The Best BBQ Restaurants in Minneapolis (2026)

The beef long rib is the order here, backed by a cheddarwurst and sour cream and chive mashed potatoes that read as a full smokehouse spread rather than a side note. This is a sit-down room built for business dinners and celebrations, not a quick counter stop, and the menu runs deep enough to make a multi-course night out of it. It stands apart from the metro's takeout-first barbecue joints by design.

Yakitori, beef short ribs, and seafood skewers arrive raw for the table to grill, which makes this a different animal from smoked Southern barbecue: Japanese tableside grilling built for groups. The lunch special, two grilled items with rice, miso soup, and salad, is the value entry point. Expect a loud room on busy nights, which comes with the cook-it-yourself format.

Brisket, ribs, and pulled pork move out the door at this counter, which has held its neighborhood spot for around three decades. There is no seating and no beer, a straight takeout operation shaped by state liquor rules as much as by design. It is a fixture more than a destination, the kind of order-and-go joint a neighborhood keeps coming back to for the smoke and the price.

The pulled pork sandwich paired with the twice baked potato is the standing order for regulars who have kept coming back for over a decade. This is a small, mostly takeout operation with limited seating, and the smoked meats and beans outperform the sides: the cole slaw and roll are the parts to skip. Judge it on the pulled pork and ribs, not the extras.

Fried catfish, chicken wings, and chicken egg rolls anchor a small counter built for carrying food home rather than eating on site. The walleye plate with two sides gets repeat orders from regulars, and the fried rice holds its own alongside the wings. It runs as a family-scale neighborhood operation, reasonably priced, with a small dining area that leans more takeout than sit-down.

Brisket, pulled pork, and ribs come off a barbecue counter inside Graze Food Hall in the North Loop, ordered at a screen for a fast turnaround. It is a food hall stall built on a former food truck, useful for a quick lunch stop among the hall's other counters. Results read as inconsistent: some visits land on solid smoked meat, others on dry results and thin seasoning.