This is where I go of I want that authentic Taiwanese dish taste. Good food in general. Bubble tea can be improved.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Richard Liu
Just as good as the Chinatown location. Favs are black milk tea and oolong.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Jack Cruikshank
Great time; all bento box components are good
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Meiying Xie
Don’t go to this restaurant—they are racist.
I didn’t get to eat anything this morning, and now I’m just full of anger.
I suddenly craved beef noodle today and found out that Taipei Cafe has a location on Lincoln, just about 10 minutes away. So my boyfriend and I decided to drive over.
We arrived at around 11:03 AM, which was already their opening time. The staff inside were busy, and we waited outside. They clearly saw us but didn’t open the door until I knocked.
At first, I wasn’t even mad—I get that they might be busy in the morning. But then things got worse.
The staff member who opened the door just walked away right after. We had to seat ourselves because no one greeted or assisted us. And get this—this staff member didn’t say a single word to us. Not even a simple “hello.”
Then, another staff member came out from the kitchen, also without acknowledging us. But the two of them started chatting with each other. We sat there for ten minutes—no menu, no water, nothing. I was so frustrated that we just walked out. Didn’t even get to eat.
I just want to ask, is this how you treat your customers? This level of disrespect is unacceptable.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Martin Magee
I was in Chicago for a special film presentation and while there, was with a friend who was showing us around the city. We had a late start to the day, but chose Taipei Cafe to have lunch before moving on to other events. The cafe was busy with other people lunching, so we hung out a bit and waited until there was free seating and got our group together. Ordering is at the counter, and the counter person was kind and friendly, and provided suggestions since some of us were unfamiliar with the cuisine featured. We all decided to be adventuresome and ordered teas with the boba balls or grass jelly, and all our drinks arrived cold, delicious, and the tops adhered with a plastic shield to prevent spills. Despite it being a busy kitchen and a lot of lunch traffic, our selections arrived quickly and were attractively plated and tasty. We had a mix of vegan and vegetarian and omnivores with us, and all were satisfied with our selections. The dining area is small and the restaurant a regular part of the working-class area, but I enjoyed thoroughly and thought the service and food surpassed expectations.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: string bean bento box 四季豆套餐
N Wang
it has real Taiwanse food ,maybe the best beef noodle soup I came across in US , soup was delicious ,hot soup taste a lot better when outside was 1F /-17C . Very cool building and interior decoration . Most customers ordered boba teas and carry out . They didn't play Chinese nor Taiwanse music in the background was little strange , I guess it was Japanese music.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Donna Wang Su
Popcorn chicken and the pork belly baos were delicious. The beef bao was okay and the main reason why I came is for the Taiwanese beef noodle soup which i found to be lacking. It lacked in flavor and the huge chunks of beef. Instead the broth was bland and they had thinly sliced beef like hot pot in it.
Food is okay but service is the worst. The guy and girl seem rude. He throw the water on our table. Felt so un-welcomed. But when the white guys came in the cashier girl was at her nicest😂 No wonder why there is no customer around
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 1
Visaal Ambalam
Taipei pearl milk tea and Okinawa milk teas are wonderful. Creamy but not too creamy. Tea has subtle flavor to it that you can tell is fresh. Recommend 25% sugar.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
keirin tou
The food quality is not as good as before after changing a new team i guess. The customer service is so bad here . As a Taiwanese customer, I feel ashamed.
We didn't expect this unassuming place to be so good!
The basil tofu bento was pretty incredible. The silken tofu was slightly crispy and extremely flavorful on the outside, melt in your mouth on the inside. I'm admittedly a sucker for almost any East/Southeast Asian dish with basil, but the sauce waa just SO good. The bento included tasty green beans, a delicious tea egg, and a really flavorful cabbage and carrot combination that ended up being a surprise hit for multiple people at our table. Other people ordered the egg fried tofu bento (also amazing, and the tofu was prepared very differently in this dish, with salty egg breading) and the popcorn chicken bento (One loved it, the other only liked it -- both found that a side of the house's outstanding citrus cream sauce was necessary for dipping). The fries and honey mustard were great but could have used some salt (none was set out). The staff member who helped us was very nice, though could have used a colleague or two. That way, our food could have arrived at closer to the same time and we could have ordered the citrus cream more immediately. Still, these ended up being minor complaints with everyone coming away impressed and satisfied with their meal.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 3
Kenna Sung
The drink is good, but the fired combo 1 is salty.
Ken Sih
Excellent food! My personal favorite is the Fried Tofu bento box which includes the Agedashi tofu medallions served with a sweet and sour sauce, cabbage side with a marinated hard boiled egg and white rice. Menu is extensive with options for most dietary needs. Extensive non-alcoholic beverages, including Boba teas. This location was initially intended to be a take out service. Therefore, dine in seating can be limited.
Vegetarian options: I've tried the Basil Fried Tofu bento box and it was heavy on the salt. It might have been just that time, but I haven't tried it again since.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Michelle
It was okay. I had the tofu bento box. Food was good but the oils made my stomach hurt, tea egg was unimpressive (marinated in a bland soy sauce mix), and I wasn’t particularly inspired to come back again.
David H
Taipei Café has a lovely atmosphere! The staff are kind and welcoming.
I love the interior, more specifically I love how they have a huge long paper menu when you walk in.
I used to work at a Taiwanese Restaurant // Bubble Tea Café and had a so-so experience working there. So it's cool being in the shoes as a customer again and replacing the bad memories.
