Smoke Daddy

Hands down my favorite barbecue spot in Chicago. And trust me, I’ve tried many. Every time my family comes to visit, this is where they want to come.
All of the meats are great, but the brisket and burnt ends are my favorites. My family also raves about the ribs! As for sides, I would highly recommend the greens– they’re cooked perfectly so they still have a bite to them and aren’t soggy at all like some places. The Mac and cheese and bbq chips are also great options.
I will say that this place gets packed on the weekends, so I’d highly recommend making a reservation beforehand.

Not the biggest fan of the way they serve their meat. Coming from Texas where we do BBQ much differently than up here, I wasnt a fan of BBQ slathered all over my meat. I felt like once I was done eating my plate, I just ate a bunch of sweet bbq sauce. I ordered brisket which didnt not taste like it had any smoke flavor to it and I ordered pulled pork which was dry.

Been going here for maybe 20 years. Always love the food but the food doesnt come the way its was ordered. My go to meal is the carolina style cheeseburger… they will ask how i want it… medium…but it comes a little burnt. Even the sweet potato fries, this last time werent burnt.
This happen the time before last as well. Just wish they could cook a hamburger medium

I have been here multiple times, all of which were a great experience. The food is very good. The service good as well. Smoked beans are a must try. You can’t go wrong here, all of what they have on the menu is delicious.

Ok bbq. Nothing to write home about.

Sometimes you have to understand the situation, but also sometimes there are things that are really irritating, especially for those irresponsible server, who does not think about the welfare of their customers. Exactly, I’m referring to this place. I’ll never go back here, for sure!

I’m not the biggest fan of BBQ, but every once in a while I’ll get a huge taste for it. I have a few friends that are from the south and they never have anything good to say about the BBQ places in Chicago. It makes me afraid to go to BBQ places because I feel like I’m getting bad food, but I wouldn’t know because I’m not from the south. With Smoke Daddy I decided to bite the bullet and give it a try. Did they give me inferior BBQ? I have no idea. But it doesn’t matter, because I personally enjoyed it.
The restaurant interior is cozy. It has less lighting than usual, but it doesn’t make it gloomy at all. Instead it kind of makes it feel cozy. There are TVs everywhere, so if you’re a sports fan you’ll be able to get your fix while eating. They also have someone singing live at the front of the restaurant. The sound quality of their equipment is superb. I couldn’t even tell it was someone singing into a microphone.
Onto the food! I got the Smoked Meat platter. I chose to get the brisket and the hot links for my two meat choices. The brisket was pretty darn good. It had a good amount of fat to give it some extra flavor, and it was tender. I barely felt like I was chewing on it. I actually enjoyed the hot links more. There was a fantastic smoky flavor to them. I got no cartilage in the sausage either, which was heaven for me (it grosses me out).
I got mac-​n-​cheese and fries for my sides. The fries were good, but a little average. The mac-​n-​cheese was sooooooo good. It was creamy and cheesy. The portion was a good size too. I doubt I would have been able to eat anymore than they gave because it the richness would have been overwhelming. I can’t imagine not getting the mac-​n-​cheese next time I got there. The BBQ sauces were a little lackluster. The original tasted fairly similar to the sweet and tangy. They didn’t taste bad, but they didn’t stand out at all. The mustard base BBQ sauce was more my jam. I chose to put that on my brisket after I ate the pieces that had the original sauce by default. I even dipped my hot links in the mustard BBQ sauce, though they didn’t need it.
I’ll definitely be going back to this place, and I might even bring my southern friends to see what they think of it.

A must eat if you’re a BBQ fan. I highly recommend that you wear stretchy pants prior to your arrival. Yoga pants or Thanksgiving pants will do.
There aren’t enough words to describe the experience we just had. Three of us decided to smörgåsbord the Taste of the Daddy; St. Louis style ribs, burnt ends, pulled pork with sides of mac n cheese and beans. We also got the amazing, triple cooked chicken wings and sides of corn bread and hush puppies.
I must say, the Mac ‘n Cheese is as if Jesus milked a cow, then produced cheese of gold. There is no mac n cheese that compares. You will fight everyone at the table for the Mac and cheese. You’ve been warned.
The beans are more than just beans; they are chunks of meat mixed with sweet beans that will leave you drooling. Amazing.
The chicken wings are a must have. Very unique as they are marinated, smoked, then grilled and served with a great sauce.
The ribs are fall of the bone delicious. A great dry rub with the perfect amount of seasoning.
A little hidden gem for you, now that you’ve read this far; order some maple butter with your corn bread. It’s literally cream-​in-​your-​pants good.
I haven’t really been a burnt ends fan, until now. The juicy, fatty, melt in your mouth goodness is unrivaled.

