I LOVE Protein Bar. I told my friend, just as we walked in that if a Protein Bar was near where I worked or lived, I would be there everyday! The wraps, salads, smoothies, everything all tasted delicious. I love how the smoothies have unique Chicago names! There is so much healthy food here that you don't feel guilty for anything you order. There are so many options as well, boost vs. no boost, choice of milk, etc. and that's just for your smoothies. So many healthy choices between the wraps, salads, and sandwiches that it was very difficult to decide. The calories are also listed beneath each item. The seating area is appropriate, but if you arrive during a busy time, you might have to take your lunch with you to eat elsewhere. The decor is modern and trendy. I LOVE IT! It was so appropriate for the downtown feel. You have enough space to grab lunch with a friend or meet new friends at their community table. Service is quick though the line can get very long. So like any of my past loop lunch reviews, I advise you arrive early or arrive late to avoid the long wait. read more

Always a pleasure to visit. This location has a make your own menu where you select the main dish and two sides. I always get a meal here along with the high-five drink. Not the cheapest place but good-quality food over all read more

When it first opened I was in heaven. They had the most amazing spinach pesto wrap. My taste buds had never been happier. They started switching up the menu and unfortunately dropped this wrap much to my sadness. I get they need to keep it fresh to keep everyone coming back for more. It's just when I like something I really like it and never get tired of it. They have a similar wrap with whole eggs but it's not the same. & without the eggs you just have a bunch of oily spinach. read more

I agree with Jeff M. This is a great place to go in the mornings after a long night out on the town. I suggest the BGT smoothie with the "hangover" nutrients added. The food was cooked to order and prepared to maintain the nutrients. The staff was awesome even on an early Saturday morning shift. I bought some vegan kale chips to go. Very delicious! Overall, this is a great place to get a healthful meal. read more

Protein Bar & Kitchen - Salad and Denver omelet. - Vegan Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

It's not a bad option if you're looking for high-protein meals which you should be. But the shakes were a little powdery tasting. She was a shaker smoothie, or you got. The green goddess wrap actually was pretty good and definitely would fill you up for the afternoon. A little pricey but that's just the way it is. read more

This is my favorite lunch spot during the work week!!!! I try to eat as much protein as possible, so this place is BOMB for eating high protein food while also being delicious! Typically I get the healthy club wrap or salad, it's my favorite and it doesn't even taste healthy at all, but it is!!!! It's also packed with protein. The portions are large and they don't skimp on things like avocado, which other places do. The line is typically very long, but the workers are well trained and the place is well staffed so it goes by quickly. Highly recommend!!! read more

God, I love me some Protein Bar. I wish they had one in Boston when I lived there. If I lived closer to Chi town, I would be there every day. Great healthy food and good juices. Do yourself the Favor and get the Buffalo Bowl! "Not all calories are created equally- choose wisely" "Your body thanks you" read more

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A m b i a n c e: Fast casual, quick order turnaround, online ordering available. N o i s e L e v e l: During peak times, it can be loud, but it can also be very quiet when the rush is over. D r i n k s: Juices and smoothies at standard pricing, lots of customization for smoothies. F o o d: Breakfast, lunch, dinner, salads on point, wraps also a good filling option. Really like the Guac and Roll salad, the Mexicali bowl, and any form of the Buffalo Chicken. R e v i s i t: YES, I'm a regular here, LOL read more

This is a great quick and filling meal. I was visiting Chicago for just Saturday and Sunday and I'm glad I stopped here! I wish they had one in Detroit or Ann Arbor! Nene helped me pick what I wanted, she suggested the Fall Bowl 30 and the Big Date smoothie. She was so sweet and let me know about the possible allergies in the dishes, which I really appreciated because I have a lactose intolerance and it helped me pick what smoothie I wanted too. I got the Fall Bowl and Big Date and it was all AMAZING!!! Something I would suggest to anyone that likes healthy food, flavor and quality service! read more

Super fresh healthy salads and very filling. Perfect to take on the go as well. Large menu with lots of options and is friendly to people with diet preferences. read more

