Tempo Cafe

Came here for brunch after the Faces of Fitness Festival Day 1! We sat outside and I must say, I like the ambience of the patio seating! I was able to try a build your own skillet. My food was made incorrectly at first; however, our waitress was so sweet and she was able to make sure everything was taken care of! The food was pretty good (I did have to add salt and pepper) I would definitely come back here (family friendly and any suitable group would love it here!)

Sat outside nice location good views and cute setup. The vegetarian scrambler is a solid choice for the money it was easily enough for two people if your trying to be light on a lunch or brunch. The french toast is not worth it, too eggy and lacking any real sweetness def not worth the price would get something else.

It was the best breakfast we had in Chicago. They really do American breakfast very well, and I highly recommend it. We had scrambled eggs with vegetables and fruit pancakes. Even for two people, it was more than enough. It was extremely delicious as well. The inside was a bit dark and crowded, and the tables were very close to each other, but I didn’t see it as a problem. Definitely a place to visit!

Tasty brunch food in a friendly laid-back atmosphere! I came here for brunch with a friend and enjoyed their skillets! The eggs were fluffy, the toppings were fresh, and the potatoes were well cooked. I got the cheese on the potatoes, but honestly, I don’t think it’s too necessary - it’s good but the amount they put made the dish a bit too heavy for my liking

The food was I good, I got the Greek salad and a fresh juice and it was alright, but imma be honest, the prices were through the roof for me. The marmalade was really good tho, like really really good.

I was actually dissapointed here as the food quality wasn't quite what I expected. The gravy came cool and slightly crusted as if under a heat lamp too long and the mashed potatoes were cool instead of hot. The turkey was real, fresh and good ...just too bad the meal wasn't hot. I hope it was just one of those days...othwrwise rhe atmosphere is great as I love American style diners, the staff are friendly and the place is clean.

Food was amazing and portion size is also very good. Just one thing: I ordered the vegetarian scrambler and clearly mentioned to the server that I can’t eat meat, but the dish still came out with meat in it. Thankfully, the staff acted quickly and replaced it with the correct vegetarian version without any issue.

Great fun to revisit this place I haven't been to in over 30 years. No longer open 24hrs a day, so different memories from late night/early morning after the Rush & Division bars. The food was still good solid diner/breakfast food and the service was nice. Seems to be the same Greek owned diner cafe it was since the 80's & 90's. Minor thing is the 20% tip on the check is on the after tax amount so you are tipping on the Illinois sales tax as well. The waiters & waitresses were good though, and kept refilling the coffee...

Tempo Cafe is a great, no frills diner in the Gold Coast. As with any diner, if you go there on a weekend morning it's going to be packed. However, if you're willing to put your name in early on Yelp or put your name in and wait a bit, it's worth it. Classic huge diner menu with whatever you want. Great omelets, Turkey club BLT, and coffee.

Food was good, service was FAST. On a Saturday morning, I've never been seated so fast, order placed, coffee in my hand and a meal in front of me within 20 minutes. They definitely get busy on the weekend and know how to handle the flow. It was maybe a little TOO fast because I was barely able to catch a breath and talk to my friend. The food was really good. My chorizo/mushroom/cheese skillet was very tasty. A lot of food and wasn't even able to finish it all. Ask for the spicy house sauce - it was wonderful!! The inside looked very festive and cute. Service was nice.

While I normally LOVE Tempo, yesterday I didn't. Ordered two omelettes for pick up. $47 for two omelettes to go seems expensive to me! I had asked if we could skip the toast to get extra potatoes and they said no. They used to do this. Fortunately I spent another $5 while I was there and asked for a side of potatoes because what came in our omelette was a very small portion. Normally our omelettes fill up the container and there is a good amount of potatoes underneath. That was not the case yesterday. The omelettes were even smaller. The bread they gave us had seeds on the crust which we don't like. So we threw away the bread. I understand everything has gone up due to the economy but I know I can get cheaper breakfast at Eggys, Yolk, etc. What I do like about Tempo is the food isn't greasy.

