This is the best bakery in Chicago (on Earth?). We were ordering when he was slingin’ pastries out of BC up the street. You cannot get better stuff in Chicago.
Sandra
Delicious. Excited to have this in the neighborhood! I don't understand the reviews comparing this to Starbucks b/c there is simply no comparison. It makes me wonder if they are 'competion'? Their almond croissants are as good as the ones I've had in Paris.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Jamie Vaughan
Best pastries around and delicious espresso drinks. The pistachio escargot transports you to the south of France 🥐
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Croissant
Amelia Ryan
The lemon blueberry danish and the chocolate cake are my favorite!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Nicholas Sanchez
Had the pistachio escargot pastry. Flaky, buttery, bold. Lookout, there’s a new sheriff in Flavortown.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Victoria Martinez
From the drinks to the food, I love this place. My most recent visit, I took my friend who was visiting from Arizona and we got the chilaquiles. We both were shocked on how good it was. Will be heading back soon!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Stephanie Hebron
Service was great. Ordered the lox muffin and cajeta latte, amazing! The muffin was fresh, soft and it’s a generous amount. And the cajeta latte was delicious, not too sweet and perfect temperature (didn’t go cold quick).
Been a costumer for over a year, so I’m so happy to have them in the neighborhood!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
David Kline
You can tell that they may not have been ready to open up a brick and mortar location and haven’t really pinned down what they are. I went at around 8:30 and they only had a few baked goods ready, which were all on the slightly pricier side for what they were - slightly above average, but not creative takes on common options (I.e. plain croissant, chocolate croissant, chocolate chip cookie, etc.). Based on other people’s reviews it seems they may have additional, more creative pastries at other times, but as someone who frequents bakeries, you’ve got to have most things ready when you open. If you don’t, people won’t become regulars, make Au Levain a destination, or even see it as a place they know they can consistently get a great pastry. In addition, I would urge them to take pages out of the playbooks of Loba, Sugar Moon, etc. to get clear on whether they are a breakfast restaurant or bakery and focus on that all the way instead of doing both only halfway. Until then, I likely won’t be making a trip back as there are better, more creative and dependable options for great baked goods at the same price point.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 3
Caitlin C. Meeter
I didn’t have anything to eat here. But I walked in and asked if they had loaves of bread (like baguettes), and he said “Bread? No… This is a bakery.” I literally thought I was in a sitcom for a minute. If you don’t have bread you aren’t a bakery, you’re just a patisserie…
Ari M
Great food! Ordered pastries and the breakfast sandwich with veggies instead of meat. Everything was fantastic. Excited to go back and try the chilaquiles and happy to see they were slammed with customers.
The service staff is bad and be careful, they try to swindle your money; it sounds like they're trying to give you a five-star rip-off experience.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 1
Mollie Alexander
The food in the bakery case is incredibly delicious. We had a lemon blueberry pastry, an earl grey blondie and a chocolate croissant. All were great, but the chocolate croissant was the best I have ever had. We’re coming back!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Croissant
Abel Escalante
I visited this place and ITS a hard no for me. The guy with the glasses shows lack of interest when taking orders. In addition, the menú ítems aré pricey for little portion. I feel like this Is like an expensive ripoff of Starbucks. Au levain feels the necessity to double the pricey and have a rude worker like the guy with glasses show no smile whatsover. Nope, no way. This café Is suppose to be a welcoming environment for customers who aré trying yo have a nice breakfast or lunch.
Visit Cultura Ccafé by Belmont as they offer much better friendly service and fabulous food with free street parking.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 1
Juliana Zamora
This bakery is awesome! So glad they opened this spot. The location is great, and the bakery itself is amazing; you've gotta try it.
It gets a little crowded, but it's totally worth it.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Croissant
Jake Kryshak
$20 egg sandwich and coffee and bad attitude at the counter -
This is the best bakery in Chicago (on Earth?). We were ordering when he was slingin’ pastries out of BC up the street. You cannot get better stuff in Chicago.
Delicious. Excited to have this in the neighborhood! I don't understand the reviews comparing this to Starbucks b/c there is simply no comparison. It makes me wonder if they are 'competion'? Their almond croissants are as good as the ones I've had in Paris.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Best pastries around and delicious espresso drinks. The pistachio escargot transports you to the south of France 🥐
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Croissant
The lemon blueberry danish and the chocolate cake are my favorite!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Had the pistachio escargot pastry. Flaky, buttery, bold. Lookout, there’s a new sheriff in Flavortown.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
From the drinks to the food, I love this place. My most recent visit, I took my friend who was visiting from Arizona and we got the chilaquiles. We both were shocked on how good it was. Will be heading back soon!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Service was great. Ordered the lox muffin and cajeta latte, amazing! The muffin was fresh, soft and it’s a generous amount. And the cajeta latte was delicious, not too sweet and perfect temperature (didn’t go cold quick).
Been a costumer for over a year, so I’m so happy to have them in the neighborhood!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
You can tell that they may not have been ready to open up a brick and mortar location and haven’t really pinned down what they are. I went at around 8:30 and they only had a few baked goods ready, which were all on the slightly pricier side for what they were - slightly above average, but not creative takes on common options (I.e. plain croissant, chocolate croissant, chocolate chip cookie, etc.). Based on other people’s reviews it seems they may have additional, more creative pastries at other times, but as someone who frequents bakeries, you’ve got to have most things ready when you open. If you don’t, people won’t become regulars, make Au Levain a destination, or even see it as a place they know they can consistently get a great pastry. In addition, I would urge them to take pages out of the playbooks of Loba, Sugar Moon, etc. to get clear on whether they are a breakfast restaurant or bakery and focus on that all the way instead of doing both only halfway. Until then, I likely won’t be making a trip back as there are better, more creative and dependable options for great baked goods at the same price point.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 3
I didn’t have anything to eat here. But I walked in and asked if they had loaves of bread (like baguettes), and he said “Bread? No… This is a bakery.” I literally thought I was in a sitcom for a minute. If you don’t have bread you aren’t a bakery, you’re just a patisserie…
Great food! Ordered pastries and the breakfast sandwich with veggies instead of meat. Everything was fantastic. Excited to go back and try the chilaquiles and happy to see they were slammed with customers.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Breakfast Sandwich
Restaurantji Recommends
The service staff is bad and be careful, they try to swindle your money; it sounds like they're trying to give you a five-star rip-off experience.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 1
The food in the bakery case is incredibly delicious. We had a lemon blueberry pastry, an earl grey blondie and a chocolate croissant. All were great, but the chocolate croissant was the best I have ever had. We’re coming back!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Croissant
I visited this place and ITS a hard no for me. The guy with the glasses shows lack of interest when taking orders. In addition, the menú ítems aré pricey for little portion. I feel like this Is like an expensive ripoff of Starbucks. Au levain feels the necessity to double the pricey and have a rude worker like the guy with glasses show no smile whatsover. Nope, no way. This café Is suppose to be a welcoming environment for customers who aré trying yo have a nice breakfast or lunch.
Visit Cultura Ccafé by Belmont as they offer much better friendly service and fabulous food with free street parking.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 1
This bakery is awesome! So glad they opened this spot. The location is great, and the bakery itself is amazing; you've gotta try it.
It gets a little crowded, but it's totally worth it.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Croissant
$20 egg sandwich and coffee and bad attitude at the counter -
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
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