I've now been here a total of 3 times. I've always come on the weekend. We typically order the fried green tomatoes, shrimp and grits, braised pot roast and grits and a drink. The food gets 4 stars from me; it's really good. Although this time, the fried green tomatoes were really salty. The 2 stars are for the service. There are 2 managers that are there when we come on the weekend. They always look so frazzled and stressed, like the diners are a complete surprise even though we all have reservations. It's slow to be seated, even with a reservation. Last time we waited about 35 minutes to be seated, with a reservation. The servers are very, very slow. They are slow to come take your order, slow to bring your drinks/beverages (everytime I've been there the food comes out before the drinks), slow to bring the check, slow to ring you out. I still don't understand the drinks coming so slowly. Even the non-alcoholic drinks are slow to come out. What was off putting today was when we checked in (~6 minutes early) for our reservation we were told you're checked in, we'll text you when your table is ready, he confirmed the last 4 digits of the phone number, and then said you can have a seat in the lobby area, which is what we did. A few minutes later, the young lady calls us to be seated. We are standing by the desk waiting, she tells the manager our name as she walks by. She comes back and we're still standing there. She gives him our name again. He says, "Welllllllllllllllll, I waaaaas going to seat them at xx table, but they were NO WHERE to be found so I sat someone else there. You can seat them at xx." Mind you, my sister and I still standing there and we can hear him. My sister and I go woah, what do you mean? We were sitting where you told us to go sit and you never texted. I found it to be rude and disrespectful. You're talking about your paying customers where they can hear you??? Who does that? I asked if the owner was there because I would have preferred to tell her this personally, but she wasn't. I wish the service could match her food. read more

Seating arrangements on Sunday waited on a table for 1hr 30minutes was looking at empty seats the whole time. The owner was there the whole time . Was not offered a glass of water or anything . Did anyone go to restaurant school l will not be back. . read more

With a glut of soul food places opening up in Hyde Park in recent years, I was worried Dawn AM would have little raison d'être. (Po')Boy was I wrong! Sumptuous, generous, well-priced portions grace your table at this upscale-casual outfit, perfect for lunch or a spontaneous date. I got the gorgeously seasoned and breaded fried chicken with mac and cheese and yams: these sides truly outdid themselves, popping with unexpected, subtle flavors like a little heat in the cheese and cinnamon in the yams. The shrimp on my companion's "rich lad" was also allegedly excellent; the accompanying, extremely bland coleslaw was our meal's only real downside. I will certaintly be back: though Dawn might still be breaking, its culinary sun is already shining! read more

Dawn A.M. eatery was amazing. Parking was free and accomodating. I love the name "Dawn" iykyk. The way the staff was able to accommodate our group after being a bit tardy on a busy beautiful fall Sunday afternoon was appreciated. I had the devil/angel eggs and fried green tomatoes as appetizers and was full from that. They were delicious. I had the pot roast and grits for main entre and it was AAMAZING. I took most of it home to finish as leftovers te next day. Mario our server was awesome and deliberate on how he attended to our needs. The restaurant staff assisted Mario when needed. I recommend Dawn AM Eatery for your next dining experience read more

Recently visited Dawn for Brunch for Chicago Restaurant Week. Reservations are highly encouraged because this place gets very busy. It's inside of the Windermere building and for the entrance you can either go through the main building or on the side there is a direct entrance into the restaurant. The decor is fresh and modern, the service was very nice and friendly. They have a vase of fresh baked goods which look amazing right when you want in at the register. We did order off the restaurant week menu which does feature some of their most popular items and the portions were perfect. The Pot Roast grits were amazing and those fried green tomatoes as well. The only thing that were not a big hit was the mac n cheese and for a place that specializes in Southern cooking they could definitely improve on their mac n cheese. Also the Banana Pudding Pancakes sounded better than they actually were it was lacking more pudding maybe in between the pancake layers and something else but it was not the best. Now that peach cobbler cornbread that was delicious and the catfish and fried chicken were a huge hit as well. Everyone dinning looked so beautiful and put together the vibes there were so nice. We will be back again for brunch and trying more of their items. I highly recommend. read more

