Delicious! Simple house made donuts, fresh espresso and hot chai were perfect. Firecakes offers…read moremultiple locations, with easy access throughout the city, open early and closing late, making it the perfect sweet treat all day long. The raspberry bold orange donut truly was fire, no premade compote here, fresh raspberry filling was a game changer. The cinnamon roll donut was decadent but totally worth it with all the walking you do as a tourist.

I think unfortunately people in Chicago might have never had a good donut in their lives. Firecakes…read morehas endless rave reviews, but the donuts I tried from here were borderline inedible. Horchata Donut: I don't know what the filling is here, but it was kind of oddly rancid / sour. No one in my group had more than a nibble. The fried dough in the Jelly Donut and the Cinnamon Sugar were both painfully dry, but the toppings themselves were fine. Glazed Cake Donut: This was the most palatable of the donuts we tried, but it's a very average cake donut. Kinda dry and Do-rite honestly does these way better.

Super cute Korean-inspired cafe! The sweets were delicious and they had a wide variety of coffee…read moreand teas. The lychee chamomile was an interesting combination that turned out quite yummy! The banana milk lattes were VERY banana flavored, but still good! The cashier was very helpful with organizing all of our orders on this cute tray, and offered help with item selection since it was our first time!

Went solely for their fruit and red bean shaved ice. The ice could've been finer (I had to chew on…read moresome larger shards of ice which wasn't pleasant), but otherwise we enjoyed it, and I was very happy to see that it had all the makings of an old school patbingsoo with both fruit and red bean, as well as mochi and ice cream, which is rare nowadays. It was pricey but enough for 2 people to share. Metered parking on a weekend evening was easy. My only complaint is that it had a strange, unpleasant smell inside (we were there in the evening during the weekend of April 25th). Also, when I came a few years ago, it had a really cozy, welcoming vibe packed with comfy couches. Now, it just looks like basic tables and plastic chairs, lacking comfort, character, and charm. I'm hoping to return to try the sweet potato latte and the other shaved ices, but I hope they do something about the smell and make the space feel more cozy and inviting.

My family and I are visiting Chicago from Los Angeles. We wanted to stop by and experience the…read morelatest chocolate and ice cream options that Ghirardelli had to offer there in downtown Chicago, Illinois on May 31, 2026. I definitely bought every single chocolate option so that I may be able to bring it back home. Our night was best served by Madeline, or otherwise best known as 'Maddie.' She was truly amazing and her customer service was incredible. I wanted to let Ghirardelli know of her hard work and dedicated customer satisfaction. It's the smallest gestures that truly make the biggest difference. Thank You

Shockingly poor customer service - actually insulting. We ordered our desserts, tipped as we always…read moredo, and paid for a separate scoop of chocolate ice cream for our son. It was mistakenly entered as an extra scoop on another dessert instead, so my son never received the ice cream we had already paid for. When we politely asked about the missing item, two different employees rudely insisted we'd already received it, told us to go wait at the end of the long line again, and one of them actually snapped, "You're not getting it for free." Mistakes happen. What shouldn't happen is refusing to correct your own mistake, being rude to customers, and accusing them of trying to get something for free when they've already paid for it.

I had a super special date at Margie's with my 2 year old, and we had the best time ever. What I…read morelove about Margie's is that it's frozen in time. It's pretty small inside, there are only a few tables. A server comes to your table to place your order, which I feel like never happens at ice cream shops anymore! The menu is huge! There were multiple sections to banana splits, sundaes, and shakes. We decided to go with something simple. My son ordered 2 scoops of cookies n cream ice cream (with sprinkles of course) and I got moose tracks! The ice cream is the real deal. Our server was super sweet, and we were in and out of there in probably 30-45 minutes. We had the best time and will definitely be back this summer.

We heard that Margie's Candies had some seriously good sundaes, so obviously we had to check the…read moreplace out. (The fact that the joint's been around for over 100 years doesn't hurt either.) It's a small restaurant but we managed to snag a cozy table near the back. We'd already spent most of the day eating, so we decided to share the Atomic Fudge Sundae. It's a fairly enormous concoction. I found it interesting that the hot fudge was served on the side, but it's actually pretty smart because you get control how much (or how little) sauce you get. The ice cream is the highlight. It's creamy and rich, and it's got a really nice flavor, too. The hot fudge was less impressive, but that might be because I had already eaten a Ghirardelli sundae earlier in the day and their hot fudge just can't be beat. The service was super friendly and the atmosphere was kitschy and fun. It's a cool place.

