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    Merienda Cafe

    4.7 (109 reviews)
    Closed Closed
    Updated a few days ago

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    MERIENDA CAFE ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Outdoor seating
    Good for groups

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    Recommended Reviews - Merienda Cafe

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    Ube pancakes
    Phyllis D.

    Definitely check out this Filipino cafe! We've been here twice and the food was outrageously delicious both times. The tocilog is scrumptious and is served with rice (I chose the garlic fried rice) and a side (do not miss the atchara salad with lightly pickled papaya, cucumber, and mango over lettuce). This is the only dish I tried because it's so good, but I'm sure everything is delicious here. My fiancée had ube pancakes, which he raved about. If you are thirsty, Merienda offers a huge array of teas, coffees, milk teas, lattes, etc. I had a banana latte one of the times I visited and it was great. The cafe is bright and welcoming with tropical murals at the back. Both times I went, the folks at the counter were really nice about answering questions and helping me figure out what does or doesn't have coconut in it (I'm allergic, unfortunately).

    Calamansi wings and Lumpiang Shanghai
    Karen C.

    This nice family owned place serves filipino food, cafe style. The staff are super friendly, but are a bit slow. So, only go when you aren't too hangry! The drinks are a bit too sweet for my taste. They have different filipino flavours like ube and pandan. The food is delicious. The ube pancakes are really good and the portions are generous. The Ribsilog is tender and savoury and goes really well with the garlic fried rice. The calamasi wings are nicely tangy and have a crispy bite.

    Penny L.

    Will go back. Did not disappoint. Must be patient with service. Worth the wait. Good music and atmosphere. Food and drinks were satisfying.

    The Grinch (matcha, wintermelon, strawberry)
    Lucy R.

    I'm a Filipina from the Bay Area in California and I highly recommend this Filipino restaurant. Both the food and drinks are 10/10! Vibe of the restaurant is modern and chill. Awesome service! Their ube is made in house and their drinks are made with real fruit and not powder. Definitely recommend this place if you're in the area. It is ~15 minutes from the Great Lakes Naval RTC. Get your newly minted sailor some Filipino food before they get sent to a city without a single Filipino restaurant. We ordered 3 silogs: Tapa, Adobo Ribs, and Bangus. All 3 were delicious. Eggs cooked to preference. Big portions. Probably one of the best tapas I've ever had. I loved that they use lean pieces of meat and that it wasn't fatty, but was still tender and flavorful. The Adobo Ribs was probably the most unique of the 3 dishes and one that would be harder to find at another restaurant. I don't know how they keep that crisp to the ribs while still covering it in sauce; Chef's kiss to that dish! Bangus was traditional and perfectly crispy. Our only knock on the silogs might be the pancit, but that may be because my mom makes the best pancit in our opinion lol. We did eat all the pancit served so it was also still good. The atchara was different from what I'm used to, but also delicious. I think it is made with baby arugula, pickled onion, and shredded carrot. For drinks we ordered from their seasonal menu: 2 ube horchatas and 1 Grinch (matcha, winter melon, and strawberry). Drinks were on the sweeter side, but easily adjustable with water. The Ube Horchata was perfect for my 15 y/o nephew, but too sweet my 25 y/o nephew. Older nephew just added water to get it to his taste preference. The Grinch drink was sweet, but actually paired perfectly with my food. It might've been too sweet for me as a stand alone. For reference, my older nephew and I usually add water to any bottled juices we drink.

    Stephanie L.

    This restaurant is a gem! Firstly, the young man that took our order was so patient and willing to offer suggestions on some menu items. I decided to go with the Tapsilog (beef ribeye steak) and for my beverage I had the thai tea. They don't have a kids meal, but they prepared chicken wings and fries for my son, which was nice. He also got a mango juice with his meal. Everything was absolutely delicious, made to order, hot and fresh! The steak was so tender and flavorful, it came with white rice with a fried egg and a side of pancit noodles. Again everything was so yummy and fresh. My son's chicken wings were very good as well, super crispy, great flavor and even the fries were good! My thai tea was a bit bitter for my liking, but it was good. The Mango juice was so refreshing and bursting with flavor, just so delightful! The decor was nice, but seating is very limited so definitely not ideal for a big crowd. I am so upset that I didn't get to try more items, but if ever in the area again I will stop by to try some of the other items.

