The food was ok, but looked better than it tasted. I tried a roll with red bean filling. The filling was good, but the roll itself was unimpressive. I also tried a ham and cheese bread, which I did not like. The ham was more of a paste and the whole thing was overly salty. Drinks were better, the lychee lemonade was yummy read more

Love this place! The owner has done an amazing job bringing great food into South Loop. The breakfast sandwiches are always delicious. I also recommend the soup dumplings, the skewers, and the noodles. They have a vast variety of beverages but their iced coffees and fruit teas are the best. I always make sure to grab some of the pastries to go! One thing I love is that they always change up their menu so I get excited to try something new while continuing to stay loyal to some of the tried and true favorites! read more

Sweet Bean - Latte - Bakeries Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

See all

I really wanted to give a good review but I can't. Chicago has lifted the mask mandate. I was in the door less than 2 seconds, I had not taken a full step in the building (my 2nd foot had not touched the floor and I was asked, "Ma'am, do you have a mask." I probably do not need to list the tens, if not hundreds of reasons why this is not only stupid, but rude. For people that think that I'm being selfish and rude in my belief, let me remind you or advise you that the cdc has officially announced in retrospect that masks don't do anything to reduce vectors of infectious disease transmission in the general public- something people who work in infectious disease control have known from the beginning. Let me also tell you that 6 feet away- yes, 6 feet, that people are sitting in a large groups, one group of 7 people are sitting at a table without masks on. In the entire small room, 22 people are sitting in close proximity to each other without masks, some are strangers sitting along the counter facing the window, less than 18 inches away from each other- complete strangers. Also, Lori Lightfoot, mayor of Chicago, has said, "Enough is enough," with the masks. Chicago, are you not listening to the people you elected? I may disagrees with her but, Chicago, do you not agree with her or listen to her? Apparently not. How about listening to your patrons? Have you asked them? To tell you how afraid people are of personal space, a nice gentlemen -complete strangers- walked over to me while I'm unmasked sipping a cortado, leaned over in my personal space. He softly asked me to watch his personal things including coat, computer bag, etc (probably $500- $1000+ worth of possessions) while he uses the bathroom. He's not afraid of me and apparently trusts me with expensive possessions and his life. I am no longer yielding to ludicrous rules. I'm here bc a friend recommended this place. But I will not patronize this any longer. Everyone who is offended, I make no apology. I am sorry that people can't and aren't allowed to critically think for themselves or allowed to make their own decisions. However, I'm offended by people who think they know science because they watch The View or YouTube videos. And I do apologize to you for not giving you a positive review. I have to be honest. You have a nice thing going here, but attacking people at the front door and making people mask their face for no reason is not okay, so "Sorry, not sorry!" I refuse to any longer patronize read more

The baked goods were awesome and coffee average, the staff was extremely rude and made us feel like annoyances for daring to be customers. Were very condescending and didn't bother to actually listen when we stated exactly what we wanted, milk type and all. If you're going to be rude, at least pay attention rather than rolling your eyes and asking what type of milk I wanted when I just told you. Loved the "let's summon demons" shirt, did not love the attitude. They charge for all forms of milk which was a bit annoying when the coffee was already pricey. Look at my other reviews, I am not a hard reviewer or difficult customer. Will not be coming back here, I wish I hadn't convinced my group to support this local shop instead of letting them go to Stan's like they wanted. read more

Got the mango pandan matcha and the lychee lemonade. lemonade had almost no flavor and the matcha was so chunky, they barely mixed/whisked it. It was full of chunks of matcha. read more

We just happened to stop by on our way to Shedd Aquarium after getting off at Roosevelt on the orange line and we just wanted a quick bite but mostly a drink, and this was the best accidental find. It is a Taiwanese style bakery and the pastries are too die for. I had the garlic cheese brioche and it is like a cream cheese garlic bun, and then I also had some wonderful milk bread. My friend had the red bean bun which was also wonderful. The smoothies got great reviews from the boys, and the coffee was also excellent. We got the Mocha and it was as fantastic! I can't recommend this enough. It would be a great place to come relax and study as there is great music, and lots of places to sit and people watch while you work. There are tons of seating options. And finally the staff was super helpful and nice and it is easy to understand the self serve section. They were fast and everything came out great! I wish I had gotten some photos! read more

The food here is great and there's plenty of seating. Highly recommend stopping by for a pastry and a drink

