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    Meli Cafe

    3.5 (761 reviews)
    Closed 7:00 am - 3:00 pm
    Updated over 3 months ago

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    MELI CAFE ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Casual
    Trendy
    Good for groups

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    Recommended Reviews - Meli Cafe

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    Banana Bread French Toast
    Madison M.

    Phenomenal breakfast! I came here with some friends of mine who raved about this place. They said they come here often and everything they've tried has been delicious, and they were right! We came for a late Sunday brunch and although they were busy, they were able to seat us right away. All of the staff were so friendly and welcoming! I ordered an iced late to start that was high quality and delicious yet simple. For food, I couldn't decide between something sweet and savory so I got both! I had the banana bread french toast and breakfast tacos. The banana bread french toast blew my mind! What a creative concept that was so beautifully executed! I'm not even a french toast lover but these are a must try! The breakfast tacos were very good, too! Both hit the spot and made for great leftovers. I highly recommend this gem in south loop!

    Breakfast Tacos
    Leslie C.

    I'm torn about this place. I've eaten here twice. The first time it was really good and the second time it was not. The first time, I ordered the Shakshuka and it was quite tasty and the poached eggs were perfect. The second time, I had the breakfast tacos and they were really dense, lacking flavor, the components were stuck together, and the tortillas were soggy and falling apart. My friend ordered the Tofu Scrambler and didn't like it, and she's not a picky person. It was basically just veggies and tofu mixed with a marinara sauce. She thought it was really bland. She and I loved the iced chai tea latte was very tasty. And we really liked the beet juice too. Both times I received excellent service. The service is definitely consistent. Everyone is very friendly and attentive here. Indoor and outdoor seating. Cute cafe. A bit warm inside. Located in the same building as Hotel Blake. The decor is really lovely, especially the chandeliers. Bright space, lots of natural light.

    Farmland Bowl 4/10
    Batoul Z.

    I'm not impressed. The outdoor seating is very cute and quaint so that's what drew me to it. Indoor just feels sticky if that makes any sense. The lox Benedict is awful. It has the TINIEST piece of salmon I've ever seen. I know places are cheap but this is just bad I got the bowl with zucchini. No seasoning and the potatoes were soggy The egg is ok

    Julianne S.

    Food, drinks, & service was amazing! I had the crème brûlée french toast and it was delicious. Perfect brunch spot, highly recommend.

    lamb Shakshouka
    Joseph S.

    I came here a couple of weeks ago with some friends and it was really nice. The service is a bit slow but the food is flavorful. It can get hot in the restaurant. I got the special which was the lamb shakshouka. It was super flavorful and really worth it in my opinion. It is a super cute place for a date.

    Menu
    Brianna F.

    Quick and efficient service. Friendly staff and food was delicious. I ordered the classic eggs benedict and it hit the spot!

    Ashley N.

    Gluten free French toast was disgusting. We decided to go here since we seen a hand full of TikTok videos hyping this breakfast place up. Unfortunately it was a disappointment and breakfast is hard to mess up. There was just something missing everything was bland. Our service was not great either. My French toast didn't arrive till after my food was ate. My favorite part was the chai tea latte. However they did not charge us for the French toast or my mom's food as she did not like it either, which was appreciated!

    Jorge H.

    Stopped in for breakfast and it was okay overall. The food was fine and the service was fine as well, but nothing really stood out as exceptional. It's an average spot, but not somewhere I'd go out of my way for.

    The fluffy buttermilk pancake breakfast with soft scrambled eggs, smoked applewood bacon, sausages, and an added fruit bowl
    Rich S.

