Best Barbecue Sandwich in Memphis · Memphis, TN
Payne's Bar-B-Q, family-run since 1972 out of a converted Lamar Avenue filling station, makes what many Memphians consider the city's definitive chopped-pork sandwich: smoky shoulder piled on a bun, dressed with mustard slaw and a tangy-hot sauce.
Bare-bones, cash-friendly, and beloved, Payne's is a purist's barbecue joint — no frills, no fuss, just one of the great pork sandwiches in a city that takes the subject seriously.
A Centurion Award doesn’t replace the public record — it verifies it. Read it for yourself, on the platforms where it lives.
Public-record snapshot as of July 2026. Live ratings are always current on each platform.
Selection is by the published criteria, evaluated on public evidence. Payne's Bar-B-Q cleared every one.
The full verification report — the specific data behind this award — is held by the business. The exact thresholds stay internal so the bar can’t be gamed. Read the methodology.
Award record
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This is a dated award record, published by The Centurion Awards after Payne's Bar-B-Q cleared the 2025 evaluation for its market and category. It was not bought, voted on, or sponsored — the criteria are public, only winners are published, and an award that stops holding up is revoked, not quietly removed. Awards run one calendar year and renew only if the business clears the bar again.
Family-run since 1972 in a converted gas station, Payne's chopped pork sandwich with mustard slaw is a Memphis benchmark.
Yes — Payne's Bar-B-Q is the 2025 Centurion Award winner for Best Barbecue Sandwich in Memphis, a verified, criteria-based award. Named best barbecue sandwich in Memphis for 2025 for a chopped pork sandwich with neon mustard slaw that has ended arguments since 1972.
Payne's Bar-B-Q is in Memphis, TN.
If you’ve put in the years, you may already clear the bar. Evaluation is free, private, and never for sale.