I never write reviews ever. Literally this is my first one I'm writing because this place was just way too great not to talk about!!! My friends and I came for the bts concerts and we came here 3 times back to back because it was close to our Airbnb, cheap, and really really REALLY good. We're from California and for this price back home, it would be half the size for the servings they gave here. Big servings for the price and the drinks were the right typa sweetness, it wasn't too much nor too little. The first 2 times we came, I got the braised pork over rice. BOMB. And then the last time we came I got the crispy bbq pork over rice. HELLA BOMB. Both came with radish soup which went nice with the dishes. The place's interior mad cute and the servers/baristas real cool too. I love this place. I wish there was one in the bay area. Def will be back the next time were in Chicago!! read more

Taipei Cafe - Crispy BBQ pork over rice!! - Taiwanese Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Taipei Cafe is so yummy! Highly recommend. We got the popcorn chicken, braised pork over rice, and the beef tendon noodle soup. All of it was very flavorful and had several layers to it. I wish I ordered spicy sauce to come with the chicken but it was still very tasty! We also got the milk tea, but I should have ordered it to be sweeter. 50% sweetness wasn't enough for me. All good things to know because I will definitely be back! read more

Solid restaurant/cafe with authentic flavors and good bubble tea. Took me back to the months I spent in China/Hong Kong/Macau, though I'll admit I've never been to Taipei. Pretty sizeable portions too! The cucumber salad is on the sweet side for sure, but I really liked its crunchiness. I got the shredded chicken, he got the soup, we also got some steamed veggies. Left with a good impression. Place fills up fast on the weekends so come early! I also like how you can choose your sugar/sweetness level in your milk teas. read more

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I'm picky with food hence the slightly low review. The oyster pancake was not my favorite since it was overlooked. The sauce on it was tasty, however. It was kind of cold by the time we got it. There is a customization to drinks and that's nice (level of sweetness). It has been pretty busy the two times I went in for dinner. Their fried tofu was my favorite so far. Noodle soup is decent yet not to the point where I'll be drooling when thinking about it. Staff is friendly and attentive :) do recommend you to try. read more

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Taipei Cafe is a great hole in the way restaurant located footsteps away from the Halsted Orange Line. They have free parking lot as well. Aside from the ease of access, their food is absolutely delicious! A great mixture of Korean seafood hot pot, Taiwanese popcorn chicken and bento boxes. They also have a plethora of sweet boba drinks and desserts such as their famous bubble waffles. I love eating there a lot! read more

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Taiwanese dishes are hard to find in Chicago! I found this place on Yelp and just HAD to go. I got the Shredded Chicken Over Rice and my boyfriend got the Braised Pork Over Rice. I was honestly a little disappointed because the Shredded Chicken Over Rice was not that flavorful, but it wasn't bad. My boyfriend said the Braised Pork Over Rice was also only okay, not mind-blowing. Overall these two dishes were more of a 3, but the appetizer we got was SO good. We ordered the Crispy Chicken Breast with Chili Sauce and I was instantly brought back to Taiwan's night markets (minus the price part.. haha). This place has a super large selection of items, and I'd love to go back to try their drinks, oyster omelette, shaved snow, and their popcorn chicken! For anyone coming here, definitely get the Crispy Chicken Breast appetizer! read more

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It was a Friday night and we caught wind of a new restaurant around Chinatown. I like the food, decor and concept, but the staff could really use a lesson in maximizing table turnover to get more people in and out more efficiently. We got in around 6:30 and the first thing we noticed was the crowds of people in the entry hall/front bar. They said it would be a 40 minute wait, but it ended up being about 20. I had an Okinawa Milk Tea (the flavor comes from, or is at least based on, a roasted brown sugar syrup) which was fantastic, haven't had anything like it in Chinatown before. My main dish was the BBQ pork rice box. The pork was nice and crispy, but I wish I had a bit more sauce. The egg was flavorful, but not overpowering. The rice was topped with a seaweed-sesame seasoning blend which really brought more depth to the rice. My biggest gripe came from the service. There was a virtual army of servers, but we had to track down our server after 10-15 minutes of time between finishing our meal and getting the check and again between getting the check and getting cashed out. As tables around us reached similar points in their meal, there was a definite noticable lag time where people would linger after their meal was over despite a crowd of people waited to be seated. The server or wait staff never came to make the closing portion of the meal convenient or quick. I'm not sure if that is a cultural difference, but the outcome is very apparent. Overall, I like the place, but management should incorporate lessons from American restaurants on simple actions (removing plates as people finish, not after they leave; frequent followup with customers who are near the end of the meal; etc.) that can turn tables faster when training the servers. I would come here again to try some other foods, but I would avoid the big rush times until they get the service flow down. read more