From the service, the ambiance to the food, excellence in every area. African American Business Magnificence! If you haven't visited, make it a point to. You will not be disappointed. read more

Dawn AM Eatery - Southern Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Fantastic food. Biscuits, peach pancakes, waffles, bacon, catfish were all fantastic. read more

Dawn AM Eatery - Catfish Catfish Catfish - Southern Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Chaotic management: had a reservation; took 10 minutes to be seated, with empty tables everywhere; another 25 minutes before a waiter appeared. order up fast, 10 mins. So, it took 45 minutes to get fed. Food: Catfish good, mac 'n cheese okay. Fried green tomotoes come with micro greens, which sounds like a side salad--guess again: 3 small green tomotoes covered with a meager garnish of wilted greens. Ambience: pretty and sunny, but loud. Conclusion: Go to Peach's on 47th for the same food at lower prices and easier street parking. read more

Excellent food. The Pot Roast and Jalapeño grits are my go to. Seasoned very well with the consistency you want in good grits. Definitely would recommend this spot for brunch to anyone. It gets crowded on the weekends, so make a reservation if you can. read more

really cute brunch place! love the outdoor seating and offers a lot of really cool dishes. def wanna come back for dinner or lunch and try the fried chicken!! i also had the brownie sunday (not pictured) and it was delish. read more

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Went to Dawns for lunch on a Friday. Parking is tough but once inside we were seated quickly. Our server Khadijah was beyond excellent. She was friendly, attentive, memorized our order and got it right. The food was served hot seemingly straight from the chef. Their website is accurate-"a reinterpretation" of soul food and everything we ordered was very spicy almost Cajun style but not in a good way because that's all I could taste was the pepper. A little Lawrys would have done wonders to season the food better. The ambiance is amazing and I wish them well! read more

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3 of us took our 12 year old daughters on a little destination lunch outing today and we had the most amazing experience at Dawn AM Eatery! Where to start... we sat outside to enjoy a perfect Chicago summer day, but the ambiance of the indoor dining room was gorgeous as well. The menu was incredible and we wanted to order one of everything but we settled on fried green tomatoes (soooo good!), the deviled eggs (to die for), shrimp & grits, the Maurice salad, French toast, vegan chicken & waffles, and the chocolate chip pancakes with a side of bacon. Oh! And the biscuits! There isn't enough hyperbole to adequately rave about the food. Just suffice it to say that it was an epic meal all around. And finally the service! Our server, Mario, reminded us what truly hospitable service looks like. I think we've gotten so used to mediocre service at restaurants since Covid that it's almost shocking when someone genuinely goes above and beyond. He was friendly, very knowledgeable about not just the menu and the restaurant but the whole beautiful Hyde Park neighborhood, and we just had an exceptional time thanks to his friendly, professional, and genuinely fun service. We will be back, sooner than later! I'm so excited to have found this gem! read more

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The food was good as well as the service. We sat at the bar. They should give you more grits with the pot roast, but it was still very good, tender, and seasoned well. read more

Great food. Service was ok... a bit disorganized. I had the fried green tomatos, greens, fried chicken and rice. They were out of the wine I wanted so the bartender took care of me with the second choice. Quiet corner in Hyde Park on a bitterly cold Chicago day. No TV, but no one minded when I watched the football game on my tablet at the bar. read more

It's nice. Food took a long time but it was nice atmosphere. Food was good I felt a little rushed after we paid a 280 bill though

The food is so good. The jalapeño grits are fantastic and I love the biscuits. Wait staff is friendly. Definitely coming back.

Scrumptious. I had the Pot Roast and Jalapeno Grits. The meal was delicious. I met a friend for lunch on a Friday. The place was crowded (good sign). The wait was close to 30 minutes. read more

