Cooper's Old Time Pit Bar-B-Que
Llano-style direct-heat 'cue on Congress Avenue
Cooper's Old Time Pit Bar-B-Que is a barbecue restaurant in Austin, Texas.
The downtown Austin outpost of the Llano original — founded in 1962 — opened on Congress Avenue in 2016 and cooks in a style most of the city's celebrated pits don't: West Texas 'cowboy' direct heat over mesquite. Instead of a menu board, you walk up to the pit, point at what you want, and watch it come off the fire, a ritual that sets Cooper's apart the moment you arrive.
The headliner is the Big Chop, a two-inch mesquite-fired pork chop that has become the reason people make the trip. Brisket and pork ribs get the same direct-heat treatment, picking up a harder char and a smokier edge than the low-and-slow indirect joints down the street, and the sausage rounds out a pit-side pick. It is a distinctly different Texas tradition, cooked in plain sight in the middle of downtown.
- Style: Central Texas Style
- Price: $$
- Neighborhood: Downtown
- Serving since 2016
What to order
- Big Chop Pork Chop
- Brisket
- Pork Ribs
- Sausage
How it scores — 8.0/10 overall
Visiting
- Address: 217 Congress Ave, Austin, TX 78701
- Phone: (512) 474-4227
- Website: https://coopersbbqaustin.com/
Hours: Daily 11am–10pm
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