Smashburgers on Belmont, a New Sports Bar on Irving Park, and a Brunch Fest Rolling In This Saturday
By Socialhood News · Lake View ·
Lake View neighbors, the stretch between now and the weekend is worth circling on your calendar — a community brunch festival is two days away, and two freshly opened restaurants have added new energy to the neighborhood's dining corridor this fall.
First, the event that's almost here: the third annual Lincoln Brunch Fest returns this Saturday, October 10, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., presented by Special Service Area 27. The festival transforms the Lincoln Avenue corridor into a morning street party, with top local restaurants serving up signature brunch bites and creative new favorites alongside live entertainment and kid-friendly activities. For neighbors who have watched the Lincoln corridor grow busier and more independent-restaurant-friendly over the past few years, the Brunch Fest is one of those community programming anchors that rewards showing up early and eating your way through the block. It's free to attend, runs a tight four-hour window, and is exactly the kind of mid-October street event that makes the most of a Chicago fall morning before the weather closes the door on outdoor dining. The Lincoln Roscoe Beer Stroll — a separate event featuring craft beer samples from local breweries at shops along Lincoln Ave. and Roscoe St. — follows a week later on October 17, making this a strong two-weekend stretch for the corridor.
On the dining front, 404 Burgers has opened at 1020 W. Belmont Ave. in Lake View, landing on one of the neighborhood's most reliably trafficked commercial blocks. The concept is built around smashburgers — and despite the name, the menu goes meaningfully beyond two patties. According to The Infatuation's continuously updated guide to new Chicago restaurant openings, 404 Burgers offers just two smashburger builds: one with American cheese, grilled onions, house sauce, and pickles, and a second with mushroom sauce and cheddar. But the kitchen also turns out Nashville hot chicken sandwiches and BBQ plates featuring smoked beef short ribs, cornbread, and mac and cheese — a range that positions 404 as a lunch-and-dinner destination rather than a single-note burger window. The Belmont Avenue address puts it within easy reach of the Belmont CTA station and the foot traffic that has long made that stretch of the street one of Lake View's most competitive restaurant corridors.
Also newly open and worth adding to your radar: The Ivy Bar & Kitchen has arrived at 1625 W. Irving Park Rd. in Lake View. The Ivy is a full-service sports bar built around a rooftop patio and a wall of TVs, but the kitchen adds genuine range to what could otherwise be a straightforward game-day destination. The menu includes both Detroit-style and tavern-style pizzas alongside dishes like cajun garlic butter grilled shrimp and a chimichurri steak sandwich — the kind of lineup that gives the place staying power beyond football Sundays. The Irving Park Road address places The Ivy at the neighborhood's northern edge, a stretch that has seen steady independent business activity in recent years.
Taken together, this week's news reflects what Lake View does well heading into October: community programming that turns a Saturday morning into a neighborhood moment, and new restaurant concepts that fill real gaps on streets that can absorb them. The Brunch Fest on Saturday is the most time-sensitive item — if you haven't been before, the Lincoln Avenue stretch from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. this weekend is the place to be. 404 Burgers at 1020 W. Belmont and The Ivy Bar & Kitchen at 1625 W. Irving Park Rd. are both open now and ready for weeknight visits.
If you make it to the Lincoln Brunch Fest this Saturday, or you've already been into 404 Burgers or The Ivy, tag your experience on Socialhood. The sharpest neighborhood reporters in Lake View are the ones who actually live here.
Sources:
1. https://www.lakeviewroscoevillage.org/
2. https://www.theinfatuation.com/chicago/guides/new-chicago-restaurant-openings