The best BBQ places in North Carolina are Skylight Inn in Ayden, B’s Barbecue in Greenville and Wilber’s in Goldsboro for Eastern-style whole hog, plus Lexington Barbecue, Stamey’s and Red Bridges for Lexington-style pork shoulder. If you only have time for one stop, make it Skylight Inn.
I say this with complete affection: North Carolina barbecue is a family legacy, a regional rivalry and the subject of opinions that have divided friends and relatives for generations. It is one of the things I love most about living here, and once you understand the two styles and the history behind them, every bite gets more interesting.
Below you will find the two styles explained, my favorite pits by region, a quick comparison table, a road trip plan and answers to the questions everyone asks.
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Eastern vs. Lexington Style: What Is the Difference?
Table of Contents
North Carolina has two distinct barbecue traditions and people care about this deeply. The short answer: Eastern style cooks the whole hog and uses a vinegar and pepper sauce with no tomato, while Lexington style cooks pork shoulder and adds a little ketchup to the vinegar.
Eastern North Carolina Style
Eastern NC barbecue is whole hog. The entire pig is cooked low and slow over hardwood coals, then chopped and dressed with a thin vinegar-based sauce that has zero tomato in it. It is bright, tangy and acidic in the best possible way. Many purists consider it the most authentic form of American barbecue, with roots that go back centuries.
Lexington Style (Piedmont or Western NC)
Lexington style uses pork shoulder instead of whole hog. The sauce, often called dip, starts with vinegar and adds a touch of ketchup, which gives it a slightly sweeter flavor and a red color. The slaw served alongside is red slaw, made with that same sauce. Lexington is packed with barbecue restaurants for a town its size and proudly calls itself the Barbecue Capital of the World.
Both styles are extraordinary. Anyone who tells you one is definitively better than the other has simply not spent enough time eating.
NC BBQ at a Glance
| Restaurant | Town | Style | What to Order |
|---|---|---|---|
| Skylight Inn | Ayden | Eastern whole hog | Chopped pork tray with cornbread |
| Sam Jones BBQ | Winterville and Raleigh | Eastern whole hog | Whole hog plate with sides |
| B’s Barbecue | Greenville | Eastern whole hog | Chopped pork and boiled potatoes |
| Wilber’s Barbecue | Goldsboro | Eastern whole hog | Barbecue plate with hush puppies |
| Parker’s Barbecue | Wilson and Greenville | Eastern | Chopped pork and Brunswick stew |
| Lexington Barbecue | Lexington | Lexington shoulder | Chopped pork with red slaw |
| Stamey’s | Greensboro | Lexington shoulder | Chopped barbecue plate |
| Red Bridges Barbecue Lodge | Shelby | Lexington shoulder | Pork plate with coleslaw |
| Lawrence Barbecue | Cary | Modern | Brisket and smoked wings |
| Jon G’s Barbecue | Peachland | Texas-inspired | Brisket and a Cheerwine hot link |
The Best Eastern North Carolina BBQ
Skylight Inn (Ayden)
If you are going to make one barbecue pilgrimage in North Carolina, make it Skylight Inn in Ayden. Pete Jones opened it in 1947 and built a legacy so significant that the James Beard Foundation named it one of America’s Classics. It is still family owned and still cooks whole hog over wood coals the same way it has for generations.
The building has a dome on top modeled after the U.S. Capitol. The chopped pork comes on a tray with cornbread and coleslaw and nothing else. There are no frills and no pretense, and the barbecue is among the best you will ever eat. Go hungry.
Sam Jones BBQ (Winterville and Raleigh)
Pete Jones’s grandson Sam Jones has carried the family flame into a new generation with Sam Jones BBQ in Winterville and Raleigh. The whole hog tradition is fully intact, but the setting is more modern and the menu has more sides and smoked items to go with the pork. Sam also wrote Whole Hog BBQ, which is the book I hand anyone who wants to understand this tradition.
