Lake Side Cafe

I will say I’m very impressed by their menu here. Lakeside café is one of my favorite Vegan places in town. I love all of the food here, I generally get Spinach Dip, gyro’s, hot dogs, cupcakes, cookies, etc. This place is just amazing!
[But I hear it’s closing soon, please tell us you’re reopening elsewhere — or just giving me the recipe to the spinach artichoke dip, I don’t know how I’ll do without that stuff — hey at least I tried… ;) ]

It’s a shame Lake Side Café is closing (their last day is October 18, 2009), because the place is pretty cool: modern; friendly; and all-​purpose (it could be a coffee shop or a restaurant or even a bakery).
I had a vegan gyro ($ 10.50) which was tasty with Upton’s Naturals seitan and a fresh cucumber sauce. My only issue is that the portion size was quite small — it was just a half wholewheat pita pocket stuffed with seitan and some lettuce, tomatoes and onions — considering the high price tag. For the same price, you could get twice as much food at The Chicago Diner. That said, I don’t think the quality of the ingredients would be as high at The Diner as it was at Lake Side.
I also had a piece of chocolate cake ($ 4.50) and a chocolate-​almond cookie ($ 2.50). All of their desserts are vegan which was pretty cool to see. The cake had a great, rich flavor, though it was dry. The cookie was also dry and rock-​hard; it didn’t soften too much even after I microwaved it. It wasn’t very good, in my opinion, and had a salty taste that overwhelmed the almonds and chocolate chips.
Most of the menu is vegan and I appreciate that this place served a niche in far northern Chicago. It’s unfortunate that it is shutting down but, on the other hand, at least a few new vegan places are opening up elsewhere in Chicago, so the net balance is still positive for the city’s vegan community.

After reading some reviews on Unilocal,I decided to get together for my friends birthday party here. The area this place is in is pretty sketchy, especially at night, so exercise caution. The parking is not the best either. The place looks nice inside, but the menu was pretty limited and the food not really impressive. My vegan/​veggetarian friends were not impressed. We also had the most annoying waitress who kept pressuring us (not offering or suggesting) to buy appetizers every 5min while we waited for the party girl who was running late to arrive. This same waitress also ruined the surprise birthday cake we had brought for the birthday girl with her big ass mouth, then proceeded to bicker about not bringing in outside food: rolls eyes:
To be fair, I’ve only been here once, but the experience left a bad taste in my mouth, both from the food and wait staff. I don’t think I’ll ever be back here unless a friend drags me along.

Oh lord. Where to begin. Well, maybe I’ll cut to the chase and say that they are closing on October 18^th (19^th on their website). SO SAD!!!
We just recently discovered this place and it was a great alternative to Blind Faith Café — only much much better!!! Fun people and great service. We were there for lunch on a Saturday, so don’t know about dinner service. Food was excellent and fresh as was the vegan baked goodies. SO YUMMY.
So sad they are closing. :(:(:(:(:(

Absolutely love this place.
Everything I’ve ever had here is delicious. The salads, individual pizzas, and weekly specials are incredible. When my sweetie lived a block away, we would go every week. Now that we’re on the other side of town, I really miss this joint.
Also, for a special treat, their vegan chocolate layer cake is amazing. Probably a zillion calories, but man is it good!

This was my first time here, and on first experience this place is just okay. We had the salsa and chips, I had the Polish «sausage» and friend had a salad. The salsa was really good. The «sausage» was good not great. and just a bit boring. I know it’s difficult to make meat substitute to taste like actual meat, but I’ve tasted better examples. Would I order it again? Maybe… but I would rather try something else first.
We did have their chocolate vegan cake, and that was great!
The restaurant itself is really cute, clean, and welcoming. The staff is super helpful and nice. The service is prompt.
I would recommend it to another vegetarian, it’s a bit too plain for an actual meat eater.

