Vella Cafe

Oh Vella! Why did you close this past Saturday forever. You broke my heart. I don’t know if I will ever learn to trust again. You were more than just a friend, you were my brunch.
I am now, a sad clown. v_​v

(to the tune of Kung-​fu Fighting)
Everybody was TOFU fighting
Those vegans were fast as lightning
In fact it was a little bit frightning
But they served with expert timing!
Spicy Tofu Scramble: soy chorizo, roasted poblanos, brown rice, zucchini, corn, scallions, avocado, fresh lime, tomatilla, salsa and tortillas…
It sounds good. It tasted SUBLIME. Like, for serious. Who knew? Tofu is genius with a little spice. (Note: of course they have other items, like the chicken sausage which is stuffed with some sort of lovely squeezy cheesy mixture, hot). This place is equally carnivore and veggie-​friendly, though.
Counter service creates the perfect place to breakfast, brunch or lunch… without feeling pestered to move along. I enjoyed a lovely little sit-​down with one of my favorite gal pals, then stayed on for a fantastic soy latte (shot of SF vanilla, but of course) to get some work done. Oh yeah, I’m one of those «soy» people now, judge me.
After, I promptly walked 3 steps out the door, hopped the Western Blue Line and made my way to the next destination: Operation turn all my hair red and lopsided.
It was a good day.
(pick up tune again)
(repeat).make sure you have expert timing
TOFU fighting, had to be fast as lightnin’.
*my informants tell me that this place is: GASP: closing to make way for the second installment of Urban Belly at the end of Summer ’09. Wah, no more tofu ninjas.

Vella is a decent place with a few well-​made vegan options. Located right underneath the Western Blue Line stop, it’s also fairly conveniently located.
I had the tofu scramble wrap ($ 8) and a tempeh sandwich ($ 7.50). The tofu scramble wrap had all the right ingredients, but was way too oily for my likes; the oil ended up making the dish fairly bland as none of the spices and ingredients could express themselves. The tempeh sandwich, however, was quite good with fresh bread and nice seasoning.
For dessert I had a vegan double chocolate cookie ($ 2.20 with tax) which was a little bit stiff, but had a good flavor and was definitely worth ordering, especially for the price.
I wouldn’t go out of my way to stop at Vella, nor would I come here for brunch, but if you’re on the Blue Line and looking for a quick vegan snack, Vella offers some decent options.

I want to preface with the fact that I may change this review to a 4 after I go back. They have a totally different menu on weekdays vs. weekends, and the weekend one had some amazing looking stuff on it that I need to try.
So, as for the 3-​star weekday fare, it was definitely solid. I went in for breakfast (served all day, lunch menu only from 11 – 3). I had the sausage panini which was pretty good. Not über-​flavorful, but more just highlighting the natural flavors of what seemed to be very fresh, high quality ingredients. They also had pretty good coffee, and a lot of fun looking specialty coffee drinks which I may try next time I’m in.
Location is kind of weird — it’s RIGHT under the el, so the ambiance is sort of lost. But if you’re a blue line rider, it’s very convenient.

I’m not going to write a long review as there are a ton already, but i thought this place was pretty good. I liked ordering at the counter and just grabbing a table. I will definitely go back. That being said, if you don’t live in the neighborhood I wouldn’t recommend making a special trip for this place. It won’t wow you.
The staff was friendly and the location was pretty good. Its a nice little walk before breakfast if you live in Wicker Park or Buck town. I had the Diner Special and my dad has the BLT. Both plates came with their mashers which are smashed potato’s with salt, pepper, cumin and green onion (YUM). The BLT with avocado was actually outstanding. Definitely worth getting if you like them. The coffee was fresh and good. I want to give it 3.5 stars, but as i can’t i will give it a 4 as opposed to a 3.

After saying I wanted something light for lunch, my friend brought me here.
Alas, I couldn’t really stick to my initial «light» thoughts. As soon as I saw banana and nutella crepes on the chalkboard, my stomach started grumbling and my meek appetite grew to ferocious!
The texture of the crêpe was nice and light and egg-​y, so… there was *something* about it that was light, right? Right? Ha! But by the time was through with the sweet crêpe plus a Clementine Izze (hurrah!), I was plenty full.
I loved the décor in here, particularly the flock of dark-​wood birds dangling in a mobile. They really made a space underneath the El feel light and airy. Well, done, Vella! I’ll be back next time ’round to try some more of the menu!

