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!

First time here and it was good! Not many coffee places I know of with outside seating so we came…read morejust for that. Baklava cheesecake was great except the bottom and outside which were not so good. Cheesecake itself was crumbly but tasted like real cream cheese and all the right ingredients. Turkish coffee was great and I got a ginger cardamom coffee that was yummy as well. A bit on the expensive side.

A trip to Evanston isn't complete without Alchemy's delicious scones! I had the Cherry Scone and an…read moreApricot Scone. My sister had the Currant Walnut Scone. YUM! You can't go wrong with any of them. I also noticed they offer ready to bake scones, but I was traveling so wasn't able to take advantage of that.

I was so excited to stop here on infrequent trip to wilmette and have a scone and coffee. It's…read morecharming and smells dreamy. I was sad though bc I asked for a cherry scone (fresh out of the oven even) and it was burned on the bottom. I felt sheepish complaining about it so i didn't. Big bummer though!

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!

Nice opening store with Middle Eastern flavors. Love the…read morecoffee roasting machine sitting in the entrance of the store. Will be fun if we came in a time when they roasting the coffee. The air in the store fills with the really nice Chia aroma. The pastry is a little bit on the sweeter side. We came in around 3:30, and there were no lines. So we got our coffee quickly.

I've only stopped in once and am very impressed by Hometown Coffee! The location is great, right at…read morethe train station and across from the Glenview Public Library (a 1st Class library I might add) and the service and value are wonderful. I like black coffee and I paid what all the other places charge, but I had the option of dining inside or outside, and got to watch the wonderment of Glenview unfold on the gorgeous first day of Autumn! One colleague got the avocado toast and I was very tempted to steal a bite but that would be a major faux pas. Another got a chocolate cake donut that was the size of a small monkey's head!! This place rocks!! I will gladly return here!

Not surprised at how busy this Hometown location was for a Monday morning! I visited for a coffee…read moreto-go and was happy they had their Pumpkin Spice Latte available. The coffee itself wasn't too hot and had a really nice flavor. The caffeine boost was subtle which was nice as well. There were minimal open tables to sit at midmorning as there were many families enjoying breakfast, friends catching up, or people working remote. Parking was a bit tough as this is across from the train station. There is a small lot but it fills up quickly. Pro Tip: They have wait times posted next to the ordering counter so you know how long to expect to wait.

This is my second time here and it's amazing as it was the first time. I love coming here later in…read morethe evening or at night as they stay open late. It's very family friendly, and there is plenty of seating. I ordered their pineapple passionfruit refresher and my boyfriend got their cloud matcha latte. He said it was very good and I loved my refresher. We also tried the mango pastry and the Oreo cheesecake. Both were 10/10. Unfortunately I spilled my boyfriend's matcha everywhere and felt so guilty. The cleaning staff was super polite and told us not to worry about it. On the bright side, my boyfriend took the opportunity to try another drink that had also got his attention. I will definitely be coming back and won't spill anything next time!

I was craving cardamom coffee and we decided to stopped by Haraz to try it out. Very spacious and a…read morelot of parking spot. They even had a quiet room with door for coworking/studying. Went with their all spice mofawar, and a cleaner palate one Qishr since hubby wanted something tea-like. After ordering all that, we noticed there's a separate tea option that had a citrusy flavor so we got the sunlit tangerine also. The drinks were very strong in a whole mix of spice flavors, which I actually really liked, but it is a little too watery, not dense or creamy enough, and the coffee flavor lean a bit more too acidic/sour. It's not bad, but I think it's just not exactly to my liking. What I didn't realize was that a lot of the spices sunk to the bottom so when I remixed the thic layer of spices with oatmilk at home, it tasted pretty good with the right consistency. All of the drinks were pretty diluted in our opinion, and I think it's too much spice for my husband although I liked it. I also ordered some pastries, but the server packed the wrong one. If I didn't look closely enough I might've missed that. There was one last Dubai pistachio cookie which I asked for, but they gave me the Biscoff cookie instead which was a less expensive one. Anyway, they were fine switching it out after I pointed out, but no apologies or anything. While we weren't impressed with the drinks at first, the medovik mouse/honey layered cake was really good-- it was pretty dense where the buttery parts were, and it was pretty sweet so it balanced well with the acidic coffee. We didn't know the cookie had more fillings on the inside until we got home. The fillings had crunchy flakes which adds a really nice texture, and the filling is not too sweet. Really good. We liked the pastries a lot more than the coffee. Perhaps we just aren't used to the flavor and taste profile of the coffee. I'd be willing to try more here.