We are back in Chicago for the week and staying at the Windermere. We decided to try this beautiful restaurant next-door on a Saturday afternoon. It was busy, but they made allowances for us where we did not have to wait long. When we sat down, it was too noisy where there are hints of music while multiple conversations are bouncing off the walls. We asked for a carry out order. The staff obliged without issue. I ordered sides because I wanted to try everything. The greens are tasty, but they're too hot and they have more than just collard greens in them. I'm noticing cabbage and spinach so it's a little too much of melange of different types of greens. The yams are pretty good and the jalapeño grits was delightful. Both are tasty. Turkey bacon was a better cut of bacon than usual at a restaurant. Thanks for your hospitality, Dawn. We may try in the morning before the crowd arrives. WARNING: our only issue with our meal was that we ordered pancakes with maple syrup. We noticed that we were given high fructose corn syrup. We returned to request actual maple syrup due to a corn allergy, but there was none on site. I hope that they remove maple syrup from the menu or they bring it on deck. I'm sure people wouldn't mind paying extra for the real stuff which we did earlier this week at Wildberry for $3. read more

Absolutely zero stars. Let me start with the food and work backwards. First, we waited a solid hour for the food and when it arrived it was so terrible that I can't imagine how the servers were not ashamed to put it in front of us. My husband's Benedict had been left under the heat lamps so long that the sauce was crusty. He couldn't even touch the plate. The fried green tomatoes, in contrast, were lukewarm and literally thrown on the plate -- no garnish, no nothing. I wouldn't have believed it possible to serve something that shoddy had I not seen it myself. My salad Niçoise was a bizarre mix of the issues -- thrown on the plate, topped with lukewarm salmon that was partially congealed, and the extra shrimp I paid for, all three of them, were also warm-ish. Neither hot, nor chilled. The drinks. A 25$ glass of champagne was flat. I had to get up myself and get a new glass. My husband's Ms. Mary was a plain tomato juice and vodka, nary a garnish. To add insult to injury we waited at our table for twenty minutes to be greeted. The young lady said she had tables who were seated ahead of us. Then she served tables who were seated after us and when I pointed that out, quickly changed her tune to say she did not keep track of the order in which tables were seated. Simply petty. The drinks took forty minutes. And cost 43.10$. And were terrible. The food took an hour. And was disgusting. We left. We paid for the overpriced underwhelming drinks and left. And not once did anyone apologize. Or offer to make it right. What a waste of time. I have several friends who have asked me about going here -- whether they should, or if I'd like to. My answer is an unequivocal no. I will warn anyone and everyone away from this place. They should be embarrassed and cannot shut down quickly enough. It's a lovely space. It's wasted on the current establishment. read more

The food was great. However the service was not! The waitress took a very long time to take our order. After taking the order she waited until the food was about to come out that they didn't have any more macaroni. When the food came we had no silverware. Not sure if this is an everyday thing but the service definitely needs improvement! read more

We were so excited when Dawn opened in the neighborhood. I've now been 3x, one dinner and two breakfasts. All three times the service has been hilariously awful. Long delays, mixed up orders, etc. The first time we assumed it was just because they were brand new. The second time we were a large group, so while it was mishandled at least one could hope it would improve for smaller groups. Apparently not. The food is very hit or miss. The biscuits are delicious (though I wish there were a savory butter option), but the eggs arrived way overdone. Etc. The meat eaters I went to dinner with enjoyed their food, but the sole vegetarian option was dry and lacked flavor. If they can get the service hiccups worked out, there's enough good stuff on the menu that it could become a real hit, but we will stay away until we've heard that they've improved. read more

Upon stepping into this newly opened establishment, I held no expectations of flawlessness, understanding that every beginning has its own learning curve. Reflecting on what matters most to me in a dining experience is the warmth of acknowledgment upon entry. I did not get that experience here. The male server walked by and didn't greet you or say someone would be with you. Have you been helped? Nothing, just like the lady server. They just looked and continued with their duties. A moment arose when a gentleman, presumably a manager, briefly engaged with the servers about their schedule. However, his action seemed unbothered to the fact that another lady had been waiting there and no one had helped us, as he returned to his seat, leaving an air of disconnect. The arrival of another group went unnoticed, further amplifying the sense of neglect. The only time the server lady said anything was to respond to the guest on what a dish was for a guest. Despite these initial setbacks, I remained hopeful for Dawn. I finally got my Salmon bites orders and was pleasantly surprised by their burst of flavor. However, the Vegan Hash, which I had hoped would be a flavorful and well-seasoned dish, fell short of my expectations. The chickpeas were disappointingly firm, further detracting from the overall experience. While I am typically inclined to support new ventures in the community, my overall impression was marred by the lack of attentive service--a crucial component for me. This lack of attention made me feel neglected and less valued as a customer. I want to bring my out-of-town guest, but I will explore other options for my upcoming guest this time. I will give it another try just later in the year. read more

