I have to agree with most people here: I don't get the hype. I live in the neighborhood and have been able to get to Bongo Room on chilled out weekdays to avoid the crazy weekend brunch crowds. The food is fine -- no orgasms here -- but really, there are so many other good brunch options that are nearby, especially on weekends. Toast, Feast, Jane's, Filter, any number of places over on Division... One nice surprise: The lunch salads are quite good. I'll throw in an extra star because the servers are generally nice and attentive. read more

I really feel the breakfast brunch here is so worth the wait! the peanut butter pancakes with bananas are sinful....GREAT BREAKFAST DATE PLACE!!! read more

The Bongo Room is a pretty good place for brunch. I've been here a few times, and I've always loved at least one dish. I would have to say that I prefer their savory dishes over the sweet ones. Their eggs Benedict's are extraordinary, especially the one with bacon! The breakfast burrito is good as well. The sweet dishes are always alright, but they tend to be a little too much for me. After a few bites, I always feel satisfied and don't really want anymore. The red velvet pancakes are very sweet and fluffy, and the blackberry and lemon French toast is good as well (but not as leftovers, as we found out the next morning). The coffee is also decent. Not sure if they provide refills, since I wasn't offered one. Service is decent. I would say that it is worth at most a 45 minute wait! If it's any longer, I would check out one of the many other brunch places on the same street, read more

one of the best brunch we had in chicago, definitely try the lobster Benedict, very tender lobster and egg, also loved the sauce! the chocolate tower is awesome too! we ate it as a dessert, the chocolate toast is awesome, not too sweet yet still very chocolatey. and the sauce compliments everything well read more

I've been to the Bongo Room many times. Generally I enjoy it, but I usually only go when the rest of my party really wants to eat there. I have often wondered why, when left to my own devices, I stay away. Yesterday I finally put my finger on what bothers me about it. If you want a sweet breakfast, this place is doing exceptional things. However, if you are like me, and usually go the savory route, then the food is truly just average. Average food would be fine, if it weren't for the fact that it's 1) painfully overpriced, 2) you have to wait 45 minutes (on average) to eat, and 3) the servers always rush you out. Absolutely no lingering (even to finish your coffee) is allowed. So, go check it out if you're into dessert disguised as breakfast. But if you want delicious egg filled goodness, go somewhere better. read more

This place is decent, but I feel the hype made me hope for better. I had the red velvet pancakes, which are fairly good, and insanely sweet for the first thing you eat in the day. My friend ordered an omelet, which just didn't make it to the top of my list. I came on a week day and still had to wait about half an hour, and there are just places I feel are more worth the wait. read more

After 6 years I finally decided to give this place another shot. The food is always good but the wait is just annoying. We were crammed into the front window seat which I guess gave us a little privacy vs being on top of each other like other diners. We had the white chocolate-caramel pretzel pancakes and some fancy french toast. Both were outstanding and huge. And the chocolate tower french toast is always a winner. Minus one star for no kids menu and the wait. read more

I wish people that I know would settle down about this place! The food is good, but damn, slow down. I'm from the area, and I'm a pancake junkie. So with that being said, I'm kind of impatient and have no need to wait forever to go here on the weekend. To me, I'm satisfied with a nice, fluffy short stack with syrup and butter from the local diner. Most of the dishes that I have chosen here are good, but in reality, I appreciate the simple pleasures in life and don't need pancakes or french toast with so many ingredients on them. So many are so complicated and so sweet. I guess I'm biased. The service is average, not bad, but not overwhelmingly wonderful. Its sometimes tough to park in the area, but close to public transportation. Again, be prepared to wait on the weekends. Try it out if you like, maybe it will be more your style... read more

Show up a 11:30 on a Saturday. Put your name in. Get a coffee at The Wormhole. Go shopping for 30 minutes. Check back in. Be seated. Order the breakfast burrito and whatever that drink was with gin and St. Germain. Be full and happy. Take a nap. Have an awesome Saturday. read more

