I had heard of Cafe Deko, seeing many posts on social media of the Victorian inspired cafe. Upon…read moreentering the cafe, you definitely feel like you are transported into a different place and time. The black, white, and lush deep green interior design and bold art deko give the space a cozy and sophisticated vibe. Despite it being a very busy Saturday afternoon, the staff was very kind. I ordered an iced honey vanilla latte. The espresso was strong and smooth, balancing out the sweet notes of the honey and vanilla. Cafe Deko has an extensive coffee and baked goods menu. I The menu items all look solid, but the vibe is what appealed to me the most, definitely a place I can see myself getting some work done!

This place is beautiful inside! It has a vintage art deco vibe & a beautiful place to catch up with…read morefriends. It was crowded on a Saturday afternoon. I ordered an iced white chocolate mocha with almond milk. The coffee was okay but I could not taste the white chocolate, it just tasted like regular iced coffee.

Love this place so much. I've lived near it for so long but never really found myself going all the…read moretime, but everyone there is so nice. Once I went in and they forgot my drink in a big rush. I stood for 10ish mins and never got my drink. After everyone before and after me got their drinks I went back up to the cashier who was super apologetic, made my drink as fast as possible, and gave me a fully punched out punch card for a free drink. I don't think I ever used it but very nice of them, above and beyond behavior! Really great atmosphere, I highly recommend.

I wanted to like this place as it was recommended to me - but unfortunately if you don't have a…read moregood espresso, I can't recommend. It was unfortunately undrinkable, tasted like battery acid. It was also like half of a shot - the little espresso glass (the smallest oz) was half full... so that's officially the smallest shot of espresso I've ever received. Point added only for location, space, and quirky/grundgy?/artsy vibes if that's what you're looking for.

Great coffee shop and seems to be a neighborhood hot spot for WFH!…read more Tons of seating - small tables, a larger community table, and bar seating around the edges of the place. The barista staff was fine - I personally love perky and friendly staff at a coffee shop lol and that wasn't the case here - but they were knowledgeable and helpful. The vanilla oat milk latte was great, chocolate croissant was great (apparently they source their bakery items from publican quality breads!), and my boyfriend especially loved his pour over. He's a pour over aficionado and he was particularly pumped that there were 3 options for pour over!

The OG. The coffee and pastries never disappoint even if the price does. You can't typically find a…read moreplace to sit, inside or outside. Though, yes, it would be amazing if they updated the decor thru haven't touched since the 90s. It's a bit cold and sterile. But the coffee's good.

I hope and pray the Chicago influencers don't find this place…read more Everything on the menu is well-crafted, relatively on the cheaper side, and the service is great. Sometimes there is a bit of a line but it moves fast. Highly recommend the Pistachio Matcha latte if they have it in season. Definitely one of the best coffee shops in the area.

Some of the best coffee in the city! I love getting an iced latte from here. You can really tell…read morethe quality difference from other shops. The seasonal drinks are always great. The customer line sometimes extends outside, which keeps the inside of the store less crowded. There is limited seating, so if you want to WFH here I'd come early!

Really delicious breakfast spot! Authentic classic Venezuelan arepas (taste tested by my Venezuelan…read morefriend!) and fresh takes too. I got the Santa Monica and really enjoyed it, very tasty and filling! This is a small place where you walk up to the counter and order of the menu posted on the wall. They've got tea/coffee/refrigerated drinks too. Not too much space to sit but there are a few tables inside and the arepas and drinks came out steaming hot and pretty quick! I went with a group of 6 and they all came out within 10 minutes of each other. Really really enjoyed this place, reasonable prices, I will definitely be coming back!

Got an ice chai, it was very yummy!…read more Staff was very nice and answered all my questions about the menu. Very esthetic menu with chalk art all over. Some rrally fun flavor options. Will definitely be back again!

Elevate Coffee is a really cute spot with a super friendly staff and delicious coffee. I ordered…read morethe tiramisu latte, and while it wasn't intensely espresso forward, the flavor was incredibly smooth and satisfying. I also had a bite of the chocolate glazed donut and was seriously surprised by how tasty it was. The texture was completely on point, and the chocolate had a surprisingly intense, rich flavor. The overall vibe is really chill and it doesn't get too loud, making it an easy and comfortable place to get some work done. I will definitely be back.