Mmmmmm. I love good, simple, healthy food. This is exactly what I find at Lake Side Café. The Tao bowl (mixture of grain, bean, vegetable and/​or protein) is a great option for the über health conscious. Tonight I had said bowl with brown basmati rice, pinto beans and chard, with a pepper/​mushroom sauce, along with a side salad with sesame shitake dressing (the dressing definitely makes the salad.) Can you feel any more wholesome after a meal like that?!
One of the day’s specials was Indian lentil cakes with sundried tomatoes over sauted vegetables with a mango chutney, ordered by my dining companion and sampled very much by me.
The desserts are solid and baked in house. We split an apple bluberry pie which had just the right ratio of sweetness, fruitiness, crumbliness and crust… ness.
P. S., There’s a cool vaporizing machine when you first walk in that makes magic-​looking smoke through electromagnetism. It comes from Germany, as does the owner of LSC. I learned this from the friendly assistant manager who I chatted with as ogling the desserts.

Leaves me scratching my head…
HOW COULD THIS BE MY VERY FIRST VISIT?
(shh-​This may be one of the best veg hideouts in the city.)
the Gyros– cucumber sauce– edges in for 3^rd favorite sandwich ever!
(1^st Chicago Diner’s Reuben, 2^nd Handlebar’s buffalo chicken wrap)
banana cupcake with chocolate and cherries– incredible.
(oh and gluten free options too!)
No question of my return! Only wish it was closer. :(

I’ve only been here once, mainly cus it’s quite a hike north of where i usually tend to find myself when im hungry. and it was kind of awhile ago but that makes me think that the fact that i still find myself craving their vegan gyro must say something about this place. admittedly, i have never eaten a traditional (meat) gyro, so i can’t tell you how it compares, all I know is that it was freaking delicious. the cucumber sauce it came with — so good. the salad dressing that came with the side of mixed greens was also tasty, although i can’t remember what kind it was. Aside from the gryo, i’m not really excited about the looks of the other entrees. i don’t see the point of paying 7 dollars for some plain rice & veggies that i can make at home way cheaper (and add some sauce to).
for dessert i had a piece of peanut butter cheesecake that had a thick layer of chocolate ganache on top. it was amazingly rich & creamy, you would never know it didnt have real cheese in it. also, the piece itself was really generous (maybe they felt bad for me since i was eating alone?) — i had to take almost half of it home. honestly, im sure i couldve polished off right then and there but Im trying to practice some self control.
the staff & interior were really nice, too — i didnt think it was pretentious at all & i could see it being a nice quiet date place.
it would be awesome if they’d open up early on sundays and do a big vegan brunch buffet — how can louisville, ky have one & chicago doesnt?!?

I have to admit that it has been several months since I went to this place. So my mind is a little foggy on the details my visit. All that remains is the bad taste in my mouth and the knowledge that I will definitely not go back.
The bad service and the mold on the chocolate pudding can be excused. Maybe they were having an off night and will recover. The pudding, I could not order it again unless I need to clear up an infection… but I just personally don’t like this type of vegetarian restaurant. I’m not into vegetarianism to be healthy or for some spiritual enlightenment (which seems to be two things this place is all about).
Even when it is done well it is bland and really pretentious. Which I can handle one at a time, but together I get bored and annoyed. I don’t need that while I am eating… vegetarians are already considered pretentious by the lowly bloodmouths and their inferior intellects, we shouldn’t prove them right.

There’s plenty to grub on here. They do not skimp on the vegan delights. The snausage sandwich and fake-​o gyro are pretty tasty, if a bit tough on the wallet.
Let’s be honest– everything’s organic, and the specials tend to be labor intensive, like seitan tamales with mole, so it’s not like the prices don’t make sense. Just be prepared.
The bowls (1 veg, 1 protein, 1 starch) seem to be the best and tastiest deal for $ 7.
Vegan and gluten-​free desserts abound, so you southerners should probably save room for sweet potato pie.

I am a fan.
FOOD: We went for dinner one evening, and everything I tried I liked. The hot chocolate was a particular treat — I’m lactose-​intolerant, so it’s hard to find restaurant hot chocolate that I’m certain doesn’t have dairy in it (are you listening, Karyn’s/Chicago Diner/Earwax/Alice’n’Friends/etc.?).
SERVICE: Very laid-​back yet attentive. We showed up VERY near closing time, and they («they» being the male/​female working the place — not sure if they were a couple, the owners, etc.?) couldn’t have been nicer to us. Since the restaurant was essentially empty by this point I couldn’t say how well they’d handle a crowd, but one-​on-​one they were very a delight.
ATMOSPHERE: Tiny and kinda cramped (hence «café»). Again, it was empty for me, but I can imagine that at peak hours it’s very snug in there.
FINAL WORD: Location is a bit inconvenient for most of us, but if you have a car it’s worth the drive.

