I brought a group of 8 in for a Saturday breakfast. The breakfast menu is fairly extensive and for the most part we thought the food was good. Our biggest complaint was the service level. It was below average bordering on poor. Our waitress was "lost" a few times, couldn't answer menu questions, and charged us for food not ordered. When our food came the three food runners had no idea where the orders were supposed to go and our waitress was no help to them. The food delivery process was unacceptable. On a positive note the staff accommodated our group quickly. read more

Just like all restaurants . They have to catch our attention . Well this restaurant sure caught my attention . From the pictures on Instagram to the reviews from recent customers . So we decided to go in and experience it for ourselves . From the moment we walked in we were in amazement being the restaurant was very well decorated that we didn't really notice no one greeted us or welcomed us . Yeah there was 4 servers sitting at a table chatting away right there but I guess it was an important conversation . Finally one of them came to go seat us . She apologized and said there was suppose to be a host . After being seated it was fine . The restaurant being empty though we were the only ones in the dining area but that was fine it was 4pm i figured rush hour , people are out . First thought when I opened my menu was "wow" I hope each plate can feed 2-3 people being the prices were exaggerated . But I figured it was because of the area and atmosphere . Money comes and goes it's the experience we'll remember . Well we went with the $23 steak and eggs , Nutella crepes , and eggs and bacon with 2 coffees . Steak was ordered medium eggs poached and toast , my friend ordered poached eggs and bacon (soft) and an English muffin . And of course the crepes . "That's it !??" Was the first thing that I thought when the food came .. I was waiting for them to yell out April fools and say our actual plates were coming but no . The steak was crispy and hard and SMALL !!!! I had to send it back to get it medium cooked . My roasted potatoes were fine .. Greasy but I just used my napkin to solve that problem . My poached eggs were .. Undercooked but still I didn't really mind as long as they weren't overcooked . And 1 piece of whole wheat toast . Only 1 . My friends plate had the same greasy potatoes . Hard bacon and overcooked poached eggs . Well only one was overcooked . I can't imagine how that happens . But she also sent back her bacon . We received our plates again and this time I was a bit more satisfied because the steak looked like it was worth what they priced it at BUT cooked maybe RARE this time ... It was still hot so I know steaks usually keep cooking a bit . I dealt with it . My friend got her plate back and was told sorry the cooks said they can't do the bacon any softer . So she dealt with it too . And also she got her English muffin .. Both the bottom and top piece . Why not just one piece of English muffin huh ? The crepes . I'm sorry crepes are suppose to be soft and not as crunchy as potato chips at the ends . And the Nutella was just all over the place . Messy and not presentable . It was edible .. The middle was because it got soggy because of all the Nutella . Anyways . It took 10 minutes to receive our butter,jelly,ketchup, and steak sauce, and that's only because I had to ask for it .. I would of asked right away but there was no one in sight . And I didn't wanna get up and walk around looking for people . I intend to get good service , or any service when I go out to eat . After the restaurant got another few tables I noticed more servers but all they would be doing is hiding behind our table since it had a larger head rest behind us so they could be on their phones . Hey not my restaurant but ok . I guess the manager or owners don't go out on the floor . After an hour of being there I finally received my refill of coffee . It probably sat there waiting to be refilled for maybe ...25 min . The management or something has really got to step up their game because we won't come back to this place . Beautiful or not it was just ridiculous . Over priced , slow service , bad presentation , bad service ( well our server was ok ) but not like it should have been she opened up and was more attentive when I started up a conversation but that was 5 minutes before we had left . Over all I can say you can avoid this location . Who knows maybe the other locations are different . A good manager can definitely pick that place up and make it shine but as of today ! I'm sorry . good luck . read more

The the food and the service were good. I don't understand while the restaurants overall rating isn't higher.

Excellent addition to the neighborhood. We love this place in the West Loop and love it more in the South Loop.

