Toronto’s barbecue game just scored some serious international cred. The Underseasoned BBQ Show has released its list of the Top 50 BBQ Joints Outside the USA, spotlighting some of the tastiest smokehouses from across the globe. Three Canadian spots (including two from Toronto) ranked impressively high!
Golden Horseshoe BBQ in Toronto (657 Dupont St.) landed in sixth spot, making it the highest-ranked BBQ spot in Canada. The Texas-style barbecue eatery started as a series of pop-ups before pitmaster Andrew Golden and chef partner Kris Hansen found a permanent home in a historic brick building at Christie and Dupont.
Golden trained in Texas at B4 Barbecue under pitmaster Nolan Belcher before bringing that experience home, and it shows in the menu. Expect classic Texas-style, wood-fired barbecue sold by the pound or half-pound, with trays loaded up with brisket, beef ribs, pulled pork, chicken, sausages, burnt ends and even a monthly whole-hog cookout. Prices are fair: sausages go for $7, half a chicken for $20, brisket for $23, and ribs for $15, with sides between $6 and $9 (read more about why Golden Horseshoe BBQ is the only line worth standing in).
Number 12 on the list is Kyle’s Fried Chicken + BBQ in London, Ont. (45 Pacific Ct.), located next to the Forked River Brewing Company. Underseasoned describes the spot as “Texas swagger meets Canadian wood-fired barbecue,” cooked on dual 1,000-gallon offset smokers from Bog Line Smokers (the same Canadian pit builder used by Toronto’s Golden Horseshoe). Owner and pitmaster Kyle Wyatt regularly travels to Texas to stay up to date with the latest pit techniques, flavour profiles and smoker innovations, so diners can expect some seriously good fried chicken and delicious barbecue-loaded poutine.
Cherry Street Bar-B-Que (275 Cherry St.) in Toronto ranks No. 14, making it the third (and final) Canadian destination on the list — no surprise here, since it’s been recognized with a Michelin Bib Gourmand since 2022 for offering “good quality, good value” cooking. The Port Lands smokehouse operates out of a restored 1920s bank building and has become one of Toronto’s defining barbecue spots over the past decade. Underseasoned raves about the restaurant’s pit-smoked meats cooked over live oak and white oak using classic Southern smoking techniques!
Pitmaster and owner Lawrence La Pianta also has serious credentials: he trained at legendary 17th Street BBQ in Illinois and spent years competing and judging on the Kansas City Barbeque Society circuit, one of the largest BBQ competition organizations in the world.
And Cherry’s is just one project from La Pianta, who recently opened Elm Street Italian Deli on Toronto’s east side.
Underseasoned is a podcast and website that’s devoted entirely to global barbecue culture, so it carries a lot of weight in the industry. The Top 50 BBQ joints outside the U.S. include heavy hitters from places like London, Rotterdam, Monterrey, Singapore and Melbourne (you can see the full list here).