Their portions are HUGE. I looked up the review and went for the veggie croissant, which as OKAY~ nothing too memorable. It got very busy on a weekend morning and we had to literally wait almost an hour. I personally wouldn't wait an hour for this restaurant. Food was decent, but not worth waiting an hour for, but then again that's just my personal preference. I don't like to wait, especially an hour~ unless it's absolutely ridiculously amazing. read more

Hah I had to update a funny experience here. The food was just the same as all the other times, but when I went to sign my check I accidentally put the waitress' pen in my purse. Seriously an accident. But she came back over and was like "I need my pen". I said I wasn't sure, maybe it fell. She was like,"NO I saw you put it in your purse." haha She thought I was trying to steal her pen. I of course found it in my bag and gave it back, she was so grumpy walking away with it. hah It was pretty funny regardless. The owner needs to give their workers more pens so it's not like turkish delight to lose. read more

Every time I am in Chicago I make it a point to come here. The White Chocolate and Caramel Pretzel Pancakes are definitely the way to go. Every time I have come with someone else the thing they ordered looked amazing. There are two bad things about this place.. but not terrible. The first is that they won't seat you unless you have your entire party which is somewhat annoying. Also, if you order a soda, it is $2.75 for a CAN. Overall the atmosphere, service, and most importantly food is top notch and I highly recommend. read more

Best Brunch in Chicago! Very friendly staff, they always remember me and say hi. The scampi Eggs benedict is absolutely amazing.

I lived in wicker park for a while, i was here religiously every Sunday! I didn't care what the waitlist looked like... the brunch menu is to die for. The service was great, seating great and when they tell you 45 minutes it's usually 30.. not an extra 15 minutes on top of what they originally told you. I usually dropped my name and went to run some errands nearby.. food comes out pretty quick for being as busy as they are. If you're driving parking can get pretty tough. read more

I had the red velvet pancake and the banana hazelnut pancake. I prefer the banana hazelnut better. My friend ordered an omelette, she said it was just ok, yolk's are better. The place is a bit old and we had to look for the entrance since it kinda hidden with no sign and there's construction next to it. read more

Deciding how you feel about the Bongo Room involves hours of thought and sudoku-like concentration. This is a place that, on the right day, and when you're in the right mood, can be a total blast. They serve up some fairly creative, and cavity-inducing. styles of pancakes, and the rest of their menu features a seasonally changing list of unique meals. The problem is that the restaurant suffers from Chicago Cub-itis. They got so popular and have generated such a steady revenue stream that they aren't forced to spend money and put a winning team on the field. Such is Bongo Room. With the position in the book of trendy, the power of word of mouth and the good food came long lines and longer waits. It's not common now to wait two hours for a table, and then find yourself looking at a menu that you swore was more interesting the last time you were there. read more

I've been to Bongo Room numerous times for brunch and have always loved it, but today's visit knocked it out of the park. I am a fan of sweets for breakfasts (actually sweets anytime, who am I kidding), and Bongo brings it with the caramel pretzel pancakes, chocolate tower French toast and banana Oreo hotcakes. If you want to try multiple types, you can ask for a "tasting" (one monstrous pancake instead of the standard 3). My husband is also a huge fan of spicy/savory breakfast and he loved the chorizo-avocado omelette (almost as good as Over Easy's sassy eggs, if you can believe it). The only reason I give 4 out of 5 stars is the wait, but it's worth it. Ask for their delicious Intelligentsia coffee to nurse while you stand out on Milwaukee Ave and people watch for a half hour. Thanks Bongo Room - seeya next time! read more

I really want to return to bump this place up to five stars, because I know it's got such great potential! However, my experience was not QUITE 5-star quality. First of all, the restaurant was uncomfortably crowded with a long wait. I tried to go the healthy route and got an eggwhite and veggie scramble. Please, please, PLEASE leave your guilt at home and do NOT order healthy. My dish was also incredibly spicy, but the server was very great and brought me a new plate. Everyone else's food was amazing and we ordered an extra order of chocolate french toast for our table to split, which I ended up really wishing I had just ordered as my own meal- TOO GOOD! read more

