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    Riley's Pit BBQ

    4.5 (68 reviews)
    Open 11:00 am - 7:00 pm

    Riley's Pit BBQ Photos

    RILEY'S PIT BBQ ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Outdoor seating

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    Recommended Reviews - Riley's Pit BBQ

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    Chris F.

    This place was delicious. As the other posts say, the owner was very kind. We got beef and pork sausage and a turkey plate. All the meat was delicious and the turkey was notably moist. I had the mac-and-cheese and beans. Both were good but I liked the flavoring beans better. The three plates, with two drinks, were about $47 total. Definitely worth a stop and I will stop back by again.

    Brisket plate.   Comes w 2 sides.   I took Mac and cheese and beans.
    Jorge V.

    Very nice and small cozy feel when u walk. Was immediately greeted coming in. I went with the brisket w beans and mac. Brisket. Had a nice ring and taste was tender a little on the dry side. Could be from coming in so late. The Mac and beans average, was expecting a little more from these. Overall I give it a 7. Price was probably the best I've seen in Lockhart and they didn't skimp on the. Brisket. Will be back to try other foods they serve

    The brisket plate with mac, potato salad, bread, pickles, onions, amd a little taste of the meatloaf.
    Jamie H.

    The building is an unassuming standalone building that shares a parking lot with a little strip mall. The decor is fun with lots of little decor things to keep your eyes busy while you eat. The owner was very friendly and so was the lady working up front. Riley went to the back and got a brand new brisket that had a great black coating, cut it in half for me and gave me a piece to try. It just melted in my mouth and the blend of oak and mesquite woods used in the smoking came through clean without bitterness. He also makes an amazing meatloaf that he cooks in the smoke. It is a beautiful thing. I ended up getting the brisket plate with mac and cheese and potato salad. The mac and cheese held its texture and wasnt a mushy blob but it was lacking in seasoning and underwhelming. The potato salad was pretty good and will be on my plate again. I opted for the moist brisket and it was great! The BBQ sauce was nothing special. I dont know if they make it there but it was pretty normal. The whole thing cost me $14.88 which is about the same as what I spent on a basic meal at whataburger and far better.

    Brisket
    Corey D.

    Warm, Down home atmosphere where they call you by your name and greet you with a friendly smile. The pork ribs were unbelievable tender and delicious. The sauce is tangy and also delicious. 3 meat plate with very generous portions, 2 sides and a large sweet tea came to just under $20. Unheard of nowadays. Will definitely be back.

    Half eaten everything
    Elyssa D.

    First off, the customer service is amazing. We met Riley and he was such a great, kind man. The hospitality was wonderful. He definitely has a passion for barbecue! He was very generous and helpful! The brisket AND their spicy sauce is the most delicious of all the barbecue I've had in Texas. Without a doubt. Their Mac was pretty yummy- I added some bbq sauce to jazz it up some more. The regular beans were tasty and the potato salad was super delicious!! Personally, I'm not a fan of the green beans or sausage. But the 4 other people I was with thoroughly enjoyed them both. Brisket and regular/spicy barbecue sauce takes the cake!!!

    Sausage, brisket, potato salad, and Mac and cheese. The sausage was wonderful!
    Toni S.

    Needed a bbq fix and wanted to try someplace new. My husband is in love with the jalapeño cheddar sausage! He can't stop eating it. The brisket was very moist and tasty. Mac and cheese was creamy and tasty, but the potato salad was a little too different for me. The rib was moist and tasty and moist. I love the coleslaw, and the green beans were ok. The drinks are really large. Overall we are happy we went out of the way to try this place. It was worth it!

    meatloaf plate & sausage and turkey. Sides from left to right: green beans, mac & cheese, pea salad, and potato salad.
    Jim B.

