Caffe Baci

For sheer convenience, this is a good place to grab a quick lunch. I got their walnut apple salad, which I really enjoyed. Their soups on the other hand could definitely use some work. I was in the building recently for two days for business meetings. Both days I got the walnut apple salad. The first day I got a chicken corn chowder. Flavor-​wise, it was fine. However, it was not thick at all. I drank the soup, more than I «ate» it. The 2^nd day I got their butternut squash bisque. It was ok. For those days where you simply don’t want to fight the Chicago winters, having to eat in at a place like this will more than suffice.

Too few options if you have dietary restrictions. Portions are good sized, so you can’t leave hungry unless you have a tapeworm. I’d like to know why all the bottles of chianti, but they don’t serve it. Such a tease. Great for a quick stop off the metra/​el/​trip to the bean.

Café Baci’s weekday lunch operation is efficient; employees are super friendly; food is fresh and delicious.
Choose your station (salad, sandwich, hot entrée or pizza) and place your order with the person behind the counter, who is the one who will actually put your request together. Ordering from the same person who actually puts the food together is great; this process ensures any substitutions or changes you request will be honored. This is also the time you specify whether or not you want to order for dine in or take out.
If you need to order something from another station (i.e. salad and sandwich), just slide your tray on to the station move on to the next station. I ordered a grilled sandwich first, and while that was being prepared, I went to the salad station and had my salad made to order. You can get anything customized as your tastes dictate, but fair warning: They charge $ 1.00 extra for each additional ingredient.
After all your food is prepared and given to you, everything is paid for together at one of the registers found at the front and side of the restaurant (unless you need to pay for items separately –in that case the cashier is happy to ring up multiple orders).
If you’ve substituted one ingredient for a different, just specify such to the cashier and you won’t be charged additional. I’ve also been successful at sweet talking my way down to only 1 – 2 charges for 3 additional salad ingredients. I understand paying for additional premium items such as avocado or cheese, but seriously, additional onion (which amounts to a finger-​full of onion slivers) is not worth $ 1.00 additional. That’s when I start my sweet talk.
The chopped salad is good, but I prefer to sub asiago cheese for the bacon and I add red pepper and red onion. Also ask for light dressing.
Other items I’ve had that are delicious include a roasted/​grilled vegetable sandwich and the Friday salmon entrée special. The vegetable sandwich includes grilled eggplant, zucchini and bell peppers wrapped with feta cheese in some sort of grilled bread that seems a cross between a wrap and flatbread. The salmon entrée comes with rice and vegetables, but I omit the rice and sub extra vegetables. It is dressed in a lovely creamy tarragon (or is it dill?) sauce, which is made with a butter base. Due to the richness of that sauce, I usually ask for it on the side.
I’ve also had pizza here… It’s very thin, and quite light. As a thin crust fan, I like it! But I don’t order the pizza very often due to its low vegetable content.
All in all café Baci is a great loop lunch spot. Fresh, fast, delicious and friendly :)

Ok food in a perfect location
Caffe Baci is a great example of passable food served in a really cool atmosphere and great location, but I’m ok with that. I went there recently for lunch with a friend. I had just gotten off a plane, so I was clearly starving. I was charmed by the fresh décor and giant windows overlooking Millenium Park. Nonetheless, my tuna sandwich was salty and overpriced :/​At least the fruit cup I bought was clearly fresh and contained no soggy pieces.

Went here for a coffee with a friend visiting the city. We chose Caffe Bacci as it was close to his hotel and it was okay. I enjoyed the patio and my cappuccino was good but I was really impressed with the pistachio chocolate biscotti. It was the perfect complement to my morning cappuccino. I also liked the raspberry muffin and the bite of the blueberry muffin my friend had. The ordering «system» is really hectic as people are not sure where to stand and it ends up becoming one long inefficient line. It should have taken us about 7 minutes to get our muffins, coffees, and go but it took closer to 15 minutes! I would go back to Caffe Baci if I just needed a cup of coffee or pastry, nothing special but convenient to the park.