    Tasty generous breakfast. Good service. Bright clean restaurant. Smack dab in the middle of Printers' Row, we chose the Meli Cafe on Dearborn for a family breakfast for six. The friendly efficient staff accommodated us easily at a circular table overlooking the window tables. The room is brightly decorated with large modern ornate chandeliers. There's a good number of outdoor tables, too. And the adjoining modern hotel lobby serves as a waiting room, with clean card-restricted restrooms off to the side. (You borrow the card from the restaurant's reception desk.) On a Saturday at 8:45am, we had only a 5 or 10 minute wait for a table. We had a pair of classic eggs Benedicts, each a soft-poached egg on an lightly toasted fresh English muffin, with a moderately thin circle of Canadian bacon, well-sauced with a rich flavorful hollandaise. They were accompanied by Meli's hashbrowns of which they are rightly proud, shredded potatoes well-grilled for a sturdy crispiness over tenderness. We added a generous plate of lightly powdered-sugared fluffy buttermilk pancakes, softly-scrambled eggs, thin sweet smoked Applewood bacon, and more of those perfect Meli's breakfast potatoes, and added a generous bowl of juicy sweet pineapple chunks, kiwi disks, and seedless red grapes. We added a side of tasty sausages. One of us went for egg-white poached eggs with well-flavored turkey sausages and those lovely hashbrowns. And the staffed seemed pleased when I chose the shakshuka bowl: two lightly-poached eggs in a rich flavorful lightly-spiced sauce of plum tomatoes, onions, peppers, and garlic, lightly sprinkled with soft feta, served with crispy lightly-toasted quartered pita. We had fresh tasty coffee and tea, and a hot bold double espresso. The room was lovely. Servings were large enough for the adults to share with children, and we all had a satisfying breakfast, efficiently served, at a reasonable price.

    Inside
    Stephanie A.

    This place is delicious!! Coffee was some of the best I've had in Chicago. The scrambled eggs are super fluffy. Service is great and always refilling our water and coffee. The dinning room is so much nicer than I was expecting it to be. Would for sure some back!

    Jalapeño Slaw
    Neisha H.

    While initially, the menu was not very enticing, the food we ordered ended up being very good.

    Polenta gf vegan pancakes
    Michael R.

    We came in here for the first time ever for brunch with some friends, and we were happily surprised to see this cafe has a beautiful interior and is actually Greek as well. We started with some of the Greek donuts, which were amazing and similar or churros, and our group got a variety of things including chicken and waffles (amazing, even slightly savory), gf polenta pancakes (little dry but good), croissant sandwich (great), crepes (amazing), and an egg white scrambler (really good, although would call this more of a frittata). The staff was a bit slammed but they were nice and the food came out quick. The atmosphere is really nice here and we'd love to return to this location or one of their other ones nearby!

    Breakfast Quesadilla
    Vivi Z.

    I came here to have brunch with friends to celebrate my belated birthday. I've always wanted to try Meli café because I've heard a lot about them and they have many location locations around Chicago. We came here around 1 PM on a Saturday and there were plenty of seats at the restaurant. This location is actually really nice inside because you get to look outside the window, no matter where you really sit. I ordered the breakfast quesadilla and meli's sunrise for the drink. I thought the drink was really refreshing, sweet and good for a Chicago spring season kind of drink. When I saw the quesadilla, I was shook because it was huge. I definitely barely finish half of it and had to take it to go just to eat it the next day for breakfast. You're really getting your moneys worth at this place because of the portion you get for the amount you pay. This will definitely be one of my go to brunch place with friends because it is just simple yet good breakfast food. Overall, I had a great time in definitely will visit again.

    Streak Special, not sure of the name anymore

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    6 months ago

    The server was very friendly, it was clean, prices was right. The food comes out hot & fresh. It is very tasty. I would come back.

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    1 year ago

    This place is great and every time we stay in the city we go here for breakfast. The food, service and ambiance is always great.

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    8 months ago

    We had breakfast. The menu was widely wried with some interesting spins on typical dishes. The service was great. Ambiance was casual.