Protein Bar & Kitchen - Vegan Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Healthy, good portion, inexpensive, fast. Not much else to say about this place. Their Mexicali burrito was excellent and the green smoothie was perfect. read more

I just love this place, and judging from the lines that snake out the door every day, a lot of other people do, too. They move you through pretty fast and the food is always worth the wait, so don't sweat it if there are 20 people in line. Menu items- I've easily had everything here at least once. Every single item is delicious. My two favorites are the spinach pesto bowl and the backyard BBQ bar-rito. Smoothies- all of them are awesome, I can't pick just one. Other things- they have an app with rewards which is pretty cool. If you eat here a lot you'll probably get a free meal about once every 6 weeks with the rewards. They also cater- we've had it at our office and it's freaking delicious. Definitely a little pricey, but considering how good it tastes and how good it is for you- you can't go wrong. read more

Every time I put on gym clothes, I almost set my uber to pick me up to take me to protein bar (instead of the gym). Oops! But for real, protein bar looks a lot like jamba juice, but more seating, way more food, and still delicious high-protein shakes (and raw juice). The Chicken Chili is cooked for over 72 hours - hello developed flavors! And it comes with a slab of greek yogurt on top, giving you that same sour cream feel, but with less fat/higher protein deliciousness. I did not get a chance to try the smoothies, but that will be next on my list! read more

Staff was super helpful with describing different smoothie choices. Their energy was contagious and added a little extra brightness to my day! read more

The amazing thing about knowing the precise metrics of the nutritional values of the foods you eat is that it gives you the power of knowing what you're putting in your body. In a nation flooded by obesity, this is so important, and I hope more restaurants will follow Protein Bar's lead and begin listing nutritional values in a prominent fashion. Not only that-- I hope restaurants will get a clue and start realizing that healthy foods that offer balanced amounts of protein and fiber while staying low on calories and saturated fats are, indeed, SELLING. One need only take a look at the line EVERY day outside of this place that literally winds around the street. Amazing! So far, I've tried the following bar-ritos: Greektown, Original, Denver (breakfast) and Southwest (breakfast)-- all were very tasy, but the Original was by far the best, especially if you're into black beans. Delicious! The only con to this place is that it's a little crazy at lunch time, but that's hardly their fault. Of course, they could probably improve on process time with orders, but I suppose that's true for anywhere. In the end, give it a shot, and don't go if you're in a huge rush. These bar-ritos are tasty, healthy, and well worth the wait. read more

Meal was delivered an hour earlier than scheduled. The concept is good - perhaps great: healthy food, neatly packaged, calorie count front and center. The product is good - I had the Healthy Parm which is: organic quinoa blend topped with all-natural chicken, house-made marinara, and parmesan, for a total of 390 calories. It was tasty! We ordered around 9:30 for a 1PM delivery. Lunches arrived one full hour early. So my supposed-to-be-warm meal was cold by the time I was ready to eat. I don't care how good it is, I want it at the time agreed. read more

I ventured out to Protein Bar a couple weeks ago for lunch. I am tired of the usual: Chipotle, Potbelly's Jimmy John's, Halsted Street Deli, Cosi etc... I do my best to eat healthy on a regular basis. No cheese on my sandwich and no chips. I was happy to find Protein Bar through a friend of mine. I love quinoa and I do not get to eat it as often as I like. I blame it on the hubs who hates this super food. Most of Protein Bar's food items contain quinoa and I was very happy to find this out. I had the Guac and Roll with chicken. It was amazing and very filling! I will definitely be back and I can't wait to try the chili when the cooler weather hits. I will be adding the Protein Bar to my regular lunch rotation. Helpful hint: if you know what you want, you can order online and go right up to the register to pick up your food. The line can be out the door but it does move fast! read more

