Breakfast here is so flavorful. It always comes out steaming hot. Healthy pancakes are delicious and my favorite is smoked salmon Benedict topped with caviar.. yes!!!! read more

Stax Cafe - Healthy pancakes - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Every time I come in here, I always forget to take a picture of my plate before I devour it! So many great things to say about this place... The pancakes are hands down the best in Chicago. I used to love Wilberry, and now Stax Cafe has completely put them to shame with the flavor, quality, and PORTIONS. I like to try new stuff each time I go, my favorite being the banana, chocolate and peanut butter pancakes! I also love the white chocolate raspberry. The veggie skillet is also a great pick that delivers robust flavors with a generous side (I always choose pancakes or waffles). This place gives you the best tasting food, for amazing prices. This place is soo underrated!!! read more

Pros: There were a lot of options to choose from! Their scramblers were truly delicious and so was the grilled cheese combo that they have! The prices were definitely fair! Cons: There's limited spacing, so it took a while to be seated. Overall: Great place! read more

Great brunch place in the neighborhood! Wonderful setup, and great menu to choose from. My favorite are the mini waffles and fresh apple juice!!! As with any other popular brunch place, expect a little wait. But it really is not too crazy here, as it would at other places like Yolk. Give it a try, can't go wrong! :) read more

Had a great time with friend wait staff was great and I absolutely loved the coffee. Great food. Great atmosphere .

Wonderful breakfast/brunch place and a great addition to Taylor street! Stax has really great, high-quality, coffee and they have a wide variety of breakfast/brunch items and most with a twist to make things interesting. I especially loved the Harlem omelette, which had a great combination of grilled onions/peppers, somewhat spicy chorizo and a sauce that brings out all of the flavors present. In addition are pan roasted potatoes that are perfectly done. The price point is also something to comment about - many places near down town Chicago can be quite pricey, but they've kept their prices reasonable, $10 - 15 per plate, which I think just adds to their overall appeal. read more

Awesome breakfast spot!!! Great portion sizes plus mini pancakes and waffles. Yummy. Staff was friendly and fun. I would definitely come back. read more

Stax Cafe - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I'm not one to write reviews unless Im really really unhappy with the service. We never had a chance to try the food so I won't speak on that. Looks delicious but when we entered no one acknowledged us, we had to ask for a table and they tell us 20 minute wait. Cool. No worries, we'll walk around and enjoy the nice day. We stopped for coffee and as we enter the hostess tells us no outside drinks, she then mentioned I could leave it up front with her (why would I do that) or she could toss it out. Mind you it was a full drink why would I want to toss it out? We ended up leaving, if she was a little nicer and showed better customer service we would've stayed. I don't see how they may be an issue with an outside drink but I understand every establishment has their rules. if outside drinks aren't allowed that should be said prior. Just a suggestion. Oh and have a better attitude! Everyone's going through it, we came to eat and support your business. Be grateful! read more

Cute place with a decently varied menu, but also somewhat pricey for a breakfast/brunch option. It's also a terrible choice if you're looking for a smaller/lighter breakfast. I ended up going with the veggie skillet (spinach, mushrooms, onions, green peppers, mozzarella, potatoes, swiss) with over-medium eggs and I chose mini waffles as my side. The plate was $14. The mini waffles were on the moist side of dry, but then again I have yet to find excellent waffles anywhere. The over-medium eggs were pretty runny, but acceptable. The skillet itself was drowning in oil, which was the biggest disappointment about what appeared to be a healthy choice. It was a big portion so I only ate about half - the top half since the veggies at the end were so terribly greasy. If we ever return I won't be ordering that again. And with other options hovering around $10-15 I won't hesitate to be very particular about my order (e.g "no oil" or building my own lighter breakfast from some of the other items around the menu). If you're okay with a sugary plate though, the crepes, waffles and pancakes looked fun and unique. read more

Stax Cafe - Veggies skillet: spinach, asparagus, onions, green peppers, mushrooms (only a couple), and potatoes. GREASE BOMB! - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I was happy with my meal until I bit down on a piece of metal... How does that get into a Benedict? read more

