Where to Find the Best Atlanta BBQ

Wood's Chapel BBQ ★★★★★

85 Georgia Ave SE (Summerhill)

The Place

Established in 1865 Wood's Chapel was originally a church in the Summerhill neighborhood, one of Atlanta's oldest neighborhoods. It was the anchor of a thriving African American community. The area has transformed a great deal since the late 1800s due to racial issues, commercialization, and urban renewal. By the start of the 21st century Georgia Avenue was quite neglected. In the last few years a large redevelopment plan has taken place to revitalize the neighborhood. There's much more to the history than that, but what you need to know is that in 2019 Wood's Chapel BBQ was born in the old Wood's Chapel!

It's a counter service place with large tables inside and outside where you can go to hang out and have some good food. There's an indoor game room and a few outdoor games. Overall the service is friendly and the atmosphere is welcoming.

The Meats & Sauces

Wood's Chapel is a good example of an Atlanta BBQ place that does a variety of regional favorites. They have whole hog from the Carolinas, ribs from Memphis, and traditional Texas brisket. The meats are smoked in wood fire pits with white oak logs for up to 20 hours. The pulled pork was nice and tender. When you see the smokehouse from the sprawling outdoor patio it makes you feel like you are at a backyard gathering.

There are three different types of sauces depending on what type of meat you order. I had the vinegar based sauce with my pork. Usually it wouldn't be my first choice, but it added a nice flavor to my pork. When ordering ask for no sauce or a different sauce if you have a preference.

The Sides

The sides are more on the contemporary side. They take a typical southern side like potato salad and put their own spin on it by adding dill. The honey butter cornbread is pretty classic though, and pretty amazing. It is the perfect consistency. It melts in your mouth, but it doesn't feel like you are eating a lump of butter.

I have heard great things about the pies as well. Of course that means I need to go back. I have my eye on their chess pie!

Sweet Auburn BBQ ★★★★★

656 North Highland Avenue Northeast (Poncey Highland) 

The Place

Definitely head to Sweet Auburn BBQ if you are looking for the best bbq in Atlanta. The restaurant reflects the sibling owners, Howard and Anita Hsu's, southern upbringing and Asian roots. They started out with an eatery within the Sweet Auburn Market. Now they have grown to a full restaurant in Poncey-Highland. Many BBQ joints look like a hole in the wall. Sweet Auburn still has a country feel, but combined with modern decor.

The Meats & Sauces

The BBQ takes on a unique twist with Asian flavors incorporated. I often prefer pulled pork over brisket, but my chopped brisket was excellent here. Most of the time I feel like the meat isn't flavorful enough on its own without the sauce, but the brisket was so good here that I initially forgot to use the sauce. That doesn't mean the tomato based sauce with a touch of spice wasn't tasty though.

The Sides

All the sides really showcase the Asian twist on the classic BBQ sides. The wok fired green beans and the green papaya Asian slaw were perfect accompaniments to the meats. The potato salad had a hint of mustard and had less sauce than the standard varieties at other places.

Fox Bros BBQ ★★★★ ½

1238 DeKalb Ave NE (Candler Park)

The Place

Fox Bros BBQ is one of the most well-known and popular BBQ places in Atlanta. Twin brothers Jonathan and Justin Fox moved from Fort Worth, TX. Once in Atlanta they missed the flavors of Texas barbecue and started smoking meats at their own backyard gatherings for friends and family. Soon enough after a couple years of catering Fox Bros BBQ was born in 2007! Before Fox Bros, pork was king in the city. The brothers are known for bringing brisket to Atlanta and influencing other pit masters in the area.

The Meats & Sauces

True to the brother's Texas roots, the Texas style meats are smoked for a long time on low heat. The brisket is their claim to fame. All their meats are done to perfection though. After watching the Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives episode featuring Fox Bros I definitely want to try the chicken fried ribs appetizer on my next visit.

The sauce is tomato based with a hint of vinegar. They combined the heat of a Texas sauce with the sweetness of a southern one.

