Lockhart, Texas has been arguing about who makes the best barbecue in the state since before most of Dallas’s restaurants existed. The town earned the designation “Barbecue Capital of Texas” from the state legislature, and the Black family has been part of that argument for generations. Terry Black learned the craft there, passed it down, and in 2014 his sons Mark and Mike opened the first Terry Black’s Barbecue in Austin — reportedly not without a cease-and-desist letter and a family name dispute along the way, the kind of origin story that only makes sense in Texas barbecue. Five years later, in 2019, the brothers brought the operation to Dallas, into a 10,000-square-foot space in Deep Ellum, and it’s been one of the most consistently busy barbecue rooms in the city ever since.
The Dallas location at 3025 Main Street runs on the same philosophy as the Austin original: offset smokers, low and slow, meat smoked for 12 to 14 hours, nothing rushed. “We are making it a craft again,” Mark Black told CraveDFW when the Dallas location was new. “We are using offset smokers which allow for the low and slow process that provides for a higher quality product.” The menu is intentionally tight — brisket, beef ribs, pork ribs, turkey, and the Lockhart-style sausage the family grew up on, all sold by the pound, with a short list of house-made sides to round out the tray.
The brisket is the reason most people are in line. It comes out tender enough to fall apart under its own weight, with a smoke ring and bark that mark hours of unhurried attention — order it lean or fatty depending on your mood. The beef ribs are Mark Black’s personal favorite cut on the menu, sold by the bone at a pound to a pound and a half each, and it’s easy to understand why — they’re the dramatic, Instagram-famous centerpiece of the operation, the cut that shows up in everyone’s photos before anyone’s eaten a bite. The smoked turkey, which suffers at most barbecue joints, stays genuinely moist here, which matters more than it sounds like it should. The pork ribs run sweet with a slight kick of heat, and the jalapeño cheddar sausage, made to the Lockhart standard the family grew up with, has its own devoted following alongside the regular sausage.
On the sides, the menu doesn’t try to do too much, and that’s the point. The Mac-N-Cheese is elbow pasta in a cheesy, creamy cheddar sauce — Texas comfort food done plainly and well. The baked potato salad is cool and creamy with mustard, dill, and green onion rather than an afterthought. The green beans come tossed in butter with diced onion, simple and unfussy. The pinto beans are slow-simmered with onion, garlic, smoked spices, and chopped beef and pork worked into the pot — closer to a side dish with its own gravity than a default bean side. The creamed corn and Mexican rice round out the steam table, and the coleslaw gives the tray something acidic to cut through all that smoke and fat.
Dessert is not an afterthought either. The banana pudding — layers of vanilla pudding, fresh banana, and crisp wafers under whipped cream — is the one regulars order without thinking twice. The Oreo pudding, smooth pudding layered with crunchy chocolate cookies, is the chocolate answer for anyone who wants something richer. The peach cobbler, Texas peaches baked under a buttery crust with cinnamon and sugar, and the mini pecan pie round out the dessert case. All three are sold by the piece, so there’s no reason not to try more than one.
The Dallas space itself is part of the draw. Terry Black’s seats more than 400 across a sprawling dining room, with rooftop seating, a full bar, and private event rooms for groups. The Connolly Room offers an intimate setting with its own private entrance, while the Opal Room — built for larger gatherings — opens up with garage door windows and can handle custom menus, a portable bar, and its own music control for up to 85 guests. It’s barbecue built for a crowd, which fits Deep Ellum’s energy on a Friday night as well as it fits a quiet Tuesday lunch.
For anyone who wants more than a tray, the Terry Black’s Experience is the move — a one-hour reserved tour that puts you behind the counter most diners never see. You meet the pitmasters, get a private walk-through of the pits, and sit down to a Feast Package that covers brisket, sausage, turkey, pork ribs, and beef rib, alongside all the house-made sides — mac and cheese, green beans, potato salad — and a choice of banana pudding, pecan pie, or peach cobbler for dessert. One beverage per guest is included, beer, wine, or non-alcoholic. No line required, which on a busy weekend is its own form of luxury.
Terry Black’s has earned its reputation honestly. Texas Monthly named it one of the state’s Top 50 BBQ restaurants and later called the chain “the most impressive barbecue chain in Texas.” Daniel Vaughn, the magazine’s barbecue editor, praised the operation early on for serving “good barbecue all day long” — a meaningful distinction in a category where quality often drops off after the lunch rush. The brand has since expanded to Fort Worth, Houston, Waco, and Lockhart itself, along with a 2025 debut in Nashville, its first location outside Texas. The Dallas restaurant remains one of the busiest in the family.
Terry Black’s Dallas is open Monday through Thursday and Sunday 10:30am to 9:30pm, Friday and Saturday 10:30am to 10pm. Phone is (469) 399-0081. Online ordering, catering, and reservations for the Terry Black’s Experience are all available at terryblacksbbq.com.
The line moves fast, the trays come out heavy, and the brisket alone is worth the drive to Deep Ellum.
This is making me want to push my next trip to Dallas up a bit in the calendar!