Had lunch there today for the first time, I have died and gone to heaven. Best barbecue I've ever had.

While traveling through the area, I wanted a local BBQ place and this rated high. At 1:45 on a Sunday afternoon, it was pretty busy. The building is a dump, conveniently located to a dump of a motel that looks like something out of a horror movie. There's writing on the walls, it's dirty and they have cheap junk merchandise they'll be glad to sell you. When entering, you can see a couple of dozen people trying to find somewhere to sit, with the counter across the room. The cashier was rude, dismissive and pretty much like "hurry up" when I tried to take a minute to look at the menu. I waited about 10 minutes before having to fight others to get a table. It's great sitting at a filthy table and having to wipe it down yourself. (meanwhile they expect tips where you order) It was another 20 minutes before my food arrived to the counter where they screamed out peoples names. (next to the tip jar) The ribs were cold, the sides were cold, and it was mostly flavorless. I've made better ribs in my crockpot. Overall it was underwhelming and a place I'm glad to forget. It seems to be really popular, there must be a lack of choices in the area. When I left, I searched around for a place to fart. read more

Great menu. Super nice staff. The brisket & beer cheese sandwich on a pretzel bun is . Don't skip the pretzel bun. Trying their different bbq sauces is fun. I love the SC Mustard and the Apple Bourbon sauces. The Mac n cheese is creamy and peppery - very good. The beer cheese grits is good, but maybe just a bit too rich for me. The corn pudding is a win. Totally worth the 20 min drive from our hotel! Definitely hometown BBQ joint kind of feel. We'll see you next time we're in town! read more

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Only restaurant opened late on a Friday night. We wanted bbq, friendly place. Got the two meats and ribs special. We tried pulled pork and brisket. The ribs were good if you like dry rub. Pulled pork was good but the brisket was on the dry side. Cole slaw was good, tried the beer cheese grits, not for me, had a beer after taste. Mac and cheese was decent read more

If you are at the horse park you must add this to your list to grab lunch or dinner. If you do, be sure to get there early as like most BBQ joints they will sell out. We got a smoked sausage plate (by mistake-supposed to be burnt ends) but it turned out ok as the sausage was good. Also got the pulled chicken as they were out of the smoked. They were also out of brisket. I enjoyed the meats and of course the delicious sides. If you like fried green tomatoes you must order them. Very good. Loved the vibe of the roadside BBQ. Plenty of seating inside and out. Parking lot can get crazy so be careful. The service was good. Staff very pleasant and polite wanting to make sure your needs are met. If you get a carry out order, double check it before you start driving. They messed ours up in the craziness of a Sunday dinner rush. Will definitely be back the next time we are at the horse park. read more

Red State BBQ - Roadside BBQ - Barbeque Near Me - Lexington, Kentucky

Do you not think people need napkins and silverware for there delivery orders? Cmon, man.

Stopped in here for road-trip lunch. Very casual diveBBQ spot of excellent quality. Place was busy & it had just opened. Wait in line, order at counter, they call your name at another counter when ready. Seriously good pulled pork sandwich. Nice smoke. Literally a table of assorted BBQ sauce types to choose from- I thought all were tasty except not a fan of N C mustard BBQ. Side of corn pudding was moist& tasty. Meal decent sized portion for the price. Definitely plan to return when in area! read more

Will not return. The food was just meh. The wait is not worth it. Service was the best part of the meal!

We have always made this a stop when visiting Lexington. It had been a few years since we had been in the area when we went in March of 2025. We both decided it must have been an off night as neither one of us felt our meal came close to being as good as we remembered in previous years. Sadly, after our meal tonight, we decided we could mark it off our list in future Lexington visits. The chopped pork was dry as well as the ribs, same as last year. Not the experience we wanted for a $44 meal. I guess all good things must come to an end. One bright note - the cashiers were very friendly. read more

Overall, it was OK. They forgot to add the cornbread muffins to our to go order, and when we asked for gator sausage we were told it's not on the menu. Pork ribs were a bit dry to the point of the outer skin was more of a husk and peeled off instead of falling off, but the brisket and potato salad were pretty good. read more

Red State BBQ - Gator sausage? We were told it's not on the menu. ‍ - Barbeque Near Me - Lexington, Kentucky

Finally dined at Red States BBQ. We will be back! Such a friendly eatery. Booths, tables ( nicely spaced ) and takeout. Quite a big menu with pork, chicken, brisket sandwiches or plates and lots of sides chives. If dining in... there are at least 8 bbq sauces available on your table. Ordering at the counter. Delivery for your counter pickup shortly thereafter. Decor... sign the walls or ceiling... a bit much but ... Big parking lot. Bus your own table. No loud music. Good food and happy bbq fans. read more