I am not a vegetarian but this place has really good food. Everything on the menu looks delicious. We ordered an appetizer dish (something hummus with pesto) and the pesto was SUPER fresh and yummie!!! The carrot juice/​apple juice drink was good and the sandwiches were filling and tasty. A bit far north to travel to but definitely worth the trip!

I like choices! Lot’s and lot’s of choices!
Therefore, I love this little place! They have a little of everything, Middle Easter, Asian, American, Italian… all vegetarian and/​or vegan! Pizzas, hummus, chili, vegan gyros (tasty!), Tao bowls and wraps… the list goes on and on.
Try the Italian Swirls (weird name, I know) our server suggested them and they were DELISH! Which brings me to service! AWESOME, so friendly and so helpful.
I also like that the café is located pretty north, I get sick of having to drive far south for comparable vegetarian restaurants, this is far more local to me :) yay for the RP. Parking is easy and they have outdoor seating in the summer… who doesn’t like outdoor seating?!? With so many tasty things to try here, I will totally be back!

This is the first time that I’ve ever been to a vegetarian restaurant. I was kinda of nervous, but I ended up loving it! In case you want to know anything about a certain ingredient, they have a small reference section in the back of their menus.
The ambiance is so nice, fresh, and clean… and so is their food! There was a lot to choose from. I absolutely loved the artichoke dip! It wasn’t salty like at some other places. Our entrees were also very good! I recommend the creamy goddess dressing with your salads! It also took me a while to decide what dessert because they all looked so good!
However, this place is right in the middle of a shady area. I went during dinner time and the parking meters at front were already taken. I didn’t have to walk far at all (a block down), but I wouldn’t like to walk around that place alone!

Let’s get the why I didn’t give it 5 stars out of the way. Our service was most horrible, but I think the girl may have been having a bad night. She gave us wrong information about some of the desserts, and brought the wrong drinks, and ignored us for awhile…
On to the good stuff. The spinach artichoke dip, was cold (on purpose), and delicious! My hot tea came with a cookie (big points!). The Mediterranean pizza was delish, and the non veggie boyfriend dug the «gyro». The vegan cookies were awesome, though my friend was a bit weirded out by the banana split cupcake.
As most veggie friendly places are, it was a quite pricey. I don’t mind paying for good food though. Hopefully I’ll have better service next time.

Lake Side Café, I done you wrong. I done you wrong, and I want to make amends by writing this glowing review and giving you all of my money.
I live less than two blocks from here; it’s the closest place to my apartment by a fair distance. In fact, it’s the only restaurant within convenient walking distance. And yet, I never visited until recently. I had a few stupid, stubborn biases against it, namely the location («that block and this entire area are crap; how can this be any good?») and the hippie voodoo («Inner Metamorphosis University»? give me a break). Also, their hours are somewhat limited (no lunch times except on Saturday, and only 5 – 9 most days).
What a fool I was. This place is fantastic. It’s almost obscenely expensive, though, even for organic/​vegetarian/​vegan/​gluten-​free materials and expertise.
Everything I’ve eaten here is at least a B. The hummus has the exact same texture and a very similar taste to Chef Earl’s (Whole Foods brand) but with an additional spicy tang. I’ve had their basic salad, which was a little boring and probably their weakest item. The «creamy artichoke dip» is not at all creamy; it’s chunky, but that’s a good thing. It’s also delicious. My favorite choice so far has been the barbecue seitan sandwich. The sauce is good, and they use bigger chunks of seitan than I’ve seen other places. I’m not sure how they cook it, but the seitan is a bit more dense (and therefore meat-​like) and almost crispy on the outside. They serve it with red cabbage, nothing else, on a slightly toasted ciabatta roll. It’s almost a perfect sandwich. Maybe add a tiny bit of red onion. I don’t usually like ciabatta bread! How can this sandwich be so delicious?!
And the baked goods… oh man. The coconut-​lime cupcake made me fall on the floor and weep. Their fruit-​nut bar and carrot-​coconut bread make solid on-​the-​go breakfasts or afternoon snacks. The chocolate-​almond cookie gets an A– for a vegan cookie (C in overall cookiedom; I mean, let’s be honest – vegan is usually a big flavor handicap).
On each visit, I’ve already made my selections, but second-​guess them based on the specials board. I haven’t yet changed my mind, but I have to start eating the specials. They always sound delicious. Yesterday it was a grilled fajita plate.
For convenience alone, I should be a weekly customer. The cost is borderline prohibitive for that kind of frequency, but the food is so damn good that I may have to suck it up anyway.
Lake Side Café, please forgive me.

