10 Best BBQ Restaurants In The Greater Denver Area
Different areas of the U.S. have vastly different preferences when it comes to barbecue. Debates over kindling, cooking time, smoking method, dry rub ingredients, sauce or no sauce, and more can rage hotter than the smokers themselves. Barbecue disciples tend to worship at the altars of their hometowns, and when uprooted, they often struggle to find a barbecue restaurant that scratches the itch. Such is the case in Denver, Colorado, which boasts a significant transplant population. Some folks seem to find solace in shops that specialize in the ingredients and techniques of their places of origin, others embrace the slowly emerging trend of "Colorado 'cue," and a fair few snivel that there is absolutely no good barbecue to be found in the Mile High City, full stop.
I've lived in Denver since 2018, and I never tire of doomscrolling through comments squabbling over Denver barbecue. As a lover of slow-smoked meat and a shameless defender of barbecue sauce, I've sought out and dined at a wide variety of barbecue restaurants here. In my professional opinion, there are actually quite a few good barbecue restaurants around town, as long as you are not married to one particular style. The following list contains Denver barbecue restaurants that edge out the competition in various ways, whether by integrating high-quality ingredients, putting unique twists on traditional smoked meat, or simply consistently churning out ridiculously delicious meals. Whether you're reading because you're looking for rage bait or are crossing your fingers there's a spectacular barbecue joint in the Mile High City that you just haven't found yet, you're in the right place.
Pit Fiend
Immortalized by Beat Generation paragons like Jack Kerouac and Neal Cassady, the northern end of Larimer Street is home to the hip, vibrant neighborhood of the RiNo Arts District. It's here that Michael Graunke and Juan Pablo Llano — former cooks at the beloved Owlbear Barbecue — broke ground on Pit Fiend Barbecue in 2022. Killer barbecue starts with high-quality meat, and Pit Fiend's is best-in-class. All beef menu items are made with ethically raised USDA Prime beef from Creekstone Farms. Sustainable, heritage-breed Duroc pork, renowned for its butter-soft texture, bright red color, and peerless marbling, is the secret to Pit Fiend's phenomenal pork offerings.
Meats are smoked over Colorado-grown white oak logs and transform into tantalizing dishes like succulent beef brisket, Caribbean-inspired mojo pulled pork, and espresso-rubbed pork belly. A beef special rotation leads to delights like pastrami, prime rib, sausages, and barbacoa, and there's even a sublime jackfruit barbecue sandwich for the plant-based gourmand.
While Pit Fiend's website asserts that "great barbecue needs no sauce," this is the place to be if you're a sauce lover. The restaurant offers seven scratch-made sauces, ranging from brown sugar-sweet to honeyed yellow mustard to the refreshing Wight sauce made with garlic and cilantro. Plop down on the patio at Our Mutual Friend, the neighboring brewery, to enjoy a smoked blonde ale or vanilla imperial stout with your St. Louis spare ribs, coleslaw, and pit beans.
(303) 955-7810
2826 Larimer St, Denver, CO 80205
A Bit Twisted Brewpub
A Bit Twisted Brewpub & BBQ in Aurora is an oasis for the smoked meat crusader who craves a cold one with their 'cue. The gastropub was founded by a gang of friends from Texas and Colorado who felt that Aurora was sorely lacking on the craft beer front. The four friends banded together to fill that gap with A Bit Twisted in 2021. The fledgling restaurant was quick to earn its stripes, gleaning gold stars for both its beer and its barbecue since its inception.
A Bit Twisted relies on oak wood harvested from nearby Weston, Colorado. You won't see any pellets or gas here; it's all about the charcoal. The beer pairing possibilities are endless. Try the Sausage Fest platter, consisting of two spicy hot links, beer cheese, and fries, with a pint or two of Aurora Hazy IPA. Dig into the brisket grilled cheese (luscious brisket with a white American and fiesta cheese blend on grilled Texas toast) with the dark, malty, and creamy Oreo cookie stout. Pair the Pulled Pork Sundae — a behemoth "salad" of tater tots dominated by smoked baked beans and melt-in-your-mouth pulled pork — with Grandpa's Pocket Candy (a Werther's candy cream ale) and pecan pie à la mode. Drop in to catch a Nuggets game or for one of the brewpub's many events, from trivia tournaments to brewery bootcamp fitness classes to Wednesday night poker.
