Native Foods Cafe

It WAS so good. Drove 45 minutes with my mother, grandmother, and boyfriend only to find paper over the windows and the sign taken down. I was very upset.
Native foods has some of the, if not the, best vegan food I’ve had to eat. I was extremely disappointed at not getting crispy buffalo wings.
Great restaurant, but no warning to the closing. I wish they’d sent an e-​mail message or something to those with a Native Foods card so that we’d know about the closing.
Still going to go there, just less often because downtown Chicago is harder and more expensive to get to.

I went by Native/​River Forest last night to purchase some delicious foodie fixin’s and I pray I misunderstood… but I think they may now have closed their doors. They had a note on the door that seemed to suggest such. It said something about Spring and 2016. Oh please say it is not so. I looooove (d) this place! #Big Big Bummer: (
Update: Yes it is CLOSED! I read someone’s post about lease dispute. I surmise owners of property wanted to increase rent. Guess, I will have to find another place to order my vegan meal for Thanksgiving. #Native Foods withdrawals

They closed this location. Which is crazy because I was here two days ago and it was open!

LOVED Native Foods. It’s so hard to find good vegan options in the area. I’m so sad to see they lost their lease :(
Their chicken wings are a must have! And their lavender lemonade is especially amazing! I’ll definitely be making a trip into the city to their other locations!

I absofreakinglutely love this place. I’m a seven year vegetarian recently turned pescetarian. I’ve never been vegan (I don’t have the discipline) but there are a lot of vegan food items that I truly enjoy which, at Native Foods, would be every single thing I’ve tried thus far.
My go to item is the chicken run ranch burger, but I’ve sampled numerous items from the menu, including the limited time specialty items and everything has been fabulous.
I’ve had their chips and guacamole (yum), twister wrap (yum), chicken bacon and avo club (yum, and a close second favorite to the chicken ranch burger), and several of the aforementioned seasonal special items. I’ve also had their flavored iced teas and I once ordered dessert, which was the oatmeal crème pie. That was just okay, but I think it was more because I was so stuffed by the time I got to it. It was on my first visit. They have regional beer and wine, which I will try one of these days when I eat in and am not on a work break. I try not to eat a lot of sweets, be they vegan/​organic or not, so as temptingly delicious as their other desserts (hello cupcakes) look, I don’t order them.
I also really like that on their menu, they have a glossary of their various plant-​based proteins and cheese and explain their ingredients. Even I fail to remember the difference between seitan and tempeh.
Portions are quite filling. I often find myself too full to consume my side item. My usual go to is the dill potato salad, though I’ve found it sometimes lingers on the palate a bit longer than I’d like.
I’ve actually ordered online from work quite a bit and picked it up in store. Their system works quite flawlessly. I like being able to go right up to the front to retrieve my order without waiting in line or for my food. I’m able to maximize my lunch hour.
What I think I like the most is that everything is vegan, so there is absolutely no questioning what I can and can’t have, which I have to do often in restaurants and is a real pain. This is one place where I can actually order anyfreaking thing from the menu, which is pretty awesome. I’m going to make it my goal to try everything.
Those who work there are also very friendly.
There are only five locations in the Chicago area so I’m glad there’s one so close to me. I’ll seriously be devastated if it ever closes.
The only kind of bummer thing that happened was that my business card was drawn for the free office lunch over the summer and when I emailed back to schedule a date, I never heard anything back. =(I work with a bunch of carnivores so it would’ve been awesome exposing them to some delicious vegan delights.
P. S. Hi family!

Amazing food and GREAT staff. Very attentive and helpful, friendly. Looking forward to coming back!

I love the twister wrap with the sweet potatoe fries and chipotle sauce. Gulped it down with organic, blueberry hibiscus tea and ended with a cherry on top, dessert of course which was an oatmeal crème pie. So delicious!

