Milt’s Barbecue For the Perplexed

My wife and I are Reform Jews so pork, shellfish, etc are definitely part of our diet. Our friend who recommended the three of us have lunch here is an Orthodox Jew so those items are definitely not going to end up on his plate.
I was a little skeptical that a kosher barbecue restaurant could be good but this was. My wife and I split the brisket sandwich and the turkey club. The brisket was succulent. Soft, tasty, smoky. Perfect.
The turkey club was also good. Again, a really nice smoky taste.
The fries and coleslaw were also excellent, although the fries were the better of the two. Coleslaw is good, but how good can it get? Fries can be disgusting, decent, good, or YUM. These were YUM. Slightly crispy on the outside and soft on the inside with a nice, mild, potato taste.
Would I go back? Definitely. What would I order? Anything with the brisket.

The only real BBQ kosher place I have been too.
Clean fast nice service defiantly be back.

I really like this place, very upscale, the owner is a decent human being who donates his profits to worth charities and has an excellent sense of humor (as you can see from the magnets aligning the walls with clever sayings and thoughts).
I think the BBQ Seitan (vegetarians welcome) is excellent.

Milts had a strange vibe from beginning to end. We were sat smack dab in the middle of the room at a tiny 2 top. There were booths open around the entire space.
The most unsatifying part of our visit was not that the «host» and «seater» said they needed all of the open tables, but that the seater was very flippant and unaccomodating. Usually try to find a table that the customer might prefer. He just walked away and said no…
The food… the brisket sandwich was tasty enough but for the price, the portion was skimpy.
Again…the vibe. Seemed like the chef was scolding the staff and they were clumped near the front door.
I too am perplexed about Milts. Not sure if I’d give them another try.

They have a new addition to their menu — tTthe «Brisket Burger.» is a ⁵⁰⁄₅₀ mix of their succulent smoked brisket and ground beef in an 8 oz patty topped with BBQ sauce and crispy onions. I spruced it up with some of their house made bacon — this has now replaced their burger done Milt;s Way as my favorite burger — it was very filling and delicious.

I like the food here, but it’s not over the top amazing. I think if you want BBQ you can def get your fix by coming here. I don’t think the menu is very creative though, and the sauces are just ok. But by no means is it bad, it’s just not super flavorful in any of their items.
The portions are also a little smaller than you would find at similar priced BBQ places.

I have been here like 5 times in the last year with my kosher peeps and fam.
First of all if you order the huge slab of ribs you should number one be prepared to have a fantastic succulent meal, number 2 not eat anything for a few hours before that and 3 realize that you are actually in BBQ heaven.
Lately I have been having the bbq salmon when i go with my sister because she likes it and its good. Not sure if its on the menu or not but when i ask for it i end up getting it so either way I’m covered.
I love the way they bbq here the different flavors. The Chef is very talented like the kosher Bobby Flay only he ways 200 lb’s less :)
I feel that this place should try for the great american bbq challenge on the food network if they tell them cook without bacon, pig or any non kosher ingridients.
Do not pass this place up. It;s quite an experience. You should have a reservation a few days in advance to eat at a time that normal people eat because the secret is out. It aint no secret. Have a fantastic meal here. Even the hot dogs have an awesome extra flavor

Super wish that we could have a Milts in Bucktown/​Wicker Park. Love love love but a little bit of a hike for us on this side of town.

For starters, it took our waiter forever to take our order. When we began ordering, two of the three items we ordered they either ran our of (at 1pm) or didn’t offer anymore (outdated menu). So we had to look at the menu again and it took another 10 minutes for the waiter to return. Please note, there were about 4 other tables of people here so it was far from packed. Our waiter brought out the slider sampler and didn’t explain what any of the sauces were. It was ok, but nothing I would return for (especially for $ 12). We ordered the brisket and chicken sandwiches and both were pretty boring. Their French fries are awful too. Way overfried and hard. The smashed potatoes are not mashed potatoes as we were told. Also not worth it.
We were not given any additional sauce after getting sauce for our sliders and ran out before seeing our waiter. We continued to wait for our bill long after we finished eating. We then heard a waiter tell another patron that they were out of another menu item. Also, all of the workers kept joining each other in a group and gossiping instead of making sure patrons were taken care of. Really displeased with the service and the food taste given its prices. If you like bbq, go elsewhere.