(720) 350-4905
3095 S Peoria St, Aurora, CO 80014
Smokin' Yards
Father-son trio Alan, Ian, and Scott Yard have been crushing it in the smoked meat biz since bringing their barbecue game to Idaho Springs in 2008, but Denverites need no longer battle treacherous I-70 ski traffic to get their Smokin' Yards fix. The family opened a second location in the effortlessly cool Santa Fe Arts District in 2017, and today, it's a beloved mainstay of the 5280's food scene. Unlike many Denver barbecue joints, which tend to zoom in on one region (Texas-style barbecue being the most prolific), the Yard family embraces Colorado's melting pot of a population and dabbles in a little bit of everything, melding the high notes of zonal barbecue styles into a striking symphony it dubs "high-elevation barbecue."
Complimentary boiled peanuts set the vibe as soon as one steps inside the cozy space. Carolina pulled pork, St. Louis-style ribs, beef burnt ends, and a catfish po'boy find a delicious harmony on the menu, an accomplishment seemingly impossible for some of Denver's truculent out-of-staters. The brisket sloppy Joe is a fan favorite when available, the "Colorado-famous" smoked hot wings with fries and ranch are hard to pass up, and if you prefer leaner ribs over the fattier St. Louis kind, Smokin' Yards has your (baby) back.
As smoked meat disciples well know, side dishes can make or break a barbecue restaurant, and Smokin' Yards knows how to deliver a hallelujah. Dependable accoutrements include country-style mac and cheese, fried pickles, creamed corn, fried okra, and more — each a heavenly way to complete your plate before heading off to the First Friday Art Walk.
(303) 284-3349
900 W 1st Ave, Denver, CO 80223
Roaming Buffalo
It's not hard to track down bison, lamb, or Rocky Mountain oysters in Denver, but for wild game with a twist, Roaming Buffalo is the place to be. This woman-owned South Downing Street barbecue joint has been serving up some of the city's finest smoked meats for over a decade. While the space may be small, the barbecue, slow-smoked over Texas pecan and oak wood for a subdued smokiness, is major league. Everything is made from scratch, from the smoked peach upside-down cake to the venison sausages, right down to the house-made sauces and dry rubs. The shop is revered for galvanic, melt-off-the-bone smoked lamb shoulder, but with "buffalo" literally in the name, Colorado bison back ribs are a must-try as well.
Meats may be purchased by the pound or by the plate, the latter of which comes with a side (options include the smoked poblano cheddar mac, andouille and roasted corn grits, or the smoked sweet potato with pecan butter) and a corn muffin. Its sandwiches are also worthy of note. The spicy, smoky Real McCoy, dolled up with pulpy brisket burnt ends, bison green chile and cheddar sausage, smoked gouda, and honey-pickled jalapeños, will live in your brain rent-free for years. If you're dining on a budget, you can score a $3 barbecue sammy at Roaming Buffalo every weekend.
(303) 722-2226
2387 S Downing St, Denver, CO 80210
Post Oak
A love of community and a deep passion for Texas barbecue prompted Nick Prince to open Post Oak Barbecue on Tennyson Street in Denver's trendy Berkeley neighborhood in 2019. As Prince says on Post Oak's website, "I've never wanted to compete in the most competitions or win the most blue ribbons. All I've ever wanted to do is share my love for barbecue in my very own restaurant." At Post Oak, that's exactly what he does.
The eatery is a billet-doux to Central Texas barbecue, and Prince's roots shine Texas-proud in every way: There's a longhorn in the logo, Shiner beer on tap, and a 4-ton smoker stocked with 100% post oak — a perfect firewood for barbecue due to its slow-burning properties — imported directly from Austin. On top of nine tap beer options, the Tennyson eatery has a mastodonic whiskey list comprising 100+ absolute bangers, many of which hail from Texas or Colorado.
Meat-wise, we're talkin' Texas staples: juicy, all-natural Angus brisket and beef ribs marbled with pearly fat; tender smoked pork shoulder and belly; heritage spare ribs; smoked wings; burnt ends; hot links; brisket red chili; and smoked turkey. Meats are sold by the half-pound or can be piled onto a sandwich or taco with a choice of fixins'. The Ron Swanson sandwich presents a cheeky challenge in the form of a full pound of brisket, pulled pork, turkey, and pork belly served Texas- or Carolina-style, and don't leave without snagging a slice of ooey-gooey butter cake.
