Love this place! Food is great and the owner is so nice and friendly! Just an overall good vibe in general! best vegan doughnuts I've had in a while! read more

Best gyro I've ever had. We've also ordered a pizza from them and loved it. Simple, sparse interior, but it's charming all the same. Highly recommend! read more

Ok here is it. I was not and am not impressed whatsoever. This place is haphazard AF. It just seems like whatever takes the least amount of work goes. The back of menu has a lovely message about how all staff are paid living wages so tipping isn't expected. I love that and fully support it. But after my experience- well no shit. Staff doesn't DO anything- why should they be tipped? They literally hang out in the kitchen ignoring customers. When they are out front, all they do is ring in the order and then disappear again. Classic chicken or the egg situation. Do they not do anything because they don't get tips on the reg or do they not receive tips from those willing because they literally don't do anything? It's a lot of sulking, standing around and pretending to look busy. Though I'll admit the back of the house actually looked liked they at least pretended to care about what they were doing. I'm all about vegan meals as I was one for a long time and still prefer it to meat. Maybe I got the wrong thing because everyone around me seemed happy with their choices except for my table. This place is BYOB. Big plus. One star for that. We walk in and it's busy but there's a couple leaving their table just as we finish ordering at the counter. We approach the counter not really knowing what to do and the staff person sees us and walks in the back. Presumably to do something- but says nothing and doesn't even acknowledge us. We figure out customers are responsible for bussing their own tables. That's fine. But is no one really gonna wipe down tables in between guests?? That's kinda gross. We get two menus and order classic burgers. I got sweet potato fries. We go sit down at our table and I immediately get up to find napkins to wipe it down. There are none. There's one napkin dispenser and it's empty. I was told cups for water are by the water cooler thing. There are no cups. I need a fork. There are no forks. At this point the whole experience is getting ridiculous. I approach the staff person who acts bothered to be spoken to. I ask for forks and he goes back to the kitchen and obviously realizes there are NO clean forks in the place. Why? How? So he starts washing forks in the sink and we make eye contact. Awkward. A few minutes later, I receive forks. I get my burger. Just a classic with cheese. I've had vegan cheese. It's great even though it's not real cheese. "We changed the recipe." I was told after I stood at the counter for a few minutes waiting to be acknowledged. The staff person absolutely saw me and immediately decided "not tonight" and continued ignoring me. One of the other people saw this and came out to ask what I needed. I got the wrong fries and I'm confused about my burger. I got a classic but there's this weird sauce on it- likely from one of the other burgers. "That's the cheese." I was told from the individual who decided to now stop ignoring me and participate in his evening. It's not "cheese" fake or not. It's mustard based sauce. I'm still not 100 percent convinced he knew what he was talking about. Everyone else around me who got pizzas had "cheese" with the consistency of cheese. I then direct their attention to the fries which were just regular. Something I was willing to overlook had I gotten the correct burger with the correct cheese. The lovely individual who now suddenly wanted to take charge in his position just took my plate and says "we fucked up". We'll do it again." At this point I'm just not even hungry and annoyed. But go sit down. There's finally water cups clean so I get myself some water. The same staff person is now actually bussing tables. He's spraying the table next to me with cleaner that absolutely got on our table due to the angle at which he's holding the bottle. I find it difficult to believe he doesn't notice that. Seemed unnecessarily aggressive. He then goes to an 8 top that didn't bus their table, clearly agitated that he has to do some work to earn his paycheck. I look over to the receptacle where patrons are expected to scrape and put their dirty dishes. It's totally packed to the brim and spilling over. Nobody has bothered to bring the dishes in the back so how can we blame the 8 top for not abiding by these silly rules? Back to my guy. He's just violently throwing dishes in a new bin. Cups, silverware, plates just click clacking together. There's no way he didn't know what a racket he was making. Honey, who hurt you? We all have bad days but he didn't exude a modicum of professionalism or hospitality. I finally get a new burger and fries. Correct fries but same mustard cheese. I take a few bites and accept this is a total loss and drink the remainder of my bottle of wine. Fantastic wine. Can't say the same about this disaster of a place. Won't be back. Also- worth mentioning that if you don't like loud music- avoid. They've got an iPod blasting moderately offensive tunes. read more