What an incredible experience my family and I had dining at Dawn AM Eatery! My kids and husband enjoyed every bit of dining here. The moment we walked in the service was impeccable and our server Jasmine was very friendly. The food was amazing! We ordered their strawberry lemonade and cucumber lemonade and they were really good! We also ordered their Texas Duroc Bacon Flight and my goodness it was delicious! We had the honor in meeting the owner and she was so nice. We really enjoyed our visit and we will definitely come back! I meant to tell the owner her restaurant was a 100 out of a 100 and instead I had a brain fart and said it was a 10 of 100, how embarrassing! To the incredible owner, your restaurant is beautiful! I highly recommend you to stop by and try Dawn! read more

The grits are amazing! We sat outside because it was a long wait it was nice but we had to fight the bees. It wasn't the restaurant's fault they did their part to try to prevent them. read more

So I came to Dawn for a friends birthday and the service was absolutely terrible. Our reservation was at 1:30, and we did not get waited on until 3, and food got brought out at 4 everything was cold I told multiple ppl about my food order it fell on death ears then one of the servers tell me she only got 2 hands excuse me as long as I been seating and waiting that's how you adress a paying customer ppl were getting their meats and waitng 30 to 45 mins for sides like really ain't no way it's taking that long to make greens and Mac and chesse 10 out of 10 do not recommend complete waste of money and super unprofessional read more

All I could say is 10/10 & I do recommend. Food/service/ Ambiance = 5 stars I started with the chicken/waffle, smoked salmon deviled eggs. For my main course I had the yummy French toast corn bread & chicken. read more

I had a very good experience at this restaurant Dawn Hyde pk this weekend. We did come at the last minute... without reservations (my apologies) however; Janae the hostess was a life saver. Our party size kept growing and she did everything she could to accommodate. She was kind and professional, offered us outdoor seating and it was on. Ambiance is beachy, elegant, chic.... loved it. The Food: let's start with the fried Green Tomatoes, they were delicious The smothered roast & grits were exquisite and, the biscuits were fluffy and buttery. The fried chicken was different crunchy and tasty. The Mac and Cheese was made with a creamy roux, I prefer baked with a sharper cheese but the it was okay. The owner came over and fellowshiped with the group made sure we were okay. ANYWHO My over all experience was grand, and I... with my party of 10 will be back. Sorry no pics I was to busy eating. read more

Reeeeeeally wanted to love this place. We made reservations and got there a few minutes early so waited a little bit. It wasn't packed when we got there, but it was so loud. The guy at the front was super nice. We were seated by a woman and then ended up waiting like 15-20 minutes before the guy at the front ended up coming over to take our drink order saying our server was handling something else. We just gave him our whole order since we didn't know when we'd see our server. The food coming out was the quickest thing here. We had the pot roast with cheese grits. It was good. Grits were creamy (had cheese but definitely didn't taste any jalapeno) and the meat was cooked well. Wasn't something I'd say I have to have again from here. The biscuits and butter were kind of plain but they weren't bad. We had the lemon lavender sweet tea and that was SO good! Best part of our visit. Our server came by and was nice, but clearly she had a lot to handle because we didn't really get service. My friend asked for another drink and I asked to have a separate order packed to go, my friend never got the drink and the to go order was definitely on our bill. We asked for to go boxes and literally waited 26 minutes before a guy bussing tables walked by and we asked him for boxes and he went right to the back and grabbed them for us. Another server ended up coming by like 15 minutes later and we had to ask him for the check. She brought it out with the tips circled and we couldn't do anything but laugh and wonder who gets the tip since we had 4 different people doing everything and had to wait around. It's a decent spot I guess. The food is ok. The staff is nice but they clearly need some extra hands. Parking is tough so get there early. I don't think we'll be back for awhile. Maybe we'll give them some time to iron some things out. read more

