The food was delicious and the wait was definitely worth it. The coconut oatmeal is fantastic. Unfortunately the service is less than ideal - coffee cups went to empty without staff noticing, and our waitress was literally sneezing and sniffling on the floor, which left us concerned we were going to catch whatever she had because she was also delivering the food and drinks to our table. Management should have sent her home immediately when she arrived in that condition. read more

Management is rude. Only cares for customers that appear to have money. TERRIBLE customer service. Waited almost an hour for an order that was NOT EVEN CORRECT. It's a real shame. Will not be giving any more money to Nellie's!!! read more

This place was terrible on all fronts. One of the worst restaurant experiences I've had in a long time. Went through these reviews, saw their all-you-can-eat Puerto Rican breakfast buffet, bought a limited-time groupon for half off my meal, and was really thrilled to give it a shot with my boyfriend. That Sunday we went in and were greeted by a seemingly 12 year old boy (playing host) at the front. Child labor anyone? Anyway, we were told it would be 20 minutes.. Then 20 minutes later, 20 minutes.. Then for about 15 minutes, we were told we'd be next. After an HOUR waiting to get a table, we sat down. Bad start. Then came the buffet. My oatmeal - supposedly their best menu item - was lukewarm and simply nothing to write home about. Some of the other items, plantains, omelette, etc were okay but really again, nothing to write home about. After we wrapped up the meal, we gave the waiter our groupon.. He comes back without it even applied! So my boyfriend goes up to the counter and seemingly they correct it. Print us a new check, with the groupon discount, and we pay then leave. About a week later my boyfriend was looking at his bank statement.. and they had charged us for the full meal and excluded the groupon!!! My boyfriend calls and of course, they're closed on Tuesdays so he left a pretty angry voicemail. Finally a call back on Wednesday afternoon and guess what the lady says.. I'm paraphrasing here.. "Sir, I think your bank statement may have been incorrect, we processed the groupon, you were not charged what you said. Anyway we're sorry for the inconvenience and if you can FAX US your statement maybe we can figure this out" Are you kidding????? Of course we gave up. Simply not worth it over $20. But boy, what a poor experience all around. I guess I'm just too nice to give it only 1 star. read more

It's a staple in Humboldt Park. I usually come here for the breakfast.. the buffet is the best deal. Inviting space but the initial service is a little slow, if you can get past that or have time on your hands it's an enjoyable experience. read more

I went here for breakfast with the BF and we ordered the Ham and cheese sandwich and cheddar bacon ommlet with a side of tostones. It was excellent! The only downfall is that it took such a long time! There were only 2 other tables in the restaurant and it took approximately 25 minutes for our food! Other than that, the service was great and the food was a two thumbs up!!! read more

Love their coconut oatmeal! The chef on weekends for made-order omelette is so nice! Their breakfast/brunch is super affordable and atmosphere it's cozy. Their staff is nice but always spread way too thin-sometimes you wait over 15 minutes just to pay your bill! read more

Food gets an A+, Service gets an F- Other reviews describe the food which is just fine. I am going to rant about the employees and management. We made a reservation for Sunday Brunch and showed up on the dot. They had no record of the reservation. However they said they could seat us in 15 minutes. Twenty minutes later a different employee came over and asked if we had a reservation. She had no communication with the previous person. We told her our story. She said she would seat us in 15 minutes. We finally got seated. We had a group of six people. Four of us ordered the buffet. The other two ordered off the menu. Wait staff were very negligent about refilling coffee and orange juice. We got the check. Like most places they added a tip because we were a group. However the tip was outrageous. They put on a 20% tip. Most places will put on 18% if they do full service. This was mostly buffet! The proper tip for buffet service is 10%. I feel we were ripped off. At this place the food comes with a generous side order of abuse. I will never go back. The good food is not worth taking the abuse. read more

oye latinos! oye puerto rico! the other Sunday I straight up passed on sex, for brunch at Nellies. do yourself a solid papa, take on the breakfast buffet or Nellies special. try not to cry tears of golden unicorns when you taste the avena de coco; you can cry, just do it silently. "who needs to sit hungrily for 2 hours for brunch in a bar that your roommates were puking in just hours earlier...f*ckin really tho" -cham read more

yea! this place is a gem. i went for the buffet. everything was good. i don't know the name of the dish but there is one on the back wall that has burger, cheese, and plantains ... yummm! i find it hard to find places to eat no a days that are not jam packed with wall to wall hipsters and wicker park people. this is the spot for now cause im sure there right around the corner! im coming back for sure! read more

The way they do the seating for the Sunday brunch isn't fair or consistent. You can have a party of 2 waiting for 45 minutes and then a party of 6 walks up and they seat them right away. Finally it was our turn, or so we thought. Then they seated 2 adults and a child that came in after us. Their answer was that they need to sit at least 3 people to a 4 person table. And no apologies were offered. read more

