Cassava is DELICIOUS. The variety is good, the food is filling, and I LOVE that everything is gluten free. After the first time my husband and I went (and we live in Deerfield, so you know it has to be worth a drive) I literally had a dream about going back to this place. And so we did. And will again. Since I like to be fair, I will give the couple of downsides. It is a small place (maybe only room for 15ish people to sit), and you may have to wait a bit if the empanada or roll you want has run out and needs to be baked again (half an hour). WORTH IT! read more

I love this place. Given that I have eaten gluten-free for years, I was stoked to hear that such a place existed. The empanadas are amazing. The smoothies are delicious. You cannot go wrong with anything on the menu. read more

Cassava is a must try for anyone on a gluten free diet. All of the rolls are delish but I'm partial to the Tomato Basil and the Chocolate. If you call ahead, they'll have them hot and ready for you. You can also buy bags of frozen ones to make at home. The empanadas are like a gluten free Hot Pocket but way fresher and way tastier. I love the smoothies because they're not cloyingly sweet like the ones you would get at a chain place. Cassava = love love love! read more

I wanted to have a quick snack, and bingo - I see cassava when i was walking down the clark street. The place was empty, and the staff was quick to explain me what they do, and did offer me recommendations. I had 2 empanadas - Spinach Mushroom, and Roasted Veggie. The flavor was nice. I ordered chocolate milk without added sugar, it was sweet enough still, and the staff let me know that they use semi sweet chocolate in 2% milk. Do expect 10 minutes wait time, if you are placing order. Will go back to have chocolate milk during winter. read more

a great find for gluten-free dining. This is a completely dedicated GF restaurant, so I can eat there. The empanadas were delicious, especially the beef ones. The chocolate stuffed one was great, too. I just wish they had a few more things on their menu. The employee working there was very nice. Will go back. read more

Oh my god. These are so good, like, I-created-a-yelp-account-to-review-these good. I think I've had everything on the menu at this point, and while the chocolate rolls and chicken empanada are my favorites, I wouldn't say no to any of these. The peach-ginger-cranberry smoothie is also awesome. read more

I tried this place for the first time tonight and it was amazing! The person who took my order was delightful and personable. I had the spinach-mushroom empanada and tried the bacon roll and they were both AMAZING. I'll be back tomorrow to utilize the free wifi and try a smoothie! read more

Searching for safe Ecuadorian food for my daughter was becoming tedious. She has Celiac Disease and loves empanadas and pan de yucca, which I have tried to make with GF flour mixes to no avail. I could have cried when I discovered Cassava -- through Yelp, I might add -- and I didn't waste a second high-tailing it over there. It was amazing! Rob (very helpful and pleasant) and Jorge (owner, also very helpful and pleasant) were gracious enough to listen to my small epistle and schooled me on all of their products. Not only did we eat on site (with the most yummy smoothie and spiced hot chocolate), but I purchased a few dozen pan de yucca to go (bacon, original, chocolate, and jalapeno) and a dozen empanadas (chicken, beef, and roasted veggie). DELICIOUS! My daughter and I have been eating them since. Great place! But, more importantly, SAFE FOR CELIACS! read more

The food here is so good. I eat the food everyday and i still love it.I love how everything is gluten free and still very tasty. I tell my friends about it. I love cassava. read more

InSANELY good empanadas. Cute little place, and as a celiac, it was amazing to walk in and know I could eat anything on the menu! My boyfriend and I enjoyed our dinner treats so much we bought a bunch of frozen ones and a dozen cheese buns to take back to Milwaukee with us. We will definitely be back! read more

I can't get enough of the smoothies Cassava offers. My fave is Banana Almond with no added sugar or fake ingredients! Amazing & oh so delicious. read more

Everyone I don't want you to miss out on a great deal right now on Kgbdeals. com! Cassava is offering pay $5.00 and receive $10.00 worth of anything in the store. The deal is ready to expire in 4 hours and 30 minutes. Grab it while you can because once it's gone it's gone!!!!! read more

Fabulous cassava rolls - otherwise known as Pao de Queijo in Brazil! They also have free wi-fi and the best hot chocolate I have tasted in the city. The owner is very friendy and the atmosphere is very welcoming. I am trying to come here once a week now! read more

High hopes, but really disappointed. I love empanadas but these totally fell flat. I am GF and always love a place that is totally GF, but I will not be back for seconds. The beef empanada tasted like hamburger helper. For those who know about chebe bread (GF), each had bland flavors in what appeared to be frozen chebe bread. Best bet for gluten free empanadas in Chicago is Macondo. Many many more flavors- huge menu compared this place, and flavor much more interesting than these bland things- plus way cheaper! read more

Oh my goodness... I have found a new gluten free obsession! Am My hubby and I had the empanadas and bread ball thingies, and we BOTH loved them (he's not even gluten-free). Amazing favors, textures, and variety of choices. Staff is friendly too. Go on a Saturday afternoon as it is nice and quiet. SUPER option for GF eaters... Amazing! read more

