Tsaocaa Lincoln Park

★★★★☆ 3.8 (43) • $

"(Review based on a Oct 2022 visit)First of all, I found it weird that I could only order through the touch screen. I guess I'm not so anti social that I don't want to avoid telling someone my order directly? I had a substitution I wanted to make for a drink but it wasn't immediately obvious how to input that into the ordering system. I had to flag down one of the bobaristas who had to explain how to switch one mix in for another. After ordering our drinks though, everything else went fine. The teas were refreshing and the mix ins were good. Details:- Contactless ordering at kiosk- Sweetness and ice level adjustable"

Taipei Cafe

★★★★★ 4.5 (64)

"Overall Thoughts: The food here is tasty with very reasonable prices for the portion sizes. Everything was flavorful, and came out quickly-- my favorite order was the fatty beef black pepper noodles; it's pretty oily but the flavors and textures are impeccable. It's a small space and seating is limited (just a few hightop tables and bar counter seating). I need to go to their Bridgeport location next, which has a more expansive menu (including hotpot) and seating area! Food I tried:- Fried Egg Tofu Bento (4.4/5): The Japanese egg tofu is great here: crispy and well-seasoned exterior with a soft, scalding interior. The other sides were solid too-- it's an overall well-balanced, filling meal option. - Fatty Beef Black Pepper Noodles (4.7/5): I especially enjoyed this dish: the beef and noodles were packed with flavor (the black pepper flavor is very distinct) and the soft textures paired perfectly together. - Popcorn Chicken (4.2/5): A Taiwanese classic; this was good with a crispy exterior and juicy interior-- no "wow" factor but very solid! It didn't come with any sauce, but dipping it in the egg tofu bento chili sauce was pretty good.- Matcha Belgian Waffle (4.2/5): This is a huge, filling dessert that tasted good but quickly became a bit monotonous/tedious to consume (especially since we were already so full by then). The waffle is soft, warm, dusted with detectable matcha powder, and topped with matcha Pocky sticks and vanilla ice cream. -- Price (relative to peers): 4.5/5Food: 4.4/5Ambience: 4.7/5Service: 4.8/5Overall Value: 4.5/5"

KURIMU

★★★★☆ 4.1 (336) • $$

"Came to this place in Little Italy that has ice cream. It has a pretty small but good amount of flavors. KURIMU has a few locations, including this one close to UIC. Has kind of an Asian theme going on. The prices are okay as far as quality. A pretty limited amount of flavors. It's got a few interesting ones. These go beyond the typical chocolate and stuff. Asian themes are as expected. It's about $6 a scoop. Certainly that's kind of a lot. This is high quality though. Last time had a non dairy flavor. The regular flavors include mango and purple yam among the more unusual. Good Asian style ice cream. It's located on Taylor at Racine. The only bad thing is it's limited for vegans."

Bubble Maki

★★★★☆ 4.4 (16)

"Felt like trying some new sushi out and Bubble Maki hit the spot that's for sure!I was especially hungry and ended up ordering 3 rolls. Im definitely a texture eater so having the two crunchy rolls was a great choice. I especially enjoyed the crunchy Avocado Tuna roll.Two other things I have to mention other than the rolls are actually the sauces. They're delicious. I definitely enjoyed the Sriracha aioli the most. It's a great level of spice and creaminess. It's nice to have something a little different than the usual Wasabi and soy sauce.The little touch that made my day was the pickled asparagus. I've never had it before but it was a nice change up.Definitely will be coming back!"

Shang Noodle & Chinese

★★★★☆ 4.1 (265) • $$

"What a great place to have some authentic delicious Chinese/Taiwanese food, in the heart of downtown Evanston. Whether you're a student, or not, definitely take the trek to Evanston to Shang Noodle & Chinese, where the food won't disappoint, the service great, and the overall dining experience being top-notched.We order the famous Jjajangmyeon (Noodles in blackbean sauce) which if you look at Yelp, there are dozens of photos of it; a crowd pleaser for sure. If you're looking for a great chicken dish, with jam-packed flavor, spice, and the perfect breading, definitely try out the dry red-chilli chicken. We topped off the fantastic meal with some pork belly soup.Our server was great... letting us two, pull together two tables, due to the amount of food we ordered. Our waters were filled constantly, and we were checked-up on several times.BATHROOM REVIEW: There is a mens and womens private bathroom. In the mens, it was extremely clean and spacious and contained a urinal, toilet, and even a chair to chill at, if you're all about having a conversation in the bathroom, or just wanted to lounge in a bathroom. No judgment here. Well, judgment with the bathrooms, as that's what I do. Sit or squat? Sit!"

Thai Spoon & Sushi

★★★★☆ 3.8 (334) • $$

"Absolutely amazing food!! Great portions and cheap pricing. Might be my fav casual Thai place. This is an absolute GEM and everyone needs to try it! Service is also quick!"

TsqCafe

★★★★★ 4.7 (17)

"It's my first time here. They recently opened up and I remember seeing the Lincoln Square Chamber of Commerce promote their ribbon cutting. The staff here are friendly and efficient. I tried their roasted oolong milk tea -- their drinks come in one size and this drink didn't include boba. I added tapioca as a topping, and they didn't have pudding. When you ask for no sugar it's literally no sugar which I appreciate. I also like how I can see what they're keying in for me at the counter, and there's also a kiosk for self ordering. The ambiance is really cute and spacious. I can see myself studying there if I was still a student. I'd recommend this place to anyone in the area looking for boba, and they even sell street food like popcorn chicken. I'd totally come back to check out other items on their menu, and they also gave me a punch card."