Taipei Cafe - BBQ pork rice box. I recommend it. - Taiwanese Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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I think that the service was not the best, however the food was decent good and not too pricy either. I ordered a hazelnut bubble tea and i wanted boba, but he gave it to me in a separate container and that was really weird that it was separated from the drink itself which did throw me off having me to assemble it on my own. The place is a bit small and there's free parking which is also a plus, however it's kinda of hard to find parking in such a tight parking lot. In terms of options upon food, there aren't many options either, nor do they have a huge menu which doesn't give the customers the option to choose much, but their portions are pretty decent. read more

I was excited to try a Taiwanese restaurant in Chicago so took my friend here for dinner last week. There's plenty of parking in the lot and in the surrounding area, so that was a plus. The food, however, was not quite as good as the parking. We started off with a couple of drinks, an original milk tea and taro milk tea with pudding. My taro milk tea was decent, but the taro flavor was not as strong as I would have liked. For food, my friend got the Hakka stir fry, and I got the braised pork belly rice box. The Hakka stir fry came with mostly deep fried tofu, which was a bit overcooked, and pork. My braised pork belly was served in huge strips which I did not expect. The meat had good flavors but way too dry. Not sure why it was served in strips, as it probably would have tasted better if it was chopped in smaller pieces. The best part of my meal was the winter melon soup that came with the entree. There were some other items on the menu that I was interested in, so I would come back to give it another shot! read more

Taipei Cafe - Braised Pork Belly Rice Box - Taiwanese Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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There aren't many Taiwanese restaurants in Chicago, but Taipei Cafe is probably the best one. Overall, not a perfect match for authenticity as compared to the food in Taiwan but definitely more than meets the threshold of "good enough." Popcorn chicken is excellent. The pickled cucumbers are a little on the sweet side. I love wood ear mushrooms so I'm happy it's an appetizer option here. The Taiwanese sausage was underwhelming. But overall, the apps and small dishes are solid and good for sharing. Of the many entree options, the braised and crispy pork options are great. The meats come out perfectly cooked and well flavored and taste perfect with rice as they should. The bentos are pretty good value as they come with the meat, soup, veggies, rice, and an egg. The noodle options are good: - Oyster and pork intestine vermicelli is one of my favorite dishes but can be pretty hard to find. It's solid here. - The danzai noodles are okay, can be a little bland. - The beef noodle soup (by which I usually judge all Taiwanese spots) is pretty decent. Nicely cooked beef and tendon with a good portion of noodles. Noodles were nice and chewy and the soup was decently flavored. A little on the oily side but definitely a satisfying bowl of Taiwanese comfort food. -The tomato beef option is a nice change of pace and a great bowl to try (or get more often if you don't like the spicy regular dish). Boba and tea options are pretty good. Lots of options for desserts too and they're big and great for sharing. Portions are excellent - easy to get full on very reasonable pricing. Service is solid. Restaurant is clean, parking easy to find. Not the easiest to get to via public transit. Taipei Cafe hits the spot (not perfectly but plenty more than good enough) when I need a little reminder of my parent's ancestral homeland or Southern California where I grew up. read more

Great, great grass jelly milk tea. Good, good spicy beef noodle. Moderate, weird beef cuts in noodle dishes. Good, tasty non-noodle dishes and apps. read more