Pretty disappointed with this place. Overpriced. Under seasoned. Looks like from reviews I've should've gotten the deep dish? We also didn't see the staff except the times they were running food out, they stayed in the kitchen. Just didn't feel very welcomed or welcoming. read more

To be honest, I'm not a fan of vegetarian or vegan places that essentially only offer "fake" versions of meat and dairy - Kitchen 17 is no exception. I ordered their BBQ Cheddar burger which wasn't bad, but it really was nothing worth recommending. read more

The food is ABSOLUTELY delicious! Pizzas are unbelievable, burgers, desserts - everything tastes great. One really bad thing - they use extremely bad take-out packaging made of polystyrene. This stuff is not compostable, you can hardly find any recycling facility that accepts this bad for the environment material. Please upgrade your packaging. read more

I need to first admit that I'm not a "strict" vegan (I eat some beef, pork, lamb and chicken) but this place is great. Tasty food, impromptu drag brunch. Excellent playlist. Interesting menagerie of customers. read more

Flew in from Florida and met up with our friends there. The food was excellent and I would totally eat there all the time if I could. The owner even went above and beyond making a gluten free pizza for my sister (who is gluten intolerant) which is truly amazing and kind-hearted of him. I would highly recommend this place to anyone. read more

Delicious food! We ordered a Mediterranean pizza with house salad and fries (thinking the pizza was going to be on the smaller side but boy were we wrong!) plenty of food for a good price and it was delicious! The staff was very friendly and helpful. We would absolutely come again! read more

MY FAVORITE VEGAN RESTAURANT. I've been a vegan for 3 years now and this has been the only place to really really get vegan cheeze right. They're burgers are extremely filling and delicious. Fries are the bomb. Desserts are great too! If you are trying to introduce someone to eating at more vegan friendly places take them here! :) read more

Small but mighty!! Great Vegan food and friendly staff!! My husband and I tried the Pizza and split a Parm sandwich. Both excellent! We will be back to try other menu items!! Thanks, Don!! read more

The food here is amazing! This is the only place that I know of that has vegan deep dish (something I have been missing since becoming a vegan). The donuts are also AMAZING. The only thing is that there isn't a lot of room to sit and the food takes a while to come out. However, it's definitely worth the wait. read more

Just went here for the first time, and it was delicious! We're always looking for good vegan restaurants to try in the city and this is now at the top of the list. I had the BBQ cheddar burger and it was amazing. I'm already planning my next visit and want to try the pizza. read more

Came on a weekend morning and they were out of pizza. Came from the suburbs on my bday just to try this place for the first time. Also the place was filthy. Every piece of glass had fingerprints caked all over it. We were the only people when we walked in yet every table was dirty most with dirty dishes on them too. On top of being out of pizza 1/3 of the menu was out too. Disappointing to say the least. read more

They have eliminated some of the menu items, moved to Broadway St instead of Briar, and they open at 3 pm. All of these changes are not apparent from the Yelp or other web postings. read more

This establishment is GOLD!!! Why aren't there more places with games to play while you eat??? Or while you wait for your food?? This was the highlight of my Saturday!! I will definitely be back!! So fun, so nice! And the food makes me feel good about my life choices!! Win, win, win!! read more

Ya dey coo o whateva! Got that cheeseburger pizza with the mustard! Light mustard next time pls

Don was such a friendly guy! We came near closing and walked out with the hook up cinnamon rolls and some seriously delicious donuts. The nachos were amazing, this is coming from a non vegan. I can't wait to go back and get it again. The cheeseburger my lover got was leaving him speechless having a foodgasm. I definitely recommend, will be back again and can't tell you how wonderful it is to support such an awesome local business. The atmosphere and decor was on point, so were the prices. read more

I ordered BBQ Burger. My friends ordered Gyro burger. BBQ burger is good. I asked my friends and they said the Gyro burger isn't something that would recommend here. They did love the BBQ Burger bite they had of my burger. We got to this place a little late in the afternoon and there were only couple tables ahead of us. Got the seat right away. The ambiance is good. In our view service was slow. We had to wait quite some time to get our order of three burgers. So much so that we had our dessert before the burgers. We had the muffins and I would recommend them to anyone who likes sweets. The slow service and gyro burger taste is the reason I am rating this place three stars. read more

Quirky little BYOB vegan spot. Amazing deep dish pizza, nachos, and spinach artichoke dip. Wine store one minute away. What more could you ask for? read more

Best place in lakeview to eat, especially for a vegan. The free coffee is the icing on the cake. Try the pizza burger.

