We were hoping this was going to be some awesome barbecue finally found. There are some decent places in Valpo, but there is nothing great. Unfortunately, this place wasn't even good. I was shocked they call this barbecue. As a St. Louis native who has lived here for over 20 years, I am sad to say this is not even close to true BBQ. If they want to make true BBQ, they need to be schooled by those who do. We had several meats (all dry). The BBQ sauces were eh at best. Even the cornbread muffins left a lot to be desired. A huge disappointment. I'd rather travel back to STL/KC/Texas to get amazing BBQ than go here again. To each their own, but if you think this is good BBQ, you haven't had good BBQ. Ps. The service was ok. But the staff that stood around near the bar gossiping and carrying on was not professional. Place was nice and the seats by the window are best for people watching. read more

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This place, as of May 10 2026 is permanently closed. It was a terrific restaurant with excellent quality food. I will miss it.

Outstanding barbecue! Not overpowering but the perfect smoke. Nachos didn't skimp on meat. We tried the multiple meat platter. More food than you can eat at a sitting. The spicy sausage was unbelievably good. The take homes were even better the next day. Great addition to Valpo and highly recommend! read more

Terrible from beginning to end. I do t blame the bar tender who yelled what I want from the bar to the high top tables. I don't blame the one waiter on staff serving the half empty restaurant. I blame the owner for not caring about this place. The empty dessert counter that is front and center when you walk in. The amount of food they are out of and proudly shown on their website. To being out of brisket at 6pm on a Friday night. There is absolutely no vibe to this place, just something slapped together by someone who does not care. read more

The service was excellent and the food was delicious. I had the pulled chicken sandwich and my husband had the one meal brisket. There was plenty of food but the desserts were irresistible so we had to take home a cookies and cream cheesecake! It was to die for! Nice job! read more

Food was awesome and I loved the presentation, had a great ambience and our bartender Adam was super cool and we loved talking to him and he had great recommendations for what we should order. Will definitely be coming back read more

Came here after some fun at the Valpo Brewfest that was held downtown. This isn't a large restaurant, but it seemed like they strategically fit ample seating. We were able to sit our larger group quickly. I ordered their cheeseburger, fries, and justva water. The fries were extra crispy, which is a good thing! I love a crunchy fry. The cheeseburger was okay. I felt the meat could have been seasoned more. It wasn't greasy. Our host was friendly. Service wasn't super fast. I think he was covering multiple tables as it got busier. read more

Food was delicious the ambience was great a beautiful restaurant . Friendly staff and owner. Had a great time. That night had live music with Gloria Rivera she was awesome. read more

Smoketown Blues - Enjoying our dinner with the singer - Barbeque Near Me - Valparaiso, Indiana

Wanted the place to be good, but didn't live up to expectations. My wife's salmon was like jerky. Sons and I brisket was dry. Cornbread was dry and the kernels in it were hard. Other son liked his sandwich. Waiter was nice and tried to help. Won't be back in the future. read more

Came in on a chili, windy Thursday night in March. There was no one else here and the only staff we saw was the owner. We started off with the fries that had brisket on it. So good. The brisket was so tender. She suggested the strawberry Sprite. We both ordered the fried chicken. read more

Overpriced & Underwhelming. I arrived at 5:45 pm with three other tables already seated in the dining room. It took about 5 minutes for someone to greet and seat me. I ordered the brisket dinner with bacon green beans and a small side salad. The salad came out quickly but the dressing had zero flavor. The brisket and green beans took a bit longer to come out. The brisket was very dry and had a strange flavor. I asked for some BBQ sauce. It came out in a small soufflé cup and was all sugar. The "brisket dinner", if you can call it a dinner, was $22 and the small side salad was $8. I am traveling for work and I wanted to like the place but unfortunately it was not good. I gave two stars because the waitress was very nice. read more

Smoketown Blues - Brisket Dinner - Barbeque Near Me - Valparaiso, Indiana

Lets talk BBQ!!! I grew up in the south so i know good BBQ. Went on a Monday night for dinner. Pretty quiet, LOVED the music. Nice, chill blues to get u in the mood for some smokey BBQ I had the brisket with the potato salad, BBQ beans and corn bread on the side. They have a selection of BBQ sauces u can choose from, I picked the classic. Brisket was good, a bit dry which is which im giving them 4/5 stars. The classic sauce was good, a tad bit too sweet for me. I cant wait to go back to try some other things on the menu! read more

