Super cute concept and diverse menu options! I thought the pasties were just ok flavor-wise and wish my pandan bun had more cream inside read more

Sarima Cafe - Cafes Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I went on a weekday to avoid crowds. Area is very clean and minimal, plenty of sitting area. Cute decor. Kaju latte was perfect, good amount of sweetness and subtle cashew taste. The dosa was just OK, dosa itself was made very well. Dosa filling was generous which I am happy about however it was lacking in flavors. The dosa filling was pumpkin and mushrooms but lacking in salt, and spice. I tried food for the gods pastry, soooo good and unique take on a blondie. Ube crinkle was soft and with cream cheese inside which was a nice surprise. Turon Cookie was nice balance of banana and butterscotch. Chai donut was on point, perfect flavor of chai in the crème and nice soft donut. read more

See all

Overall, highly recommend! If you want more details, read more below. If you don't want to read more, then know Sarima is great, and you should just make it a priority to go. This is one of those unique places that you have to try. It's an Indian and Filipino fusion breakfast place. Luckily, it wasn't crowded when I went yesterday morning. I had the pleasure of meeting the head chef, Paula (I'm not sure if I spelled her name correctly), and she was super delightful. She walked me through their pastries and the entire menu, without ever being annoyed. I appreciated that because I always have questions. They have two seasonal pastries: a mango one and a guava one. Both were spectacular. And they were still flakey at the end of the day. I ordered the mango lassi matcha. It comes with ice. Normally, I don't like ice in my iced drinks because I don't like how the ice waters down my drink. However, the ice had no effect on the taste and flavor of this drink. I was thoroughly impressed. I think it's because of how thick the mango lassi is, but I don't care. I loved it. Paula shared that the mango lassi matcha is their sweetest drink. While it may be their sweetest, I didn't find it to be overly sweet. All that to say, I recommend non-sweet drinkers to try it because I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. Lastly, I ordered the Dosa. I loved it. I loved the potatoes inside. I'm definitely going back. I'm going to see if I can go again today! read more

See all

Had to try this place! Service was fairly quick. We got the Turon Cookie, Kaju Cookie, Pandan Oatmeal Cookie, Ube Cheesecake Crinkle, Thicc Sando, Pandan Donut, Calamansi Shrikhand Donut, and Chai Leche Flan Donut. Highly recommend the Thicc Sando, Ube Cheesecake Crinkle, and Chai Leche Flan Donut, also love the wall! Such a cute place and located where beard papa used to be. read more

See all

Definitely a popular concept right now due to the heavy promotion from online influencers. I only ordered the pastries, so I can't speak for the savory dishes but the pastries aren't worth waiting in line. The inside space is fairly small and the line isn't well managed or organized which made the whole experience feel cramped and rushed. I didn't think the donuts were that good which was a bummer because I was the most excited to try them. They were overly sweet for me and the excess sweetness overpowered the other favors. However, I have to give props to the cookies. These were the best cookies of my life, especially the ube cookie. read more

Place was slightly above average but didn't meet nor exceed my expectations. Line is long & ordering process seems unorganized so approach's with caution & patience. The sando had a weird consistency that sort of mirrored tartare. The aioli totally make the sandwich. Maybe top ten as far as breakfasts establishments with pastries in addition to sandwiches but not yet ready to play with the big boys. read more

See all

Really yummy stuff. Got matcha and some baked goods. They had gulab jamun tiramisu and that might be my new favorite dessert. Friendly staff and clean well lit dining room read more

See all

Their breakfast sandwich is my favorite in the city. The crispy hash brown paired with tangy pickled onions is so elite. Also highly recommend trying the Cardamom Carmel latte! Everything I have tried here has been incredible. read more

We checked out Sarima after seeing a bunch of buzz on Instagram, and I'm so glad we did! Luckily, it wasn't crowded when we stopped by on a Saturday afternoon. We tried their famous Breakfast Sando, and honestly, it might just be in my top 5 breakfast sandwiches in Chicago. Absolutely worth the hype. But the real hidden gem? The cookies. They don't get talked about nearly enough, but they were incredible. Soft, flavorful, and a must order if you're visiting. The menu is on the smaller side right now, but that's probably because they're fairly new. Still, every item we saw coming out looked carefully made and creative. Sarima is a great spot if you're looking for something unique with an Indian Philippine fusion twist. read more

