After passing by this restaurant many times during my late evening runs, I was excited to finally have a chance to catch them before they closed for the evening. I ordered 3 dishes to try: a fish curry, lamb curry and the chicken biriyani and the curries came with 4 parottas. The dishes look similar to Indian cuisine, but the Sri Lankan take on curries and biriyani is different and very enjoyable as well. The spice blend is on sweeter and more floral flavor. The porottas texture is a cross between Chinese scallion pancake and Indian roti. Note the curries take about 20-25 min to make, so exercise patience ... it's worth it! Service was also kind! I was parked right outside with blinkers on and they provided curb side delivery service. I also like that their toast online ordering platform allows you to order food that's not marked up by $2-4 per dish (looking at you, GH). read more

Cafe Nova - Menu - Sri Lankan Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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I've tried this spot for Sri Lankan food a couple of times now, so I figured it's time for a review. It's a mom-and-pop spot in Rogers Park with a lot of space. You order at the kiosk (or online)--the first time I went, I didn't see any people to take my order if I'd wanted to pay in cash (I'm not sure if they take cash because of that). Credit card charge of 3%, by the way. Service can be very slow. The eggplant stirfy ($14 in Dec. 2024 and $16 now) was tasty and a bit sweet, and the chicken mustard curry ($16 in Dec. 2024 and $18 now) was nicely spiced with very tender chicken. The kotthu roti was not spicy at all even though we ordered it spicy--it's fine but I've had better. I recently went for a lunch special of fish curry here--the spices were really good with the fish curry but the fish wasn't as fresh as it could be and there wasn't any heat. The portion size of the actual curry was a bit small with just two pieces of fish. It came with daal (yummy but mild), carrot salad, a fresh and crispy pappadum, a ton of rather dry rice, and some raita on the side. For $13, I thought it was a bit overpriced. I really want to love them but they don't quite live up to the really good Sri Lankan food I've had in New York and Sri Lanka, and the food is priced higher than it should be since the portions really aren't very large (even the main entrees). read more

Cafe Nova - Fish curry lunch special, $13 - Sri Lankan Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Delicious food and great service! Love the option to change spice level. Plenty of seating and nice place to get some work done while you wait for food. read more

Cafe Nova - MASALA CHAI (TEA) VEGETABLE BRIYANI (SPECIAL) SIDE OF RAITA SIDE OF MINT CHUTNEY CHICKEN TRADITIONAL CURRY PAROTTA WITH COCONUT SAMBOL - Sri Lankan Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

A hidden gem!! The curry was absolutely amazing - packed with flavor and veg but didn't leave me feeling food coma-ed out. I'd say the curry was my favorite by far and it def was a sizeable portion for more people. Service was kind and you can tell they care about their customers. It was quieter inside too so you can def have more convos easier !! Def would suggest hitting this spot up read more

Cafe Nova - SHRIMP CURRY PLATE - Sri Lankan Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Large quiet space with counter service. Had great meal with the fish cutlet (croquettes), coconut sambol with parotta and the spinach curry. Serviings were generous. read more

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First time having spicy chicken mustard curry and it was great! Highly recommend! A lot of flavor and the parotta was a nice compliment to the dish! read more

Cafe Nova - Spicy CHICKEN MUSTARD CURRY and PAROTTA - Sri Lankan Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Dee-licious! I eat Indian & Nepalese cuisine about once per week & will make Cafe Nova a regular stop for take-out. I selected "spicy" for dishes, which was good for me (palate still tingling after 1/2-hour). Interior is clean & simple, good for a college campus. They don't automatically add plastic utensils or a plastic bag, which I support. Give it a try! read more

My friend Nali and I were so happy to eat authentic Sri Lankan food here. It was all very delicious. We ordered several dishes to make sure we had enough to take home for later. The fish cutlets were nicely spicy with a wonderfully crispy crust. I liked the kiosk ordering and the service was very friendly. We dined in and enjoyed the look and feel of the restaurant. I forgot to take pictures of the food which was beautifully presented because we couldn't wait to eat it! I will definitely be back the next time I am in Chicago! read more

Cafe Nova - Fish cutlets - Sri Lankan Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

The spice blend was perfect and the three curries we tried were delicious. Although the restaurant is self serve, the man at the counter insisted on helping us and went out of his way to do so. It was a great experience. read more

Amazing food in a casual counter service restaurant. I love Indian food and this was similar but with a slightly, and wonderfully different spice profile. I could eat the green mustard curry everyday. My vegan friend was thrilled with the options and loved her spinach curry and coconut sambala. Even though it is counter service the food takes a bit to come out but it is worth the wait! I will be going back, on the regular. read more

