Native Foods Cafe

Got to get used to the no meat mantraat this place. I don’t think there is any may at all in the foods. This restaurant is really healthy eating. I had the chicken ranch sandwich and it tasted like real chicken. I also like the endless tea drinks. The blueberry and peach are great. The restaurant is always packed though. Can be very hard to find seats sometimes.

Wonderful customer service from the manager. I wasn’t able to give the avocado on my Azteca salad (which was delicious) to my 8 month old because of the seasoning. I asked the manager for a plain piece of avocado and he was very considerate in giving me a serving of plain sliced avocado for free. Both me and my baby ate well!

Where to begin…
We were debating this place, or Rajun Canjun. Judging from the outside, and walking location, we came here after our museum trip!
This is a plant based restaurant. Threw me off guard.
Start off with the customer service, was great. Huge on me* they nailed it. Place was tidy. Good amount of people on a Sunday.
I ordered «the soul bowl» — they have wraps, bowls, meatless burgers, etc.
Great to take your kid, especially if they are plant based. I really enjoyed the drink selection! Which had all sorts of homemade from Lavender Lemonade (Yum!) to a fresh pressed watermelon drink… Some organic options like green tea w/​citrus fruits… Mmmm!
THE SOUL BOWL had carrots, zucchini, brocolli, kale… lots of kale, rice, «chicken» which is fried, you have an option of grilled… Next time, I’ll get grilled. Sauce of ranch and bbq. I’d get more on the side cuz the kale really soAks this stuff up. It was good. It was plant bAsed… It was different. Had more of an earthy, smoky taste.
My 2 year old picky eater even decided to gobble some of the veggies… Score!
I also tried the fries, wasn’t so fond. Big fry eater, but they tasted «off»
Would like to explore more options here… Plant based can leave me a little hungry later during the night…
Wish the bowl was like $ 8. Prices could decrease by a dollar or 2!

The Hyde Park location and the location in the Loop are by far the best. The food is amazing and the service is top notch every time I visit. The Oklahoma Bacon Cheeseburger and the rueben are my favorites. The lavender lemonade is seriously unreal.
One of the best things about this chain is there rewards program. It’s very generous compared to many other restaurants.

Best vegan food I’ve tasted hands down. Native Foods is the thing I miss most about living in Chicago. Trying different vegan restaurants in San Francisco, Kansas City and Houston nothing compares. I

If I could discover a new vegetarian place, it would be in Chi-​town. After doing some walking, I went to Native Foods. I order the «Chicken» ranch burger with fries and tea. Very delicious. This place is a must eat for Vegetarians and Vegans.

Native Foods, I wanna love you. Bringing vegan food to the masses, moderately affordably, solid yess. But honestly, this salad. Anemic, pale, iceberg lettuce. Extra $ 1.29 for a ¹⁄₈ slice of brown avocado. Dazzled with lots of fried tortilla shell strips. Never found the corn. I feel like I’m back in the local diner ordering the «salad» cos there’s nothing else on the menu I can eat. Deja veux of that kind shouldn’t happen in here. Suggestion? Produce, produce, produce. Local farmer markets. If you want to make people love this choice, give the people veggies as nature intended. Green, healthy veggies. Please don’t punish us with the loser «diner» salad option. That is all.

Great food, just a little slow on the service now. Why must I wait 10 – 15 minutes for chilli that’s already made:(

This is my first week of being a Vegan and let me say, I almost cried tears of joy when I bit into their chicken avocado club sandwich. It tastes like chicken but it isn’t! A guilt free delicious sandwich right in my neighborhood! Oh joy! The chili is delicious, I can’t explain, you just have to try it! I cannot wait to try everything on the menu… and the service is excellent, my new favorite spot.

Can I order another plate? It’s that good. I’m so full and there still a ton left in my bowl but I want more! Don’t be scared of vegan options, just dive on in and enjoy! This place has it goin on with all the fantastic drink options. Watermelon fresca is amazing, and the peach tea is spot on.
Oh and the staff is pretty great!

Delicious vegan options that wow even the non-​vegans! We ordered a sampling of various dishes — the chicken «wings,» soul bowl, and Reuben. The flavor was great and the ingredients were fresh. I really enjoyed the Reuben — I have no idea how they make this meat but it was great. The soul bowl had fresh vegetables and kale and came with a orange sauce that I drizzled on top. Don’t let the name of the soul bowl trick you, it didn’t have a whole lot of soul, and was the blandest thing we ordered. However, the ingredients were fresh. The chicken «wings» looked like skinny tenders and were different in texture (of course), but didn’t leave anything to be desired if you’re looking for chicken at a vegan spot.