Yum! A strawberry scones and chai latte while sitting and relaxing makes me happy. I really like the relaxed attitude and atmosphere at Vella. The staff are always very nice and accommodating. They’ve got a pretty nice variety for the size and type of café.
I haven’t yet had a hot meal yet and will update my review when we do. My last trip I overheard the two tables next to me comparing dishes and both raving over what they had ordered; so I’m optimistic.

Oh… I don’t know… Vella is ok.
I have eaten breakfast here and had the amaranth pancakes. They were odd. Too many flavors going on at one time. There was lingonberry and cardamom and cinnamon sugar butter and whipped cream and it was all just. too. much. My taste buds short circuited.
Occasionally I will pop in for a latte on the weekends. It’s a perfect stop right underneath the Western Blue Line stop and the lattes are good. I will have to give the food another try, though.

Gorgeous. The food is delicious, the staff friendly, and the atmosphere is cool and fun.
I stopped in here on a whim to grab some grub with my vegan friend and was pleasantly surprised that we both found some great choices on the menu.
I’ll definitely be back.

I don’t get what the hype is about. It was okay. The staff was nice but the brunch menu is pretty much a breakfast menu with very limited lunch type options. And I much prefer to be waited on, but thats just me.
Not finding anything that really struck me as «gotta have it» I asked if I could get a BLT since it was 2pm and the cashier told me they didn’t have the ingredients (apparently arugula is now on BLT, who knew?) So I ordered a side of bacon, toast and a piece of cheese. I said hold the tomatoes if you must but they gave them to me anyway. I guess they just don’t have lettuce which strikes me as odd. And having to order this way made me feel like Jack Nicholson.
This is more of a grab and go place than a sit down brunch spot. My dining companion’s pancakes looked yummy but there were tons of sweets and almost no savory on the brunch menu. Prices were inexpensive but I felt bad having to use a credit card because they wouldn’t take my c note. I will try it again for lunch sometime and hopefully update with much more enthusiasm.

Vella, oh Vella! I pass you every single morning as I get on the Western blue line to go downtown, but I never have time to stop in. Now I’ll be waking up 15 – 30 minutes early every morning so that I have time. The only reason I stopped in was because I saw that they serve Intelligentsia, and I heard they had a few vegan options. Thinking «vegan options» would be soymilk for lattes and one or two vegan cookies, or bagels, I was pleasantly surprised.
There’s an ok amount (of course there could always be more) of vegan options on the menu for breakfast, lunch, and dinner — AND they deliver. Any café that serves yerba mate is aces in my book — and its GOOD mate. The only food item I’ve had so far is the oatmeal, and its insane. Steel cut oats made with coconut milk, toasted coconut throughout, and this morning mine had dried cherries on top. I basically died. So good.
The staff is friendly, the inside of the place is freakin adorable and gets lots of sunlight. I’m hoping that by summer the hours will be a little more user-​friendly, though, because I can see myself here having at least coffee if not a snack or a meal a few times a week once it warms up. Will add one star when they (crossing my fingers) add more vegan baked treats/​sweets/​and pastries.

Nothing good, nothing great. Came here with some friends for breakfast. Me personally, I enjoy the greasy spoon diner type breakfast. This is definitely not that kind of joint.
The menu isn’t huge by any means. They have a breakfast, lunch and dinner menu, though I think dinner is only served on certain days. My friend always raves about the crepes, but the only serve those on the weekend, so I ended up getting a suasage panini with some fancy kind of mayo and potatoes. Dress it up however you want, it’s meat and potatoes. My wife got eggs, potatoes and chicken sausage. Again the food was good, not great.
In addition to their entrees, they serve up coffee and other pastries. I didn’t try any of that stuff, but my friend claims them to be decent.
Overall– a little too fancy for me (as far as breakfast goes), prices weren’t bad (though not great), and it was close to my friends’ place, so bonus points there. I’d only go back if my friend wanted me to, otherwise, I’m trying to get my 2 for $ 3 mcgriddles!
Chuck Norris Rating– Fallen Angel Dive

YES

GREAT brunch spot. Parking is super easy and there was no wait at 11:30 on a Sunday morning. Granted it was negative 5 out, but nevertheless, I like not waiting. It’s the same ordering style as Milk & Honey where you go up and order and pay, then sit and they bring the food to your table, but for some reason it’s so much more organized than M&H has ever been. The environment is much nicer too… bigger and the tables are more spread out, lotsa light. I loved it.
The food was great and prices were reasonable. We split the breakfast burrito and the amaranthe pancakes — both awesome. My only complaint was that I would have liked a slightly larger menu… it was a little limited. But I’d like to go back for dinner sometime… it’s byob and you can actually order wine from Red and White and have it delivered for your dinner… cool.