(303) 458-1555
4000 Tennyson St, Denver, CO 80212
Mama Jo's Chicken, Biscuits, & BBQ
Dubious reputation aside, East Colfax boasts some utter titans of the Denver dining scene, and among these colossi sits Mama Jo's Chicken, Biscuits, & BBQ. The business kicked off as a food truck, but after being knighted Westword's "Best Fried Chicken Biscuit on Wheels," it became clear the concept had legs, and the owners snagged the space formerly occupied by beloved Steve's Snappin' Dogs in 2025. Mama Jo's specializes in good ol' down-home Carolina barbecue, like something you'd expect to find alongside a warm hug and a pitcher of sweet tea in the snug kitchen of a doting Southern mee-maw. The made-with-love ethos is palpable in these locally sourced, hand-prepared dishes, which are made from scratch using old family recipes.
The Nashville hot chicken biscuit, with spicy fried chicken, house-made pickles, slaw, and Alabama white sauce piled on a biscuit, is an absolute showstopper. Mama Jo's keeps the barbecue piece simple by sticking to four offerings — pulled pork, pork ribs, smoked sausages, and jackfruit. Barbecued meats can be ordered as a biscuit sandwich à la carte or by the plate with two sides: mouthwatering, gussied-up Southern staples like pimento mac and cheese, smoked bacon collard greens, fried green tomatoes, and jalapeño hush puppies. If you still have room in your belly after all that, don't miss the banana pudding pie with crushed Nilla wafers.
(303) 333-7627
3525 E Colfax Ave, Denver, CO 80206
Seasoned Swine
From helping Grams fry up hot honey chicken as a youngster, to converting a Hostess Twinkies truck into one of the best food trucks in the state, to finally opening a brick-and-mortar location in 2021, Jacob Viers, proprietor of Seasoned Swine, has undergone quite the culinary odyssey. Today, Seasoned Swine is one of the best barbecue restaurants in the greater Denver area. Viers prefers cherrywood over the more common oak or hickory. On top of the novel choice of wood, a top-secret dry rub recipe and a bespoke barbecue sauce medley comprised of ambrosial varieties like blueberry-habanero, cherry chipotle, and Carolina mustard set Seasoned Swine apart.
The "Swinocerous" and "Hogzilla" Pig Out Plates solve the puzzle of what to order by offering a little bit of everything. The single candied ribs are an ideal launch point for the Seasoned Swine menu safari. Brisket, burnt ends, smoked chicken and turkey, pulled pork, and more can be ordered as plates or sandwiches, and the joint's signature Swinewiches are top-tier. The standout side is the cherry-smoked beans, which are slow-cooked for four hours under the rib racks to catch the drippings. Seasoned Swine holds Colorado's sixth-oldest liquor license, so a blackberry margarita or an old fashioned is honestly an iconic move.
(303) 802-6646
15800 W Colfax Ave, Golden, CO 80401
Riot BBQ
The 1898 Denver Barbecue Riot featured a mind-blowing melee at the close of Denver's National Stock Growers' convention. This obscure bit of Colorado lore inspired the name of one of Denver's hottest new restaurants: Riot BBQ Company. When the dearly beloved AJ's Pit Bar-B-Cue shuttered in shocking fashion in early 2025, two AJ's alums — Michelin-recognized pitmaster Patrick Klaiber and "Top Chef" season 21 alum Manny Barello — jumped at the opportunity to bring their own concept to life in the very same space.
The formidable duo married their outstanding track records in the barbecue world with Barello's Monterrey roots in a style that was both toothsome and idiosyncratic. Elements of traditional northern Mexican cooking elevated Texas barbecue technique, churning out dynamite results like juicy pork ribs al pastor, tender brisket tacos on bison tallow tortillas, and a killer macha coleslaw studded with chile and pumpkin, sunflower, and sesame seeds. The seven-day-brined Wagyu pastrami deserves its own trophy, as does the esquites cornbread, which 303 Magazine described as "undeniably nostalgic, hearty and sweet [...] its nuance of Mexican charred cart street corn is itself a creative tether to Chef Manny's childhood." A spicy cucumber marg pairs well with many dishes' finishing touches like salsa fresca, black pico, and avocado crema, and before you exit, don't miss Klaiber's signature banana pudding, individually portioned into adorable little jars.
