The Best New Barbecue Joints In The South

Elliott’s BBQ Lounge

Florence, South Carolina

Last year, just a few months after opening, Elliott’s BBQ Lounge landed on our list of the Top 50 BBQ Joints in all of the South, so it’s no surprise it’s topping our Best New Joints list, too. Pasture-raised whole hog, cooked Pee Dee burn barrel-style, headlines the impressive lineup of locally-rooted dishes. Owner Elliott Moss earned his stripes as the founding pitmaster/chef at the acclaimed Buxton Hall BBQ in Asheville before moving back home to Florence and opening Elliott’s in March 2025. Embedded inside Seminar Brewing just north of downtown, the large space has one corner given over to pool tables and pinball machines. In the big cookhouse next door, custom-made open brick pits are fired with pecan wood burned down to glowing coals. In addition to the superlative whole hog barbecue, those pits produce sweet-glazed baby back ribs, thick pork steaks, and delicate smoked salmon. There’s plenty of Seminar beer on tap at the full bar, of course, along with creative cocktails and boozy slushies, too.

551 W Lucas St, Florence, SC 29501; elliottsbarbecue.com

Two Goose Market & Barbecue

Austin, Texas

When in Austin, there’s no need to wait until lunch for barbecue. Just head down to Two Goose on North Lamar, which opens bright and early at 7:00 am, five days a week. This self-described “blue-collar barbecue” spot offers a full slate of breakfast tacos, burritos, and sandwiches. Those tacos are no joke, either—compact bites of soft, pliant flour tortillas bursting with the smoky flavor of brisket (or sausage or bacon) along with eggs, soft home-fried potatoes, and gooey melted Cheddar. At lunch, the menu shifts to a more traditional Texas lineup of prime brisket, pulled pork, and turkey sold by the pound plus hearty sandwiches like a pork belly banh mi and the Notorious P.I.G. Cheesesteak—a honking good lineup, for sure.

706 N Lamar Blvd, Austin, TX 78703; twogoosebbq.com

Gene’s

Atlanta, Georgia

The giant, bright pink offset pit on the patio behind Gene’s BBQ is definitely eye-catching, but almost everything is eye-catching at this stylish new Atlanta joint. The offering is a novel Viet-Cajun-meets-barbecue blend, and the mashup really works. To get things rolling, there’s a selection of classic and frozen cocktails, which pair nicely with a tray of roasted oysters finished with Cajun butter and crushed Zapp’s Voodoo chips. Torn basil leaves adorn slices of tender lean brisket, and the smoked half chickens are topped with a spiced-up Alabama white sauce. Cavatappi takes the place of elbows in the gooey mac and cheese. A cool beet, arugula, and citrus salad is finished with a scoop of labneh. Collards are laced with Steen’s cane syrup and Crystal hot sauce and dusted with crushed peanuts. There’s a lot going on at Gene’s, and it’s all really delicious.

2371 Hosea L Williams Dr SE #1, Atlanta, GA 30317; genesgenesgenes.com

Churchrow Tejas BBQ

Austin, Texas

Miguel Vidal, who won wide acclaim at the now-closed Valentina’s Tex-Mex BBQ, teamed up with restaurateur Simon Madera to launch Churchrow Tejas BBQ last December on the north side of Austin. The double-sided menu offers almost too many tempting options, with everything from traditional smoked meats sold by the pound (brisket, pulled pork, sausage, beef, and pork ribs) to tempting “shareables” like smoked mollejas (beef sweetbreads) and queso loaded with chopped brisket. A slate of nine tacos include La Valentina, with two thick slabs of smoky brisket and fragrant fire-roasted salsa roja, and La Tejanita, which tops chopped chicken thighs with roasted poblano and red onion. You can enjoy it all at a dining room table or on a stool at the full bar, which features tequila- and mezcal-based cocktails and lots of local beer on tap.

1521 W Anderson Ln., Austin, TX 78757; churchrowbbq.com

Smokemade Meats + Eats

Orlando, Florida

Central Texas barbecue has landed in Central Florida at Orlando’s Smokemade Meats + Eats. The platters are loaded with beefy lean brisket, sweet-glazed ribs brimming with pepper, and tender smoked turkey, while hot gut and jalapeño-cheddar sausages add a spicy kick. The crowning touch are fresh-baked loaves of house-made brioche. Tuck a slice of smoky brisket or juicy turkey inside a shard of that soft, thick-sliced bread then dredge it in the tangy yellow mustard sauce. You’ll have a barbecue bite to remember.