Sorry native foods, but an avocado in a bun is not considered to be a sandwich. Where is the dressing and the seasoning?! If I wanted an avocado in plain bread, I would have spent 3 bucks at the grocery store and made it myself.
I was sorely disappointed by the food here. We also ordered the buffalo wrap and it was honestly to God just fried chicken breast smothered in this super unnatural looking red buffalo sauce. It was some of the grossest and unappetizing food I have had in Hyde Park. We were better off just going to the chipotle that was next door to native foods and buying four burritos for the price that we paid for the sandwich and wrap. Sorry native foods but never again.

Um no. My coworker is a vegan and hyped this place up like it was something amazing. So I went. Thinking hey why not just give this place a chance. I’m no vegan. Not even a vegetarian. You can tell by my Unilocal pics. I had the Moroccan «chicken» bowl. Never again. What was that stuff? Seitan? Fake chicken. Not even close to real chicken. It had a custard like texture and a charred taste to it. The veggies tastes as though they actually came off of a grill. It came with this orange colored sauce on the side which was good. I guess I could have just drowned my food in that but I didn’t. What did stand out was the blueberry lavender lemonade. I’ll be back for that for sure. It was so good and refreshing. Seating is abundant. Staff is nice. You order at the counter and they bring the food out to you. I guess as a meat eater I just can’t get with this. I’ll be happy if I never have «wheat meat» again in my life.

The nicest people work here! Super healthy! Food tastes amazingly delicious and drinks are refreshing!

Not pricey by New York standards (where I’m from), but definitely pricey for Chicago — and I’m all for sustainability and veganism, and the Azteca salad I got was tasty, but it was worth maybe about half the price.

I enjoyed my first experience here. I didn’t know what to expect but needless to say I got more than I expected! The cashier was very helpful in directing my order. I got a menu item favorite and I’m so glad I did. It was very delicious and flavorful. Writing this review makes me want to go back now actually… Anywho, I highly recommend stopping by whether you’re vegan or not!

I try so hard to like this food every time I bring a vegan friend here. But I’m always stuck with the impression the good just isn’t that tasty. Take the chili, which is fine, but comes with a cornbread that features a weird aftertaste. Or the bacon cheeseburger, which appears to have no patty and is in desperate need of sauce (mine also did not come with fried pickles, much to my dismay). I will say the desserts looked awesome and the oatmeal cream pie was pretty good — as long as you didn’t let it get warm (including by holding it in your hand).

Definitely will not be returning. On my one visit with a small group, we had to wait ~20 minutes to even place our order, the system is very inefficient. I chose the «bacon cheeseburger» — ok, I admit it, my mistake for not ordering well. But they messed up one of my friends’ orders, and the rest of us waited another 10 minutes for them to correct it, as our food slowly got cold.
The burger was pretty terrible and completely lacking in flavor. The seitan was just texture, zero flavor, there was only a tiny squirt of BBQ/​ranch, and the pickle chips were soggy and tasteless. The caramelized onions in the burger were the best part of this meal, though I guess that isn’t saying a lot.

I’m not a vegan-​fan but this place was really interesting. Came here with my whole family (4 kids + baby) and managed to all pick one different entrée. My nieces ordered the gluten free mac n cheese (made with quinoa pasta) and cheesy quesadilla (with wheat tortilla). The kids couldn’t tell a difference!
The sweet potato fries were light and crispy. I ordered an oklahoma cheeseburger made with seitan. I would have to say — it was mighty tasty considering there was no real ”meat” inside.
The watermelon fresca is to die for. It’s a perfect drink on a hot summer day in Chicago. Plus free refills! It’s sweetened with Organic Agave.
I love any place that focuses on organic and healthy foods. Will be back again when I visit Chicago.

Wonderful! I went for their soft opening an the service and food were both impeccable. We got the nachos, Saigon roll, and chicken buffalo wings or starters. The Saigon roll was so delicious and the peanut dip was beyond amazing. I would order that again.
I also recommend the peanut butter parfait and watermelon fresca!
It’s a great addition to 53^rd street and the staff was overwhelmingly nice and friendly. My two guests were also impressed as very pleased by the food and service! It’s also a lovely space.
I can definitely see a lot more university students eating out here soon.