I actually feel perplexed by this place. Is it a hipster place? Is it an adult kosher place? (Notice there how I didn’t include hipsters as adults).
So. I understand that this is a BBQ place. I am not a BBQ fan. So I would just like to say that before I start.
I got the buffalo chicken salad. It was HORRIBLE. Im guessing they attempted their own dressing. I couldn’t even eat it. I wiped it off of everything it touched. I basically just ate the chicken, which was dry and bland, but hey, I was hungry. I was there with a big group. The staff was very nice and didn’t even laugh at me when I told them I didn’t eat BBQ. Everyone around me ate the BBQ. Everyone had the same reaction. ehh. Nothing was like over the moon good. One of the people at the table said that if it wasn’t for the BBQ sauce, it would have just been a plain piece of meat. So, kudos to the BBQ sauce!
Im not sure this place is going to work as a BBQ place. At first glance, it seems to be a hipster, gastro pub. But then on closer inspection, it leaves you perplexed. (see what I did there).

This is truly one of the most mouth watering fleishik restaurants ever. Everything is truly delicious and the service is superior.

I’ve been to this restaurant twice and will not be back again. The food was inconsistent and the service was lackluster. First time I got the milts burger. Supposedly a half pound patty more like a quarter pounder. The chili on top was old. The wings were good, but small for something described as jumbo. My buddy got the beef sandwich and missed work the next day because of it. The next time I got the brisket chili, which was fabulous and half a brisket sandwich. The sandwich was fatty, bland and small. I ordered wings and they never came. I ordered sliders for my kids and the waiter forgot them and they came after the rest of the food. The fries are very good.
WHAT BOTHERS ME MOST ABOUT MILTS IS THE MANAGER WHO THINKS HE’S GODS GIFT TO KOSHER FOOD. HE TALKS SMACK ABOUT HIS CUSTOMERS ON FACEBOOK. Not cool at all.

Great food and awesome service. The pretzel bits were delicious. My friend and I shared the BBQ combo. It was very good. I’ll have to go on a diet before paying another visit! I highly recommend this place.

I’m only leaving a review because I would’ve appreciated seeing a review of the BBQ Seitan Sandwich before ordering it. So here it is:
It was not good. The seitan itself was fine, but it was a boring sandwich. Too smokey, too one-​note. It needed something crisp and cool to balance it out… vegan coleslaw or something? The bun was flavorless, plain, generic, nothing special. Absolutely not worth $ 12. I’ve been wanting to try this place for a long time and was excited they had vegan options… but I don’t recommend this boring, overpriced sandwich.
Positive comments:
The staff seemed very friendly, my pickup order was ready quickly, and I’m open to trying other vegan options on the menu to support a local biz.

Updating my review:
After our disastrous last meal from Milt’s, we decided to give them one last chance. Came out for dinner and to celebrate an exciting occasion.
Firstly, the real manager, a broad guy who also coordinates event catering, was standing at the door upon our arrival. I knew this was a good sign, as the other manager seemingly ruined or last evening or here. Sure enough, everything was somewhat better.
Our server (Renata? Not sure…) was AMAZING, she gave great food and drink recommendations and was exceedingly attentive.
They had the SPARE RIB SANDWICHES (easily the best menu item) and the smokey gazpacho was decent. My Milt’s Lemonade was delicious, refreshing and spunky, with the perfect liquor content! My companion had a nice Shiraz, mellow and flavorful.
Glad we gave you guys another chance.

Milt’s has outgrown itself at this point, and it needs to consider opening another location to ease the congestion. That being said, this place is epic with regard to Kosher restaurants and certainly beats out Ken’s Diner, Slice of Life, or Shallots.
The Milt Burger is phenomenal, the wings are tangy and delicious, and any side you order is delectable. I will say, however, outside of the vegetarian chili, anything else vegetarian here misses the mark (hence the ⁴⁄₅ stars). My wife is a vegetarian, but she and I could never eat here together because there isn’t much for her to eat, and, of what there is to eat, the choices are slim pickings and not tasty. Milt’s should consider opening a pareve brunch place somewhere close.
Overall, Milt’s has become the gold standard for Kosher dining in Chicago. It’s a community staple where you always bump into somebody, the atmosphere is warm and trendy, and the food is second to none (even if it is a bit pricey).

