Short version - disappointing because the meat was not all that good and the small restaurant was super smoky. Not sure how this is related to Black's on Barton Springs but the Barton Springs restaurant was much better. We went into Black's about 5pm on a Sunday for an early dinner before a show at Hogg Auditorium. We got there just in time to beat the rush (the line was out the door 10 minutes after we sat down). It's not a very big restaurant indoors and it's super smoky. I like the smoke on my BBQ but not so much soaked into my clothes. There is outdoor seating but it was a chilly day. We ordered cole slaw and beans for sides. My wife wanted chicken but they didn't have any. It was early in the day so not sure why but we didn't get any explanation. She ended up getting some turkey and a couple of pork ribs. I got a big slice of fatty brisket and a couple of pork ribs, too. I was pretty disappointed in the meat. The brisket was fairly moist but not very smoky and not much bark. The ribs were cut from the end so didn't have much meat and were pretty dry. The best meat was the turkey - very moist and fairly smoky. The sides were generic in a good way. The beans were heavy on the chili powder. The slaw had something on the spicy side, maybe horseradish, that was very good. I went back for some dessert because the peach cobbler was calling me. It was pretty disappointing. I got the tail end of the batch and got a lot of crust and not much peach. I should have just asked for a pull from a new batch but it had gotten really busy and had already taken me almost 15 minutes to get the cobbler. Our meal was pretty cheap, about $30 total because we didn't get much food and no alcohol. But even then, it was pretty disappointing. read more

Excellent barbeque. Tender and very flavorful chicken. Prompt and friendly service. Clean dining area. If you like barbeque, you should give Black's a try. read more

Was in town for Father's Day and wanted to taste great barbecue. I had just saw a article on Aaron Franklin and drove by his restaurant but the line was too long. Before leaving my daughter suggested Black's Barbecue. We just beat the crowd I ordered beef rib, fatty brisket, macaroni & cheese, and green beans. The dyar of the meal was the beef rib it was excellent so tender it practically melted in my mouth. All the food was good I would say the difference between Black's and other places they meat was lightly seasoned. You really tasted the meat which was excellent. I liked the green beans a lot. The Macaroni & cheese was good very creamy. The service was great the staff was very friendly and polite. Highly recommend. read more

Black's Barbecue Austin - Giant beef rib, fatty brisket, green beans, and macaroni &cheese - Barbeque Near Me - Austin, Texas

Ah yes, when in Texas, DO SOME BBQ! Coming from Austin airport, this was my very first stop. And HOLY DAMN fatty delicious brisket is all I can say! What a great introduction to some good ol'fashioned Texas BBQ! We ordered off the "Feed the Family" menu and easily came out close to $240 (with drinks), but that was for about 15 of us with kids. We had a large group, but had to resort to the outside heat as our only dining option was to sit out on the patio. The inside also had about eight long patio tables, but they were all taken. They've got fountain drinks, a pickle/onion stand, towel racks, and bottles of sauces for the taking. Now to the goods: ~ Brisket: 5 lbs (feeds 18-20) of fatty soft melt-in-your-mouth smoky heaven! Probably the best I've had in a long long time! When you see him put that slab on the chopping board and see it sliced at a slight angle... Damn! Seeing the ring and juices flowin' mmm mmm mmm! And that rub... Oh man! ~ Ribs: 2.5 lbs of tender ribs. Close to fall off the bone, but that just means it's probably been sittin'. Still good, just not my favorite. Decent rub as well. ~ Turkey: 1 lb of succulent breast! I mean, who doesn't love a good juicy breast?!?! They did it right as this each slice retained it's juice. Could use a bit more pepper, but it's turkey so I'll settle for the juiciness. ~ Sides: We added three large sides and they were all fairly good. ~~ Green beans - Buttery regular steamed or boiled green beans. Nothing to rave about. ~~ Cheesy mac-n-cheese - I don't care what people say when they think cheese shouldn't be part of bbq. Forget that! Being a cheese-lover, I needed it an d this was really some cheesy mac that we all ended up devouring. Nuff said! ~~ Mexican Street Corn - Oh hell yeah! If you don't know what to get. Then either get this or the mac. Nice and peppery with a slight chili powder spice, but not what you expect with a buttery chili cobb. Still loved it! Overall, this easily beats out any California BBQ any day haha! Now I'm embarrassed just to even mention that, eek. read more

