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Start a Top 5 for BBQEditor’s picks
Press picks, until locals rank their own Top 5s. Sourced from the local food press. As seen in Hey Rhody Media Co. and Rhode Island Monthly. Updated August 2026.
Great Northern BBQ Co · West End
A West End smokehouse tucked into a small nook that grew out of a food-truck operation before settling into its Parade Street storefront. Rhode Island Monthly's 2024 feature on the city's newer restaurants files it under Southern-style barbecue, a description the shop itself leans into. It's a quieter alternative to the more visible barbecue spots closer to downtown.
Rogue Island Local Kitchen & Bar · Downtown Providence (The Arcade)
A restaurant inside the historic Providence Arcade that isn't built around barbecue specifically but runs a hickory-smoked pulled pork alongside its locally sourced menu. Rhode Island Monthly's own 2019 barbecue roundup is upfront about the framing, noting the kitchen focuses on Southern specialties rather than smoking as its core identity. Come for the pulled pork with house-brined pickles, but expect a broader menu around it.
Goodstuff Smokehouse · Blackstone, MA
A New England-style smokehouse just over the Massachusetts line in Blackstone, close enough to count as a Providence-area detour. Rhode Island Monthly's 2021 review describes everything as slow-cooked, from brisket and ham to chicken, turkey, sausage and cheese curds. It's a short drive from downtown Providence and a genuinely different regional take on barbecue than the city's own spots.