Taste: 3.5 Location: 4 Cleanliness: 4 Ambience: 3.5 Value: 4.5 Service: 4 OVERALL = 3.92 Been hearing about this place a lot from friends and the mixed reviews. Finally decided to try it out today and honestly, I found this place pretty good overall. Contrary to what people say about it being expensive for the rather small portions it serves, my food came out in quite a generous size. I ordered the Popcorn Chicken, Fried BBQ Pork "Rice Box" (and yes, you heard it right! They fry barbequed pork! Lol!), and the Spicy Beef Noodle Soup. All three of them were quite delicious; but the Popcorn Chicken was definitely a winner! It's got this salted-egg like flavor and it tasted real goood. It's crunchy and crispy! They also serve you this warm soup that has radish cubes in it. It's tasty and, oh man, it's just perfect for cold weather. I think this is part of the "Rice Box". The place was busy when I went there (noon) but the food came out pretty quickly. I didn't get a chance to try their drinks because I ordered so much food but I'll definitely come back to try their drinks. I heard the drinks are great. read more

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This was my first time having Taiwanese food and I feel I started off on a great note. This place just opened this year in Bridgeport. They have a small lot, or you can just park on 26th street. I tried several small dishes (though you receive a good amount for being a small portion) I got the pig ears, duck eggs with tofu, squid in thick broth and the pork and oyster noodles. Everything was really good. It was my first time having duck eggs, they were surprisingly good. The food came out super quick. The prices were all pretty cheap, most those things were like 3.50/3.75 and the pork oyster noodles like 6.95. That's pretty ridiculous. Also it's BYOB which is cool. They have milk tea and desserts but honestly I was too stuffed to try them. I'm sure I will be back though! read more

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Yes! Taiwanese food in Chicago! I'm so excited! It's not perfect, but we've gone back to place maybe 6 times since it opened because it's pretty darn close. They have several pretty authentic Taiwanese street dishes here. I've loved all of the rice dishes I've tried here - the braised pork over rice, the pork chop with rice. I've also liked their beef noodle soup and dan zhi noodles, and their have very tasty Taiwanese sausage. Their bubble tea is pretty good too. The popcorn chicken is not bad. I still order it when I come here, but it could use a bit more crisp. The oyster pancake unfortunately needs work. I love oyster pancake (see my profile, gosh!). The one here is definitely significantly better than others I've tried in the midwest, but the dough they use here isn't quite right, so it tastes a little on the doughy side. Since these guys have opened, they've already revamped and improved their menu, fixed some of their dishes and added several dishes. I think I'm willing to try their oyster pancake again in a few months. read more

Never use any type of delivery service to order here. If you want to eat here Dine-in. Ordered here twice on Fresh Gogo delivery service, and first time entire dish was missed out in the order , second time they just cancel your delivery order . read more

Solid place for a quick bite to eat. We got the spicy beef noodle, popcorn chicken and crispy pork chop rice box. Popcorn chicken was my favorite. It was light and crispy. Spicy beef noodle soup was flavorful with a hint of spice. Crispy pork chop rice box was solid and the serving size was pretty large for the price. read more

Taipei Cafe - Crispy pork chop rice box - Taiwanese Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

A Taiwanese restaurant with Jay Chou music in the background... Braised pork rice, oysters omelet, milk tea, appetizers are good. Taiwanese sausage is ok. Service is fast, and nice. Deco can make you feel in Taiwan. Worth be back. read more

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FINALLY! TAIWANESE NIGHT MARKET EATS! I came in last week when they first opened to sample a few items on their menu to see if the place is authentic enough for my Taiwanese standards. They sure passed the test! Between my friends and I, we ordered shredded bean curd salad, pickled cucumber, & braised trio platter as appetizers. Everything tasted just like what we'd order at any noodle stand in Taiwan. We also had the popcorn chicken, which for the price I thought we'd get more. The flavor was fine but if you want super authentic popcorn chicken, the best places are still Saint's Alp Tea House or Hello Jasmine in Chinatown. Both places also authentic Taiwanese bubble milk teas! For entrées, we had DanZai noodle soup, oyster omelet, plus 2 oyster & pork intestine vermicelli. The DanZai noodle and oyster omelet were authentic as in the Taiwanese night market. However, the oyster h pork intestine vermicelli needs work. There's only a sad tiny piece of oyster and intestine floating on the top. And this is suppose to be a noodle dish but lack of vermicelli made it more like a soup. And the flavor was pathetic. It needed key ingredients like garlic and vinegar. I was very much looking forward to taste this dish since I just left Taiwan and was homesick over this dish. I really hope they will improve in the near future as I'd like to come back and give this dish a second chance. Onto the dessert, as we were are so full from all we ordered, we opt for mango shaved ice to share. It was ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS! It makes you want to slap yo mama!!! (sorry mom, if you're reading this) My overall experience was nice. Food came out in a timely fashion, although not in order of appetizer or entrée. The staff was in disarray but I will chuck it up to it being opening week. Hopefully it will be much more organized the next time I come. And the next time I come, I shall try the rest of the menu that we didn't get the chance to taste! To be continue.... read more

