I would give Matari 4.5 out of 5 stars, so I'm rounding to 5 based on service and ambiance! I heard…read moreabout their fruit mousse cakes online, so we knew we had to stop by to check it out. The cafe is immaculate and service was very friendly. The person who took our order was patient as he explained the different pastries in the case. I wish they had signs explaining what each pastry was so I could have decided while waiting in line. We ended up sharing an iced pistachio latte (delicious and 10/10!), the pistachio cheesecake (10/10!), and the strawberry mousse cake (7/10 - a subtle sweetness, great texture, but needed more cake or crust inside as it was mostly whipped cream and the shell). The mousse cake was $12.00, which felt steep considering it was mostly whipped cream, even though it was obviously beautiful. We would definitely come back for the coffee and to try more menu items! Check this place out!

I wanted to like it. I did. But after a few visits, it's just not for me…read more The first trip, I tried the Matari Tea: Green tea, Himalayan pink salt, milk, and spices, topped with roasted pistachios. Sounds good, right? Alas, it could not have been blander. I couldn't taste any "spices" or even the hint of salt. The profile was that of very watered-down tea mixed with milk, and a ton of pistachios floating on top. Like, barely crushed pistachios. Huge pieces, covering the top of the drink, bobbed around like tiny icebergs, and even they somehow had a toned-down flavor. The drink was definitely a swing and a miss. Fast forward two weeks, and I tried Matari again. This time with a simple cortado. I sat at the table right by the door, and the espresso was pretty good. Solid body, not too bitter. It was on the pricy side ($7+), but I was ok with that. But then, I'm hanging out, sipping my coffee, and I catch a burst of perfume-like scent. I'm shocked, but whatever, I figured someone in heavy perfume walked by, no big deal. A few minutes later, wham, I'm hit in the nose with another burst of perfume. Then, I see it. A slight haze around me. So, not a heavily perfumed woman after all, but an automated air-freshener. After further inspection, I see the unit plugged in on the ground right behind my chair, which sprays up and out on a timer. That's right, an air freshener right next to a table where people consume food and beverages, shooting a mist into the air that slowly rains down onto my head and table, and into my coffee. I ended up tossing the last few sips of my cortado, as I could taste the scented whatever-it-was in my cup. I'd have gone to the counter and asked for a new one, but I was so over my visit by then, I just opted to get out. The staff aren't very friendly. Not rude, but they don't give off a welcoming aura, and I didn't feel like trying to explain the issue. Lastly, can we talk about their little "your order is up" beepers? We've all seen them. The little electronic things that blink and make a noise when your order is ready, so you can go snag it from the counter. When I think of a coffee shop, I think quiet and peaceful, or perhaps a bit louder, with bustling people and well-paired music. At Matari, it's an insane BEEP BEEP BEEP that goes off every few minutes when an order is up. I get it, you don't want to bring the food out to your customers. But does it really need to feel like an airport Chili's? It's a bummer, because Matari is beautiful inside. It's clean, it's chic, and its location is at a notable crossroads in Skokie with plenty of parking, leaving it extremely convenient. They've even got an easy-to-use website, which so many coffee shops simply do not have. There aren't a lot of coffee shops in this particular part of town, which is why I so, so very much wanted to love Matari. But subpar drinks? Air freshener spray intrusions? Frequent and obnoxious beeping? I tried. I'm sorry. I just can't.

I just recently discovered this place. I work in Lincolnwood. It has a great ambiance to talk with…read morefriends, co-workers, or just chill by yourself and sip on coffee. More than enough seating and outlets to do work. My go-to drink is the iced café latte with whole milk. The coffee quality is far superior to Starbucks. Also, I love the gauva empanada with cream cheese! Also its good to know you are supporting a local business. Happy to know 5% of their proceeds go to charity. Overall highly recommend!

Such a warm and cozy cafe. Grab something to go or stay awhile, this place is IT. They have…read morecoffees, teas, and specialty lattes. I went with an iced peppermint tea and it was very refreshing. I also tried the guava and cream cheese pastry and my goodness this was insanely delicious. The pastry dough is crispy, flakey and fluffy. The guava jam and cream cheese was sweet and not overly sweet. I stopped in on a weekend morning and throughout my time here there was a constant flow of customers coming and going. Staff members were able to keep up with the influx of weekend customers. Within 5 minutes of placing my order my items were ready to be picked up at the front counter.

