Stanley’s Famous Pit Bar-B-Q

Tyler, United States

4.4

Closed now

20 reviews

Accepts Credit Cards
Free Wi-Fi

Contacts

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Telephone:
+1 903-593-0311
Website:
stanleysfamous.com
Address:
525 S Beckham Ave, Tyler, TX, 75702
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Bussiness info

Takes Reservations
No
Delivery
No
Take-out
Yes
Accepts Credit Cards
Yes
Good For
Lunch
Parking
Street, Private Lot
Bike Parking
Yes
Wheelchair Accessible
Yes
Good for Kids
Yes
Good for Groups
Yes
Attire
Casual
Ambience
Casual
Noise Level
Average
Music
Live
Good For Dancing
No
Alcohol
Full Bar
Happy Hour
Yes
Best Nights
Thu, Fri, Sat
Coat Check
No
Smoking
Outdoor Area/ Patio Only
Outdoor Seating
Yes
Wi-Fi
Free
Has TV
No
Waiter Service
No
Caters
Yes

Today

Today 7:00 am – 10:00 am
11:00 am – 10:00 pm
Closed now
Local time (Tyler) 06:10 Monday, 23 June 2025

Business hours

Monday 7:00 am – 10:00 am
11:00 am – 10:00 pm
Tuesday 7:00 am – 10:00 am
11:00 am – 10:00 pm
Wednesday 7:00 am – 10:00 am
11:00 am – 10:00 pm
Thursday 7:00 am – 10:00 am
11:00 am – 10:00 pm
Friday 7:00 am – 10:00 am
11:00 am – 12:00 am
Saturday 11:00 am – 10:00 pm
Sunday –

Description

Specialties

Stanley’s is the oldest operating mom and pop BBQ joint in Tyler, serving up true, pit smoked BBQ for over 50 years. Come try our perfect brisket, baby back ribs, turkey, fresh sausage, and pulled pork in a fun and family friendly atmosphere!

Stanley’s offers some other selections such as fish tacos and even has vegetarian items. Also be sure to try our two most popular sandwiches — The Mother Clucker and Brother-​in-​law. We have a newly renovated, covered, and enclosed patio where you can catch a great touring band on Friday night. The patio is also now equipped with a full-​bar that features Texas spirits, draft beer, and a nice selection of bourbons.

We take pride to produce all our barbecue and sides fresh each day, so we occasionally sell out due to heavy and unanticipated guest traffic. Call ahead if you want to make sure we have something you’re looking for! We also offer catering services for your next event. Be kind and have fun!

History

Established in 1960.

Stanley’s has always been family owned and operated. The site where Stanley’s sits today was a BBQ restaurant for two previous owners before being bought and renamed by J.D. Stanley in the late 50’s. The history of BBQ is long and strong in this spot.

Meet the Business Owner

Nick and Jen P.

Business Owner

Nick & Jen Pencis took over the business in 2006 after the death of founder JD Stanley left his family unable to continue the operation. Nick & Jen have kept the spirit of JD’s recipes and methods alive, as well as adding their own flare to the joint. They have since been recognized by being named «One of the Best BBQ Joints in the World!» by Texas Monthly Magazine, finding their story published in David Gelin’s book «BBQ Joints: Stories and Secret Recipes from the Barbecue Belt», and Daniel Vaughn’s «Prophets of Smoked Meat» published by Anthony Bourdain. Nick & Jen have tried to recruit the best staff to ensure the highest quality food and fun atmosphere.

In 2013, Nick & Jen expanded the joint’s cooking and seating capacity, introduced a full-​service bar, and brought back weekly live music. «Mom & Pop» are proud of their «Little Engine That Could» and are honored, grateful, and proud to carry on a great Texas tradition! As always, they encourage all to: «Be kind and have fun!»

Stanley’s Famous Pit Bar-​B-​Q also recommends

Villa Montez

122

reviews

Latin American

Nick and Jen P. says,

«An independently owned restaurant with Latin-​style seafood & meat dishes, plus comfort classics, presented in a cool hilltop mansion and great patio.»

