How could you not like the Bongo Room? Unless you're on a diet in which case you're in the wrong place. Avant-garde menu with out the snobbery. I've been here several times and there's always something new. Today we had the white chocolate caramel pancakes- too rich. I need an offset. The apple churros French toast came with fruit to cut the sugar of the toast, this is better. I had a sliver of the egg white Rueben - no complaints read more

The Bongo Room - Churros French Toast/ white chocolate caramel pancake / egg white Reuben - New American Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Holy mackerel. This sh*t is fire! It's some of my favorite breakfast food in the Wicker Park neighborhood and I'll tell ya right now, it's worth the wait! Let's be honest, if you're going to actually wait up to an hour to get a seat at a restaurant, the food must be bomb. Welp, lucky for you that's exactly the case here at The Bongo Room. Now, the wait isn't always forever and a day a d if you play your cards right you may sneak right in. Forget brunch on the weekends, sneak in during the week or bright and early on a Sunday. The place is pretty small so I suggest that you're mindful of the fact that you're really close to other diners. They can easily overhear your conversations, just be warned, ha. My absolute favorite item on the menu is their vegetarian croissant sandwich. Oh my goodness, its so good! The sandwich is built on a soft and flakey croissant and comes with melted Muenster cheese, fresh spinach and tomato, crisp cucumber, a flavorful basil mayo, and I always get my egg over medium. I also scratch the mushrooms. I'm not a mushroom gal. Now this sandwich is huge and even comes with breakfast potatoes. So, you better be hungry! I always pair my order with a coffee and every single time I get this I leave full as can be with a giant smile on my face. I am guilty of nibbling on my friend's pancakes every now and then but honestly, I've always stuck with the same order. It's hard to find such a delicious vegetarian breakfast sandwich with so many veggies on it. I simple can stray away from it. If you have the time and you're hungry gallivanting around Wicker Park, try and stop through the Bongo Room. You'll be in for a treat! read more

come hungry and ready to wait. on a sunday morning around 1030, youre looking at a good hour. leave your name and hit up a bar down the block while you wait. however, let me tell you - its worth every minute. the place is small and crammed, but the staff is great and the service is fast! the irish coffee hit the spot and grew some hair on my chest. i gulped it down in 2 gulps. priced a bit high, but worth it since it woke me up and got me a nice buzz all in 1. the lobster roll eggs benedict is a must get. its deconstructed, but a full on mess. the potatoes it comes with are delish too. its filling, and you will eat every last bite off the plate. as simple as it is, hollanidaise sauce its constantly messed up. not here, the bongo room nails their perfect hollaindaise sauce. they had a generous hand with the lobster meat too. the chocolate tower of french toast would be the next dish i order if i come back. i grabbed a few bites of my friends and fell in love instantly. its not overpowering with sweetness, and the chocolate is real chocolate! read more

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Have been going here since the early days . Amazing. Recommend but weekends can be a bit crowded .

I went here for a Saturday brunch with my family. We were seated almost immediately but warned that the service might be slow as they are limited on staff that day. We were all fine by this, I requested for a quick order for my 3 yr old daughter and the staff was nice enough to get something out quickly for her. The waitress who was helping us out was really good but was not giving us enough time to look through the menu, even though it was our first time there. We order two blt egg benedicts and a chorizo omlette, and a chocolate chip pancakes and fruit plate. The omlette, and eggs benedicts tasted amazing. The hollandaise sauce was super creamy and very flavorful. My daughter enjoyed her pancakes and scrambled eggs. Overall the food was great, but the service was a bit okay. I'm definitely willing to go again and give it another try though. read more

I feel like the only thing I need to say is that they serve Deconstructed. Lobster Roll. Eggs Benedict. Say it with me! This excited me because I'm not used to seeing this type of benedict on any menu, so I took a chance. For $15.95. And it literally is a deconstructed lobster roll with poached eggs and hollandaise. The lobster meat was plentiful, the roll was nicely buttered and soft. The eggs and the hollandaise were just an added bonus. Let's also talk about the potatoes - they were cooked to perfection. Usually I have trouble finishing a side of potatoes because they can get so heavy. But the portion was excellent, and the consistency helped with consumption! Not too starchy. A wait is to be expected. According to my cousins, the Bongo Room is pretty popular in these parts. If you're visiting from out of town and want to try this for a weekend brunch, I suggest you plan your trip a bit early to account for waiting! read more

