Forkelo ranking · Updated October 2026
7 briskets across San Francisco, ranked on what people say about the dish itself — never the restaurant's overall rating.
Memphis Minnie's BBQ Joint · Lower Haight
180 dish-specific mentions · 76% positive · 4 source types · menu verified October 2026
Long a local favorite for smoky, melt-in-your-mouth slices, and early reviews since the reopening are mostly warm. The standing knock is dry, jerky-like brisket on off nights.
Fikscue Thrive City · Mission Bay
60 dish-specific mentions · 67% positive · 3 source types · menu verified October 2026
Diners call the brisket tender, smoky and melt-in-your-mouth, with house sauces on the side. Some cuts come out dry, bland or salty, and by-the-pound pricing adds up fast.
157 dish-specific mentions · 69% positive · 4 source types · menu verified October 2026
Fans call it tender, juicy and well smoked with a good bark. Complaints center on dry or bland slices and brisket served lukewarm or reheated.
Smokin D's BBQ · Inner Sunset
69 dish-specific mentions · 61% positive · 3 source types · menu verified October 2026
Texas-style Prime brisket that diners call tender, juicy and smoky. The main knocks are a steep price per pound, plus the odd salty, fatty or dry cut.
Baby Blues BBQ · Bernal Heights
168 dish-specific mentions · 63% positive · 3 source types · menu verified October 2026
Fans call it juicy and tender with a generous portion. Critics find it dry, tough or fatty, light on smoke and sometimes cut with the grain.
276 dish-specific mentions · 52% positive · 4 source types · menu verified October 2026
Fans praise fatty-cut slices that come out tender and juicy with real smoke. Recent diners lean critical, citing dry, bland or overly fatty meat and small portions for the price.
Let's Eat BBQ and More · Bayview
34 dish-specific mentions · 53% positive · 2 source types · menu verified October 2026
Fans call the brisket tender and flavorful, with a generous plate. Others found it dry, tough or under-seasoned, and some portions small.
Every score is built from evidence about the specific dish: how often locals recommend it, how strongly, how recently, and whether independent sources agree. A restaurant's overall star rating is never converted into a dish score.
Quality and confidence are reported separately. A dish two people loved can score high, but it is marked limited data until more evidence backs it up. The whole calculation — every constant, and three dishes worked through line by line — is written out on the methodology page.
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