This was my second time here! I got the iced banana cream latte w/ oat milk for the second time! I…read moream usually not one to get sweet drinks but I am obsessed with this drink. It's sweet, but not too sweet. The large iced latte is also great, it has 3 shots of espresso which makes the ratios perfect. My boyfriend and I also got the Bacon egg and cheese, sausage egg and cheese, and the Korean chicken cheesesteak sandwich! Also super yummy. Cant wait to check out the other new location in Park Ridge! The vibe and aesthetic are also so cute in here! Love the simple design! It is located inside the train station, so while it was busy both times I went I received my food and drinks super fast! I am super picky with where I spend my money on coffee/matcha, but this is one of the few places in the area worth it!!

The drinks here are really a delicious suck I got the ube…read morelatte which is really thick so if you like your drinks more watery or thinner this might not be for you. It does have condensed milk in it. But the flavor of the new base is so rich so delicious it's not over sweet I definitely would come back if I was ever in Chicago again. My friend also got a drink I want to say she got the banana flavor I could be wrong but more than once she looked at me and said I chose the right coffee shop

I just recently discovered this place. I work in Lincolnwood. It has a great ambiance to talk with…read morefriends, co-workers, or just chill by yourself and sip on coffee. More than enough seating and outlets to do work. My go-to drink is the iced café latte with whole milk. The coffee quality is far superior to Starbucks. Also, I love the gauva empanada with cream cheese! Also its good to know you are supporting a local business. Happy to know 5% of their proceeds go to charity. Overall highly recommend!

Such a warm and cozy cafe. Grab something to go or stay awhile, this place is IT. They have…read morecoffees, teas, and specialty lattes. I went with an iced peppermint tea and it was very refreshing. I also tried the guava and cream cheese pastry and my goodness this was insanely delicious. The pastry dough is crispy, flakey and fluffy. The guava jam and cream cheese was sweet and not overly sweet. I stopped in on a weekend morning and throughout my time here there was a constant flow of customers coming and going. Staff members were able to keep up with the influx of weekend customers. Within 5 minutes of placing my order my items were ready to be picked up at the front counter.

Now this is a cool concept. Let's back up. I meet a couple of friends on Sunday mornings at coffee…read moreshops and cafes. No chains, just stand alone locations. Each place has a theme, or a charm all its own and Grind N Gears Cafe is one of the latter. When you pull up you immediately recognize the place as a former body shop or service station. Not a as station, but a body shop. They have their own small parking lot in front with special motorcycle parking on the sides of the lot. It's a small place. When you walk inside there is a runner leading up to the counter with their case of delicious looking eats and a platform above with an old Indian motorcycle perched looking over the place. To the right of the counter are some toys for the kids, including a kids motorcycle and other funs toys to keep the kiddos busy while their parents enjoy a magically concocted coffee drink by the shops artisans. There are comfy little sitting areas composed of oversized furniture from your parents basement. The front has a few racks of leather jackets that feels like your at The Alley's northern location. They do have some hats and apparel for their own shop and I almost bought a hat. On the left side, they have another seating area, but it looks more like a table in a cozy kitchen than a sitting room. It's quaint no matter where you look or sit. Lastly, their drinks and food are quite good. With all the stand alone coffee places popping up, Grinds N Gears is one of the cooler places and I don't mean hipster.

Service isn't the best, but the coffee seems okay, maybe a little better than average…read more Nice concept, but they should put bike people can touch even if they're from the scrapyard. That would automatically make it cooler here.

I would give Matari 4.5 out of 5 stars, so I'm rounding to 5 based on service and ambiance! I heard…read moreabout their fruit mousse cakes online, so we knew we had to stop by to check it out. The cafe is immaculate and service was very friendly. The person who took our order was patient as he explained the different pastries in the case. I wish they had signs explaining what each pastry was so I could have decided while waiting in line. We ended up sharing an iced pistachio latte (delicious and 10/10!), the pistachio cheesecake (10/10!), and the strawberry mousse cake (7/10 - a subtle sweetness, great texture, but needed more cake or crust inside as it was mostly whipped cream and the shell). The mousse cake was $12.00, which felt steep considering it was mostly whipped cream, even though it was obviously beautiful. We would definitely come back for the coffee and to try more menu items! Check this place out!

