Pinkerton's Barbecue occupies 107 W. Houston Street in downtown San Antonio, close enough to the River Walk to draw both tourists and regulars. The restaurant is the San Antonio branch of a Texas barbecue operation that started in Houston.
Meat is smoked over post oak and mesquite and sold by the pound alongside family-style plates. Brisket is the standout on a menu that also runs to pork ribs, boudin, and jambalaya, with sides like potato salad and blueberry cobbler.
The pitmaster behind the operation, Grant Pinkerton, is a Houston native with family roots in the Hill Country and Gulf Coast. He studied Rhetoric and Writing at the University of Texas at Austin before turning a backyard barbecue habit into a business, with no formal culinary training behind him.
San Antonio Current named Pinkerton's Barbecue a best-of pick for 2025.
Meat is smoked over post oak and mesquite and sold by the pound alongside family-style plates. Brisket is the standout on a menu that also runs to pork ribs, boudin, and jambalaya, with sides like potato salad and blueberry cobbler.
The pitmaster behind the operation, Grant Pinkerton, is a Houston native with family roots in the Hill Country and Gulf Coast. He studied Rhetoric and Writing at the University of Texas at Austin before turning a backyard barbecue habit into a business, with no formal culinary training behind him.
San Antonio Current named Pinkerton's Barbecue a best-of pick for 2025.