Vegan
American
Fast food
Delivery
Take-out
Catering
Fusion
Small chain of vegan restaurants originating from Southern California. Offers a menu of sandwiches, veggie burgers, bowls, salads, and others. Order at the counter and food is brought to your table. This one est. 2012. Open Mon-Sat 10:30am-8:00pm, Sun 11:00am-7:00pm.
275 Reviews
First Review by ·X·
KathleenMarie
Points +18
Great atmosphere and food - Edit
Very reasonable price and excellent food that even my non-vegan friends enjoy.
Read moreGuest
nhansson
Points +487
tasty, affordable - Edit
Loved this place. Great things on the menu, good service and nice seating area. No wi-fi though.
Read moreGuest
Juliajulia2u
Points +36
Very good but could use a bit more effort. - Edit
I first went to a Native Foods in 1998 in Palm Springs. None exist near me in Florida so I was excited to visit again while in Chicago. The peanut butter parfait was SUPERB, and the Reuben was good, but a tad lazily put together. There was one small squirt of dressing in one spot of the sandwich, and everyone knows the dressing is an important flavor in a Rueben. Still, I may have to go back tomorrow because I love Native Foods Cafe.
Read moreGuest
amelia3599
Points +274
Great Food!! - Edit
I had the Moroccan bowl and loved it! This place has so many options and I really enjoyed coming here.
Read moreGuest
amwhite91
Points +522
Meh - Edit
I was pretty excited about this place, but they were just ok. I ordered the wings, sweet potato fries, kale and watermelon fresca. Even though they had me repeat my order, they got it wrong. Then, when they were bringing out my food, they forgot it was a to go order, and they only brought out the wings. The wings were not very flavorful. If I went again, I'd probably order something else. I'd be willing to try again next time I'm in the area
Read morePros: Great variety, Location, They have a cookbook I might like to try
Cons: Wait time, Staff seem stressed and forgetful
Guest
megj
Points +105
So many choices - Edit
I love whatever I get every time I visit Native Foods. I've always had nice service at the loop location as well. I'm not sure about their GF options but they have plenty of things for my nut free and vegan diet.
Read moreGuest
Poliesquee
Points +228
Slow service - Edit
I love native foods however this location I've found to have terrible service. Both times I've ordered online my order wasn't ready. Since this is near the loop I always order ahead since parking is limited. Last time the manger was the one assisting me and I had to wait 20 minutes after arriving for my online order. Luckily a nice employee working the floor helped me and was more knowledgeable than the manager on what was going on with my order. I love their food, but recommend a different location.
Read morePros: Great food , Inexpensive
Cons: Order never ready on time , Clueless management
Guest
JenniferGanzStacy
Points +60
vegan but not gluten free - Edit
My husband had a nice looking burger. Due to my VGF and nut-free status I ended up with their dill potato salad and a small green salad. Bummer.
Read morePros: vegan
Cons: minimal GF options
Guest
milos99
Points +671
wonderful ev-er-y time :) - Edit
We are Native Foods junkies and go here every time we are in a city that hosts one of these amazing restaurants! We have visited multiple locations in Chicago and SoCal, and are always welcomed with the best folks and most delicious food. This is a staple stop, for sure!
Read moreGuest
monisonfire
Points +5079
nice food, lacking flavour - Edit
lovely, spacious place with many many options on the menu!
Read morehad the soul bowl. nice mix of veg salad chicken sticks. especially the chicken was amazing. the rest was good, very fresh, but lacking a bit of flavour - which is weird as it came with both a bbq sauce and also some white dressing...
drinks are fantastic!!! there's different options of lemonade and iced tea. some unsweetened. free refills!!
service was excellent!
Pros: choice, drinks!!, service
Cons: lack of flavour
Guest
foodfirst
Points +776
A great all-around vegan option - Edit
I enjoyed several trips to this restaurant during a winter business trip to the city. A wide variety of items in something approaching a fast-food-type setup. I enjoyed the quality and healthfulness of the food, as well as the variety of flavors on the menu. A non-vegan colleague who joined me for one meal commented somewhat favorably. Finding this place made the trip much more enjoyable than another trip I took for the same conference some years ago. The OC Raw Chopper was among the salads I enjoyed. I look at the menu and am reminded that it is full of renditions of American comfort-food-type classics, reminiscent of a chain restaurant with a laminated menu somewhere on the road..