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Very high quality breakfast options with rich and flavorful options to choose from. I enjoyed the open and airy ambience that was able to accommodate large groups. I tried the BLT Benedict and was pleasantly surprised. It had a very nice sauce that complimented the egg yolk and kept the English muffin from leaving the plate too dry. I also appreciated that the portion size was large enough to satisfy my hunger. One thing I will say I did not like was the space between the booths. I consider myself average size and the booths were so tight to the table I felt a little claustrophobic. I like to feel comfortable when eating, and I had to seriously concentrate to allow that to not center my attention while dining. read more

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A weekday visit seemed in order as I had the day off. So instead of opting for our favorite place, we decided to try Bongo room, as there was no line and it's been a while since we had the most delicious pancakes with a lemon mascarpone cream that was so memorable! Our server sat us and within 1 minute came back and asked if we knew what we wanted. Uh, no. Maybe coffee first? Sadly, there was no special pancake offered on the weekdays, so we went with the blackberry and Meyer lemon pancakes and a breakfast burrito. Both were forgettable. I noted to my dining buddy, the croissant sandwich had one egg..one egg? He said I could add another, but if anyone has ever eaten a croissant, it is larger than an English muffin and those hold one egg. So the pancakes were less than spectacular and the burrito was just all spinach tortilla and some tasty scrambled egg. Melting cheese on top seemed dumb and there is a size down from huge tortilla that could have held the fillings of this burrito prefecture. We ate a 1/3 of the pancakes and just 1/2 of the burrito and regretted our choice of bongo room for brunch. My only tip to those waiting in the huge line on the weekend, if you're going here and can convince your friends to do a coffee walk and find another place in the area for food, you will be grateful that you went to eat brunch at any other place. Maybe do a traveling meal...coffee and a danish, then go find an egg dish at another place like Fairgrounds, then wander off to find some good sausage or bacon and a cocktail at Covey. read more

The Bongo Room - The menu on 8/31/17 note the croissant sandwich with 1 egg! - New American Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I finally tried The Bongo Room, and it did not disappoint! The food was delicious, and our server was great. The French Toast and Classic Eggs Benedict were what I wanted. French toast and a breakfast burrito were also ordered by my cousin. Everything went pretty well! The service was impeccable as everyone was super cool and it felt very inviting. Food came relatively quickly and I enjoyed everything I got. All in all, I would recommend this spot for small groups or large groups alike. read more

Cozy atmosphere with modern feel! Great food and very friendly service! Average size portions. On the pricy side though, a family of four with one round of drinks was north of $150.00. Not sure the overall experience matches to that level. For me this would be a special events meal. Be aware this establishment charges a CC service fee. Take cash if you want to avoid. One star off for that as I personally found that to be unacceptable! Enough with the add on fees. We are already paying through the nose! read more

Never cared for the Bongo Room, and this last visit was likely my last. Service and setting in both locations are usually great. The food and coffee, however, are ordinary and/or subpar. Lobster Benedict: 2 (barely any lobster, and the challah was too thick, soft, and difficult to slice). Total miss. Triple berry French toast: 3.5 (sweet, good, but heavy) Fruit plate: 3.5 (banana, cantaloupe, pear, apple, and orange slices) Lattes- 2.5 (Intelligentsia brew... and very acidic. They haven't changed their beans since they've opened, unfortunately.) read more

Great place for tasty pancakes. I had banana and blackberry with a guava mousse. Sweet, but not too over the top. Great music playlist. Service was friendly and attentive. read more

Food was yummy in the tummy. The wait is long to get a table, but hey, it's a small space. It is noisy and there are loads of people here for breakfast and brunch on the weekends. Facility is clean, servers are friendly. The door and entry is not super ADA friendly. The food was plentiful, flavorful, and rich. Expect a heavy meal, not light. read more