This place was great! The food was delicious. Nice level of spice and good serving sizes. Service was a bit slow but not an issue. Spacious bare-bones dining room. Daal good, pakora nice, chapatis good, Kothu Roti was fantastic. It is handy to have their menu up on your phone while ordering since the self service ordering menu doesn't have pictures... read more

Cafe Nova - Kothu Roti - fantastic - Sri Lankan Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

This is a place packaged as a casual restaurant that is self service but with a very long wait for the meals. You order at a kiosk, pickup your own drinks, silverware and plates from a station yourself and the food is then delivered. It took 45 minutes to receive our meals consisting of the blandest daal, saag paneer, and papad with rice I have ever had in my life. Zero flavor or spice level. Prices are high for self service and the quality. Plus the dish gave me horrible GI issues. We won't be returning to this restaurant. read more

I'm originally from Sri Lanka. Was in Chicago for work and saw that there was a Sri Lankan restaurant. Went there with few Sri Lankan friends. Not a fancy place. Walk upto the counter, order on a screen, and they deliver food to your table. But, the food was fantastic and so authentic. It was so good that I took a group of coworkers later in the week. Everything was fabulous. We had cutlets, Chinese rolls, jackfruit, dal, lamb, eggplant stir fry and chicken. We tried a few dishes that were super spicy. The restaurant also made a few very mild for the people in the group that couldn't handle spicy food. Can't wait to come back to Chicago and go to cafe Nova again. read more

Cafe Nova - Jackfruit curry, dal, lamb curry, biryani, and lentils with parathas. - Sri Lankan Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

As a Sri Lankan-American, let mt preface this review by saying I have had food from here, via take out, once before and I thought they did a good job with the eggplant moju and one of their meat curries. That's why they get two stars. However, this evening I had used the app "TooGoodToGo," which prevents food waste by connecting customers with value-priced restaurant meals near the end of the day, and noticed they offered a "Rice Surprise" for $3.99 ($4.42 with tax) but you had to bring your own container. Well, as I was nearby at 8:45pm I thought I might as well minimize waste and get a deal. When I showed up with my containers at 9:05pm, I thought I might be getting some surplus biriyani or some rice/curry combo. Boy, was I VERY surprised when the guy showed up with two containers of PLAIN WHITE RICE! That's it! No curries or biriyani or anything else. I was so shocked (and a little embarrassed) that I just took them and left. I guess their title is right, in that it was a "rice surprise." I was sure surprised that I got something I could prepare much more in my rice cooker for much less than $4.42. At the end of the day, I could care less about getting overpriced, end-of-the-day, white rice...I can cook my own Sri Lankan food as well as have the resources to pay a lot more when dining out. But I think it is downright unfair if a broke Loyola-Chicago student is trying to get a deal on decent late night meal and ends up with just plain white rice. It is downright embarrassing that they marketed this as some kind of deal. read more

thank GOD for cafe nova or i wouldn't have a taste of home anywhere in this city!!! i used to live closer to this part of town a couple years ago before moving closer to the city, and they've remodeled this restaurant beautifully since then. id definitely call ahead if you're planning on coming around opening time (11AM), because they weren't really ready to open the restaurant when we came at 11:15, but they apologized profusely as i think they were running late (it happens). to eat, we got the: fish cutlets - crispy outside and perfect mix inside of spices, fish, and potatoes. chicken kothu roti - SO yummy & exactly what you want if you know kothu. i love the textural variation of kothu roti and they've nailed it. eggplant curry - pretty much exactly how my mom makes it except they also add bell peppers which adds a rlly nice element of sweetness & added nutritional value which, if you're anything like me, is a huge plus. the only thing i'd say about the food is that it is a little bit on the oilier side. we got everything at a medium spice level, which is perfect if you want a kick & to break a sweat without needing to drink a gallon of water after every bite , aka perfect for Chicago winter weather. having grown up eating sri lankan food, I'd say this is the real deal! i really want to come back to try their string hoppers & all of their other curries, honestly. i'd recommend this to everyone - sri lankans looking for a taste of home or anyone who wants to try sri lankan food for the first time read more

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Not sure how or why this is rated so highly. The chicken we received was over cooked, dry - possibly freezer burned based on the taste. Will not return here. read more

Clean !!!! People are so nice. Food is good Try it! You will not regret it. Good for on the go... read more

Casual - food is ordered at a kiosk which lets you specify exactly what you want in there. Everything is cooked then - just for you. Everything was delicious! Staff was very helpful. Definitely recommend this! read more

this place is so delicious! It's my go to takeout spot in the Loyola area! Their bread offerings are always perfectly balanced between moist/buttery and lightly flaky! Their curries are so tasty and their extra spicy is the perfect amount of spice! read more

