Very friendly service and symptoms amount of food.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Yasmin Khoshnood
I had a lovely Gilmore Girls themed latte with a raspberry muffin. It's a beautiful cafe as well! I highly recommend.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Luz Melissa Cortes
I used to love coming to this place, especially for the cakes, but it’s been several days without any cakes?! Selmarie used to be a gem for the neighborhood and I was thrilled to find out your new restaurant will still keep the pastries, but if your cakes are gone then so will many of your customers…
Stephanie Sandoval
I was there for the Gilmore Girls drink menu and it was soo cute. Drinks not too sweet and desserts were wonderful!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Jenny
I hadn't been to Lincoln Square in a while and hadn't had a chance to try this new place, but I loved the old place that was here so I was happy Willow stuck to the pastry forward cafe with sit-down service throughout the day. I was excited to get the chance to support this new space. However, I found my experience pretty lacking, from the food to the service.
We went before five and it was not full at all. It's a weird time so we weren't surprised the place was half, maybe two thirds empty. Even so, our food took a surprisingly long time and service was friendly enough, but incredibly sparse. I don't need a server to check in every five seconds, but they didn't really check in at all and I was so thirsty we had to eventually just get up and ask for things. As friendly as our server was, that really stood out. Rarely do I find it so impossible to ask for what I need. The table behind us was left without ketchup and I knew it would take a while for the server to come back so I gave them ours, but they were getting up to get it too.
And despite how long the food took, it felt lukewarm when it got to us. My husband commented his food also felt like it had been sitting out. I don't know if they held up our dishes to wait for the fries to be done or if our server just forgot or what the situation was, but the timing seemed pretty poor.
My food was also pretty salty, which just made me want even more water that, again, was hard to get. My husband got the vegan smash and was disappointed it apparently came with the gf slices of bread instead of a real bun. We're not sure if maybe the bun isn't vegan or if someone made the executive decision to make the vegan option also gf for whatever reason, but it was not what he was expecting for his burger. I got truffle fries and while obviously I don't expect actual truffles at this price point, I didn't get any truffle flavor at all. Usually restaurants use some truffle oil or something. Not sure if they didn't or the flavor got lost in all the salt, but it wasn't there. But I will say as a positive, my fries did stay crisp even as they got colder. They didn't get mushy at all, which I appreciate, and the brussel sprouts were good.
It also kind of took a bit to pay because we got such little service. I wanted dessert but it seemed better to just pay and get our desserts ourselves given how long everything had taken. That went fine. I was a bit surprised by the sugar crystals on the outside of my roulade, but otherwise fine.
I can appreciate keeping the spirit of a beloved institution in the neighborhood and giving a nod to some German influence in the menu. I want to like this place and I'd like to get another chance to amend my review, but as a first impression it just wasn't great, and frankly, not even middle of the road. It stood out, and not in a positive way. I hope next time is better.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 2
Service: 2
Ryan Madden
I waited an hour for a club sandwich and some scrambled eggs. As someone who works in a restaurant, there is no reason for ticket times to be anywhere close to an hour. Our server didn't acknowledge the wait until almost 40 minutes had gone by. If the food was anything special then maybe I could understand the wait, but for it to be mediocre cafe food AND take an hour to come out? Even tables around me were waiting the same amount of time for things like a single salad or yogurt. If they're short staffed in the kitchen, or front of house staff to run food, then they need to accommodate to make service better instead of filling a patio of people all waiting an hour for food, on top of already waiting for a table. Incredibly disappointing spot
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 2
Service: 1
Atticus Rice
Tried a raspberry tart and banana eclair from their farmers market stand (Uptown) and both were quite the letdown.
Tara Howarth
Having lived in Lincoln Square for nearly 20 years, I want to see Willow, the successor to Selmarie do well. And while they have mirrored much of the old menu, what is a noticeable decline is the attire of the staff who work there. The hosts I've seen seat people look sloppy and like they're in sweats and hoodies hungover from the night before. The cafe staff also look pretty sloppy. If you're using the Selmarie recipes and menu, then use the Selmarie attire. Have the host polished looking - like in Sunday's best...like any host of any other restaurant in Chicago that commands the prices you're charging. Have someone there not always disappearing for 15 minutes when the cafe is empty. Have the cafe staff in uniform aprons with a Willow name tag. Have the hair back off the face so hair doesn't fall on my plum cake...take pride in how your staff represents you. If you don't care, they won't care, and then guess what...we won't care either to spend money there $$$
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 4
Service: 1
A.V.
