Bleeding Heart Bakery & Cafe

These guys have excellent vegan treats! Came balls are awesome! I love the double chocolate ones and Mexican spice ones. Brownie is great with banana accents and vegan dunes are great… If they aren’t sold out!

Will miss this bakery terribly!!! Please don’t go!!!

So surprised to see Bleeding Heart average at 3 stars. I eat here all the time and absolutely love it! Oh, Bleeding Heart, you complete me… I have yet to have anything here I haven’t liked (and, as I said, I eat here a lot). When someone is visiting from out of town, I recommend Bleeding Heart up there with Hot Doug’s and Kuma’s Corner as «can’t miss» eating spots. The staff is always very friendly and I love the décor, as well.
My specific recommendations: BRUNCH = Hibiscus pancakes. Hot pink, topped with glitter, and an amazing, fresh flavor I haven’t tasted anywhere else. Served with lemon curd, which makes them extra heavenly. DRINK = They have a coffee beverage called «The Dim,» which is a banana split mocha. Unbelievably good. I want one right now. CAKE = Red velvet cake balls. Incredibly moist and rich, I like to bring these to parties and they are always a hit. I’m actually not that big on cake, but I’ll never get sick of these. TO GO = If you don’t have time to stay and eat, there are plenty of yummy pastry options you can grab and go. I’m obsessed with the Punk Princess Donut, which is hibiscus flavored and filled with lemon filling. (Okay, that recommendation is a lot like the pancakes, I know. I’m also a big fan of the Take a Hike scones, which are flavored with trail mix. You can’t go wrong with the goat cheese and basil filled croissants, either.)
Still on my «to try list» is their large selection of gelatos, which are now available as milk shakes (Plus, the whoopie pies and fruit tarts look amazing, too). I am very sad to hear that Bleeding Heart is temporarily closed. Come back to me, Bleeding Heart! So sad. I might starve without you.

First Bleeding Heart was on Belmont, then on Chicago Ave., and now I hear they’ll be back somewhere else on Belmont? Are they severing the partnership with fifty/​50/​Roots? Not sure quite what’s going on there, but I decided to check this place out last weekend before they closed the colorful confines on Chicago Avenue.
Was very pleasantly surprised with the key lime cupcake and red velvet cakeball I ordered. I decided to belly up to read my paper and eat my sweets by the window where workers make sweets. Kind of like a cupcake zoo. I kind of liked that open feel to this place, the circus theme was a little creepy, and was also a little confused by the dining area. Seemed to be way too many things going on for just a bakery.
Hopefully, they’ll re-​focus on what they do best at their new location. Many happy months!

Yum!
I accidentally stumbled into Bleeding Heart while wandering about the area at West Fest. I saw a sign that said «Cake Balls», and I was drawn in like a fly toward honey.
I instantly whipped out my camera when I got to the bakery counter, in awe of the amazing array of baked goods. Everything looked tasty, and some items (a donut that included basil, cucumber sorbet, PB&J cupcakes, etc) were truly unique! I had a very difficult time choosing just one item to try (I am on an intern’s budget…)
I got the French Toast Cake Ball, and it was very delicious! A nice crunch on the outside, but quite smooth and chewy on the inside. It was a great little treat.
The décor was very cool, and with an outdoor seating area, this place is a great spot to bring friends! The service was pretty good, as well.
I will definitely be back to try some more treats!

Interesting place this is. Lots of vegan/​vegetarian options for breakfast. And TONS of sweet treats to choose from.
Cupcakes, cakes, cakeballs, whoopie pies, donuts, you name it they had it and all with a funky twist. I like the idea of designer whoopie pies and think someone in Austin should get on that, stat.
For breakfast my friend and I split one of the skillets, it could have easily fed three people. Which I guess makes up for the price which I thought was on the high side. The flavor, not so impressive. My friend’s vegetarian Toad in the Hole was good, I especially liked the tomato jam.
Afterwards, we tried one of their fancy donuts (a la Gourdough’s for my Austin people). The Death of John Waters is a maple glazed yeast donut sprinkled in whiskey infused bacon. Being a lover of all things bacon, I was expecting to heart this. I did not. Something about the taste of the whiskey was off-​putting.
Still, a colorful and interesting joint despite the few bumps I experienced.