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My cousin and I had lunch there today and the food was absolutely delicious. Steve was very gracious and friendly. We also met the chef, she was very friendly and informative. The restaurants ambience was rustic with plenty of tables available when we were there. I'm from Michigan and we have quite a few barbecue restaurants, but this one was far better than any I've been to. Great work!!! read more

Had the holy smokes, took a bit we were the only customer 30 min but didn't mind once they brought food the chicken was hard the beef brisket was dry and the pork was stinky (a$$) food was bad will not come here again (microwave delight). The waitress was nice but forgot our nachos brought after main course wanted to try the pastries before i had the food after no thank if its going to be the same as good. To many places that are good skip this one. read more

Smoketown Blues - Holy smokes - Barbeque Near Me - Valparaiso, Indiana

When Smoketown first opened we frequented it many times. The barbeque was delicious and the presentation on the wooden boards accompanied by an abundance of various meats was a hit with our carnevores. After an absence, we recently returned looking forward to another memorable meal. Unfortunately, it left us disappointed. Service was slow, the food was good but the presentation lacked the previous panache. We remembered the various types of barbecue sauces offered but this time we were only given the basic one. When asked, our waitress said, yes, there's more in the back but i just brought this one As far as sides, five onion rings for $9 seemed bit excessive. I doubt we will be back with so many other choices of restaurants in Valpo to choose from. read more

I really enjoyed the Tennessee whiskey barbecue sauce. I got the brisket plate. It was not bad... but it was not great either. My sweet potato fries were soggy/soft no crunch at all. There was mango in the coleslaw and it was all sweet, no acid so not really what I was expecting at all. I feel like if you're putting mango in the something like coleslaw you should mention it in the menu because I never would've chosen it had I known. The service was extremely slow. The restaurant was half to 2/3s full and we waited at least 45 minutes for our food. Considering we ordered two brisket plates which.. brisket is already cooked, coleslaw is already made, just needed to make some fries, it seemed like a very long wait. The desserts looked yummy but after waiting that long for our food we weren't in the mood to wait even more. I might go one more time just in case the slow service was a fluke, but overall I didn't love it. read more

Food and service are both outstanding. The owner and chef had come to check on us and truly gave us a feeling like we were dining with family. read more

I was so pleasantly surprised with this place! I'm not huge into BBQ but my husband wanted to stop in so I was so happy to see they offered burgers as well. Very good service. The food was delicious but my favorite part was the atmosphere. It was very relaxing and they even had a bakery inside that I did not expect. We tried a cookie with frosting inside and it was so good. I highly recommend! read more

Smoketown Blues - Volcano fries - Barbeque Near Me - Valparaiso, Indiana

We were there once; we might go back if ever in Valparaiso. We actually got there within 25 minutes of closing and ordered take out. The food was good although I'm not sure I got a half pound of pulled pork. My husband had the sliced brisket which, size wise, seemed enough and was good. Our two sides were cornbread and coleslaw which were tasty. Prices were a little higher than the franchise bbq establishment in Merrillville but understandably so. Our "server" was very friendly and the restaurant was clean and comfortable. The only thing I got a little huffy with was the size of the desert (chocolate cake) that I also purchased for the eye brow raising price of $9.00. read more

This is a great place to eat. Delicious food and great service. Comfortable dining area.

Typical bbq bar and grill gimmick better spots in town and the region, Service was rude.

Smoked brisket is to die for!! And it shares space a cake shop. Enough said. Great service and environment. Outdoor dining if you like.

good was okay fries seemed like bottom of the bag price was okay but dead for a saturday night when there were waits at other restaurants

Excellent BBQ food! The ribs are phenomenal! The brisket plain or with their homemade blueberry bbq sauce is amazing! And their pulled chicken was so delicious with just the right amount of bbq sauce mixed in! To top it all off, I am gluten intolerant and all the meats I had were gluten free even the bbq sauce! I am not celiac so cross contamination doesn't bother me. We went during the week so it wasn't too busy and we were seated right away! The service was also great! Really nice employees and service with a smile! Hard to find these days! They even have a small bakery inside! I would recommend trying this place out! You won't be disappointed! read more

The food was awesome! We had ribs, brisket, andouille sausage, pulled pork, and sides. The mac and cheese was awesome and even better with bbq. Sauces were strong and flavorful and the ambiance is inviting and nice. Romantic - maybe...fantastic to get messy :) read more