Service is fantastic but food is mediocre. Well me and my boyfriend got the chicken and ribs with a side of Mac and cheese and cornbread. The sauce they used for the ribs was bland with little flavor and the chicken just had no flavor. The corn bread was horrible (idk how you mess up on cornbread). The Mac and cheese was probably the best one and that was mediocre. Service was A+ though. My server was very nice and informative. The only reason why I’m giving it 2 stars

During the Fall, I went here to watch a few of the Cub’s postseason games. The food was really good, not the best BBQ I have had but still pretty good. The collard greens were my favorite. I love me some greens but was concerned they were just on the menu to be more southern. Wrong. If you need to make that big slab of pork a little healthier, forego any form of potato side and get the collard greens.
Lots of tvs, live music all the time, been in the neighborhood more than a few years (a rarity in Wicker), and always makes the surrounding block smell like smoked food. Gotta love that.
I hear brunch is great, but haven’t gotten to it.

Went for brunch with some friends. We ordered some of the brunch specials, like the egg sandwich and brisket skillet. The egg sandwich was ok, nothing really special. The brisket skillet was really good, the only thing I was missing was some hot sauce lol. I also ordered a bowl of chili because another review recommend it. Well I forgot who made that review but the chili is what got the stars up to 4! The chili was really tasty and came with some chips so we used it as an appetizer. It was a good experience there and we would definitely like to go back to try some other dishes and drinks.

Six Words: Get the delicious Adult Cherry Coke!
Smoke Daddy is the kind of barbecue I’ve been looking for across the city: lowkey restaurant with good food. I like a fancy restaurant … at times. But most days, I’m looking for good food somewhere that makes me feel like I’m a regular the moment I walk in. That is Smoke Daddy.
I came here around 7pm on a Saturday and the place was buzzing but we were seated immediately. Located on Division, it’s near a bunch of barbecue places and bars, but there was a steady flow of traffic all evening. The booths are bright red booths — the kind of booths I’ve only seen in movie diners. So I was quite happy to stumble upon that.
Drink menu is pretty large. I was seated across from the bar and it’s well-​stocked with all the liquors. I opted for their Adult Cherry Coke. From the menu: «It tastes like cherry coke and Seagram’s Stone Cherry Whiskey gives it a kick.» It was perfect. I ordered one and my roommate ordered their cider, tried a sip of my drink and ordered one for herself. It’s really good.
For dinner, I opted for the Daddy-​O sandwhich: sliced brisket, provolone, and onion rings with a side of fries. It’s delicious in a «I don’t mind that I’m consuming a million calories and my heart will probably regret this in 10 years.» It’s a beast of sandwhich that comes with some barbecue sauce on it. Personally, I found it a little dry so I just dumped more barbecue sauce on it. Then it tasted perfect. It was a smokey barbecue sauce that they make/​manufacture/​label/​whatever themselves and it’s amazing.
My roomate ended up with the Rotisserie Chicken with a side of collard green and Mac and Cheese. The chicken was seasoned deliciously — I wished I stole more than one bite. The Mac and Cheese was mehh (Lillie Q’s has better Mac and Cheese). What was truly surprising was the Collard Greens. Normally, I don’t find Collard Greens entirely delicious. But my roommate spent a year in Georgia and that’s what she missed most from the South. So when they arrived on the table and tasted as delicious as they did, she fell in love with Smoke Daddy. And I have to say, they were the best Collard Greens I’ve ever had.
Overall, I was very happy with Smoke Daddy. I definitely will be back.

The food came out fast but it was warmish, but other than that, it was delicious! I ordered the taste of daddy and it was definitely filling! For my choice of ribs, I ordered the baby back ribs and for my two smoked meat, I chose the smoked pulled pork and brisket! It tasted good with the sweet and smokey smoke daddy bbq sauce! The corn bread and Mac n cheese definitely tastes good with the ribs! Also, if you like cheesey food, the Mac n cheese is definitely filled with that!

