Best 5 BBQ Joints in Louisville, KY

There’s nothing quite as savory and mouthwatering as barbecued food. As soon as you smell the smokey aroma of barbecuing meat, you’ll want to sit down and eat it right away. When you’re looking for the best barbecue joints in the Louisville, Kentucky, area, stop by any of these five spots that our team at Bachman Chevrolet put together.

Feast BBQ

Image by dbreen | Licensed with Pixabay

With two locations in Louisville, you can always get your favorite barbecue at Feast BBQ. The owners and chefs at Feast BBQ have a passion for making high-quality smoked meats and tasty sides, and you can taste the care they put into their food. Vegetarians can also find plenty to eat here, with crispy smoked tofu as an offering, along with vegetable sides and salads.

You’ll enjoy choosing your meals from the straightforward menu. You can choose a sandwich with one side, two flour tacos with one side, or a plate with two sides. Your barbecue meal choices include pulled pork, chopped chicken, brisket, smoked sausage, or crispy smoked tofu. Enhance your meal with sides like vinegar coleslaw, collard greens, or sweet potato fries. Salad options include Feast BBQ’s signature BBQ salad with greens, pulled pork, and fried pickles, topped with a smoked mustard dressing. For dessert, save room for Feast BBQ’s signature white chocolate pudding or vanilla wafer banana pudding.

East Market District Location: 909 E. Market St. Suite 100.

Contact: 502-749-9900.

Jeffersontown Location: 10318 Taylorsville Road.

Contact: 502-749-6534.

Momma’s Mustard, Pickles, & BBQ

When you want true Kansas City-style barbecue, head to Momma’s Mustard, Pickles, & BBQ. This barbecue style includes dry-rubbed smoked meats rich in spicy flavor. The chefs at this restaurant specialize in chicken wings and pork and beef ribs that are perfect for sharing with your friends or family. Whether you want a sandwich, slider, nachos, or a salad, choose from:

• Pulled pork.
• Pulled chicken.
• Brisket.
• Smoked sausage.
• Smoked turkey.
• Bologna.

Have fun sprucing up any barbecue sandwich with grilled cheese and fried bologna, and complete your meal with sides such as cheesy corn, mac and cheese, or baked beans. Other meats and tasty treats you can find at Momma’s Mustard, Pickles, & BBQ include homemade meatloaf, burnt ends, and chili. For dessert, try the bread pudding made with bourbon barrel-aged vanilla extract. Aficionados of Momma’s Mustard, Pickles, & BBQ can rejoice, as this restaurant has two Louisville locations to choose from.

St. Matthews Location: 102 Bauer Ave.

Contact: 502-938-6262.

Hurstbourne Location: 119 S. Hurstbourne Parkway.

Contact: 502-290-7998.

FDKY BBQ

FDKY BBQ honors firefighters who help citizens of the local community. You’ll notice the decor dedicated to local firefighters and fire departments as you eat here.

When you have barbecue food at this restaurant, you’ll have three homemade sauces to choose from for extra flavor — Distiller’s Blend, Kentucky Sweet, and Chicago Fire. If you want baby back ribs, you can get a half rack or full rack. The chefs rub and slow smoke the ribs until they’re fall-off-the-bone tender and serve them with your choice of barbecue sauce. You can have a sandwich, sliders, double sliders, or a sampler plate with three types of meat and two sides. Meats include:

• Pulled pork.
• Pulled chicken.
• Smoked turkey.
• Beef brisket.

Yummy sides include creamy sweet coleslaw, onion rings, or barbecue baked beans. Save room for a slice of caramel apple pie or a chocolate chip cookie.

Location: 9606 Taylorsville Road.

Contact: 502-785-4273.

River Road BBQ

The pitmasters at River Road BBQ smoke meats in a 10,000-pound smoker that came all the way from Texas. If you enjoy ribs or sausages, you’ll appreciate the pork spare ribs, which include the tip, or the habanero, Polish, or chorizo smoked sausage link. Sandwiches come with fire-smoked barbecue meats, such as pulled pork, beef brisket, spicy chopped chicken, or the 50/50 with both pork and brisket. For a south-of-the-border experience, try the barbecue tacos filled with your choice of meat and topped with coleslaw and zesty barbecue taco sauce.

If you want a full meal, choose the meat sampler or the large Texas plate with pulled pork, beef brisket, chopped chicken, spare ribs, a sausage link, and two homemade sides. You can also bring home your favorite meat, barbecue sauce, and sides. River Road BBQ sells meat by the pound, sauce by the pint or half-pint, and individual or pints of sides to complete your flavorful barbecue meal. The house-made sweet and hot barbecue sauce adds extra flavor to the smoked meats.

Location: 3017 River Road.

Contact: 502-592-7065.

Bootleg Bar-B-Q

The Bootleg Bar-B-Q has served delighted customers with lean and tender pit-smoked barbecue for over 30 years. The chefs embrace old-fashioned barbecue techniques of smoking and curing meats, making homemade sides, and applying their signature sauces to bring out the flavor of the meats. When you’re hungry for a barbecue sandwich, choose from meats including:

• Pulled pork.
• Chicken.
• Spare or beef ribs.
• Cajun hog.
• Brisket.
• Mutton.

Other offerings include a half slab or full slab of spare ribs or baby back ribs, smoked chicken, smoked links, or the jumbo-sized pork chop. In addition, you can have Texas-style chili, Cajun chicken gumbo, or Kentucky Burgoo stew filled with pork, beef, lima beans, and zingy barbecue sauce.

You’ll have a hard time choosing the side dishes to complete your meal, which include:

• Baked beans.
• Red beans and rice.
• Mashed potatoes and gravy.
• Cactus salad.
• Pasta salad.
• County-baked cabbage.
• Coleslaw.
• Mac and cheese.
• Potato salad.
• Green beans.

Save room for dessert with offerings such as bread pudding with a honey bourbon sauce, fruit cobbler, butter cream pie, or French silk pie.

Location: 9704 Old Bardstown Road.

Contact: 502-239-2722.

There you have our recommendations for the best barbecue joints in Louisville. Which one is your favorite and why? Do you like spicy or sweet barbecue sauce? Do you have a suggestion for a barbecue place we missed? Then let us know, we love hearing about new places in our town! If you need a new vehicle to help you get to these barbecue spots, stop by Bachman Chevrolet today, and our team will find the perfect vehicle to fit your lifestyle.