This restaurant is not getting enough attention. I went yesterday, and the place was empty. It's not exactly cheap, but the food was amazing. If you haven't been there yet, check it out. Get all the sauces! read more

We had seen people eating at this little BBQ place for a while and kept saying we need to go. I truly love pulled pork more than anything, a good pulled pork sandwich goes a long way. However, not only did they have pulled pork. They had a very interesting sauce, it is a peach sauce. It is homemade to this restaurant, where they actually take for peaches and melt them into the sauce. It is the best sauce I've ever had in my life. Along with that I typically ask for my slaw on the side, because some places were overdo it. But this Mango slaw was an amazing combo with the bbq sauce I selected. The French fries were also strangely remarkable, great seasoning. Perfect cook! I do not love the hours but that is just bc I wanted on nights it's closed. Best BBQ in the region! read more

I had the pulled pork, baked beans and coleslaw. Everything was delicious! I will definitely be back!

Atmosphere was nice, music good. Five of us. Service very slow. Well over an hour for our food. The table next to us arrived after we did and was served 20 minutes before us. Waitress was no where to be found most of the time. Food was poor, we had the chicken sandwich, brisket and pulled pork among others. Pulled pork was big chunks (not pulled), served on a plate with a to go little tub of barbecue sauce. No bread! I thought it was a pulled pork sandwich. At least you good brush the sauce over the pork! Tab for my three was $57 plus.... No value here! Disappointed. read more

We love all of the local restaurants in Valparaiso and we're excited to give this a try. No wait at 7:45 on a Saturday night. It was busy but not packed. Our server was friendly and attentive with our drink and food order, but disappeared after our food was served? The pulled pork "que" plate was good & paired well with the Tennessee sauce, bbq beans and fries. The 1/2 rack of ribs had a great flavor, but were a little dry, but the Georgia peach sauce is delicious, my sides were the sweet potato fries, so crispy and yummy & the cornbread/muffin was good, but needed some butter. Overall is was good, but the sauces are awesome. read more

I had almost forgotten this place was open. We went on a weeknight and were seated quickly. The staff was super friendly and attentive. I had read the food was overpriced but I did not find that to be true. We ordered the 1/2 slab of ribs and the pulled pork sandwich. We had french fries and cornbread for sides. the cornbread was delicious! The fries were season fries, hot and crispy. The sweet BBQ sauce was on point! This has not claimed the top spot for favorite BBQ in town for us! read more

Great food, great service and reasonable prices. We had the Holy Smokes Plater. It comes with ribs, plus your choice of 2 other meats and 2 sides. We love the cole slaw and cornbread sides. The cornbread has real corn in it. This platter has plenty of food for 2 people to share. There is also a wide variety of sauces to choose from. Our favorites are Original Tennessee Whiskey and Georgia Peach. read more

Delicious! Valpo needed a great bbq place. The meat is perfect every time and the bread for any sandwich is on point. The sweet potato fries are phenomenal (perfect amount of cinnamon, crispy, perfect)! The staff is very friendly and everything comes out very quickly. Definitely recommend! read more

I had one of the best pulled pork sandwiches here. Staff were excellent and we even had a chance to speak with the chef. Highly recommended.

Ribs were good, sausage , pulled pork and brisket. All very good. Good smoke good moisture. I'll be back

Great restaurant overall!!! Awesome staff and super delicious food! Everyone was so friendly and helpful! Totally recommend!

We had two sandwiches, the pulled pork and the brisket. Both sandwiches were extremely goood. The bbq sauces were yummy also. My husband ordered sweet potato fries that were delicious I had potato salad and it was surprisingly tasty. Restaurant atmosphere is wonderful and our server Allison was terrific. Will be back soon. read more

Been there a couple times now. The atmosphere is great. The food is delicious, so are the desserts. Very convenient location. Class A restaurant in my opinion. read more

Food is amazing! One of our Favorite places! Tonight we ordered and had a mix up and ended up with pulled chicken Instead of brisket. No big deal, things happen. So we called and they asked if they could deliver it to us! What!! If that's not the best service I don't know what is! We recommend to everyone! And love the variety of sauces to go with, they are all delicious! read more

Food was ok. Pulled chicken was flavorless, brisket and ribs were good. My daughter liked her Mac and cheese. Service has improved since the first time we went when it opened. read more