This was the very first place we went to in Chicago and was absolutely the most disappointing. I had high hopes with the catchy name, outside façade looked cool, and who doesn’t like BBQ? We were seated in the front room almost behind the hostesses, not realizing at the time there was another room for seating. It was not busy at all and the room seems dark and dank. Within minutes of being seated the flies descended upon us– gross gross gross! We were absolutely starving and still waiting on the third person of our party so we ordered the pimento cheese hushpuppies. They came out quickly but were not what we expected. I am from the South and I am very well acquainted with both pimento cheese and hush puppies. These were essentially liquid cheese on the inside and had no corn meal or anything resembling a hush puppy? The only positive part of the meal was a local beer called half acre daisy cutter, a pale ale for $ 6. It was delicious and we all ordered several. After realizing there was a larger seating area with bright windows in the next room we asked to move and they said ok. We were much more comfortable after moving. The service was extremely poor and despite it not being very busy we felt neglected. We ordered brisket nachos with no onions and extra cheese. Well of course they come loaded down with onions and essentially no cheese. We send them back with a guy from the kitchen and he was actually very nice (he is also the one that helped us move tables since our waitress was no where to be found). The second batch of nachos arrived sans onions but weren’t good. The «brisket» did not seem fresh or of very good quality. Overall, this place would have been fine for drinks, but I would skip the food and go somewhere else.

I gotta warn the vegetarians and vegans, to just stop reading now. Nothing to see here.
Okay… Mmmmmeat. Meat. Meat. Meat. And cocktails. Perfectly done.
We got the Sampler plate, which is sorta billed as an appetizer of sorts, but is plenty of food for two for a *cough* light dinner *cough*. Spare ribs, rib tips and baby back ribs. Buncha Carolina style sauce on them, and this is some delicious meat. Perfectly done, savory and crunchy in spots. OMG.
Sides: the coleslaw is out of this world. Just great.
My cocktail was a «Cherry Coke» that tasted spot on. I’ll come back here anytime.

First American ribs and not disappointed by my half baby ribs ! It was tasty and the portions were really generous ! My ribs were served with French fries and an amazingly tasty coleslaw !
A good friend of mine recommended me this place and I’ll do the same for my friends visiting Chicago.
Nice place and food !

Amazing service! My waitress was wonderful! It was my first time here and she gave me great recommendations! I got a 2-​meat plate, burnt ends and pulled pork. It was a great smoky flavor. And the sides! The coleslaw was fantastic! What a great and original flavor. I wasn’t sure about the beans when my waitress suggested them, but OH where they amazing too!
smoky Daddy is now on my list of places to go when I am in town!

My wife and I have lived in the neighborhood for almost 6 years and just recently we picked up from food from there for the first time and it was outstanding. You may ask why wait so long, well, I used to be a vegan and and about 6 months ago I started to eat meat but I’ve putting off adding pork back in as ribs just grosses me out. Well, driving by it everyday for 6 months I thought it’s time to try pork as I just smells so darn good.
I’m super glad I gave it a try! The food tastes as good as it smells. My wife has eaten there many times and loves the pulled pork sandwich. I got the ribs and ½ chicken combo with 2 sides and all the food was fantastic. The collard greens were super good, the homemade chips were fantastic! And the ribs were awesome, meat was tender and fell off the bone, and of course the sauce was fantastic. The chicken was very good too. The chicken seemed high quality, tender and the sauce was awesome! By the way that combo is way too much food for a normal person as we had ½ leftover for dinner the next night.
Bottom line the food was fantastic! I highly recommend them and the food was very reasonable, $ 32 for all that food. We will absolutely return
As a side note, I’m also gluten free and all the sauce — ribs, chicken are gluten free

Ribs: B+
Chicken: A++
Pulled Pork: C+
Brisket: A
Mac n Cheese: A–
Sweet Potato Fries: A+
Beans: A
Regular Fries: A
Service was great and the patio/​outdoor seating is awesome. Live music inside.
Cherio, mate.

Like another reviewer, the outdoor area was what enticed us to eat here. Put it this way, if slow cooker ribs made at home taste better than a supposed bbq joint, then we have a problem. Whatever sauce is used lacks that wow factor and truthfully tastes salty. At least the corn bread was good.
Service was as subpar as the food. Whenever we ordered a beer, it took 15 minutes. At one point we had a view of the bar and saw our beer just sitting and getting warm. It was almost tempting to go inside and grab it ourselves.
My recommendation is to stay far far away if you can

A great people watching place. Grab a table out front, bring your furry lil one and enjoy!
The nachos — HUGE! I hope you’re hungry because you’re getting a lot of food. My cousin got this and lets just say… his eyes were hungrier that his tummy :)
I got the 2 eggs Breakfast — It was EXACTLY what i wanted on such a beautiful Sunday morning in Chicago. The hash-​browns were the best! I don’t know if they had cheese or what in them. but boy were they good! Thick and cheesy hashs… my fav!

