Vegan
American
Organic
Take-out
Bakery
Catering
Gluten-free

Vegan chef and catering company, opened this cafe 2019. Serves coffee, tea, and carry an assortment of baked goods, daily specials, grab 'n' go food. Fri-Sun evenings hosts a private 5-course gourmet vegan dinner by reservation only. Reported open October 2023. Open Mon-Sun 8:00am-4:00pm.


Venue map for Fancy Plants Cafe
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59 Reviews

First Review by citychic

LET4

Points +153

Vegan
13 Jun 2019

Outstanding

This restaurant and chef is amazing. I came for lunch and will definitely be back for dinner. Had the breakfast bland coffee that was amazing and the spanakopita which was OMG. Got my son the carrot “lox” bagel and he only got one bite because I finished it. Everything is made from scratch.

TiannaPrichard

Points +230

Vegan
20 Sep 2024

Cute little spot

Cute little café with fun wall art. This was recommended by a local friend to get while visiting and it did not disappoint. We got the breakfast croissant and I got a Maple Citrus Crème Brûlée latte. Both were delicious.

lilvegancat

Points +835

Vegan
24 Jun 2024

Slightly disappointed

Although the atmosphere of the place is great and in really cute part of Chicago,
it seems that the quality of this cafe is going downhill. The food in previous pictures looks nothing like what we ordered, especially the croissants which were dense and undercooked. They honestly looked and tasted worse than pillsbury. The burrito was cold in the middle like it was frozen and reheated.

Updated from previous review on 2024-06-24

MikeLunde

Points +79

Vegan
23 Jun 2024

Huge shout out to Fancy Plants!

I went for a bike ride this morning with two friends who are very much non vegan. On the way back, one of them recommended we go to a coffee shop with breakfast options he had been to before and liked. He initially found it through good reviews he saw they had. When we got there, I was so grateful to him for taking us to a vegan place, but he said he had no idea it was vegan. Both of them really liked what they got today as well. So, great job, Fancy Plants!

CarrickMcCullough

Points +142

Vegan
03 Jun 2024

Tasty little spot!

Cute cafe, classic coffees and teas with some more unique custom flavors as well. Good little selection of breakfast sandwiches as well as fresh baked goods. Would come again!!

Pros: Good food, Cozy atmosphere

frankinjection

Points +1064

Vegan
22 May 2024

Mostly arrangement

This vegan cafe is super nice, and the people are great. However it falls under what I call “assembly spots” where they use well known products to assemble a meal with no real creative slant.

I had the breakfast croissant, their best seller, which consist of supermarket vegan products. It was good, but something you can whip up at home. Still a great place to visit when you’re hungry.

Vegan Vagabond

23 May 2024

I’m pretty sure they make everything in house. The seitan, the “cheese,” the baked goods, etc.

annieeatingstuff

Points +162

Vegan
13 May 2024

My fave place for breakfast, pastries, and coffee

The coffee cake!! The croissants!! The burrito!! The “lox”!! The chai!! Ahhh I cannot even verbalize how much I love this place. A staple for us. Everyone who works there is so nice and accommodating too.

Pros: Everything

Yvonne108

Points +102

Vegetarian
16 Feb 2024

Best breakfast and brunch

Get your guilt free breakfast on with rich favs and large portions!

Pros: Delicious food, Friendly staff, Easy parking

AgustinaTami

Points +35

Vegan
09 Feb 2024

Overestimated

This food is not made with love

Vegan Vagabond

11 Feb 2024

Can you give more detail? The chef behind this restaurant is very much into the love of serving good food. I’m curious to get more details.

Samantha18

Points +475

Vegan
19 Dec 2023

Top rated restaurant????

We had really high hopes when we saw all of the great reviews and that it was a top rated restaurant, maybe our expectations are just too high.
We had an awful experience. To start off there was only one employee in the entire cafe. She would take everyone’s order that was in line at the counter, then run to the back and heat up food in the toaster oven, thus leading to extremely slow service and long wait times.
We had ordered two items from the bakery case to eat until our food was done. Very disappointing baked goods. The walnut banana bread was hard as a rock and ice cold. The blueberry muffin was also rock hard and almost uncooked in the middle. We finally got our breakfast burritos and after the first bite, knew we had made a mistake. It was disgusting. So bad we couldn’t even finish eating them. Oh and I can’t forget to mention the tortilla chips from a bag as the side dish. Don’t expect to get the salsa with those chips because all you get is sliced up pickled radishes. We walked over to the self service counter where some sauces were to try and make the burritos more edible but didn’t even feel comfortable doing that because the bottles of sauce were also extremely disgusting. Crusty tops and practically empty bottles. At this point we asked for to-go cups for our tea and were ready to go.
All the way around it was a bad experience. To the identity crisis and uncleanliness of the restaurant, the single lifeless employee, and the awful and definitely not fresh breakfast food. It certainly was not worth the 50$ we spent. We are very confused how this got so many good reviews. There is nothing fancy about these plants.