1400 S Crystal Lake Dr, Orlando, FL 32806; smokemade.com

Apocalypse BBQ

Miami, Florida

After years popping up at a brewery and then a golf course, Jeffery and Laura Budnechky moved Apocalypse BBQ into its permanent new home just west of Miami in Kendall. The brisket empanada is fast becoming a staple of South Florida barbecue, and at Apocalypse it’s a thing of beauty—chewy brisket and gooey chunks of cheese tucked inside a crisp fried shell. The standout Cafecito Ribs have a taut bite and a fine sticky-sweet glaze, while the beans are chock-full of long strands of smoky brisket. Perhaps most distinctive is the cornbread molded into the shape of a skull. It looks pretty spooky, but with a generous glaze of honey, it sure goes down sweet.

8695 SW 124th Ave., Miami, FL 33183; apocalypsebbq.com

Kafi BBQ

Irving, Texas

At Kafi BBQ in the Dallas suburb of Irving, stylized red letters on the white dining room wall declare, “From Wagyu to Wagy’all,” and this new Texas player may well have all the Wagyu. The brisket, the back ribs, and the “dino” ribs, and even the oxtails and strip steaks are all halal Wagyu beef, and owner Salahodeen Abdul-Kafi finishes them with a secret blend of Iraqi spices. Pomegranate-glazed beef belly burnt ends are joined by lamb spareribs, and the Iraqi-spiced sausage is an intriguing twist on a Texas classic. Of equal note are the crisp, thick-cut French fries, which are cooked in beef tallow (Wagyu, of course), and you can finish things off with cardamom-scented banana pudding or the basbousa, a rich rosewater-laced coconut semolina cake.

8140 N MacArthur Blvd #100, Irving, TX 75063; kafibbq.com

Parish Barbecue

Austin, Texas

In 2025, Holden and Taylor Fulco put down permanent roots for their barbecue trailer behind Austin Beerworks, where they’re blending Central Texas traditions and Louisiana Cajun flavors. Yes, there’s prime brisket smoked over post oak, but there are also pork ribs glazed with Steen’s cane syrup and unconventional meats like house-cured ham, smoked beef chuck, and pulled duck legs. That tender chuck has a big beefy bite, and you can accompany it with zippy remoulade-vinegar slaw and herb-laced Creole tomato salad. Parish brings a serious boudin game to Austin, too, with a rotating link of the week that laces rice-filled sausages with creative flavors like pork jambalaya.

10300 Springdale Rd Backyard, Austin, TX 78754; parishbarbecue.com

Ben’s Backdraft Barbecue

Waynesville, North Carolina

When he’s not stoking the flames in his pits, Ben Hooper of Ben’s Backdraft Barbecue is putting out other folks’ fires, for he still pulls three 24-hour shifts a week for the Waynesville Fire Department. Hooper launched his barbecue operation as a food trailer (fire engine red, of course) in 2021 and stepped up to a full brick-and-mortar restaurant four years later. He’s since upped the ante, adding a massive blue offset smoker from TMG Pits as well as a direct heat cooker, which he uses for whole hogs, a periodic special. The core barbecue offering is straight down the middle: brisket, ribs, chopped pork, and chopped chicken along with hearty sides like creamy mac and cheese, loaded potato salad, and tangy white slaw. The perfect capper is Ben’s signature dessert, MoonPie banana pudding. It’s a mashup that’s every bit as delicious as it sounds, with a layer of the crushed marshmallow sandwiches topped with sweet gooey banana pudding and finished with whipped cream. If that doesn’t put out the fire, I don’t know what will.

3028 Jonathan Creek Rd, Waynesville, NC 28785; bensbackdraftbbq.com

Broad Street BBQ

Atlanta, Georgia

Sam Pinner and Jason Furst, two long-time friends and Atlanta restaurant veterans, teamed up to create Broad Street BBQ in the new South Downtown development. Near Mercedes-Benz Stadium, it opened this summer just in time for the World Cup crowds. The meats are cooked on reverse flow Lang offsets in a pit cage adjoining the restaurant, and you’ll find no butcher paper-lined metal trays here. The thin-sliced brisket, neatly-trimmed ribs, and even the eye-raising (and delicious) “ATL Ho Cakes”—fluffy cornmeal batter griddled into pancakes—each get their own stoneware plate. The sleek style extends to the dining room, where the walls are adorned with colorful, hand-painted murals from local illustrator Linda McNeil, and the full bar features clever cocktails like the Brain Tonic, a very Atlanta twist on an old-fashioned with a base of bourbon and Coca-Cola syrup.

96 Broad St SW, Atlanta, GA 30303; broadstreetbbqatl.com

Smoke & Barrels

Evans, Georgia

It’s rare to find good barbecue in suburban storefronts, but it’s well worth the short detour off Interstate 20 to visit Smoke & Barrels in the sprawling Augusta suburb of Evans. There’s plenty of pulled pork, brisket, and chicken to be had, but for me the standouts are the tender tri-tip beef (perfectly medium rare with a fine smoky bark) and the juicy, thick-sliced turkey. The green beans swim in a rich bacon-laced broth, and there’s a little secret behind what’s billed on the menu as “Brunswick Stew with Rice”: it’s basically South Carolina-style hash and rice rebranded for a Georgia audience.