Tempo has been here on the Gold Coast forever and when my daughter and I were thinking about lunching in the area, it came to mind. Tempo is a cute diner on the corner that serves up great breakfasts and is good for late evenings too. We had sandwiches that come with one of their soups (yummy) and fries. (Also good) Our waitress was sweet and service was excellent. I heard that the owner passed recently so I'm glad they're still there.

Tempo is very consistent. Always enough food for a fair price. Omelette are huge and fluffy. BLTs are the best in the city.

I got takeout from here so I'll need to come back to the get the full ~ experience ~ but the pickup order was really easy and they were very fast with getting the food made. The portion size itself was huge and they gave bread and jelly on the side too! Food itself was so yummy but nothing too crazy to rave about! Excited to come back and try it out another time

Seems like a very popular spot. Lots of people waiting, but the service was awesome and fast What we ordered: Turkey Reuben: Very yum! Lots of flavors, and I love the open-face format. It was not overly saucy, and the sauerkraut flavors were strong Poor Man's Skillet: tasted okay. The eggs were a little bit too cooked for our liking

I've lived in Chicago for the past 3-4 years and this was my first time at Tempo! I've heard incredible things so I had to give it a try. Tempo is your casual weekend brunch spot but ELEVATED. Luckily on Saturday morning we didn't have much of a wait, but you can definitely expect there to be one most weekends. Use their website to see what the wait times are! All their ingredients from their bread, vegetables, meats, and especially their homemade marmalade and salsa were fresh and full of flavor. My aunt got their fresh squeezed orange juice and she couldn't get enough of it! I decided to customize my own skillet and it did not disappoint. Simple, but executed to a T. They have these hashbrowns that are sliced potatoes? So good. I'll most definitely be back for what on my wish list (everything on the menu). Warning: salsa has a little heat to it!

Before you order the omelette, know it's a huge portion! Delicious and fresh ingredients with lots of Gluten free/Friendly options on their menu. Great servers with a cute patio area. Loved having brunch here and would recommend to anyone.

Kid and family friendly. Comfortable booth seats and other tables with cushioned seating. The staff are very sweet and welcoming. We had the veggie skillet $17 which had fluffy eggs and plenty of vegetables. It was tasty and not salty. The fries (substitute w home fries that came w skillet for $1.50 extra) were nice and hot and mushy in the inside w a thin layer of crispy on the outside. They have their own orange marmalade to add to the fluffy and fresh sesame bordered bread. I love the bread! I love all the sesame seeds! The decor is warm and inviting w plenty of windows and lighting. It's right at the corner of State and Chestnut. Overall a pleasant experience and would return.

This restaurant was recommended to us for their brunch selection/menu selection. The menu offers a very large selection from sandwiches, skillets,pancakes and salads. They even have special for the day that you can ask for. I want to start off with saying on a Saturday it will be a wait so come prepared. There is a paid parking garage to park at which is way easier than trying to find parking on the street. On to the important part of the review, we ordered the poor man's skillet, eggs Benedict and FRESH orange (amazingggg). I can't wait to bring my family back to this place. Service was great, it is a busy place and loud so be prepared along with the wait time. It is worth the wait!!! No complaints Con: parking ( they do validate for the garage and it's actually cheaper 10 dollars for 12 hours) Ps: there is a yelp waitlist