My wife and I stopped by today after not having been to Lincoln Square for years. We were really looking forward to a nice afternoon coffee and cake. Unfortunately, our experience was more than disappointing. We were served hot coffee in glass cups (which are meant for iced coffee) and ordered 1 piece of apple streusel cake and one slice of raspberry roulade. The apple streusel did not taste like home made. The raspberry roulade also wasn’t convincing. We saw a waitress carrying out a frozen cheesecake (with her hands) through the dining room into the cake display in the front which was more than disturbing. The cakes come frozen and are almost certainly not made in house, and that for $6 a slice. We would never be back. Years ago this was the place to go - not anymore.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Beth Q
As my stars show, the service was super wonderful and friendly, and the atmosphere right there on the square is so lovely. I sat outside on a gorgeous day. However, I wasn't that impressed with my order. The feta avocado toast was maybe a little too feta-forward for me, and that could be mostly on me, like I should have ordered differently, but it wasn't that great. The bigger issue to me for a cafe was that the coffee was too strong. I was really in the mood for coffee so I still drank it, but it was not great. For the price of everything, and in such a lovely spot, they should be spot on with their coffee.
The food looked great, apparently, including to the staff behind the counter who was having a full on lunch as we came in. So delicious the food must be that they didn’t want to share it with customers because we were ignored while they ate and no care was taken as we turned around and left. Glad to get rid of us, I guess. Can’t think of an odder business model.
Atmosphere: 1
Service: 1
Iris Junge
We attending the concert at Giddings and excited to support a local business. I ordered the 3 filet mignon sliders only to receive 3 overcooked mini smash burgers. When I went back, I was informed its ground filet mignon. How very sad. If it was in fact filet, it tasted like a burger. And I'm not sure why would one choose to make a ground beef patty out of filet mignon. If you do, I would note that on the menu as it felt like false advertising. They offered to refund my money, but that was not the point.
Food: 3
Service: 4
Brian Lee
The pesto eggs were great and they give you a good amount of corned beef/protein whichever you pick. Nice big menu.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Stephanie Rodrigues
We recently spent a Friday afternoon at Willow Café and Bistro in Lincoln Square, and I enjoyed it so much. The open windows and leafy plaza view create such a relaxed, community-focused vibe.
I enjoyed some sweet treats paired with a nicely balanced and flavorful coffee. Everything I saw—from pastries to cocktails—felt thoughtfully made.
The service was warm and quick. The patio is a perfect spot for brunch, with plenty of natural light. I really appreciated the relaxed staff and inviting ambiance. My daughter loves coming here with us to enjoy the space, too.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Katie
Other than sitting with family because we are from out of town, nothing was very pleasant. We got there at 2:40p, there was no paper towels in the bathroom to begin our visit. Our server didn’t seem to sure of much. He didn’t understand us speaking English very well either so that was difficult. We had 2 vegans sitting at the table so we ordered the vegan smash burgers, one with truffle fries one with regular. The truffle fries were served with a non vegan sauce. In general I would never order that burger again. I’m assuming in house made patties, unsure because the menu does not state that. They were mushy and lacked any flavor. It had a huge piece of limp lettuce that I took the majority of off. The sauce was just a spot on the bun but was also burnt because it was put on the grill after putting it on the bun, unsure of that process as well. In whole the burger was dry and tasteless, I had to use half a bottle of ketchup to eat only 3/4 of it with one patty, took the other one off. Luckily the fries were half way ok so I could eat those. I ordered a blackberry mule, which I didn’t receive until we reminded the server and then I got it and it was wrong. So when I told him it wasn’t the correct one, he didn’t understand until I explained it 3 times. The atmosphere was not great, the bathroom had a weird smell and it was so quiet in there everyone could hear every word we spoke at the table. I love trying new places and new vegan food but this left me totally bummed and upset that is what I ate during my trip to Chicago, I know there is such good vegan food there.
