Brianna P.

Beautiful chic coffee spot for a fancy break, I brought my daughter here for her first latte art and we were not disappointed. It's almost impossible to choose from the decadent pastry cabinet gleaming with shiny fruits and trendy filled croissant rolls. I've been a handful of times when I need a little extra glam for a coffee break, or wowing out of town guests. Be warned, the coffee is very strong! It's great, but be ready for that caffeine buzz.

Timothy M.

Delicious coffee and amazing atmosphere! Highly recommend trying this place out if you love coffee and delicious deserts.

Jisha J.

The first time I came here I only got some desserts and it was late night. Honestly I wasn't that impressed. I decided to give it another chance and came in for some coffee with a friend. We ended up loving our pistachio lattes and beef pastries. We shared some sweets, and while the cheesecake still wasn't anything amazing, the cappuccino tres leches cake was phenomenal. The staff was very friendly and the place itself is beautiful and cozy. It was a beautiful morning and I'm glad I came back.

Lilian T.

In sum: modern vibe, very good coffee, great selection of sweets, a bit overpriced, friendly staff. Coffee was very good. I got Matari coffee because I'm personally not a fan of cinnamon. It's very smooth with nutty flavor and actual pistachio crunch. Great blend and roast, and did not taste like artificial flavor, which I appreciated. Slightly too sweet for my taste, wish I knew that to adjust the sweet level. Coffee's like $5.5 pre-tax/tip. My only complaint was it's in a to-go cup. I think the coffee would look better with the nuts and petals if in a mug. I also got the pistachio cream cake. Cake's good, it's around or slightly above average. Can't remember the price, somewhere around $8-9 I think. There's a great selection of pastry and sweets, as shown in the picture. They looked pretty, and I ended up packing two other pastries to go. It's a little overpriced, for the two pastries it's above $20. So expect $9-12 per piece here. It's nicely decored with a modern vibe, color palette in black, golden and blue. Although it's pricer than many other coffee shops, I'd still come back to try other coffee and sweets.

Amanda C.

This place was trendy and the staff were kind and helpful at what to recommend. My only problem was being served in to go cups when I was dining in. They stated they didn't have any clean mugs. That to me was not acceptable especially at a coffee shop. The guy did try to find some mugs and found one for my order. They had quite the selection of pastries considering coming late in the evening. Overall, I recommend this place for good coffee and a variety of pastries. I can't wait to visit the one in Houston when they open.

Mark T.

Ordinarily, I use the phrase: "the vibes are immaculate." Yes, though for Matari a more appropriate and accurate description is "luxurious!" Marble, with black, white, and gold. Are any Bruins fans in the house?! They avoid yelling out names with the little pagers. Finally, everything is pristine! Just as I was about to ask them to wipe a table, there was already a person with spray. For food and caffeine, I ordered a Honey Cake and a Cortado. The honey cake was done superbly. Fresh, lots of delicious layers, a splendid balance between moist and dry, and a gentle not overpowering sweetness too. Something I generally love is their selection of pastries is awesome! Rather than having variations on a theme of huge carb and sugar-heavy sweets, the ones here are smaller and very well varied with inspiration from European, Japanese, and other cultures. As for the Cortado, it too was phenomenal! Matari does not confuse lattes and cortados, and thus the result was strong, but without the bite of full-strength espresso, just as a Cortado should be. The coffee itself was top-notch also, with just the right balance of bitterness and acid. In terms of prices, while not the cheapest place around, the costs are 100% in line with what you get. Finally, the service was welcoming, polite, and quick! P.S. They are open late for those who want to wind down their night with something sweet and a beverage to go with it. Either that, or night owls who need caffeine and sugar, yet want to avoid Starbucks or Dunkin. Thus, Matari quickly earned itself a spot as one of the top cafes in Chicagoland. I look forward to coming here again and again (at least until I make my way through all the sweets!) as well as bringing a date if I am lucky enough to get one (self-burn?)

Melissa K.

I would give Matari 4.5 out of 5 stars, so I'm rounding to 5 based on service and ambiance! I heard about 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!

Frances B.

