Cattleack Barbeque

The Verdict

If you have visited Cattleack Barbeque once, you already know the ritual: arrive early, join the line, follow the smoke. Come back a second time and the experience sharpens. You stop scanning the menu and head straight for the brisket and pork ribs, then pivot to whatever specials are chalked up that day. The wagyu pastrami brisket, when it appears, is the kind of thing that reframes your expectations for a $$ price point. Cattleack earned its Michelin Bib Gourmand (2025) on exactly this promise: serious craft at a price that does not require a special occasion to justify. Book it. The only question is when.

Portrait

The approach to Cattleack tells you everything before you step inside. The line wrapping around the building at 13628 Gamma Rd in Farmers Branch is the first signal. The second is the wood smoke — oak and hickory drifting across the car park in a way that functions less as atmosphere and more as a reliable promise of what is coming. Pitmaster Andrew Castelan built the reputation of this place on that scent, and it holds on return visits.

The format is counter service. You move through the line, you tell them what you want, and the transaction is efficient without being abrupt. At a $$ price point, that directness is exactly right. There is no attempt to dress the experience up into something it is not. Castelan's philosophy runs through the service model as much as it does the smoker: no theatre, no padding, just the work. That restraint is what earns the price point rather than undermining it. Compare this to the polished room service at a $$$$-tier venue like Fearing's — where you are paying partly for ceremony , and Cattleack's stripped-back approach makes a deliberate argument about where value actually lives.

Menu changes daily, which matters more on a second visit than a first. Brisket and pork ribs anchor every service and both are consistent enough to order without hesitation. The brisket in particular has the kind of smoke ring and bark-to-fat balance that tends to appear on lists alongside Pecan Lodge when Dallas barbecue is being ranked. The specials are where Castelan pushes further: the pork steak and wagyu pastrami brisket represent the kind of daily variation that rewards regulars and gives explorers a reason to keep returning rather than ticking the box and moving on.

Sides here are not afterthoughts. Greens, burnt end beans, and street corn all hold their own alongside the meat. Cornbread arrives with the kind of consistency that the Michelin team noticed: this is a kitchen that cares about the whole plate, not just the headline protein. The house sauce , described in the Michelin notes as bright and tangy , sits on every table in bottles. It is optional, because the meat does not need it, but the sauce is well-balanced enough to use without masking what the smoker has already done.

The 4.6 rating across 1,975 Google reviews is a useful cross-check on the Michelin signal. That volume of consistent positive feedback at a $$ price point is harder to sustain than a single award cycle and suggests the kitchen is not coasting. For food and travel enthusiasts who use review volume as a proxy for reliability , rather than just peak-night performance , that number matters. It places Cattleack alongside venues like CorkScrew BBQ in Spring and InterStellar BBQ in Austin in a tier of Texas barbecue operations that have converted early hype into sustained execution.

Cattleack does not operate every day of the week and hours are limited, which means timing your visit is the primary logistical challenge. The line is real and can be long, particularly on weekends and in the hours after opening. Arriving close to opening is the clearest way to manage wait time and maximise access to specials, which sell out as service progresses. This is not a place to approach casually at noon expecting to walk straight in. Plan the visit, treat the wait as part of the format, and the experience pays off.

For explorers building a serious Dallas eating itinerary, Cattleack sits at a different point on the map than venues like Mamani, Avra Dallas, or Al Biernat's. Those venues answer different questions about the city. Cattleack answers the question of whether Dallas barbecue can hold its own against the broader Texas canon , and the Bib Gourmand confirmation in 2025 suggests the answer is yes, consistently, at a price that leaves money for the rest of the meal.

How It Compares

See the comparison section below for how Cattleack sits against other Dallas dining options.

For more Dallas eating, drinking, and staying options: our full Dallas restaurants guide, our full Dallas hotels guide, our full Dallas bars guide, our full Dallas wineries guide, and our full Dallas experiences guide.

Further afield, if you are calibrating Cattleack against Michelin-recognised venues in other US cities, the relevant comparators at the Bib Gourmand tier operate at a similar value-to-craft ratio , though the format differs significantly from tasting-menu operations like Alinea in Chicago, Lazy Bear in San Francisco, or fine dining anchors like Le Bernardin in New York City, The French Laundry in Napa, Single Thread Farm in Healdsburg, or Emeril's in New Orleans. Cattleack is not competing in that register , it is competing on whether $$ barbecue can achieve real culinary seriousness, and the 2025 Bib Gourmand suggests it does.

FAQ

• Is Cattleack Barbeque worth the price? Yes, clearly. The Michelin Bib Gourmand exists precisely for venues like this: serious craft at a price that does not require justification. At $$, you are getting brisket and ribs that sit at the leading of the Dallas barbecue tier, plus daily specials like wagyu pastrami brisket that punch well above the price point. If you want a more formal sit-down experience, Gemma or Lucia are worth considering at $$$, but for pure barbecue value, Cattleack is the answer.
• Can I eat at the bar at Cattleack Barbeque? Cattleack operates as a counter-service barbecue spot, not a bar-and-table restaurant. You order at the counter and seat yourself. There is no bar in the traditional sense. If a bar setting matters to you, check our Dallas bars guide for options that pair better with that format.
• Is Cattleack Barbeque good for solo dining? Yes. Counter service and communal-style seating make solo visits entirely comfortable. You order exactly what you want, the format is low-pressure, and the price point means you can try multiple items without it becoming expensive. Solo visits are arguably the clearest way to work through the specials board efficiently.
• Is the tasting menu worth it at Cattleack Barbeque? Cattleack does not offer a tasting menu. The format is counter service with a daily-changing menu of smoked meats and sides. If a structured tasting-menu experience is what you are after in Dallas, Tei-An or Tatsu Dallas at $$$$ are the relevant comparators, though at a significantly higher price point.
• How far ahead should I book Cattleack Barbeque? No advance booking is required. Cattleack is walk-in only , the line is the booking system. Booking difficulty is rated Easy, but that does not mean the visit is effortless. Arrive close to opening to access specials and minimise wait time. Going later in service risks sold-out items, particularly specials like the wagyu pastrami brisket.
• Is Cattleack Barbeque good for a special occasion? It depends on what kind of special occasion. If the occasion calls for white tablecloths and a long wine list, look at Fearing's or Al Biernat's instead. But if the occasion is a serious food experience shared with people who appreciate craft over ceremony, Cattleack's Michelin Bib Gourmand and 4.6 rating across nearly 2,000 reviews make it a defensible and genuinely memorable choice , at a fraction of the cost.