Great coffee, clean and bright setting. Bakery items are excellent. Staff and owner are welcoming…read moreand friendly. So happy that Newport has come to our neighborhood. Safe from the usual vagrant panhandlers that invade too many of the other Evanston coffee houses.

Please bring back the old version of COCO BREW. I'm begging…read more I've been a regular since they first opened a few years ago, I think around 2019? Their Coco Brew used to be one of my absolute favorite coffee drinks for years, up until recently. I'm not exactly sure when the recipe changed, because as far as I remember it still tasted the same through 2025. I've been busy this year and haven't come as often, but the last three times I ordered it, it was completely different. And since it was made by different baristas, I'm assuming this is a recipe change rather than just inconsistency. (Check the photos to see the differences!) The old version was much lighter, mildly sweet, and had that lovely coconut milk aroma. It tasted fresh, smooth, and really balanced. The new version is totally different. The first thing I noticed was the color. It's way darker now. And the taste matches: darker, more sour, and with a strange almost medicinal aftertaste (reminded of some cough medicine..) The gentle sweetness and mildness are completely gone. Now it somehow tastes strong, sour, and watery at the same time. What happened?? Please don't change something that was already so good. Even the ice seems different now. It used to have smaller ice pieces that filled the cup more evenly and let the liquid move through, so you got that really pretty layered look with the coconut milk and cold brew. Now it's large chunks of ice just floating on top. Anyway, this is just my little heartbreak over a drink that used to be so beautiful and delightful. Other than that, the vibe is still nice as usual, maybe a bit more crowded than before. The decor is still cute, and I've always liked the woody interior. It's also one of the brighter coffee shops in Evanston, with really nice natural light.

You're welcome to come order and seat or grab and go. Beside the coffee was alright. And it is…read morevegetarian and vegan friendly. The avocado toast: there is super duper small and overall charged. Like smaller then kids size for over priced. For 10 bucks with tax avocado toast is NOT worth it. The flavour content was not there and it did not taste like a proper avocado toast. Felt like it was a BLT that diced up and half. Been better places where avocado and toast cost only seven bucks and it's a very big portion. The matcha is NoT their strong suit at all. Do not get it at all. Couldn't finished it. That's said a lot. Time to time it does have a long line. Staff was really hit or a miss. There is a few people who are rude and think they know what is best for customers hint want to take your money and over charge crap. And there is a few who is helpful and understanding people dietary restrictions or want it healthier.

I was quite impressed by this location, particularly the hot food. I was staying in the nearby…read moreHilton Orrington/Evanston and this is the closest coffee shop I found on Yelp. The coffee is standard (nothing special) but the hot food is what really impressed me. I had the bacon egg and cheese croissant, and it came out so fresh and hot that I couldn't touch it for a few minutes. Once it cooled a bit and I sunk my teeth into it - oh my! Delicious. It doesn't like much in the photo (and it comes wrapped in paper almost like a fast food sandwich), but the taste is great. I liked it so much that I came back the next morning for a Cajun breakfast burrito and same story - piping hot and delicious. Portions are perfect for breakfast. Location is perfect for those at or visiting Northwestern. And the dining area is quite spacious, welcoming, and clean. Staff are quite nice as well. Highly recommended if you're in the area.

It was... underwhelming…read more The service was meh as were the drinks. There is a lot for parking.

What completes a KBBQ night? A boba fix, of course…read more My wife pre-ordered our drinks online and was hit with what appeared to be a double charge. According to the staff, that's a bank issue rather than a Kung Fu Tea issue, so fair enough. What prompted me to write this review, though, wasn't the drinks--it was the sound system. Around 9 p.m., the speakers were absolutely blasting EDM. I'm not entirely sure what aesthetic Kung Fu Tea is going for, but dim the lights and add a smoke machine, and you've practically got yourself a downtown nightclub. Sound-Bar closed down? Just come here. It's basically the same experience--only instead of vodka sodas, you're ordering an ube Oreo boba slush. Don't quote me on the ube Oreo boba slush.