GO ON SUNDAY!!! The brunch buffet is phenomenal. The waffles are made right there for you and they make you on the spot omelette's. The plantains are scrumptious and the coconut oatmeal their signature is really good too. This place really hits the spot on Sunday Morning read more

Really solid breakfast place! A friend highly talked it up, so Z and I went with said friend on a Saturday a couple of weeks back. All of us got the Puerto Rican breakfast except I got mine without meat. The coconut oatmeal was absolutely insane! I wish I could eat that every morning. The meal was so huge I struggled with finishing it. Great bang for your buck! And our server was so nice. I would love to try the buffet sometime. Sit near the Jesus on a motorcycle painting so you can truly admire it. read more

Going into Nellies and not having a lot of PR food before I wasn't sure what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised. Since the Sunday breakfast buffet was only a few dollars more than what I wanted and included OJ and coffee (Both unlimited) I decided to splurge the $15 for it. You have all of your breakfast items - Bacon, Sausage, french toast, omelet bar, etc. But I have to say I was blown away by the Oatmeal. I cant say I have never tasted Oatmeal that good. It was creamy sweet and delicious. There is also this "Sheppard pie" dish that I also found delicious. The service was also inconsistent. read more

Food was amazing. The buffet really helps you try out the best. Coconut oatmeal is an absolute must have. Although I enjoyed the food my biggest rave about this place is the service. I went with a group of friends and we had ALOT to talk about, with that said the staff did not rush us to get out and they kept serving us coffee and water up until the minute we decided to leave. Needless to say I gave a great tip to all my servers including the nice gentleman at the omelette station. read more

Delish breakfast here! The oatmeal is the bomb.com and you have to try the nellies special because you get the oatmeal along with an amazing omelette! The omelette had plantains on the top of it and it is cooked to perfection! I can't wait to return to try their weekend brunch for only 16.99 and it's byob! An amazing deal! Also service is amazing! read more

I placed an order for pickup at 7:15. They open at 7. But when I arrived at 7:30, the doors were locked and no one answered the door. What awful customer service. read more

Good food and great service. The coconut oatmeal was delicious and the heart on it was adorable :)

Absolutely AMAZING!!! Love everything I've ordered is good! I love the man in the back making the omelets right in front of you with his own sofrito!! Best place!!! The avena de coco is awesome!! All you can eat buffet for $15... Worth ur $$$ :) read more

I love this place. The staff is extremely friendly & the food is always fantastic. My favorite thing to order is El Coqui scramble. Perfect mix of onions, sofrito, sausage, eggs & avocado. read more

so delicious!! chill af and you really should get the oatmeal!! everything else was super solid but the oatmeal shone.

Coconut oatmeal and jibaritos de lechon are my favorites but anything you order from nellies is delish!

My friends and I went for brunch on a Saturday morning and it was EVERYTHING! Everything offered on the buffet was amazing and the staff was super helpful and friendly and sweet. We'll definitely be going back and you can't beat the price for the brunch buffet! read more

Great brunch buffet. Unfortunately I arrived close to the end of the serving hour, so some of the food wasn't fresh from the kitchen. The Egg maker did a fine job with my omelet, made with fresh veggies, cheese, and meats. Delicious Coffee, and OJ kept flowing, Very friendly people working. Seemed to be hit by the after church crowd. Many large groups, and families with kids. There wasn't anything I didn't like food wise, But I would recommend the busier hour to get the hottest from the kitchen. Worth the money, will be back for more. Yes, another hidden gem. read more

If I could give this place 6 stars, I would. Delicious food and awesome customer service at Nellie's. El Coqui sandwhich is amazing and I also tried and loved the coconut oatmeal. I would highly recommend eating here to anyone staying in or visiting the area. The coffee is also really good! read more

I came in here with four friends for a basic brunch. The service was awful. We had about 4 different "servers" erratically checking up on us, sometimes 4 within a couple minutes, sometimes no one would come by for 20 minutes. No one knew what the heck they were doing. Two of our "servers" would ask if we wanted coffee, and they brought it to us 30 minutes later. One of the servers kept sticking his arms over our table to grab plates that still had food on them. He repeatedly asked if we liked the house-made hot sauce and if we wanted to buy some. We waited 30 minutes for a check, and we finally went up to the cash register to get it. The cashier ran the wrong ticket, and then he finally ran our ticket, but grabbed it and walked away for a few minutes. He came back, and they ADDED A 20% AUTOMATIC GRATUITY. This is shameful! We only had a party of five - we weren't told there would be an auto-gratuity and 20% GRATUITY IS FAR TOO MUCH. The service was horrible. The food was bland. To top it off, I got FOOD POISONING later that evening from eating their bland, watery omelets and cold, flavorless ham jibarrito. read more

