Though their breakfast menu items look to die for, I went with the mixed berry salad for lunch today. It was huge, fresh, and delicious. My colleagues also went with salads; the brie was the big hit. Not a fan that they serve their soft drinks in bottles instead of from a fountain, as refills are quite costly. I also noticed some sneaky up-charging. For example, my colleague couldn't have regular toast - she's celiac - so they offered her the gluten-free version. She was excited and accepted, but we saw it show up on the bill for almost $4. Kind of a bummer they didn't mention that. Lunch for three was $60 and took a little over an hour. A little pricey, but we enjoyed the food. Service was average, nothing to write home about. You pay at a counter and I didn't get the vibe that they cared either way about our business. Regardless, good to get out of the office; would like to come back for breakfast items if I know I can take a nap after! read more

Meli is a staple brunch spot in Chicago. Know that you won't get as good of food as Three Art Cafe or Sienna Tavern but Meli is fundamentally different. This place is a "classics" brunch spot - no bottomless Mimosas or Bloody Marys here. The scene is family heavy but the food is done well. Like most Chicago brunch spots, expect a wait unless you're arriving at 8 - 9 am. Service can be slow when it gets busy but that isn't unlike all the other brunch places in this city. read more

My secret is out . . . Meli cafe's original location at Halsted and Jackson has been my hands-down, favorite breakfast place in Chicago for many years. What's not to like? The coffee is excellent, the omelets and anything else I've tried are out of this world, and the home-made honey butter, jams and marmalades just can't be matched. Indeed, anyone I've ever brought here has raved about the food. The only drawback to the original location was the size of the place, the closeness of the tables and the considerable wait should you come during a rush period. The new location has this solved with a bar area that has first-come, first-served seating, which is great for parties of one or two. It's also big enough that you can wait inside on a cold winter's day rather than outside as at the original location. So, if a trek to the 'southside' is all that has been standing between you and trying out Meli cafe, wait no longer. Once you try the delicious food, you'll be back again and again. read more

We were looking for somewhere else, but happened upon this brunch spot. I feel bad for giving such high ratings lately, but this place deserves it! It was awesome! The wait was fair for a Saturday, 25 minutes or so. It flew by. Watching all the yummy food go by, and the juices, well it all looked amazing! The place reminded my friend and I of a fancy greek restraunt. Open spaces, curved railings, it was all very greek restaurant. Once seated we got menus. They went on and on. I didn't know what to order, all the stuff that passed us looked amazing. I finally settled on the andouille skillet. I couldn't have made a better choice. It was so good! I had the Pom cocktail and black coffee. The Pom juice was a little sweet, but you can't top fresh juice at brunch, and the coffee was a nice counterpoint to the sweet juice. This place was delicious. This is definitely one of my favorite brunch spots. Can't wait to go back! read more

Probably would have been 5 stars if the prices were 10-15% lower. Went on a Sunday around noon and only waited about 15 minutes. Not too shabby. Good cup of coffee. Good smoothies. Large portions. HUGE menu. Too much to choose from for my little brain. After a suggestion from our waitress I went with the Corned Beef skillet. Over baby red potatoes, topped with swiss cheese and 2 eggs (that I got poached). DELICIOUS. It was like a breakfast Reuben. I would have eaten another if I wasn't lactose intolerant and already suffering. I also substituted a bagel for my toast ($1.45 extra, shitty) but it was also pretty good. All of the other entrees that caught my eye while being walked by looked great. Service was also pretty good. Definitely had more of a "local" feel than most of the restaurants in the area. We may have found our River North brunch spot. We'll definitely be back. read more

The menu is so enormous I don't even know where to start. They may seem pricey, but I highly suggest indulging in a smoothie - they are awesome and a meal in themselves. I believe the one I got had frozen yogurt in it - so, not exactly good for you health-wise, but definitely good for you in other ways. Like, emotionally. I only take off a star because the service, while friendly, is always very rushed and not very personable. I totally understand this, as the place is probably slammed from open til close, and also giant, but if your servers are that stressed out then maybe that means you need to add one more server to the floor. Just sayin'. The crepes are amazing - the spinach and boursin is simple but absolutely decadent. The omelet fillings are all very creative, but the omelets themselves are baked in the oven, which is not really my style. That's cool, though, it's plenty of other people's style and I've got plenty of other things to choose from. I think they have something like NINE different kinds of benedict, which is INCREDIBLE. Eggs benedict is my favorite brunch staple, and I have so many choices! I would definitely suggest that all people do what my people do, which is order one sweet entree as an appetizer for the table to share. This is a practice that everyone should follow, as it allows everyone to be able to taste a delicious chocolate crepe or stuffed french toast and not have to worry about getting a tummyache from ordering it as your meal and going overboard. This is even more imperative here at Meli, as the sweet stuff is AMAZING but super duper rich and filling. Also, another plus - we were quoted a 45 minute wait for Sunday brunch (we were prepared to wait - and it was a beautiful day!) but our little buzzer went off after no more than 20 minutes. Awesome! read more