Came when the store open and the bakery goods hasn't come out yet. I was used to coming early to bakery to get the good stuff but this one come out a bit later than their open time since they also sell drinks and other dishes. Recommend coming around 9-9:45am instead of 7am. By then their shelves was filled with more baked goods. My favorite was the floss bun, and BBQ bun, the salted egg lava bun was also really good. Bread was soft and fluffy, not dry or dense at all. Beside buns, they sell cookies and Asian snacks. Really wanted to try their cakes too. Everything looks so good and tasted really good. Highly recommend read more

See all

Absolutely incredible. Their menu is so versatile, you are bound to find something that you will love. Açaí bowls, pot stickers, smoothies, and more. I was shocked. The neighborhood that this little cafe in is a little sketchy, so be careful. The atmosphere inside the restaurant though is homey and calming. I got the veggie pot stickers and I am not exaggerating when I say it was one of the best things I have ever put in my mouth. I'm a vegetarian and I loved having so many delicious options. I loved the sweet bean, I recommend for locals and tourists like me! read more

I live in the neighborhood and had been eyeing this place for months. Finally stopped in and had their avocado toast with scrambled eggs and bacon and wow, it's very very good! I also got a green tea latte and it's excellent. When I walked in it looked like a lot of their pastries were gone which was a bummer, was hoping to try one. But the avocado toast hit the spot! Will definitely go back for pastries and more green tea lattes. Great addition to the neighborhood! Really hope they stick around. read more

Incredible pastries and drinks, great atmosphere, and friendly staff. Can't recommend enough! read more

See all

intimate and cozy cafe with an incredibly impressive selection of pastries, many are so creative and seasonal, and SO delicious!! we couldn't stop eating them on the way to a restaurant lol. and the staff was very sweet! read more

Unfortunately this place has unbelievably rude staff and the ambience is all but ruined by their inability to follow city guidelines by allowing customers to be unmasked. It's all theatre at this point and whoever runs this place clearly cares more about politics than customer service. Won't be coming back. read more

We just moved to the neighborhood and discovered this lovely gem. We are earlybirds so waiting until 8 am is a little inconvenient. We are also vegetarian so we miss out on so many savory options. We wish they would make more pastries that don't have meat on them. . They all look so good. We would give a 5 star rating if they had more vegetarian options. read more

Really enjoyed their masala chai and pastry options! I would definitely recommend and plan to visit again. Glad to have this as an option in the area! read more

This place just opened up in the summer of 2021 according to this very nice woman cashier that works there.It's a very small shop specializing in sweets.They serve coffee,lunch or dinner items too.I bought their "70% Dark Chocolate Cookies" bag.The cookies were soft,not crunchy just like the gracious woman cashier told me.Flavor wise,Butter dominates the overall taste,not the so-called "70%" Dark Chocolate flavor that i most definitely expected to taste unfortunately.I would've gotten their "Chocolate Cream Puff" pastry first,but it was sold out unfortunately.That's probably their most chocolatey flavored sweet in their entire business.I might try to find out this Sunday coming up,because the very cordial woman cashier told me that the next fresh batch is coming this Sunday morning after the holiday this weekend. read more

Wow am I glad this cafe opened in south loop! They have a good selection of Asian buns and snacks. I have yet to try some of the hot food (like dumplings and popcorn chicken), but I like the egg tarts and Honey Yuzu Lemonade! Great for coffee dates with ample seating inside, and good for studying as well with wifi and a bathroom. read more

On food alone, I'd give this place a 4+ star! The good: The buns and pastries were excellent. The pineapple bun with bbq roast pork and the salted egg yolk bun were very tasty. Their pork floss bun was excellent and probably our favorite. The bad: (1) We went there early in the morning around 8am hoping to get some breakfast and pretty much all the shelves were bare. They said nothing is available and that we should come back around 11. Luckily we live close by and returned later but it was a disappointment nevertheless. (2) Portions were quite small for the money. read more

Sweet Bean is the best!! I've lived in the area for a year now, and having Sweet Bean nearby has been a highlight. Not only is their coffee great, but they have great breakfast sandwiches and I love trying the different pastries. Even the lunch and dinner items have yet to disappoint. The staff are friendly, and the location is a great study spot. read more

Delicious. Cute. Simple. Worth. Come early for the bakery but don't forget the soup dumplings! read more

This place is amazing! One of the best on letters I've had and the variety of avocado toast flavors are like nothing I've seen. We have been in Chicago for five days and once we came here this was our spot. Somehow it's actually not busy, at least during the week so that's kinda nice for the customers not having to wait. Highly recommend! read more

Went here after the airport and the staff was incredibly lovely. The little pastries they have in the glass up front were delicious, and the coffee is good too. Overall I was happy with my experience here! read more

