Little Pigs Barbecue

Address: 4927 Alpine Road, Columbia, SC 29223

Phone: 803-788-8238

Web site: http://www.littlepigs.biz

Cards: all

Hours of operation: Thursday, Friday, Saturday 11:00am – 9:00pm

"I've been eating here for over 40 years."

Little Pigs is probably the most asked about barbeque house in the Columbia area. When people find out I’m a barbeque judge and they want to continue the conversation along barbeque lines (who doesn’t?), 5 times out of 10 the question is “What do you think about Little Pigs?” So many people have eaten there that it is often times the barbeque house in the area that first comes to mind.

Little Pigs may not be the oldest barbeque house in the state, but it’s one of the oldest and largest so that should tell you something.

Little Pigs started out in a strip mall (the first in Columbia) on Rosewood Drive back in 1962. Then, having long since outgrown its premises, they moved to a much larger place on Alpine Drive in northeast Columbia. And they haven’t missed a beat since.

Little Pigs has a large buffet that is crammed full of goodies in addition to their signature barbeque and ribs. People tell me that when they get a rib craving they head straight for Little Pigs.

They even have a “sort-of” pig picking; that is, they put out a ham on a special server for customers to pick. But their buffet pretty much covers all of your wants from cornbread to vegetables to fatback to slaw. They have a salad bar and lots of dessert options. And the portions they serve up even on the desert bowl are not small. Nothing is small at Little Pigs, including the taste.