This North Texas barbecue spot feels frozen in 1965. The prices will surprise you
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Fourth-generation David’s continues Red and Sonny Bryan lineage traced to 1910.
- Menu centers on hickory-smoked brisket, ribs, sausage and classic serve-yourself sides.
- Pricing positions David’s as bargain barbecue: brisket $23 per pound or $14.95 plate.
David’s Barbecue could not be more perfect.
As a fourth-generation restaurant from North Texas’ Red and Sonny Bryan barbecue dynasty, David’s is everything a traditional Texas barbecue place should be, but without the slick menu or high prices.
How fitting that David’s is at 2224 W. Park Row Drive. That’s between Michelin-ranked Goldee’s and Arlington sensation Hurtado.
It’s like traveling through time to go from those top examples of contemporary Texas barbecue to David’s, unchanged since 1965 with a lineage dating back to 1910.
David’s is more than a classic. It’s a museum piece of old-time Texas, from the wood paneling and cafeteria-style service to the hickory-smoked brisket, pork ribs, sausage and ham, with serve-yourself sides, peppers, onions and relish.
This is not the new-style brisket rubbed with pepper.
But it’s also not $35 a pound.
David’s brisket sells for about $23 a pound. It’s as cheap as $14.95 on a small dinner plate with simple and flavorful baked beans, slaw, potato salad or fresh-cut fried okra or onion rings.
On a recent visit, the brisket and ribs were perfect traditional barbecue. The brisket was lean (without asking) and tasted like good, tender beef, not just rub.
Pork ribs were glazed and tender.
The only letdown was David’s house-made sauce, an older and thinner version. (More hot sauces would help.)
Today, this is considered bargain barbecue.
But until 2010, when small-batch craft barbecue started taking over the business, this would have been considered Arlington’s best and one of North Texas’ best, a category usually led back then by Sonny Bryan’s in Dallas and Angelo’s in Fort Worth.
Red and Sonny Bryan’s Dallas restaurants date back to Feb. 13, 1910, when Elias Bryan’s restaurant opened in Oak Cliff.
But the Arlington history dates back to 1965, when a Red Bryan’s Smokehouse location opened at 611 N. Collins St. That’s now the AT&T Stadium parking lot.
David Bryan Harris, a nephew, ran that Red Bryan’s. In the early days of Texas Rangers baseball and Six Flags Over Texas, it became an Arlington landmark.
When that site was sold for to a developer, Harris took the equipment, furnishings and barbecue to a new shopping center in Pantego.
The restaurant now belongs to son-in-law Austin Payne.
David’s is open for lunch and dinner Tuesday through Saturday; 817-261-9998, davidsbarbecuetx.com.