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

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Such a mid breakfast experience. The first time in my life I didn't finish an Eggs Benedict. Would not recommend. read more

The Bongo Room - Deconstructed Lobster Roll Benedict - New American Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

The food was pretty good, my friend particularly loved her white chocolate pancakes. The restaurant was very busy and told us we could not be seated unless our whole party was ready. One of my friends has a gluten allergy and the server failed to communicate to the chef that the bread from his order should come on a separate plate--however they did remake it at no cost. We had a friend who was very late and arrived after we had already started eating. We asked if we could order her food, or food to go. They replied that they do not do to-go food on weekends and that they don't allow any orders after the first one has been made (Assumedly to stop people from taking too long at a table and keep things moving). They also told us she wouldn't be allowed to join our table to sit with us while we finished up and that she had to wait outside/in the waiting area. Some notes: Wait time was nonexistent at 9 am, it got busy quickly though. The waiting area was very small--just the vestibule with a heat lamp. Booths seated 6. Staff were friendly and polite. Although I wasn't a fan of the restaurants policies and they gave us a bad experience, I understand why they have them I'm general. read more

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

I came here last week as I was in town for work and my friend suggested this spot. It was a clean not very crowded place thankfully at 10am. I had the lemon and berries pankcakes they were sooo delicious but I didn't even finish them. The waitress Evelyn was super friendly and bubbly she's the type of server that would make you go back to a spot just because the customer service was on point! When I'm back in my hometown I'll be visiting read more

The Bongo Room - Berries and lemon (I believe) pankcakes - New American Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

This is probably one of my favorite places in Chicago for Breakfast! They do both sweet and savory dishes so well whereas I feel many other restaurants seem to do one better than the other. We got the salted caramel pancakes and the BLT Eggs Benedict. The pancakes were smothered in sauce - head to toe. Whenever I get sweet pancakes at other places, I feel they never give enough of the sauce and the dishes aren't sweet enough - not the case here, this was basically a dessert. The sauce was rich and creamy and very tasty. The pancakes had bits of pretzel incorporated into them and were a little dry by themselves (to be honest) but were very good with the sauce. The benedict was very good as well. It was savory and delicious, exactly how it should be. The prices aren't cheap but could be worse ($10-$15) so I would say it's an OK value. The reason for the 4 stars is the service. Our waitress actually rolled her eyes at us! She asked for one of us to pass the salt - we couldn't hear so she had to repeat herself. Not the most professional service, that's for sure. Overall - yes, this is a great option for Breakfast/Brunch! Hopefully you get better service than we did. read more

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

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I am super disappointed as I was so excited to eat here for the first time today. We called four minutes, yes FOUR minutes before arriving and we're told that for two people, the wait was 10-15 minutes and bar seats were available. We love sitting at the bar, so that wasn't an issue for us. When we arrived and we're trying to head to the bar, a gentleman at the host stand was incredibly rude, tried to tell us we didn't call and bar seats were not first come first serve, and then proceeded to show us how busy he was on his iPad more than once. Not the best greeting we have ever had. We left and went elsewhere. read more

The pancakes were amazing. Potatoes seasoned very well. The sandwiches were delicious! I'd definitely be back! read more

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Dear White Chocolate Caramel Pretzel Pancakes I will cross countries for you!!!! I hope they never take this off the menu. Been eating this devotedly for the past 14 years and now my son is too!!! We travel from up north to this specific location because it tastes the BEST here at the OG spot. I ordered the same at the Andersonville location and it just wasn't the same. The sauce tasted different. Like an offset generic brand of chocolate; a little too synthetic and sweet. But the wicker park spot keeps it consistent!!! read more

The Bongo Room - White Chocolate Caramel Pretzel Pancakes - New American Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Fun restaurant, definitely need a reservation for brunch, decent food and prices. I wanted to try a cute, brunch place in Wicker Park and Bongo Room kept showing up. We made a reservation, and thank goodness for that since it was a full house Saturday day. We got seated and I immediate was drawn to their pancakes. They no longer have the red velvet pancakes featured in the yelp photo. I got their pumpkin spice pancakes. Their cakes don't seem to be recommended with syrup since they come with sauces and creams of their own that the restaurant recommends. I also got a turkey sausage breakfast sandwich. Both entrees had a lot of potential but had less flavor than I wanted them to. The server was delightful and the bill didn't make us cry so I'm writing it off as a good experience but I will continue the hunt for cute, brunch spots. read more