The Raleigh location makes real Eastern NC whole hog easy for Triangle families to try, and it is a great entry point if you are new to the style. If you are planning a weekend in the capital, pair it with my list of fun things to do in Raleigh NC.
B’s Barbecue (Greenville)
B’s Barbecue has a cult following because it absolutely deserves one. It is cash only, keeps short daytime hours a few days a week and closes when the food runs out, which happens early. Check current hours before you make the drive. The chopped pork is exceptional and the sides, especially the boiled potatoes, are legendary in their own right.
The experience of eating at B’s is as much a part of the appeal as the food: the no-nonsense setup, the paper plates and the regulars who line up before the doors open. This is barbecue in its purest form.
Wilber’s Barbecue (Goldsboro)
Wilber’s has been a Goldsboro institution since 1962. Wilber Shirley cooked whole hog over wood when plenty of pits were switching to gas, and he never wavered. The result is deeply smoky, perfectly textured pork that has kept people driving out of their way for more than sixty years.
The restaurant closed in 2019, and a group of Goldsboro locals who grew up eating there bought it and reopened it in 2020 with the wood pits restored. Wilber has since passed away, but his legacy is very much alive in that smoke. Goldsboro is an easy detour on the way to a weekend in New Bern.
Parker’s Barbecue (Wilson and Greenville)
Parker’s is a beloved Eastern NC institution with a cafeteria-style setup that moves long lines of hungry customers through a spread of pork, fried chicken, Brunswick stew and all the classic sides. It has been open since the 1940s, and that kind of consistency over so many decades is genuinely impressive. It is also a reliable backup when the whole hog pits have sold out for the day.
The Best Lexington-Style NC BBQ
Lexington Barbecue (Lexington)
There are many great barbecue restaurants in Lexington, but Lexington Barbecue is the one most people mean when they say Lexington BBQ. Locals call it Monk’s after founder Wayne Monk. It opened in 1962 and has been packed ever since.
The pork shoulder is cooked over hickory coals and comes out tender, smoky and slightly charred at the edges. The red slaw and hush puppies alongside are exactly right. This is the ideal of Lexington-style barbecue and worth a dedicated trip to a small town in the Piedmont.
Stamey’s Old Fashioned Barbecue (Greensboro)
Stamey’s has served Lexington-style barbecue in Greensboro since 1930, which makes it one of the oldest barbecue restaurants in the state. The barbecue is consistently excellent and the old-school atmosphere feels like stepping back in time in the best way.
If you are exploring the Triad and want a long lunch you will still be thinking about hours later, Stamey’s is the answer.
Red Bridges Barbecue Lodge (Shelby)
Red Bridges in Shelby is a Cleveland County institution that has been feeding locals and road-trippers since 1946. The pork shoulder is cooked over wood, the portions are generous and the homemade sides are excellent, especially the slaw. It has the feel of a family restaurant that has been doing things right for so long it sees no reason to change a thing.
The Best Modern NC BBQ
A new generation of pitmasters is mixing North Carolina tradition with Texas-style brisket, and these two are worth the drive.
Lawrence Barbecue (Cary)
Chef Jake Wood built a following with pop-ups and a run at Boxyard RTP before moving Lawrence Barbecue to a much bigger home in downtown Cary in late 2025. Smoke is the starting point here, not the finish line: think brisket, smoked wings and barbecue tacos alongside the classics. It is a fun stop when you want something different after a weekend of whole hog.
Jon G’s Barbecue (Peachland)
Jon G’s started as a food truck and opened its Peachland restaurant in 2020. It is Texas-inspired, so brisket is the star, but the Cheerwine hot link is a very North Carolina touch. It is about 40 minutes east of Charlotte and is typically open only on Saturdays until it sells out, so get in line early.
