Good ambience, kid friendly. Great sandwiches, great service, very good vegetarian options. read more

Great sandwiches, quick service and good coffee! Came here as I was staying at a place nearby and we needed a quick bite.

The restaurant was decorated well with a cool front window. I was really looking forward to our authentic Cubanos. Pork was a little dry and there were hardly any pickles...so hardly a Cubano. But the flavor was really good! And the mozzarella and tomato salad was delicious. Next time I'll ask for EXTRA pickles. read more

Cafecito - Cubano Pressed Sandwich - Cuban Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Do yourself a favor and have a meal at this little hidden gem. Great well-flavored food. Had a refreshingly perfect mojito and felt spoiled by all the vegetarian and vegan choices. Friendly and fast service. Had the vegetarian cubano and wasn't disappointed! read more

Initially went here thinking it's a cafe I could study but it was a little bit of a twist. This was a fast paced restaurant, full of people coming in for lunch! Service was good and fast! It's hidden? Within an apartment building, but there are signs so it's relatively easy to find but keep your eyes open as it may be easy to pass by. We decided we wanted to get a pressed sandwich and a salad given there's so many people, we had to try it out and we were not disappointed. The palomilla sandwich was so good! The juicy beef flavor with veggies with some shoestring friend provided for that additional crunch from the bread with flavors bursting with each bite! There were also many more we were eyeing for sure! And we will go back for more! The chopped salad was also an amazing choice given the abundance of different vegetables and pickled veggies and olives! I also opted for a cafecito con leche (they have almond milk for lactose intolerant friends) which was delicious! A little sweet just the way I like it and not too much of a sugar taste and smooth and easy to drink. Would definitely come back to eat the yummy sandwiches and go down that giant list! ***As for the studying... there's free WiFi and there are booths (for eating) and we asked if it was ok to study here and they said of course, I'll let the rest of the staff know! We were there for a while and they kept filling our water glasses for us too! Only down side is that there are not many charging ports or areas. read more

Cafecito - Palomilla Pressed Sandwich - Cuban Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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If you're vacationing in the loop, make this place a first stop. It's a great go-to for breakfast or lunch every and any day. You'll see many things you'll feel you have to try but can't possibly eat in one setting. The cafe con Leche are da best. I had the chimichuri steak sandwich. Awesome! Girl had the Cubano. I'm glad she ordered it. We're from Tampa Bay and have eaten many Cubans both Tampa and Miami style. It's inconceivable that we'd find the best in nether of those areas but, instead, all the way up here in chi- town. We also ordered madurros but I didn't take a picture. They looked just like Plantains tho and tasted a little better. Enjoy this place. It's magic. read more

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Great service and the food was delicious! This place is like a hidden gem amid the chaos of downtown read more

Cafecito - Caldo Gallego Soup, Sweet Plantains and Chimichurri Pressed Sandwich - Cuban Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Wow wow wow. The tastes that pop are amazing. So so good. Ate there twice and both times it was absolutely amazing. Their latte was sweet and so so good. read more

Restaurant was super busy when we went so, we got takeout. Food was delicious and came out quickly. Would love to go back to actually have a sit-down meal. read more

Trying to support local businesses.... picked up lunch ... everything was okay.The black bean soup was really salty. Tilapia was ok, mango rice was subpar . Change of pace for us from all the homecooked food last few months. read more

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My boyfriend and I love this place. It's down the street from his house so we frequent it - and it's a place we come to middle ground if we cant decide where to eat. Service can be slow so FYI. We have had mixed experiences. The cafecito coffee is excellent, such a classic! Their happy hour is a great deal too! If you sign up for their text alerts you get notifications of deals and discounts. Our staple we always get is the yucca fries. The chipotle sauce that comes with is a perfect pairing. read more

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Amazing service and delicious food. I forgot the name of the sandwich I had but I wish I could have taken a picture of it so that I could look at it from time to time and treasure its memory. read more

Cafecito - Cuban Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

First, I had to create a Yelp account to leave this bummy review. My friend was super excited to show us this place as his family goes here frequently...first mistake. Your best bet is to book a flight to Cuba and order food and you will probably receive it faster than you will here. We first had to wait to be seated for 15+ minutes with multiple tables opened and clean. Next, our drinks were put in and food was not put in and sat for over an hour until we were approached again and told our food was never put in. A different waiter noticed before our main male waiter with the ponytail realized and had to be advised to check in on us. Our next 30-minute wait began watching multiple tables receive their food. After we received our food and finished eating our third wait began and got to the point where I personally went up to a different waiter and asked for our waiter to get our check because we needed to leave after spending 2+ hours in the below-serviced establishment. Overall, the food was acceptable and the service from the waiter we personally had was a show itself; by the time we left, there was no one that we had seen previously in the restaurant. The .84 cent tip is well-deserved, forget about the 15 percent discount and 2 free chai lattes. Just asking for baseline service. read more