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I've never written a review before, but after my dinner tonight, I felt that I had to. We ordered pull pork plates, with 2 sides. My pulled pork serving was half the size of my husbands, but my main complaint was that it was all COLD! The green beans were warm, but the pork was cold, the corn muffins were cold, and how can you spread very cold butter, on a cold muffin? I took my plate up to the counter and asked if they could warm up my food? They brought back another plate----just as COLD as my original plate! I've been to Red State several times, in the past and always had good food, but after tonight, we are going to City B-Que!!!! read more

Atmosphere is cool. The service is great and the food is awesome!! We will be!! Thank you for the hospitality!! read more

Red State BBQ - Pulled pork & Tater salad - Barbeque Near Me - Lexington, Kentucky

Awesome barbecue. Came out very fast. Great sauces and sides. Enjoyed the pulled pork sandwich and double smoked brisket. Private parking lot. Gets popular at lunch time. read more

Red State BBQ - Pulled pork sandwich and coleslaw - Barbeque Near Me - Lexington, Kentucky

When researching the Lexington area, Red State BBQ was listed as THE best bbq spot to try! The inside has been written over top to bottom. This felt like locals spot off the beaten path to downtown. The menu board offers a wide variety of smoked meats, sides, and sauces. They mentioned they were known for their brisket which did not disappoint! The mac n cheese and baked beans were the highlights for sides. Food was ordered and out in about 5 minutes. I HIGHLY recommend making a stop to try this local bbq spot. You won't be disappointed! read more

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Perfect dive bbq. yumtacular. Went about five miles out of our way while passing through Lexington. Worth it

With a line out the door this place is definitely a favorite for many. With solid barbecue packed with some great flavor and tender meat, I was also not let down. The BBQ itself was definitely amongst the upper tier of what I've had (excluding backyard bbqs and the random dudes with smokers), and the sides were also quite good. The interior was cozy yet expansive with plenty of seating for groups large or small, it resembled a local spot which it is, despite this people were hawking seats while waiting in line (including us). Despite the rush it was nice and clean inside. The prices were quite fair especially for bbq, portions were good, and service was very friendly yet I will say it took a tad on the longer side for them to prepare after it was ordered. Would recommend and return read more

We have been to Lexington three times and every time we have to hit Red State BBQ. This place gets busy but the service is pretty quick and the staff are friendly. During our visits, we have tried the brisket, pulled pork, pulled chicken, jalapeño sausage, smoked wings, beer cheese grits, fries, corn muffins, fried green tomatoes, and Mac 'n cheese. First of all, let me tell you the portions are huge! The pulled pork and pulled chicken have always been delicious. The brisket is hit or miss, sometimes it's nice and juicy and other times it's a little dry. The jalapeño sausage is consistently good. We have had the fried green tomatoes twice, the first time they were delicious but the second time they weren't as good. The beer cheese grits, fries, and corn muffins are always good. The meat plates come without sauce which allows you to add whatever kind of sauce you want. They offer about six different kinds of BBQ sauce for you to choose from. While the brisket is hit and miss, Red State BBQ has enough great food to keep us coming back. read more

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Sauces, sauces, sauces! So much barbecue sauce variety.....we loved trying them all! Apple Bourbon, North Carolina spicy vinegar, Memphis sweet and Kentucky Small Batch (that has a taste of Maker's Mark) ....different and delicious! Friendly service and unique diner ambience. We always love our trips here! read more

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Grok recommended this restaurant and it was right. We had 5 people in our party and we all tried something different. Everyone enjoyed the food. The least favorite side was the potato salad. The favorite was the cole slaw. The pulled pork was amazing, ribs were very good and the brisket was nice and tender. We loved the variety of sauces available. The fried are home made. The fried pickles were the absolute best we have ever had. Like for all time. Seriously, they were fantastic. It's a small restaurant with not a lot of space. You order at the counter when you come in and find a seat. I'd highly recommend this place for some great Kentucky style BBQ. read more

Keep in mind I am a Texas BBQ man through and through. So if it sounds like I am being harsh I'm not just my opinion. - Over all opinion for red state bbq I give it a 4 out of 10 rating for BBQ . I wish they had not been sold out of the brisket so I would have been able to taste their brisket. Before making judgement/ review. - The ribs were very dry and tasted overcooked or just dried out. - the jalapeno cheese sausage was very good. - the BBQ egg rolls were a new style of side for me. And I liked them to be honest. - the pulled chicken had a good flavor. - bread pudding was very good also. Must people don't know how to make a decent bread pudding. read more

