The Best Grill Restaurants in Houston

Brothers Robin, Terry Wong and Quy Hoang are at the forefront of a new barbecue movement in Houston, one that embraces new flavors and, above all, new ones. You can find the classics at Blood Bros., but you can also find dishes that use the Vietnamese ingredients the owners grew up with, as well as other Southeast Asian and Mexican influences. The menu changes often, but think brisket fried rice, nuong pork belly burnt ends, smoked turkey bánh mì, chicken togarashi, and guava-glazed pork ribs.

Cooked in a 40-year-old offset steel pit known as “the Beast” as well as a rotisserie, Brett’s smoked meats are worth the drive to Katy. The brisket, pork ribs and sausage pair perfectly with the restaurant’s homemade barbecue sauce, which is sweet with just a little heat. The brisket we tried was tender and also had a very nice smoke ring.

This barbecue place has grown from a small business in Acres Homes to a Houston favorite with four locations, including two in Katy and Pearland. For a large group, order one of the plates such as the Roy Burns BBQ Baked Potato, which weighs 10 pounds and feeds 15 people, or the MLB (yes, Astros) special, which includes a slab of smoked ribs and a book of your choice of links. You won’t go hungry either thanks to the plates and sandwiches. For those who avoid red meat, no worries: order a whole chicken or half chicken platter. Can’t get enough of Burns? Represent the brand with one of its T-shirts or aprons.

This barbecue restaurant came about after finding success in the restaurant business: people just couldn’t get enough of it. Corkscrew sources its brisket from Creekstone Farms, which raises premium, all-natural beef; turkey breast from Fresh Farm Turkeys; pulled pork and whole pork ribs from Compart Family Farms; and the sausage links are made with all-natural Akaushi beef and mixed pork links. Oh, and don’t forget to save room for the three-cheese mac and cheese.

Patrick and Erin Feges started with a small counter in the Greenway Plaza food court in 2018 (which is still there), then opened a real restaurant in Spring Branch in 2021, offering a larger menu and a full bar. We recommend that you make the trip to the latter; you will have a much better experience. Come here for the Carolina-style whole hog, a bit of a rarity in Houston, as well as ready-made sides like spicy Korean braised greens and chili mac and cheese.

Pitmaster Greg Gatlin’s concept has been a Houston staple since 2010. The smoked meats are all good here – brisket, various sausages, pork ribs, turkey and chicken – and the sides shine, too, including potato salad, coleslaw, dirty rice, macaroni. and cheese and baked beans. If you arrive early, there’s the Gatlin’s breakfast menu, featuring shrimp and grits, wings and waffles, or the GBBQ Big Boy Sandwich, a three-decker sandwich made with three eggs and dish, smoked ham, bacon, spicy sausages, American cheese and jam.

The Henderson & Kane General Store is more than just a place to shop for local produce and groceries: it also offers a full barbecue menu. Choose from brisket, pulled pork, pork ribs, chicken, turkey, sausages or smoked blood sausage. If you can’t choose just one (we know indecision all too well), grab a friend and order the pitmaster plate for a sampling of almost any meat. Don’t forget to check out Henderson & Kane’s house specialties, including Macaroni and Meat, Frito Pie, Loaded Potatoes, and Texas Red Chili.

With its smokehouse, beer garden and live music, J-Bar-M might just have it all. Diners can prepare for a four-meat plate, choosing from brisket, pork ribs, turkey, pulled pork, chicken, house sausage and jalapeño and cheddar sausage, plus two sides. Or stop by after 5 p.m. for a bite to eat from one of the restaurant’s wood-fired steaks, a smoked brisket burger, or a brisket queso. Great Mexican food is also offered, so be sure to stop by on Sunday for the barbacoa lunch special by the pound.

There are now many outposts of Ronnie Killen’s famous restaurant in the Houston area, but the OG in Pearland is the place to go. It’s a longer drive for anyone in the loop, but you’ll be glad you did it after filling up here. The various smoked meats — brisket, pork ribs, jalapeño and cheddar sausages, and pulled pork — are all well-seasoned and tender. The appetizers also deserve a little hype, especially those deviled eggs. And while you might encounter a long line when you arrive, don’t let that deter you, as it moves quickly.

Grant Pinkerton’s country restaurant has many fans, apparently even Bill Gates. The brisket is great, but the jalapeño and cheese sausage is also worth trying. The star of the show, however, are the glazed pork ribs, which might just be the best you’ve ever tasted. They have the ideal balance of heat, smoke and sweetness. Don’t forget to try one of the restaurant’s many sides and desserts; we love the duck and sausage jambalaya and the bread pudding, which, of course, is smoked.

The Pit Room has been climbing the ranks of Houston smoked meat since opening in Montrose in 2016. You can get the usual meat plates, but what we really like here are the barbecue tacos, which are worth the detour just for flour tortillas: they’re made from smoked brisket fat, making them the perfect tortilla to hold meat. The Pit Room offers three taco options: brisket, pulled pork or chicken, but if you arrive early, the breakfast tacos are the perfect solution, served daily from 7 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. The restaurant also just opened a second location in Memorial City to cater to out-of-towners, and that location offers an ice cream sandwich bar, so that might be worth a stop, too.

One of Houston’s oldest barbecue joints, originally opened in 1984 as a food truck by Rayford S. Busch, Ray’s found its way onto OST in 2011. We especially love the ribs, the ribs sandwich ribs and the oxtail plate. — these are expensive, but that’s Ray’s specialty. Leave room for the peach cobbler and Sock It to Me cake.

A good order here includes the turkey, brisket, and jalapeño cheddar sausage, all of which are good with the barbecue sauce provided but can also be eaten on their own. Skip the sides; they weren’t our favorites. Roegels, which opened a Katy location in 2022, also offers regular specialty sandwiches, like pastrami reuben, Cuban barbecue, patty melt and smoked bologna.

This Tomball spot combines the best of both worlds: barbecue and chocolate. Tejas actually started as more of a chocolate shop with a smoked meat business, but the latter has really taken off within the community and among internal loopers as well. A fair warning: the brisket is very, very moist here, so you may want to order yours lean; it will still be quite humid. As for sides, carrot soufflé has become a bit of a cult favorite and yes, it lives up to the hype.

Although everyone has their favorites, Truth BBQ is often touted as the best barbecue in Houston. The restaurant opened in Brenham in 2015 and moved to the corner of Washington Avenue and Heights Boulevard in 2019. Like many places, brisket here is king, but you can’t go wrong with any other smoked meat On the menu. Truth also receives frequent praise for the creativity on its sides. The Tater Tot Casserole might just be one of the most legendary barbecue sides in the city of Houston – it makes our mouths water just thinking about it. That corn pudding and that mac and cheese too… Tip: get here at least 30 minutes before opening, because the line builds up.

But this barbecue place goes way beyond just giving a good signal. Owners Leonard Botello IV and Abbie Byrom-Botello believe in giving second chances through their hiring practices, and they are also heavily involved in feeding Houston’s homeless population. So if you’re craving barbecue and want to support a local restaurant that’s committed to giving back to the community, check out Truth BBQ.