Great vegan food! My husband tried the burger and I had the veggie pizza. Both were excellent! The burger was well-seasoned and pizza had crispy thin crust with hummus and olive oil as the base. Very fresh ingredients and well-prepared. Food is on par with Native Foods down the street. Will definitely be back! read more

Just came into Kitchen 17 for the first time today, and the food was delicious! I had a pepperoni pizza with Daiya cheese. Sometimes vegan cheese can taste a little...off, but that was definitely not the case here. The cheese was melty and the pepperoni was very realistic. I'll definitely need to make a trip back to Kitchen 17 to try some of the other dishes and deserts! read more

Amazing!!! I just finished eating the Philly cheese steak with an orange spice bar for dessert!! I'm lucky- this place is just down the street. It's a perfect fit for lakeview, simple, comfortable with really good food. The chef was super sweet too. Looking forward to my next visit so I can try the pizza. Vegan food= guilt free : ) read more

I need to start this off saying I've been vegan for over a decade - I know the ins and outs of vegan food, I know if there's a better way to make something (but if I can make it better than a restaurant, there's a problem. I don't get paid to make food and it isn't my livelihood.) This review is based on k17 over the past year and a half before Dan left & before Kevin started. Unfortunately, how they handled their thanksgiving mess-up (by not responding to my very detailed, specific, non-attacking email whatsoever) has made me unbelievably hesitant to ever order from there again. We used to order their deep dish pizza, which was definitely good but it was so greasy I could only eat about half of a piece. All the rest of their food was always blasé. Not much flavoring, burgers would fall apart, nothing special on their menus that vegans couldn't get elsewhere. Basically the only thing keeping me coming back (albeit infrequently) was the deep dish. We could also never sit down and eat at their old location (they've since moved and I haven't been inside) because it always smelled so horribly of too-used, too-hot fryer oil. After the move, we decided to give them a shot again because their options for the premade thanksgiving meal sounded better than Chicago Diner's and we didn't know at that time that Kalish was offering the service. Oh my god, this was the worst decision we ever could've made. Small as heck portions (after being advertised to feed 6-8 people - couldn't even feed 2, especially after we had to throw out so much of it bc it was gross), the "sweet potato casserole" (makes you think chunks of sweet potato, browned, melty veg marshmallows on top, veg butter, etc? Nah) was just puréed sweet potatoes with a few pumpkin seeds tossed on top... what?? The dinner rolls?? Disgusting! It's like they just used the leftover dough from their deep dish pizzas that didn't sell the week prior and sprinkled some thyme and savory on top. The sweet onion gravy was so burned that we couldn't even use it, we had to toss that immediately. The "stuffing" was horrendous - super dry rice with some large (but few) chunks of bread that were somehow even dryer than the rice. The seitan loaf was (literally) a VERY small roll of seitan that didn't taste like anything, was super dry, AND super dense. I make seitan at home all the time and it's never been this bad. To top off the seitan, they wrapped it (loosely) in about 6 layers (not exaggerating) of aluminum foil - not only is this horrible for the environment, but it really seemed like they were trying to deceive people when we were picking up our orders to think that this was a large seitan loaf. Ya know, one that could feed 6-8 people. We didn't even end up eating it because it was so gross. Every single side that came with this dinner was enough for 3 peopl, TOPS, and that's IF AND ONLY IF everything was good enough to consume. Which almost nothing was. The only reason their thanksgiving food was any good at all was because of the cranberry sauce. That was some of the best cranberry sauce I've ever had. Regardless, we know they received a lot of negative feedback for the ordeal because by the Sunday following thanksgiving they emailed everyone who ordered and "apologized" with a "$25 credit towards your next order there. This was before I sent in my feedback (I wanted to wait until after the holiday weekend so they could enjoy time with family without being pestered by work, but you best believe I replied to that email with my dilemma). I'm scoffing at the $25 credit because we spent $80 after tip on this dinner from them, had to throw more than half of it away and doctor up everything except for the cranberry sauce, AND we had to run out to the store the day before thanksgiving to buy food to replace what we had to throw out and to add to what just wasn't enough. So, after spending $80 trying to save some money and my own time, we ended up spending almost another 100 to fix the problem PLUS I had to spend hours cooking and cleaning up on thanksgiving bc this was such a dud. So they wanted to offer a $25 credit towards my next order there? That's just not enough, my dude. That doesn't even begin to cover the stress, hassle, money, or time with my friends and family lost spent fixing their mess up. The ONLY reason they're getting two stars and not one star is because the Chicago House of Za opened up and thinks they're hot sh** but their pizza is SO MUCH WORSE than k17's not-great pizza. So the one star review is saved for the place that deserves it the most, which doesn't happen to be k17 for now. read more