I'm giving this place one star because I can't give no stars. First glance of this place looks very upscale...our last day in Chicago we figured we'd try it since it's attached to our hotel....big mistake. First time the waitress came to our table she asked what we wanted, did not ask if we wanted anything besides water to drink or introduce herself. Then we ordered and were brought different things. My husband ordered a egg bowl with a side of bacon, he was brought pancakes not bacon. I ordered the pancake breakfast, asked to add blueberries to my pancakes. I was brought just pancakes, I had to ask for the rest of my meal which was scrambled eggs and bacon. Then when she brought my eggs out they were still runny and disgusting. I couldn't finish my breakfast. Also where we sat was against the outside wall looking at the bar and all I could hear was the cooks banging on the bell, which told the girls that food was ready. If no one came within 30 seconds he'd start banging on it again which was a very big nuisance. Then we paid and it was way over priced!!! We had eatin at Wildberry the day before and that place was way better and half the price! Overall we are VERY unhappy with our visit and will not be returning. read more

This is a bright cheery place to eat. Service is very good and food is excellent. Went here for breakfast, the portions are very generous. Food is fresh and delicious. The butter, jam and toast were great. Veggie and fruit drinks really delightful. So many good things it was hard to decide. Latte was perfect. Will be coming back soon read more

Horrible service, overpriced, bad food! Attached to Hotel Blake, they should be embarrassed to be affiliated with these people! Had the daily soup, there was no flavor. We also had eggs Benedict with hash. There was no hollandaise sauce and the hash was pre-made in the shape of hockey pucks. I read other reviews that warned about the horrible service and food and we still went for a quick bite since it's attached to the hotel to decide for myself. Not sure why, since the whole purpose for Yelp is for reasons like this...don't go here!!! Go to HERO across the street on the corner!! read more

Living in this neighborhood, I went here with a friend for a Sunday morning brunch. The smoked turkey omelet was on special, so my order was placed. Omelet delivered, I prepared to dig in, but another waitress intervened, and halting my fork mid-dig, said I had the wrong omelet. Bereft of my omelet (and equally unclear on where or to whom it went), a second one was subsequently produced. I started digging in, and my companion queried the fowl protein portion of my dish and upon detailed inspection, it was determined that there was absolutely NO turkey in the second omelet. We then called for the waitress, and my slightly consumed omelet was returned. Later, the third and final omelet of the day was presented to me. Having slightly more trust in an Illinois politician at this point, I inspected the omelet and was disturbed to find their concept of a smoked turkey omelet was to use lunch "meat". Eww! For those not schooled in protein, turkey lunch meat is a filler-based processed meat, and in no way should be sold as they advertised. Certainly chef and management are lacking here. IF you want to put smoked turkey omelet on as the special, it means you have a smoked turkey and not CRAP, which is how I will always remember Meli Cafe. read more

Very cute ambiance. Came here for a Sunday brunch. Def the hip place. Yummy fresh squeezed juices. Delicious coffee. Cafe Benedict hollandaise was good but sauce a tad bland. PERFECTLY poached eggs. Friend had crepes which she really enjoyed. Interesting homemade ketchup. Would come again. The waitress was good at bringing food and refilling drinks but needs way more training. Everything we asked "I don't know I haven't tried it". Facial expressions were very blank too. Management, make sure all staff has product training. Have your wait staff try your core food products . Have them have an opinion or at least what other patrons say. Be able to describe it. Manager or owner was walking around with his shirt sleeves hanging out past his fingertips dealing with plates and food. While maybe trying to make a fashion statement, the look was sloppy and seemed unclean for a restaurant. Why still a 4 star....food good, ambiance great. Just needs tweaking. read more

