The Best Barbecue in San Francisco

A mural of an angry steer watches over the counter at this Oakland BBQ shop, and the vibe tracks: the pits here are serious. Matt Horn calls it West Coast Barbecue, which means brisket, pulled pork, and sausages on butcher paper with sides like pit beans and Granny's potatoes. Lines form early and stay long. The Michelin Guide gave it a Bib Gourmand, and it landed a James Beard nomination for Best New Restaurant.

1. James Beard Awards 2022 · Nominee · Best New Restaurant
2. Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
3. Esquire #5 · The Best New Restaurants in America

Halal Texas-style barbecue and Indonesian cooking share a menu here, which sounds like a provocation until you taste it. The team built a following through pandemic-era pop-ups before settling into a brick storefront in Alameda, where brisket and smoked ribs coexist with Sumatran noodle soup and smoked fried chicken in balado sauce. The New York Times and Eater both took notice in 2024, and a James Beard semifinalist nod followed. The wait can stretch to two hours, so plan accordingly.

1. Eater The Best New Restaurants in America
2. The New York Times 2024 · The Restaurant List
3. San Francisco Chronicle #41 · Top 100 Restaurants in the Bay Area

1. San Francisco Chronicle #41 · Top 100 Restaurants in the Bay Area
2. The Infatuation #8 · San Francisco’s Best New Restaurants

A BBQ shop inside a historic railroad station in El Granada, ten minutes up the coast from Half Moon Bay. The room leans into a coastal cowboy aesthetic, which sounds like a contradiction until you're sitting in it. Slow-smoked brisket, pork ribs, and spicy sausage links are the reason to come, and the chili braised in smoked pork stock is the reason to stay a little longer than you planned.

1. Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant

Cherry and oak wood smoke is the throughline at this Berkeley barbecue shop, where the char siu and the smoked chicken land somewhere between American pitmaster and Hong Kong roast house, with a detour through Indian curry along the way. The team behind Huangcheng Noodle House in Oakland built the concept around a father's love of American barbecue, and the collision of those three kitchens is less confused than it sounds.

1. San Francisco Chronicle Best Chinese food and restaurants in the Bay Area
2. San Francisco Chronicle Best Berkeley restaurants

1. The Infatuation The 21 Best Outdoor Dining Spots In SF
2. The Infatuation The 18 Best Restaurants In NoPa

A chalkboard behind the counter maps exactly which farm each cut of meat came from, which tells you most of what you need to know about this counter-service BBQ shop tucked inside a Corte Madera mall. The ribs arrive with an obsidian crust and pink flesh underneath, the pulled pork is rich and salty, and a lineup of ten house condiments covers everything from Alabama white sauce to chow chow relish. It holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand, suburban strip mall and all.

1. San Francisco Chronicle Best restaurants in Marin County: Sausalito, Novato and San Rafael