This is where I go of I want that authentic Taiwanese dish taste. Good food in general. Bubble tea can be improved.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Just as good as the Chinatown location. Favs are black milk tea and oolong.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Great time; all bento box components are good
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Don’t go to this restaurant—they are racist.
I didn’t get to eat anything this morning, and now I’m just full of anger.
I suddenly craved beef noodle today and found out that Taipei Cafe has a location on Lincoln, just about 10 minutes away. So my boyfriend and I decided to drive over.
We arrived at around 11:03 AM, which was already their opening time. The staff inside were busy, and we waited outside. They clearly saw us but didn’t open the door until I knocked.
At first, I wasn’t even mad—I get that they might be busy in the morning. But then things got worse.
The staff member who opened the door just walked away right after. We had to seat ourselves because no one greeted or assisted us. And get this—this staff member didn’t say a single word to us. Not even a simple “hello.”
Then, another staff member came out from the kitchen, also without acknowledging us. But the two of them started chatting with each other. We sat there for ten minutes—no menu, no water, nothing. I was so frustrated that we just walked out. Didn’t even get to eat.
I just want to ask, is this how you treat your customers? This level of disrespect is unacceptable.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
I was in Chicago for a special film presentation and while there, was with a friend who was showing us around the city. We had a late start to the day, but chose Taipei Cafe to have lunch before moving on to other events. The cafe was busy with other people lunching, so we hung out a bit and waited until there was free seating and got our group together. Ordering is at the counter, and the counter person was kind and friendly, and provided suggestions since some of us were unfamiliar with the cuisine featured. We all decided to be adventuresome and ordered teas with the boba balls or grass jelly, and all our drinks arrived cold, delicious, and the tops adhered with a plastic shield to prevent spills. Despite it being a busy kitchen and a lot of lunch traffic, our selections arrived quickly and were attractively plated and tasty. We had a mix of vegan and vegetarian and omnivores with us, and all were satisfied with our selections. The dining area is small and the restaurant a regular part of the working-class area, but I enjoyed thoroughly and thought the service and food surpassed expectations.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: string bean bento box 四季豆套餐
it has real Taiwanse food ,maybe the best beef noodle soup I came across in US , soup was delicious ,hot soup taste a lot better when outside was 1F /-17C .
Very cool building and interior decoration .
Most customers ordered boba teas and carry out .
They didn't play Chinese nor Taiwanse music in the background was little strange , I guess it was Japanese music.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Popcorn chicken and the pork belly baos were delicious. The beef bao was okay and the main reason why I came is for the Taiwanese beef noodle soup which i found to be lacking. It lacked in flavor and the huge chunks of beef. Instead the broth was bland and they had thinly sliced beef like hot pot in it.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup, Popcorn Chicken 鹹酥雞
Food is okay but service is the worst. The guy and girl seem rude. He throw the water on our table. Felt so un-welcomed. But when the white guys came in the cashier girl was at her nicest😂 No wonder why there is no customer around
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 1
Taipei pearl milk tea and Okinawa milk teas are wonderful. Creamy but not too creamy. Tea has subtle flavor to it that you can tell is fresh. Recommend 25% sugar.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The food quality is not as good as before after changing a new team i guess. The customer service is so bad here . As a Taiwanese customer, I feel ashamed.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 1
Restaurantji Recommends
We didn't expect this unassuming place to be so good!
The basil tofu bento was pretty incredible. The silken tofu was slightly crispy and extremely flavorful on the outside, melt in your mouth on the inside. I'm admittedly a sucker for almost any East/Southeast Asian dish with basil, but the sauce waa just SO good. The bento included tasty green beans, a delicious tea egg, and a really flavorful cabbage and carrot combination that ended up being a surprise hit for multiple people at our table. Other people ordered the egg fried tofu bento (also amazing, and the tofu was prepared very differently in this dish, with salty egg breading) and the popcorn chicken bento (One loved it, the other only liked it -- both found that a side of the house's outstanding citrus cream sauce was necessary for dipping). The fries and honey mustard were great but could have used some salt (none was set out). The staff member who helped us was very nice, though could have used a colleague or two. That way, our food could have arrived at closer to the same time and we could have ordered the citrus cream more immediately. Still, these ended up being minor complaints with everyone coming away impressed and satisfied with their meal.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 3
The drink is good, but the fired combo 1 is salty.
Excellent food! My personal favorite is the Fried Tofu bento box which includes the Agedashi tofu medallions served with a sweet and sour sauce, cabbage side with a marinated hard boiled egg and white rice. Menu is extensive with options for most dietary needs. Extensive non-alcoholic beverages, including Boba teas. This location was initially intended to be a take out service. Therefore, dine in seating can be limited.
Vegetarian options: I've tried the Basil Fried Tofu bento box and it was heavy on the salt. It might have been just that time, but I haven't tried it again since.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
It was okay. I had the tofu bento box. Food was good but the oils made my stomach hurt, tea egg was unimpressive (marinated in a bland soy sauce mix), and I wasn’t particularly inspired to come back again.
Taipei Café has a lovely atmosphere! The staff are kind and welcoming.
I love the interior, more specifically I love how they have a huge long paper menu when you walk in.
I used to work at a Taiwanese Restaurant // Bubble Tea Café and had a so-so experience working there. So it's cool being in the shoes as a customer again and replacing the bad memories.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
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