Fabcakes

I couldn’t visit Chicago without visiting Fab Cakes! This cafe is spacious and perfect for work or study with ample seating, outlets, calming music and just the right amount of white noise. They have a full menu that’s affordable and delicious. You can’t go wrong with any sweet or savory pick, and everything is made in-house. As if that wasn’t enough, the owner and employees are beyond sweet and there’s adorable hand-drawn art. No Apple Pay here, but other payments (cash, card) accepted. Thank you for a wonderful stay! I got the Breakfast Wrap, YUM, and a cinnamon pastry— one of the best pastries I’ve ever had!!

Recommend: their lattes are good. The bakery items and panini were okay. Service can be a bit slow especially if a bit longer line. At least on this morning only 1 person was hustling making the sandwiches and drinks.

I’ve been here several times in the last two months and have always loved the place. The Tiramisu Brownie was unbelievable. Get it warm! My favorite is the Chocolate Banana Fabcake: it looks like a muffin but it’s almost like a bread pudding and lava cake mixed together! Service is outstanding! Definitely worth checking out.

This place is definitely a neighborhood gem. Aside from the unique decor and paintings on the walls which some are for sale, the food and drinks are all on point. There are no shortage of cafes and coffee shops in this area but most of them are over priced with mediocre food, I mean who pays $14 for a tuna sandwich. The prices here are very reasonable, just look at the menu. The bakery items are also highly recommended. The only draw back is that there are usually only two very friendly people working there, the owner holds down the kitchen, so if you are in a hurry and wants to grab some food to go, you might expect a little bit of wait especially if there are more than 2 people ahead of you. Other than that, perfect!

I don’t know why I waited so long to come to this place. The scone was PERFECT! So moist inside, and not too sweet! It’s perfect in any aspect! The Almond Mocha was so delicious. We seated outside with our pup, and the owner was so sweet to bring him a bowl of water! We are definitely coming back!! (My only complaint is they closed too early on the weekends . I wish they can open later, and they need to open on Sunday, too!! )

Stopped in to Fabcakes for my first time to get some work done. The best pastry in Chicago - freshly baked. Excited to try other things. Delicious Americano, too! The service was amazing. Will absolutely be back!

Really great service despite the wait. Only one barista was working making all the drinks and food. She was super sweet and kind. Definitely coming back!

I just went here today for the first time and had the homemade almond mocha syrup latte and a homemade chocolate banana Fabcake. Both were phenomenal and I’ll be going back for more! I recommend supporting this small business! You can tell that the owner really cares about the product and experience she is providing to her guests. Enjoy your coffee and treats here!

The breakfast sandwiches while good, came out different than what was on the menu. There was only one employee working so service took a bit but the employee, (I think it was the owner) was very nice. Food is cooked to order so it's not a quick in and out restaurant. The inside was clean and a decent amount of seating. The Aztec coffee was excellent! Would recommend!

Customer service seriously lacking. Couldn't/wouldn't even do a tea latte, really? They brew hot tea AND make lattes, interesting! Vanilla rose latte flavor was nothing, I tasted no vanilla and no rose, got the breakfast sandwich special on ciabatta with bacon, wasn't bad but for an $18 breakfast to go I'd expect more. Had high hopes for this place but I was really disappointed!

I couldn't visit Chicago without visiting Fab Cakes! This cafe is spacious and perfect for work or study with ample seating, outlets, calming music and just the right amount of white noise. They have a full menu that's affordable and delicious. You can't go wrong with any sweet or savory pick, and everything is made in-house. As if that wasn't enough, the owner and employees are beyond sweet and there's adorable hand-drawn art. No Apple Pay here, but other payments (cash, card) accepted. Thank you for a wonderful stay! I got the Breakfast Wrap, YUM, then tried a cinnamon pastry -- one of the best pastries I've ever had!!

Stopped in here today for my first time, loved it! Quite a few tables to work from and outlets available. I haven't found a bagel I really love in chicago yet and this one was great! The bagel was so fresh and love having cream cheese options. In my option very affordable for the area, about $9 for both items. Huge menu also so plenty of options for breakfast or lunch. Wanted to buy more food while I was sitting in there because what was baking in the kitchen smelled so good!

