11 BBQ Restaurants With The Absolute Best Potato Salad In The US

Barbecue and potato salad is a classic American food pairing. Walk into any smokehouse, and you'd be surprised not to find potato salad on the menu. But just because the dish is ubiquitous doesn't mean it's bland, boring, or anywhere near standardized. There are smooth, creamy, mayonnaise-based variations of potato salad, as well as tangier, vinegar-based ones. Some are well-executed renditions of a classic style that will make you feel like you visited your grandma's house for a cookout — provided your grandma made one of the best potato salads in the country. Others incorporate new flavors into the dish by using ingredients such as ranch dressing, bacon, and chives.

The requirements for a potato salad being included in this article were that it had to come from a barbecue restaurant, and, it had to be one of the absolute best in the U.S. We were tempted to add a third requirement that the meat had to be top-notch, too, but that turned out to be a moot point, as barbecue joints that make a jaw-dropping potato salad tend to be pretty darn good at smoking meat as well. Every aspect of these recipes has been thought through, from the type of potato used to when the ingredients and spices are added. They certainly don't make any of the common mistakes that ruin potato salad. The challenge in visiting the places featured here is finding room for the potato salad, along with the other delectable options on the menu.

Goldee's is one of the hottest names in the barbecue game. The joint was opened in 2020 by five friends who all worked at different barbecue joints in Austin. Despite the dreadful timing (the dining room was forced to close a month after opening due to COVID-19), the restaurant not only survived — it thrived. In 2021, it claimed the top spot in Texas Monthly's highly regarded ranking. Since then, it has picked up a Michelin star and emerged as a training ground for some of the top pitmasters, including one that makes an appearance in this article. The smoked meats are stellar, but the sides get the same amount of attention, and it is the total package that make Goldee's a destination.

The old-school potato salad is rich and creamy, and made with dill pickles, celery, red onions, and a house-made vinegar-mustard dressing. It contains nostalgic flavors that are perfect with brisket, ribs, and sausage, but can also outclass exotic renditions from acclaimed chefs. Food & Wine tested potato salad recipes from five chefs, including culinary heavyweights such as José Andrés and Stephanie Izard, and declared the recipe from Goldee's chef Lane Milne the top one. There is nothing wild going on with the ingredient list, but the salad hits the right notes with a perfect balance of acidity and sweetness and creaminess and crunch.

goldeesbbq.com

(817) 241-1455

4645 Dick Price Road, Fort Worth, TX

There might not be another place in the nation that takes food as seriously as the Crescent City. Everyone knows about the Creole and Cajun dishes, but there are plenty of other great foods you didn't know to look for in New Orleans. It's not surprising to find one of the best potato salads in the country at an unassuming barbecue shack.

Southern Living asked several chefs to name the best potato salad in the South, and The Joint BBQ was one of the names that popped up. It's always nice to be praised, but it's especially compelling when the praise comes from an expert in the field. James Beard award-winning chef Sue Zemanick told Southern Living that the potato salad at The Joint "is a perfect balance of acid and creaminess and cuts through the fat and smokiness of the BBQ." Customer reviews are as favorable to the potato salad as the chef was. One five-star reviewer on Yelp had good things to say about the meats, but said that the potato salad was the highlight. They said it was made with red potatoes and eggs, and the mayo was well-seasoned but not too heavy. Another reviewer simply said, "It was probably the best potato salad I've ever had."

alwayssmokin.com

(504) 949-3232

701 Mazant St, New Orleans, LA

Rodney Scott has picked up almost every award a pitmaster could hope to earn, including a James Beard Award for Best Chef: Southeast, and being inducted into the American Royal Barbecue Hall of Fame. Scott's primary calling card is perfectly smoked South Carolina-style whole hog, but the potato salad served alongside the 'cue might be what steals your heart. His highly flavorful concoction is based on his aunt's recipe, and includes a controversial ingredient along with the normal suspects.

"I don't like bland potato salad," Rodney Scott told the crowd at the Food & Wine Classic in Charleston. He said it should have a sweet and spicy bite to it. His recipe starts with unpeeled red potatoes that are boiled until they are fork-tender and combined with mayonnaise (Duke's), yellow mustard, distilled white vinegar, sugar, red pepper flakes, and cayenne. The controversial secret ingredient? Sweet relish instead of dill. Scott stressed technique as much as ingredients, and said everything needs to be added while the potatoes are still warm so they can soak in the flavor. We trust what he says, because the potato salad at his restaurants is among the best. 

rodneyscottsbbq.com

Multiple Locations

Redbird's pitmaster, Amir Jalali, honed his craft at Goldee's before opening a place in his hometown of Port Neches, in Southeast Texas. Redbird's star rose nearly as quickly as its mentor's. It was ranked No. 4 in Texas Monthly's 2025 Top 50. That's an impressive feat for a barbecue joint to accomplish in its first two years of operation. Everything at Redbird's is made from scratch, including the Caesar dressing and the fresh-baked white bread. As one reviewer wrote on Yelp, "The sides here are far from an afterthought; they are elevated dishes in their own right."

