What a great coffee shop in Downtown Winnetka! The patio out front is rather large with some…read morecovered tables. The inside is also spacious, bright from natural light, had a simple design. Upon entering, one can walk right up to the ordering counter. They have a standard coffee and tea menu, specialty drinks, seasonal drinks, and some pastries for purchase. Their specialty/seasonal drinks aren't posted outside of the register so I recommend looking online as a preview if needed. I got the Funky Monkey as the barista said it was their most popular seasonal drink. I loved the subtle banana flavor and slightly sweet notes. The espresso is also house roasted and great quality. My husband tried their Chai Latte which was okay. We also shared an Old Fashioned donut which had great flavor. Coffee flavors definitely seem to be their sweet spot!

Good location, nice atmosphere, clean, bright inside the shop. Good coffee! I had a decaf oat…read moremilk latte! It was yummy!!

I live in Chicago but took the CTA up to go to the Baha'i temple. This place is only a block from…read morethe linden purple line stop, so it's extremely convenient. I saw they take card. I was hungry, and it was 12:30pm on a Saturday, and I grabbed two scones that I was surprised they still had some left! I got an apricot one and a chocolate chip. They were both positively delicious. I'm a scone fanatic and holy sh*tballs they blew my mind. I'll be hiking my pretty a** from Chicago to go here again for sure. Just for the scones! Needless to say, this is the one yelp review I'll write without a picture because I absolutely demolished my scones...for obvious reasons

I was so excited to stop here on infrequent trip to wilmette and have a scone and coffee. It's…read morecharming and smells dreamy. I was sad though bc I asked for a cherry scone (fresh out of the oven even) and it was burned on the bottom. I felt sheepish complaining about it so i didn't. Big bummer though!

Good coffee. Love the vibes they put out. Busy place, but not so much that you wish you'd have…read moregone to another place. The folks who take your order are proficient. Some coffee places you only order coffee since the food selection is weak. That isn't the case at Backlot. I get the Classic( somewhat spicy) and my wife gets the Monty breakfast sandwich. A great start to your day!

Best latte I have had while on this trip! Maybe ever! Wish they delivered to Evanston Hospital or…read moredid DoorDash!

I wanted to like it. I did. But after a few visits, it's just not for me…read more The first trip, I tried the Matari Tea: Green tea, Himalayan pink salt, milk, and spices, topped with roasted pistachios. Sounds good, right? Alas, it could not have been blander. I couldn't taste any "spices" or even the hint of salt. The profile was that of very watered-down tea mixed with milk, and a ton of pistachios floating on top. Like, barely crushed pistachios. Huge pieces, covering the top of the drink, bobbed around like tiny icebergs, and even they somehow had a toned-down flavor. The drink was definitely a swing and a miss. Fast forward two weeks, and I tried Matari again. This time with a simple cortado. I sat at the table right by the door, and the espresso was pretty good. Solid body, not too bitter. It was on the pricy side ($7+), but I was ok with that. But then, I'm hanging out, sipping my coffee, and I catch a burst of perfume-like scent. I'm shocked, but whatever, I figured someone in heavy perfume walked by, no big deal. A few minutes later, wham, I'm hit in the nose with another burst of perfume. Then, I see it. A slight haze around me. So, not a heavily perfumed woman after all, but an automated air-freshener. After further inspection, I see the unit plugged in on the ground right behind my chair, which sprays up and out on a timer. That's right, an air freshener right next to a table where people consume food and beverages, shooting a mist into the air that slowly rains down onto my head and table, and into my coffee. I ended up tossing the last few sips of my cortado, as I could taste the scented whatever-it-was in my cup. I'd have gone to the counter and asked for a new one, but I was so over my visit by then, I just opted to get out. The staff aren't very friendly. Not rude, but they don't give off a welcoming aura, and I didn't feel like trying to explain the issue. Lastly, can we talk about their little "your order is up" beepers? We've all seen them. The little electronic things that blink and make a noise when your order is ready, so you can go snag it from the counter. When I think of a coffee shop, I think quiet and peaceful, or perhaps a bit louder, with bustling people and well-paired music. At Matari, it's an insane BEEP BEEP BEEP that goes off every few minutes when an order is up. I get it, you don't want to bring the food out to your customers. But does it really need to feel like an airport Chili's? It's a bummer, because Matari is beautiful inside. It's clean, it's chic, and its location is at a notable crossroads in Skokie with plenty of parking, leaving it extremely convenient. They've even got an easy-to-use website, which so many coffee shops simply do not have. There aren't a lot of coffee shops in this particular part of town, which is why I so, so very much wanted to love Matari. But subpar drinks? Air freshener spray intrusions? Frequent and obnoxious beeping? I tried. I'm sorry. I just can't.

