The best American barbecue in Melbourne

Follow your nose to this high-vibe open-air Port Melbourne eatery (and party), and you'll feel as if you've been transported straight to the heart of Texas. There's doggos, families, and even live music on most weekends and the vibes are contagious. Here, you're served authentic American barbecue brisket and pork cooked with love, with warm fire pits to keep you toasty on crisper days and plenty of ice-cold brews to cool you down for when it's hot out. A crowned favourite is the mega tasting plate, which comes with generous servings of beef brisket, pork, barbecue ribs, sausage, fries and slaw. With the fires kept burning all arvo long, the energy is very much industrial Mad Max meets American suburban barbecue. But most importantly, the meat is good – like, really good. Expect the perfect ratio of fat, chewy and juicy bits to satisfy even the most discerning of barbecue lovers.

If you're really serious about Texan barbecue, you'll know that Houston's is the real deal. One of Melbourne's best kept secrets in the carnivorous community, the Keilor East eatery is smoking and serving up some of the best old-school Texan-style barbecue available down under. With an owner that trained under one of Texas' best pitmasters, you can trust you're in good hands. Expect barbecue here that isn't necessarily loaded with thick barbecue glugs but served instead with the traditional lashings of tomato, vinegar and hot sauce. The tater salad, slaw and mac and cheese are all made in house, too, and you can't go past a slice of authentic key lime pie for dessert.

Ordering at Le Bon Ton requires a bit of brain power as the barbecue items are served by the half-pound. Ironbark and fruitwood are the flavouring agents here, alongside salt and pepper as the only seasonings to show off the pitmaster’s smoking skills. All barbecue items are served with a fistful of house pickles, which are just the right tartness to cut through the fat. And make sure you order the often-overlooked onion rings – they're beer-battered, covered in a jerk seasoning and cloud nine levels of tastiness.

Famous on Tik Tok for their carnivorous food porn, the American barbecue masters at Third Wave Café have been steadily garnering rave reviews for their juicy burgs, steaks and ribs since the grand opening in 2010. Inspired by the classic smokehouses popular in America's southern states, the menu features a diverse array of barbecued delights, all marinated for 24 to 48 hours (in both dry rubs and wet marinades) and smoked for up to 12 hours. If tender meat that falls off the bone is what you're after, you'll be in heaven here. The Third Wave crew also have a second location in Moorabbin. 

Fancy Hank's is more a restaurant than a smokehouse pub, with leather-lined seats and tables facing out to Grossi Florentino's glowing red neon signage. Most people will be here for the barbecue, one of the city's OG American-style offerings. The smoky beef brisket is a classic, as is the pulled pork shoulder and whole rack of pork ribs. Try the crisp-skinned buttermilk-brined chicken if you need a break from the red meat. 

Bad Shepherd is the brainchild of husband and wife team Dereck and Diti Hales. You can take your pick from the selection of craft beer on offer and then dig into the crew's hefty menu of comfort eats, many with an American barbecue-style lean. Think deliciously messy brisket burgers, cheap wings and homemade barbecue sauces too good not to mop off the plate with whatever sides you decide on. The great thing about this barbecue haven as that, since it's also a brewery, you can try some interesting beers to complement the smoky flavours. Try a peanut butter or oatmeal stout if you dare.

Owners Lindsay Jones-Evans and Shengnan Ren have transformed an industrial warehouse into an expansive casual eatery, fitting in a custom-built 450kg in-house wood smoker for the slow-cooked and barbecued meats that get smoked every week. The smoked meat platter is the big ticket item at Meatworks, where you can expect the restaurant's signature 10-hour smoked pulled brisket – the kind that has just enough fat – sticky lamb ribs, pulled pork, and honey soy chicken wings. 

These guys are throwing some high quality beef into the Myron Mixon smoker (imported from the States and running on the sweet smoke from red gum and cherry woods). This is meat for those who like it fat-rich, salt-heavy and so soft it’s gummable. The 20-hour brisket, rubbed in native pepperberry, is so marbled it’s like eating meat butter – same goes for the short ribs, served pre-sliced and draped across the bone. If you actually like to chew, get the link sausage instead. The pork is spiced up with chilli flakes, paprika and chipotle peppers then air-dried and smoked till the fat has rendered out and the skins break with a squeaky snap like you’re biting through cellophane.

Collingwood, Carlton, North Fitzroy; no, we’re not listing your share house rental history, these are the locations of Bluebonnet’s last three addresses. But this wandering American barbecue joint's permanent home can be found on buzzing Lygon St, occupying a grand dining hall for big groups keen for trays of carnivorous fixings. Named after the state flower of Texas, Bluebonnet Barbecue is the brainchild of chef Chris Terlikar, a Melbourne native who mastered American Barbecue after training in America with famous pitmasters Tom Micklethwaite and Evan LeRoy. Their wood-fired Ole Hickory Pit smoker can cook half a tonne of meat per day, and all the meats are free-range. 

For meat cooked low and slow, Coburg's Bluestone is well worth a visit. The Black Angus Texas-style brisket gets close to 14 hours in the smoker, creating a tender fat-chewy bite you'll want to go back for again and again. There's also Uruguayan-inspired yearling beef short ribs with housemade chimichurri, Louisiana-inspired jambalaya, traditional Southern grits, and plenty more sides to round out your meat feast. What we love about this spot is that chef Alvaro Malel leverages the best of barbecue traditions from both American continents, and there's a stunning value deal, too. Every Saturday and Sunday from noon to 3pm, you can get a bottomless lunch for just $59 per person with all the barbecue you can eat, free-flowing cocktails, bubbles, vino, beer and soft drinks over a two-hour sitting. Cheers!

Specialising in slow-cooked meats, the guys behind Big Boy BBQ serve up massive platters of wings, ribs, pulled pork, beef pastrami and lamb shoulder. You can also get a sandwich piled with your smoked meat of choice, cheese, pickles and Big Boy's signature sauces. Go all out with a jumbo side of crunchy, spicy chips, or lighten things up with a house salad. While Big Boy Barbecue has had several pop-ups and locations over the years, it's now best known as Southern Grace Diner, a smokehouse restaurant open on Sundays only. Check out the Instagram page for more info.