Wrigleyville’s Newest Opens to Combine Barbecue, Beer, and Blues With Baseball

Nobody will be whining about cold and snowy days this summer while chewing on some brisket and pounding beers on The Smoke Daddy’s second-floor patio that overlooks Wrigley Field. Lakeview’s achieved peak North Side barbecue status with today’s opening across from the home of the Cubs inside the Hotel Zachary. It’s a modern update on the honky tonk vibe at the original restaurant in Wicker Park and includes a larger stage for live blues music. The two-floor restaurant will be a popular destination for Cubs fans who want to keep warm and dry when crummy weather stifles game day plans.

The Smoke Daddy is the last restaurant opening in this initial surge at the Hotel Zachary, the boutique hotel that opened last week on the west side of Clark Street, just across from Wrigley Field. The list of openings consists of the Hotel Zachary’s own bar/restaurant, Big Star, Mordecai, and West Town Bakery.

The Smoke Daddy’s owners, 4 Star Restaurant Group, have left their mark on Lakeview with a cluster of restaurants on Southport including Crosby’s Kitchen. They’re promising a family-friendly atmosphere and also want to make Smoke Daddy Lakeview’s barbecue destination even when the winter months when the Cubs aren’t playing. Kids under 10 will eat free.

There’s room for 300 people inside with bars on both floors. The jewel may be the patio which won’t take reservations. There’s room for 60 people, and there’s even space for a heat lamp or two. In case Chicagoans would have need a heating element to dine outdoors.

Tour the space in the photos below. Today’s opening day for Smoke Daddy inside the Hotel Zachary.

The Smoke Daddy at the Hotel Zachary, (773) 227-2583, 3630 N. Clark Street, open at 11:30 a.m. on weekdays; open 10 a.m. on weekends and on days of Cubs games.