How to Plan an NC BBQ Road Trip
Do the Eastern NC loop. Ayden, Greenville, Wilson and Goldsboro all sit within easy driving distance of each other on the coastal plain. Hitting Skylight Inn, B’s and Wilber’s in a single day is a legitimate and deeply satisfying adventure. Keep a hard-body cooler in the trunk so you can bring a pound or two home.
Make a Lexington day trip. Lexington is an easy drive from Charlotte, Greensboro or Winston-Salem. The Barbecue Festival every October draws huge crowds and is one of the most fun food events in the state.
Pair it with the mountains or the beach. Barbecue makes the perfect detour on the way to North Carolina’s national parks or to one of the best beach towns in North Carolina for families.
Order the whole spread. NC barbecue sides are part of the experience. Hush puppies, red slaw, Brunswick stew, boiled potatoes and coleslaw are not afterthoughts, so do not skip them.
Go early or accept the wait. The best BBQ places in NC run out of food. Whole hog cooking is a finite enterprise and the wood-pit restaurants do not cook more once they are sold out. Arriving early is always the right call.
How to Bring NC BBQ Home
Once you have had the real thing, you will want to try it in your own backyard. A classic charcoal grill with an offset smoker is an affordable way to start, and a wood chip variety pack lets you play with hickory, oak and fruit woods. An instant-read meat thermometer takes the guesswork out of pork shoulder, and meat shredding claws make pulling it fast. Finish it with a bottle of George’s Eastern North Carolina sauce for that vinegar tang.
If you are bringing barbecue to a game this season, my football tailgate essentials list covers everything else you need. And if a smoker is not in the cards, my easy crockpot fall dinner recipes get dinner on the table with a lot less effort.
FAQ: Best BBQ in North Carolina
What are the two styles of North Carolina barbecue?
Eastern North Carolina style cooks the whole hog and dresses it with a thin vinegar and pepper sauce with no tomato. Lexington style, also called Piedmont or Western style, cooks pork shoulder and adds a little ketchup to the vinegar sauce. Both are traditionally cooked over wood.
What is the most famous BBQ restaurant in North Carolina?
Skylight Inn in Ayden is the most famous BBQ restaurant in North Carolina. It opened in 1947, still cooks whole hog over wood and was named one of America’s Classics by the James Beard Foundation. Lexington Barbecue is the most famous name for Lexington-style barbecue.
Is North Carolina BBQ pork or beef?
Traditional North Carolina barbecue is pork: whole hog in the east and pork shoulder in the Piedmont. Newer spots like Jon G’s and Lawrence Barbecue also serve Texas-style brisket, but when a North Carolinian says barbecue they mean pork.
What is red slaw?
Red slaw is coleslaw dressed with a vinegar and ketchup barbecue sauce instead of mayonnaise. It is the signature side of Lexington-style barbecue.
Where is the best BBQ near Charlotte?
Jon G’s Barbecue in Peachland, about 40 minutes east of Charlotte, is the most talked-about pit near the city, and Mac’s Speed Shop is a local favorite with several locations. Lexington is also an easy day trip for classic Piedmont barbecue.
What time should you get to a BBQ restaurant in North Carolina?
Go for an early lunch. Wood-cooked whole hog is made in limited batches and many of the best pits, including B’s Barbecue, close once they sell out.
Is there a BBQ festival in North Carolina?
Yes. The Barbecue Festival in Lexington is held every October and draws huge crowds to downtown Lexington for barbecue, music and family activities.
Pull Up a Chair
North Carolina barbecue is one of those things that gets into you. Once you have had real pit-cooked whole hog or a tray of smoky Lexington pork shoulder with red slaw and hush puppies, nothing else quite measures up. The good news is that the best pits in the state are not hard to find. They are just occasionally hard to get to before they sell out.
Plan your road trip, arrive early and eat well. This is one of the great food traditions in America and it lives right here.
Love this guide? Pin it to your travel or food board on Pinterest so it is ready for your next road trip, and share it with your BBQ-obsessed people. If you have a favorite NC pit that should be on this list, tell me in the comments.
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