Friendly staff. Standard coffees. Giant wall art with a ceramic mug, and yet for table service it's…read morea post-Covid paper cup. The Argentinian chicken empanada was okay but not made in store, and lacked any real savor. Baklava type pastry the size of my big toe was dry as a squirrel turd. Beverage cooler sparsely stocked. One t-shirt dangling from the merch rack. No side table for the wall sofa. This business needs to rethink its posture toward customer comfort. Anyone can sell coffee and pastries from a hole in the wall. I might stop for a take out coffee if my car breaks down outside, but other than that a poor business model tells me to grab a cup at my local greasy spoon.

great coffee shop with big open space, plenty of tables and seating!…read more i was pretty surprised at how big the coffee shop was upon walking in. they had plenty of need coffee flavor options and lots of dessert options. i got the coco-stachio which had pistachio , coconut and white mocha. it was delicious and not too sweet at all. my friend had the pistachio latte which she said was really sweet but really good clean. friends staff... i would come back here and hope they would open more motw near me as well

Cafe 44 is a cafe that in the Morton Grove 'hood, offering various cold and hot drinks and…read morepastries. We came here for a caffeine fix, ordering the following: +Turkish Coffee +Latte with almond milk +a Pistachio Latte +and, a Spanish Latte We also tried their mini bird's nests, a few filled with chocolate, and another few filled with pistachio - these were actually pretty tasty! Unfortunately, the coffee was not brewed well and was extremely weak; they looked aesthetically pleasing, though, with the latte art and/or the toppings. Staff were friendly; once you order, your items will be ready for you on the side counter. The space is bright, and they have a handful of seating inside - the place is popular, so you may have to wait a few for a table. Street parking is available off of Waukegan. +weak coffee +stick with the mini bird's nests +street parking available

Came here after work to finish up some task. Coffee is pretty good…read more I see some complaints about price, yes they are same price as Starbucks, at least from what I ordered. Also they have a 3% credit card fee. Nice. I don't remember they warned me about that. Service is odd. No one greet you or say anything. I was just standing there and they were working until I speak up. All the customers already sat down and have their drinks so I don't understand why I wasn't greeted. Bake goods are dry. Taste like 5 days old

A new place for me that I accidentally found on Google Maps. It looked interesting in the photos,…read morebut in real life it's even more beautiful. A very nicely decorated place with great taste and attention to detail. I went with my friends for an afternoon coffee. We all ordered different types of coffee, and every single one was excellent. Unlike chain coffee shops where everything comes in paper cups, here you actually get a real cup, which I really appreciated. My friends also ordered spinach pie and said they hadn't had such a good one in a long time. The guys who work there are very kind and pleasant. Overall, everything was truly wonderful. I would definitely recommend everyone to visit this place!

Unbeknowest to me, I have made it a life mission to visit every Qawah House in the nation. I would…read morenot consider myself a huge jet setter, but I have been to the multiple ones in Detroit and houston, and now in Chicago. This one was no different in the style, and decor of the interior there was also no different in being extremely busy. It might have been our fault for coming on a weekend, but we had no other choice. And it was as busy as ever. However, it was quick.They were quick to bring it our order out, and have it ready, despite being so busy inside.We did have to wait a little bit to find a table for our family as large as ours, but that seems to be the norm, because most tables also seem to have about six people on each. The adeni as always is a must have and always my favorite to get. The honeycomb bread and a smattering of other little treats we got from the display cafe that they have was also good and welcome to have in a typical windy day. I would note that even though it smells delicious in here with the coffee aromas, this does not would not be a good place to come to study. This feels like a very friendly friend of the environment because we saw so many different families here and because of that, it was very loud. Just as a heads up. If you're looking to have tea or coffee after dinner out with a family, then this is the place.

It's soul good! Soul…read moreGood Coffee is exactly what it says: independent coffee shop that has ethically sourced coffee and a welcoming space that supports the community. I enjoyed my Soul Sunny -- a chocolate covered banana latte (made with almond milk at my request), it tasted so good! There were quite a few people when I stopped in one afternoon -- it's a large space with lots of seating and friendly vibes. I'll come back for the Matcha Madness and to try some pastries.

Soul Good understood the Valentine's Day assignment…read more I got their French silk-inspired cold brew, and it was such a fun seasonal treat. It had that rich, chocolatey depth you'd expect from a French silk pie, but still kept the bold smoothness of cold brew. The creamy foam on top added the perfect silky finish -- light, fluffy, and slightly sweet without overpowering the coffee. It felt indulgent but not too heavy, which I loved. You still get that strong coffee kick, just dressed up in dessert vibes for Valentine's Day. Super cute, super festive, and honestly such a good balance of sweet and bold. Soul Good definitely made it a sweet little holiday moment