Easy parking in a lot in front. There's classical music being piped outside so even though it's just in a strip mall, the luxury experience starts before entering. The exterior has lovely landscaping and an elegant sign. Even with the exterior, I was unprepared for the sumptuous elegance inside. It's far larger than I expected, with plenty of seating, and on a Saturday at noon, a decent number of people enjoying their coffee, sweets, and the calming music. No line but I was allowed to take my time surveying all the sweets. An employee stood waiting for me but without hassling me for my order. There don't seem to be many hearty savory options, mostly decadent sweets. Fusion between French and middle eastern. They have petite fours, croissants, but also lots of pistachio based sweets, and Dubai chocolate. When I eventually decided on two giant croissants, he offered to heat them for me which seemed a lovely extravagance. They were good - flaky and soft. Not rave worthy but solid marks. This isn't my style - it's far too over the top elegant and refined for my tastes. I felt like I'd break something just by breathing. And the delicacies all looked far too rich for me. But if lovely opulence and exquisite sweets are your thing, this place is delectably perfect.

Kay D.

Overall: Beautiful interior, delicious deserts, late hours, and friendly staff. *Keep in mind this is an up-scale bakery, and prices reflect that (~$7/10 per pastry). - Would I return?: Yes, I would like to try more pastry items. My Food ---------- * Ordered- "Dubai Chocolate Bar" and "Tres Leches Cake Slice" * Flavor & Taste- Dubai chocolate bar was perfectly made with a dusting of gold on the top. Though, the bar itself is smaller than my hand and is thinner than the viral chocolate bars online. Flavor-wise, it tasted great- think 'crunchy hollow chocolate shell with toasted pistachio flavored coconut flakes'. I do wish it were thicker and had more filling. I also ordered the Tres Leches cake. It tasted great with the perfect amount of moistness. The flavor was slightly different than the Mexican Tres Leches, but similar flavor profile and I still thoroughly enjoyed it. It's very rich & filling. * Order again?- Yes to both. * Portion Size vs. Price- $8 each- I wish the chocolate bar was bigger for this price. The Place -------------- * Atmosphere- Large interior with minimal indoor seating. Theme is black and gold, very modern and Instagram-worthy. There is a larger outdoor seating area. * Service- Register worker was very friendly. * Crowd Levels- Monday at 5pm, had a few customers sitting inside, larger families ordering. You will probably have to wait for your food, depending on what you order. They hand out pocket buzzers and the wait time is 2-5 minutes typically. * Cleanliness- Very clean * Location- Right off the expressway along a busy street * Parking- Large parking lot

Suha M.

Some of the BEST coffee I have ever had. Wide, open, and clean space. Huge selection of pastries - hard to just choose a few.

Vikki Y.

Saw this place on a few social media posts and decided to try it out! It's located off the highway in Skokie and plenty of free parking. The place itself gets pretty packed and not a ton of indoor seating. There's outdoor seating but it's not al fresco season yet. Ordering is easy- they have drink options and two cases with baked goods and desserts. We tried the pistachio "Frappuccino" and my friend tried the cardamon ginger tea. We also shared a Dubai chocolate cheesecake. My drink was good but really really sweet. Next time I'll ask for half sugar or try it with more milk. My friend said her drink was good but different. The Dubai chocolate cheesecake was decadent and had crispy pistachio layered over chocolate. It was good but also super sweet. Service was friendly and I liked how the servers wore gloves. I would definitely check this place out!

Yining D.

I was curious about this place so I decided to go with my fiancé on a Sunday for some afternoon coffee and baked goods. I got the Matari drink, iced and medium size. My fiancé got the Jubani coffee, which came out really hot and needed a while before it cooled down. We also shared a Dubai chocolate cheesecake, which was probably the highlight of our time at the cafe. There were a lot of people at the cafe on Sunday, a lot of people had to order to go because there were no seats available. The Matari drink was extremely sweet, I wish I had known beforehand and made sweetness adjustments because I had to wait for the ice to melt and dilute the drink. My fiancé's coffee was just ok. It had a nice roasted nutty flavor but there's not a lot of depth to the coffee. The cheesecake was our favorite item and we would probably come back for the desserts. Our total was $24 for 2 drinks and the cheesecake, which was pretty pricey. The inside of the cafe was very clean and aesthetic. It's nice that they provide small bottled water as well. All the staff were very efficient and friendly. There was plenty of parking spots in the strip mall but it's pretty populated on Sunday's so you might need to wait for someone to come out before you can park.

Cassady H.

While shopping around the area with my grandmother she suddenly felt like having a "nice coffee", and I'd been wanting to check this place out since it opened. Specifically, the building, dressed in black and gold, and the fancy pastries caught my eye (they always do). Friendly and helpful staff took our order, they initially forgot one of our pastries but it was a quick fix, it was a weekend and they were pretty busy so I'm not mad about it. Maybe just make sure you get your receipt in case there's a mix up. It all came out fairly quickly. My grandma loved her coffee, it came done up with foam art and everything. Our desserts were rich and delicious as well. A very enjoyable experience all around.