We came here as a party of 2 smack dab in the middle of the à Chicago marathon weekend. I added my name to the Yelp waitlist about 30 minutes in advance (and was very grateful that we did, because Tempo Cafe was PACKED) with folks carb-loading to run and their friends and fellow runners. While it was my first time here, I don't think it is this packed on a typical Saturday morning, but I could be wrong! They had outdoor seating set-up, but the weather was too chilly to sit outside. With our names on the waitlist, by the time we arrived at Tempo, we only needed to wait another 15 minutes before our name was called for a table. This cafe seems locally owned, and in addition to some classic breakfast/brunch items and sandwiches, it boasted some specialty Greek dishes as well. Their marmalade is house made and their servers worked as quickly as they could on a bustling morning. Service was friendly and prompt! We ordered: Iced latté Drip coffee Double shot of espresso Poor Man's Skillet Bacon & Egg Sandwich with a side of hash My order was the iced latte and the bacon & egg sando. I added American cheese to the scrambled eggs and a side of hash browns which was delicious! I realized all the ingredients on my plate would also make for a good BLT, so I ordered a side of mayonnaise and basically turned my meal into two: cheesy scrambled eggs with hash browns, and then a BLT with lettuce, tomatoes, and a pickle slab. It was a win-win with a mix of breakfast and lunch items, and I was proud of myself for this creative transformation-of-a-meal. My husband ordered the Poor Man's Skillet which was probably named in a saucy way - it was more like a skillet meant for royalty! Your choice of 3 eggs cooked your way on a mountain of hash browns, meat, and cheese. Get ready for a really hefty and unbreakable cheese pull. The energy here during Chicago marathon week was so fun! Busy, exciting, full of anticipation. Their staff managed the crowds well. I hope all the runners had a good race. I enjoyed the meal here, and it was a great stop before walking around in the neighborhood to do some shopping. We needed to walk off that heavy meal afterwards. I am a fan! I'd come back to try more of their lunch items (sandwiches, soups, and salads) and their Greek items for dinner like gyros and their Greek salad! I'm on IG: @gratuitousgourmande

Tempo on a Sunday is my vibe! The turkey club and steak fries come with a cup of cream of chicken soup and are so yummy!

The food and service are excellent! A great value in the city in the Gold Coast area. Super good for breakfast. Good at all mealtimes-a great traditional diner and worth a visit. Outdoor patio is a great amenity. Excellent price performer, especially for the area.

The location is optimal! Great spot to sit outside and people watch on a Saturday afternoon. The food was good, nothing blew me out of the water but I also wasn't disappointed. So solid. They are very attentive and you will never have an empty coffee cup if you're someone who needs more than one cup in the morning.

Cute little restaurant in chicago. I was in chicago for a "vacation" and went here because I was craving an omelette at 2 pm and every restaurant around the area stopped serving breakfast food after 11-12. This place is honestly very basic inside and my waitress wasn't really that nice but the omelette was good so yeah. I dont think ill be back because I'm in michigan but I would recommend this place if you want a good omelette.

Nice little diner style restaurant. The coffee was good and they have a decent sized menu. The staff was very nice and worked together efficiently- it was impressive to watch them actually. I had the avocado toast because that's what my son wanted. It was okay, not the best I'd ever had but passable. The eggs were cooked nicely. My husband had a short stack with eggs and a side of bacon. The bacon was pretty good but I didn't love the pancakes.

The service and atmosphere were good. However I did not like the taste of the food. I may go next time to try something else.

Stopped by for breakfast and it didn't disappoint! Our server was friendly and quick. Food came out fresh and fast. I forgot to take a picture but we even had leftovers to take back to the hotel. We tried 4 different items and loved them all!

I ordered breakfast on Uber Eats and I got the morning glory waffles. I love that it was a cute flower shape and it also tasted really good!

Great service and good selection of food! Fresh squeezed OJ was delicious. The homemade salsa was fresh and flavorful.

The service was great fast and friendly. The ambiance was relaxing and get place to meet friend for a quick brunch. Breakfast is served all day. The food was full of flavor . I will go again.

This is a very casual brunch place. It's often crowded so that explains its popularity. They have tons of seating. This place reminds you of an old school American diner. The servers are very friendly. They always have great recommendations and are extremely sweet. We tried the avocado toast, spinach omelette, hot tea and latte. All were great with huge portion sizes and a typical American diner style preparation. I'll highly recommend this place, especially for a casual brunch.

Good food! Large portions, good vibes ¨ Server was nice, despite how busy it was. I got the skillet which was great!

Food is horrible! Tempo you could do better! Only thing I ate was cole slaw which they prob buy from somewhere.

