Cafe Monsivais

What a gem! Scrumptious, interesting, very veggie-​friendly menu. Speaking with the owners about the ingredients and preparation, you know everything is made with a gourmet’s palate – for a reasonable price. The shrimp pozole blew me away – I now want fried tortillas with everything. And bottomless coffee! Come on!

The tea was delicious and our vegan bean soup and molletes were good!
They served mine with vegan cheese which was delightful.

I was in Pilsen (I’m almost never even in Chicago City proper) attending the Dia De Los Muertos Celebration & Exhibit at the National Museum of Mexican Art. So I
researched a place to enjoy lunch, — with the Mexican theme of the day. This little darling gem was perfect for me and my Family (Pescatarian /​Vegetarian — even Vegan w cheese alternative, btw).- and small, owned by the chef, personalized service. AND Absolutely Delicious! — so delectable I didn’t even snap more pics!
Enjoy! :-)

This is by no means my full review, but I will start by exhorting the readers to try it! This place is so delicious!

Really exceptional food. My two roommates and I went on a Tuesday night and had the whole place to ourselves. I had the nopal (cacti) with a red sauce; one roommate had butternut squash crepes; the other had grilled chicken: all were delicious. Service was quick, and we each got a complimentary dish of corn. For the quality, the menu (~$ 15 for an entrée) is quite reasonable.
Also: BYOB was a plus. I will definitely be coming back here.

You will love it. The atmosphere is a little different, and the wait is a little longer than you would expect. But everything is worth it once you try the food

This place was a delightful surprise. A real neighborhood restaurant, with staff who are local artists that greet you like old friends. The chef comes out to greet you and provides recommendations, as well as periodically checking up on you to ensure you are fully satisfied.
The dishes are creative, respecting the Mexican heritage of the neighborhood but also adding new ingredients and flavors to traditional dishes. I had the chile relleno, which was delicious and had very fresh ingredients. I also had the soup of the day, which was a cold corn soup and it was excellent.
The place is very casual– no printed menus. Artwork from the local gallery adorn the walls. We brought a couple bottles of wine, which made it a full meal. Highly recommended!

Walked in an early Saturday evening and was pleasantly greeted by the server and introduced to the chef who went through the menu with us describing all of that day’s menu items, all of which sounded amazing. I chose the salmon entrée while my friend chose the Chile nogada. Even though there were a couple of appetizers that I wanted to try I was not sure of my appetite. Was pleasantly surprised when we were each treated to a sample of a fresh corn salad with cherry tomatoes and queso fresco in a vinaigrette. Was delicious. The Bridgeport sparkling coffee was great and the unsweetened iced green tea was refreshing with a slice of grapefruit and local honey. My salmon was cooked perfectly, served on a bed of jicama and cilantro with quinoa. My friend had the Chile nogada which was stuffed poblano peppers with steak served with a kale salad and pumpkin purée. Was also very good but he enjoyed so much he did not really care to share too much. Definitely gourmet at a great price, cozy atmosphere, friendly chef and staff. Will be going back the next chance I get. Highly recommend!

What a find! Delicious food and BYOB. The coffee rubbed chicken was tender, juicy with hidden surprises of peaches and eggplant. The Chile Nogata with poblano pepper stuffed with beef and apples, pears peaches, raisins and almonds is a must have. Katie is the former head chef at Mundial.

This place has an interesting menu! Everything is very well elaborated! Nice combination of flavours. We had the chicken crêpe and spinach and apple salad which were the specials today. For desert we had the strawberry goat cheese crêpe! Everything was tasty and good presentation as well. The place has a European/​modern atmosphere.
We were served by the owner and was fenommenal. The only inconvenience was the a/​c was not working! And it is a hot day. But the food made it right! Hoping this place stays in business, it is one of the best of this area in the middle of a bunch of Mexican places. !

I’m working my way through the menu and every dish has been great so far (quiche, lentil crepes, Taiwanese noodle salad). Glad they have vegetarian options. This is my favorite place in Pilsen.

Interesting and impressive food. I hope this place stays in business. The chef is so sweet too.

