7 Chain Restaurants With The Best Ribs, According To Reviews

Barbecue is a time-honored tradition in the American South. Everyone has their own take on how to grill or smoke the best ribs, especially if you want them to fall off the bone (try the 3-2-1 method — it works). Even the Barefoot Contessa has her own take on the perfect ribs. It's hard not to see why, considering ribs and barbecue have been a part of America since before it was even a country.

The origins of barbecue and ribs are believed to have come from native Americans who used smoke to cook meat for more than 10,000 years. There are also records of groups from around the Caribbean and west Africa that roasted seasoned meat over an open fire. However, the first time the word "barbecue" was used in English was around 1688. It was during the Antebellum period in the South that barbecue as we currently know it began, though for the enslaved community, it was out of necessity. They were often given the worst cuts of meat, so they got creative to make it easier to eat.

Today, everyone has their own take on the best way to make ribs and which restaurants cook them the best. We took a jaunt down BBQ lane and found chain restaurants that have the best ribs, according to reviews. We specifically looked for joints that had a lot of positive reviews on social media, forums, blogs, and so on. We also searched for those fall-off-the-bone, finger-licking good ribs.

LongHorn Steakhouse has long been a favorite for its good quality steaks at more affordable prices; however, it's also quite popular for its ribs. The restaurant offers Baby Back Ribs starting at around $21.29, which appears to be the going rate according to some reviewers. According to the menu, the ribs are slow-cooked for "fall-off-the-bone tenderness" and then seasoned before being fire-grilled and topped with Longhorn's house-made BBQ sauce. Needless to say, these are not a menu item to avoid the next time you go to LongHorn Steakhouse.

According to comments online, the ribs are amazing. Many recommended them, while one said they were a close second to home-cooked ribs. People rave that the meat literally falls off the bone and  they like how they are very saucy. Some even go as far as to call Longhorn's ribs a new favorite.

So tender the meat falls off the bone is another compliment paid by a different video review, who also called them the "best" ribs, "awesome," and "amazing." This reviewer also said the ribs have a very good glaze and are covered in a nice sauce. All around, it sounds like LongHorn's Baby Back Ribs are the ones to get if you want super tender meat and a great sauce.

It seems that Texas Roadhouse and Longhorn Steakhouse are the two chains that folks really enjoy pitting up against each other. However, this time, we have them on the same list. Texas Roadhouse offers a half rack (about $18.99) and full rack ($24.49) of ribs, both of which are slow-cooked with a blend of seasonings and the chain's signature BBQ sauce. It quite literally calls them "Fall-Off-The-Bone-Ribs" on the menu. Just why are the ribs so tender? Well, it's all in how they're made, according to one of the restaurant's chefs.

One Reddit thread said Texas Roadhouse's ribs were pretty good, especially considering the price. Another commenter in the thread called them "pretty awesome" for a chain. Really, there were a lot of positive comments ranging from "underrated" to "delicious." In a different Reddit thread, customers said that some chains are worth it, in regard to Texas Roadhouse's ribs, while others called the ribs incredible.

On social media, commenters have said that they love the ribs and they're their go-to order at Texas Roadhouse. Another commenter called them tender and delicious, while yet another said they had the ribs for the first time and now they're their favorite. Other customers said that they are very satisfied with the ribs and that they fall off the bone. Another customer recommended getting a bit of extra BBQ sauce.

Famous Dave's is, well, famous for its barbecue. So it's really no wonder that it ended up on our list of chains with the best ribs. The chain has won multiple awards over the years, including "Best Ribs in America" in 2011 and first place in the American Royal Barbecue Sauce Contest. The restaurant offers two kinds of ribs — St. Louis Style Spareribs that are hand-rubbed with a secret blend of spices and pit-smoked, and Baby Back Ribs that you can get in Original Style with the Chicago-style rib rub or Memphis-style with herbs and spices and vinegar mop.

Oh, and its BBQ sauce was No. 4 on our Chowhound ranking of sauces you can get at the grocery store, so you can bet that it's pretty good. Our reviewer said the chain's Rich & Sassy BBQ Sauce was pretty close to being in the top three, actually.

The ribs have been a big hit in videos on various platforms. Some reviews said they have the perfect texture and weren't tough, plus they enjoyed the sauce. Another echoed the texture, saying they were very tender while complimenting the price. Another video review said that they sucked the bone dry on the ribs; they were that good. The TikToker also said they were very meaty. Yet another video said that when they think of football, they think of going to Famous Dave's for ribs and more.

If you're already humming the theme song for Chili's Baby Back Ribs, you're welcome. These ribs have been famous for years, but they recently got an upgrade. The ribs relaunched in July 2025, and CEO Kevin Hochman, per Business Insider, said the customer response has been positive — they've been complimenting the look, size, and taste of the chain's signature pork baby back ribs. You can get a full rack of ribs slathered in Chili's house BBQ sauce, with a side of fries and white cheddar mac and cheese.