I usually absolutely love this place, but was incredibly underwhelmed this time around... my sandwich lacked two ingredients I preferred and bacon was undercooked, but the plantains were AMAAZINNG! read more

2 stars for a nice outdoor patio. Cubanito Sandwhich had great bread and but otherwise mid sandwhich and small portions. I will say the tostones had a delicious chimichurri like dip. Service is alright, I'd say no frills thought considering the location, it's a little odd but maybe it was an off day. read more

Dined in, Cubano was a little dry. Chivito tasted like a taco bowl in a sandwich, reminds me of a chop cheese with out the cheese. Would not come back. Not horrible but not great . 3.5 star read more

Cafecito - Cubano Pressed Sandwich - Cuban Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Ahh cafecito. A true gem in streeterville. Affordable, speedy & delicious...I've been here for breakfast, lunch and dinner many times. It can be a bit confusing figuring out seating vs staffing so I usually ask at the bar or coffee area. During lunch it gets busy so it's better to order ahead. Breakfast faves: Cafe Con Leche or anything from the cuban side of the coffee menu. Breakfast sandwiches are usually too big for me to finish so I end up just getting the coffee. Lunch: Ropa Vieja sandwich is divine. Love their plantains with it. The heart of palm salad is also a favorite. Dinner: Lomo saltado, salty but in the best possible way. Perfect portion too. read more

Food and coffee are exceptional. Sandwiches and platters are great especially Lechon and Ropa Vieja. Excellent staff.

My boyfriend and I walked over to the Water Tower location on a rainy Sunday last weekend. We walked into the warm ambiance of a crowded room. To the right side of the room were table and chairs for self seating, and on the left was a display window that you can order to go. We walked over to an empty booth, and there were paper menus on the table. Usually when I go out to eat, there are two things I am in between ordering, but here, I was trying so hard to not order the whole menu! I am not vegan, but this restaurant is super vegan friendly!! I also did not try any vegan dishes, but I want to! The waitress came back (it did take some time, but they were awfully busy, so it's fine) and took our orders. As seen in the photos, we ordered shrimp ceviche, plato de bistec y huevos, chivito pressed sandwich and guava-Q sauce on the side because we waned to try it. We also ordered two cortaditos. The guava-q sauce was well made and you know they didn't just throw some sweet baby ray's in the sampler. The cubano is their popular pressed sandwich, but the chivito is a close tie. I chose this sandwich because it had an amazing mayo. The shrimp ceviche came with large pieces of shrimp and avocado, freshly fried tortillas, and a salad. The meal was amazing for the two of us and we finished the plates clean. Now for the cortaditos, this deserves its own paragraph! I went to Miami two years ago and have been craving an amazing cortadito ever since! Well, the wait is over! The cortaditos are perfect in flavor and you can get a single or double shot of espresso! We got single, but I ended ordering a cortadito to go as well! AMAZING!! We enjoyed our time so much, we are planning on returning in two weeks!! read more

Cafecito - Shrimp Ceviche, Plato de Bistec y Huevos, Chivito Pressed Sandwich (Not Pictured -Two Cortaditos) - Cuban Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I love this Cafecito location!! It's a great little spot just off Michigan Avenue. The tree lined street makes for perfect al fresco dining after a day of shopping on Magnificent Mile. Set in a vintage building, the space feels a little castle-esque. The timbered ceiling and small staircase gives a warm and relaxing vibe. It's quaint and rustic that adds charm to a casual dining spot. It feels like much more than that. The sandwich options are diverse. Everything I've tried is fresh and tasty. I love the toasted bread too. The plantains are delicious and the salads are fresh. Don't forget to try the Cuban coffee while you're there. You won't regret it! They serve their white wine nice and cold - just the way I like it. They offer breakfast. I haven't tried it yet but will make a point to stop by one morning very soon. The Owner/Manager is very nice. He is gracious and makes me feel like he really appreciates my business. That's the icing on this Cuban cake! read more