This place is fantastic. Organic, healthy, gluten free ingredients (including grass fed beef!) at inexpensive prices. The emapanadas are outstanding, as is the seasonal pumpkin soup and the chili. read more

Walking in, you're hit with a delicious bakery aroma and the best part is that being g-free, you can eat anything on the menu! My friend and I, both gluten intolerant, ordered a few rolls as well as a few empanadas. We agreed that the empanadas were a hit. I enjoyed the veggie one while she enjoyed the beef one. The dough had lots of flavor, a good consistency, wasn't grainy or fall apart flaky like you get with a lot of g-free doughs. The rolls, while good, were a little less exciting. We had the regular roll: all cheese filling and a little bland. I also had the sun dried tomato which was a little too heavy on taste. I combined the 2, bite for bite which made it quite tasty. The hot chocolate should be called a cup of chocolate. It was so decadent and rich, I almost couldn't finish it! All in all, we will definitely be heading back to this little slice of g-free heaven! read more

Love this place! Thier gluten free empanadas are amazing and staff is always friendly.

I love Cassava. I'm no longer in the neighborhood, but I still drop by to get some of that amazing hot chocolate, a smoothie or some rolls. They taste good, they're filling and there's a nice selection of flavors. Being completely gluten free only makes it better. read more

I was there with couple of my friends for a quick snack which ended up being an 40 minute long wait.... We were the only people there

Totally awesome little spot. A friend and I stumbled across across it yesterday while walking down Clark. When I went inside I was immediately hit with the fresh smell of all the great foods. I had never been before and was very curious about what "cassava" was and the young lady working was more than willing to answer my questions. The empanadas are to die for and so are the little cassava balls. I had a chicken and a beef empanada and wanted more! The only down side is that the cassava balls take 15 minutes to prepare but they're so totally worth the wait, especially the jalapeno and cheese ones! I recommend to anyone that is gluten free. Delicious filling food! I will definitely making a trip back to Cassava in the future. read more

I live down the block from Cassava and had been waiting for it to open. It was worth the wait. The staff, perhaps the owner/manager, was very friendly. The space was open and clean. The rolls were amazing!! I got 4-one of each flavor: regular, sundried tomato and basil, feta and olive and cheddar jalapeno. They were warm and delicious. I can't even choose a favorite flavor. I love the texture. My husband loved them too. I will definitely return to Cassava soon for more rolls and plan on trying a smoothie as well. Oh yeah, 4 rolls were $3.50. read more

one of my favorite gluten free spots in chicago. in the summer you can get a really good smoothie & some rolls. in the colder months, the hot chocolate and chili are perfect. fun to sit and read or do work. read more

gluten free and deeelicious. the chocolate rolls are by far the tastiest. but, everything else is really really good too. even the coffee is really good. plus, the atmosphere is very relaxing. read more

filling was definitely better than the crust. empanadas are made in advance and frozen, heated for eight minutes upon ordering, and then become mushy during the reheating process as the cheese and vegetables melts. the only one to make it out of the process decently was the chicken. you could tell the crust was gluten free, and that was a fail to me. I could have used a soup and salad with my empanadas too. read more

This place is amazing! Cassava rolls are delicious, and empanadas are to die for! I am a vegetarian, so I only tried one flavor of empanada, but my boyfriend and our friends tried them all and really enjoyed. In addition to that, they serve Metropolis coffee, and although they don't have espresso drinks, I ordered a cafe con leche with spices, and it was great! Definitely will be back to try their smoothies and spiced hot chocolate in addition to empanadas. Would be great if they added another flavor or two for vegetarians. read more

I've been gluten free for over 2 years, and was really excited to hear about this place and wanted to love it. I had a groupon offer for empanadas and rolls so was able to try a variety of each. The only roll I liked at all was chocolate. The empanadas were better, but definitely not as good as non gluten free empanadas... we had to use a lot of sauce. I did enjoy the smoothies there and would definitely go back those as well as the hot chocolate! read more

First off this is the best gluten-free food I have ever tasted. Im not a person who has gluten free food or goes out of my way to obtain it but this is just excellent food. The empanadas are a party in your mouth. They have a bunch of stuff I want to go back to try such as the bacon bread rolls or the jalepeno cheddar rolls. They even sell some of these fresh baked items frozen for you to take home. I will be returning for the food. They have free wifi too! The excellence here really shines in the fact that not only does this place accept bitcoin but they also have a bitcoin atm on premise. This atm machine takes and gives cash for bitcoin buying/selling. This is the gluten-free empanada place of the future. It's a breeze to pay with bitcoin at the counter too. I actually had a problem that was my fault here when I paid with bitcoin. I was trying to send bitcoin to a relative after I bought my empanada and I accidentally send the bitcoin to the same address I paid for my empanada with. I was freaked out because on my way home I observed the bitcoin moving to someplace else on the blockchain other than where it was supposed to go. When I compared the addresses of my recent transactions I realized what I had done. I called Cassava up and got in touch with Jorge the Owner. I explained to him what I thought happened and he quickly confirmed the extra bitcoin transactions with and some information to make sure I was who I was. Within minutes he sent me my precious digital cash back to an bitcoin address. Great customer support! This was basically the digital equivalent of handing a cashier way too much money and getting back the wrong change. Except in this case it would not be the cashiers fault, but the actual purchasers fault. With an understanding of the way bitcoin's blockchain works I was quickly able to pin down my mistake and track down where I misplaced my cash. The owner was fantastic and we quickly resolved this issue. Two thumbs up for Cassava Bread and Bitcoin! read more