Never realized there was another Meli Cafe until recently. Love the location and as always love the food. the food is fresh and delicious and plentiful! I had the vegetarian fritatta and it was bigger than my head! I also had a fresh glass of orange strawberry juice and was very satisfied with service and food. Definitely have to make a stop for lunch sandwiches and wraps next time. The menu is a bit overwhelming but definitely a great spot and just a thought to remember that they close by 3pm so no late night service like the cafe in Greek town. read more

This is a great spot for breakfast/brunch. Good quality food and the service was speedy and friendly. I'd recommend the berry crepes and the eggs benedict. read more

Our first time trying the place, top notch all around. Service was quick and polite without being overly friendly or distant. Atmosphere was nice too, you can tell someone put a lot of thought into all of the details from the weight of the silverware to the plate of butter, jams and jellies brought for toast. My husband had the chorizo and date omlette, which he said had a great balance of salty and sweet with the bacon and the dates. I had the special- chocolate cherry canoli french toast. We went at 9am on a Saturday and we were seated right away, but by the time we were leaving it was getting very busy. Lots of variety and thought is put into the menu as well- there is something for everyone. read more

Meli Cafe - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Food is good. I got their carrot-orange freshly squeezed drink, along with their breakfast sandwich and left a satisfied foodie. My only gripe is that their service really does semi-suck. The reviews are spot on. When we were here, the service wasn't bad. Our server was very nice and when around, she was attentive. But it just felt really slow. And for a semi-busy breakfast restaurant that wasn't packed, I thought service would be better. I guess like any popular breakfast restaurant with any sort of wait, give yourself and your group a little extra time to accommodate for either of these two potential situations - not saying it will happen every time, but there's always a good chance of - a) a wait or b) slow service. Nonetheless - I like the food. I'll probably be back. read more

Service was fast and friendly. We are here for breakfast. I had the Eggs Florentine Benedict and my husband had Maple butter banana pancakes. Both were amazing. We will defiantly be back here for breakfast! read more

Meli Cafe - Eggs Florentine Benedict was amazing - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Well, hello Meli Cafe! We have been waiting for you to open your doors and welcome us in. Finally, the day has arrived. I scooped up my amazing lunch crew and we walked on over on this cold, opening day. Thank goodness our office is only a block or so away. :) I gotta admit, I was very impressed with the selection-- breakfast (sandwiches, pancakes, waffles, crepes, french toast) and lunch-- wraps, paninis, sandwiches, salads, soup. It took some time to decide what I wanted-- ham and cheese panini with a side of fries it is! The menu is a bit pricey for what it is. I think that was my only true gripe. Oh that and the fact that they brought the wrong wrap to my very patient co-worker, Jenn. Well, that's that. Being so close and with many frigid days of the Chicago winter upon us, I am sure we will be back. I'd love to grab a juice/smoothie for breakfast one of these days. read more

Oh Meli Cafe, how happy it makes me that you have opened a location close to me. Even if I'm coming here for brunch, I'll try to wait until 11am so that I can get the veggie panini. It is to die for!! And the fries--absolutely delicious! I have had the waffle here, which is pretty great, but definitely not as great as the veggie panini. The service is always fantastic and they are very knowledgeable about what is in their food and how it is cooked which is great. Did I already mention that you should get the veggie panini? read more

Great breakfast place near the Mart. I met my husband here for lunch which turned into brunch, really. The menu just begs you to order one of their amazing dishes. A pretty big menu, too, by the way! The gluten free polenta pancakes were amazing. So, so good. The coffee rocks. The bacon is delightful (is bacon ever not delightful, really?!). Service is good and the ambiance is nice, too. It's light, not too crowded, even a little homey. I look forward to more (gluten free) brunches here at Meli Cafe! read more