****LONG POST INCOMING****…read more I wanted to take this time to write a through post about an experience we had at Cupitol this Sunday. We are frequent patrons of the Evanston location (Grove Street) and love it. It was my daughter's baptism, and we had many people traveling from out of town, so the Cupitol location near the highway made the most sense. Knowing that brunch service is semi-self service and there are no reservations, I went to the restaurant beforehand to speak to the manager (Vlad) and maître (Racheal) and give them a heads up about my party's intended arrival time and number of guests. They were very receptive and explained while they could make no promises, they would do their best to help accommodate. Fast forward to morning of, our guest count doubled. The manager, Vlad, had made sure that we had space and even worked with the surrounding guests to see if he could move them to other areas in the restaurant to accommodate our party. He did this in a way that didn't feel intrusive or inappropriate to these other parties (I asked them). Since there are no servers for the brunch service, my wife and I collected the orders, and Vlad did his level best in entering in the order with names, food, and beverage options. Everything came out wonderfully and as expected. If there were items that took longer to prepare, he assured guests were informed and asked if there was anything they needed while waiting. A plus. Moving on to the support staff. Luis and Andres worked diligently to help with drinks (not their job), attended to spills(whoops), deliver food, bring condiments (not their job), pre-buss, and did this all will grace and smiles. They did most without asking and helped with any requests we had outside of the scope of their typical requires tasks. Hats off to these rock stars and their colleagues. All of our guests were blown away at the food, drinks, service, and ambiance. I couldn't have asked for a better experience. Did I mention there were 8 children! They had food, drinks, and enough space to prevent any potential melt downs. The owner even came by a couple to ensure that everything was up to par (golf reference intended), and we explained that it was far better than that. Birdie, eagle, double eagle, condor, albatross, or ace. Take your pick. I will recommend to anyone, when looking for a place that goes above and beyond, with a staff that will bend over backward for you and guests, Cupitol is the place. Thank you so much, and you will see us again very, very soon! This is not a paid ad, lol

The food is okay, a bit overpriced and not much vegan or vegetarian options. It seems like they…read morejust want to make money selling things to people who eat dead animals. Plus when the check came, they gave us another table's check which was double, and they said that they cleared it up, but they wouldn't give us avoided receipt. The story, the waitress told us, and the story, the hostess told us were completely different. So we're still not sure if we got charged over $130 for the other tables check. My check was less than half of that, because I only ate by myself and my party that was with me, just had water. They said they fixed the bill, but they charged my card twice, with no voided receipt, shown to us, so you be the judge. They did give me a free vegan cookie, supposedly it was vegan and when when I got home. It was not fresh at all and I threw it out.

Kneads and Wants sits tucked away in downtown Skokie with a cute little store front. There's plenty…read moreof seats to dine in and I was impressed with the space inside. There were two staff working and both were so kind during my visit. I decided to get a breakfast sandwich to go and a pastry for a treat for later. Sandwiches are cooked to order. I ordered The Standard which the menu says is bacon, souffled egg, and hot honey on a waffle. Because I got it to go, it was wrapped in a hot sandwich type deli paper. I didn't taste any hot honey at all but this sandwich was delicious. I loved the souffled eggs which were so light and fluffy. I think my particular sandwich got a liiiitle extra toasty, the waffle was pretty dark and the bacon was bordering burnt, which isn't my preference. This sandwich is deceivingly filling. I couldn't quite finish it but man was I full. I will absolutely be back for this and to try other sandwiches. For later I grabbed a flattened strawberry pistachio croissant from the bakery side. I actually love the flattened part of this because it was so much easier to eat than big fluffy croissants and still had all the flakiness that laminated dough pastries bring. I loved this! I can't wait to go back and try their big soft pretzel and maybe a drink next time! Thank you Kneads and Wants!

Phenomenal breakfast sandwiches. Pricey, yes, but worth a splurge every once in a while. Plus you…read moreprobably won't need lunch afterward. Bakery items are hit or miss: delicious cookies (especially chocolate crinkle), and a killer coffee cake, but bland scones and muffins. Also, I wanted to try their big soft pretzel but there was no salt on it. Come on now.

Delicious treats for any pistachio fan! My husband and I really enjoyed both things we got and it's…read morereally nice inside very fancy!

Dripping in chocolate and good company Sweet endings done…read moreright at Pistachio Café in Morton Grove My friend and I stopped in for a post-dinner treat and it did not disappoint! We shared waffle sticks -- one loaded with Kinder Bueno and the other drenched in Nutella -- both absolutely dripping in chocolatey goodness. Paired with almond milk cappuccinos that were smooth, creamy, and perfectly balanced, it was the ultimate cozy combo. We wished we had the stomach to try more from their menu, but honestly, this duo hit the spot and then some. The perfect way to wrap up the night, it was sweet, rich, and totally worth every bite.

We LOVE Sweet Reserve! It's such a lovely spot to step out of the hot (or cold!) and enjoy a coffee…read moreor tea. They have a great variety for everyone and even have a selection of fresh pastries and cakes. I go here often and the baristas are always so kind. The shelves of art and jewelry made by local artists is always fun to look at and I love the support for the local community! Highly recommend Sweet Reserve in Skokie!

Ambiance - casual, spacious, great place for coffee & dessert…read more Service - only 1 person taking orders/making drinks on Sat night, service slightly backed up Food - hot chocolate + biscoff topping was slightly on the sweeter side