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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 CITY Magazine. Updated August 2026.
Dinosaur Bar-B-Que · Downtown
Dinosaur Bar-B-Que set up in the former Lehigh Valley Railroad Station downtown in 1998, and Rochester's own readers have named it Best Barbecue in CITY Magazine's 2024 and 2025 polls, plus Best Ribs in an earlier cycle. It began in Syracuse, but the city's poll keeps returning to the Court Street location. Order the ribs with a side of cornbread.
Good Smoke BBQ & Pub · East Rochester
Good Smoke BBQ opened in East Rochester in 2012, grown out of competition barbecue that started at Oinktoberfest in 2006. CITY Magazine's dining review praised pitmaster Brian Wemett and chef Josh Bickham's Moinkballs, pulled-pork eggrolls, pig candy, and pork ribs, and the poll named it a 2025 Best Barbecue finalist. Order the ribs, with the Moinkballs to start.
Texas BBQ Joint · Greece
Texas BBQ Joint is a homegrown Rochester-metro pit on West Ridge Road in Greece, with a second location in Spencerport. CITY Magazine's readers named it a 2025 Best Barbecue finalist, behind Dinosaur. It runs a drive-thru-style counter for smoked meats. Order a plate of brisket or ribs.