I've been to both locations.. Ambience-wise, the one in Greektown (Halsted) wins.. The juice bar and kitchen are just a little more home-y there. Overall, they're pretty much the same product.. Great omelettes, juices, jams, oatmeal, yogurt.. It's like the original script of a Greek diner with fresh and healthy choices of your all time favorites. Last time we were there, my yogurt had way too much honey but I might've only thought that because I added strawberries and there was just too much sugar going on. The potatoes are delicious and it's easy to f up (breakfast) potatoes so yayy potatoes! Last thing: parking both times we've been there has been super easy so I hope you have as much luck as we've had with finding spots on the street!!! read more

Im not a huge fan of breakfast meals (I usually prefer to sleep longer), but I had a sudden craving for bacon and toast and decided to give Meli's a try. The menu here is pretty big, with an obvious focus on breakfast with a few lunch items. I tend to stay away from the more extravagant breakfast items and stuck with toast, scrambled eggs, potatoes, and bacon. However if you are looking for some fancy pancakes, this place definitely has them. Back to my breakfast, everything was cooked perfectly and tasted great. The honey butter you get with your toast was awesome as well. Decor and service (lots of cute young waitresses) was just what you would want in a breakfast place. Definitely a place to check out if you are in the area. read more

It is my second time to Meli, but last time I went to the original store. I am not sure but I felt the food portion was less and the quality was not as good as last experience. It was really amazing when I went to Meli first time. The new store's decoration is more like royal and brighter. However, I still like the one by halsted and adams. But overall, it is still a good restaurant. However, I would love to go the old store rather than this new one. read more

I like bringing people here whether it's for a business meeting or brunch with friends. The atmosphere is classy without being too stuffy. It's very relaxed and feels conducive to have any kind of conversation. There is also a nice variety of food selection so everyone in your party can find something they like. I tend to lean towards the more savory dishes for breakfast/brunch, so the omletes and scramblers are my choices. They are also very healthy portions so you won't leave hungry! The freshly squeezed juice blends are a nice option as well and not too expensive. Oh! They also make their own jam! Make sure to give it a try when you're there! read more

I've had a few friends and coworkers rave about Meli, so my fiance and I tried it out this Sunday. FOOD: A very wide array of options means I'll be back again to try the rest. Telling myself that was the only way I could even bring myself to order just one thing. There were even like 8 or 9 options just for Eggs Benedicts. I tried "The Healthy Start" (or something like that), which consisted of scrambled eggwhites and veggies on toasted naan. It was very creative and delicious. Also, unlike a lot of diners and breakfast joints, where your food tastes greasy and overloadad with butter, Meli's food tastes light and fresh. JUICES: There aren't a lot of places that have the kind of variety of fresh juices that Meli has. My fiance and I were quite impressed by how taste their juices were, despite being a lot of fruits that are tough to come by in winter time. SERVICE: I wish I could remember the name of our server, because she was right on target. In my fiance's words... "I was never wondering where she was. She was always right there when I needed it. My coffee was never empty. She was right there when we sat down. They cleared our table quickly. Also, she didn't interrupt our conversation at awkward intervals." MUSIC: My only 'con' about this place was the obnoxious music. If you're going to play music that is that corny and bad, just turn the volume down. It felt like Whitney Houston was part of my conversation. read more

Best breakfast I've had in CHicago... also the only one I've had but amazing none the less! I got an omelet with pig cheek bacon, shallots, Boursin cheese and Portobello. Eggs were cooked perfect and the homefries on the side were crispy and delicious. Lots of juice smoothies on the menu. Definitely worth checking out, if I lived in the area I'd be a regular. read more

Meli Cafe - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Go there for the Bread pudding pancakes if nothing else. Service is decent, but its a brunch place in chicago, always super busy since this is such a brunch kinda town. read more

Favorite breakfast/brunch place in the area. Their smoothies are instant hangover cures! Food is amazing too. Def worth the long wait on the weekends! read more

This is a good local breakfast place but I have never had a great experience here. The food is average, coffee is below average and the service is usually decent. The price point is what you would expect for river north, however, there are several joints with better menu offerings - in my opinion. I still go here often but I never expect to be blown away. :) read more

Amazing place for breakfast! The omelets and breakfast bowls are delicious! We're very happy with our selection of food. Service was fast and efficient and absolutely no wait to get in. Cloud 9 crepes weren't as good as we expected but weren't completely disappointed in them! Definitely worth a visit back! read more

