Rochester, NY
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Rochester barbecue, from a downtown railroad-station smokehouse to two homegrown pits, per CITY Magazine's reviews and (585) Magazine.
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Press picks, until locals rank their own Top 5s. Sourced from the local food press. As seen in CITY Magazine and (585) Magazine. Updated September 2026.
Dinosaur Bar-B-Que · Downtown
Dinosaur Bar-B-Que set up in the former Lehigh Valley Railroad Station downtown in 1998, and CITY Magazine's own barbecue write-up keeps returning to the Court Street room. It began in Syracuse, but this location has been a Rochester fixture for more than twenty-five years. Order the ribs with a side of cornbread, and take a table near the windows over the Genesee if the room is not already full.
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. Order the ribs, with the Moinkballs to start, and expect the counter line to move quickly through the lunch hour.
Texas BBQ Joint · Greece
Texas Bar-B-Q Joint is a homegrown Rochester-metro pit where, as (585) Magazine's Nicholas Abreu reports, owner Mogab works the low-and-slow method: brisket dry rubbed and smoked at 200 degrees for twelve hours overnight, ribs soaked in Dr. Pepper before they go on. Pulled pork is what the counter sells most of. Order a plate of brisket or ribs, or the outlaw potato, a football-sized baked spud loaded with meat.