Pinkerton's BBQ San Antonio - May 23, 2026

Nothing beats Texas BBQ and Pinkerton’s in San Antonio is one of the best BBQ places in San Antonio. The origin of the restaurant goes back to Grant Pinkerton who started cooking Texas BBQ at the age of 12. He opened Pinkerton’s BBQ in 2016 in Houston and within a year landed a spot on the Texas Top 50 list which is the holy grail list of Texas BBQ. Pinkerton continues to win many awards till this day. 

We walked from the Emily Morgan hotel down to Pinkerton’s BBQ. It was hot and humid today, I’d say around the high eighties. Like any famous BBQ place, the wait was around 2 hours in line. I’ve heard that sometimes people have to wait up to 5 hours for Texas BBQ. I was wearing pants today because of the humidity, I was sweating profusely. Michelle took breaks under the shade. The area has a large picnic/park where people can walk and enjoy themselves. Parking was limited, but I noticed some open spots in the area. 

After about 2 hours, we got to the front. I saw that a lot of people go all out. I overheard the cost of their order was over $200. One thing Pinkerton’s is known for is their Prime Beef Brisket. It by far is a superior brisket, most likely one of the best in America. The quality is S tier level and there is no doubt about that, as you can see in the pictures below. That is what I bought. Michelle bought the baby back ribs and those were probably the best she ever had in her life. I can say it was really good. The ribs were soft but the BBQ sauce is what makes it. It appears syrupy with sweet and spicy notes. It is amazing. I was really into the Duck Sausage Jambalaya. As I expected, it had a unique flavor, the spices make it taste unique. We ate inside and for some reason it wasn’t too busy inside even though the line was so long. I think many people took their order home to eat. 

We filled our stomachs with food and took the rest back to the hotel. I also got a banana foster pudding which was good, but wasn’t exceptional.