(303) 872-6862
2180 S Delaware St, Denver, CO 80223
Rolling Smoke
Beleaguered by corporate ennui after two layoffs, Oklahoma-raised Terry Walsh opened Rolling Smoke as a food truck in 2014, expanded with a brick-and-mortar restaurant in Aurora's Stanley Marketplace in 2017, and today operates an impressive four locations, plus a stand at Red Rocks during events. Walsh's passion for barbecue was kindled by weekend visits to Kansas City during his childhood, and KC staples like ribs, smoked brisket, and (especially) burnt ends play starring roles on the menu.
Rolling Smoke calls on pecan wood for a whisper of nuttiness under a pleasantly smoky bouquet. Slow-smoked meats — burnt ends, smoked brisket, house-made sausage (honey bourbon and hot link), pulled pork, turkey, ribs, and rib tips — are available for purchase by the plate, piled atop a mac and cheese bowl, or served as sandwiches.
Beyond the classic barbecue sandwiches, two signature sammies stand out: The El Jefe, a brobdingnagian creation of brisket, pulled pork, hot links, baked beans, and coleslaw; and the brisket French dip, stacked with thinly sliced smoked brisket, caramelized onions, melted Swiss, and horseradish mayo. Sides include old-school standards like potato salad, collard greens, and mac and cheese, and patrons may choose from six classic barbecue sauce varieties to round out their plates.
Multiple locations
Smōk
Guests of the posh Source Hotel in Denver's RiNo district have access to one of the state's hands-down best barbecue restaurants without even leaving the building. Smōk's fearless leader is Austin-born culinary nomad chef Bill Espiricueta, who cut his teeth in Kansas, Dallas, and Boulder fine dining before breaking ground on Michelin-recommended Smōk.
Smōk prioritizes seasonal ingredients and efficient operations. It uses a more eco-friendly rotisserie smoker with gas assist to keep small batches of meat cooking over oak logs 'round the clock. A butcher slices meat right in front of customers; its lineup includes turkey, fatty or lean brisket, burnt ends, and pork belly by the pound (or quarter- or half-pound) or on a signature sandwich. Traditional sides get a facelift with global flourishes: Asian-inspired coleslaw, creamed corn with elote spice and queso fresco, and pit beans swimming with pork, brisket, and Hatch chile are currently in vogue.
At the bar, slushie machines churn out elevated frozen bevvies, artisanal cocktails are shaken and stirred to order, and four taps pour craft brews from both Colorado and Kansas City. Keep an eye on Instagram for specials like free whiskey shots for National Stock Show attendees and edible brisket tallow candles sold over the holidays.
(720) 452-2487
3330 Brighton Blvd #202, Denver, CO 80216
Methodology
First off, I'd like to clarify that, regrettably, my number-one barbecue restaurant in Colorado, Wayne's Smoke Shack in Superior, could not be included in this list due to its location in Boulder County. The ten on this list represent what I believe are Denver's preeminent barbecue haunts. I have personally visited all except Mama Jo's, Riot BBQ, and Roaming Buffalo (and honestly, these three have skyrocketed on my list of must-visit eateries after writing this) — these last three were selected based on positive reviews, recent news articles, and glowing word-of-mouth recs in my trusty Denver foodies Facebook groups and Reddit threads.
I stuck with American-style barbecue restaurants for the sake of simplicity, and a number of factors went into the selection process. Obviously, the food has to be divine, and the experience needs to be consistent — factors verified by either my own experience or reliable word-of-mouth recommendations and reviews. Additionally, I absolutely love it when a barbecue joint does something a little different from the norm, so elements like Seasoned Swine's use of cherry wood in the smoking process, Riot's incorporation of Northern Mexican ingredients and cooking techniques, and Roaming Buffalo's emphasis on game animals native to Colorado all factored into the selection process. I truly believe there's some great 'cue in the Mile High City if you know where to look and are willing to pony up!