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

This was a cute breakfast place in wicker with a long wait list. I went with a group of 4 total to get some breakfast and they unfortunately don't take reservations. You'll have to check in and place your name on the list. We waited about 45 minutes just to get a table! We all got seated on time thankfully and we had a server who got our orders in right away. Our food came out quickly and we all enjoyed our meal. We did feel like the servers and their bus boys were kinda of forcing us to finish our meals right away because they asked if they can take our plates 3 times while we were still eating. The server also just dropped our check when we were still eating too which was kind of different. We ended up paying about ~$15 each which wasn't too bad, but I'm unsure if I'll be back anytime soon. read more

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

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(8/26/18) Such an amazing place to have brunch. While this is my first review, this isn't my first time attending one of the three locations. Of course I have only been too the locations that sell liquor. I love how they tell you your wait time will be 45 minutes to an hour and usually its about 20 maybe 30 minutes at the most. Such good service. A girlfriend of mine and I were seated by the window (that's the best place to sit). You get more room and if the weather is nice, you have a nice breeze to go with. I ordered the Shrimp scampi benedict and my friend order the deconstructed lobster roll benedict. Yall! (yes I hollered) Those HAVE to be the best items on the menu and yes I will argue. Maybe it's my bias opinion of seafood but the Bongo Room is not stingy in the slightest with the seafood. so you get bang for your buck. If you live in chicago, I shouldn't have to tell you to go. If you're in town visiting, GO! GO! GO! read more

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Really solid brunch at the bongo room. We only waited a few minutes to get seated and it's next to a ton of shops. I split the croissant sandwhich and the maple sausage sandwhich. Super great combo. Our food came fast and the coffee was very good. There was a bit of a draft but that's because it's the middle of winter. Definitely a good spot read more

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

When picture of food from this place on Yelp, from their savory looking dishes to the foods sweet and scrumptiously looking, sugar filled French toast, I knew I had to stop by! I ordered the breakfast burrito and it was nothing special. I wouldn't order it again just cause it didn't leave an impression on be. Also a bit on the bland side, but nothing a little (or a lot) of hot sauce couldn't fix. The chocolate tower French toast was absolutely perfect. Very rich and chocolatey but not too sweet. The service was a little on the slow side. Our glasses were only filled once and it took a lot of effort to get the waiters attention so I had to knock off one star. Other than that, I would definitely come back to try more of their dishes! read more

The Bongo Room - Chocolate Tower French Toast - New American Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Came here for Mother's Day brunch. Was told the wait would be 30 min so we headed to the farmers market and then received a text that our table was ready about 5 min later, which was a nice surprise. We ordered the white chocolate caramel pretzel pancakes, the spicy turkey sausage burrito, house potatoes with cheese and iced coffees. Loved that the menu had a lot of unique and interesting items to choose from. Everything was good but nothing really stood out. Would come back again and try other menu items for sure. Lively and upbeat breakfast/lunch spot in Wicker Park that made for an enjoyable Mother's Day! read more

