TrueNorth Cafe Hyde Park

The atmosphere and service is really good however the drink I ordered (hot chocolate) did not taste like much so I was pretty disappointed. My sister got a latte which tasted better so I feel the drinks were a hit or miss. I also got the pesto sandwich and that was pretty tasty but also very small.

Great interior design, but food was underwhelming for a lack of better words; I order the vegetarian breakfast sandwich with a lavender cardamon iced coffee. Terrible quality sandwich way too salty bread tasted like cardboard and coffee tasted burnt no flavor whatsoever. Extremely disappointed

Delicious tacos! The cook demonstrates great customer service and has a good energy. The place could be cleaner though. Menues, tables, and chairs looked and felt gritty. Customer service to whoever was upfront was poor. Didn't seem interested. Gave off bored energy. No smile. So, 3.5 stars out of 5.

The atmosphere and service were good, but the coffee and sandwich were some of the most underwhelming and disappointing I have ever had unfortunately. I hate to say it but the coffee was just straight up bad…

I like their tacos and bagels (blueberry with egg and bacon). Iced Latte with vanilla shot is good. They offer smoothies too, which is rare in this area. But most of flavors have mints. As someone who doesn’t like mint, I usually order mango one.

COFFEE: This has become my favorite coffee shop in Hyde Park offering locally roasted, very reasonably priced delicious quality coffee. Thank you TNC for not overcharging your customers. SERVICE: Samaya, Kailey, Zara all ladies who have gone above and beyond for me on different visits here. I am particular and these ladies have always been accommodating. A few times I called in last minute asking for a quad right before close. Samaya, Zara and Naomi all took care of my last minute order. This is how business should be done. Serve the customer to the very last minute until close. And customer’s thank them by tipping them for it! I came in last week and witnessed the owner calibrating the espresso machine. I was excited to see the care and respect put into bringing us a quality product. I waited while he calibrated and it was worth the wait. I also had a pleasant exchange with the owner and shared with him the stellar customer service I’ve experienced on multiple visits from multiple staff members. FOOD: I recently tried their Freakin Vegan tofu sandwich. It gave me sloppy Joe/pulled pork sandwich vibes. I would have liked a bit more of everything on my sandwich. Veggies, tofu, sauce. The bread took over the sandwich a tad, but I still thoroughly enjoyed my sandwich. I know to order with extras next time. Looks like the majority of the bad reviews are old and the owner has turn this place around because I’ve experienced nothing, but good vibes here. 🤎✨

Went once last summer and got a green smoothie, it was alright but the texture wasn’t the smoothie texture that you would expect. Just tried to visit again this past weekend 20 mins before closing and the kitchen was closed. Smh I don’t know if this is policy or employees but it’s disappointing that they would close the kitchen up early when most of the food is simple food. I will not be back. There are several other restaurants nearby that won’t turn your dollars away.

Great place to get your caffeine fix in the area no matter what kind of coffee you prefer- Straight black strong coffees to gentle lattes with subtle flavors. Their breakfasts sandwiches made on English muffin are perfect (especially if you have a hangover) and very reasonably priced. The seats aren’t super comfortable but they more than make over for it with polite staff and prompt service.

Beautiful local shop for coffee and pastries, a place you could hang out and enjoy. I wish we had something like this in the Loop, it's an old school cafe/coffee shop like they used to be. I got some takeout coffee and it kept me going the rest of the afternoon.

This place was nothing like I had expected, and yet exceeded all expectations. I'm not a breakfast person usually, but coffee is important to a nice start to my day. I planned a bachelorette party and included this as the beginning of our day to caffeine up and if anyone wanted to eat something before walking and touring the city all day. The cafe was open fully with a bar area of seating close to the side walk but not jutting out, and had a counter to order from with menus everywhere from the walls to signs on the counter to paper copies laying around and easily available. Our barista was nice and wonderful with assisting us with the plethora of allergies our group had, even when the banana and walnut allergic bride wanted a blended drink- they got her what she wanted and safely. All of the drinks were amazing, I had an almond joy iced latte and absolutely loved it. The breakfast food is honestly where this place really shines- and for a simple reason. Everything tasted so homemade and fresh. It tasted like I went back there and made it myself, and as someone who can usually cook better food than most places I've eaten at, it was refreshing to get such a tasty sandwich. Although I usually don't get hungry til 2pm, that sandwich hit every spot it needed to and left me drooling and craving another. If you want a good breakfast sandwich and a lot of options in your morning drink with top notch service and some inside seating, then this place is for you. If I was a local, I'd 100% make this my daily coffee shop after the experience we had. If you're just visiting, make sure you swing by and start your day right with True North Cafe in Hyde Park.

i really like how the front of the place is totally open, and it's very spacious inside. not too crowded, so it seems like a good place to come here and do work vs the other super crowded cafes in hyde park. i got the mae wilson sandwich, and it was good but a bit too expensive for what it was in my opinion. i can def see myself coming back to try a coffee/some pastries though!