Stopped in at this cute eatery/​bakery for a late lunch the other day. I really think the punk rock themed bakery is a neat idea. But my review is on their lunch. I had a tofu BBQ sandwich, it was not as good as expected, the fries also lacked that certain something.
I also wanted a beer with my meal, they handed me a drink menu, which featured 2 mixed drinks and 4 beers. They were out of 2 of the 4 beers, weird, right? The beer I ordered was okay, not remarkable ($ 6). For the cost of a liquor license, this place is a missed opportunity. Not impressed, won’t be back for lunch, but maybe something from the bakery in the future.

This review is just for the balls. The cake balls, that is.
Yes, for $ 1.50 a pop, you too can indulge in a variety of delightful cake balls. I purchased a sampling of them to (kinda) share with my fam. Here are the flavors I tried…
Red velvet: ³⁄₅: The cake is none too dry and offers a nice chocolately, velvet flavor. I’m a huge sucker for cream cheese frosting, so I kept thinking that this ball would be even more delicious if it was stuffed with said frosting.
Lemon almond: ⁵⁄₅: This ball was bombtastic. Lemony and fragrant with a nice almond texture on the outside. Yeah, buddy.
Peanut butter chocolate: ⁵⁄₅: Another super tasty cake ball. The chocolate cake is super rich and decadent and perfectly paired with the crunchy peanuts.
Double chocolate: ³⁄₅: Super sweet and almost a bit too rich for my blood. And that’s saying a lot. Regardless, if you’re a chocolate fanatic, you should probably give this one a go.
The décor inside the bakery is rockstar cute with plenty of tables to sit down and actually enjoy a meal. I’d be more than happy to roll back into Bleeding Heart for another set of balls.

I was curious about how this BHB would differ from the one that closed on Belmont.
SPACE!!! Lot’s of Space. I just don’t like going somewhere to eat and trying to be aware of not touching or bumping people. It makes me feel claustrophobic. I need room. This place is spacy, you will love it.
They have a downstairs where they have all the bakery goods and a HUGE upstairs. You can even bring your stroller upstair or downstairs. They even have a separate changing room for your baby if you need it. This is a HUGE plus for mommies. I know the owners have a few kids and thought this through when they were planning the set up of the restaurant.
Anyway, I was in the upstairs room because I was there with a large group of people. Of course, everywhere I go I must have the Chilaquiles. They could have been spicier, hence the name Chile in Chilaquiles. Chilaquiles is a dish that consists of shredded fried tortillas mixes with scrambled egg, chile and melted cheese on top. This dish came with beans. It’s mostly served or eaten as a breakfast entrée. It was delicious. I always eat half my meal and take half home for dinner but I could not this time. I devoured my chilaquiles and because they were not spicy at all I added the Red hot sauce that was on the table. Good stuff.
I had an iced latte with my food.
The servers were exceptional. They kept coming over to check on us but not over bearing. I really cannot wait to go back and take my friends and family.
Good work on the new Bakery! As good as it gets!

There should be a question at the bottom, «Good for hipsters.» My answer: Yes.
I had the 2−2−2−2. Two eggs, two bacon, two sausage, and two toast. Very plain. Then I got a huge chocolate donut with sprinkles all over it. I took one bite and wanted to punch someone. How dare you use vegan ingredients when making a donut. It was horrible.
Two stars because I was really hungry and I did leave satisfied.

This is a close friends favorite breakfast, coffee and hang out and do emails place… I hope she doesn’t read this. I met her for breakfast over the weekend.
Our service was great. I’m sure it had to do with them knowing my friend, but our server was so nice and energetic that I would assume she is that way with everyone.
Coffee is good. Food is ok. Lots of interesting options on the menu but from what I saw, a lot of it seemed uninspired upon presentation. I had the waffles which were good, just not memorable.
Overall– I would go back but I am not ready to make this my weekend breakfast go to spot just yet.