Very friendly service and symptoms amount of food.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I had a lovely Gilmore Girls themed latte with a raspberry muffin. It's a beautiful cafe as well! I highly recommend.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I used to love coming to this place, especially for the cakes, but it’s been several days without any cakes?! Selmarie used to be a gem for the neighborhood and I was thrilled to find out your new restaurant will still keep the pastries, but if your cakes are gone then so will many of your customers…
I was there for the Gilmore Girls drink menu and it was soo cute. Drinks not too sweet and desserts were wonderful!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I hadn't been to Lincoln Square in a while and hadn't had a chance to try this new place, but I loved the old place that was here so I was happy Willow stuck to the pastry forward cafe with sit-down service throughout the day. I was excited to get the chance to support this new space. However, I found my experience pretty lacking, from the food to the service.
We went before five and it was not full at all. It's a weird time so we weren't surprised the place was half, maybe two thirds empty. Even so, our food took a surprisingly long time and service was friendly enough, but incredibly sparse. I don't need a server to check in every five seconds, but they didn't really check in at all and I was so thirsty we had to eventually just get up and ask for things. As friendly as our server was, that really stood out. Rarely do I find it so impossible to ask for what I need. The table behind us was left without ketchup and I knew it would take a while for the server to come back so I gave them ours, but they were getting up to get it too.
And despite how long the food took, it felt lukewarm when it got to us. My husband commented his food also felt like it had been sitting out. I don't know if they held up our dishes to wait for the fries to be done or if our server just forgot or what the situation was, but the timing seemed pretty poor.
My food was also pretty salty, which just made me want even more water that, again, was hard to get. My husband got the vegan smash and was disappointed it apparently came with the gf slices of bread instead of a real bun. We're not sure if maybe the bun isn't vegan or if someone made the executive decision to make the vegan option also gf for whatever reason, but it was not what he was expecting for his burger. I got truffle fries and while obviously I don't expect actual truffles at this price point, I didn't get any truffle flavor at all. Usually restaurants use some truffle oil or something. Not sure if they didn't or the flavor got lost in all the salt, but it wasn't there. But I will say as a positive, my fries did stay crisp even as they got colder. They didn't get mushy at all, which I appreciate, and the brussel sprouts were good.
It also kind of took a bit to pay because we got such little service. I wanted dessert but it seemed better to just pay and get our desserts ourselves given how long everything had taken. That went fine. I was a bit surprised by the sugar crystals on the outside of my roulade, but otherwise fine.
I can appreciate keeping the spirit of a beloved institution in the neighborhood and giving a nod to some German influence in the menu. I want to like this place and I'd like to get another chance to amend my review, but as a first impression it just wasn't great, and frankly, not even middle of the road. It stood out, and not in a positive way. I hope next time is better.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 2
Service: 2
I waited an hour for a club sandwich and some scrambled eggs. As someone who works in a restaurant, there is no reason for ticket times to be anywhere close to an hour. Our server didn't acknowledge the wait until almost 40 minutes had gone by. If the food was anything special then maybe I could understand the wait, but for it to be mediocre cafe food AND take an hour to come out? Even tables around me were waiting the same amount of time for things like a single salad or yogurt. If they're short staffed in the kitchen, or front of house staff to run food, then they need to accommodate to make service better instead of filling a patio of people all waiting an hour for food, on top of already waiting for a table. Incredibly disappointing spot
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 2
Service: 1
Tried a raspberry tart and banana eclair from their farmers market stand (Uptown) and both were quite the letdown.