I went here to grab a quick sandwich and smoothie. The customer service was great. The food was prepared and came quickly. The restaurant and bathrooms were clean. I ordered the strawberry shortcake smoothie hoping for a rich and creamier smoothie. I could not taste the whey powder or yogurt, and it tasted like coconut milk was used instead of almond. I tried the freakin vegan sandwich which was a decent, unique and tasty sandwich. I would recommend larger servings of sandwiches for the price paid. The coffee menu looks great. Next time I will try the coffee.

While walking down the street looking for a place to have a late lunch, we found the True North Café. We read the menu posted in the window and we were hooked. We went inside and were warmly greeted by a young man. We further perused the menu, and after a recommendation we selected our choices and he told us our order would be delivered to our table. We both ordered turkey sandwiches. Hers was the Turkey Pesto sandwich on a Panini and mine was the Mae Wilson served on toasted sourdough with bacon and guacamole. Both sandwiches were absolutely delicious. The turkey was obviously fresh sliced deli, perfectly folded in Artisan bread with guacamole and bacon cooked perfectly. The atmosphere can be described as welcoming with a hipster vibe. Several youngish patrons (I am 70 so I guess numbers are relative) were absorbed in their computers which made me think that WiFi was free. We are visiting from out of state however if we lived here, this would definitely be a place we would frequent.

Good place next to Medici that's a little better to be honest. It has a kind of cafeteria feel to it but it's certainly better than cafeteria quality. TrueNorth is pretty popular among UC faculty and students. Just going here is enough to make you feel smarter and act like you know everything. Prices are kind of high on some things but it's expected because of the location and there's lots of organic ingredients used in things. Came here with a friend because Medici was too busy like any morning. It was still busy here but not as much. This is set up cafeteria style. Long tables with lots of chairs. We got smoothies. It's $6.25 for the regular. These are made with top notch organic stuff. I had the Blueberry Coconut. This is made with agave, bananas, blueberries, chia seeds, coconut milk, and mint. As for food we each got a sandwich, and liked it. I had the Freakin Vegan. It's $10.45 for a too small sandwich, but it's so good. This is on a pretzel bun, and has baby spinach, peanut tofu, pickled red onions, and sriracha. It was a tasty bun. The peanut and sriracha flavors really helped the tofu. She liked her sandwich, and I would get that one the next time here. There's just too much good but it's too expensive to get a lot. Fairly happy with all we got here. It has some pretty healthy things like smoothies and sandwiches. The prices are the worst thing but these aren't even that bad truthfully.

I used to love this cafe, but I can't return anymore because of a middle-aged woman barista with dark hair and glasses who is constantly rude. Every time this barista is there, it is a very uncomfortable experience. She isn't friendly and seems to be annoyed at serving any customer. She seems to also arrive late, as the cafe is supposed to open at 7:30 AM, but she places a hand written note on the door of its delayed opening. Until she improves her customer service or she is fired, I won't be returning to this establishment. It is a shame how a single employee can defer repeat customers. If you want proper customer service, just head next door to Medici bakery, they serve coffee there too without the terrible customer service.

The food was pretty good and affordable. The service was great and very quick. The ambiance was very nice, cozy and quiet in the morning.

Nice little student-run place. It isn't fancy, but their coffee was fine (Metropolis).

Late post Yesterday, my colleague and I ordered lunch from here. Everything on the menu looked so good and we had a hard time deciding, but in the end, decided on the Godfather sandwich. It came with a bag of potato chips. We were glad we chose this sandwich because it was delicious. We will definitely be back!

I stopped by TrueNorth for a coffee earlier today. I ordered the pumpkin pistachio latte with oat milk and it was so so good. The pistachio notes were a bit stronger than the pumpkin ones but the combination proved a perfect drink for a fall day. Also, the drink was around $4.50, very reasonable as similar drinks would cost around $5-6 at other coffee shops. I want to come again to try their food.