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Tried the fatty brisket and it was awful. Not sure how they can serve such bad brisket and continue to operate in Austin. Maybe this is a tourist spot. The brisket lacked flavor and was hard and dry - not edible. Sausage and sides were good. Sides: 3 out 5 Fatty brisket: 1 out of 5 Sausage: 4 out of 5 Ambiance 4 out of 5 Finding parking: 1 out of 5 read more

We were near The University yesterday, our go-to place (Stiles Switch) was closed and we wanted some barbecue. The went back to the Austin location of the world renown Black's Barbecue in Lockhart. We have had trouble at this location mainly associated with the personnel. Today, the problem was with the lean brisket. It was overcook, dry and near flavorless. We assume the brisket gets impair during its transport from Lockhart. If you are having a problem with lean brisket as a Texas barbecue restaurant, you have problems. The good news, they are serving chicken at this location and the music was great. Lots of Merle, Willie and Waylon. read more

I accidentally placed a catering order to the wrong location (Lockhart) and the staff here were able to accommodate an extremely short notice group order. This was my mistake, and they were extremely friendly and helpful even though it was most likely an inconvenience for them. Christy and Luis were awesome and didn't hesitate to help me out 20 min before I needed to have the order for my meeting! Thanks for the outstanding customer service (and, as always, the yummy BBQ)! read more

My family visited Black's after trying to get in to a few other Austin bbq joints only to find super long lines. Can people with children who can't wait in line for hours still get good bbq in town? Yes, Black's is awesome. We ordered a variety of meats- lean brisket, turkey, garlic sausage, macaroni and cheese, and beans. In my opinion, the price was very reasonable compared to other barbecue restaurants in area for the amount of food we ordered. The brisket was very tender and the garlic sausage was very flavorful. Also, loved the Mac and cheese- lots of cheesy goodness. Admittedly, I haven't been to all of the trendy barbecue restaurants around but I loved my experience here and the food was good too. And that's all I have to say about that. read more

Black's Barbecue Austin - Brisket, garlic sausage, turkey, macaroni and cheese, and beans. A little bit of everything. - Barbeque Near Me - Austin, Texas

Racially enforced mask policy. Depending on your race, they will let some people order without wearing a mask, but will tell others they need to wear one. The only distinction between myself and the customer before me was our race. When I confronted the employee (white male with long black hair) about it, he was smug and condescending. Been here many times before, but never again. read more

The massive beef rib is what you want here. Its smoked perfectly and so tender it falls off the bone. Its like eating a steak its so good. The sauce is excellent as well but you really dont need it. Speaking of dont need, the trend of Texas bbq places with bad sides continue. The potato salad and the beans were like they were purchased from Sisco, they were bland and tasted mass produced. The meat is king here, just order the meat and some bread, dont worry about the sides. read more

Very good texas bbq. The beef rib was big and juicy. The line was not too long, good service. read more

Black's Barbecue Austin - Barbeque Near Me - Austin, Texas

Nice outdoor seating. Food is ready quickly and tasty . Not a lot of parking, but there is space across the street. Servers are friendly

Well unfortunately Black's was not what I needed it to be. The sausage though flavorful did not hold together well when sliced. The ribs were decent with a good bit of meat on the bones and the brisket was moist and well marbled. I can't say that I was a fan of the sauce though. None of the sides were to my liking. The banana pudding was a nice serving, but it definitely wasn't my grandma's 'nana puddin'. Try he staff were great which is always a plus with me. Remember this review is only my opinion so you may have found your meat coma establishment. read more

When in Texas, breakfast tacos & BBQ! & Black's was my BBQ stop over the weekend! Black's has a lean but mean menu - beef-heavy though (brisket, beef ribs, smoked turkey, pork ribs & sausage). Sean F. and I basically ordered everything but the beef ribs: *Brisket (Certified Angus Beef - Lean or Fat): I tried this but I'm not typically a beef-eater so don't quote me on this: amazingly tender and I think brisket really soaks in the smokey flavor better than other meats. *Pork Ribs: Yes. HUGE ribs but not too fatty. Wonderfully smoked. *Turkey: I was so wow'ed but this. I wasn't really expecting much but really juicy and tender. Can I have lbs and lbs of this for Thanksgiving?!?! *Potato Salad: Tangy? Check. Good enough in my book! *Sausage: Because everything else was so good, this was overshadowed. I will say that I believe it when they say it's a "80 year old recipe and techniques remain the same as each ring is hand stuffed and hand tied". The texture is much looser. They can also make any of the above in sandwich form. Sauce-wise, the pepper sauce is FUEGO, but goes really well with Norma Jean's BBQ Sauce (which is pretty tasty btw!) Apparently there's another OG location but since it's new in ATX, there was no line! The only other BBQ joint I've been to is Rudy's. however, I like that Black's is a little less crazy/chaotic/cafeteria style. There's a time and place for both but peace & quiet on Sunday AM was appreciated! read more

