Best BBQ in Las Vegas (2025)
Chef Bruce Kalman’s Arts District smokehouse channels Central Texas technique with Vegas personality. Recognized by Texas Monthly and highlighted by the Las Vegas Review-Journal, it’s a locals’ go-to for brisket, house sausages, and live-music vibes.
A butcher shop turned backyard institution since 1954, this North Las Vegas landmark was featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives and recently called the country’s top-rated BBQ by major outlets. Expect lines, picnic tables, and big, smoky plates.
Local pitmaster couple Brian Buechner and Natalia Badzjo bring mesquite-and-oak smoke to a roomy new westside spot, with their Henderson original still humming. The Las Vegas Review-Journal covered the 2025 opening and locals flock for carved-to-order brisket.
A pair of wooden signs and a single yellow flag mark the otherwise easy-to-miss Sun City Summerlin joint, but the line out the door — mostly men who clearly knew their way around a smoker — told me I was in the right place. Long whispered about since its start as a catering company in 2017, the restaurant now serves from a modest storefront with a few shaded picnic tables outside and is largely a takeout operation. Like many, I brought my haul home — smoked turkey, brisket, spare ribs, poblano sausage, pastrami, and a spread of house-made sides — and every bite conjured sun-soaked afternoons and wood smoke. The pastrami stood out: smoky, peppery, and meltingly tender, house-brined, cured, and made from full brisket, it’s one of the best I’ve had not just in Las Vegas, but anywhere in Nevada. Just when I thought it couldn’t get better, the honey mustard added a final punch that had me reaching for another bite and already planning my next visit.
A beloved local original serving what it calls Las Vegas–style BBQ—think saucy ribs, brisket, and the cult-favorite God Sauce. After a 2023 fire, the Henderson shop carries the torch and was added to Eater’s best barbecue list in 2025.
Worth the short drive, this Boulder City favorite has championship roots and strong local ties. The Review-Journal spotlighted its national kudos, and in 2025 longtime employees took the reins to keep the smoke rolling.
Southern comfort meets smokehouse: fried chicken gets headlines, but the pit turns out brisket and ribs, too. Frequently featured by local food writers and Eater for its poultry, it’s a friendly, family-run stop for soulful plates and house ginger beer.
I found a hidden North Las Vegas destination for slow-smoked barbecue and American comfort food that recently relocated less than half a mile and debuted a classic diner menu while keeping its smoked-meat favorites. Now operating in a remodeled 4,400-square-foot space that replaced a former McDonald’s at 3229 Losee Road, it features an outdoor patio, drive-thru window, branded wooden tabletops, booth seating, a mural by local artist Bracken Hermansen referencing the Food Network logo (a nod to its 2016 appearance on American Diner Revival), and a weathered 1953 Ford pickup out front. SNS Diner currently serves breakfast until 11 a.m. and its regular menu until 6 p.m. (it is waiting for permission to open a bar and extend hours to 10 p.m.), and the expanded menu includes chicken-and-sausage gumbo, a short-rib beef sandwich, omelets, pancakes, breakfast burritos, three-meat samplers, barbecue specials (turkey, bacon, ham, hotlinks, ribs, pulled pork, brisket), and a smoked meatball sandwich topped with brisket gravy and Monterey Jack; it sits across from Tacos El Gordo and a Denny’s, accepts reservations only, and offers takeout and drive-thru service.
A small, independently owned counter-serve where Texas-style plates, rib tips, and loaded potatoes draw neighborhood crowds. Praised by locals for friendly service and hefty portions, it’s a solid off-Strip option for comfort barbecue.