    I'm in Lockhart, Texas for a three-night camping trip at Lockhart State Park. While reviewing my spreadsheet of places to see and things to do in Lockhart, I got to wondering if there were any new barbecue places. I know that, since Lockhart is the "Barbecue Capital of Texas", I'm supposed to be happy with the other four. However, I have always felt that three of them were highly overrated, and the fourth was too busy. Anyway, to my surprise, there was a "new to me" barbecue place in Lockhart, Riley's Pit BBQ. It has been open for just over one year and did not even show up on my searches last year when I was here. Since I am on a fairly restricted eating plan, trying to get back to pre-Covid conditions, I decided to only eat barbecue one time while here. Riley's offers barbecued meatloaf on Wednesdays. Well, that was a no brainer. Since meatloaf is my absolute favorite food in the world, that was the day I planned to visit. It was really hard waiting to eat barbecue. Normally when I'm m in Lockhart, I don't even carry food with me and plan on eating barbecue for every meal. But, this time I prepped all my own lower calorie meals and waited tooth and nail for Wednesday to get here. Well... cut to the chase! It was more than worth the wait. I decided to order the meatloaf plate which came with two sides and a two-meat plate for dinner later that also came with two sides. To get a sampling of their sides, since I had four, I picked potato salad, green beans, pea salad, and macaroni and cheese. For my two meats I chose turkey and sausage. That way I would get a pretty good feel for Riley's barbecue in general. First, let me start with the meatloaf. They had to have started with some really good meatloaf. You can't mix up a bad meatloaf and make it amazing by barbecuing it with some sauce. You have to start with a good recipe. Somebody who works there has a mama who knows her stuff. My wife makes what I consider the absolute best meatloaf. If I brought them some and asked them to barbecue it, it would be better than Riley's. But, let me tell you, they have nothing to be ashamed of. Their barbecued meatloaf is simply amazing. The edges have that gooey black goodness that you find on the most skillfully barbecued briskets. Even though the turkey and sausage plate is for my dinner later tonight, I went ahead and took a taste of both of them. The turkey is moist and very flavorful. I can't think of anywhere that has been so much better that it stands out in my mind. This was what I consider perfect barbecued turkey. The sausage is the kind that I absolutely love. It has that grainy beef texture on the inside. It's nice and greasy and fully flavored. I wish you could get stuff like that in San Antonio. Now, let's talk about the sides. I made sure I tried all of them so I could write this review. The green beans were just that - green beans. There was nothing special about them. But the menu didn't say "special green beans". So they delivered what they advertised- green beans. The macaroni and cheese did not really do it for me. I don't know if they use an instant product or not, but it was kind of soupy and not very flavorful. Normally, I wouldn't have ordered that anyway, so no harm done in my book. The pea salad was a major problem for me! I want to know how Riley's broke into my house and stole my mama's recipe for pea salad! I'm considering taking the rest of it home to be analyzed for a possible lawsuit. It was exactly like my mama's. They even had the great big chunks of cheese in it. The potato salad was really good. It was nothing like my mother's, so they must've missed that recipe when they rifled through my recipe box. However, it was very nicely done. OK... Let's talk about the service. There were three people behind the counter serving me. One took my order, one got the meats, and one took my credit card. They were three of the nicest people you'll meet anywhere. I enjoyed talking to them. I don't think I've felt that welcome in a restaurant for a long time. So... Here is my final opinion after my excursion to Riley's Pit BBQ: It is now my new favorite barbecue place in Lockhart, Texas. That is pretty much all I need to say about it.

    2-Meat Plate

    What a stand out spot in the BBQ Capital of Texas! Difficult to do with so many "bigger" names in the area. I was happily surprised with the lovely people running this restaurant, and of course the food. I ordered a 2-Meat Plate w/Moist Brisket & Pork Ribs. Macaroni and Potato Salad as sides, along with some white bread and onions. Brisket was absolutely moist and happened to be the first slices off of a freshly smoked brisket. Seasoning and texture was great. Pork Ribs were slightly dry, but flavor made up for it. One of the best potato salads I have had, anywhere. Macaroni was good, nothing to write home about, but I did not leave any behind. Great value on the plate! Regular and Spicy BBQ Sauces were both good. I was offered some fresh sliced watermelon right as I was finishing my plate. The perfect refresher to close out the meal. I suggest you drive past Kreuz, Black's, Smitty's, or Chisholm Trail at least once to eat here.

    3 meat platter (sausage, ribs, brisket) with Mac & Cheese and green beans.
    Yamile C.

    Lockhart was on my list of stops from San Antonio to Austin. Unfortunately (or fortunately) most BBQ places were closed due to Easter Sunday. We did find this gem which was great! It's nothing big and super casual. The service and employees/owner amazing so so helpful and friendly. Food was delicious as well and did not disappoint. Meat was tender and flavorful, Mac & cheese delicious. Glad we found it.

    Moist brisket, pork ribs and okra

    We ordered over the phone and went and picked it up. For bbq around Lockhart and all the food we purchased the price was super reasonable. (Inexpensive) Great flavor on all the meats. Their homemade sausage was phenomenal! Loved every last bite! Pork ribs were pretty good as well. I'll say that the brisket was pretty good. Their sides were mediocre but the meat was fantastic will visit again vs over priced blacks bbq. Also we got a half sweet tea and half lemonade. The lemonade was really good tasted fresh to me. Also the service was good.

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    3 years ago

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    Margaret R.

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    2 years ago

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    Margaret R.

    We are so glad you enjoyed your bbq and hope to see you again soon!