Stax Cafe - Piece of metal found in Prosciutto Benedict. - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Me and my friends live 1 block away from Stax and we always heard great things about it. So one day we decided to go there on Sunday, but unforntely we were not able to get in as this place is packed on Sundays. There was a huge line outside this place. We decided to go the following Saturday. We were seated in five mins. Hands down the best best place for brunch in South loop. I ordered glazed honey french toast and from the first bite I fell in love with it. It was so soft and glazed with pecans. It was the best French toast I ever had. My friend ordered smoked salmon and it was great too, for him, since I m allergic to fish, I couldn't try it. They also have fresh juices. I ordered orange juice which was ok, not the best i had My friend ordered grapefruit juice first but it was very bitter. Our server was great, he switched it to Grape juice and it was the best grape juice I ever had Overall, it's a great place for Breakfast and would definitely go there again. One advise, go there on Saturday or early Sunday morning or else you won't be able to get a seat there. read more

It's a cute and bustling spot for breakfast/brunch, and even with a significant queue, we were seated after about five minutes. But the meal definitely fell short. First of all, my orange juice was $7. Absurd. I got the chocolate chip pancakes, and I don't know what I should've been expecting, but I received three large pancakes with a handful of chocolate chips thrown on top. The menu promises they'll be "loaded with chocolate chips inside and out." I should've taken a picture - it really looked so sparse. IHOP undoubtedly does a better version. Hell, I could do a better version and not pay $9.75. The waitress also forgot to bring out my side order of sausage, and when she did, they were lukewarm. My friend ordered a Denver omelette that came out looking rather shriveled, and he had to remind them to bring out his side order of mini-waffles. Also, they brought his food out about ten minutes before mine, which was just...weird and awkward. Our $46 meal ($55 after tip) was literally a bunch of stuff I could've made better at home. Not to mention, the tables are so small, I verged on knocking my coffee right off the table more than once. read more

I love the food. There are pretty wide brunch options. Tasty and kinda healthy food Coming here for the second time in last week read more

I love this place. The food and customer service is amazing. The banana cakes are so good I love that it's topped with nuts as well. Everything at Stax is great. read more

Ordered a takeaway order from here - they are still doing pickup during the stay at home order. My food was delicious (crepes with nutella) and they also gave me some complimentary pancakes for supporting their business during this time. Thanks, Stax! read more

Mostly a breakfast spot but came here for lunch. Lunch options were limited but I went with California Club. Sandwich was good and the service was great. Next time I come I will go with a breakfast option. read more

Visited two days in a row with a party of 8 (bachelorette weekend) and it was amazing!! All of us were from out of town and stumbled across this gem! The food was amazing and service was great! I would definitely recommend. I also plan to come back to this restaurant whenever I am back in Chicago! read more

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I've been ordering on Uber eats ! place is still delicious . I tried to go in with family on a regular Tuesday and it was so busy , we didn't feel like waiting cause the place is so small. read more

Large menu. Quick delivery of our orders and attentive service. Cheery atmosphere. Good prices. We would recommend!

Excellent place to eat. Myself and friends and coworkers from ComEd construction and engineering department eat here frequently before work or for lunch/brunch time. Pancakes are good and the French Toast is GREAT! Friendly staff and good service! I'm a regular here and you will not be disappointed! read more

The location was beautifully decorated and the food was very delicious! I had the California club which was delicious! I will however say the service was very UNFORGETTABLE as the server (named Marzena) left an awful impression!! She undermined me as she would not take my order or would let me speak when saying what i wanted to order. She even took the mug of coffee out of my hand when I was only trying to move it to another part of the table. Not only that but the water jug was finished she had taken it and had said she would bring another pitcher of water. She took 15 mins and never came back with anything not until a coworker had said that we needed more water. After that she only took 2 mins to get us another water. Marzena also assumed that my coworker would be better off with a salad for her sandwich instead of fries due to my coworker being a big women. Safe to say I will not be coming back to this location as this server has left a very unpleasant experience. read more

Honestly the worst skillet I've ever had. I honestly thought I was being clowned because of how terrible it was. Do not go for the veggie skillet. The veggies/potatoes were way undercooked and not at all seasoned. The eggs looked like a yellow cow patty, and didn't have a single grain of salt added. The only thing I ate was the side of toast I got, so basically I had a $14 breakfast of two pieces of toast lol. Thanks, Stax! read more

