Whispers Cafe

Oh yes when they promote freshly squeezed orange and lemonade it is truly delicious. The location is a plus right in the middle of 4 busy streets like a small happening in Italy with a brick road type of situation with plenty of flowers and trees under the canopy :) from what I observed they remember their customers names, hold conversations and in all fairness it is a quick stop & go place where you would enjoy 10 minutes of serenity.

love the place but their customer service is horrible. employees have a nasty attitude and are very rude

Oh, this is in my backyard… what a great little place to have very good coffee, an oatmeal cookie and enjoy the people and weather. Gibbons or anyone else comes in… I am gone. Can’t big business take a hike and get lost once in awhile and let us folks that live in this area alone to enjoy this cute European park? What the city did to the park on Chestnut with
Argo Tea is disgusting… I don’t go there anymore. You, the city, you want to keep the people that live in this area happy… leave the park alone. It was a damn dump before Whispers came here… now the rich want to destroy it all for what… profit and money… greed is the name of the game for Gibbons and the like!

Great experience check it out. Moe and Erika are really nice.

This place is right in the middle of Viagra triangle in Mariano Park. It’s just a little stand but their gelato is amazing! Get the dark chocolate or peanut butter cup!

My favorite café, outside surrounded by beautiful flowers that does fresh squeezed juices. the staff is amazing there, they are super nice always smiling and talking as well! :) I know they do make amazing express, perfect outside caffe where u can smoke a cigar, enjoy coffee, smoothie/​juice or a snack!

With the long line I saw, I thought the gelato would have been better. While the portions were generous and my cookies and crème was filled with Oreos, the flavor density left something to be desired. They also didn’t have a traditional (and my) favorite, hazelnut, which any self-​respecting gelateria should have. (I might be spoiled by the place I go to in Philly, which is rated one of the best in the US.) Good gelato should be full of intense flavor, and you should not need a massive heap of it in order to feel sated. If you are a true gelato lover, I would recommend looking elsewhere. Eataly’s gelato is nearby and much better and more authentic.
I would also recommend the server place the gelato sizes on the counter to make it easier for customers to understand what sizes are available before ordering.
On the plus side, I loved the outdoor seating.

I came in today around 7:15 PM. The gelato was terrific, but the person that served my sister and me was very rude. There is about 16 different flavors and (my bad habit I guess) is that I like to taste a few before I make a choice. After I had tried about 5 different flavors, the person said to me,“I’m losing customers because of you. I just lost two!” I was really shocked and I didn’t say anything because I thought I had misheard him because of his accent, but my sister reconfirmed later that I had heard him correctly.
I guess I felt bad, and I mean he did let us «try» a few so I left him a tip, but the more that I think about it, I don’t think anyone should be treated that way especially when you’re trying to decide which flavor you want on a gelato. If the service is like this, I would not recommend coming here. I’ve come to Chicago a few times and I have my favorite go-​to places, although the gelato is great I am never coming here again.

Great place to pick up some gelato on a summer night. Gelato is creamy, not too icy, and has good flavor. Whispers Café fills a void in the Streeterville/​Gold Coast area of frozen treat options that aren’t fro-​yo.
Fun park, too. Lots of outdoor seating. People bring their dogs here for a walk often. Plus there’s a fountain.

At the heart of the viagra triangle, this place somehow remains very hip. Coffee is great, gelato is rich, smoothies/​juices are made fresh on the spot (and you can taste it!), and the guy who always works here (owner?) is awesome. Oh, and it’s a great place to enjoy your coffee outside around a fountain when the weather’s nice. If you’re into cars, you see some pretty nice ones parked in front of the restaurant next door (Lambos, Ferraris, Rolls Royces, Bentleys, Aston Martins, etc. are all common here)

Very poor coffee here. Really quite terrible. Nice outdoor seating, but horrible coffee.

It was a lovely day and I saw a highly rated café nearby that had *GASP* Gelato!!!
The park itself is lovely, the gentleman serving it was very nive, but the gelato itself… was fine… I’m not saying it wasn’t good. I had roasted coconut mocha type thing. But at $ 4.50 for a single serve cup, I expected something a little more earth shattering. I pay less than that for my overpriced Starbucks than, and almost every time, I would pick a mocha over it.
If you are nearby and feel like a yummy treat, than sure, this is the place to go. If you’re looking for a cheap snack… go grab an ice cream from the walgreens across the street.

