Gatlin’s BBQ

Overall Rating and is it worth a visit: 8.75 to 9/10 and Yes. This one had been on my list for a few years as a pit I was told I needed to visit, so I wanted to make sure we hit this one on our tour. Gatlin’s resides in a north suburb area of Houston, sitting on the corner of a newer strip mall building, as this was their expansion location after closing down the original in 2015. Once inside, you walk in and enter around to the left and order cafeteria style for your meats, combos, and beers, or you can grab yourself some classic sweet tea or soft drinks. After we grabbed our order, we sat down and started diving into the delicious looking spread. While there wasn’t a miss across any of the meats or dishes we ordered, with everything being pretty fantastic, there was only one standout that we can say may be the best of Texas, which was their jalapeno cheddar sausage. I’ll tip my hat to them for their brisket, ribs, and pulled pork, but their true dominance comes through in their sausage, which is a must order. In terms of quality, price, experience, and flavor, Gatlin’s is certainly worth a stop for anyone making the trip and they hold their own against some of the best out there, so feel confident in making a visit next time you’re in that section of Houston

Date Visited: 5/15/2026

Address: 3510 Ella Blvd Bldg C Ste A, Houston, TX 77018

Day of the Week: Friday

Time of Day: 2:00 PM. Open at 11:00 AM

Owner: Greg Gatlin. Took over for his parents and original owners, Henry and Mary Gatlin

Website: gatlinsbbq.com

Number of Years in Business: Catering since 2008, Brick & Mortar since 2010. Current location opened in 2015

Number of People in Line: 0, but 12 sitting down and 4 cam in after us

Regional Style of BBQ: Texas Style

Total Cost: $69 before tip. Ordered a 3 Meat Combo platter and got the brisket, pulled pork, and jalapeno cheddar sausage, with a rack of ribs added as well. Got mac & cheese, collared greens, and dirty rice as the sides

Type of Wood: Hickory (mainly) & Post Oak

Type of Smoker: Originally used custom-built offset Klose Smokers. Now they use Southern Pride Rotisserie smokers

Type of Seasoning: Multiple

Best Dish: Jalapeno Cheddar Sausage

Best Sauce: Didn’t review

Best Side: Mac & Cheese

Interior Description: Black painted exposed ceiling with HVAC and metal visible, that go well with with reclaimed wood paneling that line the wall and counter. Add in the concrete floors, wooden tables, metal chairs and sweet tea station, and you have a classic, but elevated and upscale BBQ environment to enjoy your meal while also served by their friendly staff

Pro Tip: Jalapeno Cheddar sausage is the best we had in Texas and is a must order. Grab the dirty rice too

Brisket

0/10 Ranking: 8.75 to 9/10

Seasoning: Salt, pepper, maybe others

Description: For the meat option, we ordered the fatty cut or “moist” as they call it, and they gave us some point cut pieces that had some great looking bark and a minimal red ring to it. However, it sadly started to crumble as soon as you picked it up, which while not the end of the world, is also typically not what you want. That said, it still had pretty good tooth to each bite and a nice seasoning crunch once you bit into the bark. A really nice overall flavor with subtle pepper and smokiness in reach bite, but it needs more of both to claim its spot among the Texas greats. Seasoning is great in that it hits quickly, but oddly fades just as quickly too unfortunately. That said, still a really good brisket that had a little more firmness and tooth to the bite compared to the the last few briskets we’ve had and I certainly would order again on my next visit

Pork Spare Ribs

0/10 Ranking: 8.75/10

Seasoning: Salt, pepper, others. Minimal overall

Description: Pretty juicy and tender ribs, that had a little bit of bite to them when you dive in. For the texture, they weren’t fall-off-the-bone, but did slide off pretty easily all the same, so basically cooked perfectly, even having a nice smoke ring to them. Slightly seasoned and with a little bit of a BBQ sauce glaze on top, the ribs had some good flavor and subtle smokiness to them, but need more of both to put them in competition with the other ribs we have been having in Texas so far. Good meaty ribs that were really solid overall, but not our favorite of the day compared to Truth BBQ. That said, they are worth ordering again

Pulled Pork

0/10 Ranking: 8.75 to 9/10

Seasoning: Unsure

Description: This was a really juicy pulled pork, with no sauce needed to be enjoyed. While there wasn’t much smoke flavor that came through in each bite, it was really flavorful overall. Upon first taste, there is a light zing and snap that might be some vinegar added at the end of the smoking process a la Carolina style. For Texas, this pulled pork has its own unique flavor, not really comparable to all of the other pulled pork that we have been having so far, but is one that I found super enjoyable, especially with the little bit of zing that it has. Really good meat option to order, with the only critique being that I would have liked to have some more smoke flavor come through. Worth ordering, especially if you want a flavorful and zesty pulled pork

Jalapeno Cheddar Sausage

0/10 Ranking:9.25 to 9.5/10

Description: Full sausage served sliced up and that had a nice snap to it. Structurally, it had a really good firm internal meat-to-fat blend, with the jalapeño and cheddar evenly mixed in throughout and a great overall flavor. On a spiciness note, it had a very pleasant and higher heat level compared to most of the sausages we had order so far, and it might be the best jalapeno cheddar sausage of the entire trip, with at minimum being Top 2 of what we’ve had so far. Absolutely worth an order

Sauces – Didn’t review any

Sides – Mac & Cheeses

0/10 Ranking: 9.25/10

Description: A spiral mac that was cooked perfectly al dente and that had a nice creamy and peppery cheese sauce to it. Really good flavor, well balanced, and exactly what you want out of the a mac, especially with a little bit extra heat from the pepper. Rock solid side and would absolutely order this again

Sides – Collard Greens

0/10 Ranking: 8.75/10

Description: Sweet and really tender texture, they had a nice taste to them with pieces of meat blended in. Overall, it gave an elevated green bean flavor, but was nice and enjoyable with each bite. Probably only my third time having collard greens so hard to get an honest review on what it should taste like, but was certainly enjoyable and worth an order next time I’m here

Sides – Dirty Rice

0/10 Ranking: 9/10

Description: Complex, but enjoyable flavor, and not something that I have seen at any other barbecue spots. Not sure what to say for the seasoning they mixed in, other than it definitely has a southern/Louisiana flare as it comes through. Rice was cooked well and had very an enjoyable flavor and taste overall, but ended up being a little mushy with whatever else they’re adding to it to dirty it up. That said, this was a super unique menu item that you won’t find in a lot of other spots and is worth getting for the table or for yourself