The potato salad is loaded with fresh dill and is a perfect companion to the traditional barbecue that Redbird's serves, as well as some of the more unique menu items, such as the smoked koobideh sausage wrapped in a fresh pita. The homemade potato salad is consistently praised by diners, but it's not the only option on the menu for potato lovers. There is also a scalloped option that is made with thick-sliced potatoes, a roasted garlic cream sauce, Gruyère, and cheddar cheeses. Redbird's is the place for smoked meats and top-notch taters.

theredbirdbbq.com

(409) 262-3362

1104 Port Neches Ave, Port Neches, TX

The Butcher BBQ Stand serves an extra-creamy potato salad alongside some esteemed Oklahoma barbecue. The BBQ Stand has familial ties to David Bouska, a member of the Oklahoma BBQ Hall of Fame and founder of Butcher BBQ. But it's not the famous pedigree that brings the crowd; it's the high-quality meats and sides. "The potato salad rivals any I've ever had," one customer wrote in a five-star Yelp review. The sentiment was repeated by other reviewers, and potato salad is a must-order side. It's best to bring an appetite, though, because the baked beans, mac and cheese, and tater tot casserole also receive praise from several customers. 

The Butcher BBQ Stand is an ultimate road trip pit stop, since it is one of the best BBQ joints along Route 66.  But if you want to sample some of the flavors at home, The Butcher BBQ online store sells sauces, rubs, and grilling supplies. The website shares several recipes, but one thing that is not available online is the secret to the potato salad. To sample that, you'll need to make the pilgrimage to Wellston.

butcherbbqstand.com

(405) 240-3437

3402 W Highway 66, Wellston, OK

Salt Lick BBQ is a Texas institution that serves German-style smoked meats alongside a tangy potato salad. There are a few locations now, including an outpost at the Austin airport, but the original restaurant has been open in Driftwood since 1967. Luckily, Salt Lick published a cookbook, so we know exactly how they make the potato salad. The most unique aspect of the preparation calls for marinating yellow onion in vinegar. In addition to the pickled onions, the potato salad also gets a dose of Salt Lick's barbecue sauce and some toasted sesame seeds. The other key to the preparation is boiling the potatoes with the skin on, and then peeling them before making the salad.

Vinegar is one of the ingredients that make German potato salad unique. The surprisingly simple recipe yields a tangy and flavorful potato salad that is a reminder of the strong influence German immigrants had on Texas barbecue. Serving a tasty potato salad might be key to the Salt Lick's business strategy, because the most common way to order the meat is family style. Endless platters of ribs, sausage, and brisket are brought to the table along with serving bowls of beans and potato salad. At many establishments, that would lead folks to shun sides and focus on the more expensive beef products, but at the Salt Lick, you are going to want to save room for potatoes, too.

saltlickbbq.com

Celebrity chef and Cleveland native Michael Symon is a culinary force. He's run several award-winning restaurants, authored six cookbooks, and makes regular television appearances on shows such as "Iron Chef" and "The Chew." He previously shared his expertise with The Takeout to let us know the best way to use canned chickpeas. At Mabel's BBQ, he pours his talents into succulent smoked meats and an herbaceous potato salad.

"Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives" visited Mabel's and host Guy Fieri raved about the pork belly sandwich and Cleveland-style barbecue. (If you haven't heard the term, don't worry — he hadn't either.) According to Symon, one of the distinguishing characteristics is the Eastern European influence. Those influences are on display in the vinegar-mustard potato salad that is tangy, creamy, and well-seasoned. Cleveland is not often mentioned as one of America's top barbecue destinations, but a visit to Mabel's to sample the potato salad, brisket, ribs, and pork belly might change that perception. 

mabelsbbqcle.com

(216) 417-8823

2050 E Fourth St, Cleveland, OH

Edley's opened its first location in Nashville in 2011 before expanding into a small chain. While it did not make The Takeout's list of Nashville BBQ joints that haven't been ruined by tourists, it was voted best barbecue in the city by readers of the Nashville Scene four consecutive times from 2022 to 2025. Patrons are as excited by the potato salad as they are by the smoked meats. The unique version is whipped up with red potatoes, bacon, onions, and a house-made ranch dressing.