While eating brunch has never been my thing. In the past year I've taken a liking to it since I made it a goal of mine to go out an try a new place at least once a month with my family and friends. So when I go somewhere I go to enjoy my time and not really look into dissecting my experience. This time however, I need to say that I had to hold my tongue at the request of my wife. The experience started just like any other, with the exception of us actually being seated sooner than we had expected which was a huge plus with 3 children in tow. We were seated pretty much next to the kitchen that was cranking out plates like a well oiled machine. Little did we know that it was not going to continue to be as good as it had started. Almost like when you go skateboarding and the road is smooth, but you just don't see that crack coming up in front of you at the intersection of heavy traffic and then, well, you know how that ends. So we were greeted by Meghan, who was very friendly. As she handed us our menus, she noticed that we had young ones with us and made some recommendations on pancakes that the kids would enjoy, +1 for Meghan. She walks away to give us some time to review the menu. After a few minutes she comes back and asked if we were ready to order. We begin to give her our order when she interrupts at the fourth person, not the first to state that she didn't have her pen, - 5 for Meghan. Not sure why it took her that long to realize that she didn't have her pen, but the fact that we had to go back and start the whole ordeal of ordering for hungry kids didn't make this a worthwhile moment. Now, as you can see from my pic of the kitchen, we were pretty dam close. Close enough that I could just grab my own plate right from the griddle and enjoy my BLT Benedicts, which had some very well executed poached eggs on top with just enough of their Hollandaise on it to make it right. Yet, when I went in for the potatoes that came with my meal, they were cold and completely unseasoned. I asked one of my friends that came with us and the result was the same, cold unseasoned potatoes. Not sure how or why, but I gave in and just added some S&P and called that one a day. The iced coffee that we ordered also didn't meet par. It had a taste that was bitter, which is what commonly happens when a coffee sits too long in the carafe on a burner. I only drank a little bit of it and switched over to water. The coffee actually caused my stomach to become irritated and it seemed I wasn't the only one that felt the same at our table. I really wanted to love this place because its close to home, but after my experience I'll have to look elsewhere. Here is a highlight of what I enjoyed: - Nice lighting and décor - Food portions were very good - Staff was friendly - Place was clean - Not too loud, average noise level so you can at least have a good conversation with out yelling across the table. Areas of improvement that could make this place great: - Making sure that food is better executed before serving, Hot food goes out hot and seasoned unless noted in the menu. -Price for drinks was a bit too high. Example: Chocolate milk $4.75 for only 8 to 10 oz. If that, it actually looked like less. After this, I look back and can say that my comparable preferred choices in the area would have been Yolk or Hot Chocolate. read more

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

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This place was good and good service, but I think my expectations were too high. They have a fun menu but the taste of the dishes themselves was average. For drinks, the coffee was good (just basic drip coffee), as was the chai tea latte. The chai latte was more milky and less spicy than I prefer, but still good. As for dishes, the best was the Apple and Pear Crumble French Toast- very flavorful toppings and fluffy french toast. We also tried the banana praline pancakes which had good flavors but not enough crunch. It almost tasted a bit mushy with all the sauce on it. Lastly, the lobster roll Benedict was tasty but came out cold. I think I would have liked this dish more if the lobster used was more plain (it tasted like tuna salad but with lobster). Overall good place if you're looking for brunch or breakfast nearby, but I wouldn't necessarily go out of your way to come here. read more

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We had breakfast at The Bongo Room and it was good. There are three locations in Chicago: this one, which is the original, in Wicker Park, Andersonville, and South Loop. These restaurants only serve breakfast, lunch, and brunch and do not accept reservations. Brunch is served on Saturday and Sunday. We chose this restaurant because we were looking for a good breakfast spot near our Airbnb in Wicker Park and this was the top search result on Yelp. This is a casual American restaurant (with a bar serving alcohol) and it's been in Chicago since 1993. It's a popular place. On a Monday mid-morning, it was busy. Luckily, our group of four didn't have to wait. However, several parties after us had to (early lunch crowd). The breakfast menu was pretty simple with eggs (any style), croissant sandwiches, breakfast burritos, omelettes, pancakes, and standard stuff like bacon, ham, and sausage. They have a variety of coffee drinks as well as teas and juices. They also have seasonal specials. Here's what we went with: Seasonal specials: * Lemon Brioche French Toast ($13.25) - warm Meyer lemon cream, blackberry coulis, fresh blackberries, shortbread-poppy seed streusel * Red Velvet Pancakes ($11.25) - red velvet chocolatey cocoa hotcakes topped with warm vanilla creme and toasted walnuts Savory (regular menu): * Chorizo, Potato & Avocado Omelette ($13.75) - chorizo, potato, avocado & queso fresco cheese omelette, salsa, tomatoes, toast * Spinach, mushroom, and smoked ham omelet (custom omelette) My favorite was the lemon brioche French toast. The lemon cream and blackberry coulis were tangy and delicious. The toast was just covered in the stuff. The red velvet pancakes were filling. Three thick pancakes come to each pancake order. You can mix and match pancakes, but it'll cost extra. I decided to get all three red velvet pancakes, but it turned out to be too much for me to eat. The pancakes were thick and the stack was topped with a good amount of creme. However, the pancakes were so dense that I had to ask for more creme, which they brought in a bowl. Yum! The portion size on the pancakes is so big that I suggest sharing an order. Otherwise, you'll probably have leftovers. The omelettes were yummy. The ingredients were fresh and flavorful. What I like best about the omelettes is they are relatively healthy. If you customize an omelette, they start at $12.95 each and include 3 ingredients of your choice from a list of 30+. Additional ingredients are $1 each (meats are $1.50) and egg white omelettes cost $13.75. Service was great. The staff seems friendly and cool. TL;DR - I give The Bongo Room 3.5 stars rounded up to 4. If you're looking for quality, comforting American breakfast food, look no further. read more