I was walking by and super hungry and while there was no one there and it looked kinda closed… I went in anyway.
The Chef/​owner Katie greeted me kindly and told me what she had to drink… no sodas here btw. I had a nice iced tea.
The menu is quite international and incorporates a variety of vegetables. Lots of Mexican inspired dishes. But it’s refreshing to know they have vegetable inspired Mexican dishes too.
I chose the quiche of the day and a side kale salad. So good. The salad was dressed with strawberries and sunflower seeds and other ingredients. The quiche was fantastic and flavorful. Felt very homemade.
I really want to go back and try more.

I cook professionally and consider myself an artist of sorts. Because of my time around food, im very particular and choose to eat at home mostly. However, on my off days i find myself at Café Monsivais. The staff always greets you warmly and the food is always made with love and the freshest ingredients.
The menu is subject to change, and its always exciting to experience their play on flavors and textures. I recommend the Octopus tartine, Shrimp Pozole. I also just had a Salmons dish with peach (?) jam chocolate and kale — Awsome!

I’ve been wanting to come here for a while especially since I heard that one of the owners used to own Café Mundial (RIP) which was amazing and BYOB. Well, I wasn’t disappointed. Café Monsaivis is a quaint quiet place where you can go for a very nice meal that has simple but quality ingredients that won’t break your piggy bank. It’s also BYOB, which I plan to use for dinner the next time I go. The owners are very nice and friendly and go all out to make you comfortable and serve your food. This is a very low key restaurant and everything is made to order so don’t expect to get your food order immediately. Still it’s worth the wait. I took my son and he said it was the best. See for yourself.

We stopped at Café Monsivais on a rainy Sunday afternoon. This place is not your average Mexican cuisine. You will not find here tacos, burritos, nachos…
But what you will find here — great authentic Mexican dishes that are made from scratch and fresh ingredients.
Mostly vegetarian food and glucose free.
I had the soup of the day that was made out of fresh zucchini, tomatoes, kale and other vegetables with some nice spices. Mmm — it was delicious. Also had Estilo Sinaloa — the homemade tamale Sinaloa style.
Great service by friendly staff that are also owners of this place.
We will definitely be back!

Just had an early dinner here and was blown away at the quality and flavor of the food. We had the soup of the day, quinoa salad and, chicken mole sandwich with tip for $ 30! One of the standouts was the dressing on the side salad, which I know sounds strange but man it was delicious.
Really diverse menu with good options for for meat eaters and veg. And it’s BYOB!

Went to Café Monsivais today with my almost 9-​month-​old. It’s no easy feat to wrangle a baby by myself and eat at the same time, but we felt welcomed here.
The menu was surprisingly upscale but the prices were the same as the pupuseria down the street. I ordrered a chili-​and-​cinnamon-​inflected hot cocoa, and savored that while my gratinee oignon order went to the kitchen. i also ordered the huitlacoche crepes.
Everything was delicious and presented in a cute, homey way. I’m not a vegetarian, but the mushrooms mixed with the blue corn were robust, juicy, and very umami. There was a nice side salad of apples, grapes, and greens that partnered the crepes. The French onion soup was almost as good as the one they serve at Le Creperie up on Clark (which is, for my money, the best French onion soup in the States).
Chef Katie, it turns out, used to run Mundial Cocina Mestiza across the street. Fans of Mundial NEED to know that Monsivais is the reincarnation of that beloved spot. Service here was very friendly, very pleasant. I brought home a crêpe for my husband, which he loved, so we’ll definitely be back very soon.

Love, love this place! It’s named for the famous Mexican political writer, Carlos Monsivais. The food is fancy and delish– but reasonably priced. I’ve tried the huitlacoche crepes and the crab tinga crepes, and both dishes were wonderful. They serve Bridgeport coffee, of which I inevitably end up drinking multiple cups.
The owners are friendly, warm people. Chuy is an amazing font of knowledge on art, literature and politics. Happy that amidst all the recent gentrification in Pilsen, this café is Latino-​owned and serves Mexican-​influenced dishes. That said, the clientele is diverse and all are welcome.

Vegetarian review:
This is my second visit here with two weeks. The food is made with 100% heart and soul from the owner/​cook. This spot is new and had some incredibly intricate flavors on the menus… vegetarian options that will blow your mind.
The food is crazy high end, using fresh quality ingredients you’re used to seeing in spots like Karyn’s on green… but a fraction of the price.
Business seems slow here. Unilocalers, let’s show this place some love.
And yes, there’s plenty of meat options as well.