I was walking around near millenium park and wanted a quick bite.
I suppose caffe baci delivered in some aspects but it wasn’t that quick and though some of the food was made to order it fell short of my expectations.
They had salads, sandwiches, and paninis as well as breakfast items.
The ordering system is chaotic. There isn’t a number it’s basically you order then pay but it’s easy for people to cut the line and take your food. The poor guy at the omelet station was overwhelmed and got flooded with about 10 – 15 orders while the salad station guy stood there bored out of his mind.
I got the strapezzate which was an egg sandwich and it was flavorless and gross. I barely ate the bread which was like cardboard.
My boyfriend got a waffle but it took forever to make.
Won’t be returning next time I am in chi town.

Location location location! Well I almost have to say all this place has it going is the location. That’s pretty unfortunate for a restaurant business.
I had almost a whole day layover in Chicago after returning from my vacation overseas. I decided to hit downtown then eat at the purple pig. Unfortunately I had too much fun at the bean and crown fountain and forgot what time it was. So I decided to ignore the low Unilocal rating and have a quick bite at this café instead which is right across the street.
The outside seating is nice. You can chill on a busy street at the heart of Chicago, enjoy the breeze and just people watch. But the food was almost inedible! I had a simple warm turkey sandwich and a cup of fresh fruits and thought who could screw that up? Wrong! The fruit cup was deff not fresh! Cheese in the turkey sandwich wasn’t even melt and the bun wasn’t toasted well. What a waste of money!
Perhaps their coffee and gelato are good. I saw people were ordering them and I suppose it’s not a bad place to stop in and get these. But the food is just simply awful! It is such a shame that they have the perfect location! Lesson learned: never ignore Unilocal low ratings aka warnings! Will never return!

Great café. Totally reasonable prices for how fresh and tasty the food is. Friendly staff, and a super clean dining area. The breakfast staff is especially helpful. They are happy to make any kind of omelet you like! Seems to attract a great combination of tourists and area business folk so it’s never too busy.

Chicken caprice sandwich is awesome… small seating area outside on Mich Ave for lunch during warmer months

After Ice Skating at Mill Park we continued our 60+ staff party at Café Baci on Michigan Ave on Sunday night (01/​12/​2014) and I can’t praise them enough!
Gimmi had a spectacular menu of Spinach/​Ricotta Cheese Lasagna,(warm and aromatic) Chicken with a fennel and pear topping (savory and tangy), a generous fresh salad with cranberry, blue cheese, walnuts toppings on the side, fresh warm foccicia bread, roasted potatoes as well as a wonderful roasted broccoli/​carrots and cauliflower side. The ingredients are fresh, the atmosphere is light and fun, the staff is very attentive.
This is the second time that we have had a staff party after hours at this location, and we are never disappointed. They are always great with planning the menu to suit your tastes as well as your group size.
Love it as a daily lunch place too it is has great, refreshing, consistent Italian food, with caring and passionate staff.

This is one of those places that’s the victim of its location when it comes to Unilocal reviews. Folks, you’re paying under $ 10 for an entrée at a locally-​owned, non-​chain express restaurant on Michigan Ave. And you’re giving it a two star review because your cappuccino wasn’t the best you’ve ever had?
I work in the area and can honestly say it’s hard to beat this place for a relatively healthy lunch spot that isn’t fast food or full service. I usually order the Tre (trio) salad which lets you choose three generous portions of toppings. Options include an olive salad, quinoa, grilled vegetables, etc. Every so often I splurge for one of the daily entrees which are usually very good (for under $ 10) if a bit salty. This is miles above McDonalds which costs just about as much around here, and much better than chain Panera that skimps on quantity and quality.
I do agree the coffee is not very good at all, but you’re talking about a place that literally has 5 Starbucks and a Carabou Coffee within two blocks.
Service is friendly, welcoming and prompt.
In sum, there’s a reason you’ll see many locals in here for a weekday lunch.
I

We stopped here for breakfast when the Wildberry Pancakes and Café line was over an hour wait.
The Tre Formaggi Omelette was really good and came with sides of both potatoes and bread, for a very filling breakfast.
Comparatively, the Daily Scrambled, though a dollar cheaper than Tre Formaggi, was small and left me hungry after.
The original iced cappuccino I cannot recommend, not impressed.