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Excellent introduction to Taiwanese Street food. The gua bao, spicy noodles soup and popcorn chicken as well as the milk teas are great starters. read more

Very disappointed with the online order, the food and drink aren't special if not poor. Package is horrible. Thanks God! I didn't order so many things. I ordered the lotus root -- one of the very easy prepared food but healthy in a lot Asian countries -- it was $3.50 or little extra, I got the Styrofoam box with a bit of greasy outside. It feels like whoever put it in didn't wash their hand or they just reused the box. The lotus root, it doesn't say anything on the app that it would be sour and full of gingers. So I only ate a couple pieces then dump the whole box. Gingers in food is okay for me, but when it's full of tiny piece, you feel like chewing plastic cause it seems like they use old aged gingers. The best selling (like they advertised on the app) Taipei tea is such a biggest disappointed for me and shameful for them as a boba shop. Yes, you could feel that they're using real tea, not the flavor but at the same token they charge $4.75 for a regular size WITH milk only and WITHOUT boba. Again, there's nothing mentioned on the app about this. Pretty sure I will not go there or reorder from them. read more

I got the spicy beef tendon noodles after reading a review on it, and was pleasantly surprised! Coming into it I was not expecting much since I hadn't hear much about this chain. If I were to do it over I would have chosen just the plain spicy beef noodles though. The noodles were truly spicy unlike other places that don't add enough spice. The bowl had plenty of noodles and didn't leave me feeling ripped off, and it all tasted very authentic and delicious too! Of course I had to try their signature milk tea, it was great and did not taste powdery at all, not overly sweetened either like other places have it. I would definitely come back to this place, especially due to its proximity to the residential neighborhood, and the fact that you can avoid the Chinatown hustle and bustle to enjoy some quality noodles. Parking is right out in front and there were only 1-2 open spots when I went in on a Saturday afternoon. read more

Taipei Cafe - Spicy beef tendon noodles - Taiwanese Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I always come for the milk tea! It's so easy to call and pick up. I order at least 4 drinks and they're always ready to pick up when I arrive. Eating in, I always order the beef noodle soup. Delicious every time and don't forget to order the popcorn chicken. So much flavor in that little piece of chicken. read more

Ordered the pork belly over rice! There is a similar dish in Laotian food and it just brought back memories. The lady ordered this spicy noodle soup which had to be amazing because she doesn't eat spicy (LOL). The popcorn chicken is a must as an app! Can't go wrong at the cozy spot. read more

Taipei Cafe - On my 152562 date night with ultra bae. Casual spot to chill and get to know each others darkest secrets. - Taiwanese Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

It's a great place to visit when you really miss or want to try Taiwanese food. This is the first place I found who primarily serves Taiwanese food on the menu. So, lots of choices for you. It was too exciting to try the food so I wasn't take pictures of everything we ordered. It's a good thing because it's worth trying! Two side dishes were both excellent: cucumbers 涼拌小黃瓜 and bitter melons with plum 梅子苦瓜. Taiwanese sausage 臺灣香腸 was okay but not as impressive. We also ordered beef noodle soup 牛肉麵; theirs is more like herb based not tomato based. Pretty tasty. Their beef shank was cooked pretty well. Fried chicken lunch box was good too and it's a lot of food! 肉圓 was decent. Oh, we tried their drink too. I got 仙草奶凍 that's good. My friend's got regular bubble tea, bubble tea with ginger, and mango smoothie, they all liked theirs. read more