I’ve been going to Native Foods in LA for years. Imagine my surprise to learn that there are so many locations in Chicago. It’s definitely not my favorite vegan spot, but I was impressed by the consistency. The menu is pretty similar and my food tasted very much the same as always.
Can’t say that I would return, but it’s nice to know that it is a familiar option.

I love ordering lunch online and every time i am like a kid at a candy store. The service is fabulous, the food even better, and the drinks… refreshing and delightful.

Native foods is my default vegan spot! So good that even my meat eating husband likes it. He gets the nachos and fries and I always get my Greek gyro bowl and lavender lemonade and usually a treat like the oatmeal pie! Kale=Love at native foods!

4 stars only because you cant have too much of it. Mary kate was quick with my order of crunchy chicken sandwich with avocado. Everything tasted good but, i feel a quick healthy meal can stay under 10 dollars. The place was packed during lunch hour. Not sure if my kiddos will like it.

Great place with great food, atmosphere, and location for those in the Chicago borderlands neighborhoods of Galewood/​Mont Clare, as well as Oak Park, River Forest, Forest Park, Elmwood Park… My wife and I shared and it was enough food for us (portebella burger) and just about as good as Chicago Diner and in some places like location and atmosphere better…
I highly recommend this place for omnivores, vegans, vegetarians, and all others alike…

Even though I have a list dedicated to my fav burgers, I’m always willing to try something new, and had especially wanted to try a vegetarian restaurant. I’m so glad Native Food’s was suggested to me!
The inside reminds me of a Chipotle, based on design and how the line gets backed up, but it’s not a «build your own» kind of place, the style is more along the lines of a Panera, but vegetarian and WAY BETTER. I found it interesting they only post about specials on their walls, and you actually have to study a menu before ordering– something I was not prepared for. I would recommend studying the menu online before going, if you’re a newb like I was! Too many choices that all sounded great!
They have options like wraps, sandwiches, salads, big bowls, burgers and desserts. I liked that they had recommendations for first timers, and I opted for the twister wrap which was from that list– grilled, crispy, or blackened chicken, lettuce, dressing, and avocado wrapped up in a wheat wrap. The wrap was definitely at its best in the middle, and a little more sparse in the end, but the flavor was good.
Sides are extra.
Overall, I’d give the experience 3 stars, until I tried their drinks. I’ve never been a big lemonade girl, but after reading about the lavender lemonade so much I had to give it a try. It was the best lemonade I’ve ever had! Sweet, tart, but also with a sort of mellow feature to it– not too acidic. So delicious. The Watermelon Fresca I didn’t like as much, although it did taste like fresh watermelon, it was a little flat. I think more of the mint flavor, or something would’ve given it a kick in the right direction!
They deliver and take away the food for you, which was a nice perk.
For two people to eat and get drinks it was $ 24.52, without sides or dessert. A little pricy, but I’ve done equal amounts of damage at a similar type of place. A great Lenten option as well! I will return.

Native Foods Café,
You’re the reason why this unapologetic carnivore started not only considering, but LOVING, vegan options. Thank you so much for opening your glorious doors to my neighborhood.
As someone who very frequently indulges in vegetarian food, I never gave much thought to vegan foods as the lifestyle seemed a little too ‘extreme’. How wrong I was. No matter if you’re a pure carnivore, vegan, or someone like me who oft flirts with vegetarianism, you are going to love NFC.
I tried their Native Chicken Wings (my favorite – actually tastes like chicken) and their Super Italian Meatball Sub (good). The Native fries were also good.
I take a star off for being slightly overpriced (but it’s a relatively underrated cuisine that they’re serving – so I understand).
Can’t wait to be back and try more of their items!