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    2 years ago

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    5 years ago

    Great food and prices and portions! We liked the sausage and brisket a lot! Going back again tonight and worth the drive.

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    4 years ago

    Amazing BBQ. Best sausage hands down. Also best chopped beef! I highly recommended this place to anyone who loves BBQ

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    Thank you. So glad you enjoyed it.

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    6 years ago

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    Riley S.

    Thanks so much for your kind words and support of a small business!

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    Page 2 of 2

    Ask the Community - Riley's Pit BBQ

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    Kreuz Market - The meat!

    Kreuz Market

    3.5(1.1k reviews)
    1.4 mi
    $$

    It was time to get my drivers license renewed at the courthouse and afterwards headed to pickup…read moresome BBQ to take back home. It's a routine I do when I have to do some government business. Kreuz Market is one of my favorite places among their stiff competition in Lockhart. It was in the mid very hot afternoon and not a lot of vehicles parked. I walked inside to get blindsided with extreme heat of an oven. It was hot making the outdoor 100 degrees feel like a cool Fall day. Not sure how the pit masters take it but they gathered my meat order of Half Chicken, Beef Brisket, Spare Ribs, and Hot Jalapeño Cheese Sausage together. The crew were very nice and friendly and headed inside a sealed room where got a blasted of extremely cold air where you order your sides and drinks. Ordered Macaroni & Cheese, Beans, Potato Salad and Sweet Tea. You can site inside this refrigerator or in the oven, but luckily had to go back home with my order. There is plenty of tables in both rooms. I did not see outdoor seating but wont stop you eating in your vehicle like at Buc-ee's. It's truly mouthwatering where the brisket was thick and juicy, chicken roasted with a perfect wood smoked taste, jalapeño sausage addicting with flavor, and spare ribs stripped to the bone after a few wonderful bites. Even the sides were delicious. Tourist will defiantly love this place deep in he heart of Texas culture in BBQ.

    I used to love this place but now I would only come if I was in the area. It is far from where I…read morelive. This is a smokehouse and you walk in and get the authentic smell and smoke coming from the pits. Employees are all super friendly and nice and helpful and efficient. We got brisket, pork chop, and jalapeno sausage. The sausage was okay, the casing was way too tough and very hard to chew and the flavor was mild hardly any jalapeno flavor. The brisket was tough and cutting it so thick made it a challenge to chew. The pork chop was a bit tough as well and lacked smoke flavor. For the price you pay there are other BBQ places with more tender meat, more smoke flavor, and better flavor. The Mac and cheese was overcooked. The sauerkraut was too sweet and they did not offer us any bread. This is my last visit.

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    Kreuz Market
    Kreuz Market - Sausage, ribs, and brisket.

    Sausage, ribs, and brisket.

    Kreuz Market

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    Smitty's Market

    Smitty's Market

    3.7(1.1k reviews)
    1.0 mi
    $$

    No frills bbq gets a no frills review…read more Brisket was worth the drive. Sausage was ok. The jalapeno sausage seemed to have some other spice like fennel in it too, which was unexpected but good. You enter the building and are immediately in front of the pit and even some open fire. You order your meat from the guys and pay there. Then you can go into the dining room and order sides, or just eat your meat like we did. They aren't kidding when they say "no forks." They just give you knives, but the brisket barely needs a knive.

    A Lockhart classic that's been around for ages as a true OG. While in town to visit Barb's B-Q, my…read morebuddy and I stepped out of line briefly for a quick trip to Smitty's. The firewood sits on the ground as you walk in as a part of their open-fire cooking style bringing smoke into the brick pits. These new school smokers don't do it like Smitty's. As we walked in at 10:30, there was no line. We asked for the simplest order. A single slice of brisket and a single slice of turkey. It was about $12 all in. As we sat down with one of the 4 pieces of butcher paper for 2 slices of meat, I noticed that there are no forks at Smitty's. Just knives. We got to work. The turkey was fantastic. Barbecue turkey is honestly an underrated concept and their turkey was juicy, soft, and would change any Thanksgiving meal to one for the history books. I was extremely disappointed in the slice of brisket though. It was extremely chewy like plastic. Decently seasoned but not tender at all. Probably a bit undercooked. It was worth visiting for the experience, especially to get a picture next to the fire pit, which one of the people on staff was nice enough to take for us. As we walked out, we noticed tons of their awards and recognitions. It's cool to give a classic originator of Texas barbecue a hat tip like we did. RIYL: The originators or fire on the floor

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    Smitty's Market - Ribs in the back

    Ribs in the back

    Smitty's Market - Barbecue ribs

    Barbecue ribs

    Smitty's Market - Entrance

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    Entrance

    Riley's Pit BBQ - bbq - Updated August 2026

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