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    Girl & The Goat

    Girl & The Goat

    4.4
    (10.7k reviews)
    1.1 mi
    $$$

    I had a splendid dinner at Girl & The Goat. Was seated promptly when I arrived for my dinner…read morereservation and my seat had a view of the kitchen. It was so fun to chat with the chefs and watch them prepare dishes. I ordered the roasted "pig face" potatoes and the famous sautéed green beans. While waiting for my food, the chef surprised me with complimentary chickpea fritters to try. All of the dishes tasted incredibly delicious and this was the best restaurant I ate at during my trip. The atmosphere was cozy and romantic. I would definitely dine here again the next time I am in Chicago.

    After so many incredible lunches and dinners while visiting Chicago, dinner at Girl & The Goat…read morestole the entire show. Every single dish was so good, cocktails were incredible, our waiter was a delight... this review is about to be a rave if you couldn't already tell. We were searching frantically for a patio we could have dinner on because the weather was too perfect to be inside and somehow, Girl & The Goat had space available last minute. After a quick wait, we were seated with menus in no time. We started off with the tropic like it's hot cocktail which was the most refreshing and delicious cocktail I've ever had. Dangerously delicious but also weirdly felt like I was drinking a healthy green juice. For dinner, two of us split a bunch of different plates like the roasted asparagus, salmon poke, shrimp salad, and kohlrabi salad. Each dish they brought out was more incredible than the last, and those four dishes were plenty of food. We left perfectly full but the food was so fresh and light, we didn't feel too weighed down. From the list, I honestly can't even say what my favorites were, but our server recommended all of them so we have him to thank. The salmon poke was delicious and so fresh and honestly such a solid choice. If you only get one thing (don't. get like 2 plates per person prob) that is the one. Only thing to note is that the patio is on a kind of busy street and if you go on a weekend night it can get crazy loud when those weird quad bikes drive past blasting music at an absurd volume. Go here, you will love it. Get all of the amazing food and at least one cocktail bc they are delicious.

    Photos
    Girl & The Goat
    Girl & The Goat
    Girl & The Goat

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    The Purple Pig

    The Purple Pig

    4.3
    (9k reviews)
    1.1 mi
    $$$

    Awesome food!!! Fancy Environment!!!! And Friendly Staff!!!!…read more Yay! Wonderful experience here, I was just visiting and after I finally found parking, I asked to be seated but did not have a reservation, the hostess said if I could be about an hour she could squeeze us in. So I was thankful for that, we were not looking to stay for a long time just wanted to try the place out. Once seated we were waited on and served fast. The food was mind blowing, we loved everything!!! My favorite was the duck appetizer puffs, wow they were good. Everything though was elevated and delicious. I'd come back in a heartbeat. Thank you for the wonderful experience to add to our trip to Chicago!

    Terrible. I am honestly not sure how people are recommending this place. I was excited to come here…read moreand had very high expectations, but unfortunately the food was extremely disappointing. Let's start from the beginning: the bone marrow. What on earth was going on? Why would you cover bone marrow with fig, bacon, and so much cilantro? Bone marrow is a delicate dish. You are supposed to taste the richness and subtle flavor of the marrow itself. The cilantro completely overpowered it, and the fig and bacon made it even worse. Chef, where did you train? This dish made no sense. Then came the agnolotti. I have no words. Just look at the photo: full of oil. I mean completely swimming in oil. Then the chitarra with seafood. Horrible. Spicy for no reason. Again, why are you trying to cover the ingredients instead of letting them speak for themselves? Also, the fish tasted frozen, not fresh. The pork belly, supposedly the signature dish, was another disappointment. Again, so much sauce that the actual flavor of the pork belly was completely lost. The staff were nice, the ambiance was okay, and the wine selection was good. But please, stop covering the taste of the food you cook. If you need to hide the ingredients under excessive sauce, spice, cilantro, oil, bacon, or sweetness, the only explanation is that the ingredients are not good enough on their own. I will not be coming back. Not even for free. Sorry. PS. Why so much bread on each dish? So much buttery horrible bread that you will trash, because it's impossible to eat all of it.