Went here to get an estimate on a wedding cake. Had to pay $ 25 for a tasting (which was the ONLY place we had to pay for). Our tasting consisted of four cupcakes, various frostings and fillings. No cake combos at all. No cake, period.
Flipped through the pages of cakes they had done for previous events. If you’re having a kid’s b-​day party or a heavily themed wedding, perhaps. But if you’re looking for elegance and sophistication… not so much. Cake pictures were bright, almost borderline obnoxious… and not one was wedding-​appropriate.
So, because of the reputation and location of Bleeding Heart I was expecting a pretty high estimate. But never received one. After 5 days. On the fifth day, I followed up, expressing my disappointment in their lack of timeliness. Two days later, I received an apologetic response… letting me know the manager had been traveling (she never mentioned this at the tasting). At this time, she also let me know she had ideas for British-​inspired cupcakes (my fiancé is from the UK) that the chefs were preparing. Ok… this generated my interest again. I told her we’d potentially order a few dozen cupcakes (the $ 25 you pay will be used towards a future order). Did she ever respond after that? Nope. Nothing. More than disappointed and wonder if, on my big day, had I gone with Bleeding Heart… would they have even shown up?
Since my experience, my cousin has pulled an uncover tasting, to which she thought the cupcakes were dry and overpriced.
I was ready to give them an order. I thought their monthly «inspired» cupcake list would’ve been a hit at my wedding. But customer service comes first… and customer service they lacked. Do not recommend if you’re looking for someone you can count on.

Quite possibly the cutest thing I’ve ever eaten was here at BHB. Lemon Hibiscus pancakes. They are pink! How adorable is that?! Aside from that, this place is quite nifty.
Love the classic diner feel + punky graffiti art + pastires = my new heaven.
Service was attentive. Food was delish (my pancakes were pink, did I mention that already? Yes? Sorry…) Be sure to check out their pastry case. I need to know what a $ 4.50 chocolate croissant tastes like. Please report back to me on that. The doughnuts looked awesome, with clever names, to boot. Also, need to return to test out this doughnut sandwich – eggs/​cheese/​meat btwn doughnuts? Um, yes please!

If we go out for lunch there’s a very high probability we are with Geoff and Ashley. This was no exception as they invited us to join them at the newly opened Bleeding Heart Bakery (new to West Town, original on Belmont). I’ve heard only good things so I was excited to check out the very colorful and large bakery and brunch spot. As with most sunday brunch places, Bleeding is very kid friendly and was a great spot for young Caleb to join us.
The menu is great with plenty of options up and down the menu from sweet to savory to lunchy and everything in between. I was in a sweet mood and ordered the pumpkin waffles with bourbon maple syrup. Erica ordered a veggie omelet, Ashley chose one of the many eggs benedict options and Geoff went with granola.
I really loved my waffles and the pumpkin flavors were perfect with the bourbon syrup. I was by far the first person to finish. That allowed me to graze on Erica’s plate and try some of the tasty potatoes and a bit of the omelet. It wasn’t my favorite omelet but I rarely order them anyway. No one else left any food so I assume my waffles were not the only delicious item consumed.
My first and only visit to Bleeding Heart was very good and one I would recommend to others as well as return. The bakery also looks great and could be a source for future baked goods. Just one more great brunch addition to the neighborhood.

Vegan Biscuits and Gravy — Wow. I was impressed. I’m not a vegan so I wasn’t sure what to expect but it was great. I had poached eggs with it which was perfect.
Coffee — Delicious. They get it from some place in WI and it’s very good.
Baked Goods — I’ve liked most of the treats I’ve tried — I think it’s hit or miss. I recommend the carrot tart or any muffins and scones. It’s nice to have vegan options but they have everything. Also, if they have fruit jellies that is by far one of my favorites.
Service — Always friendly. I’ve only eaten there once — usually just stop in for a treat and some coffee.
Atmosphere — Dinner with good rock music playing (low of course). Great laid back place to bring friends or family.
I’m so happy to have BHB back in Ukrainian Village! They are local, organic and can fit any diet.