Roast Social Kitchen

29

reviews

Wine Bars

,

Pizza

,

Cocktail Bars

Nick and Jen P. says,

«Stanley’s „little sister“ features starters, fresh soups & salads, classic & signature brick oven pizzas & desserts with a great cocktail bar.»

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Nearby

Near this location:
30
ft
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Beckham Street Shoe Repair
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20 reviews of Stanley’s Famous Pit Bar-B-Q

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Place rating: 5
North Richland Hills, TX
Excellent barbecue! I am doing Weight Watchers and their turkey was the best! It was too hot to sit outside and the inside is tiny! I will come again.
Place rating: 5
Palestine, TX
Yum, yum, yum! This is without a doubt the best BBQ I’ve ever eaten, and I’ve eaten at Rudy’s, Dickey’s, The Green Mesquite, Iron Works, Shep’s, Railroad, Bill Miller’s, and so forth. I know Stanley’s doesn’t need my review, but I can’t help raving about them. I’ve eaten at Stanley’s many times, and the taste of their BBQ is always outstanding. I usually get brisket with two sides.
Place rating: 5
Dallas, TX
I’m a Tyler local, and Stanley’s is by far the best place to eat in town. Amazing BBQ, great prices, and a super fun atmosphere.
Place rating: 4
Winchester, CA
OMG… I’m a big fan of bbq… Stanley’s did not disappoint!!!
Went out to east Texas, longview to be exact… and while there decided to go to Tyler… made a stop at Stanley’s bbq house… everything was bomb!!!
Didn’t get too crazee, enjoyed every bite, num Num… it’s like having poke, but Texas style chee hoo!!!
If i get a chance to eat there again… no hesitation… will visit again!!!
\M/​
Place rating: 3
Melissa, TX
Sat inside but there doesn’t seem to be air conditioning so it was about 85 degrees indoors, NO EXAGGERATION, brisket was super fatty, worst ever, but flavor was good. Ribs were great, potato salad was good and peach cobbler was amazing! Sweet tea was good too
Place rating: 5
Houston, TX
Amazing BBQ, I was born in Tyler but have never been to Stanley’s until this last Saturday. I had the turkey sandwich, the meat was moist and thick. The spicy BBQ was delicious. My husband had the Mother Klucker, he devoured it. I especially enjoyed the red skin potato salad.
Place rating: 2
Richmond, TX
Did not think their barbecue was good at all! I do live by the well know Swinging Door and it just didn’t compare. They catered an event, served very small portions so consequently a lot of food was left and wasted. People don’t like to go back for more. It was barely warm and the sauce was stone cold. Did not think they were very prepared for catering an event.
Place rating: 5
Syracuse, UT
My 6 siblings and I were in Tyler Texas for our Dads funeral. We all wanted to eat some great Texas BBQ and found this place on Unilocal.We went there not knowing what to expect.
They had live music which was a $ 5 cover charge per person to get in. They also had a small dining room where you order food that is free.
Between all of us we had the jalapeño sausage, pepper sausage, brisket, turkey, schover sandwich, and link sausage. We love BBQ but this place blew our freaking minds. It was the best BBQ we’ve ever had. Everything was so fresh, tender, and succulent.
They do make their stuff daily so they run out of certain things. We wanted pulled pork but it was gone. If I ever come back I’ll definitely be eating here again.
Place rating: 5
Downers Grove, IL
Gosh this is my favorite burger place in the country right now. The burgers are all cooked to perfection and if you add the sauce, it’s so flavorful and delicious. I have tried a couple and the Brother-​In-​Law is my personal favorite. I love the ambience as it feels like a family place and it’s so low key and simple. They occasionally have live music which is always so much fun and mixed with the outdoor appeal, it’s just wonderful. Definitely worth the trip and money and also was a memorable experience all around.
I highly recommend this place and would be a regular if I lived anywhere close. Great job STANLEYS! You’re the best!
Place rating: 5
Dallas, TX