Overall, I feel like whatever I get here is 1) salty, 2) over priced, 3) not filling. Yet somehow, I come back every now and then and do rate it two stars.
I think the special entrees are the best options. At $ 10 – 12 (which I think is a pricey everyday lunch) you get a full plate with meat and two sides. It’s filling and tasty, and very heavy. Second best option would be the salads. Though I could easily make the same salad at home for cheaper and better, it’s tasty and healthy.
I have to remind myself to never get a sandwich. On countless occasions, the sandwiches are very salty. I think sometimes it’s the preserved meat (like salmon) or it’s the sauces they use. Not sure, but def so salty I cannot stand it.

Oh how I miss working right upstairs from Baci. Today I tried a new sandwich –The Gallina.
It’s chicken with rosemary, provolone, roasted peppers. arugula and pesto mayo on ciabatta bread. I found it to be quite tasty.

Baci is minimally acceptable. I would never go here if it was not close to my office. The food is fine if not spectacular. Not a great value as the prices are high relative to the quality. Service is poor-​to-​inattentive.
Incredibly, Baci’s tagline is «Eat Italian. Dream Italian.» Recent specials have included such classic Italian dishes as Greek chicken with tzatziki sauce, Cajun catfish with Spanish rice, chicken cordon bleu and a variety of Mexican items. Just like Mama used to make!

Café Baci has a decent selection of salads and sandwiches and is a good place to grab a quick lunch downtown. I also sometimes stop in for a gelato or a cup of coffee after wandering around all day on my days off.
I generally avoid the soups and pastas, because I find both to be somewhat bland. The pasta is often over cooked, and the soup, although it always looks good, is just generally disappointing. I usually get a salad because I like watching it being assembled and customizing it to my tastes, and their vinaigrette is very good. My favorite is the Walnut Apple Salad (Mesclun mix with crisp apple slices, candied walnuts, dried cranberries, crumbled gorgonzola cheese with a sweet vinaigrette). I also like the JoJo sandwich (prosciutto, fresh mozzarella, marinated artichoke hearts, basil, and plum tomatoes on Italian bread).
As for ambiance and service, they have fairly standard cafeteria style seating, and although they always seem to be fairly busy, I never have trouble finding a seat. The service may not always be friendly, but it is very quick and efficient, and the café is impeccably clean.

Great place for a lunch downtown, if a little pricey. Nice place to go if you are actually meeting someone for a sit down lunch, rather than just the grab-​and-​go that I usually do.
Nice selection of salads, paninis and other goodies. Fresh made.
LOVE that they let you pay by the Level Up app, so convenient.

The food is so unimpressive.
Cold staff– I ordered a chili without cream cheese and the girl taking my order didn’t catch that. When I pointed it out, she almost STARED ME DOWN. Really??? She didn’t even talk as she remake my bowl of chili.
There are many better alternatives nearby, such as the cozy Panera Bread or Corner Bakery. Who would go to Baci? Oh right, I would recommend this place to my biggest enemy.

This location is much nicer than the sister location off of La Salle. I was not even aware that it was here until a friend introduced me. It seems to be much more spacious than the La Salle location. However, the flow of which customers enter and exit is rather confusing. I had to look several times to figure out which line I needed to go to for what I wanted to eat. If you wanted a salad, there was a separate line for that. If you wanted a main entrée, you go to a different line. I think they should have more signs that clearly indicate the flow.
Also, the fountain machine seemed to be in the path of one of the cash registers from what I recall. It is not a great location to put it in because you can block people from paying until you get your fountain drink. Other than the spatial problems, the food here is good and reasonably priced.

I’ve never been inside a Caffe Baci before, and so I was pleasantly surprised by how nice and clean it looks on the inside. I think I was expecting something similar to Go Roma, but no, the white cafeteria-​like tables made it look less like an American diner café and more like a nice place for lunch.
I ordered a JoJo panini. Panini is Italian for sandwich. I was a little surprised by the size – it was more like a sub. And it wasn’t grilled. Yeah, I learned something new. I was a little more than confused by it until I saw a separate menu for American paninis.
The JoJo had prosciutto, mozzarella, artichoke hearts, tomatoes and balsamic vinaigrette. It was good. I was pleasantly surprised. It was just a little dry and almost too salty (must be the prosciutto, but they were good).
For sandwiches that had been made beforehand and were sitting under the lamps, I thought it was a bit too expensive to pay close to $ 8. I feel like I should have gone with my first instinct and went to Lavazza on Washington, but I wanted to try a new place.
Ah, and my quest for a fast 30-​min meal before mi clase de espanol continues.