Having lived in Lincoln Square for nearly 20 years, I want to see Willow, the successor to Selmarie do well. And while they have mirrored much of the old menu, what is a noticeable decline is the attire of the staff who work there. The hosts I've seen seat people look sloppy and like they're in sweats and hoodies hungover from the night before. The cafe staff also look pretty sloppy. If you're using the Selmarie recipes and menu, then use the Selmarie attire. Have the host polished looking - like in Sunday's best...like any host of any other restaurant in Chicago that commands the prices you're charging. Have someone there not always disappearing for 15 minutes when the cafe is empty. Have the cafe staff in uniform aprons with a Willow name tag. Have the hair back off the face so hair doesn't fall on my plum cake...take pride in how your staff represents you. If you don't care, they won't care, and then guess what...we won't care either to spend money there $$$
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 4
Service: 1
My wife and I stopped by today after not having been to Lincoln Square for years. We were really looking forward to a nice afternoon coffee and cake. Unfortunately, our experience was more than disappointing. We were served hot coffee in glass cups (which are meant for iced coffee) and ordered 1 piece of apple streusel cake and one slice of raspberry roulade. The apple streusel did not taste like home made. The raspberry roulade also wasn’t convincing. We saw a waitress carrying out a frozen cheesecake (with her hands) through the dining room into the cake display in the front which was more than disturbing. The cakes come frozen and are almost certainly not made in house, and that for $6 a slice. We would never be back. Years ago this was the place to go - not anymore.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
As my stars show, the service was super wonderful and friendly, and the atmosphere right there on the square is so lovely. I sat outside on a gorgeous day. However, I wasn't that impressed with my order. The feta avocado toast was maybe a little too feta-forward for me, and that could be mostly on me, like I should have ordered differently, but it wasn't that great. The bigger issue to me for a cafe was that the coffee was too strong. I was really in the mood for coffee so I still drank it, but it was not great. For the price of everything, and in such a lovely spot, they should be spot on with their coffee.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
The food looked great, apparently, including to the staff behind the counter who was having a full on lunch as we came in. So delicious the food must be that they didn’t want to share it with customers because we were ignored while they ate and no care was taken as we turned around and left. Glad to get rid of us, I guess. Can’t think of an odder business model.
Atmosphere: 1
Service: 1
We attending the concert at Giddings and excited to support a local business. I ordered the 3 filet mignon sliders only to receive 3 overcooked mini smash burgers. When I went back, I was informed its ground filet mignon. How very sad. If it was in fact filet, it tasted like a burger. And I'm not sure why would one choose to make a ground beef patty out of filet mignon. If you do, I would note that on the menu as it felt like false advertising.
They offered to refund my money, but that was not the point.
Food: 3
Service: 4
The pesto eggs were great and they give you a good amount of corned beef/protein whichever you pick. Nice big menu.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
We recently spent a Friday afternoon at Willow Café and Bistro in Lincoln Square, and I enjoyed it so much. The open windows and leafy plaza view create such a relaxed, community-focused vibe.
I enjoyed some sweet treats paired with a nicely balanced and flavorful coffee. Everything I saw—from pastries to cocktails—felt thoughtfully made.
The service was warm and quick. The patio is a perfect spot for brunch, with plenty of natural light. I really appreciated the relaxed staff and inviting ambiance. My daughter loves coming here with us to enjoy the space, too.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Other than sitting with family because we are from out of town, nothing was very pleasant. We got there at 2:40p, there was no paper towels in the bathroom to begin our visit. Our server didn’t seem to sure of much. He didn’t understand us speaking English very well either so that was difficult. We had 2 vegans sitting at the table so we ordered the vegan smash burgers, one with truffle fries one with regular. The truffle fries were served with a non vegan sauce. In general I would never order that burger again. I’m assuming in house made patties, unsure because the menu does not state that. They were mushy and lacked any flavor. It had a huge piece of limp lettuce that I took the majority of off. The sauce was just a spot on the bun but was also burnt because it was put on the grill after putting it on the bun, unsure of that process as well. In whole the burger was dry and tasteless, I had to use half a bottle of ketchup to eat only 3/4 of it with one patty, took the other one off. Luckily the fries were half way ok so I could eat those. I ordered a blackberry mule, which I didn’t receive until we reminded the server and then I got it and it was wrong. So when I told him it wasn’t the correct one, he didn’t understand until I explained it 3 times. The atmosphere was not great, the bathroom had a weird smell and it was so quiet in there everyone could hear every word we spoke at the table. I love trying new places and new vegan food but this left me totally bummed and upset that is what I ate during my trip to Chicago, I know there is such good vegan food there.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 2
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