Smoke Daddy BBQ - Wicker Park — Restaurant in West Chicago Township

Have been eyeballing this place for quite some time now and decided to drop in with my daughters today. We were seated right away. It took a while for our server Bridget to come over but when she did she gave us the menu/sauce rundown when we told her it was our first time there. We ordered then our drinks and already knew what we wanted because she took so long to get to the table. We ordered : BBQ Mac daddy, BBQ burger, Smoked Meat plate and a southwest salad with chicken( I asked for no tomato). Drinks came quickly. The food came about 15 minutes later except my salad had tomato. The busser/food runner saw my face when I saw the tomato and asked if I’d like it sent back. Normally if it’s large grape tomato’s I’d just pick them out myself but they were chopped and mixed throughout the salad so I said yes. He took the salad to be remade. More than 20 minutes later after my family had completed theirs meals, my salad came. The server had not been to our table once in that time. Once my salad came out she came over and looked at it and said “oh good, sorry about that! More drinks? “ my husband ordered another beer. Then she never came back. We sat for so long after my salad was finished I had to go and find her at the bar to ask for the check. She came walking towards us and then went to a different table with our check in hand. The server/busser saw us all staring ( by this time we had to leave because we had somewhere to be) and came over and asked if we needed anything and we told him the check. He went and grabbed it from her, processed it and dropped it with us. The service was horrible. The food- mid. The pulled chicken was pretty flavorless 3 outta 10. The brisket was delicious, 8 outta 10. Mac and cheese was good as well. The sauces are made in house and were delicious as well. We would probably come back just to try dessert because we didn’t have enough time to order it during our visit, had the server been time efficient we absolutely would have ordered...

For me, buying smoked meat is all about the meat, and "padding" small portions of smoked meats with big cups of low cost sides is a non-starter. (see the many posted photos of dishes)

Now, having saying all that, it must be pointed out, Smoke Daddy is also a Live Music venue, so that has to be taking into account for price points and portions.

But in the end, the live performances are scheduled and the place is primarily a restaurant. Therefore, because of their crazy small portions of meats "buried beneath" all the other stuff, I never ate there, so this review is not based on the quality of their smoked meats.

I was there for smoked meats, not the sugar sides that traditional smokehouses offer as an accompaniment, instead of a main part of the dish.

If smoked meats are your goal, consider searching for a more traditional smokehouse.

After an honest and attentive staff member explained $14 would only buy me six rib tips, I never purchased the food.

The kind staff explained, with some robustness, "You also get your choice of two sides."

Oh boy!

Look at the photos in the reviews. The sides are larger than the main dish.

When I see a fist size piece of meat, alongside two huge bowels of "sugar." I can't help but ask, "Where's the meat?"

Lets set aside for many, the Southside is the place to buy smoked meats, other popular Northside smokehouses (e.g., Smoque BBQ) offer dishes that focus primarily on the smoked meats, with a fair portion size for the money, and present their sides, as sides, not as an integral part...

Great BBQ. Management needs to manage. Eaten here several times over the years and their smoked meats are terrific. There are a few other options in the menu, but it's really about the meat. My most recent visit was in Father's Day and the restaurant was mostly full, but not packed. Our server was friendly, knowledgeable, and helpful. However, from the time we ordered, it took will over an hour to see any food. Turns out that management accepted far too many delivery and carry out orders than the kitchen could handle so we and the other customers in the restaurant had long waits with our kids. Very unfortunate and avoidable. The waitress was apologetic (tho it wasn't her fault) and brought out an order of fries during the wait. Very nice of her, but management should have owned up to dropping the ball and actually comped the second round, an entree, it something we actually ordered. I can't explain how they let things get out of control, but obviously they felt that our time wasn't worth anything and were comfortable wasting it. If you like smoked meat, you'll enjoy the food, but don't count on good management to get it to you in a reasonable amount of time or show any concern about how it inconveniences you as a paying,...