    Photos
    Inside
    Inside
    Chicago style hot dog
    Chicago style hot dog
    Squid Ink Chitarra

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    Squid Ink Chitarra
    Au Cheval

    Au Cheval

    4.4
    (9.5k reviews)
    1.1 mi
    $$

    After what felt like 5 years to try this place, I FINALLY got to try the famous burger here! Spark…read morenotes: this place is definitely worth the wait! My friend and I dedicated a day where we would just put our name down and however long it took we would wait haha. We drove into the city which took and hour and we put our name down and waited an hour before we were called. The weather was great so we just walked around the west loop area. We started with a half size of the green salad and a half size of the roasted bone marrow. The house salad is super refreshing. A lot of vinegar in the dressing which I personally really like. Also tasted some fennel which was an interesting flavor. The roasted bone marrow is the winner of the night. I would come back to Au Cheval for this alone. It was paired with a thick slice of Texas toast and a beef cheek marmalade and it is seriously the PERFECT balance of flavors. Fatty. Sweet. Buttery. Literally insane and this is a must order! Then came the famous burger. My friend and I each ordered a single cheeseburger with the egg and bacon added. Something to note is that the single cheeseburger actually has 2 patties and the double cheeseburger has 3 patties (3/4lbs of beef). The presentation itself is beautiful and makes you just not want to eat it haha. The burger itself is so decadent and hefty with the burger patties, cheese, egg and bacon. I'll be honest, I needed some more pickles or just something to cut all the fattiness of the burger. There were pickles in the burger and it is served with a huge pickle spear. But I still was itching for some more bitterness/acid to balance the flavors. It was so decadent, I couldn't finish it all. All in all, I would definitely come back and order the burger again and would recommend it to anyone! We ordered a side of fries which came with their garlic aioli. The fries were cooked to perfection. Super crunchy on the outside and nice and soft on the inside and piping hot! The garlic aioli is perfect and have no notes for it. We also were treated to a vanilla scoop with chocolate sauce which was the perfect cap to our meal! Our waitress was so friendly and my friend and I loved her! She was so sweet and genuine. Hog Salt restaurants never fail with their service!

    Au Cheval is likely the most coveted restaurant destination for out-of-towners…read more "Best Burger" "it's so delicious with the egg" "I'm glad you're ending your trip with Au Cheval". I'd like to throw in my own quote into the gauntlet: "it's ok". It sounds harsh but Our burger patty was noticeably dry. The bread... was also dry. The egg and bacon add-ons were good but as a whole, the burger was missing the core aspect. The bread being dry I can justify by knowing that Au Cheval makes it a point to make everything gluten-free (or so someone told me). I think that's cool but not necessarily what I came looking for. I actually noticed prior to our trip from photos that the buns looked noticeably arid but I gave them no heed because of all of the praise. And I can give them the benefit of the doubt that we were there on a Sunday night, so potentially not the most quality inventory (although I personally don't think that's a great excuse). The service and the ambiance were on point! If you're wondering if there's a required attire (no shorts or flip flops) I wouldn't fret, the atmosphere is a lot more casual despite self-describing as an "intimate" setting. It's definitely more intimate than a normal burger restaurant, with dim lighting and isolated booths but what you're wearing isn't going to dictate how other guests and staff feel. I would cover up anyways just cause there was ac running. I told my friend who moved from Nyc to Chicago and he said he felt the same. And one of our couple friends were surprised to hear the patty being dry, so... off day?