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I have no idea why this place has 4 stars. The food tastes like elementary cafeteria food and the service is even worse. If you're going to direct patrons to wait to be seated, then have an actual hostess or stand where they can check in to be seated. Walking in this place was like walking into a chaotic playground with no rules. It's so dark in the restaurant that we had to use the flashlight on our phones to read the menu. That's a bit ridiculous. Please invest in some better lighting. I ordered the shrimp ceviche salad and steak chimichurri plate. I even pointed at the menu item when the server was taking down my order. They brought out the steak chimichurri sandwich and I told the server that I ordered the plate. They had the audacity to tell me that I probably pointed at the wrong steak chimichurri and pointed at the sandwich instead. Excuse me, no I did not. It's clearly your server's fault that they were not paying attention AND didn't ask for clarification between the two if they weren't sure. Blaming the guest when they told you that they ordered something else is rude and condescending. They took back the steak chimichurri sandwich and brought out the steak chimichurri plate but my friend who ordered the chicken chimmichurri plate never received his food... We asked the server when his food was coming out and they blamed the cooks in the back that they must of missed the ticket but in reality, I think the server forgot to enter in the order. And lastly, as we were leaving, my friend got up to ask the server where the restroom was and they asked him if he was a dining patron?!?!? Seriously, the server came by our table several times to address some issues and they weren't paying attention enough to recognize that we had already dined there? Just goes to show that they clearly do not pay attention whatsoever. Avoid this place. read more

Probably the worst Cuban I've ever had. Had to ask for extra mayo and mustard. The meat was dry and cold. Ambiance was good. Server was MIA for the entirety of the meal. Had to find someone to ask for more condiments & even pay. Cafe Con Leche was amazing. Wont be back. read more

Cafecito - Cubano - Cuban Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Coffee was great. Workers give you no eye contact and aren't very welcoming. Was staying across the street for 4 days for vacation. Gave it two chances. Did not comeback. read more

Was visiting Chicago for a bachelor party. One morning I was only one left standing. So i wanted to have something different. Found this place and it was really good. So many different options. I had the shrimp torta amd waiter gave me some peach habanero salsa that was soooooo goood. I also love caffeine but hate coffee. But i got the cafecito. This was soooooo delicious and def woke up for the rest of the bachelor party that day. Its also fast but recommend take out as it took a little bit of time to get the food to me. Totally recommend read more

Cafecito - Cafecito - Cuban Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Love this place. Great menu, great food and coffee as good as Little Havana. Plantains cooked perfectly. Innovative breakfast dishes and chill atmosphere. read more

This place was great!! Had a great pork cubano!! Drinks were tasty too! Came in with a friend on a Tuesday at lunchtime. Server never came back to check in after food drop off, but that's ok, we demolished our food! Can't wait to come back! read more

Cafecito - Cuban Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I attached a photo that was supposed to be a cubano sandwich but clearly is not. Regardless, whatever I got, I'll say it was a pretty dang good sandwich! Bread was perfectly soft and not too much bread. Meat was tender but not as juicy as I would like it to be. It wasn't overloaded with too many ingredients like the other sandwiches on the menu. I enjoyed this sandwich enough that I wish they would expand to other parts of the city outside downtown! This first-time review is for a carryout order. If you don't live nearby, it'll be hard to find parking so you can do a sit down meal. But if you live nearby and can easily walk here, lucky you! read more

Cafecito - Cuban Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Food was delicious! Had the Pobrecito which has fried eggs w black beans and rice and fried plantains. Very tasty and delicious. My wife had the Cubanismo which has chorizo w fried eggs and tots. The chorizo was excellent. Had the Cuban coffee which was really good so was the cafe con leche. Service was unfortunately slow but friendly. I think they got overloaded for breakfast this Morning and only appeared to have one server. read more

I just happened to be around Chestnut after a donut tour and decided to give this place a try after seeing it on a list of good brunch places. I came after breakfast so I decided to order something light and savory. I ordered the tostones and chori pan. Both were super delicious and full of flavor. I loved the chimichurri dipping sauce that came w the tostones. It was super delicious! The chori pan sandwich was equally as good. The soft bread with the mix of sausage and peppers was to die for. They really know how to throw down with the Latin food. I was so happy I stopped into this place and I can see why there were a good amount of people inside on a Wednesday mid morning. I would like to come back and try their breakfast specials when I return. Highly recommend! read more