With the use of magic, Native foods café has made many traditional American diet staples into vegan dishes. How do they do this? Don’t know. Do they do a good job of it? Yes!
I’ve eaten here quite a few times now, mainly because the girl I’m seeing is vegan. However, native foods makes such tasty dishes that eating vegetarian is easy and enjoyable. My favorite menu items here are the twister wrap and buffalo nuggets. The wrap is filled with avocado and hearty native chicken. Though native chicken is certainly not like real chicken – it’s consistency is much softer – it’s a solid protein replacement. Accompanied with buffalo sauce and blue cheese dressing, it hits the spot. I think the real star are the buffalo nuggets. They’re fried and perfectly tossed in the right amount of spicy, tangy buffalo sauce.
Also come here for some sweet treats like key lime pie and the peanut butter parfait. You won’t be disappointed. That being said, try avoiding the brownie which has an old bubblegum consistency. Narsty.

I was concerned about trying this spot… a bit too vegan and healthy sounding for me. Oddly, I like healthy food and grew up with a vegetarian in the family. Anyhow, I was sent some gift cards at my office when they opened, so I thought… let’s give it a try. Friendly, friendly service. Amazing watermelon fresca drink. Flavorful cuban bean soup. Tasty oatmeal cookie sandwich.
I will return and very Soon!!!

My husband and I tried this place out for lunch on a Saturday afternoon. We came a little before 12pm and it was pretty busy, but half an hour later it got really busy! Lunch hour busy. The hospitality and customer service of this place is amazing! This was our first time here and we haven’t been to any Native Foods before. I really enjoyed our visit here — the customer service they provided was fabulous. The girl up front explained to us items of the menu very clearly, and was very patient with us when we didn’t know exactly what we wanted to order. The waitress came by to check up on us every now and then to see how we’re doing.
For the food — it’s good! I ordered the crispy chicken, bacon and avocado sandwich. The chicken was pretty thin — lots of bread, but it was tasty. I ordered a side of potato salad. The potato salad wasn’t that good. We ordered their seasoned fries — this was VERY good. You MUST order it. One of the best tasting seasoned fries I’ve had and its not very hard or soft, like el dente! My husband ordered their Mexican cobb salad and he really enjoyed it. We also tried their homemade drinks. Free refills and you can mix and match the teas. My husband doesn’t like much sweets and i like drinks sweet, so I mixed the black peach tea (unsweetened) with lavender lemonade (Sweetened) and it was a good mix! I like the idea of mixing teas together.
I am definitely coming back to this place. Prices are comparable to Panera Bread. a little expensive but it’s tasty. If my sandwich had more meat than just bread and a better potato salad, then I would definitely give this place a 5 stars. I put this place as 4.5 stars as of today!
You can also order online or call for pickup! Woohoo!

I already wrote a review for the Native Foods in Lakeview, and since the River Forest location is basically just a carbon copy, I’ll keep it short and capture the highlights:
+ smoky split pea soup; tasty, but needed thickening
+ «reuben» sandwich; good faux-​pastrami, but the thousand island was jank-​ass slop
+ lavender lemonade; delicious as always
+ watermelon ‘fresca’, which is essentially watermelon pulp (and it’s awesome)
+ ultra-​friendly staff who are very helpful and accommodating, especially for first-​timers
+ terrific condiment selection; fresh mint leaves, salsa caliente, what appeared to be cinnamon sugar, and a value-​sized bottle of SRIRACHA!
Native Foods RF has some great things going for it, so why the 4*? Because nothing I had was as good as it was on my inaugural visit to Native Foods Lakeview. The atmo here was much plainer, the flavor of my Reuben meeker, and the consistency of the pea soup needed work.
Other than that, it’s a good place for vegetarians (of which I am NOT one), but the likelihood of me returning here is slim… I enjoy meat far, far too much.

Came here with my girlfriend after some xmas shopping. From beginning to end we had great customer service.
We ordered the super Italian meatball sub and the soul bowl. They were sensitive to my nut allergies and presented a separate menu made just for people with nut allergies.
Can’t wait to try the rest of the menu.

A vegetarian paradise. If all vegetarian/​vegan food was this good I might stop eating meat. The wings are fantastic and the fries are delicious. All meat substitutions are tasty and substantial. Even a solid beer selection.