I went in at 9:30am on a Thursday. There was no wait. I got a 12 oz oat milk latte for around $6 which is comparable to other places in the area. I didn't try any of the pastries, but they look amazing. There are plenty of places to sit and it is quiet enough to work here during the day.

Visiting from out of town and love to find local coffee shops rather than a chain. Decided to try Fabcakes. It's a cute, quaint shop. Nice ambiance and decor. Quiet with lots of tables that you can work from. I believe the owner is who greeted us, she had an Eastern European accent which just added to the coffee shop imo. We couldn't stay because we needed to get on the road so we got a to go order. I ordered the iced white raspberry latte with an extra shot of espresso which was so delicious . My bf got the iced Fablatte but didn't care for it at all (which is why I dropped a star off from my rating). I also ordered the fig and cheese croissant (pictured below). It could have used a little bit more fig but still very good. The powdered sugar on top offered just enough sweetness to the goat cheese. The croissant itself was light, flaky, crispy from the outside, and soft on the inside. Everything a croissant should be and tasted delicious! I was overall very pleased with my choices and would visit again.

Fabcakes Chicago is a quaint, fresh, local bakery. Outstanding food and service. A must try in River North!

Prices are fair and speciality latte selection is very vast, a lot of flavors that you wouldn't normally see. The menu food is very good all together, you can tell the owner puts love into what she makes. There are new bakery items baked in house every day, you can't expect the same thing twice which adds to the charm.

The lady who I assume to be the owner was really sweet and asked if I wanted my chai sweet or spicy which then ended up being one of the best chai lattes I've had! My friend got the dulce de leche which they say was one of the best coffees they've had in a while. Will be back!

Cute and quiet coffee shop in River North! The interior is really nice and has plenty of seating, as well as a great selection of bakery items. I came in a little later in the afternoon, so they didnt have the widest selection, but I got a really good ricotta berry croisant. It was served warm and was super crispy. I also got an iced cinnamon honey latte, which I thought was alright, but didnt taste like cinnamon or honey to me. All in all, a solid coffee and bakery spot! Got a baked good and a 16oz coffee for under $10.

Amazing local coffee shop which brings a flair of Europe to River North. First of, the decor is so chic and unique. The lighting and seating is comfortable and fashionable, and really unique, unlike the chain cafe/coffee shops in the area. The drink prices used to be more affordable, making it stand out in this area. However, recently they raised the price too, making themselves among the shops who charge $6 for a latte. But the bakery is definitely the highlight! I loved the cake and other sweet treats. Service can take a bit long as sometimes it's just the owner and another person.

Absolutely Loved this place! She is a true food artist. Hate to see this River North gem leave the neighborhood.

Quick trip to Chicago and found this little shop on our way out. Amazing food and service! If i lived here this would be my go to place. Definitely booking a hotel in the same area just to be able to come back!

I came here while I was visiting from out of town and was looking for a quick bite. I picked up a cream and blueberry croissant and it was absolutely lovely! She warmed it up for and the croissant was flaky and had good texture, it was not overly sweet and very balanced. I ended up coming back a second time for lunch and tried the bacon and havarti panini and I'm just sad I won't be able to go back a third time before I depart. The bacon was the nice thick cut bacon, the sriracha aioli wasn't overpowering and it was just a great quick lunch. I hope I'll be able to visit again in the future!

Went to fabcakes for coffee and a quick breakfast and I left full and satisfied. I ordered a breakfast sandwich that just was a perfect bite every time. The fresh bread with bacon and egg was just phenomenal. You would miss this place if you were t looking for it, so keep an eye out!