I haven't tried anything yet, but I did walk in and check it out. I was a little confused about the entrance, too. I am excited about the new addition to the neighborhood. Everything looked amazing and I can't wait for the full menu. I hope they have nutritional facts for all items once their full menu becomes available, though. I didn't see any, but I didn't ask yet either. read more

Really hoping this review helps them fix issues because my husband and I really loved this place. Service when you place order is very nice and the shop/bakery side is a great concept. Once you walk through and see the drink and food area is where it falls apart. Baristas are very rude, food wait times is ridiculous (40 minutes today while there was an empty shop and I ordered one omelette and side of potatoes). They also do not take carry out orders over the phone so no way to speed this along. One employee wore a mask, all others were maskless. Entire kitchen staff was maskless. My drink came out 3/4 full (see photo), which for how much they charge, is ridiculous. Potatoes were plain - no salt, grilled veggies or seasonings. Way too slow and overpriced to have that poor of quality. Really want to return so please make changes! read more

Sweet Bean - Medium Iced vanilla macchiato - Bakeries Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I'm sorry to give a bad review but you can't serve a Macchiato coffee so bad. 5$ for water slightly flavored and you call it European style? Hopefully the other stuff are better but do not search a good coffee here read more

Disappointed by all the changes they've made since opening a couple years ago. I loved when they had dumplings/lunch foods, and they dropped those off their menu awhile back, which made me go there less often. More recently they rearranged where they keep the pastries and changed the door to be on Roosevelt instead of Wabash. I went for the first time since this change, and the layout makes it feel super chaotic. When you come into the door, you have to walk through the long line of people waiting to order just to get to the pastries, and they have a lot less of them than originally. Not sure why they made this change, but I won't be going back. I can get pastries and coffee from many other places, and not have to fight a weird layout. Other than smoothie bowls and their fruit tea, I no longer have a reason to go here...and by the way, the smoothie bowls are super small and still $12, and their iced fruit tea has gotten smaller, yet costs $6... read more

Delicious affordable pastries. Many people work and wake up early in this neighborhood, so good to have some tasty cafe options to start the day! read more

Was craving a pineapple bun and coffee and this is just the perfect place. Reminiscent of an asian style bakery, well made pastries and breads are available and then a full drink menu with tea and coffee is available as well. The cashier was extremely nice and helped me order a delicious drink. read more

Really cute cafe! Lots of Asian snacks and baked goods. The soup dumplings and the spicy Mala noodles were delicious! Will definitely come back. read more

Sweet Bean - Soup Dumplings - Bakeries Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Just had their pineapple bun with pineapple custard filling and the raspberry custard puff and they were both out of this world! The pineapple bun was especially silly delicate and felt like biting into a pillow. It transported me to my happy place. Go here. Eat everything. I am going back. read more

This place is a gem in the great Chicago area! The best quality bread I have ever had. I live 30 minutes driving distance away, but I definitely will come again and again for the yummy bread and all the other items on the menu. read more

Great coffee. Nice pastry selection. Some vegan dumplings. Cool combination of Asian treats and coffee. Good location with seating for groups or for studying. Highly recommended. read more

Everything is good but I still would like to say please make enough inventory for the popular items. I understand how important to serve food freshly, but it's not realistic to make customers go back and forth. Thats my point of views. Thank you! read more

This place is good any time of day. I usually go here when I'm sad. The food is all so fresh and good and reasonably priced. Please support this business! read more

Tasty pastries and delicious drinks. We tried the dumplings the other day and those were good as well.

LOVE this place! The treats and drinks are delicious and I'm impressed with the service! My dog has separation anxiety and kept barking and whining up front while I was ordering - one of the staff was nice enough to go and wait with my dog and then bring me my order outside! Thank you :) read more

I actually came because of a Yelp notification to my phone. "Sweet bean" is the nickname I gave my partner Tyler, so it only made sense for us to visit! Got the mango ice tea, quite a few buns, and the soup dumplings. 10/10 experience and can't wait to go back! read more

Prob one of the worst açaí bowls I've had in Chicago :/ and not cheap. The base tasted like ice.

Devoured the lotus donut things 3 days in a row, really good when they're fresh. Got a pumpkin chai the other day and tried the sweeter one offered with unsweetened pumpkin purée: delicious!! Wish it was a little hotter though, maybe I should have asked extra hot. Probably the friendliest cashier I've ever experienced. I was seriously blown away by how nice and helpful she was. read more

I am so excited that this opened in the neighborhood! I stopped by today during their first full day open and tried two buns (cha siu and pineapple). Both were delicious! I'm very excited to try out all the options once they have their full menu. read more