantee brisket and avoid a sell-out. The new Franklin Backyard event space near Manor Road, opening spring 2026, adds another booking option.
How much does Austin barbecue cost?
Most pits sell market-style by the pound, and 2026 beef prices are at historic highs, so brisket runs roughly USD 34 a pound at Franklin and about USD 39 a pound sliced at Terry Black's. A full plate with two or three meats and sides lands around USD 25 to 35 a person at the trailers and counters. The Michelin-starred pits, InterStellar, la Barbecue and LeRoy and Lewis, sit in the same range. Cash and card are both fine at most, but check before you queue.
When do Austin barbecue joints sell out?
The top pits open around 11am and serve until they run out, which is often by early or mid-afternoon on a busy day. Franklin, InterStellar, la Barbecue and Micklethwait all routinely sell their last brisket well before a normal dinner hour. Arrive early, especially on weekends and during festival weeks, or use Franklin's online pre-order. LeRoy and Lewis is the exception that runs later, thanks to its evening specials board.
More barbecue, by city
More from RFK
Browse the full Austin dining guide, compare the global picks in the best barbecue worldwide, see how the smoke compares in the best barbecue in Kansas City, line up a pit crawl for impressing clients, eat brisket alone at the counter on a solo-dining day, or open the full RFK cuisine index.
Restaurants for Kings is reader-supported. Some reservation links are affiliate links with the restaurants, OpenTable or Resy; we earn a small commission at no cost to you, and a link never buys a place on a ranking. Editorial scores and ranking order are independent of any commercial relationship. See our ranking methodology.