Sacred Grounds

Great little breakfast stop. A little pricey, but very delicious.

I love this place. The people are so nice and happy. Great stop for a coffee and panini, and a little TV watching.

All is good here but I like honey lots. They got it but in the small messy packets. Yuk. Otherwise all fine here with lots processed food options. Yuk. But my Americano drink is fine with lots raw sugar packets.

I visited Sacred Grounds when I was searching for a quick bite to eat for lunch at the Water Tower Place. what immediately got me were the pound cakes. Obviously I wanted a full meal, but I was not convinced to spend $ 7 on one panini. That did not include any sides or drinks, and to be honest, they didn’t look that appetizing.
I decided to settle with a slice of the vanilla pound cake and I was pleasantly surprised. A good Pound cake is difficult to master (I’m from the south where the pound cake originated) so I’ve been around them my whole life. For a commercial chain café, I was shocked to find the flavor and texture of the cake was pretty solid.
Aside from the overpriced lunch menu, I really did not appreciate the service of the workers. For the first ⁵⁄₇ minutes I stood standing in line staring at them talk amongst themselves while a small line formed.
If the cake was not as good as it was, I would have given this review 1 star.

I ordered an Americano which was very good. However the service was very slow and one staff member seemed confused on every order. They also did the drinks out of order making me wait longer.

Awesome iced dirty chai with almond milk. So happy I found this place. Fast friendly service! Go :)

What a nice surprise. Just had a delicious gluten free coffee cake and terrific cup of Joe. At a reasonable price. Will stop by again

There’s a Starbucks coming to this mall in the next 6 months or so. My advice? Ignore it! We came down the the mezzanine level to check it out and stumbled upon this gem! My girlfriend and I split a chocolate-​peanut butter cupcake and our combined efforts weren’t enough to subdue the beast! It was amazing, and rich, and sweet (and did I mention rich?!). We both got chai lattes, one iced and one hot, and they were a thousand times better than any Starbucks crap. Not sure of their coffee, but if we get a chance during our stay in Chicago, we will definitely check it out as well!

Bakery In a Water Tower!
Sacred Grounds is a lil bakery/​café located on the Mezzanine Level next to FoodLife, the «food court» inside of The Water Tower Place in Chicago, IL. SG primarily serves up a variety of baked goods & coffee drinks but it also sells some packaged, cold sammies & other assorted food items in the cooler. SG has a sinful selection o’righteous-lookin’ cookies, cupcakes, muffins, pastries & yummy, sliced pound cakes/​loaves! It always has the standard, go-​to flava bakery options as well as rotating & seasonal/​holiday offerings too.
I used to only grab a cup o’joe at SG when shoppin’ in The Water Tower & just longingly stare at the bakery case, but I now indulge in the occasional, heavenly carb! The cupcakes are good at SG if ya like a ton o’pretty frosting, but I prefer the sliced loaves/​pound cake assortment. These guys are soft, moist & flavorful! Some of my faves are the gingerbread, vanilla & banana bread. The gingerbread loaf (seasonal) had a nice spice to it like a gingerbread man cookie. The vanilla pound cake loaf has a nice, vanilla ice cream-​like flava worth poundin’ & the banana bread had me singin’ «This shit is bananas, B-​A-​N-​A-​N-​A-​S, nuf said!
Bonus: Sacred Grounds sells Intellgentisia brand coffee & lil bottles of Caffeinated Club Sodas in original & in different flavas! Hallelujah, I friggin’ heart both of these items, 2 of my fave ways to perk up!
FYI: SG is more like a walk-​up food stand rather than a dine-​in eatery, but there’s a small area for SG customers to sit with a few tables actually on Sacred Grounds property. Also you can find tables to sit at all around the Mezzanine Level & there are benches throughout The Water Tower Place.
Finally, my interaction/​service with the staff at SG has always been pleasant, quick & easy. I wouldn’t make a special trip to SG if I wasn’t already shoppin’ in The Water Tower cuz there are better Chicago bakeries outside The WT out on the street but for convenience & a mall bakery, SG can’t be beat, 4 gems! After all Sacred Grounds is located in an ivory, I mean Water Tower on Mag Mile!
So, if you’re shoppin’ in The Water Tower Place & ya suddenly need somethin’ sweet, slow down your pace & take 5 at Sacred Grounds for some holy-​good, sweet eats & a couple caffeinated drinks! And don’t fret cuz ya can always shop-​off those Sacred, sweet treats!

Great coffee stop alternative to Starbucks. Only a few seats and tucked back in the corner of M level by the restrooms, but its great for to go. Nice selection of pasteries and a hazelnut coffee was outstanding.