Black's Barbecue Austin - Turkey, pork ribs, sausage, brisket & potato salad. - Barbeque Near Me - Austin, Texas

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This wasn't the best barbecue I've ever had, but it was very good. I've never been to the original, so I can't speak to any sort of comparison there. The menu is very beef-heavy (which was fine by me!); they offer turkey, sausage, lean brisket, fatty brisket, chopped beef (brisket), and ribs. I felt like the prices were more than fair based on the portions (then again, I come from the northeast where everything is expensive) -- I got a "single meat" chopped brisket sandwich for a little over six dollars (a "double meat" was over $9, just as an FYI), two single-serve sides (Norma Jean's Beans and Extra Cheddar Mac & Cheese) at just over $2 apiece, and a peach cobbler for dessert, which was also just over $2. The beans, unfortunately, were just okay -- they didn't have a ton of flavor, and I wished their gravy had more thickness to it. The mac was delicious -- super cheesy and a healthy amount of pepper, if you like that sort of thing. The sandwich was very good, but super greasy (I know we're talking about barbecue, here, but it was much greasier than what I expected) and I wish it had just a liiiittle more flavor. The peach cobbler was great -- it had a very thin top crust chockfull of cinnamon, which I think really made it. The staff here were super friendly -- the guy at the counter chatted me up a bit and asked if I wanted anything to drink, I told him I was okay but thank you, and he reached under the counter and gave me a cup anyway, which was unexpected and really nice. All of the guys behind the counter were very nice and super helpful -- my friends and I got quite a lot of food here, and they assured us it was a judgement-free zone, which was funny and appreciated :). read more

Black's Barbecue Austin - Norma Jean's Beans, Extra Cheddar Mac & Cheese, Single Meat Chopped Beef (Brisket) Sandwich, and Peach Cobbler. - Barbeque Near Me - Austin, Texas

I returned to Black's to try the delectable Beef Rib - around 1.5-2 pounds (including bone) of tender seasoned beef. I thought these were excellent, with a nice smoke ring and lots of tender meat. I still remain less impressed with everything else on the menu; the sausage, which was surprisingly dry and mealy in texture, overly sweet lemonade, and very good Mexican Corn that's undone with an overabundance of sauce. Definitely worth your time for that beef rib, though!!! Still scores a 3 out of 5 on the 'CTJ Scale', as noted below. 5 out of 5 stars: Come-to-Jesus good. Would be OK passing away after finishing a plate here. 4 out of 5 stars: Come-to-Mary good. Would be OK being seen eating here by Mother Mary. 3 out of 5 stars: Come-to-Joseph good. Would be OK having a beer here with Jesus' Dad. 2 out of 5 stars: Come-to-the-Apostles good. Meh. Wouldn't have my last supper here. 1 out of 5 stars: Come-to-Nobody good. I wouldn't have my penultimate supper here, either. read more

Black's Barbecue Austin - Delectable beef rib; in the background, Mexican Street Corn plays a supporting role. - Barbeque Near Me - Austin, Texas

Black's is hailed as the "place tourists don't know about but locals swear by" and you surely won't be disappointed here. The brisket sang "Love Me Tender" and it was a little too intimate, but I'll allow it. After its short serenade, we dug in. And dug in. And cried when we finished, because all good things come to an end. You'll want to hit up this place earlier in the day, but they typically don't run out until past 6 pm. The lines won't scare you, if you're used to Texas barbecue. Some of the sleeper hits at Black's that you rarely find elsewhere is the Street Corn, which is a delicious Tex-mex-y corn dish and excellent play on creamed corn. My only complaint is that I wish there were more seating - especially since everyone who enters is probably stuffing themselves like a turkey (I'm guilty of course). read more