I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve been here. EXCELLENT PLACE. I love the outdoorsy feel to this place. You can enjoy great food, live music and the natural air. I recommend eating the Brother-​in-​Law sandwich, it’s my favorite! I’m not a huge fan of the sides, but the sandwich is all I need to keep coming back. It’s very laid back and a great experience. It gets crowded fast because it is a small place, but you have a choice of eating inside or out on the deck. Sometimes, if not most times, there’s a long line outside the restaurant that wraps around the side of the building. But can you blame them? This place is delicious! Staff is great and it is clean! Highly recommended!
Place rating: 4
Dallas, TX
Yes, yes and yes! I would drive from Dallas to Tyler just to eat here. So get there as fast as you can and eat the brisket for sure. Perfect bark, texture, smoke. This is top 50 legit!
Place rating: 5
Gilbert, AZ
Wow, what a great place. We had a two meat combo plate and a Mother Clucker. Both were wonderful. The «Hot» BBQ sauce was the bomb!
Great atmosphere and live music which was a bonus.
Very close to East Texas Medical Center and Trinity Mother Francis hospitals. A must have when in Tyler!
Place rating: 5
Beckville, TX
If word gets out, and it’s getting out, folks are gonna be driving up from Austin to get some of this barbecue. Folks are already driving over from Dallas and Shreveport for this table fare.
Ribs and brisket were spot on as were the drinks and the music.
Place rating: 3
New Orleans, LA
Lord know I love me some BBQ so when I saw that they had won multiple awards for their ribs I was pretty damn excited… That excitement was short lived though.
Went to Stanley’s around 2:00 PM on a Saturday afternoon for a late lunch and to my surprise they were out of their «award winning» ribs. How you run out of your «award winning» signature item 8 hrs before you’re going to close for the day is beyond me!
I have been to other BBQ places where they run out of stuff; but they normally are places that close at 2:00 or 3:00 PM… Not 10:00 PM like Stanley’s. I mean Tyler really ain’t that big for them to run out of ribs like they did.
Then to my dismay (and a few other tables around us) someone walked out of the back with a whole slab of ribs for another table… Like WTF?! Then they said; «We called ahead and ordered them»… That’s enough right there for me not to go back here again… Or maybe I will; I need to try these ribs.
I ended up getting the 2 meat plate, chicken and brisket. The brisket was very juicy and smoky and I really should have just gotten it. The chicken was very dry and tasted like it had a Cajun blackening seasoning on it.
It’s doable, but not anything memorable.
Place rating: 3
Tomball, TX
Mr.: Good, average, decent all-​around BBQ; everything had an okay flavor to it. Sausage has a good flavor but the casing was too hard. The pulled pork had a decent flavor. Potato salad and beans had some flavor, were okay. Peach cobbler was okay. Couldn’t finish the handmade cookie. Everything again was all around decent – just nothing spectacular.
Ms.: Liked the vibe of the place and the layout of the outdoor dining patio and the fact they host live music but the BBQ itself was okay – giving this 3 stars. Sausage had an okay flavor but the casing was a bit too hard. The brisket was okay but nothing special. The ribs were good because of the sweet, flavorful sauce cooked onto it. Didn’t care for the beans or plain potato salad. Peach cobbler was pretty good though – didn’t taste too sweet, no corn syrup overdose.
Place rating: 5
Irving, TX
Again, AMAZING. I had to drive and get some more of Stanley’s. Consistency in a business is very important. I’m so full right now I can’t even breath.
Again too bad I can’t get some to go on Sunday for my dinner back in Dallas.
Place rating: 3
Denton County, TX
The Cadillac Clucker Sandwich gets 5 stars! The pork ribs get 2.9 (they are seasoned extremely well, but that whole «fall off the bone» deal is more of an annoying Dallas-​chain style rib habit — many people like that… it’s just not my thing). The Clucker is one of the best chicken sandwiches I have ever had, so I will return for more. The reason for the 3 stars is that the best item that I consumed in this Famous BBQ establishment… is…a…Chicken Sandwich (the best chicken sandwich ever — but still… a chicken sandwich). You must safeguard the dish you are known for… the BBQ ribs.
Place rating: 5
Houston, TX
Now when TEXAS people tell you «this is some good barbecue», your ass had better stop and pay attention.
So PAY ATTENTION:
There’s something about the way they cook the meat here. It’s a perfect balancing act of sorts. The meat is so tender, and so smokey, and so JUICY. I’m talkin’ so juicy, the meat is glistening and SHINY with juices. And I love how the brisket isn’t overcooked… still a bit pink on the inside but with that nice char on the outside.