I work just a few doors down so this is a convenient meal/snack/thirst quencher. One of the most interesting foods I've eaten, cassava is a little doughy bread ball. There are several flavors, but I usually get an empanada shelled with this unique dough. Also try tgeor spicy hot chocolate! It's made with melted dark chocolate and cayenne pepper and I think they put in cinnamon as well. Mist recently I've been having the almond butter banana smoothie (I order it with a little honey) upon a suggestion from a coworker since at the time couldn't consume solid food. I think the guy who usually works there, may also be the owner. He and everyone I've encountered is extremely nice, welcoming, and patient. Thanks Cassava! read more

I really don't understand how this place is still open. It's incredibly overpriced... One tiny little cassava ball costs $0.75. The smoothies are incredibly expensive as well. I paid over $4 for a 10 oz smoothie, made from all frozen fruits... not mind-blowing at all. This place doesn't even look like a restaurant. The food doesn't look organic, it's so neatly packaged and arranged, I feel like I'm inside a candy store. read more

We got the steak empanada and spinach mushroom empanada as well as the dark chocolate frozen mocha since it was ridiculously hot outside. The empanadas were both extremely tasty, with fresh filling with real ingredients. However, I would not call these empanadas.... the dough is chewy and bready rather than flaky or pastry like. Overall, the food and drink were really good and hit the spot, but if you're looking for a real empanada you should look elsewhere. read more

The BEST empanadas I've had in Chicago. The chicken one with the sweet potatoes and the steak empanada was to die for! It's full of so much flavor and is not unhealthy for u since it's actually made from the cassava root and they are baked not fried. The ingredients taste so fresh and natural and the guy working there was sooooo nice at the front. He even gave us a few for free since he had to make some fresh which takes 16 minutes. He was so nice and patient with us and such a dedicated worker. Their apple and date empanada was also good! But you must try the jalapeno and cheddar roll! It was like a great explosion in my mouth. The sundried tomato and basil roll was also super tasty! I'll be back to this awesome place again and again whenever I get the craving for empanadas. Don't waste your time on the other empanada spots in the area that are close by! Do your tastebuds a favor and come here! read more

Empanadas had a very gummy, doughy and dense texture, which was not very enjoyable. The place is decorated pretty nicely and pretty cool that they accept Bitcoin. Great concept poor execution. read more

I have had 2 of the smoothies and they delicious!! They don't have all the added sugar like many other places but it doesn't come with that nasty yogurt flavor either. They are perfect! Also had the Chicken Empanada... yum!!! I wanted to go back for another but didn't have time that day. I will be back though! :) I especially love that their ingredients are organic. read more

The cassava rolls and hot chocolate are delicious. The original flavor rolls taste exactly like the pao de queijo i loved in brazil. We got the spicy hot chocolate and it was rich, super chocolaty and just the right amount of spice. Another new favorite gluten-free destination! read more

Great and tasty empanadas, great for the gluten-free, and an easy buy ahead frozen meal option. I love the vegetable empanada. The decor and set-up of the place is fine, but I'd much rather eat at home a block away. Would definitely recommend to others! read more

So excited to find this place. Newly gluten free and searching for good gluten free options, this place fits the bill! My favorite are the jalapeño and cheddar rolls, but also really like the chicken empanadas. I am a fan! read more

These are not Argentinian empanadas, which is what I was expecting, so that was disappointing, I guess this are supposed to be Brazilian, with that said the filling was very good, but the cassava crust is too heavy for me. I have to give them the third star because the plain pao de queijo was really good. read more

This place was really good! I read about it recently on Metromix and we decided to stop by and check it out on a lazy Sunday afternoon. There was no one else there and the owner actually seemed surprised that we came in - I'm guessing word hasn't really spread yet! Plus it's in a pretty non-descript spot on Clark - easy to miss unless you're looking for it. The cassava breads were delicious though - we got one of each flavor and split them all. I didn't realize there would be cheese in all of them, but there were, even those that don't have cheese listed as part of the flavor (i.e. tomato basil). They were really tasty though - fresh & hot - my favorite was the white cheddar jalepeno. A great little mid-day snack, or would work for a light breakfast or as dinner rolls. We actually talked about picking up some up (you can buy them frozen to bake at home) to serve the next time we have friends over. My favorite part is that they are all natural and made with very healthy ingredients. I also picked up a muffin, which definitely had a unique flavor (they're made with cassava and coconut flour) - but it was really good! I definitely want to come back and try the hot chocolate and the smoothies. Overall I definitely recommend checking this place out for an inexpensive & unique treat! read more

The bread and soup were so delicious. The owner was very nice as well. I've been craving those Cassava rolls ever since! Love it! Will definitely go back. read more