Under 55 Cafe

Under 55 Café is a college students and business man’s haven.
Right under the 711 on Monroe street, this café offers so many options for dirt cheap. During lunch I like to come and eat the buffet. They have different buffet food every day of the week, I think I’m around most these past couple of months on Wednesdays, which is cajun buffet.
The buffet is priced by weight and you can get free soup, drink and dessert if you spend over $ 8! The food is really great and is just like eating a home-​cooked meal: p
I came the other day for breakfast and got an omelet (unlimited toppings), bread, hash browns, AND coffee for under $ 6. You can’t get a better deal anywhere else.

They have the best bang for the buck when it comes breakfast. Made to order omelets and breakfast burritos are a must. When you check out say hi to Tracy.

OH. MY. DELICIOUSNESS!!! This has got to be a hidden gem. Absolutely amazing to say the least.
Salad bar: ON POINT! Fresh, crisp greens to start. House made dressings, and TOPPINGS GALORE! Fresh veggies, cheeses, meats, croutons, everything!!!
Wraps: Made fresh. Like fresh fresh. With a TON of meat and cheeses!
Soup: OHHH NOM NOM!!!
(Boyfriend got burger) BEST BURGER IN TOWN! Fries were freakin AWESOME!!!
Even their rice crispy treats are note worthy.
Try have everything and more here!!! Mexican, Asian, American, AND SO MUCH MORE!!! I’d look for a job in that building JUST so I could eat here everyday. Thank god we past jimmy johns and found out way into this place.

I just happen to find this food court by accident. I saw the sidewalk signs and I thought I’d check it out.
This café is one level below the sidewalk so you will need to either take an escalator or the elevator then you will find it in a corner. It’s a smaller food court that consist of the following: Mexican, Italian — Pizza, Made to order sandwiches, The grill (which the cooks prepare more fast food items — cooked to order) and The Buffet area which consist of a small salad bar, prepared chicken, mashed potatoes, pasta dish and soup. The chicken has more breading then actual chicken meat. Don’t get me wrong the breading a good.
At the check out line, there are only two cashiers. One of the cashiers is very friendly and the other cashier is there (to say it politely). The food is not actually cheap.
Is this place worth visiting? Not really. I’m sure it’s great for the building’s employees who can just go done this cafeteria for lunch instead of going outside.

I had been eating here about 4 times a week for about a year when things began to change. First they started adding vegetables to the steak at the Mexican spot to reduce the amount of actual meat you get in your tacos, then they started making you open your food container so they could verify you weren’t stealing food, they started cutting staff so it takes a long time to get your food, suddenly they stopped giving you your receipt for the free yogurt they advertise unless you specifically ask for it and now they are weighing the amount of meat they give you at all stations. If I wanted my food to be weighed I would have gotten my food from the buffet. it seems that new management has taken over and their main focus is to squeeze as much profit out of you as they can. I only eat here once a month now and I work in this building.

Great place for breakfast & lunch in the loop; huge variety of ethnic cuisines as well!
You can’t go wrong here with all the choices, from Mexican to Indian to Asian, etc. Awesome grill selections, buffet is consistent and flavorful! Scratch made falafel & kefta on the buffet on Thursdays is unmatched…
The best part is the whole house roasted beef, turkey, pork loin, corned beef and ham on the carvery every day! Unbelievably juicy and flavorful, with two sides, drink & froyo for $ 7.49!!! Can’t beat it…

Price is great for the area and the food quality is pretty good. Never been disappointed with this as a lunch spot during the work week.

A complete lunch with drink downtown for under $ 8?! What’s not to love about this place. Better than any fast food joint. Plus you get a free desert when you’re done! The carver station is my favorite and really miss the sushi station. Good place. Good food choices. Great price!