Read morePros: variety of serious, nutrient dense menu items, convenient hours compared to nearby alternatives
Cons: lack of dishes with fruit, berries, and melon
Guest
nafanc
Points +1615
Oh so good - Edit
I'm disappointed that I have to downgrade my rating a little bit. I went to Native Foods twice during a short visit to Chicago. The menu and restaurants was mostly the same as I remembered it, but the quality was not as good as I recall.
Read moreI ordered the chicken run ranch and the scorpion burger. A few small things about each:
The burgers had flavorless shredded iceberg lettuce that really didn't add much
The burgers would benefit from some tomato
The buns were crumbly and lacked flavor
The selection of sauces used to be extensive and exciting, but now it seems to mainly consist of standard Heinz bottles.
I admit that I'm being super nitpicky here, as the food and experience is still quite good overall. It's just that Native Foods used to be my favorite place for veggie burgers, but now I can think of many restaurants and food trucks around the country that do it a bit better.
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I love Native foods. Creative, compassionate, and scrumptious food. I really like the Scorpion Burger and the Chicken Run Ranch. In truth, everything is fantastic.
I was in Chicago for four days and I went to this location three times (and another location once). That just about says it all.
Updated from previous review on 2015-09-04
Pros: Everything is delicious, Great drinks, Great desserts
Guest
KarinaRosenstein
Points +21
Great place! - Edit
I go all the time and order the meatiest non-meat things on their menu, the hamburgers and the meatball sub are delicious.
Read morePros: Delicious food, They use "Ritual," the take-out app , Fast food
Cons: They need to be in more locations around the city!
Guest
Titony
Points +69
Great comfort food - Edit
Burgers, bowls and much more! If you like great vegan options, you will love this place
Read morePros: burger
Cons: none
Guest
teddystoycheva
Points +50
AMAZING - Edit
I have visited Native Foods Cafe two times, with family members who love meat. Not only did they enjoy the food, they suggested we come back again! We have tried the Chips and Salsa, the Native Nachos, Big Ol' Barbecue Burger, the Native Chicken, Bacon and Avo Club, the Portobello and Sausage Burger, and the Native Southwester Burger. Everything we have tried so far was DELICIOUS! I can't wait to come visit again and try other things!
Read moreUpdated from previous review on 2016-06-23
Pros: EVERYTHING
Cons: none
Guest
LuluLovin
Points +50
The Mcdonalds of Vegan Food, it should become the norm and replace Mcdonald's. - Edit
It reminds me of Mcdonald's in the way that its always consistent in quality and taste, which is a good thing. It's also because it's a chain thats sprinkled across the Chicago area and I've found in emergencies I'm always close to a Native Foods Cafe and my day is saved. Theres no guess work, its a fully vegan place with no worries of animal products. It fares well with everyone that I've made try, practically everything on the menu is delicious. Its expensive because its quality food, and I feel that the price is justified for what you're getting. It's so popular I rarely find a day where the place is empty unless you come in unusually early. Before I was vegan I was coming here because its delicious, not even realizing that what I was eating had no animal products. I come to this chain on the regular and always have a good experience.
Read moreOne day me and my friend were waiting past 30min for our food and the manager noticed us and came out and sincerely apologized for the wait and gave us our food for FREE. No charge. The company cares and has excellent ethics all around, for the animals and its customers.
Best drink is the lavender lemonade, absolutely obsessed with it. The handhelds and burgers are amazing. Make sure to make an account to gather points for free stuff and come in Wednesdays for Bogo days where a meal could be free or half price!
Pros: Consistent Quality and Taste, Ethical Staff, Clean
Cons: Sometimes Crowded, Native Oklahoma Classic = Bleh, Certain places don't have lavender lemonade
Guest
Marcyp7
Points +188
Wow! Delicious!! - Edit
I've always wanted to try Native Foods but usually too rushed to get back on the train. It would've been worth the wait -for the next train, even if I would've missed it! I ordered a salad (Ensalada Azteca) and sandwich (chicken, bacon & avo club- all vegan of course) with a side of potato salad. Best vegan food I've had in a long time! I'm very excited about this place. It's fresh and portion size was perfect.