Have lived in Little Italy for more than 2 years and I sincerely regret not going to this place. We finally did go there on St. Patty's day with a group of friends. All of us were very hungry since we came downtown to see the river dyeing. Since all the brunch places around town were full we came down to Stax. It was full but we were seated after around 20 mins. The server pointed out the specials for the day and suggested things to try for all of us. We were 8 people and we almost ordered one of each breakfast item available on the menu. Loved the frittata, skillets and omelettes. A special mention also goes to the freshly squeezed juices (yes not just oj they have more ) they have on offer. Overall a wonderful breakfast place. No wonder it's comes recommended from Michelin. read more

The only thing that tasted good were the pancakes and the mini breakfast tacos. The steak was drowned in chimichurri. The tequila sunrise was water and tequila with two drops of orange juice. The bacon was not fully cooked. read more

The food is awesome and the service is fantastic (Thank you Nick!) I ordered the Taylor Street Frittata...delicious! A great spot for breakfast, brunch or lunch. Awesome! read more

Stax Cafe - First time here...the Taylor Street Frittata...prosciutto, eggs, mushrooms, onions and peppers! Delicious! - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Everything on menu sounded great but I went ahead with the breakfast wrap with house potatoes and amazing strawberry orange juice, it did not disappoint. Service was great, no long wait times. I will definitely be coming back for more! read more

Today's Stax visit is a complete disappointment! I ordered the Chillaquiles with steak. This is usually my go to dish when I come here however, today's dish was bland, there were a total of 3 cubed steak pieces the green sauce was flavorless and definitely not good at all. I asked for sunny side up eggs and got over hard eggs totally burnt. The quality of food has diminished drastically at this place. Will not be returning. read more

Stax Cafe - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Great place for brunch if you are in the area! I had pancakes, but hope to try many more items off the menu. The decor is cute and the place has a great vibe. All of the sides are a la carte but definitely worth picking at least one- I recommend the sausage! read more

This was my first time here so of course, naturally, I had no idea what to get. After talking with my waitress and going over other Yelpers reviews, I decided on the skirt steak and eggs. It was absolutely delicious. The steak was medium well and I loved the chimichurri and pico to compliment it. Would definitely get it again. My friend got the honey ricotta French toast. Also absolutely amazing!! read more

Stax Cafe - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Another great Taylor street brunch spot! The freshly squeezed juice is a must try. If your looking for good French toast with a twist this is the place. read more

Stax Cafe - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Exceeded my expectations! Dined here solo for breakfast. My server was super friendly and helpful (nice job, Stephanie!). Had the spinach & feta omelette, egg white only at my server's suggestion. The spinach was fresh & it was cooked perfectly. It came with a side of pancakes which was the perfect sweet ending to my breakfast. Definitely a great breakfast spot! read more

Clean, great ambiance, friendly server and good food. The menu is catered to all people and has a lot of options ranging from fried chicken sandwiches to a beef brisket hash. The portions are the reason I'm giving Stax Cafe 4 stars. If I'm spending $14 on an omelette, please give me $14 worth of food- not a small omelette with a few potatoes scattered around the plate to make it look full. The two pancakes I received with my omelette were pretty good. I felt the portions were a little off considering the prices on their menu. I've spent half that price on omelettes in other breakfast restaurants and received substantially more food. Also, it seems like a lot of their menu items were a la carte, so be prepared to spend a little more money if you want a simple breakfast combo of pancakes, sausage and eggs. Overall, great restaurant, but be prepared to spend a little more money if you want to actually be full. read more

Best place to get breakfast/ brunch on Taylor Street. I was impressed by this restaurant. My room mate always gets their eggs and omelets. Last time i went there, i tried their Spinach and feta omelet and it was really juicy. They cooked the eggs properly and did not over cook it at all. I also tried their Smoked Salmon Bagel, which looks beautiful on the plate. The salmon tasted amazing and seemed like something i would eat just by its self. They even serve fresh apple juice. It is expensive, but worth it. The service was also impressive, as the waiters always checked on all customers, even if the restaurant is packed. read more

