The Best New Barbecue Restaurants in North Texas — And What To Order at Each Hot Spot

In 2018, Brandon Hurtado and his wife Hannah began serving Tex-Mex-inspired barbecue at pop-up events around North Texas. A year later, the couple opened a food truck at Division Brewing in Arlington, leading them to open their first brick-and-mortar in the area in 2020. They then opened a new storefront in Fort Worth, became the Official Barbecue Restaurant of the Texas Rangers with a permanent stand at Globe Life Field, and expanded to Mansfield in 2024. And now, the favorite spot has debuted in the Dallas Farmers Market, taking over the former The Reserve space.

After all the turnover that this space has seen since Mudhen left in 2019, I’m hopeful that Hurtado will stick. It’s by far the best concept for this massive stand-alone building. It’s spacious inside and features a covered outdoor patio. I’d never been to a Hurtado before checking out the new Dallas outpost. My fiancé and I ordered the El Jefe platter so we could try a bit of everything — brisket, pulled pork, spare ribs, turkey, burnt ends, and sausage. It was like a little adventure with each bite. The birria taco with slow-cooked brisket is also a must-try, as well as the creamy hatch chile mac n cheese. Also, don’t forget to order the tres leches banana pudding for dessert.

The menu is vast for a barbecue spot, boasting “Handhelds + More” like a burger, a brisket-stuffed baked potato, chopped sandwiches, Texas Twinkies, Mexican cornbread, and a brisket tostada. Plus, there are like seven other sides I haven’t mentioned yet including Mexican street corn and tater tot casserole. There’s a lot to try at Hurtado. Thankfully, its first Dallas location is in a prime location for multiple visits.

Formerly a food truck in Grapevine, Vaqueros Texas Bar-B-Q comes from pitmaster Arnulfo “Trey” Sanchez. In 2024, he was named one of eight finalists for the James Beard Award and has been featured on Cooking Channel’s Man Fire Food and Man’s Greatest Food. Sanchez has now teamed up with M Crowd Restaurant Group (Mi Cocina) to open a stand-alone restaurant in Allen’s Watters Creek.

The new spot is 7,400 square feet and includes a smoker room, a covered breezeway, and outdoor patio. Two large murals set the scene for Vaqueros. On the exterior, Enrique Castillo painted a traditional vaqueros scene while the indoor mural by Trey Sanchez, his father, Arnold Sanchez, and Don Glasco depicts Arnold’s Texas Bar-B-Q — an East Dallas restaurant Trey co-managed with Glasco up until 1999.

The menu is big, featuring hickory-smoked meats, sandwiches, platters, sides, vaquero-style dishes, tacos, and desserts. I recommend starting with the Tour of Tex-Mex platter. It feeds two to three people and is a great way to taste a bit of everything including prime brisket, chipotle cheddar sausage, and birria tacos. You also get two sides. The green chile mac and potato salad were my favorites. They were already out of pork ribs around 1 pm on a Saturday, so if you go on the weekend, make sure to get there early. And if you’re looking for the Tlaquepaque taco, which was on Texas Monthly‘s 50 Best Tacos in Texas list, it’s served on Tuesdays only.

This new Irving barbecue spot comes from pitmaster Salahodeen Abdul-Kafi, who started making barbecue for friends and family six years ago. Kafi BBQ is halal-certified and serves Texas Wagyu brisket, back rib, and dino rib on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

The Iraqi-inspired spot also offers Iraqi sausage and jalapeño cheddar sausage, sides like tallow French fries and tallow baked beans, and more. The restaurant is in an unassuming strip mall space on N. MacArthur Boulevard, but the inside was packed on a Sunday around 3 pm. They were also already sold out of the popular dino rib.

One of the best slices of brisket I had while trying smoked meats for this North Texas barbecue round-up was at Kafi. The Middle Eastern-inspired rub that Abdul-Kafi has created certainly stands out in the Dallas barbecue scene right now, especially with the fattier cut. It melts in your mouth. He also makes his own barbecue sauce that perfectly complements the beef. The restaurant boasts that every single wagyu brisket they serve is graded BMS 9+ (the highest grade).

For sides, I regret not trying them all in my first visit, but the smoked gouda mac and cheese, elote corn, and jalapeño cheddar cornbread are all great. I will also be returning for the two desserts on the menu — Mom’s Recipe Kafi Basbousa (a Middle Eastern semolina cake) and the cardamom banana pudding. In the pudding, everything is made from scratch. Even the vanilla wafers.