Updated to 5 stars on account of their amazing mac & cheese.
A-​M-​A-​Z-​I-​N-​G.

After getting shot down here and there by a few brunch spots to do the birthday kick off, the suggestion of Vella was thrown my way by MaryAnne M and she was right on.
I called them to see how busy they tended to get around 1 on Sundays and she said that regardless, she’d be happy to put some tables together and reserve a spot for us — which she did. Score!
Directly under the Western tracks, Vella is incredibly easy to get to and was a warm, cozy environment from the cold, cold winds outside. The staff were all so friendly and helpful setting us up with an ice bucket for our champagne and taking the extra bottles to the fridge in back (yes, «bottles»…thanks, Lori). My lingonberry pancakes were delicious, MaryAnne’s mac and cheese was even better, the applewood smoked bacon was so smoky and perfectly cooked. I wanted to get a «little baby cupcake» which was carrot cake in this case, but I didn’t have the room.
I have a new brunch spot. Vella was perfect.

Love Love Love, Vella what’s your sign baby cos I think we’re a match made in heaven.
Wonderful food each time I went. The yogurt parfait hit the spot when I wanted something a bit lighter and raw. The tofu scramble was perfecto with it’s brown rice, roasted veggies and mystery spicey seasoning. The chefs tossed in some extra garlic for me too, since I was feeling a cold coming on. Speaking of that cold, the two giant glasses of fresh squeezed o.j. may not have prevented a stuffy nose, but dang did it ever taste great!
One of my companions waited a bit too long for her meal so the waiter brought her a mini-​carrot cup cake that was so good we had to get 1 each before going.
The smashed potatoes may also be my favorite breakfast potato in the city. I love that they’re slightly crispy, yet still soft and just salted enough. Yum! I wish I could go there now! …Stupid job.
Finally, the people watching in here is AH-​Mazing. I contemplated hitting on at least 1 person from every party in there. Those are incredible odds!
My 1 suggestion to Vella, to be awarded that 5^th star, would be to add a stylish drop ceiling of sorts, to cut down on the echoing of everyone’s delighted laughter/​chatter. I’m glad we’re all happy, but the sound generated in there is at elementary-​school-​gym levels. This drop ceiling I propose would also create a really sweet intimacy that Vella almost hits, but not quite.

I think this place is pretty great. I like their style of self-​serve as it gets people in and out of the door rather quickly. For those intrigued, the idea is that you pay up front, they bring the food to you, you eat, and you get outta there. The coffee and water is self-​serve too, so that also seems to help keep the prices down I guess? Not sure.
Regardless, the food is pretty great, but as other people have said the menu hasn’t been changing much lately. The menu selection isn’t that large either. For new comers though it’s definitely a place to check out if you want to grab a quick bite without a crazy wait… at least for now.

No huge wait here, or line out the door like many of the other brunch places in town. They have lots of tasty options here, and a huge portion of them are vegetarian. I had the spicy tofu and was really impressed. Tofu isn’t something I usually think of for breakfast, but it went really well in this dish.
They offer a bloody Mary that you need to bring your own Vodka for and they serve Intelligensia Coffee.

Story of my life… bout move to a different neighborhood right when a completely awesome little café opens up half a block away.
Get the prosciutto crêpe. It’s got goat cheese and something else that adds a sweet twist… the perfect compliment to the heap of salty meat! At first I was thinking nearly $ 8 for a crêpe was a little high, but the portion was very generous which means… leftooovers!
I also got a day old scone which sadly was horrible. It was very dry and I ended up tossing it after two bites. Don’t get the scones (eh who knows maybe the «fresh» ones are better). Get the crepes!
Oh and minus points for min debit card charge of $ 10…which wouldn’t be so bad if you get a coffee or something with it.
¹⁹⁄₅₂