Whisper’s makes me shout out loud to head on down to Mariano Park. Whisper’s is a take out stand that resembles a picturesque cottage in Mariano Park, a triangular green space within N. State Street, N. Rush Street, and Bellevue Place in the Gold Coast neighborhood.
Whisper’s specialties are coffee, gelato, and juice. In addition to the specialties they sell snacks.
The gelato display is a work of art in the park. The case displays a rainbow of flavors. The display complements the colorful vegetation, street furniture, and fountain. The gelato compliments a tasty cup of coffee.
The expresso bar is nothing to whisper about. They serve house coffee, hot cocoa, Café Americana, and Café Mocha that is worth a shout out.
Their juice bar serves health choice and fresh squeeze juice. I never had their juice, however, their menu made it conducive to try it.
Whisper’s is as much a park experience as a café experience. The sun is one of the best features of the experience. When we rested here on our walks in the Gold Coast, we’d sit on a chair with a gelato or coffee beverage taking in the Mariano Park scenery. There is an abundance of chairs under the shade of the mature trees. The chairs are an ideal place for passive activities including people watching, bird watching, appreciating the architecture of the buildings with the attractive landscaping in the park including the fountain, and dog watching. Mariano Park is a popular place where people spend time with their furry friends. Contrary to the aroma of flowers and trees it is the smell of steak that permeates the air of Mariano Park certain times in the late afternoon. Steak houses and restaurants surround the park. One of the steakhouses is the very first Morton’s across N. State Street.
My Whisper’s shout out is near it’s conclusion. I recommend Whisper’s for the experience it provides of enjoying coffee, gelato, and juice in the beautiful environment of Mariano Park.

Gemlato with a killer view!
Whisper’s Café is a small, outdoor café located in Mariano Park in the heart of the «Viagra Triangle» across from Gibson’s Steakhouse (one of my faves!) in Chicago, IL. It sells a variety of healthy fruit juices, smoothies, coffee drinks, energy bars & other assorted pastries/​packaged baked goods. In the summertime, it also sells gelato next to the lil, brick building with the food & drink items.
I have a weakness for premium gelato, and I will eat it even if I am completely stuffed. So when I spotted this gelato stand in the Park with a long-​line, I knew I had to try it! The line went quick as there were 2 men quickly manning the stand & accepting cash only. There were about 15 flavors I think, and they all looked very fresh, gemlucious & beautifully displayed.
This being my first time here I was unsure about some of the flavors, so I started to inquire & instead of telling me more about the taste of the flavors I asked about or offering me a sample, the man merely nodded & said «yeah that’s & then said «the name of said flavor» in his somewhat thick, foreign accent. The other guy gave me an icy stare & said «what’s the hold up?!»
I began to think this is not the place to be asking my usual 20 questions at a new joint or dareth I ask, «may I have a sample?!» He was staring at me with as much patience & irritation as I imagine he has for a likely ex-​wife!
I get it, these two have this gig down like a well-​oiled machine, scooping out gelato left & right like Laverne & Shirley on an assembly line but much faster, which I actually really respect. As I boldly stared back & asked about another flavor, he continued to look at me like don’t even think about it woman… and I did think about it for a split second, but this one didn’t seem like he would be amused by my gemantics! So instead of bogging down their system one nano second longer, I melted & ceased my line of questioning & ordered like every other uninformed, un-​sampled gelato-​goer here.
I chose a classic flavor — chocolate-​chip gelato, since I couldn’t sample & wanted something I thought I would like. I got one scoop in a dish for $ 4.50. I said I wanted coffee too, so Mr. Nice Guy barked at me to go the brick building to get it & to pay for everything there. FYI: You can pay with a credit card at the lil brick building but cash only if you are only buying gelato.
The chocolate-​chip gelato was probably the best choc-​chip gelato I’ve ever had. I don’t always like choc-​chip, like when there is just big, chocolate hunks that put you at risk for breaking a tooth or just a bunch of choc-​chips mixed-​in & it’s way overly-​chocolatey tasting. But this one was finely-​shaved chocolate pieces melded into smooth, velvety-​vanilla gelato. It was the perfect ratio of chocolate-​accent to vanilla (5 gems) & slightly makes up for Mr. & Mr. Personality!
At least they aren’t selling lousy gelato too!
Portion wise, you don’t get a whole lotta bang for your buck at Whispers. But can you ever pay to much for yumminess, especially gemriffic gelato?!
To be fair, I’d still rather buy premium gelato from these 2 speedy, crabapples over the alternative, a creeper selling packaged, generic ice cream sandwiches & push pops out of a seedy ice cream truck lol! (Also, I’ve been accused of being crabby on «rare» occasions ;-) & speed trumps sweet & slow in my book any day!)
My small, black, house blend coffee was around $ 2.50 & was nothing to write home about (3 gems), but hot coffee always pairs well with gelato.
A huge perk about getting something from Whispers Café is that you can enjoy it in the picturesque, lil Park where it is conveniently located (5 gems). There are tables, benches & a really nice fountain in the middle. It’s a great place to unwind after a big meal, take a break from your busy day, or just sit, chillax & watch all the hustle & bustle around the Viagra Triangle & enjoy your goodies!
So the next time you’re in Chicago near the VT, I highly recommend grabbing a snack or a scoop of gelato at Whisper’s Café. Just be prepared to order quickly, or perhaps if you’re feeling brave, ask for multiple samples!