Unfortunately I forgot to take pictures but I would definitely recommend going to fab cakes in Chicago! The pastries were next level (highly recommend the walnut cake if you're looking looking for something less sugary) and the breakfast bagels were delicious and made with fresh ingredients. I wouldn't recommend the lox bagel as I felt it was overpriced for a very small amount of lox and an overwhelming amount of cream cheese. However my date got an everything bagel with turkey sausage and has been raving about it all morning. My black coffee was a bit too acidic for my taste but the aesthetic was cool and the service speedy so 4 stars from me! I'd also recommend commuting by el or bus (both stop close to fab cakes) as opposed to navigating the pricy nightmare of finding parking in downtown chicago

Stopped by here one day to get some work done and would definitely come back soon. I got a breakfast bagel sandwich & chai latte and both of them were great. Would suggest for a quick breakfast or if you need a quiet place to sit down and get work done!

We were looking for a filling and healthy breakfast before a day at MSI and we found it. Lovely little spot for breakfast.

Quaint cafe that is much bigger inside than it looks! They have some cool specialty lattes, smoothies, and seasonal drinks. I tried the Fablatte (nutella and salted caramel) and it wasn't too sweet which I liked. They have an extensive food menu that'd I love to try next time!

My girlfriend and I love to go explore coffee shops around Chicago. Fabcakes is THE BEST. The pastries are so amazing. From the chocolate banana fabcakes to the bagels with chive cream cheese I am always blown away. The cinnamon donuts are probably my favorite donut on earth. Yum. Highly, highly recommend this cute, quaint spot to anyone looking for a bite to eat around lunch or an amazing cup of coffee.

Great coffee shop in river north. One of the last of its kind. They have unique drink choices such as honey turmeric and lavender lattes. Inside, the decor includes original pieces of art for sale by local artists. Highly recommend!

I have been coming to Fabcakes for 5+ years. It's my favorite coffee shop / cafe in River North-- the vibe is very comfortable and chill, I can work by myself on my computer or sit with my book, but also have brought parties of friends there to brunch. The menu is excellent, they have healthy options (HIGHLY recommend the overnight oats, idk how she gets that perfect consistency, also the Energizer smoothie is my fav), or the breakfast sandwich (I get it on a croissant). The house lattes are some of my favorite in Chicago, she makes them not too sweet so you can actually enjoy the flavor (I rotate between favorites but right now it's the Fablatte). The owner Fabiola is there literally every day and is such a nice lady and incredible baker (I got a strawberry rhubarb pie from her to bring to Thanksgiving this year and it was such a hit). This place gives small town vibes in the big city. Can't recommend this place enough. Wish she was open later than 3 so I could stay all day!

Worst iced matcha I've ever had in my life and it was $8 for 16oz. The workers were both rude when I asked them to fix it. Couldn't taste any matcha just tasted like plain almond milk

Staying at a nearby hotel, this place looked promising from the Yelp listing and it did not disappoint. The coffee was solid and the baked goods ultra fresh. Both the scone and yogurt parfait were generous with fruit. Prices were reasonable. Probably not an all morning hang out kind of cafe, but perfect for a quick to go coffee and pastry stop.

Really great service despite the wait. Only one barista was working making all the drinks and food. She was super sweet and kind. Definitely coming back!

Fabcakes is fabulous. I've only been there once, while I was visiting Chicago, but it was recommended by a friend and I had a wonderful and cozy experience. I started with an Aztec latte and fig and goat cheese croissant--both were delicious. I'm always a fan of a little spice in my hot drinks. My friend ordered a lavender latte, which is her go-to choice. I wouldn't have considered it otherwise, but now I'm intrigued. After my friend left, I ordered a hot chocolate (lovely, and I was a fan of the homemade marshmallow) and I stayed to work on my computer for a while. It was a slow time of day, mid afternoon on a Monday, so I had the place mostly to myself. It was the perfect work environment. I would definitely go back!

This place is such a hidden gem!! Food is outstanding and the coffee is great too. One of the best blueberry muffins in town. The service is great and ran by a family I believe. She works her butt off and is so kind. Go here and support your local businesses!

10/10 the pastries are amazing! Literally so good. The owner is on site and baked everything herself. Really enjoy my experiences here.