Meli Cafe - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Solid brunch place with generous portions of comfort food, illy espresso coffees, and health-conscious juices / smoothies. FOOD: I ordered the Farmhouse, which was a platter heaped with potatoes, zucchinis, and tomatoes, topped with two eggs (any style), with a slab of toasty toast on the side. A word of caution, their over easy eggs are REALLY easy. Golden yolk nectar oozes and coats everything like molasses once you prick the bulging mound with the silver fork-tine. If yolk-porn is your mouth-gasm, get the eggs here! You won't regret it. Also, do inquire about their daily specials, as they have off-the-menu concoctions such as the cookie-dough french toast and avo toast. COFFEE: The Illy Americano had a thick coat of crema floating on the top, meaning that they made it right. The flavor was intense and strong, but the caffeine buzz was a gradual build-up rather than a shock to the system. Basically perfect. JUICES: Their juice menu is fresh-juiced right behind the counter! Meaning that the entire area smelled strongly of pulverized beets, carrots, and celery. But I'm not complaining! OTHER: The wait here was ridiculous for a Sunday brunch, at least 30 minutes wait if you wanted to be seated. Avoid the line by opting for limited bar seats that are first-come-first-served. Friendly and accommodating service. read more

Usually love this place, not this time. Toast was soggy, eggs were undercooked, potatoes we're soggy. Just gross. We told the waitress, who told the manager, and then they charged us for everything anyway. Oh well. Plenty of other places for breakfast in the city. Try Yolk down the street instead of this place. read more

Meli cafe is a cute little spot. The inside seems very clean, open, and airy. The menu states that they have healthy food options, with better quality foods. It seemed pretty good quality. The food tasted good. This is the type of place that is geared toward breakfast/ brunch food, and maybe lunch. The specialty seems to be the breakfast bowls. I got the jalapeño chorizo chicken sausage breakfast bowl. It was very good. They also have a full menu of fresh juices. I got the energizer juice that had apples, ginger and other stuff. It was pretty good. I would go back read more

Beautiful setting, beautiful meals, friendly staff, impeccable service. It's really hard to decide what to eat, simply because the menu is so appealing and the presentation is phenomenal. You often find yourself looking over at the next table to see what they had and want to try that in the same sitting. Everything I have tried here has been top notch, and I cannot recommend one thing over another. The food is savory and the chef does an excellent job through both presentation and taste alike. read more

Good brunch, menu has something for everyone. It is loaded with healthy options. I had the carrot coconut pancakes. We also tried the kale, spinach omelet with red Potatoes. We tried a fresh juice to go. read more

Another excellent breakfast place marketed for women, but go anyway. It was delicious. I had the banana chocolate french toast and was not disappointed. read more

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Ordered a salmon egg white omelette which came with potatoes, English Muffins and a side of corned beef hash. Overall, everything was really salty, I'm not sure if they used smoked salmon or not but it was an overload of salt, which was only emphasized by the salty potatoes. The corned beef hash was mushy and I've had better. I did enjoy the English muffins with jams made with currents. Overall, there's better breakfasts out there. read more

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I usually refuse to go to places for brunch that don't take reservations to avoid crazy lines, but I make an exception for Meli! I've had several great experiences at the location in Greektown so was anxious to see how this one would compare. My friends and I surprisingly only had a short ten minute wait during prime brunch time. The food was delicious and very affordable. I think the best part of Meli is definitely their extensive list of fresh juices. This is the type of place that started juicing before it was trendy. This time, I had the Green Envy with apple, wheatgrass, apple, pear, pineapple, and lemon. At $5.50, the price is a little steep, but definitely worth it. The juice wasn't too sweet and was perfectly refreshing. If you're in the neighborhood, you should absolutely check out Meli. read more

A few months ago would have given this place 5 out of 5 since we come twice a week for breakfast but the service has really started to decline with the new hires of some wait staff. After multiple times of items being forgotten or taking over an hour to receive an omelette - we are fully charged every single time as though it's our mistake. Hopefully the service changes but until then am not planning on coming back unless we sit at the bar to eat! read more