Pro tip - join the Yelp waitlist before you get there! Wish I would've known this and avoided 15 min wait in the crowded restaurant. However, the wait was worth it! I have been wanting to try this breakfast spot for a while now, and this chilly Sunday was the perfect day to do so. We were starving and ordered lots of food and bottomless coffee right away. Service is quick and to the point - no frills about it. The breakfast menu is slightly confusing because I couldn't tell the difference between the omelet, scrambler, and skillet - all sounded similar in menu descriptions. I went with the veggie skillet, eggs scrambled, added bacon, and this was delicious. Absolutely hit the spot, and I scarfed it down so quickly. Our apple stuffed pancakes (STUFFED is brilliant!) were so divine and a perfect dessert for our breakfast. French toast was tasty too! The coffee helped all of this deliciousness go down smoothly. I had to roll myself out of this establishment after our heavy meal, and it was perfect. It is slightly pricier than your average breakfast diner/restaurant though, but the big portions and tastiness make up for it!

This place was recommended to us for Sunday brunch while we were in the city this weekend. There was a long wait outside the restaurant so we thought it was going to be great. Once seated, our server came over and we placed our order right away since it was so busy. I ordered a cappuccino and it was nice and frothy. I ordered a short stack of pancakes with a side order of bacon, and my husband order the chilaquiles. We waited forever to be served. Our server felt so bad that she brought us a couple slices of toast because it took so long... and still we waited and waited. It was really ridiculous. My short stack of pancakes was delicious. My side of bacon was not as very crisp even though I requested crisp bacon. My husband's breakfast was not good. Instead of serving the chilaquiles on tortilla chips as is customary, Tempo served it on hash browns. It was an overeasy egg on hashbrowns with salsa and cheese. The best part of chilaquiles is the tortilla chips as is customary in that dish. Tempo totally missed the mark on that one. I won't be back to this restaurant. It wasn't worth the long wait to get seated followed by the torturous long wait for our food and then how they missed the mark on one of our breakfast orders. Disappointing.

This was a great surprise! GF options! Healthy portions! Delicious and fresh! Highly recommend!

Quick service and cozy atmosphere for breakfast or lunch. Located in the Gold Coast area of Chestnut and State. We had a late breakfast and the food was great. Check out the dessert display inside next to the cashier and try the moist chocolate cake to die for !

The food was really good. The restaurant got busy quick so get there early! Highly recommend!!!!!

Clean restaurant, Quick service, Delicious Breakfast skillets. Large and plentiful, full of flavor, fresh crisp vegetables delicious protein options, eat half today and enjoy the leftovers tomorrow morning for breakfast. I'm sure you will enjoy your meal. Bon appétit.

Best egg scramble ever!! Staff was super nice and the service was quick. The food was also delicious and gave HUGE portions. Also loved the outside seating. Will be back ! EDIT- SADLY I spoke too soon. I have to take it down from 5 stars to 2 stars due to the fact I was SO sick after eating here...

Excellent outside seating streetside. Enough space from next table. Service was fast and kind. The avocado toast was exceptional.

Chicago, you can do better then this... Eggs Benedict with some barely poached eggs. Lox bagel with no cream cheese served on a bed of old brown lettuce. What they lacked in cream cheese on the bagel, they made up for with mayonnaise on the club sandwich - wow there was a a freaking ton of mayo on that puppy. And last but not least, those aren't hash browns - those are boiled saltless potatoes.

Excellent food here! Service was fairly swift despite how busy it was. (We went Saturday around 11:30am, very busy) if you go around this time be sure to join the waitlist early, we waited an hour to be seated. Be aware a lot of the food is a la carte, pancakes not included as a side. Sat inside, nothing special as far as decore. Was a little loud inside but not too bad. Server was nice and quick.

tempo is always a great breakfast, brunch or lunch. I am a fan of the eggwhite scrambler, the Gold Coast omelet is a favorite with my family, Service is always great!

I came here right after checking into my hotel since it was conveniently a few blocks away. It was a comfortable place to have a post-travel meal. Very cute interior with Illinois posters on the walls. Service was fantastic and food arrived about as quickly as it took me to decide what to order. Servers are very diligent about refilling coffee. I ordered a scrambler with tomato, spinach, and feta which came with hash browns and raisin toast. Everything was fresh and delicious. Prices are a great deal considering the portion sizes. I'd definitely come back here if I happened to visit the Gold Coast area again.