Fresh.squeezed.red.grape.juice. That's all I needed to love you, Stax. The juice came in a tall glass and really tasted like freshly squeezed red grape juice. This wasn't a Welch's from concentrate experience. Topped with three red grapes, this was a refreshing welcome into a pleasant breakfast experience. Everyone knows that Little Italy has changed. The Taylor Street projects are no more. Traffic is up. Around every corner is a new restaurant, wine bar and rehabbed three flat/new condo. What does that mean, kids? Prices go up. This is your new Bucktown -- complete with double-wide strollers, cleaned up streets and new(er) residents coming in by the day. I can't expect that a local restaurant wouldn't play to the new crowd. You want a cheaper neighborhood? PM me. I have toured or spotlighted nearly all of 'em. Little Italy (especially Taylor Street) has changed. Lesson over. My food was quite delicious. Never knowing whether to go for savory or sweet at breakfast time, I was psyched to come up with a solution to both: my breakfast companion (Ms. Andrea R) and I would split amongst the choices. Excellent decision. Now, which to choose? Again, this is a good problem to have. We settled on the chocolate chip almond pancakes and a byo omelet. The pancakes were absolutely delicious. Perfectly caked and sized, every bite brimmed with chocolate and almonds and the powdered sugar + whipped cream topping sent my tastebuds into overdrive. The choice between regular and strawberry syrup was obvious. Strawberry. When all else is equal, go for the less routine. And, that's just what we did with the omelet. Since we couldn't decide on a reular menu option, we made our own. Peppers, onions and queso was an excellent choice -- and the eggy dish came with seasoned potatoes and waffles. Yes, waffles. I used the regular syrup on these. I left Stax fully satisfied (I am a big eater), happy with the service (I can be picky) and unphased by the price (I know from bargains... and I also know that I'll pay more for the same thing in Lincoln Park than I would in Chicago Lawn). I'd come back. I'd tell others to come here. Know your surroundings and all will be well. Location, location, location. read more

Bump Days. That's definitely a well-deserved appellation. My new job allows me to work from home (coffee shops, the beach, your bed - wherever the hell you want) every Wednesday and it does break up the week wonderfully. That specific morning I was factchecing a write-up about a breakfast place in Montreal and got submerged by an irresistible craving for pancakes. I jumped in my boots, wrapped my scarf around and drove to Stax where I knew that I would find: chocolate chip almond pancakes. I was drooling in advance. Parking was easy on Taylor and the place was buzzing with students when I came in. I found myself a little table, ordered coffee, had a look at the menu and was shocked by all the deliciousness I found there..... To make things worse there was a whole menu of holiday specials: -Gingerbread waffles with white chocolate creme anglaise -Eggnog pancakes with cranberry compote Oh my...... But I was strong and sticked to my first choice. While I was waiting for my fix I looked around and loved what I saw. Stax is a lovely place, open and modern with soothing moss green walls and an organic inspired decor. A little Christmas-y at this time of year but nothing too obnoxious. I like. The pancakes were just what I needed. Dusted with sugar and coming with a dollop of whipped cream on the side, they were fluffy, chocolate-y and crunchy with almonds. A great dish that I see myself crave on a regular basis. Perfect accompaniment to my coffee and my people watching. Other things I liked: - bottle of water on the table - yay! - choice of syrups: regular, strawberry AND agave which I think is fabulous when you are watching your sugar (for whatever reason). 100% natural too. Big points for that. - good albeit non-intrusive service I left happy, ready to go back to work. And was back a few days later. Oh yeah. read more