A Reddit thread on the new and improved ribs was pretty positive about them. It mentioned that they had a nice exterior crust, were juicy, had the perfect texture, and overall were really good. Others said the new rub was really good and that they liked that the ribs still came clean off the bone. Another thread said they were so much better now the ribs are smoked in oak, calling them impressive and good for the price.

A social media post pointed out that the flavor was good and that they weren't dry. Another commenter liked that the meat was extra juicy and had hints of hickory. A video review said the ribs had a nice shine and kind of crispy exterior, which the reviewer liked. UA Eats called them pretty solid ribs, citing the crisp as his favorite part. Yet another video review said they were a big fan of the ribs, calling them really good.

Of course, we have another award-winning batch of ribs on the list, this coming from Florida-based chain Smokey Bones. The chain's ribs won first place in the ribs category (along with a few other awards) in the 2000 Florida BBQ competition. Though the question is, do the ribs still hold up? According to the reviews we found, they still do. The menu has Smokey Bone's signature baby back ribs and baby back imported ribs. The signature ribs are the award winners, and come seasoned, hand-rubbed, and smoked for four hours with a sweet and smoky BBQ sauce.

A social media post on the award-winning European ribs had a lot of comments saying the ribs were very good. A video review highly recommended the ribs the next time folks stopped by Smokey Bones, especially the Bone Fire Grill. This is a combo plate that includes ribs and serves everything on a small grill. Another social media video said that the creators "love the ribs."

A different video review said the ribs had a smoky flavor to them, which the reviewer said was pretty good. They called them standard ribs that were cooked well. These don't fall off the bone like ribs at other places, but some people prefer that. At the end of the day, the reviewer (and many other comments on the internet) said that they would get these ribs again.

Okay, so the next two entries on the list could get confusing, but they are two different BBQ chains in Texas — though they do share a relation (more on that later). The Original Black's Barbecue is a small chain that started in 1932 in Lockhart and is famous for its massive beef short ribs, though Black's also serves pork ribs (baby back and spare ribs). Its giant beef ribs have a 9-inch bone and weigh about 1 pound. Beef ribs are obviously cooked a bit differently, with some of the top chefs saying you should get ribs with plenty of marbling and don't trim the fat.

The pitmaster at Black's often makes videos, showing how they smoke and prepare their own baby back ribs (mouth-watering). The comments are full of people complimenting the ribs. On Reddit, a good number of folks said they loved the beef ribs, adding that the chain is great at smoking meat. Some said it was really good, but not the best in the state (which has us thinking the best in Texas must be really stinking good).

One video review complimented the smoke ring on the beef ribs, ultimately saying they liked them. Another video review called them the "biggest, baddest, short ribs" in Lockhart. The review went on to say it has all the hallmarks of the best barbecue and complimented how it pulled right off the bone. That video definitely had our mouths watering.

Okay, so as mentioned, this is a completely different restaurant chain in Texas than The Original Black's Barbecue, though it was founded by nephews of the founder of Original Black's. And, yes, there is a legacy of feuds and legal battles between the two; however, we're here to talk about ribs. And Terry Black's came up as one of the best in both their beef and pork ribs. Yes, there is a battle over who does the best ribs, too.

Like Original Black's, Terry Black's also has beef short ribs and slow-smoked pork ribs that you pay for by the pound. Comments on a social media post said the ribs were excellent and really good. Plus, they were worth the price, which is a good thing because they are pretty pricey at around $28 per pound for pork ribs and $53 per pound for the beef ribs. Another post said that eating a beef rib from Terry Black's was a bucket list item.

Moving on to video reviews, one said it was the best beef short rib, along with being very soft and tender. Another video review said that the beef rib simply melted in their mouth, and they nearly cried. They complimented the seasoning, going on about how tender the meat was.

And there you have it. The best ribs out there at chain restaurants, according to customers. Now, putting this list together was no easy feat — unlike reheating ribs and keeping them nice and crispy. Just use Rich Parente's two-step process to enjoy leftovers. Anyway, back to the list. We started by looking at ranking articles to get an idea of which restaurants were out there on people's radars. Obviously, we needed to start with a large list of restaurants to check out.

After noting those down, we went down the list, taking time to thoroughly research the ribs at each restaurant that we found, and see what actual customers had said about them. As mentioned at the beginning of this article, we searched through social media posts, forums, blogs, YouTube videos, and other places to find reviews and comments. We noted down all the positive reviews, paying careful attention to the things they liked — the tenderness, flavor, sauce, and smokiness.

The restaurants that received the most positive reviews and comments on their ribs made it into this article. There were certainly a lot of chains that had ribs — and plenty that were getting positive reviews — but many received pretty mixed reviews. These restaurants are the ones that had predominantly positive reviews across the board, so we feel confident in saying that they have the best ribs.