Unimpresssed! Three of us; two of us had issues with orders. Filled my cup 2/3’s full, only. What is up with that? I asked to have the cup filled; no problem in doing so. The second issue was the wrong coffee served; again, no problem in making the order right. In trying to address issues, the drink maker upset a latte in the blender behind counter, holding up service and a line of people waiting for their orders. This can happen in a coffee shoppe, I understand. Still, coupled with the other issues it all together contributed to a less than desirable experience. Also, seating is very limited for the number of customers. Too close for comfort. Either blocking the sugar station or closely seated to the wall to table. Cramped!
The good news, my coffee was good. I do need to include that I believe I was served regular coffee instead of decaf. Must have decaf!!! :(And a variety of food (options) is offered.

The pastries are good, but they never open on time.

Learn how to make an Americano.

For a place located in a mall food court, this little coffee shop really exceeded my expectations. They serve Intelligentsia which is my favorite coffee. The café au lait and iced coffee we tried were both very good. But it was the pastries here that won me over. The chocolate coffee cake and sour cherry hamantaschen were fantastic. Light and moist without being overly sweet, just the way I like my desserts. Definitely check this place out if you’re at the Water Tower Mall.

Restaurant review
This is a very limited review for picking up a pastry item for dessert after finishing at foodlife. With the LEYE summer coupons, I had a 2 dollar off without a minimum so I picked up a interesting dessert item (cinnamon crisp). Sort of like a cinnamon roll but thing and crispy. For 2.50, this is actually a tasty dessert, but nothing that I would ever crave. Cashier was friendly and I was in and out in a minute. The shop also has sandwiches and a variety of coffee which I did not try this time.
Pro: friendly service, fast
Cons: limited menu
Hidden gem:
1. If you are a lettuce entertain you member you can earn points
2. Sign up for the summer scratch coupon offer from LEYE for coupons

Very little and cappuccino sucked, but the coffee frappé with vanilla beans was te best ever. Big variety of cupcakes and cookies but a little expensive.

In a desperate need for coffee and a quick walk, I stumbled upon this branch off of FoodLife in the Water Tower Mall. This place is a small quick fix for coffee and sweets cravings. While there are probably better choices out there, being in Water Tower Mall to people watch and get away from the office adds a little to the experience. They also serve a few sandwiches, here’s what I’ve tried.
Chicken Pesto Panini — while this sandwich was hot and crispy, it was also too heavy and greasy for me. I couldn’t really taste the pesto with the strong cheese and it was a bit too much. I didn’t really enjoy the sandwich as much as I thought I would.
Turkey Cranberry Panini — the tastes in this sandwich were interesting and a pretty good combination of sweet and savory. However, I had this sandwich to go, and it got really soggy by the time I brought it back to the office. I would highly recommend eating this right off the Panini maker. The apple slices in the middle give it a nice additional crisp and the cranberry sauce doesn’t over power the senses too much.
I’ve had a number of different drinks here (ranging from regular drip, latte, and mocha), they all have ranging quality. I would say that they are acceptable, they don’t wow me… but they also haven’t cause me to never come back again, so I would call that a win.
Overall, it’s a nice change of pace when you want a cranberry Panini while watching CNN playing in the background of this small coffee shop. The staff is always friendly and accommodating, and it’s usually not that busy so it’s nice to grab something quick.

All of the items I’ve tried so far are pretty damn good! They are: salted caramel cupcake, chicken pesto panini, chocolate cupcake, greek salad, garden salad, lemon bar and of course the coffee. The service has been much better on my last 3 visits

Didn’t actually try what I wanted cuz I had to run to work and had no where to store a cupcake while at work, but
SNOW CONE CUPCAKES! Cutest thing ever. Even come in a Styrofoam cup (I’ll post a pic). I HAVE to try this next time I’m there for sure.
The girl I was training with always goes here when working late and gets the pomegranate juice. She loves it, so I’m sure it’s pretty good.
They also have jell-​o art! It looked pretty cool. I would get this if I was having some people over just cuz it’s so different… even though I’m not really into jell-​o.
This is totally a spot to keep your eye on.

Perhaps one of my favorite places for lunch around the area.
I’m not pretentious. I don’t lunch at places like RL’s because realistically, unless I’m handling an account, or unless I want to treat myself to something fancy I wouldn’t go there. Sacred Ground is more casual. It’s what I can afford everyday if I wanted to.
I like pesto chicken and the spicy Italian paninis. They’re greasy as hell, but I crave grease sometimes.
I’m also a fan of their Intelligentsia coffee. I do find it a bit weird that they don’t always honor their Unilocal offers though… Only on Tuesdays, I’m told. What’s up with that?
Still, the people behind the counter are nice. The table at Sacred Grounds is usually empty too. I like that I can always find a seat at the table. It sure beats walking round and round in circles on the floor for an open table.
One thing that I wish they’d add to their selection of beverages though is the Zico coconut water. I can only find this at Foodease, and it is a hassle to purchase from two different locations when all my money’s going to the same place.