We stopped by as we were driving home to Indiana. One of the best road side BBQ places I have found. Very popular with locals based on the crowd and parking lot. In the middle of nowhere, but worth finding it. I had the double smoked brisket. It was so tender and needed no sauce at all (although they have a wide variety to choose from). read more

Red State BBQ - Main entrance. Don't judge a book by its cover. - Barbeque Near Me - Lexington, Kentucky

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Just amazing. We had ribs and brisket with corn pudding, corn bread, cheese grits and collard greens. My favorite side was the corn pudding, so heavenly. Well worth the drive again. read more

I love places like this! We're road tripping home and decided to pull off the highway and try Red State BBQ. I'm glad we did. Slightly sketch outside but boy oh boy the food! Worth it! We got the 2 meat platter. The meat is great, the greens delish, the corn bread muffins-yum! The staff efficient and work to get you through the line. Eat your food- clean your table- and make room for the next group. We highly recommend! It's a gem! read more

We were looking for some BBQ on our road trip home and we decided to stop here- such a great decision! Food was excellent! I had the pulled pork with mac and cheese- both delicious. Multiple BBQ sauces to try - I liked the sweet BBQ and the Kentucky reserve. Staff was nice and the food was ready quick. The interior has graffiti on the walls from previous patrons which really gives that BBQ establishment feel. Good amount of parking If you are looking g for a local small business BBQ place- give this one a try! Will definitely be back next time I'm in town! read more

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I would normally give this place 5 stars, but this time we went later in the day and it seemed like the staff and kitchen had basically checked out. Our meals were kind of thrown together, they forgot to put the coleslaw on the pulled pork sandwich, the mac and cheese was cold, the brisket was fatty, cold and tough. Everyone has off days, but I was kind of disappointed this time. read more

Red State BBQ - Cold mac and cheese, beans, brisket - Barbeque Near Me - Lexington, Kentucky

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We've been meaning to eat here for a while and finally got here for a weekday lunch. Traffic on the road was steady, but the restaurant wasn't crowded and we got a good parking spot. You order at the counter and fill your own drinks. Hubby got the brisket sandwich, baked beans, and mac & cheese. I chose the sliced brisket plate with beer cheese grits and coleslaw. The sandwich, brisket, baked beans, mac & cheese, and coleslaw were delicious. I think the beer cheese grits require an acquired taste. I like some varieties of beer cheese better than others although I don't like to drink beer. The grits were very cheesy, but the serving was more than I cared for. The service was good, all of the signatures on the walls are interesting, and we enjoyed our visit. read more

Red State BBQ - Sliced Smoked Brisket Sandwich with Baked Beans and Mac ' n ' Cheese - Barbeque Near Me - Lexington, Kentucky

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It was disappointing after reading all the great reviews. The food is nothing special. The restaurant is in an old small building and not clean with writing all over the walls. It is also in front of a sketchy looking motel. The only good thing was the banana pudding. read more

On my way to Georgia and got the grumbles. BBQ was on my mind. Yelped what's in the area and Red State pops up. Divey BBQ spots are usually the best and this place didn't disappoint!! People wrote on the walls and ceilings and I loved it. Half slab of ribs, beer cheese grits and fried green tomatoes. Boom. Texas something or ruther bbq sauce. Oh and PEACH bread pudding. Oh and Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale (8.2%) Ribs-perfect smoke. Fall off the bone. Sauce so good I couldn't tell the rib from my finger and bit myself. Beer cheese grits- damn. Just damn. Fried green tomatoes- good but I've had better. Peach Bread Pudding- cmon. Peach cobbler had a baby with bread pudding?? I'm about to lose feeling in my toes. So damn good that I could care less about taking pics. If you're In the area and get the hankering for some meat sweats, stop here. You won't be sorry. read more

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On a road trip to some WV National Parks we stopped here for lunch and we are so happy that we did. The brisket was delicious . It melted in our mouth. We think it is the best we have had ever and we are talking about 50+ years of brisket. My nephew enjoyed the wings with some cornbread and my sister had the peach bread pudding. The service was fast and friendly. I enjoyed the strawberry shortcake. We would definitely be back if ever in the area. read more

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Fantastic barbecue. The selection of meats and sides and sauces is truly endless. Everything I've tried there has been awesome. Worth the drive any day of the week read more