I cannot find enough words to say how happy I am they have finally opened across the street from my office in River North. I used to go to the one on Franklin and Wells when I worked in the area and was dying for a healthier alternative for a quick lunch close to where I work. I stopped in thursday morning for a Mlilennium Perk smoothie and loved it so much, I brought a co-worker with me for lunch! I had the Green City Vegan and she had the Original Barito. Guess what? We both went back the next morning for another Millennium Perk smoothie. When lunch rolled around.....we went to Protien Bar- we both ordered the Green City Vegan. Somehow, I wound up with a grilled vegan barito...when I realized I had the wrong lunch, I called and they made me a new one with no issues! The staff are so friendly and are readily able to answer any question you may have. One of the managers told me that since they have a bigger kitchen space than the location on Franklin, they will be rolling out new items- possibly dinner items (which would be perfect for those nights I'm working late and want to grab something on my way home so I don't have to cook or have cereal)...I for one cannot wait to see what they come up with! read more

Protein Bar was conveniently near my hotel and I love getting juices whenever I can. I had the Hi-5 juice which was delicious. I could really taste the pineapple in mine. I'd love to try the other juices available. I didn't try the food because I felt breakfast AND a juice was too much for me. This place can get really slow in the mornings, so had I been in a rush, I probably would've left before ordering. It's a also a little too expensive for me, but when the company's paying, who cares, right?? Sometimes quality does come at a price. read more

Their food is good, quick, and the staff is always nice, but it is expensive. I paid $11 for the steak bowl and it was like 90% beans with barely a scoop of quinoa. I'll be sticking with the salads from now on because those are a reasonable portion, despite still being expensive. read more

So, the protein burrito was NOT good. It was dry and tasteless. It looked like dried up vomit! Also, I asked that they cut it in half because I wanted to eat half at the time and he said, "we can't do that, you can cut it with the plastic cutlery on the side" and I asked, "why can't you do it?" and he replied, "we don't have knives." I said, "you don't have knives in the entire kitchen." and he said, "that's right." Interesting. read more

A group of us went to lunch here from work. It was the first visit for each of us. Generally, I thought it was good. However, based on what I had heard, I expected even better. The food was good, but mine was a bit bland (I had a southwest salad with tofu). Others in my group seemed to like their food, but no one raved about it. The service was very efficient. In fact, the greeter at the door was extremely helpful by explaining the menu and ordering process to us. read more

I've gone the bar-rito route three times. On my first visit, I went mainstream with the "original" chicken bar-rito: quinoa and a modest amount of chicken rolled into a particularly dry whole grain wrap. Bland, boring, and not worth a repeat. On my next two visits I went with the Ivy and had them add double chicken. Much better! It came with a generous amount of bird and was filled with excellent pesto flavor that really perked up the entire dish. There can be a significant wait to order--partly because so many people want to eat here, and partly because people just seem to take an inordinate amount of time with the cashiers. All-in-all, a fresh change of pace. read more

Recently, my boyfriend and I decided to try to cut out wheat as much as we can (thanks to a book called The Wheat Belly) and I have to admit, I was struggling without my normal diet of bread, bread, and more bread. Without cooking at home, it was somewhat challenging to find a place that offered fast, delicious, wheat-free food... and then I stumbled upon this gem. I'm a big fan of the pesto bowl with quinoa and chicken, and you can hardly tell you're not having any wheat. It's extremely satisfying and delicious! My boyfriend also loves the chili, and I've had the chicken parm bowl which was good as well. If you're looking for a wheat/gluten-free place to grab a quick lunch or dinner, Protein Bar is a great option! Yum! read more

Used to love their salads but now they've reduced the size and no longer worth the price. $11 for a chicken Caesar salad that's literally 1/3 the size of one from a competitor - Just Salad. Not enough food for a lunch. Also can't believe this health restaurant still has an artificial sweetener in their protein shakes (sucralose). I had high hopes for protein bar but lots of $$ and disappointment lately. read more

Bleh. Tastes like the food I used to make when I was a poor college student trying to be healthy. I got the healthy parm quinoa bowl. It was a bowl full of watery quinoa, tomato sauce that tasted like it came from a jar, and chicken that tasted like it came pre-cooked out of a plastic bag. so disappointing. I love healthy food. But it doesn't need to taste like this! read more

This protein bar isn't as friendly as my go to one on Adams & Franklin but it's across the street from my office so it's become my new(perhaps begrudgingly) one. The people aren't as friendly at some of the others. It's protein bar - can't go wrong witht PB&J smoothie! Seriously, it's divine. read more

