Dry rub ribs from World Famous Rendezvous.

A Neighborhood Guide to Memphis Barbecue

From Beale Street to Graceland, from the Stax Museum of American Soul Music to the suburbs, you'll find a Memphis barbecue restaurant close by — wherever you are in town. See, Memphis boasts more than 100 barbecue restaurants across the city. So whether you're looking for an authentic taste of Memphis near your itinerary or want to take the Memphis Barbecue Challenge — the delicious work of sampling barbecue in every one of our neighborhoods — use this handy map and list to plan your tasting.

There are 101+ Barbecue Joints in Memphis.

How many have you tried?

Click on the neighborhood in the map above to find world-famous restaurants and hole-in-the-wall joints near you. Or, scroll our list of barbecue restaurants by neighborhood below.

Downtown Memphis Barbecue

Whether you're Downtown for a night on Beale, taking in a game at FedexForum or AutoZone Park or exploring a local museum from the Memphis Music Hall of Fame to the National Civil Rights Museum, dining at a barbecue joint should definitely be on your to-do list. Here are a few BBQ favorites in Downtown Memphis:

  • HOG WILD-REAL MEMPHIS BARBECUE
  • PIG ON BEALE
  • TOMMIE'S BAR B QUE & SNACKBAR
  • TOP'S BAR-B-Q - JACKSON AVE.

Midtown Memphis Barbecue

After exploring Memphis Zoo and Overton Park, or staying out late-night in the entertainment districts of Overton Square and Cooper-Young, nothing tastes better than these Midtown Memphis barbecue restaurants:

  • THE BAR-B-Q SHOP
  • CENTRAL BBQ
  • TOP'S-BAR-B-Q - UNION AVE.

SOUTH MEMPHIS BARBECUE

If you're in the neighborhood to visit Elvis Presley's Graceland or the Stax Museum of American Soul Music, don't miss these South Memphis barbecue institutions:

  • PAYNE'S BAR-B-QUE
  • PAPACHUCK BARBECUE
  • POLLARD'S BBQ
  • REESE'S BAR-B-Q
  • TASTEE BAR-B-Q
  • TOM'S BARBECUE & DELI
  • TOP'S BAR-B-Q - MT. MORIAH RD.
  • TOP'S BAR-B-Q - TRIPPER'S LAMAR VILLAGE
  • TOP'S BAR-B-Q - WINCHESTER RD. 

NORTH MEMPHIS BARBECUE

If you're sampling craft brews at Grind City Brewing or exploring the vertical urban village of Crosstown Concourse, get your barbecue fix at these "pit" stops:

  • CENTRAL BBQ
  • ELWOOD'S SHAC
  • FAT LARRY'S
  • MOMA'S BAR-B-Q
  • TOP'S BAR-B-Q - FRAYSER BLVD.
  • TOP'S BAR-B-Q - SUMMER AVE. #2
  • TOP'S BAR-B-Q - SUMMER AVE. #1
  • TOP'S BAR-B-Q - SHELBY CROSSING
  • TOP'S BAR-B-Q - THOMAS ST. 

EAST MEMPHIS BARBECUE

We bet you worked up an appetite exploring Memphis Botanic Garden, Lichterman Nature Center and Shelby Farms Park. Here are some of our favorite East Memphis barbecue staples to help you refuel:

  • BBQ SHACK
  • CORKY'S RIBS & BBQ
  • ONE & ONLY BBQ
  • THREE LITTLE PIGS BAR-B-Q INC.
  • TOP'S BAR-B-Q - Poplar
  • TOP'S BAR-B-Q - Rhodes
  • UNCLE MURLE'S BBQ

BARBECUE IN THE MEMPHIS SUBURBS

Whether you're exploring Main Street Collierville or catching a performance at GPAC or The Grove in Germantown, you'll find barbecue in the Memphis suburbs worth the drive. Target these smokin' hot shacks in the towns of Germantown, Collierville, Cordova, Bartlett, Millington, West Memphis (Arkansas) and Southaven (Mississippi). 

  • ARNOLD'S BBQ
  • BABY JACK'S BBQ
  • BRAD'S BAR-B-Q
  • CAPTAIN JOHN'S BAR-B-QUE
  • CORKY'S RIBS & BBQ - CORDOVA
  • CORKY'S RIBS & BBQ - COLLIERVILLE 
  • CORKY'S RIBS & BBQ- Olive Branch, MS
  • GERMANTOWN COMMISSARY - GERMANTOWN
  • GERMANTOWN COMMISSARY - COLLIERVILLE
  • JIM 'N NICK'S BAR-B-Q
  • JIM NEELY'S INTERSTATE BAR-B-Q - SOUTHAVEN
  • KING JERRY LAWLER'S MEMPHIS BBQ COMPANY
  • MEMPHIS BARBECUE CO.
  • ONE & ONLY BBQ - KIRBY
  • ONE & ONLY BBQ - TIMBER CREEK
  • OLD STYLE BAR-B-Q
  • PIG-N-WHISTLE
  • RAY'S WORLD FAMOUS BBQ - West Memphis, AR
  • ROADSIDE BBQ 
  • SMOKING D'S PIT STOP BAR B-Q
  • TOP'S BAR-B-Q - Marion, AR
  • TOPS BAR-B-Q - Southhaven, MS
  • TOP'S BAR-B-Q - WILKINSVILLE RD. 
  • WILLIAM'S BAR-B-Q
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