I really wanted to like this place. We've had this on our list for a while and finally made a special trip just to try it. Every detail I mention is done so in hopes of better preparing you for your visit should you look to try this place. There was a lot we wasn't aware of so I hope this helps. Prepare for terrible parking. It's very limited and is shared with a run down motel sort of facility. The interior really could use a makeover. While I appreciate original, simple restaurants, the graffiti just looks tacky and dirty. We waited in line, which seemed promising, but it was due to only one person taking orders. There's no waitresses or bus service for the tables. We were constantly getting knocked into and shoved as the venue is small and chaotically setup. There's a divider in the middle of the room that would really open the room up if it was removed. Good luck finding a seat for dine in as there are very few tables available. Also, the restroom has an uncovered window, in which men were standing outside of it so I passed on that. Should you be lucky enough to get a seat, the entire time you'll hear employees yelling for customers to come back to pick up their orders. Now on to the food. Normally with smoked food, you can smell the smoker in the parking lot and a lot of times it's overbearing in the building. This was not the case. The food did not have a smoked flavor or fresh taste. The brisket was dry and tasted like a roast cooked in a crockpot. The pulled pork was juicy but under seasoned. The mac and cheese did not taste fresh and had a powdered cheese texture and flavor. The cole slaw was discolored like it was going bad and did not taste good. The fries were limp and not crispy. I will say, their variety of sauces were nice and a few tasted pretty good. In summary, this was nowhere near the best bbq I've eaten and while I'm glad to have checked it off our list, we will not be returning customers. read more

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I stopped here on a long road trip. It's a hole in the wall place with a nondescript exterior. Yet, at 8 pm, the place was full of cars. For BBQ, the more unassuming the place, the better. Usually, if I smell wood smoke, it's even better. Alas, no smoke smell here. But, given the cars outside, I decided to go in. Southern BBQ is almost always a better choice than other quick food options. That proved true here. I had the brisket, pulled chicken, greens, and corn pudding. All were pretty good. Main room for improvement would be to have more tender, less fat brisket. But, it's still good. Sauces were tasty too and the food came out in under 5 minutes. Check out my photos: This place is the most graffitied interior I've ever seen. Wow. That took some time! Based on when I was there, it seemed to be a local favorite. BBQ gets a 4* Service: 5* for being super fast Price: 3.5* because it was a little high for fast service BBQ read more

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Ok, the best BBQ joint in the state of KY! Hands down! The smoked meats are perfection!! The sides are on point and the desserts are delicious. Well I guess you can say I'm a fan! Correct!! read more

It was not terrible. But I'm seriously underwhelmed. I had to pulled pork with green beans. The green beans were straight out of a can with no flavor. The greens tasted like they had been boiled in salt water. The picture on the menu is like "grandma's greens" so the picture is very deceiving.. My husband got the twice smoked brisket with coleslaw and baked beans. He said the baked beans were good the coleslaw was average and the brisket was more fat than anything. All that being said would I come back? Definitely not. read more

Red State BBQ - Twice smoked brisket, baked beans, coleslaw - Barbeque Near Me - Lexington, Kentucky

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After driving to Lexington from California, my daughter and I were looking for authentic Kentucky bbq. Red State BBQ not only didn't disappoint, it was everything we wanted and more. The food was delicious, the atmosphere was welcoming, and the owner, David Carroll, was friendly, taking the time to come from behind the counter and talking to all of the diners. We will definitely be going back, and highly recommend this little restaurant that delivers such big flavors! read more

Just got a lb of pulled pork & a lb of brisket to go. Very disappointed. Both are very dry & not very smoky. We'll have to put so much sauce on them that we can't taste the meat. With the high rating was expecting better read more

Incredible! This boy from Chicago was loving me some BBQ. Had them smoked wings and a brisket samwich. Both were 5 star. Then tried the cheese grits, potato salad and slaw. The slaw was good but the others were excellent! I guess this is the place! read more

Red State BBQ - Barbeque Near Me - Lexington, Kentucky

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Wanted some BBQ and reviews said this was the place to go in Lexington, KY. Went in placed our order. Place is set up like a cozy farm house, good place to eat BBQ. We placed our to go order and it was ready pretty quick. It was later in the day so the meat tasted a little to dried out. However, I can tell by the flavor of the ribs, brisket it's pretty good BBQ. We said we would have to come in early, when it has not been sitting keeping warm to long. Sides were good and dessert too, Mac and cheese, greens and beans. Definitely would give another try. Great customer service. read more

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What a great little hideaway! We got our food to go so we can't relate to the atmosphere but the food was amazing! I had the pulled chicken & fried green tomatoes! The sauce was just right, nice & tangy! My husband had the ribs, again great sauce but he REALLY enjoyed his sides, the coleslaw was crunchy & the baked beans were perfect! Yes, we would return! read more

Red State BBQ - Pulled chicken sandwiches with fried green tomatoes & ribs with coleslaw & baked beans! - Barbeque Near Me - Lexington, Kentucky