The Sides

All the classic BBQ sides like coleslaw, potato salad, and mac and cheese are on the menu. The gooey mac and cheese with full shell pasta is one of the best in the city. There are also some sides with a twist such as the Fox-a-Roni-Mac & Cheese+Brunswick Stew and the Frito Pie with fritos, brisket chili, & cheddar cheese.

I ordered another staple BBQ side - green beans. Although green beans are a common side, the green beans here are spicy and have just the right amount of kick to them. The jalapeño cornbread was also a delicious take on a classic southern side.

Anna's BBQ ★★★★ ½

1976 Hosea L Williams Dr NE (Kirkwood)

The Place

Voted by Atlanta Magazine as the best BBQ in Atlanta in 2019, Anna's BBQ is a no frills BBQ place you need to check out. Located in the Kirkwood neighborhood the restaurant has a more hole in the wall BBQ joint feel. The menu on the other hand is huge. Ribs, pulled pork, chicken, brisket, sandwiches, southern sides....if you can name it, you can bet you can find it here!

There is indoor and outdoor dining. Part of the parking lot was changed into picnic table seating with umbrellas on each table. The inside is pretty small.

Anna's BBQ is both Black and female owned and run! That's a pretty rare combination for a BBQ place. You can often catch Anna herself smoking the meats.

The Meats & Sauces

Both my brisket and the pulled pork were served with the BBQ sauce already on the meats. I typically like putting on the sauce myself and having more choices, but I did really like Anna's BBQ sauce. It didn't have as distinctive of taste as some sauces, but it tasted good. That's a simple way to put it, but what more do you want from your food than for it to taste good? It made the already tasty meats even more delicious.

As I like a lot of sauce on my meats, one thing I didn't like was that you had to pay extra for any additional sauce.

The Sides

Cornbread muffin for the win! It was in my top three favorite cornbreads in Atlanta for sure. Butter wasn't served with it and it didn't seem moist and buttery either, but it still had a delicious savory taste. The green beans and yams were both scrumptious as well. Just like the BBQ sauce, the green beans didn't seem to have a distinct flavor to them, but they sure didn't taste like your boring run of the mill green beans.

The yams were nice and sweet and could almost pass as a dessert. They certainly didn't need to though, because there were a lot of tempting sweet items on the menu. I saw several cake slices packaged and ready to be delivered. If I wasn't so stuffed and having to walk a long way back home I would have tried one for sure.

Rodney Scott's BBQ ★★★★ ½

668 Metropolitan Pkwy SW (Adair Park)

The Place

Rodney Scott's Whole Hog BBQ began in 2017 in Charleston, but Rodney Scott has been cooking whole hog BBQ since he was a child. In 2018 he won the prestigious James Beard award for the best chef in the southeast. Now pitmasters that have been trained in the same style run two locations in Alabama and one in Atlanta. 

The Atlanta location in Adair Park has bright, open indoor seating. There is screened in patio and outdoor seating as well. It is quickly becoming one of the best bbq places in Atlanta. 

The Meats & Sauces

What makes Rodney Scott's one of the best Atlanta BBQ spots is that all of the meats are pit cooked. This traditional and time consuming method gives the meats their delicious smokey flavor. The meats can be ordered as a sandwich or as a plate. Both the brisket and the pork are delicious. The pork is quite spicier than a usual pulled pork. 

There are three sauces. My favorite was Kathy’s sauce, which is sweeter and ketchup based. The vinegar and pepper based Rodney’s sauce was a close second. The “other sauce” was fine, but I didn’t love it. I like how they have the bottles on the table so you can use as much as you want and try them all.  

The Sides

The cornbread. Let’s talk about that cornbread. It has some sort of sugary taste on the bottom. They must put sugar or something on the pan before baking it, it has an amazing flavor. The hushpuppies are just as delicious. Despite being a popular southern side, they aren't available at too many of the best Atlanta barbecue restaurants. 