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Recommended by my cousin and this place did not disappoint!!! This review is only for the drinks, picked up the Honey milk tea and the Okinawa. It was tasty, good flavor, right amount of boba, sugar and ice. I know everything was made in house cause it was fresh, none of that powder, artificial stuff. I would definitely come back to try other drinks and also the food. read more

very disappointed with the service there. We are forced to tip.... The food is average, and my stomach sucked after eating the vegie there... there are better Taiwanese restaurants in town... read more

I made a walk-in order at noon. Though I understand you guys have a lot of orders for delivery, you don't have to be that rude to your customers. The salt crispy chicken is disappointing. Too much starch or flour. Will not come back again! read more

Taipei Cafe - Taiwanese Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I've had Tapiei Cafe bookmarked for awhile and we had the opportunity to eat here on our way back from a long road trip. I was tired and cold but the spicy beef noodle soup warmed me right up. Some of the reviews mentioned that it was bland but I thought it was flavorful and had the perfect amount of spice. Hubby ordered the braised pork over rice which he happily gobbled down. We both ordered milk teas (jasmine green milk tea and roasted oolong milk tea) which we enjoyed. I like that you can customize the amount of sugar and ice (or have it hot). I docked one star for service....we both are terrible at speaking in Chinese so we usually speak English. When we did so at Taipei Cafe we seemed to have worse service than the other patrons.... read more

I would rate this place a 3.5. Its new on the block and I was excited to try this place out when I found out that it was so close to home and Taiwanese. Taipei Cafe also has its own parking lot and street parking as well. Came in with my mom and friend and ordered 2 of the rice box dishes, BBQ Pork and Sweet Chili Chicken. My friend ordered the Spicy Beef noodles. In my opinion, it tastes very similar to Saint Alps in Chinatown, nothing really stood out. The slices of the BBQ Pork and Chicken was small and it was not filling at all. It came with a big scoop of rice, veggies, and meat. Although, I like the sweet chili sauce for the chicken. I got a couple of bites from the noodle soup, definitely recommend the noodle soup over the rice dishes anyday. the broth was pretty good (not too salty or oily) and the beef was like butter. I like their milk tea the best. The Okinawa Pearl Milk tea is by far the best milk tea on their menu, definitely recommend that as well! read more

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Taipei Café has a wide selection of yummy small plates. I tried a whole bunch of them. The oyster omelet and braised pork over rice reminded me of what I had in Taipei. Very authentic Taiwanese flavor! It brings back memories. I came with my family and each found some item on the menu that they loved. My sister-in-law loved the Crispy BBQ pork, crunchy on the outside and just enough fat to be considered decadent. My brother liked their ginger milk tea. It was made just right with his preference of sugar level. I realized that we can pick 4 different sugar levels. No wonder it was so yummy! He couldn't get enough and ordered another to go. My two nephews had mango shaved ice and the green tea bar for dessert. Delicious... They have already asked me to bring them back. The décor is cute and refreshing. I'll have to come back to sample the rest of the menu. read more

We found Taipei Cafe on Yelp a few weeks ago. It was our first experience with Taiwanese food and we've already been back 3 times! We've tried a few different dishes, but haven't been able to explore the whole menu - yet. The bubble teas are wonderful with so many delicious choices! Peach Oolong is my favorite, but the Ginger Milk tea is great too! You can choose the level of ice and sugar which is a very nice option. I also like that the teas are served with a nice saran wrap type cover so there are no spills! The Gua Bao delicious and very flavorful. The shrimp omelet was a perfect blend of flavors and textures the first time and a bit less perfect the second time. Popcorn chicken is crisp and moist and served with crispy basil. The cold noodles with shredded chicken is also a favorite.. We like the friendly atmosphere at the restaurant. Always busy with families, young couples and people from the neighborhood. The room is not too big, but bright and welcoming. We are obviously not Taiwanese, so we can't speak to authenticity - only to our enjoyment of the wonderfully prepared food and friendly staff! Try it! I think you will really enjoy Taipei Cafe! read more