If you are into chipped drinkware, bad service and small portions on the most expensive dishes, this is the place for you. This was my first time here. I don't know if the staff was having an off day or "resting bitch face" is the look they have all the time. They look like they can't be bothered. When our drink order came, I ordered milk, the glass was filthy. You could see brown staining on the rim of the cup all the way down to the bottom. We asked a busboy to get us another milk because it was dirty and he takes it to the bartender and they are checking it right there in front of everyone like we were lying. Then instead of bringing a new milk, dumped the milk in another glass. My husbands water glass had a chunk of glass missing on the rim. My french toast was very good and the amount for the price was good, my husbands skillet not so much. When you get 5 strips of steak that could fill a taco bell taco, I rather go to chipolte. No one came to apologize or bring a new beverage. Their attitude stinks and definitely won't be returning . read more

My parents were staying at the Hotel Blake and this was conveniently located in the lobby. We stopped in for lunch the day they arrived and the wraps were very good. Well sized portions as well. We had breakfast another day which was also very good. Will be back. read more

Fresh, quick, and delicious. Service is efficient and friendly. My brother and I decided to split a salad and the waitress through enough to bring us two plates full of the salad having asked the chef to split it in the kitchen. Gluten free menu is also amazing. I recommend the salmon crepes. read more

Took my family here for brunch. The food was delicious and the service was great! Plus they have some vegan options! Anytime I can eat with the family without menu picking is a plus. read more

Have gone here several times, and not once has it disappointed. I really like their spicy flamenco (I think that's it's called). Their service is always great. Always good with my one year old daughter. About to be my family's go to spot for brunch. read more

have been both this location and the one in greektown. This environment is much nicer and good for group. The mixed berry crepe is beautiful for photo shooting but is very watery at the bottom. The organic tofu and broccoli scramble is really good and healthy, provides protein and vitamins. read more

I had ordered the jalapeño bowl which states it comes with avocado, however, it did not come with any avocado. I read a previous review in which someone else had a problem with avocado missing from their dish... Maybe there is an avocado shortage there? Who knows! They should at least communicate that when ordering. Other than that, food was delish.. 3 stars though bc for the avocado blunder & food is bit pricey! read more

Denny's quality food but double the price. Awful service, front of the house staff watched soccer and never checked on us or filled our drinks. DONT COME HERE. read more

Was excited to see this restaurant in my neighbor. Food was good, however, service is horrible. Waited over 10 minutes to place our drink order then had to ask for refills. Rather disappointed. read more

Tried this place for the first time yesterday as I just moved to the South Loop/Printer's Row area. Huge menu with lots of options for everyone, including vegetarians (went with my sister and she does not eat meat). I have the chorizo jalapeno breakfast bowl which was delicious. A little pricey at $15 but turned out to be a huge serving. Mimosa was good but expensive as well at $10. Food was brought out quickly but ended up waiting for the waitress for 10-15 min to get a check and then another 10 minutes for them to pick it up which is the reason I knocked it down a star. It wasn't busy at all (noon on a weekday) so no excuse for slow service. read more

The food was delicious! Try the cornbread French toast for sure! The only disappointing factor were the mimosas. We tried four different types and it took way too much time. The mimosas barely beat the food out. One had a fly in it and two tasted terrible. The waitress comped the two mimosas because we didn't drink them. Best advice go for the food, but they really need to work on bartending speed and quality of the drinks. read more

I work downtown and on my way the parking garage leaving from work I always passed this place up and finally decided to dine in. So yesterday morning 4/5/16 I decided to go inside for breakfast. It's very nice inside. My waitress was Dagana. Her service was terrible. The first thing she asked is what we would like to drink. I said I'll stick with the water my significant other wanted orange juice. It took her a long time to come back to take our order after noticing she's a chatter box to her coworkers in the kitchen. She finally came back and I ordered French toast, eggs scrambled with American cheese with the red potatoes and bacon. My significant other order the same order but wheat toast instead French toast. The waitress brought us two kinds of jelly, butter, hot sauce and ketchup while waiting on our food. The food was made quick and good, but I didn't get any bacon, no syrup and my significant other never received her orange juice. The waitress never came and checked on us and when ready for the check she continued to talk to co workers as we were flagging her down to give us the check. That place is too nice to not have workers give great service. read more