Great food & very nice people here at cafe nova. So happy there's a place nearby that serves exciting south Asian food for a change. So many varieties & choices for both vegetarian & non-veg. read more

Cafe Nova - Parotta bread, fried chicken & shrimp masala - Sri Lankan Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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This was amazing. The food was so flavorful and service was very friendly. Restaurant was clean and cute!! We got the eggplant curry, chicken mustard curry, parathas, shrimp fried rice and lamb kothu porotta. Everything was amazing and so flavorful read more

Cafe Nova - EGG PLANT CURRY , CHICKEN MUSTARD CURRY, KOTHU ROTI, FRIED RICE, FALOODA - Sri Lankan Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

The food is so tasty and the portion sizes make everything a good deal. Almost always having delicious leftovers to look forward to as well. The business appreciates you ordering online through Clover, we even got free cheesecake bites for doing so. I'd recommend the chicken tikka masala, the spinach paneer curry, and the briyani. Also the masala fries are to die for, samosas are huge and filling, everything is just good!! read more

I've been a regular customer since they opened, and I'm thrilled to have them nearby. The food is consistently amazing, with plenty for leftovers. My go-to order is the mustard chicken and spinach curry with garlic naan and samosas. Service has always been great, too! Tried getting food from the restaurant this evening, but it was dark inside, and no one picked up the phone. Google Maps shows they're temporarily closed. Fingers crossed it's just temporary, and everyone there is ok! read more

We came to Chicago on an international global eats "self-created tour" and Cafe Nova did not disappoint! We had the kothu roti, jackfruit curry, parotta bread and mango lassi. We ordered a number two spiciness for both dishes. I've lost my pallet for spicy and my niece's palette is well prepared for spicy foods. The jackfruit curry was much more spicy than the kothu roti. The number two was marginally hot for me and the kothu roti was perfect. We really liked both dishes a lot but agreed the kothu roti was just perfect. It was satisfying in that way that like fried rice with egg satisfying. We were in Chicago for a global eats tour and still struggle to decide if the food here at the cafe Nova or are Somali and breakfast at Mogadishu was our favorite they were different and we really loved both of them. The service and the preparation here at Cafe Nova was excellent. The young men working here and I guess probably the owners very warm and kind. When We told them what we were doing in Chicago in the specific reason we came they even gave us a complimentary dessert of gulab jamun which are like little fried donuts soaked in a light syrup. It's not something I would have ordered myself because I avoid sweets generally. However they were served warm and they were really really good lol. This is another place that if I were a Chicago one I would visit very regularly. Those young folks at Loyola University are lucky to have this right there! read more

Cafe Nova - Rice jackfruit curry, kothu roti, parotta and a mango lassi. - Sri Lankan Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Dined in on a dinner break from work. Masala fries were fantastic and seasoned well. Paneer tikka masala was just okay -- lacking flavor and there were multiple larger pieces of spices/peppers/onions throughout the curry that were very burnt and had to be pulled out. Also, I found it to be sweeter than most other tikka masala. Cafe Nova subscribes to InKind, a restaurant rewards app powered through Toast. However, the employee taking orders seemed unaware of this, and couldn't operate through this service. We eventually figured it out by me manually putting in the order on his side of the counter to get the check number... Mostly just a funny moment. read more

The food is very good and authentic Sri-Lankan though the ambiance is so-so, like a cafeteria. Self Service.

Absolutely recommend this restaurant, tasty food with out the grease. Palak was really tasty . I really enjoyed the chicken curry. Masala dosa is great. They have combination of two or three plates you can order if you want to try a bit variety. The manager here is very welcoming. I see why a lot of Cops and Loyola students eat here. read more

Cafe Nova - Palak, with daal (lentil) rice - Sri Lankan Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