Let's get down to business....we had the white chocolate caramel pretzel pancakes and an avocado chorizo cheese omelet. The pancakes were sooooo good. You would think with all the sauce they put on top they would be super sweet, but not so. The were in no case overly sweet. Just the right amount of sweet & saltly taste. Mmmmhhh mmmhhhhh and the omlet for being nothing special was also very good. The best way to eat at these type of breakfast joints is to order something sweet (like the pancakes, french toast, etc) and then something breakfasty (eggs, potatoes) and SHARE!!! (If you can manage that!) Bon appetit! read more

THE BONGO ROOM IS AMAZING!!! Can I just say the Bongo Room has been on my "bookmarked" list for 1 year+ I always avoided it because people say the service is bad and it's always busy. Maybe we got lucky but on Monday morning we headed out and were one of the only people in the restaurant. The food was amazing, we ordered the pumpkin cinnamon pancakes and the white chocolate caramel pretzel pancakes, delightful. I'm typically not into breakfast at all, but I really enjoyed all of the food and I LOVE the fact that you can order a "half portion" (which is still insanely 2 large pancakes for $7.50 instead of the full size 4 pancakes at $10.50). I made my wife promise we'd come back at least once a month :) read more

Not the biggest fan of this place. I found the potatoes mushy and the eggs rubbery. But the most off-putting part of our experience was how rushed we felt the entire time. The check was given to us before we even finished eating, our plates were picked up the second we finished eating, and they tried to pick up the check before we had even finished putting down the cards. I'm not sure why we were so rushed since there was no wait at the door. read more

To start off the food here is AMAZING!! The eggs benedict were fantastic but what really was great were the pancakes. We saw some at a different table and decided on a side of the blackberry lemon pancakes. They can serve them individually so we decided to order one to split as our dessert and honestly we both could have licked the plate. Service however was subpar. I had a mimimosa which was delicious and had our server come back I would have had another and my friend who tasted mine would have had one too. I'll come back for the food. Hopefully the service improves. read more

Went for brunch. Great service and food. Will most likely be a wait, but wasn't too long.

This is a nice place with a great ambiance. Maria was a great waitress with impeccable service. I ordered the fresh toast with bacon and eggs and my husband ordered two specialty pancake, key lime pancake and the white chocolate pretzel. Both of our dishes exceeded our expectations! He wants to come back everyday of our vacay. read more

The Bongo Room - Yum!!! - New American Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Went here for brunch while visiting from Cincinnati. The brunch here is ridiculous. I had the chocolate raspberry French toast (can't remember the exact name). It was the best French toast I've ever had! It was rich but my sweet tooth is insatiable. The wait wasn't too bad. About as bad as a restaurant in downtown Cincinnati would be. I loved it though. Now whenever I come back, I have to hit them up read more

Their Reuben is a sick joke. The things other people were ordering looked half decent though. read more

The Bongo Room - New American Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Was recommended to try this place. Menu was impressive, food was not. The salad had brown and reddish spots on the edges of the romaine in the Caesar salad, showing that it was very old lettuce that they use in their pre-tossed salads. The Reuben was below par. The service.... we had two different girls ask us twice each of we wanted to order within first 5 minutes while clearly trying to look at menu. When we attempted to finally order drinks, the server didn't accept my boyfriend's ID because there was a small crack on the side. So we cancelled our drink order and had a below average meal. Don't waste your time at the Bongo Room in Wicker. There are many more restaurants in the area with higher standards and better service that are way less pretentious. Save ur time n money. I was so disappointed that I had to download the yelp app just to make this review. Sad. read more