On my second trip to the fantastic, beautiful city I call Chicago, couple years ago I took the touristy double-​decker tour where I saw this cute little gelato stand. From then on I vowed I would find this little gelato stand and declare it my forever. Sadly I just stopped by to try their gelato.
On my way back from the east coast for a business trip, I decided to do a mini-​vacation in Chicago for the weekend. During the summer. When it’s hot. So I quickly did a walking directions on my lovely Unilocal app on my genius of a smartphone and it popped up not only the directions (what!?!) and the time it takes to walk there. 17 minutes, are you crazy? But I was desperate for gelato on a hot summer day. Desperate times calls for desperate measures. So I sucked it up and walked the 17 minutes, which only felt 10 minutes. I am glad I made the long trek to this cute little gelato stand. One side, is the gelato, the other side is the juice bar. I tried their strawberry/​chococholate, small cup, which came out to $ 4.50.
Because of the lack of tables/​chairs I paid, grabbed my gelato and ate it while walking back to my air conditioned hotel. Boy was it yummy!!! I will definitely come back the next time I am in Chicago.
Minues 1 star due to the fact that people hang out here, even when they are not munching on gelato, which makes it hard for people who ordered to sit and eat.

This place is great! I love coming here during the summer at lunch time to have a green veggie juice. The price is pretty good. I also have a lot of different coffee and cappuccino’s, but I have yet to try them. Grab a seat at a table or bench and relax for a bit with a nice little fountain. Want some gelato? Good cause they have about 12 (?) different flavors. I’ve tried the gelato once it was delicious!
It’s also a great place to people watch at night as people come out of Gibsons, Carmines and Tavern. You might also see your waiter or hostess running over there for a quick smoke.
They also have little snacks and cookies that look delicious. Definitely a cool little place to check out.
I love the fresh veggie juice!

Great location in the Gold Coast. You know it’s officially summer in Chicago when this area gets packed.
Giving it five stars because I’m such a gelato junkie. My favorites are the toasted almond coconut fudge and the hazelnut. Two scoops for $ 5. I frequent this place several times in the summer since I live close by.
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This café is in Mariano Park across from Tavern On Rush and Dublin’s in the oasis what some many refer to as the VT which stands for quote-​viagra triangle– unquote.
I have hung out here way too many times in the last 2 years not to write a review.
The nice Palestinian family from the old country that owns this café has done a very good job at cultivating the locals to hang out here. I guess that includes me. They value their customers. One of the guys who works here likes to put some artwork in our latte’s when we order it.
The people who come here are both locals, tourists and people from cicero who are waiting for tables at Tavern so they could look good outside (not that there is anything wring with that“
I have met alot of people I otherwise would not come across and I will refer to them using pseudonyms and not using their real names because I dont like to name names.
some of them include:
Jimmy from the number 22 bus
Alfredo the hat
Jim the ice guy
Alana the crazy shrink
Bobby the boxer
Breakfast Brenda
Orland Park Tommy
The formerly bearded one
Carlos AKA Gucci Man
Harry the hippy hairdresser who looks like George Carlin.
Billy Bentley.
Flashy Phil.
They sometimes let us order pizzas in the park from Lou’s or Connies and just let people like us hang out till closing.
We thank our friends from the police department who have become our friends, and who tell us we cant park here for too long.
Coffee is awesome here.
This is a slice of the Chicago I Know and love.
Another reason to love summer.

Only based off one experience, but on a long peaceful walk through town the fresh squeezed juice was awesome.
The iced coffee was also better than par for the course.
Yes, I double fisted. Seemed like the right decision.

Awesome, awesome, tasty, gelato. Located conveniently in the triangle of what is known as «Viagra Triangle» in Chicago. What’s not to like?
Pistachio flavor is highly recommended