The tiramisu latte from here is a 3.5/5. I wish they added more flavor to it…read more It is a great spot to get work done but gets busy fast so can be hard to find a table. The workers are all sweet and kind.

My favorite spot in the city for soup and sandwiches and a Lakeview lunch institution. It's one of…read moremy favorite small businesses in Chicago run by the same family since they opened in 1994. I've been coming to Panes since 2007 and still love it. The Turkey Turkey sandwich is still my favorite, they also have good soups (great tortilla soup), cakes and pies also. I love that they kept the original decor, wall art and interior over the decades which gives it a nice 90's look and vibe compete with 90's-00's music. I almost expect Meg Ryan from You've Got Mail to walk in.

It's hard to find places nowadays that offer up both high quality food at affordable prices, and…read morePanes is out here filling that gap! I went around 6:30pm on a weekday and things were pretty quiet- although this seemed to be popular for takeout, the interior was very cute and there was ample room for seating. They have an extensive menu of delicious sandwiches on homemade bread, so it was hard to pick just one! I opted for the roast beef sandwich, and it could have definitely lasted for two moderately sized meals. It took a bit longer than expected to come out, but it was perfectly toasted and truly made to order. The unsung hero of the sandwich was the rosemary ciabatta bread, which added that subtle extra flavor that would remind you this is a speciality spot. The avocado and grilled onions with melty cheese made for a well rounded rich flavor. I do think the beef could have been a tiny bit fresher and think a more flavorful aioli would have upped the sandwich, but overall it was still tasty and satisfying. I would definitely return to try more of the sandwiches and recommend paying a visit! I

This is my absolute most favorite bakery. So this is my ode to the bakery and Dom, who is a gem of…read morean employee there. I've been a customer of almost 10 years and have been obsessed since they first opened their doors at a different location. I literally live an hour away without traffic and even longer with traffic, but I make sure to stop by or send someone else to get it for me at least once a month or more. I love the amazing cakes that are so delicious and unique but on top of that, it is Asian owned, LGBTQ supporting, etc. A lot has changed since their little storefront with no seating. The bakery is now a full on cafe and I'm so happy to see how much they've grown and how successful they are. And while it is glorious, I will say I miss the sweet neighborhood charm and great customer service it used to have. Getting in touch with the bakery through phone or text can be tough and to be honest, sometimes one of the people working there is kind of...very mean. It had me questioning if I should keep coming back. I just love this bakery so much though and being raised by parents that had a small food business, I can't help but want to support. I had a particularly difficult last minute request for the bakery a few weeks ago and I was reminded why this place is so great. It had been YEARS since I made this specific request, which was an order for a slice of cake for every flavor and a cupcake for every flavor. This is a BIG and time consuming request, especially if it's last minute. Unfortunately I come to the city whenever the traffic isn't atrocious, so it's always last minute. Dom absolutely pulled through though. Even though there were other employees there (I saw two others but one disappeared and then another male was kind of walking around the cafe and such), Dom took this giant request and fulfilled it himself. The other gentleman (not the mean person previously mentioned) was actually who I made the request to, but he told Dom to do it. I was kind of confused why they didn't do it together but idk, maybe the other guy isn't allowed to handle food? Who knows. Regardless, this request obviously took a long time and the line was getting longer; people were getting a little restless but Dom stayed calm but was swift. I swear he was moving faster than most people in the industry could with a cake knife like that. He was not impatient or rude to me at all. He was just there to do his job as fast and well as possible. It's so rare to see that type of work ethic. He is also so obviously proud of the bakery and the food they serve which makes you feel good about being a patron there. So although I continue to have an unpleasant experience with one particular employee there, Dom keeps my love for this bakery alive. He reminds me of what this bakery was like when they first opened their doors. I hope Dom is cherished there and I bet he is considering his work ethic. I will continue to support this bakery and I recommend everyone else to support as well. It may not be that small little shop anymore but Dom is a reminder of the heart of the place.

I've been to Jennivee's twice now and I also got my college graduation cake from here last year for…read morepick-up! They did a beautiful job. For my graduation cake, I chose the tres leches and it was so creamy, moist, and delicious. I basically ate half of the cake by myself lol. This most recent time, I needed a snack and wanted something sweet. Everything here looks amazing and I'm sure tastes amazing too, so it's hard to choose. I chose to get the berry chantilly cake slice since it was a hot day, and it was the perfect refreshing treat! It was soooo good.