I'm sure it's hard being the neighbor to a very established block resident (Medici). However, the lattes are better and the service is nicer here at True North. There are lots of options for coffee beverages but the speed of service varies greatly. If you have someplace to be or have anxiety about confrontation (asking where your order is) this place might not be for you. The coffee is better than next door and honestly the service is way more polite.

(Belated review from July 2023.) I can recommend the tasty sandwiches, smoothies, and the chocolate muffin.

Got a rose lavender latte here. It was more rose than lavender. Service was friendly and prompt. They appear to have a huge food menu as well.

Great cafe. But staff is rude. I had a busy morning and was indecisive of what to order. Medici is next door and I mentioned to the woman at the counter I was going to check them out before deciding. As I was talking to her she completely disregarded me and turned towards her coworker as I was in mid sentence. In case you don't know, this is rude. And will influence my choice of ever going back here. Although there is no excuse to be rude to someone, the prices for a smoothie is too expensive for anyone to not treat me with decency and respect. Do better.

Stopped in for a smoothie since I needed a little pre-lunch pick-me-up. I was not wowed by it. I got their Power Kick smoothie. It was really icy, mostly coffee-tasting with a little banana. I would have to go back to see if it was a one-off problem or a consistent issue. The person at the counter was friendly and helpful when I asked what was good, so that seems to contradict the comments from other reviewers that the staff is rude. Maybe y'all are being typical Chicagoans? You might try adding a little West Coast nicety to your tone and approach. :^)

This review is solely based on their smoothie drinks because that is the only thing I tried. I got the kale me maybe and I thought it tasted great! Very refreshing and filling. It was slightly expensive but it was a decent amount and full of fruits and vegetables. I would definitely come back and try some of their other smoothie flavors and maybe some food too!

Today was the straw that broke the camels back in frequenting this cafe. I've come here often and the reason was convenience only. Otherwise food is average and the customer service is subpar (as others have mentioned). Today I went to grab my husband and daughter lunch. Unfortunately I was met with the same typical unfriendly service that comes with ordering here - except today was worse! The worker I was unfortunate to encounter was a near middle-aged looking woman and had eye glasses and dark brown straight hair coming right past her chin. She was happy to treat me unkind and provide poor customer service to me because she was uncomfotable with me shifting my mask to make it fit better. I explained that the only mask I had was my daugthers and I understood her concern because of my asthma I too am an avid mask wearer. She continued to act rude and annoyed with my presence. Finally, after feeling very unwelcomed I asked her to cancel my order and proceeded to leave. She seemed happy, and gleefully said great! I turned around to express my concern at her behavior and she was quick to point out that there were cameras! Unreal! Shocked at why she even said that, I am requesting the owner please view the video and contact me so that we can discuss the vile treatment I received today (approx 11:50am 8/27) Luckily, Medici cafe was next door and the long line of satisfied customers had shortened so I went there to order my lunch! Grateful that Medici saved the day...

One good bagel and pretty good coffee. I haven't tried the other food, as the bagel is a solid bet. Pretty sure it's open for pickup only now that it's colder, but definitey worth stopping by for a quick breakfast/brunch. It's right next to campus and reliably good cold brew!

Great little cafe in Hyde Park. Good drinks and the staff is super friendly! Andy the owner is a great guy and incredibly helpful. Definitely give this place a try when you're in the neighborhood.

The place is super cute and has nice folks running the counters. Definitely informal but chic place to hang out, it's quiet. I came in for the s'mores cup topped with whip cream and marshmallows.

There's a middle aged woman with black hair and glasses that has awful customer service and takes criticism badly. ASK FOR YOUR RECEIPT AS SHE WONT TELL YOU YOUR TOTAL AMOUNT OR GIVE YOU A RECEIPT. I had to ask for my receipt and that's how I found out I've been charged for something under a different name. I let them know the drink I ordered was described incorrectly on my receipt and also charged as something I did not order. The staff person kept walking away and getting more and more frustrated, which honestly... says a lot. She even said that "things now are expensive and cost a lot so..." and said she'd only give me "half a refund" and complained I had drank half of my drink already! Just ridiculous. Her attitude was completely entitled and she reeked of scarcity. I will not be coming back here and will tell everyone to avoid going to True North.