I love this place - I have been on Sunday for brunch a few times. They have different flavored mimosas, and every flavor I've tried has been delish! I have gotten the chicken and waffles once, and I ate every bite. The chicken was very tender, and it was just the right amount of food. It can get crowded, but I have been seated within 20 minutes each time I have gone. read more

Stopped to grab a beer and snack based on sign out front that said $3 domestic beers during happy hour and the completely empty outdoor seating area. It was 4:20, took 10 minutes for a server to come to us. She took the orders. 15 minutes later she comes out and says the happy hour is only if you sit at the bar. We left. Don't put it on a sign and definitely don't take all our orders and make us wait if you're not going to serve a happy hour drink outside. read more

Very disappointing. Our waitress told us she got the drink prices wrong - they were higher - after she brought the drinks. The Meli Bloody was missing all the garnishes. She took our order and then came back to take it again a second time with no explanation. When the food came, both orders were wrong. One was missing half the ingredients. Overpriced and the service is severely lacking read more

Went here for breakfast during the week so as expected they weren't very busy. But for whatever reason service was still subpar. The servers still stood around talking to each other so it took forever to have our order taken, get our check, etc. I ordered the pancake breakfast. The first round of pancakes were overcooked the second were fine but didn't taste good. I won't be back. read more

I was so excited for this place to open. But I have to knock off a couple of stars due to their dinner menu. The breakfast/brunch menu is reasonably priced with tons of choices, and it is delicious. However, my mom and I went in there around 3 pm which is when they switch to their dinner menu. It's wayyyy more expensive and literally no choices. I don't even think there was anything vegetarian for the main dishes which is weird because their brunch menu is full of vegetarian/vegan/gluten free options. My mom and I thought of an excuse to leave because we weren't interested in an expensive meal of side dishes. I wish they just kept their lunch menu all day with maybe some more reasonable priced dinner dishes. The south loop already has plenty of more expensive places. read more

We've eaten here several times and will definitely go back. Menu items are creative, beautifully presented and tasty. Atmosphere is very pleasant (except when the TVs in the bar are cranked up). Service is good. read more

My fiancee and I went to Meli Cafe a few weeks ago, looking to watch the NBA finals and have a burger and drink at the bar. The staff were friendly and invited us to come in, but despite having almost no customers it took a long time to find someone to change the channel, and take our order. We each ordered a burger, me the turkey burger with jalapeno coleslaw and my fiancee a beef burger with fries. The burgers were fine but a bit messy, the only problem being that the tomatoes in mine were decidedly mealy which I think should have been evident to an experienced cook. My slaw had no discernible jalapeno, and my fiancee's fries were soggy and oily and we couldn't bring ourselves to do more than try a few before abandoning them. Also challenging was that the plates were narrow ovals each covered with a much larger swath of wax paper. Because they weren't sized or fit together, food or ketchup on the paper would start to drift off the plate and start dribbling on the counter. On the way in, the dessert case had several options that looked good, and we ordered carrot cake and coffee. The carrot cake really was delicious, but they only brought one fork even though we ordered just one dessert between the two of us and specifically mentioned that we were looking to share it. It took a while for the dessert to arrive although it wasn't clear why, given the lack of crowd and the fact that it was coming from the case at the end of the bar. We waited to start eating the dessert until the coffee arrived, but when the bar attendant returned several minutes after bringing the carrot cake, she didn't have any coffee. When we asked her about it, she apologized and mentioned that she simply forgotten the order. She then poured it from the station that was right next to where she was standing when we ordered it the first time. Other things we noticed when we compared notes afterward were that the dessert menu didn't mention many of the items in the dessert case in front, and the chalkboard specials menu had a few misspellings. To be clear, the hostess and staff at the bar were extremely friendly and polite, but the experience accumulated a lot of disappointments that could have been helped by better management and better attention to detail. Given our experience, we were honestly surprised at the many positive reviews it has on Yelp (but at not the spotty service) but perhaps Meli is stronger with brunch, or sometimes its kitchen isn't on its A game. read more

Amazing food, coffee, jam, juice. Terrible service. It was was almost entertaining. Waitress asked us for a pen, forgot numerous items, etc.