I've been hearing the hype about this place for a while, and have been dying to give it a try. My first attempt was on a weekend morning. The line was out the door, and the inside of the cafe looked like pure madness, so I passed. I returned on a Tuesday morning to find a nearly empty restaurant - score! I should preface this review by telling you that I love brunch. Brunch is, hands down, the best meal and my favorite part of many weekend mornings. So, in comparison the the many many other places I've tried in Chicago, here's how this spot ranked: Ambience: Pretty standard cafe interior. No one will feel out of place in flip flops, but your grandma wouldn't wipe down the chair with an antibacterial wipe before sitting. Service: Our waitress was pretty absent, leaving us with empty water glasses for most of the meal. The restaurant was almost entirely empty, so I don't think it was an issue of under-scheduling staff. It was tough to get any actual service from her, from refills to the check to boxes for the food. This doesn't generally bother me too much if the food is great, but.. Food: I love the menu here. Fresh juices, healthy options, indulgent options, and lots of variety. My companion and I had the the Salsa Stacker, the Lean & Mean wrap, and Nutella banana crepes. Prices are reasonable for the area, and there was a ton of food. I originally thought the waitress misheard me and brought TWO orders of crepes because it was basically a mountain of breakfast. It could be that the kitchen staff is different on a weekday, or just the items we ordered, but our food was not great. The wrap and salsa stacker were both soggy and under seasoned. I feel like this place supports the awful (and usually false) assumption that healthy food has to be bland and sad. The crepes were just okay - I've had better, but it's hard to mess up carbs and Nutella as a combo. Our meal was huge and under $50 with tip - something you can't always say for River North. If I return here, I would definitely choose different menu items. read more

I live in the building next to this place so it's convenient. Every time we come here the service is horrific. Our food came out before our drinks and they excuse they use is that it's just busy. Well it's a restaurant in the city, they are all busy. Need a refill? Don't expect that. Extra sauce? Nope. My advice, go somewhere else. Not worth it and it's horribly overpriced. Next. read more

Beautiful space with lots of sunlight! There was a 20 minute wait to get seated at noon on a Saturday, but there were open tables in the juice bar area where you could seat yourself. The juice bar looked amazing, but I don't think they serve alcohol (didn't ask though), so no mimosas or Bloody Mary's here! As someone who gets physically ill if I eat an entire order of pancakes/french toast, I was happy to note that they had many options from the chicken coop: omeletes, skillets, scrambles, frittatas, oh my! I had a frittata that was on special and was pleasantly surprised to be offered the egg-white only option. Delicious! I knocked it down a star for service. Our waitress was fine until my friend told her that she was served the wrong omelet (had ordered a vegetarian scramble called Farmland and got served a scramble with sausage and ham and bacon called Down on the Farm). The waitress practically got red in the face trying to insist my friend had ordered "Down on the Farm" and stormed off to the kitchen when friend asked that it be replaced with she actually ordered. She did end up correcting the order - we just didn't understand why it was such a big issue! Even with the weird service, I will definitely be returning here again! read more

Went here on a Sunday morning for brunch with a few people from out of state. It was only about a 15-20 minute wait. Luckily it was super nice outside because the hostess asked us to wait outside, which I thought was kind of strange because they have a pretty big lobby. The place was beautiful- very light and bright. The food was pretty good... I had the hash benedict. Those red potatoes were TO DIE FOR. It was a good amount of food but seemed a little overpriced, but I'm a suburbanite so that might explain it. Great coffee. Had the pear juice from the juice bar which was great- not too sweet as I had feared it might be. All in all a nice place for a nice brunch with friends. read more

Amazing brunch. The selection here is crazy and a bit overwhelming, but in a good way. Their egg dishes all have great fresh ingredients and the variety is perfect-- there is something for everyone. I tried the Fig Omelet, which had figs, pancetta, and goat cheese in it. Yes, an odd combination in an egg dish but it was one of the best omelets I have ever had. The breakfast potatoes are also delicious and so were my husband's chocolate crepes, although I could only steal one bit before he finished them off. I will definitely be back and would recommend this River North brunch spot to anyone-- be prepared to wait if you're coming in on a weekend! read more

Very good place, big and light, nicely decorated. A lot of good options for breakfast. We had garden mount omelet and fresh fruit crepes...they were really good... Very good place, big and light, nicely decorated. A lot of good options for breakfast. We had garden mount omelet and fresh fruit crepes...they were really good... read more

Solid! Upon arrival, there was a host who guided me and my guest to a seat. Immediate service and prompt preparation of the food. The juice selection can be a tad overwhelming, but it's always best to have more choices than not enough. Many breakfast restaurants state that they have 'fresh-squeezed orange juice' these days, and it's merely some Dole mix than got from a store. Not this place! It's pure juice all the way around. If you don't go for the food, the juice is just as worthy. I had the berry mixed french toast, which was really good, but the highlight was the whipped cream topping, which was unique to anything I've ever had before on french toast, and very addictive. The atmosphere is a plus also, which makes the experience worth dining in; very spacious, with nice bathrooms I may add. I've struggled to find a new breakfast spot to feast from, and this restaurant has my attention. On a side note, they also have a pretty nice vegan menu to select from, for those who are interested about such food. I'll have to return to explore the rest of the menu, and it's worth bringing a few friends. read more