I heard about this place from a friend and decided to venture in today. I read some of the reviews that stated it was vegetarian and vegan friendly, so I thought I should be okay. But for some reason, most places tend to think because you don’t eat meat you are fine with a simple sandwich/​wrap/​salad that isn’t substantial at all. I may be vegetarian, but I like to eat, and if I’m paying for food, it better fill me.
That being said, the sandwiches there weren’t impressive to me either. They LOOKED fine, but I thought. I could eat like three of those.
So I went for the salad bar, which as far as I saw was $ 0.45 per ounce. I used a to-​go container and fit everything perfectly. The food options were actually very nice! Everything looked appetizing and I was excited to dig in.
I got an okra-​eggplant dish, a butternut squash casserole, mashed potatoes and several of the salads + I sprinkled on some extra individual salad items like peas and mushrooms.
I expected it to be around $ 9 but holy smokes I paid almost $ 14 for this. I thought. okay it’s pretty decent food but I could have gone to a sit-​down restaurant buffet for that amount and had waiters cater to me and keep going back for more. So I was NOT pleased about the price. Maybe there are other offers the place has for meals but honestly, particularly as a vegetarian, to get full — you gotta eat a lot. And in doing so, I’d rather get a diverse selection of things as opposed to a big heaping plate of one thing like pasta with sauce.
So while I didn’t regret the food itself, I wasn’t too happy about the price. But whatever. it’s the loop. You can’t win — you either eat unhealthy and cheap or healthy and overpriced. Or some twisted combo of the two.
But let me get back to that butternut squash casserole. OMG it was amazing. I absolutely love anything squash/​pumpkin/​sweet potato, so I had to have it. It actually looked very much like the sweet potato casseroles I’m used to seeing during the fall and winter. But it was squash. Just as delicious — super creamy and thick. And wonderfully seasoned — I think it had tiny, tiny pieces of pumpkin in it for some kick. Super yummy :)
I also want to say I liked the atmosphere. It seems like one of the few escapes in Chicago where you can sit down for a quiet meal alone or with a friend (s) and not have to yell over music or crowds to be heard. It feels really relaxing there. There is plenty of seating and it was nice and clean.
Overall, I had an okay experience. The price of my meal kind of threw me off but I’ll give it another go to see if they offer any specials that would satisfy me :)

You can’t beat the price at this food court with a stick. I work a few blocks away & we have a giant, similar food court in the building, but I go to this one instead. Why? Much better options and way lower prices.
I haven’t gotten many of the chef-​station items (pizza, pasta, etc.), but I usually hit up the salad/​hot food bar. It’s something like, purchase 20 ounces of this food bar, get a soup, soda & fro-​yo for free. I think it usually ends up around $ 7, and that, my friends, is the cheapest lunch in the Loop.
This review is making me sound like a cheap jerk, which I’m not, but lunch can get so freakin’ expensive, might as well save when you can. Their mac & cheese has made myself & co-​workers moan… the salad bar is always fresh & clean… and they always have a variety to choose from.
I definitely recommend checking it out. Just be sure to ask for your receipt so you can go score your little cup of frozen yogurt.

Good breakfast at a good price. Might even call it a hidden gem of sorts. See you there my fellow Unilocalers, Unilocal on!

Under 55 has anything you could want: pizza or calzone, Burger or hotdog, Sushi or chinese.
While the buffet is nothing to write home about, the rest of the little places offer a great deal of cheaper options and specials for the budgeting food connoisseur.
It has an overall businessman feel, mostly likely because it’s based within an office building, but don’t let that shun you away, several teachers at SAIC can be found their daily.
x

Eh. Thats about the best I can say about this place. It is in my building, so I go there on a regular basis. Its ok. Nothing special. The grill at lunch is probably your best bet, but nothing is amazing. The price is decent. But as others have said, you get what you pay for.
BE CAREFUL: If you order eggs from the grill/​sandwich place in the morning… make sure the guy working the grill (not the omelet guy) CHANGES HIS GLOVES if he cracks fresh eggs. Ive complained about a million times about him cracking eggs, getting egg on his gloves, then touching bread/​cheese. Somebody is going to get sick one day.

This place is good once or twice, but after that you will not want to go again. The selection is bland and boring. They could really put in healthier options, and I mean REALLY.
There are better options for lunch within the loop. Lunch is under $ 8.00 and you get what you pay for.