    Photos
    The cooks were very attentive!
    The cooks were very attentive!
    Crispy Fries & Potato Hash
    Crispy Fries & Potato Hash
    Wings (very sticky so they come with hot towels)

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    Wings (very sticky so they come with hot towels)
    Gretel

    Gretel

    4.5
    (468 reviews)
    4.6 mi
    $$

    Stopped here after dinner for some drinks in their downstairs lounge. I've never gone downstairs…read moreand when I entered it gave speakeasy vibes, I loved it. I had one of the best espresso martinis here and enjoyed sitting on their cozy couches while chatting to my friends. The atmosphere downstairs was really calm and relaxing. Service was quick and our server was very polite.

    My friends and I have started a burger crawl throughout the city, and we had to have Gretel on the…read morelist! First time here for all of us, but definitely will not be our last! We started with a bunch of cocktails (I wish I remember the names.. but they were all so good!). Food to start, we ordered the Charcuterie, and the House Made Pretzel. We were obsessed with both! The charcuterie did not skimp out like some cheese/meat plates do.. it was a satisfying amount that we kept going back for more. The pretzel was outstanding, twisted and hot, perfectly soft and salty. To eat, I split the Gretel Griddle Burger and the Fried Chicken Sandwich with my friend because although we were there for the burger, I kept reading about the chicken sandwich being fantastic. Booyy they were not wrong!! As much as I loved the burger, the chicken sandwich was my favorite! Perfectly crispy, with this sweet and spicy glaze and the crunchy Asian pear slaw... OMG. I'm still dreaming about this! One thing we were excited about were the Elote Riblettes.. but I wouldn't order these again. I accidentally bit the whole thing and didn't realize they kept the core in, and I had to spit it out. And even after eating it properly it didn't feel like I got enough of it from those little bites. Loved the fries though! We didn't see a dessert menu but we would have definitely been interested in that. After all the drinks apps and the chicken sandwich I was feeling so full so I couldn't finish the burger so I got it wrapped to go. But let me tell you even when I reheated that burger the next day.. it was fantastic!! Overall we may have been the loudest and most obnoxious group (we get a bit excited haha) our waiter and the vibe were all matched! Genuinely loved this place, and looking forward to coming back soon.

    Photos
    Flowers
    Flowers
    Outstanding butter & brine oysters from portsmouth maine
    Outstanding butter & brine oysters from portsmouth maine
    Beautiful italian orange wine with great minerality

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    Beautiful italian orange wine with great minerality
    Bavette's Bar & Boeuf

    Bavette's Bar & Boeuf

    4.5
    (3.5k reviews)
    1.0 mi
    $$$$

    I hate that I loved this place so much! I live in Michigan and was determined to get a reservation…read more So when I finally got it I was elated. First the service, now the host stand can be a little flat but I think they get so busy and it's so in demand they have to be stern but all the staff was amazing. I never needed a thing. They were so nice and checked on us constantly. The food... omg the fooddddd! Healthy portions! You could definitely share if you wanted to be more waist or budget friendly lol. My favorite had to be the shrimp and the steak. The steak was cooked perfectly and the au poivre was a great accompaniment. Dessert was also amazing. Healthy portions for sure shareable. I would definitely make that drove from Michigan to come back! Perfect start to my 30th birthday!!

    Heard so much about Bavette's, I'm so glad I got to try it! Such a good place for a date,…read moreanniversary, or even a work dinner! Fair warning, it is super dark and I couldn't see some of the food lol. We ordered the Brussel sprouts, Truffle Mac n cheese, Dry-aged bone in ribeye Double wagyu cheeseburger, Pomme frites, Crab stuffed avocado, Button mushroom, and strawberry meringue. Everything was phenomenal! Bavette's does their steak right with the intersection of perfectly charred along and juiciness. It was well seasoned and all the flavors are truly phenomenal. Be prepared to be very full because a lot of the food I felt was greasy. However, the crab stuffed avacado was a nice refreshing touch!

    Photos
    Waiting area and first floor dining
    Waiting area and first floor dining
    Bone Marrow
    Bone Marrow
    Truffle Mac & Cheese

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    Truffle Mac & Cheese

    Meli Cafe - newamerican - Updated June 2026

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