The Best Barbecue in San Antonio

The line forms before the doors open, which has been the rhythm at this Seguin BBQ shop since Ernest Servantes and Dave Kirkland, both decorated in the competition circuit, opened together. The industrial room with iron beams and exposed brick fills fast. Brisket, ribs, and sausage lean toward tender and lightly smoked rather than aggressively bark-forward. A Michelin Bib Gourmand and a James Beard nomination keep the queue honest.

1. Texas Monthly #1 · The 50 Best BBQ Joints in Texas
2. James Beard Awards 2023 · Nominee · Best Chef: Texas · Ernest Servantes and David Kirkland
3. Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand

Two brothers run this Texas BBQ shop near the stadium, open only Thursday through Saturday, which keeps the line long and the brisket moving fast. The setup is classic smoke-and-queue, but house-made flour tortillas stand in for white bread, and the sides swing toward poblano mac and cheese and okra-laced beans. Texas Monthly named it one of the state's 50 best BBQ joints, which the regulars already knew.

1. Bon Appétit America's Best New Restaurants
2. Texas Monthly The 50 Best BBQ Joints in Texas
3. Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant

The picadillo mac and cheese earned a shoutout from the New York Times, which tells you something about what this South Side BBQ counter is doing. Everything is cut and weighed market style, so you load your tray with brisket, turkey, and sides that lean hard into Mexican tradition: pickled nopales, street corn, chicharrón mac. A line forms early and moves slowly for good reason. Texas Monthly put it on their statewide list, and a James Beard semifinalist nod followed.

1. Texas Monthly The 50 Best BBQ Joints in Texas
2. Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
3. San Antonio Express-News #9 · Top 50 Restaurants in San Antonio

The menu lives on a board, the pits run on post oak and mesquite, and the building used to sell gasoline. This is a barbecue counter in a converted gas station on Loop 410, and it's been going strong for decades. All meat is cut to order, the brisket sandwich arrives on cottony white bread that's somehow exactly right, and Mimi's potato salad, a family recipe, is the side you don't skip. The Michelin Guide has it listed.

1. Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
2. Eater The Best Restaurants in San Antonio

1. San Antonio Express-News #25 · Top 50 Restaurants in San Antonio
2. Eater The Best Restaurants in San Antonio
3. James Beard Awards 2023 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: Texas · Andrew Ho, Andrew Samia, and Sean Wen

1. AAA Approved
2. San Antonio Express-News #3 · Top 10 Outdoor Dining Restaurants

1. AAA Approved

1. James Beard Awards 2023 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: Texas · Andrew Ho, Andrew Samia, and Sean Wen
2. James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: Texas · Andrew Ho, Andrew Samia, and Sean Wen