    Tocilog (Sweet & savory pork slices) Filipino Fried Pork Adobo Ribsilog

    Cute little Filipino restaurant and drink shop. The food was outstanding. So flavorful. Serving sizes are huge, big enough to share or better yet, leftovers. I had the Tocilog (pork) and the flavor was amazing. For a side I had Pancit bihon, light and tasty. Great complement to the well seasoned sauce on the pork. I had never had UBE before so they mixed me up a sample and I was sold. Service was quick. We will absolutely be back

    Kris S.

    Drove all the way from Naperville, and was well worth it! Food was good and sizable portions. Definitely get a lot of bang for your buck. Great customer service all around and would come back and recommend anyone to come here.

    Pancit Bihon (good for 1)  6 Piece Lightly Breaded
    Kara B.

    My party guests absolutely loved it! We ordered catering (60 wings, 7lbs lumpia, and large bihon pancit) and it was amazing! Everyone was asking who made the food and said they were definitely going to dine in after having the delicious food! Thanks Merienda Team!

    Outside
    Antonette B.

    I was just stopping by to check it out. Long line to order only one person working at the counter. It's a tiny cafe. I thought they will have some Merienda that is ready at the counter, but they didn't. Ambiance is okay. I didn't feel the vibes. Food I didn't even had a changed to order or taste. Very disappointed.

    Need I saw MORE  wow!!!! Soooo delish!
    LEONORA P.

    Delish!!! Need I say MORE???? Wow! So delish! Food, ambiance and service is really good! Portions are amazing! Good for 3 people

    Mango creme
    Darlene R.

    I've been wanting to try this place so I got my chance while visiting a friend this week. We came for lunch on Sunday around 1pm. This place a small restaurant with a warm and inviting atmosphere. We were surprised to see how busy it was and with limited seating. Luckily we were able to find seating in the back corner. Orders are taken ar the register. No wait for someone to provide drinks and utensils. We ordered alittle bit of everything (I am Filipino) and shared our meals. Everything was delicious and beautifully presented. We ordered Adobo ribs, Tocino and Tapa combination plates with garlic rice, egg and side dishes (achara, pancit, sinigang). All very well made but my favorite was the Tocino, achara and sinigang broth. Excellent combinations! We also ordered hot teas and desserts. Service was great as well, they were very nice and accommodating, nice to see our fellow Pinoys in successful businesses! This is definitely a place to return and try other menu items thanks for a wonderful lunch.

    Lumpia
    George K.

    I stopped by Merienda Cafe with some friends over the weekend for a cozy brunch. We had reservations and were seated very quickly. The staff were all really friendly and they were also celebrating their one year anniversary of being in business. As far as food goes: Lumpia: They were fried to perfection and the filling was juicy and very flavorful. I couldn't stop eating these. Chicken Wings: They were breaded well and very crispy. The chicken was moist and the sauce was a little sweet and tangy. Ube Pancakes: These were amazing, very pillowy and paired really well with the provided compound cream. It comes with large, ripe, beautiful strawberries. It was very filling and the leftovers were great the next day. Overall I had a wonderful experience, I can't wait to eat here again.

    Absolutely love this spot. The food was delicious and the coffee was just as good. Staff extremely friendly and helpful. Not to many seats but can always find one.

    Tocilog (Sweet & savory pork slices)

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    Pretty good spot for smaller meals. Kind of expensive, but whatever. Will come back regardless.

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    Everett Farms - Creole Breakfast

    Everett Farms

    4.4(370 reviews)
    10.3 mi
    $$$

    We've driven by this restaurant SO many times and have yet to come by until now. What a fun…read moreexperience we had! When you pull up to the plaza you would think anything of the restaurant but when you go inside it's a fun colorful experience. When we were seated we were brought waters and menus. We took some time to look at the menus but ultimately took our server's suggestions on drinks. I ended up having a virgin Rose Colored Glasses drink and absolutely loved it. The drinks were large and I felt they were worth the price. My husband got an old fashioned. To start we got the cheese curds, and when I tell you these cheese curds still live rent free in my mind I kid you not. They were so good, the cheese was battered in a tempura batter with a truffle cream sauce and it made for such an incredible dish! For our entrees we got the pork chop with the brown butter sauces and bavette with a red wine reduction. The pork chop was great with the brown butter you just gotta make sure you mix it up, and the red wine was a bit too salty for me but it was okay because I ended up loving the steak by itself! For our sides we got the grilled zucchini under the snacks option instead of the sides option because I wanted all the fixings. It was a great choice! The fixings really made and I could eat a plate of that and just be happy (with the cheese curds of course). The wiped potatoes were great as well. Now I was going to pass on dessert because I was SO full already, but twist my arm when you tell me the cookie dough ice cream is a must try. It had real cookie dough chunks on top and bottle and the vanilla ice cream was not boring vanilla, I ate almost half of that bowl and couldn't stop. The chocolate chip cookie dough was house made and it was the perfect blend of sweet and salty that tied the whole ice cream bowl together. Can't recommend that enough as well. All in all, we had a great experience! It was so fun to see so many regulars and so many new folks who came in to dine at the same time as us and we all peeked to see who ordered what before we ordered and got some great recs as you can see! Can't wait to come back to enjoy my favorites and more!