I am so happy Protein Bar is in my neighborhood! Lots of vegan options and healthy ingredients. Their salads are flavorful and nutritious. Big portions. The restaurant is cute and simple, not too big, not too small. Good option to grab a healthy meal for a reasonable price. The staff is friendly. read more

Who says fast food places cant be healthy! We used to have no choice for healthy food that is palatable except to go to Whole Foods or Karyns. At last a place that serves healthy, fresh food that taste really good. This place passes healthy diet test from their food choices to the ingredients. You know you are getting the good stuff. I tried Hannahs bretzel in the past and not only is it very expensive it is really not really considered that healthy. Other places have healthy choices, this place is all healthy. Its not vegan but vegetarian but it has those choices as well as gluten free I think. This place is not cheap but healthy food in general is not cheap (aka whole foods. i also like the Vibe in this place, good pop music and a lot of sexy people :) Service, I think they can work on this, coz when they served our food, I asked which one is which coz im not familiar which is my order vs my bfs, the girl goes, I dunno this is what you ordered... YIKES! Im definitely going to be back at this place, i plan to try every single item in the menu. read more

I LOVE Protein Bar! What a quick, lovely way to get healthy food - and so many delicious choices! I could eat here every day, I think. The decor is really cool inside, too - very stylish! Fantastic! read more

I work in the building connected to Protein Bar, which makes avoiding Chicago winter easy and convenient. For a long time, I put off PB because the line was always down the block and full of people scoffing at me for toting a Portillo's bag as I tried to squeeze passed them, back to my building. I had been there once for lunch and something that tasted too "healthy" - plus I was discouraged I couldn't buy a Diet Coke (or any soda for that matter) with my meal. But then I saw a photo of their chili on their Facebook page and went immediately down there -- thank god: Best Chili in the City. Best chili I've ever had, actually. I've now had it, no joke, about 10 times and every time it's delicious and consistent. It's quinoa based with chicken, cheese, and greek yogurt..all for about 400 calories and a little over $6. It fills you up for the rest of the day and takes only a few minutes for them to bag up. I'm not sure I'll try anything else, but World's Best Chili is good enough for me. UPDATE:::: Protein Bar has recently decided to change their packaging for anything sold in a bowl - so, oatmeal, chili, burrito bowls, soups, etc. This new packaging is "designed to keep your food warmer." Note that it is substantially smaller than their portions before for the same, if not more, price. Kinda sneaky, if you ask me. read more

Yummy bowls and drinks! Healthy and full of lots of protein! I can never decide what I want because everything is so good. I live the Mexicali bowl - spicy, healthy, and so filling. The staff at thisplace are friendly and look like they enjoy working here! read more

Protein Bar & Kitchen - Vegan Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Great healthy lunch option, if only the layout of this place wasn't such a nightmare. Pros: Healthy options, posted calorie content, quinoa, sriracha Cons: Food fine but not that flavorful (without the sriracha!), poor workflow. Seriously, I have never seen 12 employees in a 50 square foot space act so inefficiently. Line out the door, but empty tables and employees staring into space. Read The Goal, already. Best things on the menu: - Guac n' Roll, add cheddar, no onions, either chicken or tofu, add sriracha - Harvest Salad - Pesto Bowl -Pier-nut Smoothie Overall, this is a nice addition to the local options, and I wonder if it might just be too big for the space that it's in. A tiny bit of menu tweaking (maybe punch up the sauces?) and a bigger space with a more efficient layout and this place would be near-perfect. read more

So so so happy this is two blocks from work so I can still go in February. I am a fan of a lunch that won't make me want to immediately take a 3 hour nap afterwards and that is all that Protein Bar offers. It's healthy but totally filling and unlike a lot in the area you won't need a pay back plan to eat there regularly. I order online for in-store pick up and my meal is always hot and ready (that's what she said). The bar-itos are delicious and what I normally get but the veggie lentil soup they had recently was tops and I hope they keep it around! read more