Okay, this is 5 out of 5 after just *one* visit — but if I lived closer I suspect I’d be an at least weekly visitor. My friend had the onion tart special, I had the Tao Bowl and we shared Hibiscus Tea. I was super impressed that they had multiple sweeteners, including agave nectar. My friend said the tart was delicious. I loved by bowl of brown rice, kale and tofu. Each of the three was very tasty and unfussy. And for $ 6?! Fantastic.
I’ll have to find excused to be in the neighborhood to go back for more Tao Bowls, the clean, comfy space and friendly and informed waitstaff.

Before I ate here a few days back, and after reading all the Unilocal reviews, I thought this place would be pretty decent, but not mind-​blowingly great. I have to say after dining here, this shattered my moderate expectations for this place, and that I’ll definately be coming here more often (especially en route to, and from, Evanston).
Anyway, this is a great vegetarian restaurant that is definately underrated (like Elena said), b/​c of how very far north it is in Chicago, and that it’s almost in Evanston (lol), and mere blocks away from an iffy section of Rogers Park. That aside, I really loved the Mediterranean pizza I got here, and imagine the other pizzas served here are probably just as decent. The Tao bowl I tried that my friend got wasn’t bad (can’t remember what she got, other than it was something that had squash (sp?) in it), except that I definately wouldn’t have gotten the other sauce that she got, and would’ve gotten the barbeque sauce instead.
I’m tempted to give this place only 4 stars, due to the fact that the entrees are slightly on the expensive side, plus due to the short hours of this place (5−9pm Tues-​Fri. + Sunday, and 12 – 9 Sat.), but I won’t. Main reason for that, is b/​c of how much the chocolate cake I got here really blew me away! It was absolutely one of the best chocolate cakes I’ve ever had in my life. That easily makes Lake Side Café deserve an extra star in my book, and cancels the –1 star (and only 4 stars) I would’ve reflected in this review, otherwise. I also thought it was pretty cool that they offer vegetarian cooking classes, for those who are into that stuff, though as I’m not into cooking, I doubt I’d sign up for ‘em (lol).
I’ve decided to revise this part of my review, as one Unilocaler messaged me recently that I should change what I wrote here (plus on my Lost Eras review), and I agreed with his request. I’ll say if you aren’t very familiar with this part of Rogers Park, it may be best to take the Red Line to Jarvis, and walk north on Sheridan Rd. to here. Another way you can get up here is to take the 147 or 151 buses to the Howard/​Sheridan intersection, which puts you right here. It isn’t entirely unsafe to walk on Howard inbetween the ‘L stop and Greenview Ave.(particularly west of Lost Eras), but I’d advise against it, unless you’re with a group of people, or you’re very street smart (like myself) and use caution doing so. This stretch of Howard St. isn’t as bad as say, 7 – 10 years ago, but it’s still sketchy at parts. I hope this area continues to improve in the years to come.

The perfect place for an up-​and-​coming neighborhood. My husband got the gyros, and I thought it blew Chicago Diner’s version out of the water, but he disagreed. I particularly liked the vegan tzatziki. It was slightly different from real tzatziki, but it was still good and worked with the super savory and aromatic seitan gyros, which was flavored with a heck of a lot of oregano (this is a good thing).
I got the shepherd’s pie, which was mixed veggies, seitan, and mushroom gravy topped with mashed potatoes. The potatoes were made with coconut oil, and there was a vague coconut taste to it, which was somewhat surprising, but still good. My dinner came with a beautiful salad with sliced peaches on top, as well as steamed collard greens with sesame seeds and shredded carrots. Yum.
The apple cider my husband ordered to drink was really good, and they give you a huge glass of it. The basil lemonade I ordered was disappointing. Service was inconsistent, with some servers obviously more familiar with the place than others.
I’d definitely go back.