According to Thrillist, Hot Springs is one of the best barbecue towns in the whole of the United States. In fact, it even makes it to the sixth spot on a national list of 11. That’s pretty impressive, no? That’s primarily because of the three totally amazing barbecue restaurants you’ll find below. Hot Springs, our favorite Spa City, is not only a great place to seek rest and relaxation, it’s also a superb place to get your barbecue on.

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First on Thrillist’s list of major players is McClard’s Bar-B-Q Restaurant.

Located at 505 Albert Pike in Hot Springs, McClard’s Bar-B-Q is a favorite of locals and out-of-towners alike.

McClard’s has been serving barbecue to the Hot Springs area since 1928, and they’ve maintained their friendly atmosphere that whole time.

The main reason people keep showing up, of course, is the absolutely delicious food.

McClard’s ribs are just part of why McClard’s has been voted Hot Springs’ number one barbecue joint.

And the pork sandwiches are enormous and totally scrumdiddlyumptious.

Stubby’s Bar B Que is located at 3024 Central Avenue, and you may have seen it into some pretty prestigious foodie magazines like Food and Wine Magazine.

They won such praise by hanging around in the BBQ biz since 1952 and becoming one of the best places in the nation to find delicious hickory smoked meat.

The atmosphere is lovely too, but people really come for the meats and one-of-a-kind sauce.

You can’t last that long or win that kind of praise without perfectly delicious ribs, of course.

People also love their baked beans. The more correct way to say that is that people love their baked beans so much that when you type “Stubby’s” into Google the auto complete thinks you want to know about their baked beans.

Compared to the other two restaurants, Smokin’ In Style is a relative newcomer. They’ve been barbecuing meats since 1999, and have had a restaurant since 2004.

Located at 2278 Albert Pike Road in Hot Springs, this place has become a major player in the Hot Springs barbecue scene by having friendly service . . .

. . . and legitimately some of the best barbecue anywhere.

In addition to serving up some of the best ribs in the Natural State, Smokin’ In Style offers catering, parties, banquets, and custom smoking for your meats.

Their sandwiches are divine as well . . .

. . . and they have a good variety of sauces.

These three barbecue places are only three of six fabulous barbecue restaurants in Hot Springs.

Basically you could eat barbecue at a different place nearly every day of the week, which is a lot of barbecue for a town of only 35,680.

It’s one of the best places for barbecue in the Natural State. And that, friends, is why you need to head to Hot Springs right away.

To find more to do while you're in town, try Bathhouse Row. There's also a delightfully bizarre alligator farm there, and of course you can't miss the hot springs.