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I know Austin is know it's BBQ especially brisket. While we were in Austin for a bachelor party, we decided to order some BBQ to pick up and take back to the Airbnb. Ordering online was really easy as you go through the menu, pick out which meat you desire and what sides you would like to go with it. We went with a variety of meats including pulled pork, brisket, beef ribs, and chopped beef. As for the sides, we went with a variety as well including cole slaw, mac and cheese, and beans. Using Waze, the location was pretty easy to find, a little smaller than expected and parking was scarce. As you walk up, you immediately smell all of the delicious smoked meats. The decor was really nice. The cool thing was, as you see people order, you see they cut/chop the meats and portion right in front of you. We got back to our AirBnb and jumped right in. All of the meat was ok, none of the sides were very memorable unfortunately. I just have to compare this to Salt Lick which we had just the day before. read more

Black's Barbecue Austin - Barbeque Near Me - Austin, Texas

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Sorry, from out of town and did not like the barbecue for our taste. No sweetness of any type (barbecue sauce vey tart, potato salad as well, meat bland) Others may like but just not for us. read more

I love the cream corn and most of all the CORN BREAD!!! The corn bread was moist and delish!!!! Brisket and sausage (j& c) were okay, the brisket was a little bit dry that's why I gave it a 3 star. read more

Black's Barbecue Austin - Brisket, Sausage (j&c), cream corn and CORN BREAD! - Barbeque Near Me - Austin, Texas

Atmosphere was good. People were nice. Good service. The beans and potato salad were good. Of course Texas bbq is all about the brisket. So, How was the brisket you ask??? I hit 11 bbq places in 4 days and tried brisket in 8 of them. I would put Blacks at 5 on the list. It was good but not great. Many other places I would pick before returning here. read more

Very good. Bit of a wait time but hands down excellent fatty brisket, beef rib, brisket sandwich, with sides macaroni and cheese, corn, and potato salad. read more

great service and delicious food: even for a vegetarian, keep up the good quality guys

They're only getting two stars because I had zero problems with service. The food was terrible, they're lucky the picture didn't save. Brisket was terrible, I had to drown it in sauce, and even then only ate the pieces that weren't BURNT. They play off people not realizing it's terry blacks... read more

Very average BBQ. Really wanted to like this place. Smelled good. First thing the server did was to scrape the bark off with the back of his knife!!! Berger do that! The pit master worked a long tome for that. Very bland and almost no smoke ring. Franklin blows this place away. Not very good bbq. read more

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This place was recommended to me by my local sister. It did not disappoint! I arrived at 10:54, and it did not open till 11. The line was already forming. It took me about 20 min to get through the line. I ordered the Pulled Pork sandwich. It was delicious! It filled me up. It was dry without me adding the bbq sauce. The sauce was semi sweet and tangy. It was not spicy at all. The benches were perfect for 8 people to sit at comfortably. The bathrooms were clean. The service was friendly. The prices were a tad expensive though. read more

Black's Barbecue Austin - Sign - Barbeque Near Me - Austin, Texas

I have not ordered BBQ in the past few months (covid) and was so excited to try Black's Barbecue. We ordered our food online in the morning and received confirmation that our food would be ready by 11:30am for pickup. There were no options to select a time, so I am not sure if you would have more of a selection later in the day. We ordered 1lb of pork ribs, 1/2lb of fatty brisket, side of beans, side of mac n cheese, peach cobbler, and banana pudding. A lot of food for two people! Haha Here is my breakdown of the food The Good: Fatty Brisket- SO delicious! Perfect amount of fat and seasoning and went perfectly with their BBQ sauce Beans- they were very savory and meaty! Peach Cobbler- a must! The crust/crumble was so delicious and perfectly sweet and cinnamon-y Banana Pudding- yum! The pudding itself had a strong banana flavor and the nilla wafers are the cherry on top! The Okay: Pork Ribs- I was expecting the ribs to be my favorite, but I missed a good salty rub on them. They tasted more smoked and did not have seasoning on the outside. However, they were cooked really well! Mac n Cheese- I prefer a creamy Mac n cheese and this was more of a dry texture. There was a ton of black pepper, which threw me off a little bit The curbside service was so quick and our bag came with packets of white bread, pickles, onions, and of course, bbq sauce! I was so happy to see that they out all of the extras packed in the bag without even asking. I really enjoyed the food, but it was a little pricey. I would recommend coming and trying their bbq! read more

It was ok. We prefer more sauce than rub, so it was Just Ok. Also, I Don't think that a Certain Number of character should be required to post a reply. Just saying! Space was Ok. read more

I ordered through DoorDash and I loved it. I got the turkey sandwich, coleslaw and peach cobbler. Every bite was delicious. They included some barbecue sauce which I normally don't eat but even it was delicious. The best smoked turkey I've ever had! The coleslaw was great too but the cobbler was the star of the show. 10:10 would recommend! read more

The Brisket and pulled was very goid. I had the mac and cheese which pretty good also.