The baked beans are quite good. I’m never a huge fan of baked beans, but when they are done like this I am all for them. You can't go wrong with any of the sides. 

The Greater Good BBQ ★★★★ ½

4441 Roswell Rd NE (Buckhead)

The Place

The Greater Good BBQ is another spot that doesn't have anything fancy, but features some of the best barbecue in Atlanta. Different BBQ styles are available alongside really good service. Everything is made from scratch right in this family-owned restaurant. I loved the southern accents of the servers. You would think you would hear southern accents in Atlanta often, but I guess because of the number of transplants in the city you don't. I felt like I was receiving some good southern hospitality here. There's a small indoor eating area and a nice outdoor patio.

The Meats & Sauces

I liked both the pulled pork and brisket, but I did feel they needed the sauce. Some might claim that amazing meat wouldn't, but I am someone who likes a little more flavor and kick to my food. Once I put the sauces on the meats I couldn't stop eating until I was absolutely stuffed. Ribs are also popular here. They can be dry rubbed without sauce or wet with a Kansas City sauce.

The mix of BBQ styles really comes through in the five sauces. Each one is cooked in house from scratch just like the rest of the menu items. There is a sauce for everyone here! I wasn’t too nuts about the Carolina sauce and the house sauce was good, but not my top choice. The hot and sweet were my favorites.

The Sides

The Greater Good is known for their excellent sides and generous portions. One of the most popular is the family's collard greens with pork. Another favorite is the mac & cheese made with sharp cheddar and feta. The potato salad had the perfect texture and is one of the best tasting versions in Atlanta. 

A Yelp review highlighted the tater tots. It's not something I typically would order. You have probably noticed my top choices are green beans (I did order them too!) and cornbread. Tater tots were the right decision. The extra crispiness made all the difference. The green beans had some bacon in them and seemed to have some sort of flavorful, hot sauce. Texas toast comes with the plates and is very thick and baked just right. 

Heirloom Market BBQ ★★★★ ½

2243 Akers Mill Rd SE

The Place

What do you get when you put a boy from the south and a Korean pop star together? You get Heirloom Market BBQ, the perfect combination of traditional southern BBQ and Korean flavors. The owners created an interesting BBQ place in Atlanta that is distinct from others in the city.

It's located just inside the perimeter of 285 near some of the Chattahoochee River trails. Work up an appetite hiking and then pick up some 'cue to go. Currently the restaurant is only open for to go and eating on the patio, but even in normal times it is pretty packed so you may want to order take-out. You will be salivating waiting out front in the parking with all the delicious smokey smells in the air.

The Meats & Sauces

It's hard to say where the best brisket in Atlanta can be found, but the brisket here may be my favorite. It is very tender and doesn't need any BBQ sauce. I rarely say that! Many would disagree with me, but the spicy Korean pork didn’t hit my fancy. One of their best sellers is their spicy Korean pork sandwich with kimchi coleslaw on top.

With five different types of BBQ sauces you are sure to find one you like. I tried the Korean sauce which has a sweet heat flavor. My favorite was the Kitchen, which is described as 'spicy fresh'. It was tangy and reminded me of Ortega taco sauce for some reason....but that's a good thing!

The Sides

The Texas brisket chili was spicy and hit the spot. It's served with cheese and sour cream on top and doesn't skimp on the brisket. The Korean sweet potatoes were my favorite. They tasted like sweet potatoes, but elevated to a new level. They were in a sauce that had a sweet, syrupy taste which added the perfect flavor. The bun was almost good enough to eat on its own, but was a great vessel for putting the meat in my mouth. 

Moe's Original BBQ ★★★★ ½

 349 14th St NW (Home Park)

The Place

You don't need to go to Alabama to have Alabama style barbecue. You can enjoy some at Moe's, a BBQ chain that was founded by three Alabama boys, but actually got its start in Colorado. The boys learned to smoke meat from Moses Day, a well known pit-master in the 80s in Tuscaloosa. After success in Colorado they went on to create about 20 locations in Alabama and another 40 around the country (and one in Mexico). While each spot carries Moe's brand of BBQ, they are unique to the pit-masters and chefs running their place.