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Best pancakes EVER! Such amazing varieties it's difficult not to over-order, over-eat, over-do your whole darn experience Ok, so the customer service is hit or miss (you could run across an awesome employee or a jerk) but don't let this deter you. I almost left until my family advised me to relax and see this thing through lol.... I just have this thing about spending money in an establishment that treats me less then pleasant from the gate. I mean I'm not asking anyone to bow and kiss the ring but c'mon; it cost nothing to extend hospitality. This issue was with seating 5 of my guests when the 6th was parking. I thought it was quite petty and the employee refusing to seat us went over to other employees to discuss this in an unprofessional manner. Enough of that, friendlier employees came to the rescue and offered us coffee while we waited 3 minutes for our 6th member to arrive. Parking was terrible because this place is in high demand and so was parking this day. Server was pretty cool; offered some great suggestions. There are 3 items you need to concern yourselves with here... 1. Black coffee' 2. All the specialty pancakes (order 1 of each no need to stack) 3. Lobster Benedict The dishes are huge and can be split so keep this in mind when ordering. Make the most of your visit and sample as much as you can if you're with a group. Enjoy! Christy said so. read more

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We walk down the street from our Airbnb on our first trip to Chicago and enjoyed breakfast here. Going on the recommendation of the waiter, I ordered the breakfast burrito with added crispy bacon which was very good. It came with perfectly cooked potatoes. The atmosphere was casual, yet inviting. My friend ordered the breakfast sandwich with added bacon I believe and also enjoyed it. read more

The Bongo Room - Breakfast burrito with crispy bacon and potatoes - New American Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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This is such a cute brunch spot! All their menu items I've tried are so tasty. I got the croissant sandwich and white chocolate caramel pretzel pancakes. I have a huge sweet tooth but the pancakes were too sweet for me and I could only stomach a few bites. I did enjoy the croissant sandwich. This place is nice for a fancier breakfast/brunch with a friend or date. read more

The Bongo Room - Crossaint sandwich and white chocolate caramel pretzel pancakes - New American Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Interesting and eclectic breakfast/brunch menu. Great service; servers are personable and kind. Really love the decor - the combination of art and legos manages to match the overall feel of the place. Feels like the restaurant holds itself to high standards but doesn't take itself overly seriously, which makes it fun for kids and adults alike. read more

I dropped by here for bfast with my friends. We got here at a perfect time because had we arrived 15 min later we would have had to wait. Since we are gluttons we ordered 4 different pancakes, a sandwich, and a bfast pretzel roll to share. This was totally unnecessary because the pancakes are huge and we could just have been fine with two. The food came out in about 15-20 min which wasn't bad considering how much food we ordered. The red velvet pancakes which were highly recommended were so so to me. I enjoyed the cranberry and the pumpkin pancakes way more!!! The pretzel roll breakfast sandwich was delicious and huge. Honestly we would have had been fine just ordering that dish for 2 people. They do not skimp on portions here !! So beware of over ordering, you really do not want to end up with leftover pancakes. Pancakes were $4 each which is decent since they were the size of my face. Menu changes frequently, as of now they have Oreo and strawberry Meyer lemon pancakes, so unfortunately you won't be able to try the pumpkin one till winter rolls around again. Must go brunch restaurant in wicker park!! read more