    So the first time we were here it was amazing but this time it was subpar at best. Don't know if…read morethey have a new chef or what but the food was not good. Started with the bread and crabcakes and the bread was amazing and definitely fresh but the crabcakes needed more crab and flavor. Basically everything needed more flavor. We also ordered a bottle of wine which our server struggled with and never came over to refill the glasses. Then the entree's; my husband's bolognese was bland and desperately needed at least salt and pepper. Then the real problem was my steak which was supposed to be medium came out well done and then classically when it was recooked came out rare or medium rare if you are being generous. Then the waitress said she would check back and she didn't so I had to get salt myself from the server station which is kinda ridiculous especially when paying $54 for a steak that already has no seasoning which is why they offer free sauces which makes a lot of sense now. When she finally did come back I said it was under but not waiting for it to be overcooked again so reheating it at home with the cold side of mushrooms I ordered WITH my steak. I did talk to the manager after and he was not really helpful or sympathetic and I was really talking to him so in my review I could say well at least management cares but that is not the case here. I gave 2 stars because their drinks are good and the ambiance is nice and the hostess was super friendly and was the star employee after our visit. Also we paid for everything even the cold mushrooms and over/under cooked steak! At minimum also remake my mushrooms or comp them. Would I eat here again hopefully not but it is locationally desirable for me and my in-laws and have lots of GF options so might have to and if I do hopefully they will have made things better.

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    The Brasserie - Lake Forest Breakfast

    The Brasserie

    3.9(29 reviews)
    10.4 mi

    We visited for tea with some adults and children this weekend…read more The room near the patio is gorgeous (the inner room is more on the cozy side). We were quickly seated with a reservation and the tables were lovely - gorgeous wedgewood china (even for the kids!). Greeted with prosecco for adults and sparkling juice for the kids. Service was really friendly and helpful with tea selections. There are about 4 options for children if they want tea as well. Food was good and there was a tower for the kids (their the older child at our table wanted the adult sandwiches...). Plenty of sandwiches and sweets. The scone actually was the standout though - orange cranberry - very soft and delicious. Customary lemon curd, jelly and cream - delicious. All in all, this was a nice, fancy time for tea but there were some negatives namely: no one ever asked if we wanted more drinks (I would have had a glass of champagne but no one returned or asked - I could have flagged someone down but was surprised at this level of hotel that service wasn't so helpful). We also felt rushed - I would have stayed longer to enjoy but get they were cleaning up our table quickly. Instead, we brought some of the treats to go. While the staff was friendly, they weren't really there a lot - I saw some tables get asked if they wanted more sandwiches - but we did not... and it wasn't because we had kids at the table because I'd say at the time we went, more than 50% of the tables had kids with them. We did get a nice little to go gift of tea, chocolate and a tea strainer. I'm conflicted upon returning just due to feeling rushed.... I always go for tea once a year at least and I've been to every fancy hotel in the city (and other restaurants) for tea and multiple hotels in Europe (Ireland, England) and this was the most European feeling but really felt less relaxed even though the surroundings were gorgeous.

    Came here for a dinner with family. It's really pretty inside - I'm not sure what they call it, but…read morethe area near where that have big doors to the patio. Lots of plants and beautiful botanical prints. The bar is gorgeous- we walked past it to our table and I could see they have some nice higher-end bourbons. The food was great - had a chopped salad and the ribeye and both were amazing. The service was a little hit or miss. Very spotty until we got our food and then it seemed like one side of the table was being ignored and that included our host. Overall a nice dinner, but unless we were invited again, I wouldn't necessarily go back.

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    Merienda Cafe - filipino - Updated June 2026

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