Even though it's on the expensive side , the mouse fruit cakes were absolutely outstanding!…read more Had the hazelnut, mango , raspberry mouse fruit cake and the pistachio tiramisu cup. By far the raspberry mouse was the best one! Maradi coffee is a bit in the expensive side but the service is outstanding and the food delicious. The place was packed so we couldn't eat there but it looked very cozy. A must in the neighborhood.

I just recently discovered this place. I work in Lincolnwood. It has a great ambiance to talk with…read morefriends, co-workers, or just chill by yourself and sip on coffee. More than enough seating and outlets to do work. My go-to drink is the iced café latte with whole milk. The coffee quality is far superior to Starbucks. Also, I love the gauva empanada with cream cheese! Also its good to know you are supporting a local business. Happy to know 5% of their proceeds go to charity. Overall highly recommend!

Such a warm and cozy cafe. Grab something to go or stay awhile, this place is IT. They have…read morecoffees, teas, and specialty lattes. I went with an iced peppermint tea and it was very refreshing. I also tried the guava and cream cheese pastry and my goodness this was insanely delicious. The pastry dough is crispy, flakey and fluffy. The guava jam and cream cheese was sweet and not overly sweet. I stopped in on a weekend morning and throughout my time here there was a constant flow of customers coming and going. Staff members were able to keep up with the influx of weekend customers. Within 5 minutes of placing my order my items were ready to be picked up at the front counter.

Super cute place with high quality food and friendly staff…read more I had the St. Patty's Day special and it had amazing big chunks of the most delicious age tender corned beef. The poached eggs were pure perfection, with the whites firm and yolks runny. My husband's huevos rancheros were equally delicious. After breakfast we stop at the bakery section and bought a few pastries to take home. The selection was quite large and they were wonderful. So glad to have discovered this gem!

Excellent bakery & restaurant. I stopped by after it was recommend from a local fellow shop owner…read more Had a breakfast omelette followed by a purchase of scones, cookies and caprese sandwiches for a following lunch from their attached bakery. With this find I will be returning w friends as a newly found space for delicious food and conversation.

5 Stars for Hannah, Love her service! She is the vibe! That's why it's easy to come here…read more Food is good, fries were a little overcooked and ambiance. We need Hannah's service everywhere, she makes the experience pleasant. Location while you shop is great, beats all the fast food.

The food is okay, a bit overpriced and not much vegan or vegetarian options. It seems like they…read morejust want to make money selling things to people who eat dead animals. Plus when the check came, they gave us another table's check which was double, and they said that they cleared it up, but they wouldn't give us avoided receipt. The story, the waitress told us, and the story, the hostess told us were completely different. So we're still not sure if we got charged over $130 for the other tables check. My check was less than half of that, because I only ate by myself and my party that was with me, just had water. They said they fixed the bill, but they charged my card twice, with no voided receipt, shown to us, so you be the judge. They did give me a free vegan cookie, supposedly it was vegan and when when I got home. It was not fresh at all and I threw it out.

From supporting them at a farmers market previous, we were thrilled to see they have a storefront…read more When we walked in we were greeted with the friendliest smiles from all of the nuns. They had so many options it took us some time to browse through and not walk out with every single pastry. We ended up with an apple turnover, and a chocolate almond croissant both warmed up. They were delicious! Soft, flaky and they did not skimp on filling. The sizes were generous each item was bigger than the palm of my hand. I also got a mango smoothie because I had my caffeine already for the morning but my husband had coffee and said it was great. We loved watching so many folks try everything from sweets and savory while we waited for our items. We definitely have to come back soon!

St. Roger Abbey is nestled in Wilmette, having another location out in Birmingham, MI…read more This cute bakery is run by friendly nuns who are trained in the French art of pastry and baking - super impressive! They offer organic French macarons, bread, cookies, jams, various pastries, and even ready-cooked meals that you can order in advance or pick-up in the store. I loved checking out their shelves of jams, pickled veggies, and other nicely packaged boxes that could be great for gifts! We came here for a caffeine fix, and we ordered: +a White Chocolate Mocha - not brewed well; very weak and watered down; no flavor of the white chocolate +a Cafe Latte with almond milk - not brewed well; very weak and watered down +the Leek Delight - seemed a day or so old; it was dry and extremely bland +the Les bugnes d'Albi - this didn't taste like anything - just a fried, unflavored dough, topped with powdered sugar The organic lemon cookies that I purchased to go were actually delicious - I think it's best to just stick with their packaged cookies here. The nuns were nice. They have limited seating inside, and the place seems pretty popular for pastry orders. Plenty of free parking in the front and in the residential area around the block. +organic lemon cookies +friendly nuns +ample parking