I think the best thing about this place is the price, very reasonable for lunch. The second best thing is the variety: Mexican, Italian, Chinese, American. So much so it can get overwhelming for an indecisive person like me. So when I’ve come here, I usually decide which place to order from based on the lines & how much time I have.
The last time I came I got the fish tacos which came with rice & beans from the mexican place. The tacos were a little bland, had to add a lot of salsa to get some flavor, but there was a good amount of food for the price. I was pretty stuffed afterwards.
The food itself is just okay, have never really been blown away by anything they’ve served. But if you work in the city it’s definitely a convenient place to grab an inexpensive lunch, especially if you’re looking for options.

I have mixed feelings about this place. The food is cheap and some of the stuff is good but the selection is not as good as Chase.
Basically it is a café with many options of food. They serve breakfast and lunch. With lunch if you get one of the specials you can also get a free little cup of ice cream.
The breakfast is pretty good. You can make your own omelet and get some side pretty cheap. They have Dunkin Donuts coffee, but it doesn’t taste the same. They oatmeal and grits are pretty good.
Lunch is hit or miss, the sandwiches and hot stuff is pretty good. Their salad bar really lacks options. The pizza and calzones are nothing special. The sushi is pretty good. I have always stayed away from the Mexican options. The soups are pretty decent.
You pay by the weight for certain things, which always lead to overpriced food.
I usually go for breakfast, when I don’t bring my breakfast and once in a while I will go for lunch. Breakfast is good, lunch is hit or miss.
I would go there to try it just cause it is something different.

It’s called Under 55 because it’s on the lower level of the 55 E Monroe building, but it should be called Under 5 because you can get a rather good breakfast meal for under $ 5. I’m talking omelette, potatoes and side of pancakes. There’s a whole cafeteria down here serving a variety of meals, but I’ve only tried the breakfast so far. Solid food and cheaper than the Corner Bakeries, etc, in the area. Friendly service.

This is the definition of solid for people who are in the area during weekly business hours. If you have been here you’ll know what I’m talking about. The food is above just an average cafeteria and the prices are incredible. I do miss the days when they used to give out about 8 slices of bacon per side order, but nonetheless, this place has it all:
(And I’m sure I’m leaving out a ton)
Breakfast:
Eggs any way
Omelettes
Pancakes
French Toast
Biscuits and Gravy
Corned Beef Hash
Lunch:
Pasta
Fajitas
Stir Fry/​Mexican
Pizza
Grill
Sushi
Carver Station/​Sandwich bar
Buffet $/​ounce
If you work in the loop and haven’t been here, you’re simply missing out on a great mixup from the typical subway and mcdonalds.

Stopped in today after a minor hiatus, this was a lunch staple many years ago when I worked much closer. Back then you could get lunch for under $ 5.50 but those days are gone however I do still find them reasonable for the amount of food you get.
There are many stations to choose from, I always end up at the burger station. Not mind blowing in any way but a decent burger.
The place does get crowded and sometime the workers can be a little surly but a simple please and thank you seem to go a ways here.

We got the fixed priced lunch deals. My meal included a turkey panini, two sides (mashed potatoes with gravy and mac and cheese), a 20 oz fountain drink, and as a bonus, it came with a frozen yogurt (peanut butter or chocolate or swirl flavor). Cost for all of this? Under $ 8 in the loop! Very affordable for lunching downtown!
The place loses a star because we were charged $ 0.20 extra for a larger size drink. Our problem was we couldn’t figure out what cup was what size. Who knows what a 20 oz cup looks like? I don’t! Another thing that could have used some improvement was the toasting of my panini. It wasn’t crunchy on the outside (from the toasting in the panini press) like most panini’s I’ve had at restaurants. It was more soft and towards the mushy side. In addition, the meat was still cold (isn’t it supposed to be a hot sandwich in the press?)
Despite my gripes, I would definitely come back again. The food was good and service was fast and friendly! They also have a lot of options. There are a few food stations to choose from and have a good selection of a little of each cuisine.
Oh, did I forget to mention this place is located in the lower level of the 55 E Monroe Street building? Follow the smells, you can’t miss it!