I'm vegan and work in lakeview so I was already stoked to hear about this place opening. But I also cook a ton at home, went to culinary school, worked in restaurants for 12 years, and am generally bluntly honest about food preparation. This place was pretty damn yummy! A friend and I grabbed a 6 pack from the liquor store across the street (BYOB!), and got the philly cheesesteak and a supreme pizza to split since that's what we'd heard the most about. Cheesesteak - delicuos! though note the spicy giardinera was hot enough that i'd recommend the very faint of tongue get it on the side. Pizza - not the gooey drippy daiya cheesefest youd get out of decadent vegan spots like the Boiler Room, but rather a thoroughly pleasing yet not painfully heavy experience. So I guess on that front it just depends on what you are looking for. Bonus - the owner/chef is there working and was genuinely curious about our thoughts. We ended up chatting with him and the gal who made the desserts for another 15 mins about how he makes his vegan "meats" himself and why he wants to make rad vegan eats. Yummy food, and super friendly place...kinda odd hours though - tried to have lunch there afterwards and it didn't open till 3 :( c'est la viegan tho. See what I did there? GIVE THIS PLACE A SHOT! read more

Oh man, the California burger is one of the best burgers I've ever tried, maybe even the best. And I've tried A LOT of veggie burgers. The place is small and cozy and, if you find parking, you won't regret it. read more

The culinary discovery of the year for me. If I had access to vegan food of this caliber for every meal, I'm confident I could overcome my cravings, renounce meat, and and go veggie without the risk of relapse. For my first meal, I ordered the Philly Cheese Steak and the Pizza Burger, both of which delighted my taste buds so thoroughly that I have ordered them on every subsequent visit since. Their food leaves you feeling full and satisfied, but not at all heavy or bloated. Notably and importantly, all items are reasonably priced, making it affordable to eat there on regular basis. I've made it a point spread the word about this place because I very much want them to survive and thrive! read more

My new favorite restaurant! On Saturday night, I went to Kitchen 17 and instantly fell in love. Delicious plant-based food, awesome staff and chill atmosphere; what's not to love! Thank you so much for your incredible and compassionate work! read more

Wow! 5 Gold Stars! Really, really tasty. The space at 613 W Briar is small and fairly basic. It's nice, it's clean, it's comfortable. But, the food is amazing and delicious! This guy really knows how to bring satisfying flavors to the table! I ordered the Asian Burger and a side of black beans. The Asian Burger was wonderful. I really love ginger, and the ginger slaw on this burger made it super-delicious. I sort of expected the black beans to be, well, you know, just beans. Wrong! They were super-delicious, too! I don't know what he puts in the beans, but I could totally imagine ladling those beans over some rice and having a fantastic, tasty entree (which I guess is another option they offer). Very good! I am definitely looking forward to a return visit. I want to try the Seitan Satay, the Rosemary Burger, and the vegan pizza sounds excellent. They also have a dessert case. I was too full for dessert, but I was gonna take some home. I forgot. (sad face) I will just have to go back for dessert! I loved this place. read more

