All my years living in the RGV I had never heard of Vera's until a few years ago where it was features by Texas Monthly. This is how my family made barbacoa, and I was amazed someone took that tradition and made it into a restaurant continuing a great culture tradition Hawaiians roasting their pigs in the ground for luau's, or tandoori underground cooking in India. I got to Vera's about 90 minutes before it was set to close, yet there were people inside and in the drive thru. I ordered a pound of cheek meat and mixta (mixture), a 1/4 pound of lengua (tongue), along with a side of charro beans, corn tortillas, salsa, onions and cilantro, and a bottle of Mexican Coke. I was setting up myself for a feast! Service was normal and friendly, and everything is sold a la carte. There are no combo meals. The dining area seats around 30 patrons and luckily I found an empty table to set up my feast. I grabbed a corn tortilla, filled it with cheek meat, sprinkled some onion and cilantro with a small pour of hot salsa. Wow! It was tasty, and had that "underground" smoke flavor, but the meat was a bit dry but not to the point that made it tough to eat. The lengua was equally tasty and flavorful. As much as I wanted to finish it off, I was too ambitious when ordering to take on all that great food. Vera's is open on weekends only (Fri - Sun) from 5am to 2pm. Sure, I was already going to be in the RGV, but Vera's is definitely one of those spots that not only highlights a Mexican cultural tradition, but fits in perfectly with our Texas lifestyle that a drive (or flight) is totally worth it.

Absolutely amazing! We ordered the ojo, paladar, and cachete (the lengua sold out before we arrived) and loved it all! I expected the ojo to have a bizarre taste or texture but was so wrong! It had a really nice flavor and was so tender that it almost melted in my mouth. Everything we ordered was delicious! Looking forward to the next time!

Great food!!!! Definitely will be back any time in Brownsville for sure. Staff was friendly and very helpful.!

Well, what can I say. This establishment is known by the locals. The ambiance is great. The service was fantastic, friendly helpful staff. The food was absoulutely delicious, menudo, charro beans, were so flavorful and authentic. The barbacoa, was fantastic, I had the mixta, and carne asada, tortillas were so warm. i really love the presentation of the food, deli concept. I cant wait to go back.

The texture of that barbacoa was unreal! So juicy, tender, and not too fatty. I didn't get to see the underground smoke pit when I went but it's really cool how they use this traditional method to make delicious food. The service was friendly and they guided us on what the popular options were and were really accommodating. The decor inside was fun to look through and the ambience was very casual and chill. We got the cachete, birria, charro beans and they even came by to give us some samples of carnitas! FYI the salsas and onions were a separate charge. The barbacoa they give you in its purest form I believe so for more taste you gotta add in some salt/salsa. The other meats were well seasoned and I especially loved the birria!

Holy smokes.... Literally. If you get a chance check out the only spot left in the US smoking their meat underground. This James Beard top 50 Texas BBQ joint does not disappoint! During our top 50 Texas BBQ trip we found ourselves here on a Friday morning. We got to meet the pit master himself and he was awesome. Everyone there was very nice and helpful. We ordered carnitas and beef cheeks with amazing tortillas and hot sauce. Both were melt in your mouth delicious. I just wish we could have ordered more, but this was one of three BBQ stops for the day! Love that you can see the smoking pit outside and if you wait long enough you might get to peak inside!

Doing the Texas Monthly Top 50 BBQ spots in Texas and of course Vera's Backyard Bar-B Que in Brownsville in on the list. This place has the BEST Barbacoa de cabeza!! The flour tortillas, you get 9 for $3.00, are delicious and the size of a medium pizza, wow! The corn tortillas are the size of street taco corn tortillas but you get 18 corn tortillas for $1.50 Everything here is delicious so bring your appetite and come early. My party of 3 and me arrived around 7:15am on a Saturday. This place is only open on Friday 6am-2pm, Saturday and Sunday 5am-2:30pm. So the process is that you walk in the menus are posted on the mall but if you need help the nice people working will help you and answer any questions, yes they speak English and Spanish. We ordered 9 corn tortillas, full order of flour tortillas, some Barbacoa de cabeza some lengua(tongue) and some brisket with a few of the different salsas on the side. They allowed us to bring in our coffee and our own bottle water. We got lucky as the owner/Pitmaster Armando was sitting in the dining room so we were able to talk to him about the history of the place and about his life. Part of the best thing about eating here is the charm of talking with Armando. It brings joy to my heart when we travel and talk to the small business owners and I realize that part of the beautiful thing about traveling and eating great BBQ is also helping these small places keep their doors open. The prices here at Vera's Backyard are nice and fair and all their food is delicious. The place is nice and clean inside and the people here are wonderful I highly recommend this place.

Enjoyed my first visit to Vera's. Family and I have tried their to-go quite some time ago, but it was our first time dining in on a Sunday ~11am. Plenty of parking, friendly staff, and a cozy environment that felt a lot like the signage out front. Lots of character dating back 50+ years, and you can tell they've perfected the art of barbacoa, salsa, and various other meats. I appreciate that they drain their meats prior to serving and it's clear they're just trying to make customers happy by offering suggestions (not likely pushy sales folks at other shops). By the time we got there, they were unfortunately out of green salsa and brisket, but my hats off to anyone that was able to enjoy it. Hopefully we'll be back earlier in the day/weekend to try it next time. Everything else that we had (lengua, cachete, carnitas) was delicious, and my personal favorite was the carnitas. I'd definitely order it again, and don't forget the homemade flour tortillas!

I've spent a lot of time looking for a place that made traditional barbacoa, also known as barbacoa de pozo and is baked in a hole underground. This is the way my grandfather use to make it in the ranch when us kids were growing up. Not many places on this side of the border makes it like this anymore. Cooking it like this gives the barbacoa a distinctive smoky earthy flavor. If you're new to trying barbacoa try the cheek and tongue, those are the less fatty of the parts although once in a while I enjoy the fattier "mixed" version. I also like their mollejas aka sweetbreads and brains. I can eat pretty much anything but ojos...Ojos(eyes) are considered a delicacy and they are available here as well, I haven't felt that adventurous lately but when I do, I'll give them a try. Vera's serves all this up on Sundays as well as carnitas, brisket, carnitas, lamb birria, and menudo. I like the fact that you can sit and enjoy your barbacoa in the restaurant, usually barbacoa places just serve it up to go. Here they even have warm tortillas that you can buy to make yourself some tacos. They also have condiments you can purchase to go along with your barbacoa, fresh chopped cilantro, onions, and 2 different salsas, a green salsa on the mild side and a habañero for those that like it hot. They also have hot coffee and sodas by the liter for you to wash your grub down. Lines get long and out the door about 8-10 so plan accordingly. By 11ish you're risking not getting any of the real good stuff;cheek meat. We usually get there about 9ish and have been lucky enough to beat the lines and have a place to sit and enjoy our hot barbacoa! Barbacoa on Sundays is just the thing to do with the family. You have to come see Mr. Vera. He is always happy to hear how much you enjoy his food.