See all

I went for the chai, it was in fact amazing. My favorite chai in the city so far. The prices are fair and the service is great. They share the space with SALT, which makes for a setup that is not the most optimal for a cafe. I definitely think they deserve their own space, as the music is too loud and the bathroom (operated by SALT) was honestly quite gross. read more

Finally got to try @sarimacafe ! Cute wall decor, bright lighting. We enjoyed a dosa, two thicc breakfast sandwiches, chai cake, pandan donut, and an ube crinkle cookie. We polished everything off in minutes! Recommend everything we tried. Would love to try the veggie roti and their other pastries next time. We went on a rainy morning before the attached burger place opened, so there was plenty of seating. read more

See all

I stopped by Sarima around 9:30AM last Wednesday and already there was a line that was about a 15 minute wait. I got the breakfast sando, turon cookie, and calamansi donut. The breakfast sando and donut were just okay for me, but the turon cookie was pretty tasty. I would come back to try out some of the other baked goods but not sure that I would want to wait more than 15 minutes for it. read more

line was a bit long but moved quickly enough. some pastries had run out by the time i got there, but they were pretty good; i tried the pandan, chai leche flan, and calamansi shrikhand. donuts were very soft, and the chai leche flan had a nice crunch of sugar on top akin to actual flan. was excited to try the ube crinkle but i'll have to come back and get it! breakfast sando was decent but not the best i've had. they forgot to put a hashbrown in two of my sandos but when i pointed it out, the staff fixed it up pretty quickly. interior a bit confusing because they also share it with a burger place. interesting layout LOL. would go back. read more

Loved the breakfast sandwich!! The chai treat we got and the chai we got were okay, would not spend money on that again but I went back twice for the breakfast sandwich read more

Stopped in this Sunday morning, very nice customer service I received from the barista(male) with the glasses. I had the chai doughnut with an ooey gooey spiced cream in the middle. It went well with hot coffee to melt the crystallized sugar on top. Thanks! They don't accept Cash. read more

Sarima Cafe - Company Package with donut inside - Cafes Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

See all

Sweet potato WHOMST ?? Kamote Q latte didn't have any potato flavor :( However, it was a solid latte !! read more

Flavored coffees are ok but not great. Tried the breakfast sando - VERY greasy and the egg seemed to be a microwaved egg patty. Would not recommend. read more

The dosa doesn't come with any sambar or chutney, which was reeeeeeally disappointing. I asked the server why there was no sambar, and she kind of shrugged and said they just stopped making it. Sadly, Sarima did not live up to expectations I had from the owner's other restaurants Mirra and Lilac Tiger. read more

Ahh! This used to be Beard Papa's. Remember that! This cafe is a mix of Filipino and southeast Asian dishes. I had a pastry. The staff and service are sarimariffic. read more

See all

I freely admit that I was one of the many who fell under the spell of some influencer who promoted the pastries and donuts here. While I admit they're doing a good job of offering unusual flavors and serving decent quality, this is sadly unable to live up to the hype. I was mildly impressed with some of what I ordered--and I ordered five items to share with my brother later in the day. I ended up tasting them all and deciding it was not worth the calories to finish four of them. And I didn't bother to bring the remaining items' amounts to my brother. Service was slow at best; a lot of kitchen staff but not sure what many of them were doing, as the pastries were already made and a new baker's cart with lots of shelves of freshly made items were there. I saw one person busy cutting & assembling breakfast sandwiches; only one person making drinks even though there were a lot of orders; and only one counter person who was friendly and helpful but could have easily had one or two staff members pulling items as orders were coming in. Instead, she needed to handle the register/payment, pull items, explain the menu, and call out arriving/ready to pick-up orders. I was about fourth in line when I arrived and it took a good 15 minutes to get to order. Considering the pastries were already in the front case, it was frustrating. Why not have a line for breakfast sandwiches, and another for prepared and ready items like pastries that require just a pull from the case and accepting payment? Worse, by the time I was stepping to the counter to place my order, there were about 20 people in line behind me. Social media is bringing them in, and people were likening this place to Kasama, the Michelin-rated place on Augusta which has daily lines down the block. This is no Kasama to me; but everyone is entitled to their opinion. I personally believe this is excellent promotion (not sure if they're being compensated on social media) and a bandwagon effect: you believe it's amazing because you hear others say it is. Confirmation bias. My verdict: worth a try if you want something different; good quality; very expensive and not worth the wait. read more

Breakfast sandwich was amazing. Pastries were fairly sweet but had good flavor. Service is quick but seems to still have some growing pains with the recent opening. read more

Great concept and awesome baked goods. Love the fusion idea of Indian and Filipino! Definitely would return and recommend!