Stacks of great records? That's something to love. Stacks of good books? That's something to like. Stax Cafe? Eh, that's something that's just okay. _______________ It was breakfast time after a not quite so long Saturday night, so, naturally, it was off to Hashbrowns, home of good food and bad service that hurts. Unfortunately, Hashbrowns was packed and had a wait, so off I went on one of my famous aimless excursions. I decided to drive by Sweet Maple Cafe to see if there was a line, but, of course, there was one. When is there ever not a line at Sweet Maple? So I drove another block or two and saw Stax. Bingo. Game over. We went in and were told there would be a 10 minute wait, so I asked if we could sit upstairs (well, up four steps) at the bar facing the grill. The hostess gave us the green light, and up we went. The first thing you'll have to be aware of if you sit at the bar is that the flood lights up there are very bright and will give you a burn if you sit directly in them for too long. The combination of the lights and the grill cooked my brow a bit. Just FYI. Otherwise, sitting at the bar was quite nice and likely much more private than sitting at the tables down below. This was a hit. I sort of threw together a makeshift brunch, ordering the corn bacon chowder soup, chicken sausage and the house potatoes. Little K-Mac went with a veggie wrap. Maybe it's me, but it seems like maybe they don't season their food with salt at Stax. My soup and potatoes were entirely bland. The soup needed salt and probably could have used a little onion and red or green bell peppers for flavor. The potatoes were cut into wedges and were desperately in need of a little salt and maybe some pepper, onion and a perhaps a bit of grease. I know my potatoes. I'm the potato king. And these potatoes weren't cutting it. The chicken sausage, however, rocked. It was a bit expensive at $3.50 for two links, but it had a very unique, sweet flavor to it. It was a hit, despite the price. Stax apparently serves Intelligentsia as its house coffee. I enjoyed the coffee and knew it was a quality brand but didn't know it was Intelligentsia until I started reading reviews. Intelligentsia is a #1 record, Stax. The other #1 hit Stax has on its hands is Green River. Any place that serves Green River warms my heart a bit. Service was outstanding. We had several people come by to ask us if we were okay, including a guy who is apparently the owner. Our server was a really nice girl with an indistinguishable accent who addressed little K-Mac as "love" and "babe." Hmm. Oh well, I suppose it's undeniable. As to the vibe and decor, Stax has a very clean and modern feel to it. I figured from the exterior that it would be an old school diner. That's not the case. If you're a woman, it's likely that you'll think Stax is "cute." To sum up, I would say that I was a tad disappointed with my food, but it's likely that I will return and give it another try because I had a good time here despite the heat of the lights. So how does Stax stack up? It's more of a minor hit than a #1 overall. But I'll be back some day to put another record on. Three stars. read more

I went 3 times in the past month and each time the food was so mediocre. I think the quality has significantly gone down. One of the times, my friend ordered the turkey cobb salad and it had bones and cartilage all over the meat, so much that she was grossed out and couldn't eat it. They offered a 10% discount which considering they saw that she left 90% of the salad uneaten was really not enough. Her first bite she could've chipped a tooth because she was not expecting bones in the salad. This morning I ordered the avocado smash sandwich to-go before work. It comes with over medium eggs and I asked for scrambled, but they said they couldn't change it. What?? It's a breakfast restaurant and you can't cook the eggs per request? Isn't that the point? $14 egg sandwich and it was way too runny for my liking, no salt on the eggs at all, otherwise sandwich was decent. Rest of food we got (veggie omlette, breakfast wrap) was just very very standard. I don't think they salt anything. read more

Stax is chill. I'd go back. The coffee was outstanding. I'm not used to having amazing coffee at brunch places - you know, it's usually fine but it doesn't inspire you to ask the brand like I did yesterday (Intelligentsia, I learned). I had the bacon jam sandwich which was pretty tasty and filling. I don't get full easily and I couldn't finish it! The bacon tomato jam was inventive and tasty! I felt like $25 was a little steep for what I got. read more

Stax Cafe - Bacon jam sandwich - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Stax to the max! Ok, not QUITE to the max...but definitely deserving a bump to 4-stars. I still think it may be on the pricey side, but our breakfast for 2 on this particular Sunday afternoon rounded out to about $30, a much better price point. My omelette with prosciutto, mozzarella, peppers and potatoes with a side of mini-waffles came to $10.50, plus coffee and an OJ. My dining compatriot a Coke and oatmeal waffles. The service was quick and efficient, the space was clean and shiny per usual...and I feel like they've hit a groove. Nice spot in Little Italy/Tri-Taylor...and appropriately crowded for a late lunch around 130pm on a Sunday. And the mini-waffles were a great choice as a side dish. :) read more

I can't believe I'm just NOW reviewing my beloved Stax Cafe. My coworkers and I had lunch here this week. I, of course, have eaten here numerous times, but some of my cohorts were new to try it....I was more than happy to offer my suggestions:) First off, they serve Intelligencia coffee, so that's amazing. Also, they have a full juice bar if that's your thing. The menu is rather large with offering both breakfast and lunch options. I've tried many items to include the chiliquiles, fried chicken sandwhich, tuna sliders, mini egg sandwiches, the turkey club, the chicken salad, I mean I could go on....Honestly these dishes are nothing short of delicious. But the absolute best is most definitely the breakfast wrap. It's my "go to" for sure! I highly recommend this dish for anyone who loves bomb food...and cheese! ;) The customer service is always on point. There is sometimes a wait, but that's only because this place is the real deal. It's worth the wait I promise. I have to say, one of the best diners in Chicago! See you real soon Stax! read more