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BBQ Guide

Best BBQ in
Charleston

Charleston is one of America's great BBQ capitals - and its most diverse. This guide covers the best restaurants in the metro, from century-old institutions to the new generation of craft pitmasters.

37 restaurants featured·5 metro areas

Charleston's BBQ tradition stretches back over a century. What began as a working-class meal has evolved into one of America's most celebrated culinary traditions. Today, the metro is home to dozens of BBQ restaurants, from historic institutions to a new wave of craft pitmasters pushing the tradition forward.

This guide focuses on the restaurants that represent Charleston BBQ at its best — places where the smoke is real, the technique is sound, and the result is worth the drive.

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The Best BBQ Restaurants
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Whole Hog

Whole-hog BBQ is the soul of South Carolina's BBQ tradition — a practice rooted in the Gullah-Geechee foodways of the Lowcountry and the Pee Dee region. A whole hog, cooked low and slow over live hardwood coals for 12–24 hours, is the ultimate test of a pitmaster's patience, skill, and fire management. These are Charleston's finest whole-hog destinations.

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Pulled Pork

Pulled pork — shoulder or whole hog, pulled by hand — is the everyday expression of South Carolina BBQ. The best versions have a balance of bark (the dark, smoky exterior crust), tender interior meat, and a sauce that complements rather than overwhelms. Here are Charleston's finest.

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Mustard Sauce

South Carolina's most distinctive regional contribution to American BBQ is the mustard-based sauce — a tangy, golden elixir that traces its roots to German immigrant settlers in the Midlands. In Charleston, the mustard tradition is carried forward by the Bessinger family and others who understand that the sauce is as important as the smoke.

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Ribs

While whole hog is South Carolina's signature, the Lowcountry has no shortage of excellent ribs — from St. Louis-style spare ribs to competition-grade baby backs. The best versions balance smoke, tenderness, and sauce in equal measure. These are Charleston's top rib destinations.

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Hash & Rice

Hash and rice is the Lowcountry's most distinctive BBQ side — a thick stew of whole-hog offcuts, organ meats, and onions served over white rice. It is a Gullah-Geechee tradition that connects South Carolina BBQ to its African roots. These restaurants make hash the old way.

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Smoked Chicken

Smoked chicken is an often-overlooked pillar of South Carolina BBQ — whole birds or quarters smoked low and slow until the skin crisps and the meat stays juicy. The best versions showcase the pitmaster's fire management and sauce craft. These are Charleston's finest smoked chicken destinations.

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Best BBQ inCharleston

In This Guide

The Best BBQ Restaurantsin Charleston

Rodney Scott's BBQ

Scott's Bar-B-Que

Lewis Barbecue

Sweatman's Bar-B-Que

Home Team BBQ

Palmira Barbecue

Swig & Swine

Fiery Ron's Home Team BBQ

Martin's Bar-B-Que Joint

The Smoking Lamb

King BBQ

Melvin's Legendary Bar-B-Q

Dukes BBQ

Easton Barbecue Co.

Holy City Hogs

Bessinger's Barbecue

Pork Barrel BBQ

Charleston Smoke

Middleton's Village BBQ

Poogan's Smokehouse

Dukes Barbecue

North Charleston BBQ Co.

The Tattooed Moose

Hugh-Baby's BBQ & Burger Shop

Moe's Crosstown Tavern

Music Man's Bar-B-Que

Baker's BBQ of Summerville

Bulldog BBQ

Smokehouse BBQ

Robert's Bar-B-Que

East Side Soul Food

Saltwater Cowboys

Smokin' Gringo's BBQ

Hwy 27 BBQ Smokehouse

Joe Bessinger's BBQ

Southern Roots Smokehouse

Willie Jewell's Old School Bar-B-Q

Best by Category

Whole Hog

Pulled Pork

Mustard Sauce

Ribs

Hash & Rice

Smoked Chicken

Best BBQ in
Charleston

The Best BBQ Restaurants
in Charleston