Pros: All vegan , Off street parking

Cons: Bad food, not fresh , Cleanliness , Understaffed

bemmabarson

Points +36

Vegan
19 Nov 2023

Flaky croissants

Croissant sandwich is amazing, flaky and flavorful. The burrito is great as well!

AnnFromIllinois

Points +788

Vegan
27 Oct 2023

Must go!

We were lucky enough to get a seating at one of the Saturday dinners and loved every course. Refined food in a casual setting. Great staff too.

The above review was for Fancy Plants Kitchen which seems to have closed and/or merged into the Fancy Plants kitchen. Still five stars though for this cute little cafe coffee shop.

Updated from previous review on 2019-11-10

Pros: Delicious, Affordable, BYOB

Vegan Vagabond

Points +3793

Vegan
22 Oct 2023

Don’t confuse this location with Fancy Plants Kitchen.

Fancy Plants Kitchen closed, unfortunately, but Fancy Plants Café is still open and going strong.

This is a small little neighborhood café, with great coffee, pastries, and food items.

WFPBNOSOS

Points +298

Vegan
10 Sep 2023

Love this little vegan oasis

Incredible food on a quiet street.

Pros: Quality food, Cute space, Outdoor seating on quiet street

Cons: Would love for them to be open later

RachelJoy

Points +24

Vegan
28 Aug 2023

Awesome vegan food and vibe

This place is amazing! We were so impressed with the seitan steak, croissants, and vegan Brie and feta, all made in house! Chef Kevin is a super cool guy too. This place is a must-visit if you’re in Chicago.

Pros: Grilled seitan steak, Cheese plate, Chef and wait staff

meghanmansur

Points +368

Vegan
30 Jul 2023

Great vegan breakfast!!

Loved the breakfast options as well as the pastries!

rjmarciniak

Points +761

Vegan
23 Jul 2023

Cute café on a side street

Cute, small storefront café just off of Broadway Ave. Food is pretty good, just make sure to go early, as they often run out of some of the items. Excellent place for a coffee on a weekend morning.

Haley_Kat

Points +362

Vegan
19 Jul 2023

So good!!

Everything was great and the person working was very kind to my very disruptive children lol. Love the croissant sandwich

badlucky

Points +68

Vegan
10 Jul 2023

Delicious chill breakfast spot

I stopped by Fancy Plants on a whim after an appointment nearby, and I'm glad I did. I had their Croissant Sandwich with Just Egg patty, smoky seitan sausage, tomatoes, vegan cheese, and veggies, and a delicious spicy coffee called "Breakfast Club Latte" with maple, fennel, coriander, and black pepper. Both were really good. Vibe is relaxed and casual. Seems like a great local hang.

RobertaEdelman

Points +13

Vegetarian
18 May 2023

Yummy!

This is the second time lunching here I had the quiche the first time and the spinach pie today. Both were wonderful! You would not know they were vegan!

Ramy94

Points +134

Vegan
14 Apr 2023

So many options

Really good stuff! I had the breakfast burrito and ube muffin, as well as the iced cherry amaretto latte. The burrito came with chips and a super flavorful salsa. Adding this place to my list for when I come back to Chicago!

Pros: Many pastries, Inventive drinks , Tasty foods

Cons: Only a few hot food options

pkkellow

Points +189

Vegan
19 Feb 2023

Lox

Lox is fire, seating is weird but i don’t really care

DavidDainko

Points +348

Vegan
30 Jan 2023

Fantastic!!

Absolutely wonderful food and location. Breakfast sandwiches are to die for

diannec

Points +786

Vegan
12 Nov 2022

So good

I love this place! Everything I’ve tried has been delicious

ajaff

Points +216

Vegan
23 Oct 2022

Cute cafe with a nice patio

Adoptable cafe on a tree-lined street in lakeview. Solid pastries and some food items. Burrito bowl and the pumpkin spice muffin were both tasty

Pros: Pastry selection, Wifi + workspace

MelanieForrey

Points +845

Vegan
03 Jun 2022

Worth It!

We diverted on a road trip to try some vegan food the Chicago way, and it was so worth it! The food was amazing! The atmosphere was a vibe - and the people were unbeatable in their welcome and energy. Thanks for making us fall in love with Chicago at first bite! Xo

Pros: All vegan, Awesome atmosphere , Friendly staff

Cons: A little pricey, but worth it

j.eni_

Points +120

Vegan
04 Apr 2022

great breakfast cafe!

this is a very cute little cafe!
although there are tons of great coffee/tea places around here, i feel like they always have exciting and fancy drink mixes here like dulce de leche lattes or mint chocolate matcha!
not only do they have great drinks but their food options are good too! i will admit their food tends to be on the pricier side, but usually it is enough to be full after eating. The pastries are hit or miss, their croissants are very good, especially the one used in their just egg and veggie sandwhich, but the brownies/cupcakes/cookies have been great sometimes and lackluster sometimes.

would definitely recommend for a great vegan breakfast, which is sadly hard to find around the area.

Pros: all vegan! , fun and exciting drink menu , vegan breakfast

Cons: expensive/not always filling, pastries hit or miss




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