2025 Centurion Award winner
Clyde Cooper's Barbeque
Best Barbecue in Raleigh · Raleigh, NC
Best Barbecue in Raleigh · Raleigh, NC
Clyde Cooper's has served Eastern North Carolina barbecue in downtown Raleigh since 1938 — chopped, vinegar-and-pepper-dressed whole-hog pork with Brunswick stew, hush puppies, and banana pudding on the side. It's one of the oldest continuously operating barbecue joints in the state capital.
A downtown institution that carried its recipes and regulars through a move to a new address, Clyde Cooper's remains the standard-bearer for the plainspoken, no-sauce-needed Eastern style.
Each Centurion Award is a dated record tied to one year’s evaluation — earned annually, never carried over. Open a year for the full citation and verification details.
Awards run one calendar year and renew only if the business clears the bar again. Selection is by published criteria, never for sale.
Visit Clyde Cooper's Barbeque
This page is the standing record for Clyde Cooper's Barbeque (2025). It was not bought, voted on, or sponsored — only winners are published, and an award that stops holding up is revoked, not quietly removed. For hours, bookings, and live reviews, go straight to the business itself.
If you’ve put in the years, you may already clear the bar. Evaluation is free, private, and never for sale.