Read morePros: delicious, creative options, fresh, fast, friendly
Cons: none
Guest
JonJon
Points +20645
Best vegan place in the Loop - Edit
This Native Food café is very, very convenient since there are not many places where to eat vegan on the Loop. It is one of my favourite, it offers many vegan options, most of them are very tasty. Their desserts are also very good and prices are fair. I found that some burgers were a bit dry (more sauce would be great) but otherwise, the place is perfect. You are served quickly, the staff is friendly and you have room inside. My wish is that they open later! 9:00 pm is too early...
Read morePros: many choices, good food, nice place, great desserts, central location
Cons: some burgers may be a bit dry, closes too early
Guest
redsox
Points +112
Great selection of vegan meals - Edit
When we entered this place, we couldn't believe that everything was vegan - amazing selection from soups, salads, burgers, bowls and healthy drinka. The "meats" have a similar taste to real ones, so it felt funny eating bacon, chicken and the likes. The food is very tasty and I like how all the ingredients blend together. I especially liked the nachos (at least for 2!) and the Bangkok curry bowl.
Read morePros: Selection, Staff, Time to get the order
Cons: Size of portions are unpredictable
Guest
greentea35
Points +58
Yum! - Edit
Delicious vegan food. My favorites are chicken, bacon and avocado club and the soul bowl. We go there quite often and accumulate points for doing so. Love it when they have bogo
Read moreCons: Can be expensive
Guest
andrea
Points +638
Meh - Edit
We rushed right over here when we got to Chicago. The ordering is a little weird because stuff on a board lists 'favorite' items, but those are not priced and not on the menu. So, ?
Read moreBut we got a chic'n avo bacon sandwich, it was pretty good. The fries came barely warm, and are pretty lame shoestring fries. Also, got a seitan sandwich that was mediocre. Their tofu bacon is not as tasty as the stuff I make at home. We got a cupcake with salted caramel frosting. The cake was good, the frosting didn't have any particular flavor and was too soft. The whole experience was just so mediocre.
Because of the location (the only veg place in the Loop) we went back there on our way out of town. We got the Buffalo Wings. They are tasty, but the texture is a little soft. My husband got the Gyro Salad Bowl; he liked it except the vegetables were in huge chunks and hard to cut even with a knife. It also had huge pieces of raw kale, which is pretty tough. I ordered the Meatball Bowl with Mango-Lime because it was the only one without kale. So they brought it out and it's loaded with raw kale. They seemed all surprised when I pointed this out, but were very nice and brought it back without the kale/salad (because the kale is already mixed in, they said). It was so much less food it was ridiculous. It looked like I had half the quinoa my husband got. However, the meatballs were fantastic and the flavors overall were great. Both visits, it took a surprisingly long time to get our food. It was a real mixed bag, disappointing since we were so psyched to get there.
Cons: Menu inaccuracy
Guest
Kjeffy
Points +118
love this place so much!!! - Edit
Just arrived from NC and use this app to find this gem. I am so happy I found this place I am coming every day. There food is fresh, no GMOs and all vegan. They even have a lot of gluten free items which I need. I ordered so much because I couldn't decide. Definitely recommend this place. The tacos and kale cheese dip are so delicious.
Read morePros: vegan, gluten free, fresh
Guest
JeffA.
Points +13
amazing so yummy !!! - Edit
So good ! I ate there 5 times in a row and loved everything I had especially the sliders and the child cheese fries with the cashew cheese !!!!!!!!!! And the peanut butter parfait
Read morePros: fast , quick service, very nice staff
Cons: a little pricey and they need to do breakfast !!
Guest
jdestefanis
Points +41
Great Food, Fast and Friendly Service - Edit
Their chicken sandwiches are great. Loved the lemongrass broccoli and nachos, too.
Read moreGuest
AmiMIchelle
Points +24
So so good! - Edit
Lots of variety and ethnic food choices!
Read moreGuest
SarahInWien
Points +46
Very, very good!!! - Edit
I was there (and in the second restaurant next to Hyde Park) a few times now and it was always very, very good! We ate tree different burgers, the soul bowl and the chili fries and we loved it. The food is not very expensive (but more than in Europe or in Vienna (where I live), but it was ok and a menu is a lot,so you don't need more than that. The drinks are very good, because there a not typical for a burger restaurant - there are different ice teas without sugar and in exotic flavours like lavender. All in all I would always go there again (and I will)!
Read moreCons: very tasty burger, awesome chili fries, inexpensive
Guest
macmeister
Points +74
Great! - Edit
Wide variety, very tasty and friendly staff. We really enjoyed our meal and will come back again.
Read moreGuest
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