I've been to Mindy's a few times now and have never had a problem finding a treat to enjoy. There…read moreare wide variety of pastry items, breakfast sandwiches, and beverages. My favorite, along with many others, is the iced banana bread latte. Definitely get it with the vanilla cinnamon cold foam! I've had a variety of pastries here, but particularly love the coffee cakes and cookies. The breakfast sandwich is also really great if it's fresh. The staff for the most part have been very warm and friendly. If it's busy, they are less likely to want to chat about the options and give a recommendation, so come in with a few ideas of what you're looking for if you come on a weekend! The store itself is very cute, with lots of wood and warm colors. There is limited seated outside on a few benches. I recommend walking to the park to enjoy your treats and coffee.

Stopped by on a day of bopping around town. I asked the gal at the counter to help me pick some…read morethings. She recommended a Bolognese Danish, a Dubai pistachio brownie, and I added an everything bagel and took it all to go. The Danish was by far my favorite. The pastry was flaky, heavenly, and the filling rich and meaty. This is a pastry worth crossing town for. The brownie was fine, but maybe I'm over the Dubai chocolate trend. It didn't really come together as a unified dessert for me. I wanted the brownie to be richer, fudgier, maybe even a bit sweeter. I would probably get something else next time. The everything bagel was a good texture, but the fennel seeds in the seasoning took me so far away from the classic "everything." They overpowered the other flavors, but the texture was fantastic. Overall, I enjoyed the treats I got, would go back to try some other options. I would probably give this 3.5 stars, but I'm rounding up. Also want to add how much I miss Hot Chocolate!

The Black Dog Gelato is such a cute neighborhood dessert spot. When we went around 10 PM on a…read moreFriday night, luckily it wasn't too crowded, so service was friendly and quick. They didn't have a huge flavor selection, but they covered the basics (vanilla, strawberry, chocolate, hazelnut etc). I chose the pistachio and it was so good and really satisfied my sweet tooth. They did samples when I visited, so I tried the goat cheese caramel, but it was a bit too tangy for my taste. There isn't much indoor seating, but they have cute, little patio seating just outside. Parking isn't ideal if you're coming from a long ways away, but I'm guessing a lot of their customers live close by to walk to it. We may have to visit again before we leave, but high recommend!

Honestly the best thing about this place is how nice their presentation is. Service was slow and…read morethe staff were rude. They were annoyed and short when explaining what some flavors were when I asked. There was a constant awkward and weird feeling while we were there. We got their Goat Cheese Cashew Caramel and Malted Vanilla Pretzel. The gelato is much prettier than it is tasty. The pretzel was the better of the two, but that doesn't say much. The texture was more like ice cream and it was not satisfying overall. Pricey considering the lack of quality and flavor.

Scooter's is a neighborhood favorite of mine! Their lines can be long, but it is always worth the…read morewait and the staff works hard to keep it moving. I love checking in on their instagram for the flavors of the day. Nothing has disappointed me yet. Inside, there is ample seating and a freezer with pints, quarts, and other frozen treats where you can find something you'll love.

One of the best places in Chicago for ice cream/frozen custard. Highly recommend any of their…read morefrozen custards, sundaes, concretes, or parfaits (Italian ice served on top of vanilla frozen custard; only available in the summertime). Every day they have vanilla, chocolate, and a 3rd rotating frozen custard flavor, as well as a rotating concrete (think McFlurry or Blizzard). Each day during the summer, they also have 1 Italian ice flavor available. Expect a line, especially in the evenings on hot days. You can order inside or outside from the window on the side of the building. Indoor seating is very limited and can get quite crowded. Their hours are a bit limited, they're closed on Tuesdays, and they shut down completely sometime in the late Fall until early Spring, so make sure to check their website for hours of operation. Street parking only!

I love Jeni's. It always smells amazing in here. I'm not a huge ice cream fan, but if I'm gonna eat…read moreice cream, I'll go to Jeni's. It's always fun to check out their new unique flavors. Don't be afraid to ask for samples to help you decide out of all the delicious flavors! I went with two flavors because I couldn't pick between the two: queen charlotte sponge cake and frosted sugar cookie. I love cake batter/flavored ice cream, ice cream with cake chunks, and fruit ice cream, so both flavors were perfect for me. The frosted sugar cookie tasted like cream cheese frosting and the queen charlotte tasted like very sweet raspberry and had cake chunks. So delicious.

I came by close to closing on a Saturday night, and was served right away. There were plenty of…read moretables and the inside was clean. I got a scoop of Double Dough and Birthday Cake, and both were delicious.