Michelin Star BBQ

Overall Rating and is it worth a visit: 9.5 to 9.75/10 and Yes. Sitting in a new age updated building in southern Austin, right before you get into the suburbs, Leroy & Lewis Barbecue offer a slightly elevated option when it comes to their meats and dining experience, living up to their Michelin Star status. That said, the new school meets old school design and layout blends the concepts perfectly and allows them to live up to the name and ethos that they literally have branded on the walls with “new school barbecue meeting old-school service”. Upon walking up to the doors, you get hit with the smell of the smoke from the pits, which are located outside in some custom offset smoker trailers, with the essence of post oak billowing out into the air. Once inside, you can go right to the bar and get yourself some drinks or head to the left and make a beeline to order your meats and sides. You’ll walk past the wall of white bread, several awards they have won including their Michelin Stars from 2024 and 2025, and multiple articles written about them. In typical Texas fashion, you order cafeteria style and pick everything up at the end, with meats available by the pound, as well as sandwiches, tacos, and elevated apps/sides. In regard to the food, this was some of the best we had in Austin, with the brisket coming in second to only Franklin and the first place I’ve ever seen have beef cheek. They are also the only Texas joint I’ve seen offering whole hog pulled pork, so something to consider for any Carolina purists. In terms of the overall experience, it’s truly a blend of new school meets old school, with a modern aesthetic in its interior design and future forward thinking menu items, they deliver an enjoyable and unique visit that is sure to please BBQ fans across several generations and styles. Sadly, I wish we would’ve been a little hungrier, as we had heavily loaded up on Franklins before this and thus, we were pretty full when we visited. That said, this might be the second best place I’ve been to in Austin and will absolutely be back for a fresh review for a first order of the day so I can give them a completely fair and hungry assessment. 100% worth making the visit to this location

Date Visited: 5/14/2026

Address: 5621 Emerald Forest Dr, Austin, TX 78745

Day of the Week: Thursday

Time of Day: 2:10 PM. Open at 11:00 AM

Owner: Evan and Lindsey LeRoy and Sawyer and Nathan Lewis (Two married couples). Evan LeRoy worked under Texas pitmaster Legend John Mueller early in his career

Website: https://leroyandlewisbbq.com/

Number of Years in Business: Opened in 2017 as a food truck. Brick & mortar opened up February 28th, 2024. Earned Michelin Stars for 2024 & 2025

Number of People in Line: 0 in front of us, but 6 already sitting down and 8 after us

Regional Style of BBQ: “New School” Central Texas Style

Total Cost: N/A. Ordered 1/2 lb brisket, 1 sausage, smoked chicken (thigh & leg), 1/2 lb pulled pork, beef cheek for the mains. Then had kale slaw and chorizo potatoes for the sides. Grabbed 4 beers as well

Type of Wood: Post Oak

Type of Smoker: Offset Smokers (Backline Smokers)

Type of Seasoning: Salt, pepper, tons of different blends. Not traditional central Texas purists, but new school with minor enhancements/updates

Best Dish: Brisket

Best Sauce: White, then mustard, then original

Best Side: Kale Slaw

Interior Description: New construction build with indoor and outdoor seating available. Polished concrete floors with slat cladding wooden walls greet you as walk in, followed by seating to your right and then your order line and full service bar wrapped around to the left. Minimal signage throughout the restaurant, gives it a clean elevated aesthetic, while still delivering the laid back welcoming vibes associated with barbecue pits/restaurants. In addition to their BBQ book and some merchandise, they also have a fridge with aged steaks available for purchase

Pro Tip: Some items only served on weekends, including brisket now. That said, get an order of the beef cheeks, as this was the only place we found some. For those missing ribs options, they have a “bacon rib” with the pork belly still attached on Saturdays and sometimes will have a beef rib, but not guaranteed

Brisket

0/10 Ranking: 9.5/10

Seasoning: Salt pepper only for the brisket and cheeks, (onion and garlic for tri-tip and flat iron)

Description: The brisket had a nice 1/2 to 3/4 inch red ring, with some nice bark on the outside. There was a nice crunch to the bark in spots and for being 2:15 PM when we ordered, I was quite impressed with the texture. In terms of the flavor, it was thickly seasoned with salt and pepper and had a really nice balance with the smokiness it was giving off. Massively rich, tender, & juicy, but maybe just a hair overdone/too fatty for the trim, which was slightly fattier than Franklins. This brisket is probably the best in Austin after Franklins and above Interstellar. Need to come back for another review and will absolutely order this one again

Beef Cheek

0/10 Ranking: 9.25/10

Seasoning: Salt, pepper

Description: A unique item I have not seen before at a BBQ joint, it had a great bark, with nicely seasoned pieces that had a larger red ring than the brisket. The cheek was thickly cut and somewhat of an in-between of steak and brisket for the flavor. It was tender to the bite, with a slight stickiness from the melting fat and beef tallow, which they brush on right before serving. Rich and really tasty, would get again the next time I’m visiting and not something to skip

St Louis Style Spare Ribs

Description: They didn’t have any available. Looks like due to wanting to use whole animals and source locally, they don’t offer these, but do have massive “bacon ribs” on Saturdays with the pork belly still attached.

Pulled Pork – Whole Hog

0/10 Ranking: 8.5/10

Seasoning: Salt, pepper, maybe red bell cooked down

Description: Had a nice blend of different cuts of the pork and while it was pretty juicy, there were some parts that were a little more dried out, so not consistent to each bite. Good overall flavor, but not extremely smoky or seasoned and probably should have one of the sauces added. This was a well smoked and a tasty pulled pork, especially as the only whole hog option I’ve seen in Texas, but could save room for other meats next time and either skip or just order a 1/4 lb

Sausage – Jalapeno Cheese Chorizo Sausage

0/10 Ranking: 9/10

Description: A thick sausage that is served sliced, it had a nice snap to the casing, with an enjoyable creamy interior that had structure without being mushy. The meat itself had a balanced spice blend to it, but not my go to style, as it had little too much cumin from what I could taste. That said, a great sausage and one of the best we had in Texas, so would order again

Chicken

0/10 Ranking: 8.5 to 8.75/10

Seasoning: Multiple seasonings for this one

Description: Really well cooked, with a nice crispy skin to the thighs and legs,. Overall they had a good flavor, but were light on the smokiness coming through in each bite. For the seasoning, it was nicely balanced and had an enjoyable taste to it, but not the best I’ve had, which did bring the rating down a bit. While really well done, I would probably skip for other meats the next time, but still worth an order

Sides – Kale Slaw

0/10 Ranking: 9 to 9.25/10

Description: Blend of kale and white cabbage, it was super refreshing and crisp, with a very light dressing. For texture, the kale was broke down and not tuff to eat with a nice balance of flavors and crunch. Really good overall and would get again and very refreshing to cut the BBQ

Sides – Chorizo Potatoes

0/10 Ranking: 9/10

Description: Really flavorful, with the chorizo making itself known right away for the flavors and well cooked overall. A super unique option that I have seen no where else and 100% worth ordering again