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Texas may be the spiritual home of barbecue, but according to a buzzy new Yelp ranking, California just smoked the Lone Star state.
Yelp’s new “Top 100 BBQ Restaurants in the US,” compiled using ratings and reviews from Yelp Elite users, gave California more spots on the list than Texas. But, there’s one very California catch: many of the Golden State’s highest-ranked BBQ spots aren’t serving up traditional brisket and ribs fare at all.
Instead, Los Angeles area restaurants specializing in Korean barbecue and Japanese yakiniku helped push California ahead in the rankings, blurring the line between classic American smokehouses and interactive tabletop grilling experiences.
As a result, it’s a barbecue list where sizzling wagyu compete alongside Texas-style smoked brisket.
Texas still landed 13 restaurants on the list, including spots like Franklin Barbecue, which came in at number six nationally. But California’s broader interpretation gave it the numerical edge, coming in with 14 on the list. The data seems to reveal a shift in how the modern diner defines barbecue.
Several California restaurants featured on the Yelp roundup specialize in Korean BBQ, Japanese BBQ, or hybrid grill concepts, serving up Bulgogi and wagyu instead of cornbread and collard greens. These spots prioritize marinated short ribs, pork belly, and precision cut Japanese beef over the traditional smoky brisket that has defined the category.
One of the eateries leading the charge was San Ho Won, the Michelin-starred Korean BBQ hotspot in San Francisco that landed at number five nationwide. The sleek restaurant from chef Corey Lee has become famous for its upscale take on Korean charcoal grilling.
SoCal made a strong showing with Korean and Japanese BBQ standouts Yakiya and Mo Ran Gak appearing as 11 and 12 on the list.
The other California spots that made the list include Tsuruhashi, Quack House, Wagyu Butcher, Mr BBQ, Bowlegged BBQ, 10 Butchers Korean BBQ, iWagyu, Kingyubu, Pigya, Sofra Grill, and Mazra.
However, the number one BBQ spot ranked was Little Miss BBQ in Phoenix, described on Yelp as “where prime meats are slow-cooked over Arizona firewood for unforgettable flavor.”
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