Stayed at an Air BnB down the street. Literally stumbled out of the house one morning and happened upon this gem. Guava pastry! Little flaky puffs of air with guava filling and dusted with powdered sugar! Deliciousness! Well priced--hipster quality for down to earth prices. read more

Absolutely beautiful decor and vibe, with furnishings to that of Puerto Rico. Soft pastel colors, beautiful tiles and artwork. Service was very welcoming and attentive. Food was served promptly. Veggie omelette was delicious, complex, fresh, and reasonably priced. I would definitely come back and recommend Nellie's. read more

im Live in florida but my wife and in laws are from chicago. i came here once with a friend and ever since then i do not leave chicagi without coming here especially to get the Avena de coco. this is my favorite and i never in my life had something like this so good. im spanish and my parents or granmother couldnt make it that good. Kudos to nellies... highly recommended. read more

I'll take Nellie's over any of the nearby overpriced, overrated brunch places. The authentic Puerto Rican breakfast is something you won't find anywhere else in the city. Having a Groupon all the time (with the ability to take out!) doesn't hurt either! Some of my favorite features include the special Puerto Rican omlette with plantains cooked inside, the plaintains themselves, the El Coqui breakfast sandwich (massive), and of course, the coconut oatmeal! It's a bit out of the way for some, but close enough to Wicker Park & Ukrainian Village for those who don't know about it. This place is definitely worth going West of Western for. read more

Bought a Groupon for Nellie's and decided to try it for breakfast. Went with a few friends. We tried the Nellie's Breakfast Special, the pancake breakfast and the ham and egg breakfast sandwich. All three meals were prepared fresh and we're delicious. Pancakes were fluffy and light. The bread used for the breakfast sandwich was crusty on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside. The standout for us was the Nelly's breakfast. The omelet was stuffed with salchichon (Puerto Rican farmers sausage, avocado and sweet plantains. It was served with a coconut oatmeal that reminded us all of meals made by our grandmothers. read more

It's probably been said a million times, but I'm going to say it again. Best oatmeal ever! Seriously... the best. The Sunday brunch is alright but to be honest it's seems a bit overpriced. However, they include orange juice and coffee in the price so by the time you really add it all up it's not unreasonable. Great service too! read more

Was so looking forward to having great brunch here after reading the reviews. First the positive. The coconut oatmeal is delish. It is better than I expected. But other than that I cannot say anything good about this place. The sour-puss waitress acted like she was doing us a favor by stopping by our table next to the john. No cream for the coffee.....just milk. The fruit was mushy and not fresh. The whipped cream was cool whip. The chicken was over-cooked and too garlicky. ( I luv garlic by the way). The rice dry. The French toast tasteless. The freshly made eggs were good but the rest not so much. Too bad. Will not be back. read more

Came in on a Sunday morning and was tremendously pleased with everything! Our waiter was funny, quick and gave my friend and I avena de coco on the house. Wouldn't have spent my morning any other way. read more

Coconut oatmeal is the only reason to go back. Staff is rude and very inattentive (they're to busy chatting amongst each other) coffee is horrible, waited and hour for pancakes.. and I quote because they're homemade! Sorry I make homemade often and Ute takes about five minutes to prepare batter. It wasn't busy so I can't put that into account. But YES I'll go naval for oatmeal TO GO! read more

A fantastic breakfast and lunch place right on the corner of our street. We've never been disappointed with Nellie's and take all our out of town guests there. The breakfast buffet is the way to go, seriously- because if you order stuff separately (like I always want a breakfast casserole, the oatmeal and an OJ), your bill is already about $13- so why not get an omelette you can custom order, all the coconut oatmeal you can eat, and any other specialities they happen to make that day? Be prepared to nap though...seriously....nap....mmmmm. read more

Great buffet option for breakfast! Not the flashiest place in town, but a super nice and attentive staff. I would definitely g

This is my favorite Breakfast Place in Chicago thus far. The food is great, and the staff is extra friendly. Also there is a buffet on the weekends read more

I would love to give this place four stars! Come on its Puerto Rican breakfast! Sadly it only gets one star based on service. I have been to Nellies a good amount of times but have decided based on my last visit to never return. The service is terrible and there is a certain guy who works there who has made me very uncomfortable every time I've been there. I am actually saddened to walk in and see he is still employed by you guys. He is above all very rude and makes comments that have made various people who have accompanied me on separate occasions feel very uncomfortable. I love the food here and the oatmeal is to die for but it's just not worth the hassle! read more

Great food and even on the weekends it is rare to encounter a wait time of more than 15 minutes (usually there is no wait at all). Has a pretty good buffet for inpatient consumers; however, the service is rarely as good as the food and identifying your actual server/paying for the bill can be frustrating at times. read more

Fantastic brunch when your in the mood for a Puerto Rican breakfast! Pastelon was scrumptious, made to order omelettes were hot and fresh. Avena de coco is so creamy, I highly recommend trying it! read more