Hard Eight BBQ

Heather Metz

2 months ago

Delicious Texas BBQ! This was my first visit to Hard Eight BBQ. Really enjoyed the smoker and meats outside the restaurant. Inside the restaurant it was a down-home feel. Open spaces and tables with elbow room. Brisket, Jalapeño sausage, potato salad, macaroni and cheese, beans, corn on the cob, and Mexican coca-cola. We will be back.

Sydney Burns

2 months ago

Great food and a lovely family friendly atmosphere. It started with a long line, but that line moves quickly. Grab any choice of meat, which is the hardest part because of all it looked SO GOOD. Then, you can grab sides of your choice. The meat was delicious, especially the sausages. I would recommended fried okra as a side. It was a huge hit with my family. The environment was very friendly and felt like a giant community.

The Last Alexander

2 months ago

Been a city boy my whole life. Walking in, seeing ember and smoke was beautiful. The brisket is so soft and flavorful. Amazing Mac and cheese!! Great portions. Would recommend to anyone new or traveling!!

Daniel Miller

3 months ago

Ok, a little context is needed here. My brother had lived in the Dallas area for over 15 years, which tells you how long I have been coming to this Dallas-based chain. I believe they are up to 5 or 6 locations now in the DFW metroplex. I am most familiar with the Coppell location and that is the one featured in my photos. The visit occurred during Christmas time December 2025. One awesome thing about eating here or any other open pit BBQ restaurant in Texas (they are thick as thieves thankfully in the Lone Star State) is that as soon as you step out of your vehicle in the parking lot, you are immediately inundated with the smells of burning wood 🪵 🔥 and meat cooking. It really gets the salivary glands jump started and the belly also gets rumbling. The closer you get, the stronger the flavors and odors drift and by the time you place your order, the hunger urges have reached a fever pitch and crescendo. Hard Eight - like many other authentic TX BBQ joints - lets you observe 👁️ (and smell 👃) the meat cooking on the grills as you enter the line. They have a large metal heating station with steam table pans. You order your meat from the pit-master and he/she carves off your selections (ex. 1# of brisket, a rack of ribs) and place it on a metal tray with butcher paper. You go inside and select your side dishes, get your ramekins of BBQ sauce, select dessert, and get your beverage and pay. The tables are open seating and long wooden picnic tables / benches so there is a community type feel. One of the cool features at Hard Eight is the communal bean pot, which features pinto beans with bacon & jalapeños and is self-serve. I tend to make 2-3 fill ups as they taste *amazing*. This is what we tried on this visit - usually 1 person orders for the group and we all just eat family-style to maximize variety. You can always get a steak or they have prime rib on the weekends. We had: - beef brisket (moist & burnt ends) - baby back ribs - smoked turkey - spicy jalapeño sausage - shrimp wrapped jalapeño poppers Side dishes included the aforementioned bean pot as well as jalapeño cream corn, potato salad, and mac & cheese. We didn’t order dessert this visit as we had plans to have gelato & custard afterwards, but their banana pudding and peach cobbler are wonderful. The meal was on point as always. There is not much better food to my belly than Texas BBQ and this restaurant is a *must - stop* on every visit to Dallas. I lived here briefly 15 years ago and made this a regular stop during that time as well. I will continue to visit this restaurant on every visit - the next which will be in just a few months. I can’t recommend them enough if you find yourself in the DFW area.