Favorite breakfast in Chicago. They are always quick, food is always delicious. Even when they are busy we have always gotten a seat in less than 10 minutes. Today I got the pear vanilla french toast and it was delicious! Highly encourage people to try this place out. Perfect for any crowd too. read more

'...wakin' up too early maybe we can sleep in i'll make you banana pancakes pretend like it's the weekend now" i had the bacon and cheddar omlette a glass of orange juice (blood orange) and we all shared the oreo banana pancakes (really good..not too sweet). wifey had the lump crab benedict that was very rich...visable pieces of crab...not bad. the food here is pretty pricey for breakfast/brunch...but overall it was pretty good. we just stumbled upon this place after walking around shopping. i do suggest going early as this place gets really busy. not the best spot for groups over 4. i really don't have anything bad to say about this restaurant. as a first-timer i had a good experience. check the website for prices ahead of time or ask for a menu before you sit down if you're looking for cheap eats. read more

Heaven on a plate. My friend and I had the oreo banana pancakes and the white chocolate mixed berry cheescakes... about 4 hours ago... and we're still stuffed. Friendly service. Great food. Great find!! Go there -- now!!!!! read more

Finally. A place that has a very good breakfast! I went here with mixed expectations, but was pleasantly surprised. I had the "create your own" omelette, which was very good. The "home fries" were well seasoned and fresh (unlike the left over potatoes that many restaurants serve), the toast was even fab. A very, very good breakfast! Yum. read more

Although I've never had to NOT wait at least 20 minutes, there are plenty of places to go near the restaurant while you're waiting. I've had everything on the breakfast menu now and I am in love. The staff couldn't have been nicer, my coffee was always refreshed and I have dreams about the heath bar/creme anglaise/banana pancakes. I wouldn't get the hot chocolate as it costs $4.50 and it's basically hot Hershey's chocolate milk with some whipped cream on top--you won't miss anything if you pass. I sat at the bar the last time I was there and got very good service; something I'm not used to getting when not at a table. There's a lot of hype, and I think it's worth it! read more

GO HERE! Yes you'll have a wait if you don't go the moment the open but its worth it. The food is always good and there isn't one bad thing on the menu. The staff is great. The pancakes can be ordered in singles by the way so you still get this yummy treat and enjoy the other great food too! read more

chocolate peanut butter pancakes with melted chocolate and cream on top with bananas. one time it made its way to me with a little caramel drizzled on it. i almost cried and hugged the waitress i was so proud. really people need i say more? read more

I don't really understand all the hype about The Bongo Room.. I've been here twice now, both on weekdays so I can't comment on the wait. However, I've been consistently underwhelmed. The pretzel caramel pancakes were awesome, but the cannoli ones.. not so good. I literally whinced as I was eating them. The savory tomatillo scramble just tasted like salsa with some egg flavoring, and their omelettes are those annoying fold-over ones where the toppings aren't even mixed in. With an endless amount of brunch places in wicker park, bucktown and logan square, it's hard to justify Bongo Room. read more

I didn't like the pancakes I got. They were like bricks - way dense - though the fruit was good. It was noisy. My friends seemed to like it though. read more

I loved the Bongo Room! They had a coffee bar, which was nice to have some iced coffee while I waited for a table. They were really busy, but it's worth the wait. I had the white chocolate pretzel caramel pancakes and they were super rich! I got a half order and still had two giant pancakes staring at me covered in a thick layer of white chocolate ganache. I got a side of potatoes and they were really tasty too, well seasoned. My boyfriend got an omelette which he had the entire thing it was so good. read more

I've been coming here since Bongo was under the tracks at Damen, and Derek and John have always provided an uncompromising experience. Avoid the weekends if you can, but that's good advice for any quality brunch spot in Chicago. read more

Very tasty pancakes! The staff is very friendly and attentive! Thanks for making my morning Bongo Room! :)

This is the place I go for indulgence!! The pancakes are absolutely decadent. This is a special treat when visiting Chicago. Worth the wait and the hype! read more