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    Jess Cafe

    4.0 (609 reviews)
    ModerateChinese, Korean, Thai
    Closed 11:00 am - 9:30 pm
    Updated 2 months ago

    Order Jess Cafe Takeout or Delivery

    Jess Cafe Photos

    Business Info

    JESS CAFE ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Moderate noise
    Good for kids
    Good for groups

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    Recommended Reviews - Jess Cafe

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    Cici C.

    We got takeout here for a family gathering. The foods are all actually pretty good. Not phenomenal but like pretty decent. One dish that stood out to us was the salt and pepper tofu, the crunchy outer layer is extra chick, thicker than anywhere else I've had this dish. The extra crunch was actually pretty good. It's an interesting fusion place with Southeast and East Asian flavors.

    Metal piece in food!!!!
    Kasia O.

    After last night 4/13/26, I am soooo upset!!! I found a piece of metal wire in my pad thai chicken order. I got so lucky that I did not swallow it or bite into it. Plus the chicken was raw still and had to cook it better at home. If you guys are in a rush and told me kitchen is closing at 8:30pm to be there very soon. I understand that ordered at 8:10pm and everyone wants to go home. Maybe don't have people order at a certain time to ensure all goes well and such situations don't happen like a hard wire inside people's food and the food not being well cooked. What's going on Jess Cafe?! This is ridiculous!Please be careful with what you use so that it doesn't get into customer's food...this would have ended horribly if I swallowed the metal wire. After a long time customer, I will never come here again after finding the wire in my food. Horrible. I am so upset. I still can't believe I found a metal wire in my food.

    Timothy M.

    Tried Jess Cafe last night. Overall the food was decent and the prices were average. If I could complain about anything it would be the lack of or non existent condiments they didn't include. I've been eating Chinese for 30 plus years and I can't seem to remember the last time a Chinese restaurant didn't throw in soy sauce, hot mustard, sweet-and-sour, and even a set of chopsticks. Worth the try but ask for the extras.

    Front of establishment
    Joe B.

    Been here several times. Never for lunch The. Lunch menu are smaller portions than you would receive as if you would be dining in with that said, still an abundance of food with great taste, and definitely shareable. They have frozen drinks with tapioca, as you would find in other Asian restaurants. prices are fair. Definitely with trying if you're in the area.

    Fish fillet w/black bean, red & green peppers
    Phil S.

    12/25/23 - Christmas Night. We went to my brother in laws house for dinner. I called into Jess Cafe & ordered salt & spicy smelt & fish fillet w/black bean, green & red peppers for pick up @ 4pm. I called back almost immediately and asked if I could change the pick up to 5pm. They said it wasn't a problem. So fast forward to 3:53 pm Simeon from Jess Cafe calls and tells me our order is ready. This is a problem because whenever I order fried foods like the salt & spicy smelt I want it cooked fresh & hot out of the fryer. They asked me if this was ok because my pick up time was @ 5pm or should they redo the order so it was fresh, hot & crispy when I pick it up. I said I would rather get something closer to 5 pm because as you know fried foods lose that crunchy texture if left to sit. I'm very anal about fried foods and I always request something fresh out of the fryer. I am willing to wait to get the order hot & crispy. When I arrived @ 5 pm the restaurant was packed w/diners & people waiting to pick up their orders. My smelt & fish fillet w/black beans were already packaged & waiting for pickup. They assured me that they would remake the order to my preference. Well guess what they didn't the the salt & spicy smelt fish wasn't even warm. I can tell by the temperature & texture of the smelt that it had been sitting for awhile but what was I going to do go back & ask for them to recook my order while e wine at the house was waiting? I have been to Jess Cafe before and generally they produce a pretty good quality food. I'M VERY DISSATISFIED & DISAPPOINTED BY THIS ORDER OF SALT & SPICY SMELT AS THE SMELT HAD BEEN SITTING FOR AWHILE. I know they're busy but this isn't right

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    7 years ago

    Beat halo halo in town, I love it!! Their food is also very delightful. I come here often very friendly environment and clean as well.

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    6 years ago

    Ever since I was introduced to this place,me and my family don't stop coming the food is great it taste great and it hits the spot.

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    11 years ago

    The variety of the offering is huge. So huge that can be intimidating.. In a good way. Big portions, fresh and delicious!

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    Page 7 of 16

    Ask the Community - Jess Cafe

    Are they BYOB?

    No they are not a BYOB.

    Do you offer gluten free options?

    Is this place non gmo?

    I don't think so.