Not much to say. Skip this place and head straight to Smoque. Trust me, worth the drive. Only 20 min on Irving Park. I cannot say how bad the customer service is. Also, who doesn’t serve pulled pork at a BBQ restaurant. Overall, food is decent. Service is terrible. Again, I repeat, you want good BBQ, go to Smoque. I don’t even want to describe the experience here. Not worth the effort.
And yes, I know is a kosher spot. This is more about bad service than not having pork, which is essential to good BBQ.

The place: my friends from New York said this place seemed so much nicer in terms of interior décor and ambiance than the kosher establishments they go to in New York. It seemed welcoming, with a hint of chaos. Even on a Monday night, it was packed with an eclectic crowd. It was pretty awesome to see a kosher place bursting at the seams. Our server was awesome, and everyone was really nice and let us wait until a table opened up. We showed up without reservations, and there were about 8 seats available at the bar/​counter, but we wanted to sit at a table. We probably waited 20 minutes.
The taste: during our 20 minute wait, we share the beef bacon over our first round of cocktails. I don’t eat bacon, but man. This side dish they offer, with the three sauces was freakin phenomenal. Wet with grease, salted appropriately… supremely awesome. In small amounts, of course. We ordered the Romanian char dog with chili (thick, juicy, flavorful, and messy), half rack of ribs and the veggie chili with corn bread. Everything was delicious, including the company. The only real reason I’m not giving it 5 stars is because the first mixed drinks we got were super diluted (I’m still not 100% sue there was alcohol in them). I would give it 4.5 stars if I could.
My face: flushed from the cocktails (a vodka soda, followed by a sidecar), but smiley and content. Left stuffed, with a slightly less stuffed wallet, as the meal for 3 was $ 130 pre-​tip. Three of us each had at least 2 cocktails though, so that probably accounted for at least $ 50 of the meal.
Overall, metzuyan (excellent) job Milt’s. I’m pretty sure my friend from New York is going to come back to Chicago the next time he is craving meat.

We decided to try out Milt’s due to the convenience factor and it’s head-​turning name.
The service was fast, diligent and quite friendly both times we went. The three sauces were actually quite good. I fell madly in love with the Fried Okra appetizer. Combining the fried Okra with the sauces was a fantastic idea on my part.
I don’t recall what my girlfriend had when she went, but I recall a smoked Brisket sandwich one time and a pulled BBQ chicken sandwich the second time — both of which were very good. They were both hearty, well made, and delicious. They serve the fries in mini fry handles which I thought was a neat touch.
All in all — a good place with a fun atmosphere. I enjoyed it and thought the service was great. I will definitely be making a third appearance and beyond. I’m very happy this place is within a block of where I live.

I was walking down Broadway with a friend trying to decide what to eat for lunch when all of a sudden the sweet smell of BBQ hit us. In that instance we discovered Milt’s BBQ for the Perplexed.
Walking in we were greeted by a friendly host who informed us that the only available spots were at the bar, which I hate hate hate (note to the reader — make reservations). Since we were hungry we decided to suck it up and sit at the bar. The bartender, Leslie, working the bar was great. She have us some background on the restaurant, the menu and offered up some recommendations. Definitely chatting it up with Leslie made sitting at the bar not as HORRIBLE as it usually is.
We started out with the fried okra which sadly wasn’t as good as I was hoping. The pieces of okra weren’t fully covered with the breading before being fried. This dish tried, but failed. My friend got the Buffalo Chicken Salad and said it was good and interesting. The ranch dressing that came with the dish was dairy free which thrilled my friend since he was just diagnosed as lactose intolerant (his life now sucks). For my entrée I got the Smoked Brisket Sandwich and it was really good. I was given a hearty mans portion of brisket which I deeply appreciated and made sure I ate every last bite. The brisket was well seasoned, tender and filling.
I’d like to check out Milt’s again to try some of the other dishes on the menu.