The Meats & Sauces

Using fruit wood the meats are smoked daily. On my first visit I ordered the pulled pork and it was tender and had a tangy red sauce. On my second visit I went back for more pulled pork, but unfortunately they were out. This can easily happen with any restaurants that serve good bbq in Atlanta. It worked in my favor as I was able to try the smoked chicken which has the creamy Alabama style white BBQ sauce drizzled on top. I prefer the red sauces, but I haven't encountered the Alabama style sauce much in Atlanta so it was a good opportunity to try it.

The Sides

Unlike many other Atlanta BBQ places, the sides vary. They have some regular staples but also some inventive daily specials. Their standards include collard greens, baked beans, and corn bread among others. Daily specials can be anything from hush puppies to sweet potato casserole.

Lovie's BBQ ★★★★ ½

 3420 Piedmont Rd NE (Buckhead)

The Place

You are going to forget you are in Buckhead and love Lovie's BBQ! There's an old school, rural BBQ joint feel to the place. It's quite the contrast from the rest of Buckhead.

Currently Lovie's is closed and only available for catering. It is uncertain if and when it will reopen, but hopefully soon!

The Meats & Sauces

The meats are smoked for 14 - 16 hours using hickory in custom built smokers. When I asked for a recommendation on what to order I went with the best seller, the pulled pork, and I wasn't disappointed. They even serve breakfast. I can't imagine their meats being any better than they are already, but putting them on a warm buttermilk biscuit for a breakfast sandwich sounds divine.

Other than some hot sauces they only have one main red vinegar based BBQ sauce. I liked it, but it didn't stick out in my mind as one of my favorites.

The Sides

Mac & cheese, okra, coleslaw and other typical southern sides are on the menu. Their fried brussels sprouts, a side you don't find at most spots, is the most popular. I didn't take that suggestion, but did enjoy the sweet potato waffle fries, cornbread, and green beans.

Community Q BBQ ★★★★

1361 Clairmont Rd (Decatur) 

The Place

Community Q BBQ is located in North Decatur near Emory. Each day they cook all their food fresh. As their slogan says “until the meat runs” out, be prepared that they might occasionally run out of meat. 

The portions here are slightly smaller than at other Atlanta BBQ places, but the prices are much lower as well. My two meat combo with one side came to only $13. It is usually about $20 for the same order at other places. 

The Meats & Sauces

The pulled pork and brisket are both very good. Like some of the other places I did feel they needed the sauces. All the meats come on Texas Toast, which is delicious. They are known to prepare an excellent sloppy joe if you are looking for something a little different. 

They have two sauces, one red sauce and one vinegar sauce. Unless I really dunked my meat in the vinegar sauce I didn’t really get a strong flavor from it. The red sauce had a good taste though and added a lot more flavor to the meat. 

The Sides

The sweet potatoes with braised kale was an excellent side and a little different from the usual BBQ joint sides. They do serve all the classics like potato salad, collards and brunswick stew. The macaroni and cheese is excellent here too. 

Lake & Oak ★★★★

2358 Hosea L Williams Dr NE (East Lake)

The Place

Lake & Oak is a friendly neighborhood spot. They have a nice outdoor patio with heat lamps. I didn’t like the smoker outside that left me smelling of smoke the rest of the day though. 

Going by my typical order of two meats and two sides the price was a little more here. There isn’t a combo option and you receive only one side. You do receive a piece of Texas Toast with your meal. As much as I love bread, I was sorry to say it wasn’t anything special. 

The Meats & Sauces

Meats are served on sandwiches, as a single meat with a side, or as meat only. Both pork and brisket are available, but there isn’t a combo platter. The 10 ounces of brisket was a hearty portion and very good. It's one of the best Atlanta BBQ spots for brisket. 