3118 William Few Pkwy #9, Evans, GA 30809; nattybbqco.com

The Honey Hog

Morganton, North Carolina

Piedmont North Carolina and Central Texas converge in the foothills town of Morganton. The Honey Hog is a brand new joint (it opened its doors in July), and it’s large in scale, too, with a full bar and two outdoor dining porches. Peek around the corner from the back porch, and you can spy the so-called “smoking section,” where two offset Moberg smokers named Paw Paw and Nannie puff away five days a week (and soon to be six.) The Texas-inflected offerings are admirable—thick-sliced brisket with a generous fat cap,  jalapeño-cheddar links, and rich chavos beans—but it’s the Carolina items that really shine. That includes locally-sourced whole hog, chopped fine and served without sauce so you can choose your favorite. (I recommend the tart, peppery Eastern North Carolina vinegar sauce.) Splitting the difference between the state’s two barbecue loyalties, there’s both Eastern-style white slaw and cool, tangy Piedmont red slaw and bang-up hushpuppies, too.

300 Carbon City Rd, Morganton, NC 28655; honeyhogbbq.com

Drinking Pig BBQ

Miami, Florida

The Drinking Pig was born in the dark days of COVID-19, when Miami chef Raheem Sealey and his wife, Yohanir Sandoval,  launched a takeout barbecue operation in the front yard of their house. Five years later, the couple and business partner Mark Wint translated the concept into a new brick-and-mortar restaurant in Coconut Grove. You can kick things off to a smoky start with a Drinking Pig Old Fashioned, sweetened with pit-smoked demerara sugar. Then, move on onto tasty slices of lean brisket with mustard sauce, sweet-glazed ribs, or smoked chicken wings dunked in chili butter. The Caribbean-inflected offering includes Jamaican patties stuffed with brisket or jerk chicken plus smoked sweet potatoes loaded with butter and cheese—an impressive new arrival on Miami’s fast-growing barbecue scene.

3444 Main Hwy #16, Miami, FL 33133; drinkingpigbbq.com

Bradley’s BBQ

Augusta, Georgia

Bradley’s BBQ opened this summer in a refurbished bakery on Broad Street in downtown Augusta. The slogan on the white wall outside boldly promises: “The finest eats in the whole United States of Georgia.” One may puzzle over the geography, but there are indeed plenty of good eats inside. Smoky ribs and pulled pork headline the menu along with smoked chicken, sausage, wings, and brisket. Long, tender strands of pulled pork are quite tasty when doctored up with Bradley’s original sauce, a spicy tomato-vinegar blend, and the “fixins” include delicious slow-cooked green beans and a rather unique tomato-laced hash and rice studded with chunks of potato. With exposed brick walls and booths fashioned from repurposed church pews, it’s a historic and appealing setting for a Georgia barbecue feast.

1209 Broad Street, Augusta, GA 30901; bradleys-bbq.com

Bordertown BBQ

Beaufort, South Carolina

With a cow-skull logo and a thousand-gallon offset smoker, this Beaufort, South Carolina, newcomer leans toward Central Texas with a little Tex-Mex flair thrown in. Brisket and pork ribs are featured alongside barbacoa, pepper-encrusted smoked chicken thighs, and a rotating sausage of the day. You can get those smoked meats tucked inside corn tortillas as tacos and pair them with array of flavored margaritas and mojitos, while deep-fried cheese curds, savory pit beans, and thick-sliced tallow fries round out the sides.

2001 Boundary St, Beaufort, SC 29902; bordertownbbq.com

Sacred Ground Barbecue

Flora, Mississippi

Even the most diligent barbecue pilgrim has one or two that got away. In my case, it’s Sacred Ground Barbecue, twenty minutes north of Jackson in Pocahontas, Mississippi. I have it on good authority, though—including the famed Michelin inspectors, who saw fit to include it as one of the ten barbecue joints in the Michelin Guide American South—that it’s well worth a visit. There’s smoked tri-tip on the menu (prime grade, no less), which is always a good sign, along with prime brisket, St. Louis-style ribs, turkey breast, and sausage. The cold-smoked corn salad and green-chili mac ‘n cheese look tempting, too. Besides, who wouldn’t want to check out a joint that advertises, “Barbecue So Good It Stops The Train?” It’s at the top of my list to visit the next time I’m down that way.

1052 Pocahontas Rd, Flora, MS 39071, sacredgroundbbq.com

–southernliving.com