Cafecito - Chori pan - Cuban Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Right on Chestnut by the John Hancock Center, Cafecito features affordable, reasonable prices for a wide variety of pressed sandwiches. I ordered the palomilla pressed sandwich, which features steak, lettuce, tomatoes, grilled onions, and shoestring potatoes, and was hoping for a flavorful, juicy sandwich. However, my sandwich honestly was pretty bland, and the steak featured a lot of tough, and practically inedible pieces. There was barely any grilled onions included, and the shoestring potatoes didn't offer anything special either. I could have gotten a steak and cheese sandwich from Subway and it would have been, in my opinion, much, much better (and have way more meat and veggies for the same price). Maybe some of the other sandwiches or dishes taste better, but I cannot give any rating higher than one star for this incredibly mediocre sandwich. read more

Cafecito - Palomilla Pressed Sandwich - Cuban Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

What a joke! The food looks fine but they are not only short staffed but totally disorganized with people bussing food wiping down tables and then making coffee and handling food without gloves or washing their hands as they are clearly short staffed. Then they said they don't have a table outside. Sure looks like it! read more

Cafecito - So after waiting 20 minutes for a table for one outside, I was told they just don't have one. Looks like it in the photo, right? - Cuban Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

What a cool hidden spot! We had time to kill before visiting a local museum, so we stopped into Cafecito for a quick bite. It was BUSY! We found a table and a server came by quickly--she was super helpful. We ordered sandwiches each; I had to get the Cubano, which is their special. It was delicious!! Not the most amazing sandwich I've ever had, but it definitely hit the spot that day. I would definitely love to go back and try other options since it looked like they have a huge menu! read more

Cafecito - Back room - Cuban Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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I went to Cafecito for brunch on a Saturday and it was packed! Our party got lucky with a shady table outside on their terrace. I really enjoyed my Pobrecito platter: black beans, eggs, rice and plantains. But I enjoyed my coffee even more! Even if you don't come here for lunch, it's worth stopping by to grab a coffee and one of their alfahores (a delicious melt in your mouth South American pastry with a yummy dulce de leche center! Note: There was also a long wait to receive the food. My friend's order was incorrect--she received an entirely different meal. They corrected the problem, but it was quite a long wait to receive her meal. Plan accordingly so you have time to enjoy your breakfast or brunch. Note: GREAT options for vegan and vegetarian eaters! read more

Cafecito - The pobrecito platter: eggs, rice, plantains and black beans - Cuban Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Slow service usually irks me, but I'm ignoring that because I love the chivito THAT much. I'll just leave the description here: steak, ham, bacon, fried egg, mozzarella, lettuce, tomato, onion, citrus aioli, shoestring potatoes If, for some crazy reason, that doesn't make you want to go and order a chivito right now, the guava-q is A+ as well! Circling back to the slow service.. wait time for both seating and food is definitely on the longer side. They always seem to be overwhelmed, so you will probably sit around for a while. Even when you order online, expect some additional wait time. You can also order directly at the counter. read more

Cafecito - Chivito Pressed Sandwich, Yuca Frita - Cuban Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I WISH I COULD GIVE MORE STARS omg the best coffee I've ever had. I just walked in for a quick pick-me-up and ordered a iced cafe con leche with almond milk. The restaurant itself was busy but I was able to get my coffee quickly. The coffee was so smooth and delicious, I just kept going back for another sip. And to top it off it was only around $3-4 for a small which is honestly very good for the size of the cup. I can't wait to come back to try their sandwiches because the store looks so cute as well!! read more

Cafecito - Cafe con Leche with Almond Milk - Cuban Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I was looking for a quick lunch downtown and decided to stop by at Cafecito. I was very surprised by how popular the venue was and it seemed to be loved by a lot of locals. Per the server's recommendation, I ordered the Steak Chimichurri platter and I did not regret this decision! The rice on its own was great, but went even better with the sauce and the beans. The steak was a little bit hard to cut through but was still delicious. Would love to come by again and try the other dishes! read more

Super cool place. Great and quaint location. Food was good and authentic. Can't wait to go back!

Very good Cuban cafe. We had breakfast, which for this area was pretty affordable and well done. The Cafe con Leche is not to be missed, delicious and mandatory for a trip here! read more

The food is amazing! The service and workers are so nice and it's so cheap for so much food! My favorite part is all of the food they give us for so cheap! I recommend the palomia! It's the best. It feels like I'm in Cuba again and it brings back memories from when I was a kid, too! Just amazing overall! 100% recommend! read more

Cafecito - Palomilla Platter - Cuban Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

We ordered brunch takeout recently for the first time and the food was great! Good flavor and generous portions. Instead of traditional hash brown, they used tater tots, even more satisfying. read more

Cafecito - Cubanismo (right) and Jardinero Omelette (left) - Cuban Near Me - Chicago, Illinois