Oh yes, they add just enough char/​burn from the pit to give you the nice contrast or balance of tender & texture. And they don’t really over-​season the meat. Nope. They let the meat do the talkin here, boy! It’s like the celebrity of barbecues! All I wanna know is What are you guys doing to crank out this goodness religiously and consistently? Gimme the secrets.
You’d better watch it. You just may have a stalker on your hands
;-)
Place rating: 5
Crofton, MD
I’m clearly not the first to notice how awesome this place is.
Against my judgement, I had the Mother Clucker. I say «against my judgement,» because I normally prefer (especially the first and potentially only time I try a new BBQ place) to sample all the meats and try everything out. Deciding on a sandwich limits my intake of other items, but the reviews were too much; and it did look really enticing, so I went with it.
So glad I trusted my gut on this one… and my gut got the biggest pay-​off of all: eating the Mother Clucker. Look, I’m weird, I’m not a dark meat chicken fan. Sorry, I know, heresy to many, but it’s just my preference. But, this… thing… this creation… you don’t even notice the fact that it’s made up of thighs, because the cooking process melts away most of the connective tissue, and turns it into this smoky, chickeny, tender, juicy, succulent, amazing piece of meat that defies classification as a simple ‘thigh.’ It’s just that good.
Everything on it just maximizes the experience without overwhelming the flavor already built in the foundation (i.e. chicken). The roll even had a pleasant sweetness to contribute. The cheese and bacon and sauce… all elements worked in concert with each other, including the egg and avocado.
Which reminds me, get it Cadillac-​style, trust me. Worth it. So very worth it.
I also tried their other meats (turkey and pulled pork), which were very delicious! I would easily go back for more of their other offerings as well. But, I would be hard pressed not to order the MC each and every time. I was very pleased by everything.
One complaint? Seating is rather limited from what I saw, and the band was extremely loud. It was hard to hear my colleague sitting at the same table. I guess that’s the price we paid for sitting outside. The flies were getting annoying, too, but i don’t blame Stanley’s for that; it was summer in Tyler, Texas. What would one expect?
If I’m ever in the area again… totally stopping by. This place is a destination well worth the journey. Quaint, cozy, rustic, and ultimately satisfying, Stanley’s knows good BBQ and delivers an amazing flavor.
P. S. My colleague bought some of their sauce (spicy) to take home, it was that good. I wished that I had now, too!
Place rating: 5
Dallas, TX
This place has some of the best BBQ in the history of ever.
The Brewer and I shared a two meat combo plate with brisket and pulled pork and sides of potato salad, slaw, and beans. We also had a ½ rack of ribs. Let me just say that the ribs are phenomenal, and possibly the best I’ve ever had. I can see why they constantly win contests for being the «Best in Texas», which is certainly quite a boast.
The brisket was also a huge winner. The meat is smoked with pecan wood, so it has a beautiful smokey flavor. The bark is mouth-​watering. I ate half of it without sauce. When I did try the sauce, I did prefer the regular stuff. The potato salad was also yummy. The potatoes are red-​skinned and the salad has a bit of dill in it. Pork isn’t something I generally like, but The Brewer said compared to the ribs and brisket it was the weaker meat.
Some other reviews have said the portions seem small, and at first glance, they did seem to be. However, halfway through our meal, both of us were pretty full. We ended up taking a little to-​go box home with us.
The staff here is also friendly and cracked jokes with us while we ordered. The outdoor seating area is very comfortable and down-​home country. They have live music out there sometimes, and from the looks of their schedule, they get some good talent.
All the beer they have on tap is local Texas breweries, and the bar looked stocked.
We are already planning our return as an over-​night trip so we can catch a show. I also think they’ve ruined me for Dallas BBQ. Next time I have a craving for Q, I’m going on a road-​trip.
Yee Haw.