I wanted to like it. I did. But after a few visits, it's just not for me…read more The first trip, I tried the Matari Tea: Green tea, Himalayan pink salt, milk, and spices, topped with roasted pistachios. Sounds good, right? Alas, it could not have been blander. I couldn't taste any "spices" or even the hint of salt. The profile was that of very watered-down tea mixed with milk, and a ton of pistachios floating on top. Like, barely crushed pistachios. Huge pieces, covering the top of the drink, bobbed around like tiny icebergs, and even they somehow had a toned-down flavor. The drink was definitely a swing and a miss. Fast forward two weeks, and I tried Matari again. This time with a simple cortado. I sat at the table right by the door, and the espresso was pretty good. Solid body, not too bitter. It was on the pricy side ($7+), but I was ok with that. But then, I'm hanging out, sipping my coffee, and I catch a burst of perfume-like scent. I'm shocked, but whatever, I figured someone in heavy perfume walked by, no big deal. A few minutes later, wham, I'm hit in the nose with another burst of perfume. Then, I see it. A slight haze around me. So, not a heavily perfumed woman after all, but an automated air-freshener. After further inspection, I see the unit plugged in on the ground right behind my chair, which sprays up and out on a timer. That's right, an air freshener right next to a table where people consume food and beverages, shooting a mist into the air that slowly rains down onto my head and table, and into my coffee. I ended up tossing the last few sips of my cortado, as I could taste the scented whatever-it-was in my cup. I'd have gone to the counter and asked for a new one, but I was so over my visit by then, I just opted to get out. The staff aren't very friendly. Not rude, but they don't give off a welcoming aura, and I didn't feel like trying to explain the issue. Lastly, can we talk about their little "your order is up" beepers? We've all seen them. The little electronic things that blink and make a noise when your order is ready, so you can go snag it from the counter. When I think of a coffee shop, I think quiet and peaceful, or perhaps a bit louder, with bustling people and well-paired music. At Matari, it's an insane BEEP BEEP BEEP that goes off every few minutes when an order is up. I get it, you don't want to bring the food out to your customers. But does it really need to feel like an airport Chili's? It's a bummer, because Matari is beautiful inside. It's clean, it's chic, and its location is at a notable crossroads in Skokie with plenty of parking, leaving it extremely convenient. They've even got an easy-to-use website, which so many coffee shops simply do not have. There aren't a lot of coffee shops in this particular part of town, which is why I so, so very much wanted to love Matari. But subpar drinks? Air freshener spray intrusions? Frequent and obnoxious beeping? I tried. I'm sorry. I just can't.

The best latte hands down. So glad they opened up one in Gurnee. I had the salted caramel latte and…read moremy friend had the cold pistachio latte. Bothe were sooooo good!!!! We had a chocolate pastry which was also good but the table next to us had some kind of chicken sandwich that looked tasty. Yum. Will be back for sure. The place is beautiful and spacious. They have a room for private parties like baby shower that you can reserve. The staff is friendly and very nice!!

I was craving cardamom coffee and we decided to stopped by Haraz to try it out. Very spacious and a…read morelot of parking spot. They even had a quiet room with door for coworking/studying. Went with their all spice mofawar, and a cleaner palate one Qishr since hubby wanted something tea-like. After ordering all that, we noticed there's a separate tea option that had a citrusy flavor so we got the sunlit tangerine also. The drinks were very strong in a whole mix of spice flavors, which I actually really liked, but it is a little too watery, not dense or creamy enough, and the coffee flavor lean a bit more too acidic/sour. It's not bad, but I think it's just not exactly to my liking. What I didn't realize was that a lot of the spices sunk to the bottom so when I remixed the thic layer of spices with oatmilk at home, it tasted pretty good with the right consistency. All of the drinks were pretty diluted in our opinion, and I think it's too much spice for my husband although I liked it. I also ordered some pastries, but the server packed the wrong one. If I didn't look closely enough I might've missed that. There was one last Dubai pistachio cookie which I asked for, but they gave me the Biscoff cookie instead which was a less expensive one. Anyway, they were fine switching it out after I pointed out, but no apologies or anything. While we weren't impressed with the drinks at first, the medovik mouse/honey layered cake was really good-- it was pretty dense where the buttery parts were, and it was pretty sweet so it balanced well with the acidic coffee. We didn't know the cookie had more fillings on the inside until we got home. The fillings had crunchy flakes which adds a really nice texture, and the filling is not too sweet. Really good. We liked the pastries a lot more than the coffee. Perhaps we just aren't used to the flavor and taste profile of the coffee. I'd be willing to try more here.