Overall, great concept; however, the system appears unorganized and inefficient. They ran out of the cashew milk, so we asked what they recommend as a substitute. The person responded with "I don't know" and just stared. Left us to start naming different kinds of milk from the top of our heads, waiting for some reassurance that they had that milk available? A strange interaction. Furthermore, there were 3 people standing near the coffee machine, with 6-7 cups in line being ready to be made. With all three staff looking at the lined-up cups, there seemed to be no urgency. The main person in charge of the drinks went to the back to grab a broom and began sweeping slowly around and eventually returned to making the drinks. At this time, several people behind us had already received their sandwiches/food and finished eating while our drinks (and other's) were not made yet. As for the breakfast sando, the one person in charge of cooking seemed to be working very hard and efficiently. Tasted flavorful! Kudos to them! In addition, the few times we have been here, there are inconsistencies in the flavor of the drinks each time. Wonderful concept overall. Looking forward to what's to come! read more

My husband and I stopped in for a quick breakfast, and we loved our food. The breakfast sandwich and the dosa were both excellent! I would highly recommend this place! read more

Amazing cafe!! 10000% recommend. Unique fusion concept. We had the lilac coffee, dosa, sando, ube cookie, donut and croissant. The sando was vegetarian due to them being out of the chicken but was still amazing! read more

So I came here four months ago and tried a few of the baked goods and they were delicious. I came back this morning, and there was only a croissant and one other item available so that was a big letdown. I guess they are focusing on drinks and their breakfast sandwich, which was pretty good. read more

Place was dirty, pasty's were nothing special, coffee was ok. Not worth the price or hype

Honestly one of the most frustrating café experiences I've had. I ordered a breakfast sando, and while I was waiting, someone was filming a promotional video for the café. The place was basically empty, and I was the only customer waiting, so it's not like they were busy. An employee brought out a sando and I thought it was mine, but it was just for the video. I waited another 20 minutes and still got nothing, even though they kept bringing out more food for the shoot. When I finally asked how much longer it would take, they told me they hadn't even made it yet. All the workers were so focused on the promotional video that they completely ignored the one paying customer. Unprofessional, frustrating, and honestly really disappointing. read more

Finally able to come and try for the first time without any line. place is inviting, spacious with minimal decor but modern and appealing. Tried the breakfast dosa, calamansi donuts and the lilac drink. Dosa is delicious with veggies, crepes with a bit of crispiness , so good, felt so healthy after eating, then I dive on the donuts- loved the dough - different from other ones, airy , not too greasy with slight crunchiness, could use a little bit of calamansi but enough custard inside and toppings. Drink- lilac is just right , not too sweet and coffee is strong enough without tasting bitter. . Price wise- it's almost the same with other trending bakeries. Would definitely come back to try other one. Staff very friendly. read more

Food was excellent. We got the Breakfast Sandi, Breakfast Dosa, and a Dulce chai donut. Everything was excellent. Good vibes. Food was ready in 10 minutes (we were there after the breakfast rush, around 10 on a weekday). Clean bathrooms. No bad things to say. read more

I wanted to love this place so badly. The pastries were incredibly disappointing, almost tasteless and inconsistent. I thought the breakfast sandwich was just OK - the chicken patty had multiple light pink spots which I noticed later. It was also quite loaded with stuff and a very heavy sandwich. As positives - Line was long but moved relatively quickly, and the cashier was very kind. Ambiance is ehh it shares a space with salt burger so not particularly aesthetic, very loud music read more

The breakfast sando, chai donut and ensaymada were the standouts for me. These are absolute must-haves! The service was fast, friendly and efficient. The ambiance was trendy and vibrant, with a cool vibe. 10/10! Worth a repeat visit! read more