This place is fire. Do yourself a favor and get the beef rib - big ole thang! Brisket was goooood! read more

Black's Barbecue Austin - Beef rib - Barbeque Near Me - Austin, Texas

The food was incredible, fatty brisket and pulled pork for the win! The sides have personality and add more to the overall experience with the meat. The street corn was my favorite read more

Black's Barbecue Austin - Scrumptious sides!! Beans, street corn, Mac and cheese - Barbeque Near Me - Austin, Texas

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We just visited this spot today and it was cool. No frills but it was a pretty solid BBQ spot. The Q was Ok. Not "out of this world" but it was alright. Now, the beef rib was GREAT! It was sooo tender...fell right off of the bone. The pork rib and lean brisket were not as tender as I've had elsewhere but passable. The Mac n cheese was better than I've had at other BBQ spots, that's for sure. The pinto beans were ok too..had decent flavor. We had the peach cobbler, which was a gelatinous concoction of some sort...kinda weird, but the crust was decent. I probably should have gotten the pecan cobbler:-). Overall, I'd give it a solid B-. Not bad by any means, just not spectacular. read more

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Took my out of town father here & it was the best decision. We got there early and the line moved very quick! We got a large amount of delicious food for a very reasonable price and devoured all of it. The sides were just as delicious as their meat. I will definitely be taking all of my out of town guests here in the future. 10/10 would recommend to anyone looking for mouthwatering good BBQ! read more

Very easy, simple to place order online for pick up. Really looking forward to the peach cobbler. Great reviews

Excellent BBQ. Tried almost everything and it was all top notch. Beef rib was impressive but expensive!!!!

I was very excited when I left Black's BBQ. I thought I was going to be the most popular guy at the job site buying everybody world famous Black's barbecue. A barbecue was awful! If you didn't know Black's likes to give you a container of beef and a set of buns so you can make your own sandwich. I ordered the double meat because I freaking love barbecue and they give me my friends these buns that are the size of In-N-Out burgers. Not only did I get only a single set of months for my double meat order but the beef was stringy and dry. I bet you $500 that those containers would be for prepackaged every morning. So why you think you're going in to get fresh off the pit barbecue that's going to have flavor oozing and dripping down the side of your sandwich you'll find out that the sandwich fixings that they give you are anything but appetizing. I can go on and on but it's the small things right? Whataburger kills it because their buns are bigger then any other fast food place and therefore I text him can eat his fill and not have it fall all over his plate for him to look like a child who is upset about having to eat carrots. Don't be mistaken Terry Black's barbecue is still my favorite in Austin because when you order your lien or your moist they cut it directly after you order it so it's fresh. I guess Black's barbecue is going the way of kerbey Lane and torchy's tacos. I never thought I'd see a barbecue joint born in Lockhart end up like a Arby's or another restaurant that sells out and uses a Central kitchen where your dishes prepared hours and hours before you actually get to realize that it looks way better than it tastes. This barbecue might work for people who say the charred part of the brisket is to be referred to as burnt ends when the whole brisket if Cook correctly should have a nice char over every single inch so the whole brisket is a giant burnt end. FYI char is not developed because you put too much seasoning on that fatty part of the brisket so you can call it a burn in and charge $30 a pound for it later. The char is to lock in the juicy moist deliciousness that is precious to the quality of brisket so don't cut your meat before somebody orders it because then it will do nothing but dry out and turn into sawdust just like Black's barbecue on Guadalupe. I can't believe I'm even saying these words but if there's anything this town should keep original it's the famous Texas dry rub 18-hour smoked mesquite and oak charred brisket. Leave it to I text him to take the worst cut of beef on a cow and turn it into a smoked tender juicy masterpiece read more

Black's Barbecue Austin - I ordered double meat this is a picture of one of the servings of kibble that they gave me. - Barbeque Near Me - Austin, Texas

You'll love BBQ from Black's. Plenty of meat choices with sides to accompany. Seating inside and out. read more

Black's Barbecue Austin - Smoked Turkey and Brisket - Barbeque Near Me - Austin, Texas

My favorite bbq place near campus! I love their fatty brisket because it's so moist and juicy, and their potato salad is amazing!!

Everything was fantastic. The smoke was amazing and the brisket was some of the best I've had.