Rollin Smoke BBQ
On Sundays a trompo turns here, shaving smoked marinated pork onto small tortillas with melted cheese, pineapple and salsa, and the cook crisps the whole taco on the griddle.1
Why go
Nicolai McCrary's case for the room is the experiments: smoked carne guisada burritos and the al pastor tacos are what he says would make him detour.1 The straight barbecue holds up beside them, a Central Texas brisket with thick bark and heavy smoke.1 The meat is Goodstock prime, the wood is local post oak and the pit is a Moberg.2 The operation started as a truck and now cooks out of the back of Chalmers, a sports bar on East Cesar Chavez, with buns baked at New World Bakery.4
Order this / avoid
- The al pastor tacos if it is Sunday. Then the smoked carne guisada, either as a $6 taco or inside the G-Thang burrito. That one carries mac and cheese, chipotle cream and salsa verde in a twelve-inch tortilla crisped in beef tallow.2
- Half a pound of brisket at $18, or the pork belly burnt ends, cubed, tossed in Fierce Whiskers bourbon sauce and put back on the smoke.2
- The links are bought in. The menu says so. They come from Smokey Denmark's, an East Austin maker going since 1964, as jalapeno cheddar kielbasa, mild country beef or hot link.2
- Avoid: turning up on a Sunday for the al pastor without checking. McCrary's own instruction is to confirm on Instagram first, because it is a special and it sells out.1
What locals & experts say
- Nicolai McCrary rates it 8.2 for The Infatuation, and the practical line is the hours:
And the best part is that while most barbecue joints in Austin close up long before dinner, Rollin Smoke is open late, in case you want to soak up some drinks with a pile of brisket or just find yourself with a craving after dark.
1 - Texas Monthly did not put it among the fifty in the magazine's 2025 Top 50.
Good to know
- Where it is: 1700 East Cesar Chavez Street, inside Chalmers.
- Hygiene: no inspection record under the pit's own name. Chalmers holds the only permit at this address, scoring 80 on 1 August 2025 and 80 on 2 April 2025. Those are the host bar's scores. An absent record for the pit is not a clean result.3
Verdict
should-visit — Nothing here takes a booking. Order the experiments and leave the plain brisket to the pits with the queues.