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I've been planning to come here for literally over a year, and finally got around to visiting this past Thursday breakfast/lunch (yay for a senior year class load). There was no wait (as expected), but still a good amount of people considering it was a weekday. I came with a friend and we ordered two things from the specials menu: 1. Apple cranberry brioche french toast (vanille bean brioche with brown sugar and butter sauteed apples and dried cranberries, vanilla bean cream, and oatmeal streusel crumbs): HEAVENLY. There was a wide variety of flavors and textures to keep my taste buds happy, and the portion was generous. The one thing I have to complain about was the fact that after you got past the first layer of toast (it came with a stack of three), you didn't really have sufficient cream/toppings leftover to enjoy the other two. We ended up finishing almost 2 of the slices and then left the rest because there was nothing to top it with. 2. Chicken fajita omelette (red and yellow peppers, and some heavenly cheese (?) sauce): so good. The chicken and peppers were light enough to balance the rather heavy creamy sauce, and the flavors just.... well... worked! The potatoes on the side were on the blander/mushier side, but at least the omelette itself was great. Verdict in terms of food: I was afraid it would be overhyped, but the food lived up to its standards for the most part. Service: DID NOT LIKE. Our waitress was really aloof and cold, and the only time I felt like she was being decently polite was near the end when we got our check. Besides that, we were served without a smile and it was rather uncomfortable. I countered with a 13% tip (HAH, take that). I was considering dropping down the rating to a 3 star because of the service, but I decided the food was good enough to make up for it. read more

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food 9/10 service 10/10 ambiance 9/10 bourbon cream coffee drink :))))))))) forsure worth visiting. read more

Delicious food and speedy service-- classic for a busy, Chicago diner. We came for brunch on Saturday and were estimates to wait 30 minutes for a 2 person table. We were seated within 15! PSA: like most brunch places, this restaurant is heavy on the pork dishes (unfortunate for those of us who do not eat it). Our waitress was very pleasant and the food also came out exceptionally fast. They nailed the service to a science. Also an interesting tip-- despite their menu saying that they do not offer substitutions, they DO allow for swapping or replacing of certain items. Keep this in mind! read more

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

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Not sure what the hype is about... I don't have any major complaints, but also feel that my experience didn't warrant 5 stars. I can only assume that their menu changes often, since some of the items mentioned by other reviewers I didn't see. I came on a Monday morning at 11am and there were plenty of tables open. I ordered a croissant sandwich and a side of Thai chicken sausage. I got one and half sausages and it was $4.50. That was really overpriced in my opinion. The sandwich was pretty good. Not mind blowing. It seems that maybe I should I have chosen a sweet option instead of savory. I will be back to try something else next time. Definitely on a weekday! read more

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

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We came to The Bongo Room for the first time (Milwaukee Ave location) based off of reviews from family. GREAT food! Everything was very flavorful, service was quick, and our waiter was very friendly. It is a fairly noisy restaurant and parking in the area is a huge pain, but well worth it for the food. read more

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This review is years overdue. Back in the day when they first opened I would have complained about the pretentious hostess that continually gave us a snobby attitude but come 2018 I'm glad they got their attitude in check! Equally happy they offer text messaging to summon you when your table is ready. If you've never experienced The Bongo Room you're in for a wait. It's a good idea to put your name in then walk around wicker park enjoying the shops. When you're finally called, first timers shouldn't hesitate to order their outrageous pancakes or french toast offerings. Stacks on stacks drenched in various frostings and toppings. IG worthy! Once you get past the initiation, breakfast sandwiches are phenom on flaky, buttery croissants! I always order tea to drink here because it's loose leaf and flavorful! My favorite is mango strawberry. I opened the kettle and to my surprise their were whole chunks of mango! Phenom! Bongo Room is a long standing Wicker Park staple for brunch, cant go wrong! read more

The Bongo Room - Tempted to get a stack of pancakes or French toast but settled on the vegetarian croissant sandwich! Delish! - New American Near Me - Chicago, Illinois