    View All 4 Questions

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    4.1(404 reviews)
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    We came to perilla as a group and we really enjoyed it! The meats were all high quality and…read moredelicious! Staff were super friendly, engaging, and helpful. Restaurant was clean, well designed, and you could tell management was actively engaged. Worth a visit if you're craving Korean BBQ!

    Not much of the Korean fare. This place has a cute setting, clean, crisp and western atmosphere…read more Food is ok, but cannot say is amazing. The drinks were good. We had the Cloud 9 and Honey I strung the figs, both were quite unique and very good, surprisingly. What bugged me most was that the whole restaurant seemed to have only one waiter who takes orders. He was quite friendly and detailed in explaining.each and everything. But, that was exactly the problem. The waiter spent so much time on each table upfront. I got way impatient after a while waiting for him to come back to check on us. If we would have known better, we should have ordered and requested everything upfront. We did not expect him to have forgotten (or ignored) us for that long of time. In addition, I would have thought that the food, cooked and uncooked, would at least come out one after the other, at a steady pace. Well ok, they did come at a pace, but a very slow pace, very non-continuing. E.g the rice came out only when almost all meat was gone. So we never warmed up to the mood of having a satisfying meal as we have minimal on the table at any time to work on. Not quite satisfying as a dining meal experience. However, and however, If you want to come and take your time to chat and chat for the whole night, it might be the place. Have fun and enjoy your time with minimal interruption. No rush at all! I usually prefer good food first and then reasonably attentive service. So. I'd have to pass on this place. There are other better Korean fare for food out there.

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    Han Bat Restaurant

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    4.3(222 reviews)
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    I love this place. Authentic seolleongtang in the city. They mostly only serve one dish,…read moreseolleongtang, but with different cuts of meat. Sister restaurant to the well-known Han Bat Sul Lung Tang in LA. Takes only cash but there's an ATM in the shop. The dining experience here is a vibe. There's only a few people running the shop, and every time I come here, somehow there's only a few people dining in. It's a fairly small space, but beautiful shop. Very peaceful. A good place to enjoy a nice, warm bowl of ox bone soup. It is a bit far from the city center, but it's well worth the trek. The food is delicious. Each meal comes with whole cabbage kimchi, which gets cut up in front of you, and diced radish kimchi. Both side dishes are absolutely delicious and fresh. When the soup comes out, you get to salt and pepper the soup to your own liking. Honestly some of the best Korean food in Chicago.

    My boyfriend brought me to this Korean restaurant, and we both enjoyed our meals here! He ordered…read morethe combination soup, and I ordered the ox tail soup. Both were very good. There was a decent amount of meat in both soups. I especially loved the larger ox tail pieces because they had even more flavor. Our soups also came with two kinds of kimchi--radish and napa cabbage. The kimchi had a strong, bold flavor, while the soups themselves were much milder and comforting. After we finished eating, we paid in cash since the restaurant is cash only. Also, according to my boyfriend, they don't offer to-go boxes, so we tried to finish as much of our food as we could.

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    Daebak

    Daebak

    3.9(101 reviews)
    5.8 miWest Town, Wicker Park
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    I am visiting Chicago from CA, and to me, this place was just pretty okay. My mom and I got the…read moregold package, pork combo three but had to get an additional pork belly because the combo portions were sooo small. We were honestly shocked because we thought it was supposed to feed up to 2 people, but barely could fill up 1 person. In addition, the soybean paste stew was pretty bland... I am not sure if i'm just biased because I am korean and had so many, but it tasted like water. I was also shocked that they charge for a refill on salad and banchan as this is the first time I had ever been charged. This place was definitely also pretty pricy, we paid about 150 for 2 people (including tip & tax) The reason why I am still giving the place 4 stars because the service was really good (our server was super sweet and accommodating) and the meat quality was pretty solid. The marinade on the pork was delicious and the meat was tender. The restaurant also had a nice concept.

    This is another case where I think that I've been spoiled by better options for KBBQ back in…read moreSeattle. Considering that it's not AYCE, it raised my expectations for the quality of the meat I'm being served. The meat was above average, but it just wasn't enough to justify the asking price. The service wasn't great. We had asked prior to our meal if we would be charged extra for refilling our side dishes. We were told that they were free to refill. We were then charged for said refills at the end of the meal. The restaurant itself has a pretty cool aesthetic. It honestly reminds me of some of the places I'd been to in Korea, particularly due to the setup of the grills w/ the hanging vents, the lighting, and the general simplicity of the space.

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    Daebak - Inside

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    Daebak - From the best side dishes to the best atmosphere!!!