The hostess staff is not the best. I called to ask about the waitlist that's on the website. She said that it was an average wait time for the party size--but when I asked if that meant 15 or 30 minutes it seemed she got frustrated. I almost changed my mind but I went anyway. There were at least three staff members at the register when we came in--but no one greeted us. Someone had to come from the back to greet and seat us. Also. It took about ten minutes for the server to come to our table initially and it wasn't crowded enough to justify it. She was nice but she was generally nice enough but the time it took to greet us and get the check was not great. The servings are pretty decent. The pigs in a blanket were just a touch on the oily side, but I was able to peel the breading off and sub a piece of my toast. The broccoli was amazing. My cousin had the shrimp and grits and she said the grits were among the best that she's had in a while. My salmon croquettes were flavorful. The server allowed me to sub the rice with the broccoli which was definitely appreciated. The tables are good size. Not too close to each other. The sound levels were low enough that you could have a conversation without yelling. The rest of the service was okay. They just need to even some things out I think. read more

The food is pretty good. I forgot to take pics but the portion sizes are huge. I had the fried catfish (it was meaty and fresh) with mac&cheese and yams. They were out of greens(ugh). Also order of pretty big fried green tomatoes. I'll be going back read more

I'm visiting from Hawaii and my niece referred me to Dawns restaurant. Upon arrival at 9:30 am I requested a table for 2. However the hostess not accommodating or gracious. With few people in the restaurant I requested the window seats for two and the hostess Rachel resisted seating me per my request. She resisted letting me speak to the manager. Finally after bantering back and forth we were finally seated. This did spoil my experience because I'm writing about it and sharing it. read more

Dawn AM Eatery - Private home - Southern Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

This restaurant has a great brunch menu full of options to accommodate everyone. They also have a full bar and great drink menu. My best friend and I we were able to make a reservation two days before without any issues and were seated right away once we checked in. The restaurant is pretty spacious, and every space is filled with seating but not to the point you can walk or move without bumping into anyone. We got there early, and it wasn't crowded but around 12-1 it started filling up pretty fast. If going on a Saturday I suggest go before 12 to have better seating options. The service was great and average wait on receiving our meal. We had fried chicken thigh (1) with cornbread waffles (2) that came with a peach compote. We also had the salmon croquettes (2), scrambled eggs and southern grits with a side of macaroni and cheese. We each ordered a biscuit (it was large but kind of dry) with cinnamon butter and the strawberry butter. The strawberry butter was delicious, and my best friend said the cinnamon butter was delicious. I would definitely return and recommend. read more

Good food, good service, good ambiance. Free coffee refill. They let me work there (pen and paper) for three-plus hours after one plate of scrambled eggs. Will be back read more

This is one of my go to restaurants. Food is great! Service is excellent. Tends to be on the louder side.

Dawn's food was excellent, service was phenomenal with the exception of the front desk/reservation staff. I think they need to make the process a little smoother. Other than that, i highly recommend Dawn for your brunch needs. read more

Service definitely needs improvement. I would suggest a two hour sitting time. Visited today arrived at 1:30 pm today it's almost 4:30pm and still not seated. Raved about this place to family & friends. Brought out of town guest and I'm totally embarrassed. The food and ambiance is great. However, I can't see them losing tons of customers due to the wait time. The kitchen is extremely slow! read more

Love everything about this place. Vegan options are few but what they do have is delicious! The atmosphere is awesome with very friendly staff and it's close to home! read more

Me and some family arrived around 10:30am. we didn't get seated until 12pm. very unprofessional service across the board. everyone seemed to not be on the same page. also they give you 90min to dine in (which is fine). and on top of all that, the food was very bland. I will not recommend! read more

Great service, nice ambiance and tasty food! I highly recommend the Pot Roast and Jalepeno grits. And if you want a cocktail, the Greyhound is my top pick. read more

Dawn AM Eatery - "The Greyhound" - Southern Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Go for brunch Saturday/Sunday, it's the peak time to be in that part of Hyde Park. Otherwise, this is a good 'weekday' restaurant - they still have some teething problems with staff and dealing with crowds, but are putting in an earnest effort. And the food is good - they got me to like a chicken salad on a croissant, so someone is doing something right. read more