Food was delicious and very reasonably priced. Coffee was excellent and obviously well liked by locals with the number of people who came in and out while we were eating. Staff super friendly too. Totally will come back.

Super cute and tidy neighborhood coffee shop that offers a large breakfast and lunch menu with sandwiches, salads, French toasty, yogurt parfait and loads of fresh sweet and savory baked treats. No Diet Coke but that's ok- I'm trying to quit. Got an iced coffee and a berry crumble today but I'll definitely come back for a proper meal soon.

It's a cute shop with homemade food and treats. I've tried the pesto chicken and the breakfast sandwich. Both were very delicious. The coffee here is good too. I usually get the dulce de leche. I would say prices are decent for the location. The owner works in the back and makes the sandwiches herself. It gets very busy and they only have one person working the front so if you want to skip the line order ahead using the ritual app.

Great Nutella croissant, the owner warmed it up and I loved it!! The shop was cute and smelled like delicious pastries!

Slow and apathetic service. Came here due to good reviews, came out disappointed. Pastries are reasonably priced. Owner/baker is rude.

Wonderful coffee and pastries. Much more homey feel than a lot of nearby cafés. Great service. Love the local art on the walls!

Great place for a casual brunch, lunch or grab and go. The prices here are very reasonable for where it's located in Chicago. My quiche was $3.99 and iced coffee was less than $4. Other options include smoothies, sandwiches and oatmeal. They even made my moms oatmeal with almond milk because she doesn't drink milk.

I was pretty excited to try this place out. I've been going around to different Coffee shops in Chicago and i was rlly interested in the food here. The food is just as good as it looks. The coffee on the other hand, is pretty standard. I always get iced coffee (it doesn't matter how cold it is, hot coffee tastes gross to me, and also it's a stereotypical gay thing to only drink iced coffee ). The problem i had with this coffee was that it tasted too bitter and coffee-y for my liking. It has added stuff, but i rlly didn't taste it, which is a problem i have with a lot of coffee shops. Coffee is pretty subjective, so if you like more of a coffee flavor, this place might be for you but if you like an iced coffee with some kinda extra flavoring, get your food here and coffee somewhere else.

The coffee was really good here. I think the pastries we got were store bought which was fine, I don't think they were overpriced for what it was. Some of the baked goods did look homemade so I'll be sure to try those next time.

This place is super cute. I wanted everything on the menu but settled for the lavender latte (3/5 cute latte art but not sweet and the lavender didn't come through), breakfast sandwich on a croissant (5/5 so yummy with spinach and basil) and tiramisu brownie (4/5). The barista was nice and helpful with the menu. A few people were working on laptops- it has enough people and light to not feel barren but not so much that's it's too loud or hard to find a spot. Ideal study or work spot if I lived in the neighborhood.

Visiting Chicago, I awoke in my hotel room next to Lake Michigan craving pastries. I decided to take an almost 2 mile walk to this place after finding it on Yelp. A very scenic path and off the tourist trap, Fabcakes is a small and modern pastry shop featuring breakfast sandwiches, coffees, and of course, pastries. Because I'm a tourist I decided to splurge and get their lemon scone, a breakfast wrap, and an almond mocha. A local saw me exploring the menu and directed me toward the lemon scone. When it came out, it was warm and falling apart with the fork - that perfect flakiness from a fresh pastry. Absolutely delicious. But wait for it - the wrap came out, it looked very gourmet, and the tomato married with the ham was just...whoa. Highly recommend.

My wife & I stopped in for breakfast on a recent trip to Chicago. The food & coffee were very good & reasonably priced. We mentioned that we were of Polish heritage & the owner mentioned she was Polish. That led us to a pleasant conversation about ethnic restaurants & food. We'll definitely return the next time we are there.

This is the greasy donut I received. I took two bites and threw the rest away. Only reason I took two bites was because I was hungry. What a disappointment.

Whoa this breakfast croissant is so good. Fast service and really cute inside. Would recommend for a quick latte and breakfast.