Gluten free waffle was good. Wouldn't order anything else though. Wasn't good and friend had to send their food back. Bad service. Not worth the trouble to find parking here.

Great spot for a quick breakfast. The orange juice is freshly squeezed, the wait is not as long as some of the nearby restaurants and the breakfast is delicious. I especially like the waffles. You can get them with a fresh fruit topping, or if you're feeling like you want to indulge you can add ice cream and whipped cream!

We stopped here for breakfast one morning because it had some decent reviews and was very close to our hotel. 1. Atmosphere: Very busy diner vibe. Which actually helped to perk us up that morning. 1 Star 2. Service: As stated above, it was busy, but our waitress was quite attentive to our needs. 2 Stars 3. We went with Huevos Rancheros and a Scrambler Skillet. Both were decent. Salsa could definitely have been better and the skillet was a tad undercooked on the veggies. Overall though it was ok. 1/2 Star Overall: 3.5 Stars. Ok place for a quick pick me up breakfast. ------------------------ 1 Star-Wouldn't let my dog eat here 2 Star-Below average-usually something really struck me as being bad and I doubt I would ever return. 3 Star-Average-Might come back. Might not if there are better options. 4 Star-Above average-will definitely come back and try something new. 5 Star-Phenomenal-Will definitely return for such an amazing experience.

Our server was very friendly and took the time to answer all of our questions. The food was tasty and warm, we also got unlimited coffee refills. Their outside patio is great, I would recommend to sit there during the warmer days!

Food is good. Service varies depending on the staffs mood but overall I would recommend. Typical breakfast offered, you can't go wrong with any selection. Coffee was also good!

I used to live near Tempo! Love the staff! Love how Tempo makes an oasis in a large city like Chicago. I just paid $30+ dollars to have a turkey club delivered. No potato wedges aka French fries were included. Furthermore- The spoonful of slaw was an insult Also I received a salad that I NEVER ordered and paid for it!!! I think the worst part was the burned bread on the Turkey Club-completely was scraping your mouth!!!! This used to be a great place-

Bistros...they for skinny hoes...I can't eat a full meal at one of those ... you need to eat at the Tempo...F$ck it up at the Tempo! Pancakes! Strawberry French toast! Omelets in a skillet! Perfectly cooked bacon! Coffee flowing!!! Cholula at my fingertips. This place is the best for a gorgeous breakfast.

Easy parking either on street or they validate at a lot. Old school diner with old school service. The menu items vary but the kitchen needs much help. Everything was under seasoned and I sent back a plate for being ice cold. They need to take more care of the quality of food their pushing out. Way overpriced.

Landed in Chicago and went for a walk in search of a diner experience. Happy to have come across Tempo as I promptly ordered some corned beef hash and eggs. The food was excellent, served hot and bountiful in providing this dear traveler what he needed: comfort food. Service was excellent and the fresh OJ and home made jam on toast was excellent as well!

I met a friend for breakfast the other weekday and was glad to see a bustling restaurant. This classic diner offers great breakfast options and terrific lunch choices. Portion size is alway generous - enough for a second meal at home. I love the veggie omelette that sits on a bed of potatoes. There is always a ton of veggies and the potatoes are cooked to perfection. This visit I ordered the veggie skillet. The veggies were cooked into the potatoes with scrambled eggs on top. The same tasty ingredients just rearranged a little. Sometimes after work, I'll stop in for a side salad with the homemade red wine vinaigrette and a side of steak fries. Yum! Service is fantastic. I'm always greeted as soon as I walk in. The ladies who assist me are friendly, efficient and professional. I always feel well cared for during my meals. The prices are on point for great diner food in the heart of the Gold Coast and is my go to stop for casual meals.

Went here for breakfast and had the scrabbled egg skillet and was not disappointed! Very large portion and very tasty and cooked perfectly! Didn't love the vanilla latte but was a 6/10 for taste. Service was friendly and quick.

Great food & customer service My husband & I come alot here to eat . You get the best food for your buck !!