Our group of 6 came here on a Saturday around noon and didn’t get seated until about 45 mins later, so plan accordingly! Not to worry, though, because there are a lot of things to look at while you’re waiting. First of all, the enclosed glass room off to the left is where they decorate cakes. You might catch Vinny Garcia in there! Secondly, there is a long row of display cases off to the right of baked goods for sale. The restaurant also has a punk rock /​retro feel, so it’s definitely not drab!
However, the food off the menu WAS drab. And portions were inconsistent. The $ 10 omelettes are small, but the $ 12 homemade corned beef hash (which was shredded corned beef and really tangy — not your typical corned beef hash) was large (easily 2 meals), and they were almost the same price. The fried chicken & waffles were $ 15 (and also was easily 2 meals). A little pricey for brunch, and I don’t think any of us loved anything we ate.
Word of advice: stick to the bakery cases
Food for thought: they are open til 11 PM (café) and 12 AM (bakery) on weekends

I am not a rock star. I don’t even dress like a rock star. I don’t have any tattoos, but I have paid for women to get tattoos. Well, who knows what cool is anymore, but this place seems very «cool» and yet unlike its Belmont parent it is actually a place that is fairly easy to get a seat, and easy to get a server to pay attention to you. I remember waiting and waiting in the little place on Belmont, then deciding to just leave and go somewhere else. Not here. The Chicago Ave. location is nearly perfect considering all the buzz and cool factor stuff going on with this place. Of course this could all change as 200 people try to go here every 15 minutes on Saturday and Sunday morning! I hope it stays like it is.
Yes, there is the rock star feel to the staff and many of the customers. Sexy women and men greet you at the door and the arm/​body ink is there to let you know that even if you did see the Sex Pistols way back when you are just an oldster and not a hipster, but no one shoved that in my face which is always cool — I don’t want to break a hip mind you.
What was shoved in my face was top notch customer service, and some amazing cake balls. I have to say I was so happy with my cake balls that I got a bunch more and ate them all up and only shared a few! Yep, I can’t wear my girlfriend’s pants, but really, when was that ever cool?
The mix of bakery selections seems to change and some are wonderful and savory options that offer nice contrasts in flavors. I imagined a giant pyramid of cake balls at a party! Sure it might cost you $ 200 but it would be quite an amazing contribution to any holiday gathering.
In the brunch crazy moment, I walked in on a Sunday and there was nearly no wait at about 1:30. This is pretty good compared to the insanity that forces me out to the few remaining true Chicago diners there are in the city — there were so many in the 1980s when Johnny Depp was on 21 Jump Street, but they are dying out.
So, if you expect to spend $ 10 for a complete brunch I would suggest some of the great mom and pop places on Paseo Boriqua (Division between Western and California). But, if you want some amazing bakery and coffee and want to give your friends the option to get food, go here, and bring some yummy bakery home. Who knows you might be cooler than you think you are. Or not. Any way it turns out, this place is a welcome addition to the village.
Welcome to the hood Bleeding Heart.

I decided to come back and give this place a second chance. I went for a donut. They have a beautiful display full of enticing donuts, so i figured maybe that was their specialty. FAIL! That was quite possibly one of the worst donuts i have ever had. Seriously, i have had 2 day old stale donuts that i have enjoyed more than the single donut i had there. And the thing cost $ 2.75!!! WTF!!! For one horrible donut?
The Fifty/​50 guys just ruined this place. RUINED IT!

I had food envy. It strikes when you least expect it! I glazed over the case like a donut get glazed freshly out of the oven! Everything looked oh so good! I was torn between the gelato and the brownie. I decided on the brownie.
And while the brownie was a delicious chocolate creation… the real winner was the cake ball my friend got. Apparently there’s a whole process with how they make them. All I know is that there a little ball of heaven! I was surprised at how sweet they were! There’s no way I could have downed 2 let alone 3. So keep that in mind when ordering those little treats!

This place secures your front seat ticket on the Diabet-​bus. For, it’s totally sweet.
Badass space, very open, awesome murals, nice view into kitchen and «baker’s corner».
You’ll go’nuts for their do’nuts and go balls to the wall for their cake balls (which were HUGE btw).
Mega brownie points for their mega dense/​moist/​sweet brownies. Head there now for some samples of these and top it off with a ‘nanner mocha coffee. Cause that sheet is b.a.n.a.n.a.s.
Hams down, the benedict arnold eggs benedict (poached egg, honkin ham slice, drowned in gravy on a biscuit) will not betray your taste buds.
Seems as though the staff needs to get into their groove a little more as far as service goes, but everyone was super nice. That’s my minus 1 star, but definitely don’t let that discourage you!