Thought that every experience I had at Z&H over the past 2 years was crappy so perhaps this new place would be better. When I walked in, I figured, since it looked exactly the same, the service and speed would be better. Got to the counter and a really kind person took my order, okay, felt better. Ordered my chai latte and a bagel with butter. thought my chai would take 3 min (it did, hence the 2 stars) and then I proceeded to wait approx 8 min for my toasted bagel with butter. And wait. (mind you, there was no one else being served at the counter, no one). Got my bagel and left. Opened my buttered bagel at work to find the only butter on the bagel was on this tiny spot (see photo). The rest was just a dry toasted bagel. It was so disappointing and I do not plan to go back. Medici is my place!

The food and smoothies are alright, but definitely a little pricey for what they are. I do like the chickpea salad that comes with the sandwiches though !

This place is so expensive. The kale banana smoothie was good but nothing exceptional (could definitely make it myself) and was $7. Same goes for the pb&j smoothie. Neither was bad, but cannot justify spending $7 on a small smoothie :/ Also, the barista wasn't very nice either time I went. I asked for my smoothie extra thick, and it still came out very watery.

This place may have the same location and general appearance as its predecessor, Z&H, but do not be fooled by the resemblance. The sandwiches are curiously conceived, not that good, and too small to be filling. I'm sure it fills a niche for people looking for a coffee shop on this stretch of 57th st, but you shouldn't consider this a serious lunch destination.

The pistachio pumpkin latte is amazing, and the workers at this cafe are so kind. Highly recommend coming here!

Bagel was bad, the smoothie was mid and the cashier was rude and the food took forever.

Not as good as the previous Z&H - they kept some of the same sandwiches on the board but it's a whisper compared to what they were before. My morning treat would always be the Daniel Tamayo and they kept it on but changed the bread and also the onion sauce that it came with so I found it less than satisfying. Service is good and the cafe still has the same feel as before - maybe just skip the food

Met up with a friend for a quick bite around noon--fairly busy, inside tables were close together and occupied and on account of beautiful weather in the city today, we opted for outdoor dining. He had the vegan sandwich, I had the turkey sandwich--they were fine but nothing to write home about. I think my biggest beef was with the service. I had ordered a vanilla latte and stepped up to get it when the order was called out. It turned out that it was a Nutella latte not a vanilla latte (the mask muffled the words a bit) but I had taken a sip because well, I thought it was mine. Just then I heard "vanilla latte" and I realized I had taken the wrong one. I apologized profusely to the barista but the attitude I got in return wasn't warranted and they didn't try to hide their displeasure. You would've thought that I did something terrible based on their reaction. It's coffee...it can be replaced...there are certainly worse things that can happen. Service makes all the difference to me so I guess I'll go elsewhere in the future.

The sandwiches are really yummy! They also have good specialty coffees. Prices are okay.

I come here all the time. The drinks are amazing and so are the breakfast sandwiches. I also love the patio in the back - so cute. If you are looking for a good London fog latte or dirty chai, this is the place!! They also have great cappuccinos and lattes. I almost forgot the black and white cookies (literally heaven on earth)!

The short haired female cashier, as the other reviews said, was pretty cold (as in the type of rude that would deflate any good mood you're in) AND gave herself a tip without asking and without showing me the receipt. Wtf? Why should I tip a cashier for attitude and bad service? Ended up paying $9.35 for one of the kale smoothies. Try to pay with cash if you come here so they can't rob you blind -.-

There are too many globes. It's obnoxious. Why do they even have to have a theme - a good coffee shop should speak for itself without needing all the flashy gimmicks and half deflated saggy globe/grape bunches hanging from the ceiling. Not my cup of tea. Do you know what else is not my cup of tea - the blueberry iced tea. Somehow it is both too sweet and too tasteless: a masterpiece of inadequacy. Good job true north ! NOT ! Also why does everything cost so much money? A sandwich costs $10 and consists of a piece of bread and a slice of turkey. I honestly feel bad for the person who thinks chipotle aoli makes a sandwich exponentially increase in value. Here's some advice: just go to the med!! The sandwhich at the Med are better and cheaper than at true north and their americanos don't taste like water!! But I digress. True north is by no means the worst coffee shop I've ever been to, but it's also just not worth it.

