The Best BBQ In South Carolina

With South Carolina being a part of the Barbecue Belt, which stretches from the Carolinas in the East to Texas and Missouri in the West and from Kentucky in the North down through the deep South, it’s not surprising that a BBQ spot would develop a cult following. It’s also no shock that this place is in Charleston, one of the best areas of the state to find delicious food and ranked in a list of America’s Ten Best Food Cities by The Washington Post, even though Charleston has not historically been known for barbecue. That is, until Lewis Barbecue opened in 2015 and took off like wildfire. Some would argue it’s now the place to get the best BBQ in South Carolina.

John says to him, barbecue is synonymous with smoke, and he became obsessed with controlling the perfect temperature and smoke when making BBQ. He eventually found the type of smoke he was looking for using a propane tank and now builds his own custom pits with his father, welding tanks to smoke boxes. He attributes his barbecue's taste, texture, and consistency to the pit.

Five of the pits they have built are found at his restaurant in Charleston, which expanded and opened a location in Greenville in September 2022. The pits pictured here are at that location on Rutherford Street.

The Charleston location is on Nassau Street. Prior to coming to Charleston, John was instrumental in helping to open Franklin Barbecue in Austin, hailed by Bon Appétit as the best barbecue in America.

Be prepared for a line, especially at busier times. It could even take as much as an hour to get through the line at peak times!

There's both indoor and outdoor seating available.

The Lewis Barbecue menu features the Lone Star State’s meat trilogy: brisket ...

... and Texas-style mildly spicy beef sausage (called “hot guts”).

Lewis Barbecue hot guts are house-made sausages, always served fresh. They are mostly beef with a little bit of pork, a bit spicy, and snappy!⠀

Pulled pork is also available on the menu. With all the fanfare over the BBQ, the options for sides are not to be disregarded. One fan would "drive the miles" just for the collards!

Visit the Lewis Barbecue website for more information, including the option to have meats shipped to you if you don’t live near one of the restaurant’s locations, and follow the Lewis Barbecue Facebook page for updates. Perhaps other areas of the state will be so lucky to have a location opened in the future!

Have you eaten BBQ at Lewis Barbecue? What did you have there? Share all about it with us in the comments section below!

Plan a trip to Charleston or Greenville to try this infamous barbecue and stay at one of the coolest places to spend the night in South Carolina if you go to Charleston and decide to make it an overnight adventure!

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Featured Addresses

Lewis Barbecue Charleston, 464 N Nassau St, Charleston, SC 29403, USA

Lewis Barbecue Greenville, 214 Rutherford St, Greenville, SC 29609, USA

The BBQ From Lewis Barbecue In South Carolina Has A Cult Following, And There's A Reason Why

AnneMarie

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