We finally decided to give Smoke Daddy a try yesterday for my birthday. I debated between Smoke Daddy, Smoque, and Wrigley BBQ. I’ve been to Smoque (see my review), so I decided to give Smoke Daddy a go instead.
We got there around 6pm on a Monday night and were able to find paid street parking pretty easily about a block or so away. It was a rainy night, so we unfortunately didn’t get to sit on their patio, which is absolutely fantastic. There’s basically two sections of the patio, one out front and then one on the west side of the building that’s a half-​in/​half-​out type of patio. It’s really a good looking spot right on Division, so the people watching is spectacular.
My fiancé ordered their strawberry lemonade and she absolutely loved it. I had a taste and it wasn’t really my thing, but I can definitely see how it would be refreshing on a hot summer day.
We wanted to make sure we covered all aspects of the BBQ menu on this visit, so we ordered a decent amount of food for two people. Also, it was my birthday and I wanted to be in a food coma by 8pm. Mission accomplished.
She ended up ordering the ribs & chicken platter, while I went with the brisket and pork platter. We also ordered sides of mac n cheese (2), beans, and sweet potato fries.
The ribs were absolutely fantastic. We got the baby back ribs and they were some of the best I’ve had in Chicago. They were tender and fall off the bone, and they had just the right amount of sauce. Not too little, not too much. The chicken was just eh, there really wasn’t anything special about it. The brisket was tremendous, tender and not over cooked. I’d give it a B+ and would definitely order it again. The pulled pork was unimpressive. I think they used the mustard style sauce on it or something because it just wasn’t very good. It lacked the spicy/​sweet/​tangy style that I like. I wanted to try one of the sauces on the table with it, but the pork is completely covered in sauce when you get it, so I was out of luck there. I’d give the pulled pork a C-​.
The sides were decent sized, but not enough to share if that’s what you’re thinking of doing. The mac n cheese was good, not great, but definitely good enough to order again. It came in almost a coffee style mug and complimented the BBQ nicely. The beans weren’t very good honestly. It definitely seemed like more of a chili rather than beans, but I wouldn’t recommend the beans. I think my mom makes the best beans, so I have high expectations as is. The sweet potato fries were just that, sweet potato fries. Honestly nothing special but they were fine.
The service was good. We had a very nice waitress who gave us her honest opinion on what to order. I asked her how the cornbread was and she straight up said it’s hit or miss, so we obviously decided to skip it. Unfortunately, she did recommend the beans and those turned out to be a bust.
There are plenty of TV’s throughout and on the patio, so it seems like a decent spot to watch a game. They also have a nice bar area and I think the high tops in there are first come first serve, so that’s an option if it’s super busy.
Overall, I wish I could give this place more stars because of the cool atmosphere and killer patio, but the food turned out to be average when you consider everything we tried. I would definitely recommend the ribs and brisket, but stay away from the pulled pork, chicken, and beans. Next up is Wrigley BBQ, but honestly it’s going to be REALLY tough to beat Smoque.

Nope. I’m a Texan and live good BBQ. This BBQ is an ABOMINATION.
* Their «brisket» was served sliced wafer thin and undercooked (thus, chewy). That’s not how you serve brisket. ¹⁄₅ on the brisket.
* The pulled pork is drowned in mediocre BBQ sauce. It is almost not edible. IF your pulled pork is sauces, it needs to be in a vinegar-​based, Southeastern sauce, not a sweet tomato-​based sauce. ¹⁄₅ stars.
* The baby back ribs were decent, but overcooked. ³⁄₅ stars.
Also, their collards sucked. Way undercooked, which is not good when your dealing with collards.
The only reason that they get 2 starts is for their wait staff, which were excellent.

I love me some pulled pork, and while spending a great weekend with my boyfriend, decided to go out and get some with him.
This place offers a real awesome atmosphere. They have several TV’s playing the game throughout. Darkly lit, and very well decorated, it’s a gem in the Wicker Park/​Ukranian Village area.
My boyfriend had the choice of meats platter (sausages and something else) with 2 sides. For his sides he had mac n cheese and fries. I had a pulled pork sandwich and cornbread. The pricing was great, especially because it tastes so DAMN GOOD!
I don’t recall the taste of his meats, which probably means that they were OK. The Mac N Cheese, however, was AH-​MAY-​ZING! The fries were good also, but could’ve been better. My sammy was to-​die-​for, and my corn bread made me cry — it was that good.
The service was good. I will definitely go back soon! Hiiiiiiiighly recommend this place.