Love the owner who is very helpful and considerate to her customers. My favorite is the avocado toast with an egg on gluten free toast along with a green smoothing. Also a great environment to do computer work in.

If you are coming here with your own drink make sure you drink it before you head inside as NO DRINKS from what ever hotel you are staying @ are allowed to be brought in here, even if you have one sip left and you are looking to buy coffee there as well, No Laptops are allowed on the weekend so don't bring it! There was absolutely not one person inside when we arrived and two customers where walking out for what ever reason we ended up at the location across the street where people Can bring their laptops/ electronics, Can bring in outside drinks if you decide to bring one in, dog friendly oh and the two customers that we saw walking out across the street where here as well, atmosphere is great , you actually have a view everywhere you look and they never put restrictions on what you can and cannot do. Note to business*, customers also have the right to refuse service from you and take their money somewhere else!

Food was really good. I had a large drip coffee and a breakfast croissant with a Turkey patty, egg, and tomato. My husband had a chicken pesto panini and a smoothie. It was all very good. We are on the patio because of covid and luckily had beautiful weather in mid October! They were out of several things on the menu including the veggie burger and chicken salad, which was the downside but we came on a Monday and I'm sure they had a busy weekend.

Great place for a business meeting over coffee. I have been to this location many times and there are a few nooks that work very well for business appointments. The coffee is great (iced coffee especially). The sidewalk cafe is nice. Recommended!

Stopped in on a Saturday morning for coffee and morning pastries! They have free parking right in front of the store before 930 - real challenge to find in river north! The inside is really cozy and nicely decorated. Plenty of seating with outlets so you can sit to work or hang with friends. There were a handful of small groups conversing over coffee/breakfast. Staff was friendly and service was great too! The menu is pretty extensive for a coffee shop! A lot of options for full breakfast sandwiches on top of the pastries. And of course any type of coffee and espresso drink you can imagine. The lavender latte was great - had a fairly strong coffee flavor but the floral/earthy tones really balanced nicely (but if you don't like the coffee taste may want to ask for more flavoring). We also tried the Fablatte (sea salt hazelnut) which also tasted great but was a bit more sugary than the lavender. The downside for me was the pastry. We got the apple pastry, fab cake, and peanut butter lava muffin. Personally wouldn't recommend the latter two, but I actually think there was a baking mishap with the Chocolate Fab Cake - the top was gooey chocolate but the rest was super dry and tasted like flour & baking soda. We actually couldn't finish eating it, I was pretty bummed since I'd assume this is a store staple. The apple pastry, on the other hand was INCREDIBLE which makes me think it was likely a mishap.

Just started a new job down the block and was looking for a quiet place I could go for lunch. Found Fabcakes on Yelp and noticed it had great reviews. I took at the menu and photos and everything looked really good so decided to come in. I got the lox sandwich and mushroom wild rice soup and it was excellent. Will be coming here for lunch from here on out. Their menu has a bunch of great sandwich options and their salads look good as well.

I had been a regular customer of Fab cake since quite a while. The place is never crowded ( well, now I know why!) and the food is fresh and good. The very reason I took my friend here for a coffee today. Unfortunately I had the most bizarre experience at the counter. The girl at the counter was extremely rude and to an extent gave us a rascist vibe. It just felt as though she did not want to serve us as we were not caucasian. It just felt very very apparent. One doesn't come and say  - I don't like you.....its communicated by the attitude. The girl just banged the coffee mug on my table spilling coffee, not once looking back. When I told her I wanted a dry cappuccino and wanted to explain to her how exactly I wanted my coffee, she rolled her eyes with impatient and rudely told me - I know what dry coffee means! There was no thank you or any other politness that usually find in most cafes and restaurants. This was very very upsetting so when I got back home, I called the owner ( who is always at the store) and narrated the incident. She was arrogant and I don't think she even bothered much. At the end she gave me a reluctant  - Sorry! I really wonder,  these kind of places that always remains empty and people come to know about them only by word of mouth  - don't they need customers? I for sure am never going back there again, not that the stuffs out there are that exceptional that I won't get anywhere else.