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Best popcorn chicken in Chicago, hands down! It's got the perfect amount of seasoning and crisp. I personally don't like it when it has too much breading and prefer it to be lightly coated. $5.95 for an order and the portion is good for sharing as an appetizer. If you want a dipping sauce, the sweet & sour sauce would be a great choice. We also ordered two rice boxes: crispy BBQ pork and crispy spiced chicken with chili sauce. For $8.95 each, they were decent but I was not too impressed with either. The BBQ pork was a little too salty and fatty. The spiced chicken is similar to the popcorn chicken seasoning/breading but was a little dry. Overall, nothing too special with these two rice boxes. Location wise, it's tucked away in a little plaza about 5 minutes away from the main Chinatown area. It has its own parking lot and I had no trouble with finding a spot when we went. I would definitely come back for the popcorn chicken again! Would love to try the other dishes (perhaps noodles) next time I come in as well. read more

Came here when they opened and only one other table was occupied. Ordered the hot pot and oyster omelette. Got the hotpot right away, it was not very good and there are no sauces to eat it with. The oyster omelette didn't appear and after we finished our hot pot, I asked the waiter about it, and he said it was coming out. Never heard of a place that gives you your appetizer after you finish eating, so I don't know if they just forgot or something. The waiter was on his phone and did not check in - we had to go up and ask for a The food wasn't very good, and maybe it was an off-day but I probably won't return. read more

fast n good service thank u for giving us that good good at 4 pm ik it was a weird time to eat but we were literally dying coming frkm the airport and having the slowest uber driver so this was truly a rejuvinating meal. highly recommend the basil tofu it was so yummy read more

Taipei Cafe - Taiwanese Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

This place really reminds me of the street food in Taiwan!!! I love coming here. My favorite is the cold noodle. Popcorn chicken is a little too sweet for my taste. Beef and noodle soup is great. Pretty much everything is great here. read more

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I love the variety offered at Taipei Cafe, yet my favorite is always the 卤肉饭 known as braised pork over rice! It's covered in thick, braised pork sauce topped with fermented vegetables and a brown tea egg. Perfect go-to meal! Their fried pork chop is also another great alternative read more

Spicy Beef Noodle Soup ($9.95): This is a good DEAL! For the price and the value, you get lots of noodles, lots of beef, but not a fan of the broth. It's got quite a bit of tang to it that I don't think suits the name of the dish...spicy? Took of 2 stars for service. Take this how you will. We were around closing time but we were rushed out. The place closes at 10p but were interrupted twice for the bill and the second time for payment before we even finished eating. It was around 9:35/9:40 when the first bill drop off happened and maybe less than 5 minutes later for the request for payment. While I understand the time for close up, we still had 20-25 minutes to eat! Obviously, many of them stood around looking directly at our table, while leaving the other 2 tables alone. read more

Great place for milk tea/boba tea - I actually think their milk tea may be one of the most authentic in the Chicago Chinatown area (if you disagree, let me know which one's better!). I've tried their Black forest Mousse and Grass Jelly Milk Tea (favorite!!!). The Black Forest Mousse is a bit too sweet in my opinion but hubby thought it was perfect (he loves chocolate). The Grass Jelly milk tea was delicious! Really authentic. Just wish there were more grass jelly. Check our my video review here: https://youtu.be/XjqqME8VMXU read more

Finally a place in Chicago area that can truly boast about Taiwanese staple street food. We tried the popcorn chicken, pork chop bento box, braised pork over rice, and Tainan style Danzai noodles. All of them hit the right spots and made us very happy. The milk tea with pudding was also very good. The dessert menu was also attractive. The snow ice was a tasty treat that can be shared by two or three if you are stuffed with all the rice and noodles. Definitely will go back again to try the rest of the menu. read more

Taipei Cafe - From drinks to entrees and desserts, they don't miss a beat - Taiwanese Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

BEST POPCORN CHICKEN EVER. I can't get enough of it. Their food is also delicious and flavorful. I've tried many of their appetizers and entrees. All have yet to disappoint. Definitely one of my go to restaurants to eat. The drinks however are kinda iffy for me. But I'm normally there for the food. So I will be back for the popcorn chicken! read more