Best BBQ Restaurants in Miami
When Buffalo Bills wide receiver and budding barbecue mogul Isaiah McKenzie was a kid growing up in Miami, barbecue didn’t mean much more than a catchy jingle for a chain restaurant.
“What we had for barbecue, was like Chili’s Baby Back Ribs,” he says, proudly gazing over a plate of brisket and smoked turkey at his La Traila Barbecue in Miami Lakes. “I didn’t know nothing about brisket or pork. Maybe you had some burgers or hot dogs at a cookout or something, but if you went out for barbecue? You were going to Chili’s.”
His business partner and pitmaster Mel Rodriguez found a similar dearth of options when he arrived from Austin. “When I first got here, I went to this place that had like 4.8 stars on Yelp, and it was the worst barbecue of my life,” he says. “So I went to some other places that had been around for years, and same thing. I started asking the managers what was up with this, and they’d all say, ‘This is our style.’”
The fact is, despite what Rodriguez was told, Miami never really developed much of a barbecue “style,” and that may be part of the reason why we were severely lacking in quality options for so long. The city’s best stuff was mostly limited to grills outside strip clubs and gas stations. For years, barbecue here in South Florida struggled to forge any kind of real identity.
“The palate in South Florida, it was like the Alabama-style, where you’d have a 55-gallon drum on the side of the road, serving ribs and chicken slathered in barbecue sauce,” explains Richard Hales, owner and pitmaster at Society BBQ in Midtown. “Introducing people to smoked meats was a challenge.”
But that has started to change, and Miami barbecue has blossomed into a beautiful blend of American standards with a distinct Caribbean influence. Spots like Society and La Traila have taken the smoky, minimalist Texas-style ‘cue and transformed it into two of the best new barbecue restaurants in America. Meanwhile, other pitmasters have found inspiration from local sources, channeling it to create a barbecue totally unique to this time and place.
Up in West Palm Beach, Tropical Smokehouse made waves by throwing island flavors and seafood on a barbecue menu. The offerings range from Smoked Mahi and fish dips to Jerk Turkey—creations you most certainly won’t find at any classic stateside smoke shack.
“We wanted to vibe off Caribbean flavors, but being part of Florida, we also have those Deep South traditions,” says Rick Mace, Tropical’s chef and pitmaster. “Spare Ribs are what we’re becoming known for. But the seafood is very reminiscent of the coastal Barbacoa observed by Europeans who first arrived here.”
So what does South Florida’s barbecue scene look like in 2022? Like the region itself, it’s a literal melting pot, a mix of what was here before and what generations of newcomers have brought in from the rest of the world. And while it may still take some time for us to form a rock-solid regional identity when it comes to barbecue, there are plenty of outstanding joints—both old and new—that truly give old Chili’s a run for its money. Here are the best of the best, according to our all-star roster of local experts.