We had a wonderful high tea experience at the Bakester. We made reservations ahead of time and…read morenotified them of our dietary restrictions (vegetarian) which they were able to easily accommodate. The cafe is really cute with lots of floral decorations. There's beautiful tea pots and lots of different teas to pick from. The food was delicious and ample, we couldn't get through all of it and left with a few boxes of treats. I enjoyed the sandwiches, scones and am eager to try some of the leftover dessert.

Food was so good ,service was attentive and it was so cute inside. Great place to talk and enjoy a…read morequiet meal.

Welcoming atmosphere, delicious food and beverages, friendly staff…read more A community gathering place. A real gem!

The space is genuinely good. High ceilings, exposed brick, big windows, a fireplace, and a real mix…read moreof seating: couches, armchairs, tables inside and a patio outside. It gets busy, which tells you people like it, and there's enough room that you can usually find a spot to work or sit with someone. The problem was the food. I got a blueberry muffin that was dry and obviously not baked that morning -- day-old at best. The croissant wasn't much better, soft where it should have been crisp. For a place with a full bakery case front and center, that's the thing they should be nailing. Coffee's a different story. The caramel macchiato was legitimately better than what Starbucks puts out -- balanced, not just sugar. The cortado was small, but that's a cortado, so no complaint there. Espresso quality is solid across the board. One more thing: the couch I sat on was visibly dirty and could use a cleaning. Come for the coffee and the space. Skip the pastry case until they fix it.

A Thousand Tales is a wonderful dining experience. The space is much larger than I expected, with a…read moremain dining room, an attached bakery cafe and what looks like a banquet room in back. Located in a strip mall, there is ample free parking. Staff is unassuming, professional and helpful, willing to help with any menu questions. We came for lunch to celebrate a birthday and it was an excellent choice. The menu has a lot of clean eating options, including vegetarian and keto. We opted to share a lamb pizza, a tomato and cucumber salad and a meat tray. All were excellent, plenty of food. The pita was excellent. The tea at the end was lovely. Prices reasonable, good food good portions. Absolutely worth checking out and adding into the rotation of where to go.

I was invited to this restaurant I love the lamb chops it was delicious, my friends loved their…read morefood , but the 2 star is for the lamb Tandir I think this not good to be on the menu it's the worst meat I ever had it was very tough to eat , I had few bites , I have to take it home to see if I can do something with it but unfortunately I have to throw it away , not recommend this item to anyone it's waist of money. I have the picture from the menu Plus the potato was on my plate was only 9 slices the menu picture around 20 slices, Come on Thousand Tales restaurant you can Do better than that

the food was delicious. i got the bubble waffle and the watermelon juice. the tables and overall…read moreaesthetic is so cute here. they also give games to play as well. the service was a little slow but we came during a rush. the watermelon juice tasted exactly like a watermelon on a summer day but it wasnt red like i expected. still very delicious

The store was very cute! Lots of places to take some pretty, fun pictures (even a ginormous bear…read morethat my daughter loved)! The Vietnamese coffee was strong but so good! They even have a sweeter version if you prefer that. They had so many choices, I will need to come back to try some other drinks. I got my daughter the coconut, mango drink with mango popping boba and she really liked it (25% sugar). The staff was friendly and helpful as well. We got our drinks pretty fast. They have plenty of seating or games to play while you are waiting.

This location is MUCH larger than the Albany Park location. There is plenty of seating to work…read moreremote, catch up with friends, or gave a solo date. I loved that they have all year specialty drinks as well as seasonal options. They serve breakfast, lunch, and early dinner with options like coffee, tea, cocktails, smoothies, sandwiches, pastries, salads, bowls and more! This visit, I tried The Michelle Obama Latte as it felt springy to me. The rosemary and orange blossom flavors were subtle but definitely there. It wasn't overwhelming which made me love it! Another popular item is their Maple Brown Sugar Latte. I definitely prefer this location over Chicago's but I'm happy they have the same offerings at both.

$48 for two 16 oz iced coffees and 2 breakfast sandwiches is just not a good deal. My girlfriend's…read moresandwich was so small too, I felt bad that she ordered it. I had the AP Breakfast Sandwich which was bigger but nothing spectacular. As we were standing in line we considered leaving to go to a breakfast place but we wanted to support local and try something new. I wish we left that line. The menu also labeled all sandwiches come with chips or salad, we didn't get that with our order. The coffee was good, if I ever came back it would only be to get that but not worth parking and going inside to wait for it. The only good thing I can say was the staff was very friendly. Likely won't be back. Overpriced. Mediocre. Mislabeled menu. Left the place wanting more.