Very clean, stylishly decorated restaurant. We were promptly seated as well as promptly waited on by a courteous waiter. After the meal either the owner or the manager came to our table and asked if we were pleased and if there was anything else he could do for us. The booths were very comfortable and the lighting was perfect. I had the Turkey Cranberry Pesto Wrap. It was delicious! I will definitely dine at Meli Cafe again! read more

Was very disappointed. Had a breakfast special of omelet on Pork belly. Was suppose to have something bacon sauce on top. Didn't see that and didn't remember until I had left cafe. My English muffin was slightly burnt, Pork belly so dry I couldn't cut it and my eggs were overlooked. I did get them replaced. Husband had a breakfast that included two pancakes which were very dry. He felt they were setting on griddle to long. Waitress was very efficient and sweet--I'd give her 5 stars but the food was very disappointing. read more

Went to Meli this morning. It was a terrible experience and we will not return. I ordered an Egg White Omelet and got a regular omelet. My husband got burnt toast and potatoes with his eggs. He returned his orange juice because there was something floating on top and it was not pulp as the server insisted. We were excited about a new breakfast place in the neighborhood but this one is "a no go" for us read more

We had a wonderful experience at Meli for dinner. Our waitress yulia made great food recommendations- the crab stuffed grilled calamari was perfectly cooked and simply delicious. She was also very sweet and attentive. The atmosphere is modern but romantic, and the owner came out to greet us and ask about our experience. I can't believe this place hasn't taken off more quickly, as it's quite the gem! read more

Excellent brunch selections and the dinner, exquisite! Small plates reasonably priced and filling. Perfect for a night out with the girls.

I have never been to the restaurant but I ordered from Meli's on Grubhub and have no complaints. My food was delivered in just over 30 minutes. The French toast was good and the fruit was fresh. They also include espresso and lattes on their delivery menu which I greatly appreciate. read more

The food was very good and the service was good, BUT the restaurant was unbelievably loud. Impossible to carry on a conversation.

The wait service is atrocious. I've been here twice now, hoping the second time would be better. Never again. The food is nothing special and certainly something you can get anywhere else. read more

Living right across the street from Meli, I've unfortunately found myself here a few times. I'm always amazed at the variety of ways this place finds to let me down. The service is horrible, the pricing on the menu just makes no sense, and the ambiance and decor is .... confusing. This last time I ordered chicken and waffles, the chicken was great, but they made the waffles with some weird herbs mixed in. Think herbs that are in hush puppies. Many menu items will let you down like this. The lack of culinary knowledge of whoever created the menu shows in a lot of dishes. There aren't many other options in this neighborhood, but avoid this place if you can. read more

Good food and friendly service. The staff is attentive and helpful. We opted out of potatoes and toast at breakfast. Our server offered fresh berries as just one of many options. We enjoyed breakfast omelettes, lunch salads and wraps. For dinner we feasted on delicious baked wild caught salmon. As visitors to Chicago we were not disappointed with Meli's Cafe! read more

Breakfast was very good. The atmosphere and decor is great. Average noise level. Server was nice. I had the Eggs. red potatoes, toast, and ck sausage, everything was good. Especially the pomegranate mimosa, loved it. A friend had the pancakes. Unless you can eat them with little syrup i would recommended them. There is a charge for extra syrup. The 1st comes in like a shot glass. Looks like the best time is before 10. While sitting here it started to get full. read more