They have three sauces. A Carolina mustard sauce, a whiskey BBQ sauce, and a Chicago Red. Unless you pay extra you only receive one sauce with your meal. It’s a little thing, but to me I really don’t like that. I want to be able to try all the sauces. I had the Chicago Red which is a spicy sauce. I didn’t really feel it was that spicy though. The whiskey BBQ sauce is sweet. 

The Sides

Many of the entrees come with one side. For that side you can choose from brussel sprout and cabbage slaw, baked beans, collard greens, or potato wedges. Then there are special sides at a special price, aka not included. I would have liked there to be a few more choices. I went with one of the special sides, jalapeño creamed corn. Just like the spicy bbq sauce I found it good, but not that spicy. 

DBA BBQ ★★★ ½

1190 North Highland Avenue Northeast (Virginia Highland)

The Place

DBA BBQ is a great neighborhood BBQ spot in Virginia-Highland. They serve a wide selection of meats in platters and as sandwiches. While the prices are on point with other Atlanta BBQ places, I found the portion size to be slightly smaller. Maybe I was just super hungry when I visited, but this was one of the first times I ordered a combo plate and was able to finish all my food in one sitting.

The Meats & Sauces

I really liked both my pulled pork and brisket, but felt like they didn't have that wow factor as some other places do. With the sauces they were quite tasty though. The sauces may have been the highlight of the meal for me.

First of all the sauces were on the table and labeled. I'm always overwhelmed when I need to choose my sauce when ordering. I want to try them all! I loved being able to go back and forth between the sauces as much as I liked. I hate mustard so the Spicy Honey Mustard made me a little apprehensive. I faced my fears and tried it anyway. It wasn't my favorite, but lucky for me it didn't taste like mustard at all.

Carolina sauce is typically mustard base so I was also a little skeptical about the Spicy Carolina too. It was fairly runny, but ended up being my favorite! There is also a sweet sauce and a tangy sauce. They both accompanied the meats nicely as well.

The Sides

Is it a surprise that I ordered green beans and corn bread muffins here? DBA's garlic green beans were quite different from the varieties I have had at the other BBQ places. If you don't like garlic stay away because they are swimming in it! I'm a big fan of garlic so I quite enjoyed them! The cornbread muffin on the other hand was a bit disappointing. The baked beans had a nice sweet taste to them and the fries were good as well.

DAS BBQ ★★★ ½

350 Memorial Drive SE (Grant Park) & 1203 Collier Rd NW (Underwood Hills) 

The Place

DAS BBQ now has two locations, one in Underwood Hills in NW Atlanta and one in Grant Park in SE Atlanta. The Grant Park location was brand new spring 2021 and has great outdoor seating around the restaurant. Currently you order your food and receive it immediately at the counter. 

There are no combination options and both meats and sides are sold a la carte. Most barbecue restaurants in Atlanta run about $20 before tax and tip for a two meat and two side combo plate. It is about $30 here for the same order. 

The Meats & Sauces

The meats are definitely the best part of DAS BBQ. Both the pork and brisket had a great flavor. The brisket was so tender that I didn’t need a knife to cut it. 

I didn’t care for the sauces though. It is rare that I don’t like a BBQ sauce at all, but I really didn’t like the High Octane sauce which is infused with espresso coffee. Maybe it is because I am not a coffee drinker, but I wanted nothing to do with it after my first taste. They also have a mustard based sauce with a hint of Georgia peaches. It was ok, but also low on my list of all time favorite BBQ sauces. 

The Sides

As mentioned the menu is on the smaller side, so there are only six side options. They include the more classic choices of mac and cheese, potato salad, brunswick stew, coleslaw and collard greens. They also serve das cream corn which is a spicy, cheesy, corn dish. A lot of people rave about it, but we weren’t too nuts about it. I was disappointed that there was no cornbread option. Overall the sides didn’t seem like anything to write home about. 

I don't know about you but after writing this post I am definitely craving these smoked meats and savory sides. If you weren't already I bet you are now too! Give them all a try and let me know what you think is the best Atlanta BBQ spot. 

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