These are the sort of people who would enjoy giving a starving dog a rubber bone. I read with joy in my heart an interview with the owners before they opened about their plans to bring authentic Sri Lankan food to Chicago. They seemed to know what they were talking about. I am half Sri Lankan, on my father's side, I have a deep hankering for the cuisine without knowing how to cook much of it myself. I'm part of a growing group of South Asian Americans who can't easily find access to our comfort foods. Pretty much all the good, authentic Sri Lankan restaurants in North America are in Toronto and New York City. Those two cities have enough people like me, and non-Asians who have developed a taste for Sri Lankan, and adventurous non-Asians who want to try something very different, that they have enough restaurants to compete with each other. Not so here in the Midwest. after the very good and authentic Curry Bowl in Madison shut down, the best I can do is drive to Minneapolis or Grand Rapids and those two restaurants are in transition to not being authentic. Here's the progression, a lone Sri Lankan restaurant opens up where there are none, and attracts the wrong crowd. Customers who have no interest in eating Sri Lankan food get annoyed when what they order isn't at all like the Americanized Indian food they were expecting. After a while, the owners give up and convert to Americanized Indian food. Well this sad progression happened in record time at this place. On their website they still boast having a Sri Lankan menu, and they take reservations and if you order in advance you can have your Sri Lankan favorites made to order. I made a reservation two weeks in advance, for my 70 hour drive add half an hour to find parking coming from Milwaukee. I placed an order for hoppers, Pul Sambol, dal, and Sri Lankan Chicken curry on the bone. This is like a national dish. When I arrived, they said they don't take reservations and don't pay attention to their third party web page messages. There is nothing Sri Lankan left on the menu. The dal is not Sri Lankan dal. They don't even know what Sri Lankan rice is (it is NOT basmati). They serve Americanized Indian food only. A couple of South Indian dishes like dosa. They also rent mopeds. As an Americanized Indian restaurant that rents mopeds it's a three star place. As a restaurant that has "Sri Lankan food" on its website, and store front, it's a cruel joke. read more

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Ordered carry out here. They don't have delivery unless you order through grub hub. Parking is only a few in front of the stores. The fellow was nice enough to meet me curbside and hand it through the window when I called to let them know I was there. Very nice and accommodating. Did I mention the food was very good? I had Kothu Roti with Chicken which for me was unusual so I decided to try it. It was delicious. My friend had the chicken curry. Very good. Medium spice for that was spicy! Just a warning. I forgot to take photos because we wolfed it down. read more

Chicken biriyani is too spicy and no flavor at the same time Naan is standard. Nothing special Lassi is waaaaaaaay too sweet Dosa with spinach is my favorite. A bit crispy on the outside and mild spinach flavor with light sweetness Chicken tikka masala is decent Also took way too long though no people in the restaurant at all read more

Food was fresh and delicious, the staff was so nice and accommodating and the games and air hockey table were a huge hit with my kids. We would definitely drive back down for the experience. read more

Come here while this place is still solvent (and help it stay solvent!). Can you get as tasty or healthy or spicy a lunch plate as this anywhere else in the city for $10? Probably not, and then on top of that, it's Sri Lankan, which is equally hard to find in the city. We tried two 2-item combos, one with jackfruit and lamb/spinach curries, and the other with eggplant and fish curries, and both with paratha. Not one of these curries was something I wouldn't order again, although the jackfruit one requires you to have some serious spice chops - make sure you have a lassi or something. (I recommend the mango - it's cardamom-y!) The lamb is tender and appropriately fatty, the fish is brighter-flavored, and the eggplant is earthy and crisp. If I were a Loyola student I would probably eat here every week. Living just 2 miles away, I still might. read more

The food was really good. We ate there which was not ideal as the space is fairly sterile and was quite noisy which we eventually figured out was due to the air hockey table. When I go back I will order ahead and pick it up to enjoy at home. read more

We eat here or get takeout 2-3 times a month. Everything is tasty, but here is my main tip: If you are an Indian food fan, your first instinct might be to try the Tikka Masala. It's good, BUT, you really should try the Mustard Curry Chicken. It has become our absolute go-to. read more

2 words for this five star review..."Cauliflower Madness" My goodness, this dish made my mouth so very happy and I was thinking about it days and weeks afterwards...Can't wait to go back. read more

This is a very casual spot. Order at a kiosk and they bring it to your table level of casual. The food however, is excellent! So fresh and so tasty. I got one of each of their breads and a curry. My only regret is thar I didn't order one entree. The whole meal was such a pleasant surprise. read more

Great food. Great service! Stopped in for a late lunch and the person at the counter helped us identify options, cleaned off outdoor seating because it was a beautiful day. In ordering two dishes we have ample food. We barely made a dent and took lots home. read more

The food was 11/10 good. Ordered several dishes to go. Took a little longer than expected, but it was SO worth it. 100% chance I would go back if in the area. Curry eggplant and dry fish curry were particularly memorable. read more

The dishes were fresh and nicely spiced. We got a dosa and say paneer. The saag paneer was delicious, with more ginger than usual. It was really well prepared. The dosa was really large and filling-full of onions. It was really well made. Prep time me was slow, but maybe because we came at off hours. The owners were really nice. read more

The service is just absolutely wonderful. Great people. Every dish I've tried is delicious and the portions are great. The facilities are clean and inviting. I can see that they really care about their customers and the food they make. read more