I came in with my friend around 5 just as the owner was closing, and not only did he stay open for us to get the AMAZING mediterranean pizza, but he was one of the friendliest people I've met! He told us about how he makes everything from scratch, including his own seitan and his own version of vegan cheese, and let us try the homemade desserts for free! The food was fast, fresh, and delicious, and the cafe itself is perfectly comfortable and casual. I highly recommend, not only to vegans either! And food lover could find the perfect meal here. Not to mention, I'm STILL full nearly four hours later. read more

What a cool place! The food is all homemade and delicious. Loved my falafel wrap. The owner is so friendly and makes everything as you order. Great service! I was initially hesitant at the idea of a vegan place but everything was spectacular. Def recommend for lunch or a snack. I'll stop back. Try vegan! read more

Love this place! Love the evolution of the menu, as Don (the owner) seems to work toward perfection. As vegans, my partner and I are always looking for good spots and we have found one here! We haven't had anything we do not like, and try new desserts every time we visit. Kitchen 17 has the best chocolate chip cookies, hands down. read more

I am not a vegan, but had a delicious lunch. The flavors and ingredients really stood out on their own. Everything seems to be homemade. And the prices are ridiculously inexpensive. I went with 2 friends and we all looked at our food and thought we wouldn't be able to eat it all. It was so awesome, all 3 of our plates were emptied. And it's BYOB with no corkage fee. If there were more vegan restaurants like this, I'd convert. read more

I can't believe I have forgotten to review this place. It's my go-to vegan spot. Way better than Native Foods in my opinion. Great variety of dishes and as a relatively recent convert to vegetarian eating, I really like that there are lots of meals that resemble meat dishes I miss. Particular favorites are the country fried chick'n w/potatoes and gravy and chick'n parm. read more

I've been here at least 10 times. Every time I get something different. Every time it's amazingly delicious. I've never been even slightly let down. Also, the owner handles everything himself so it's very personal friendly service. When I order to go food and I'm waiting he's always talking to the people in there like we're one big group of friends. More places should be modeled after this. All around fantastic. read more

I tried this place yesterday for the first time. I was surprised by the size of the restaurant and the menu (both are very small). I was expecting maybe half the size/menu of Chicago Diner. Regardless, the food was very good. I had the gyros and the lentil soup, and I also tasted the pepperoni pizza and a chocolate chip cookie. My sandwich was excellent. The seitan was perfect. I'm a vegan so I eat a lot of vegan food and lot of seitan. The texture and flavor of this seitan surpassed what had been my favorite - Upton's. This was a bit better. The lentil soup was good. The cookie was good (you'd never guess it was vegan). I liked the pizza better than Dimo's (or frozen varieties). So the menu and the space are limited - but the trade off seems to be the quality. Everything my party ordered was good. That isn't always the case at Chicago Diner or Native Foods. There are a few losers on those big menus. - read more

Love this place and the great vegan fare. But can you please NOT have the rather risque entertainment, especially during brunch/ lunch time? Today there were 2 very, very scantily clad ladies dancing around - one had leaf-shaped pasties strategically placed on her chest and nothing else, and nude undies. There were 2 small kids (around 8 or 9) dining with their parents. This is not appropriate, I think. Thanks. read more

I so wanted to like this place. It gives me no joy to give a less than excellent review for Kitchen 17, but I'm going to be honest. The front window was dirty, and in such a small space with such a big window, it cast a dingy look to the entire place. Music was way too loud, causing the people at other tables to have to yell to be heard. The service was friendly, but inattentive; I sat down for over ten minutes before being told my order would be taken at the cash register, 7 feet away. My sandwich was just okay, barely. The hummus was quite tasteless. There is nothing one would call decor. An odor of burning oil hung in the air much of the time. If this place wasn't dedicated vegan, I would have given it one star, not two. There is a note on the wall indicating that one should not think of this place as a restaurant so much as the owner's kitchen. My experience was that it certainly didn't pass muster as a restaurant. read more

despite wanting to enjoy the food, every time i have eaten at kitchen 17, i always end up getting really sick and/ or experience extreme intestinal distress. vegan deep dish always sounds enticing, but certainly not at the price both my commode and i have had to pay. read more