Edley's provides several recipes and cooking tips on its website, but not one for the potato salad. There are Reddit threads devoted to discovering the recipe, and copycat ones available online, but the exact recipe remains a secret. In addition to the ingredients mentioned previously, green onions or chives and some of the barbecue rub appear to be the other key components. The best way to try it is to make your way to one of the Edley's locations and pair it with smoked meats or hot chicken. You're not likely to be disappointed, because as one satisfied reviewer noted on Yelp, the food is "friggen good."

edleysbbq.com

Sampling barbecue from the top joints typically involves a fair amount of planning and several hours of waiting in line. Even given this environment, eating at Snow's is a labor-intensive event. It's more of an expedition than a dining experience. Lexington is a small town an hour east of Austin with a population of around 1,300. The restaurant is only open on Saturdays and attracts long lines. It always sells out, so it is best to leave before sunrise.

Any barbecue experience that requires that much time and effort needs to execute every item on the menu to perfection, and Snow's doesn't disappoint. Rather than being an afterthought, the potato salad is an act of love. "The potato salad is like nothing you've ever tasted," according to one Yelp review. "It's homemade and WONDERFUL." The homemade theme recurs in the reviews, with some comparing it to a grandmother's recipe. Many critiques of Snow's mention grandmothers. That might be because 91-year-old legendary pitmaster Tootsie Tomanetz is bustling around the joint most Saturdays. It's a bucket list experience, and the homestyle potato salad and melt-in-your-mouth ribs make it worth the trouble.

snowsbbq.com

(979) 542-8189

516 Main St, Lexington, TX

Morgan's proclaims "Best Potato Salad in Brooklyn" on its website, a claim that is as bold, as it is uncommon. It's imperative to back up a statement that brazen, and many customers think Morgan's hits the mark. In his review for The Infatuation, Will Hartman wrote that it is a "potato salad that glistens in the sunlight and is studded with pimento cheese." When a potato salad evokes poetic odes, it's a safe bet that it's a tasty dish.

New York was late to the party, but it's home to several top-notch smokehouses these days. At places such as Morgan's, many Southern transplants find sides that used to be hard to get. Some reviewers wrote about ordering the potato salad with low expectations before having their minds blown. The potato salad is loaded with veggies and has a slight orange hue from the spices. It's not for people who like a bland, runny potato salad. But flavor lovers will find a high-quality Southern-style potato salad at this Brooklyn barbecue joint.

morgansbrooklynbarbecue.com

(718) 622-2224

267 Flatbush Ave, Brooklyn, NY

Most Texans will tell you that their state is home to the best barbecue in the world. Many of them will also say that there isn't a more definitive expert on the subject than the fine folks at Texas Monthly magazine. Every four years, the magazine publishes a highly anticipated list of the top 50 joints in the state. Making the list is a career defining honor. Burnt Bean Co. is the reigning champion from the 2025 edition. Topping the list requires executing everything on the menu perfectly — from the brisket to the potato salad.

Jason Dady, whom San Antonio Magazine has named Best Chef in San Antonio multiple times, says the potato salad at Burnt Bean Co. is some of the best in the South. "It's so tangy, creamy, and simply divine," he told Southern Living. "It's a showstopper and stands up to the world-class BBQ they are known for." When a smokehouse is producing arguably the best meat in Texas and local chefs are talking about the potato salad, you know that is a quality side. The top-ranked meat and Sunday breakfast, which includes barbacoa, menudo, and huevos rancheros, grab most of the headlines, but take our advice, and save room for potato salad too. 

 burntbeanco.com

108 S Austin St, Seguin, TX

There are a lot of barbecue joints in the U.S., so to identify the ones with the absolute best potato salad, we relied heavily on the opinions of local food journalists, chefs, and diners. Many of them have had their praises sung in regional publications, and all of them receive consistently positive reviews on sites such as Yelp and Tripadvisor. We've been fortunate enough to sample several of the potato salads, and we can vouch for the exceptional quality in those. When recipes or copycat recipes were available, we sampled those, too. Having a great potato salad was the requirement to be featured, but many of the restaurants are among the best-known and highly esteemed barbecue joints in the country. Each of them is worth a visit — both for the meat and potatoes.