I discovered Protein Bar about a year ago and every time I've been in Chicago since then I have to go. My favorites are the shakes (I've tried the Wrigley Peeled and Sears Sucker). The Wrigley Peeled was a little thick for my taste, but I think it was mostly just from the peanut butter. The Sears Sucker was deliciously light and fruity. I love that Protein Bar gives you the option to customize your drink from the protein they use, the type of milk, type of yogurt, and boost. This place is also where I was turned on to quinoa. Suddenly this magical grain is in half of the things I eat, thanks to Protein Bar. The breakfast items are great (LOVE the warm quinoa with bananas) and their burritos are so tasty! It's rare to find a place like this that can serve you healthy food quickly and do so with a smile. Can you please open some Protein Bars in the San Francisco area?! You'd have a very loyal customer. read more

After years of feeling admittedly slightly paranoid when eating out ( "I wonder what's really in this burger....." "That salad seemed like a healthy choice but in actuality it has an many calories as a big mac?!...") UM STOP THE MADNESS! It's so refreshing to have a healthy (yummy) spin on eating out - and Protein Bar gives you just that option. I've been here a bunch and trust that I'll walk out satisfied, all with healthy choices packed full of flavor and great nutrition. Who'd have thought, you really can have it all! I don't know about you, but breakfast can sometimes be a struggle for me... in the past five years I've forced myself to get something in my stomach before noon because I know it's better for me. But I'm busy and always on the go so sometimes my pantry doesn't match my good intentions - insert Protein Bar. Their shakes are awesome! I say shakes plural because I trust their judgment and am sure they're all delicious but I've had ONLY the Millennium Perk about 10 times. Chocolate Protein, Espresso Protein, Choice of milk (I go with Almond, less calories and its creamier anyway) and in-house made cocoa malt. Pick your protein (I go with Soy...btw - if you don't know what to choose just ask them for recommendations they've very helpful and well informed) and add an extra boost for free (fat blast, hangover helper, energizer, vitamin...etc) and you're half way through breakfast already. Beyond the blended drinks I've had their Greek Town wrap which was really great. All-natural chicken, hummus, kalamata olives, cucumbers, lettuce and Greek dressing - what's not to like? I've heard good things about the Buffalo Bar-rito too. I'll definitely be back to try some more of their options and you should too! read more

Every time I'm in Chicago, I stop here at least one time. The breakfast bowls are fantastic. Denver scramble has only 165 calories. Every item has nutitional values (including sugar content) and everything I've tasted is excellent. It's not inexpensive but the quality is there and I've never left hungry. The lines can be a little onerous, so plan ahead if you're in a rush. read more

This place is very healthy. I like how they list the calories, amount of protein and all the goods on each type of food that they offer. That being said, the food itself is good. But not fantastically mind blowing tasty. I do like coming back just because the food itself is tasty. The shakes are very good and I have come back just for the shakes. I like how they offer Greek Yogurt for your shakes which just makes it even healthier. If you go in the morning during breakfast hour, you can still order the lunch menu. Just not anything that needs to be heated. So none of the beans or the hot meals will be ready. However, the cold burritos can be served and are still appetizing. What I do like is that the size of the burritoes will fill you up for the meal even though they are low calorie/ high protein which is always a good thing. Service is good and the people are very friendly here. read more

Right around the corner from my office and is incredible with speed! It took me probably 10 minutes total to travel up and down 30 floors, order, and receive my food. I ordered the Mexican inspired cauliflower rice bowl. It was filling and fairly priced for the area. I wouldn't come back often, but for sure if I need a quick lunch and a nice walking break from work. read more

I frequent this location the most however I have been to all of their locations and the quality of service and food is consistent throughout. CONCEPT- Awesome concept! We need more places like this. High protein has so many benefits and the fact that they make it taste great is even better. SERVICE - Incredible! Everyone is very friendly, helpful, and most important knowledgeable. Nothing worse than going to a restaurant and asking simple menu questions and none of the employees know.... Or even care to know. FOOD- Did I mention how great it was already? Well it's worth a second mention. Great menu choices and the smoothies and fresh juices are divine. The only con is the wait.... But good things are worth waiting for. read more