These Are Denver’s Best BBQ Spots 🍗

Denver's BBQ reputation has taken some hits over the years — usually from people who moved here from Texas or Kansas City and spent the first six months complaining about it. They're not entirely wrong, but the scene has moved. There are places in this city doing serious work with a smoker, and a few of them have been getting national attention. I put together this guide based on what I've personally eaten, what I keep going back to, and what I'd tell a friend if they asked me where to go for good BBQ in Denver right now.

One thing I'll say upfront: good BBQ in Denver sometimes means driving a little. Some of the best spots aren't downtown or in the obvious neighborhoods. If you're willing to go where the smoke is, you'll eat well.

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Roaming Buffalo Bar-B-Que

Roaming Buffalo keeps coming up whenever anyone locally serious about BBQ gets together and starts arguing. The brisket is the reason — it's properly smoked, has a real bark on it, and doesn't need sauce to be worth eating. That's a bar a lot of places in this city quietly fail to clear. The sides aren't an afterthought either, which matters more than people admit when you're building a full plate.

Post Oak Barbecue

Post Oak is probably the spot I hear mentioned most often from the Kansas City and Texas transplant crowd, which is a meaningful endorsement given how hard that crowd is to impress. Central Texas-style is the reference point here — oak smoke, simple seasoning, the kind of brisket where the fat has rendered down into something almost silky. It's not a casual drop-in kind of place; go with some patience and an appetite.

Riot BBQ

Riot BBQ earned a spot on Yelp's nationwide Top 100 Barbecue list, which got people's attention, and from what I've seen, it holds up under that scrutiny. The ribs are the move. They have a good smoke ring and enough pull without falling completely off the bone, which is where a lot of places overcorrect trying to seem tender. Worth knowing: it gets busy on weekends, so earlier is better if you want to eat without waiting a while.

Wayne's Smoke Shack

Wayne's has a different feel from some of the more polished spots on this list — it's a no-frills operation that's been doing this longer than it's been trendy. The meat-to-price ratio is genuinely good, and the burnt ends, when they have them, are worth building your order around. This is the kind of spot locals tend to keep quietly to themselves, which is exactly why I'm including it here.

GQue Championship Barbeque

GQue has multiple locations around the metro and a legitimate competitive BBQ pedigree behind it — the owner has placed well in national Kansas City Barbecue Society competitions, which isn't something most restaurants can claim. The competition background shows in the consistency. The brisket and pulled pork are both solid, and the portions are fair. Multiple locations means it's the most accessible option on this list depending on where you're coming from.

Pit Fiend Barbecue

Pit Fiend reopened its Wheat Ridge location as a taphouse situation, so you can pair something good from the tap with your food, which I appreciate. What makes Pit Fiend interesting is the sauce lineup — there are ten of them, including a Thai BBQ and a bourbon Buffalo, and each order gets finished on the grill for a charred caramelization that you don't get at most BBQ spots. It's a slightly different approach from straight Central Texas style, and it works. Watch for a second location coming to Golden.

AJ's Pit Bar-B-Q

AJ's comes up consistently when transplants from serious BBQ cities make their rankings of Denver spots, and it's not hard to see why. The smoke flavor is real, the brisket slices hold together, and the sauce is the right kind of tangy without being sweet in that way that feels like it's covering something up. It's worth the trip out there — just don't sleep on the jalapeño cheddar sausage if it's available.

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A few notes on navigating the Denver BBQ scene in general:

Most of these spots sell out of popular cuts — brisket especially — by early afternoon on weekends. If you're driving out specifically for something, going before noon is a real strategy, not just a tip. Showing up at 1:30 on a Saturday and being told they're out of brisket is a specific kind of disappointment I've experienced more than once.

The Wheat Ridge and suburbs-adjacent spots on this list are worth the drive from downtown. Denver traffic being what it is, I'd plan any of these as a destination rather than a spontaneous detour.

Denver's BBQ scene still gets unfairly dismissed by people who tried one mediocre spot years ago and wrote the whole city off. Three local spots landing on a Yelp nationwide Top 100 list isn't nothing. The city has gotten better at this, and the places on this list are the reason why.

If I had to pick one to send someone to right now, it'd depend on what they're after. For a full Texas-style experience, Post Oak. For the most accessible option with multiple locations, GQue. For something a little different with the grill finish and the sauce variety, Pit Fiend is worth your time.

Go hungry. Bring napkins. Denver BBQ is worth taking seriously now.