Truly awful. Tried their Matzoh ball soup and sandwich combo that they were advertising. The soup was completely undrinkable - it was so salty and had no other flavor other than salt. The Matzoh ball had no taste whatsoever. Their sandwich was okay, but I paid $13 for it and you can get vastly better food in any of the 3 adjacent shops for less. On a previous occasion I tried their bagels and it was pretty bad too. Two strikes now. If you're coming here, the only thing worth getting is the coffee.

Out of last 3 orders 2 if them were wrong and also their baristas are not friendly giving drinks rudely. I used to go to True North in the North side since I lived by there, baristas see so nice there and drinks are amazing. I hope management will fix it, next time I get a wrong drink I am returning it right back!

Just ate their today! Friendly staff and a quick healthy meal to go

I've never left a negative Yelp review. I prefer to highlight good businesses and ignore less favorable places. But this place deserves its rating. The woman behind the counter was super surly. Passive aggressive hostile. Gave the vibe that every second I took to order was taking her away from something much better. Completely unpleasant experience,

Really nice service and good food! I think I had an iced lavendar mocha that I really enjoyed.

Come here if you want to eat the saddest salad in the world and have awful service. I don't know why a staple like Z&H went away, but I think it's very disrespectful to replace it with this place. I went there for lunch excited for a sandwich. I ordered a protein punch salad because it looked delicious. Instead I got a salad that looked extremely basic with a helping of guacamole. The cashier was texting as I waited to order. I was sitting outside and the bus boy brought me the dish for the woman next to me but never asked if that was mine, just put it in front of me. The salad itself was sub par and the chicken was dry. I didn't even finish it though I was very hungry. Asked for a lemon vinaigrette dressing and received Italian dressing. Overall, I don't recommend going here. Maybe the coffee is good, but I don't want to place any bets.

Nice staff, great selection, quick service! They even paid attention to my partner's allergies and went above and beyond during a busy morning to thoroughly clean out the blender between smoothies so that it wouldn't contain any traces of allergens. My favorites are the Strawberry Shortcake protein smoothie and the grilled cheese with tomato chutney. Delicious!

I'm surprised by the negative reviews. We had a great experience here. The person that took our order let us taste the cold brew coffee which was nice and tasty! We got 2 of those to go and then a breakfast bagel. The bagel did take some time ~10 mins but definitely worth the wait. Very fresh and delicious. We plan on going back! Great spot.

We placed our order and then sat to wait at a table. After about 45 minutes (we were immersed in conversation), we had still not received our food. Checking with the staff we were told they had "lost" our order. An order that was paid for including a 20% tip! The hostess went back into the kitchen to check and somehow "found" our order. When we asked how long it would be, she was extremely snippy and told us the kitchen was backed up. This of course after just about everyone else had been served, many of whom had already left the restaurant. When the meal finally came, one order was incorrect and had to be redone (a vegan received an egg sandwich with sausage). The other meal was disgusting. It was a soggy sandwich of sourdough bread, limp tomato, prefab egg and cheese (purportedly gruyere), that hadn't even melted on the sandwich. The smoothies were bland, with no discernible clear taste of any of the ingredients other than possibly the ice. There was no apology nor any attempt to make us feel that the staff was in any way sensitive to the unpleasantness of our experience.

Super disappointed with this place - quality has gone WAY down. Expensive, disorganized service and cafe set up. We ordered a godfather sandwich (used to be our favorite) and got a soggy sandwich on a stale Italian roll instead of baguette-mozzarella balls that tasted sour, and dried out cheap prosciutto. Super gross. Check yourselves, True North Cafe! You can do better.

Great eats and drinks. Love the new look in the shop and excited to see where it goes!

This place brought me nostalgia. If reminded me of the 8th grade cafeteria sandwiches that have bologna with crunchy spots. Ask for an extra squirt of mayonnaise!!

I really can't say enough good things about this place. Great food. Awesome coffee. Fun staff. The patio in back is perfect for a sunny day. The panini was cooked perfectly. The cortado was made with just enough milk. I could be in this place All Day.

The reviews prior make me wonder if we went to the same place! Had a great experience from friendly staff to delicious food with great ambience. Ordered the spicy tofu wrap, which was delicious and sizable....took one half to go, which the chef so kindly wrapped up after our meal. The chickpea salad that it came with is downright tasty and had us wanting to recreate it at home. I'm a cold brew fanatic, and theirs rivaled some of the best I've had, making me wish I went for the largest size rather than the medium. Planning when I can return next!

Good food and nice baristas. The place is clean and friendly. I like the giant chalkboard menu as well.