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    Perilla korean steakhouse

    4.2(195 reviews)
    8.3 miThe Loop
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    Locally owned & operated
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    Had a wonderful business dinner here! The staff were extremely accommodating to our party of 6…read more Thank you to manager, Eric, for all his help. Great menu including cocktails and fun upscale KBBQ experience. A fun modern twist on a business "steak dinner".

    So the food here is pretty good and so is the ambiance but the service is really what fell flat…read moreespecially for an upscale restaurant . I was staying at the hotel and encouraged to check out the restaurant so came downstairs to reach out to the host about a reservation. They told me they were fully committed the whole night, I said okay is there a waitlist, she looked at me unsure. I explained further if there is a cancellation would love to be notified and she wrote my name down. I went back to the lobby, looked on OpenTable and I saw multiple reservations. I went back to the hostess showing the 8:15 resy I got and she said it wasn't accurate and if someone booked it and came they would refuse them (what???!! There's a cancellation fee as well). I asked about the 8:45 and her coworker said that IS available. I was confused, because a minute ago she said they were fully commited. Which I said back, she said there is actually an 8:45 (okay so you lied). I asked if we could put our name down for that and did. After that extremely strange interaction, which I was not used to after eating at many higher end restaurants we sat down at 8:45. We ended up getting a mix of small plates. The waiter was clearly trying to sell us their expensive courses for his tip though he was very sweet... which he may not have realized we had an expense budget for work and we were trying not pass that. He emphasized the small plates were small and not enough food which we fell for and got more and had way too much food and passed our expense budget due to it. The food is great, it's the service that has work to do especially for such a high price tag. Get the chicken for sure. Dumplings you can pass on. The broccolini (not pictured) is great as well. Amazing sauce. As the food is good I would not come here again due to the service as their are other restaurants that are more buttoned up than this.

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    Parachute Hi Fi

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    3.4 miAvondale

    Run to Parachute HiFi! Chef Beverly Kim's recent appearance on America's Culinary Cup made me want…read moreto try her latest rendition of Parachute, Parachute HiFi. It's a more relaxed concept than the OG, serving Korean inspired bar food and inventive cocktails. While I liked the original Parachute, I am obsessed with Parachute HiFi. You must order the bing bread. It's what they are known for, and for good reason. It reminded me of a large doughy pizza roll, in the best way. I was also in love with the tapioca fritters with pepper jelly. The texture of the tapioca fritter was so unique and fun, and the pepper jelly was seriously out of this world. Bottle that stuff up and sell it! Whoever said the ttebokki pad Thai didn't taste like pad thai was wrong - it does and was a satisfying dish that I'd order again! I love twists on a classic and it was so smart to use rice cakes instead of the traditional noodles. The cocktails all sounded amazing, especially having names like pineapple upside down cake and black sesame. They got me intrigued for sure. Both cocktails were well balanced and enjoyable. Can't wait to return to try more from the menu (like that burger!)

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    4.3(2.5k reviews)
    6.7 miLincoln Park
    $$

    4.5 stars in reality…read more Tried the vegan/vegetarian mushroom japchae. The portion size was gigantic, but the japchae itself consisted mostly of vegetables (carrots, onions, bokchoy, and of course mushrooms) so it was easy enough to finish the portion in one sitting. Despite its size, the dish was extremely light and flavourful and I had enough room for cheesecake at a neighbouring establishment. My friend ordered the pork bento box, and though I don't eat meat, the arrangement and plating of the food was a beautiful visual spectacle. We shared the spiced fries that came with a creamy aioli dip - the fries were perfectly spiced but perhaps not unique to this restaurant in terms of quality and flavour. There were many dishes on the menu that looked like they were veganizable, so I will definitely try them when I return. The ambience was unremarkable, though the restaurant was very clean. You need to order at the counter and the food is brought to your table. The servers were very polite. The food is on the pricier end in the context of a somewhat characterless ambience and the fact that you need to order at the counter. My friend and I travelled for nearly an hour to get to this restaurant, and were quite pleased on the whole. We will definitely be back, and I look forward to trying more vegan/vegetarian options!

    Del Seoul is a great spot for some Korean bites! We tried the K-Town Wings, Sesame-Chili Shrimp…read moreTacos, Kalbi Taco, and a side of Kimchi. To be honest, I probably wouldn't get the tacos again, and definitely make sure you read the size description for the Kimchi as it is quite small lol, but the K-Town Wings were some of the best wings I've had in the city! The inside is cute and quaint. Service is very straightforward and efficient, which is always a plus for a counter serve spot!

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    Jess Cafe - chinese - Updated June 2026

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