Hello Jasmine - Lincoln Park

★★★★☆ 4.1 (155) • $

"Love to have a restaurant with a full selection of delicious Taiwanese drinks and food. One has to be warned before they make a visit that portion sizes are between generous to quite large, so it's important to bring a large appetite or friend when you're making a visit here. Since everything is so good here, it'll be hard not to try to finish everything you get (for example, the popcorn chicken is a box of all meat, and the bento is packed quite tight and can easily be shared between two people).The drinks here are done quite well, exactly to the special order of ice or sweetness that you desire. This is with high quality ingredients and the boba has the right amount of chewiness to it. The popcorn chicken was tender with a good crispiness to it and the salt and pepper wasn't overwhelming. The bento box is a fantastic way to try lots of different Taiwanese favorites and snacks at the same time including the tea egg and Taiwanese sausage. The pork rib was marinated well and quite crisp. Overall, great food and drink make this a spot I'm excited to visit again in the future. I was very glad to see everything prepared in such an authentic way and to see a menu that's different from what you see at other boba cafés nearby."

Pholicious

★★★★☆ 4.2 (158) • $$

Hokkaido Ramen House

★★★★★ 4.6 (117) • $$

"This was good ramen for the burbs. It was a bit of a drive to the Hoffman Estates location. However, we were able to get seated with no wait. If you check in via Yelp, you can get a free appetizer of crab rangoon. We also ordered chicken karaage, tonkotsu shoyu ramen, and black garlic tonkotsu ramen. Food came out surprisingly fast. The staff was good at taking away the empty plates and bowls. Chicken karaage was good. Chicken was juicy, crispy, and cut in good size bite pieces. Crab rangoon was okay, I mostly tasted the cream cheese, I felt like there wasn't much imitation crab meat in there. Tonkotsu shoyu ramen was delicious. I enjoyed sipping the rich, flavorful pork broth. Pork meat was nice and tender. It broke apart easily. Noodles were chewy and good. It's a tasty ramen for the cold weather. Black garlic tonkotsu ramen, I liked the broth more than the shoyu. I found it addictingly savory and had a longer lasting impression on me. Prices were reasonable. Sufficient parking."

Bubble and Brew

★★★★★ 4.6 (13)

"This place is so cute, you get greeted by the owners when you walk in, it's super relaxing to be here and get some work down. The bubble teas are really good and you get a good amount in your cup before it's all just ice. They also have a lot of bakery items to chose from; a lot of unique flavors. Definitely recommend this place if you're in the south loop!"

Taipei Cafe

★★★★☆ 4 (377) • $$

"I already wrote my love letter to Taipei Cafe in my review six years ago, but just popping back to report that this place still stays one of my absolute favorite places in the city. I've come here on a bad day and absolutely come out of this meal cheered up. The staff is always nice and chill, and it's just such a cozy place.On the most recent visit, I was just here for a snack so we got the seafood rice roll (fan tuan) and the plum flavored fried sweet potato. Two favorites, although I love their braised pork with rice and oyster omelet too."

Queen Sheba

★★★★★ 4.9 (26)

"I couldn't find the place at first. It's right across from the post office with the entrance facing the street rather than the parking lot. It's the most quaint tiny little store front.Very tasty and clean food. The bread loafs were huuuge and I ate the entire piece given how light and fluffy it was. The owner/ chef was warm and welcoming.My only complain was that some of the ingredients (onion?) were sharp and filled the small space, which was a bit uncomfortable for my sinuses."

Viet Taste

★★★★☆ 4.1 (107) • $$

"I was on vacation in this area and wanted pho. Found this place that was open late. There was a huge parking lot. The place is huge. I like that there was large tables to accommodate large family gatherings. I ordered spring rolls and they were good but the sauce was not a peanut sauce. I was a little disappointed. My husband ordered a strawberry smoothie that was really good. The pho was really good and portions are generous. They only accepted cash so something to consider. Overall okay experience."

VinTea

★★★★☆ 4.4 (59) • $$

"I've been twice now. The place itself isn't unpleasant but not much to look at. It's nice enough. The front door doesn't always close properly so depending on the weather you might want to sit far from it. Even if it's cold, the people who work there are not. They're very nice and eager to serve. I have had the grilled pork vermicelli bowl with egg roll, the grilled pork bahn mi and I tried the mango milk tea with tapioca pearls. The vermicelli bowl was good. I've had better and worse. I would like more fish sauce and I'd like it with less chili. You can always add more at your table so I don't want extra in it when it comes to me. There's plenty of fresh vegetables and peanuts which is really a bonus. The worst part was the egg roll. They fry these up in advance I think and mine was cold and a bit stale. It's probably a good roll fresh. Not sure. The bahn mi was excellent. I like their rolls. They're perfect. Delicious sandwich. I also really enjoyed my tea. I have no idea what milk tea is. They told me it was nondairy. It's not too sweet. It went really well with my bahn mi. What should I try on my next visit?!"

Tsaocaa

★★★★☆ 4.1 (12)

"I'm a huge fan of Tsaocaa Chinatown and Lincoln park! So when I saw that there's another location in Chicago, I had to show my support! I always do a rotation of fruit tea or jasmine green milk tea. Today, I ordered my standard jasmine green milk tea and bubble waffle. My friend ordered the iced muscat grape green tea and pork sung bubble waffle. The taste is similar to all the other locations! I did have an issue with the flavor of my milk tea but they corrected it when I mention it to the staff member. So they're very attentive to the customers request! The inside is very bright and cute. They have a plushie wall which is great for photos. They also have a cute painting wall which I used for the photo!"

ParTea

★★★★☆ 4.2 (22)

"What a cute place; perfect for getting ice cream and going for a walk afterwards. The chocolate ice cream was very rich and yummy! Not overly sweet - which is my preference. The vanilla Pikachu was delicate. We ended up getting these adorable waffle eggs! Two plain and two with chocolate! Very creative! The service was great, nice people who seem to like working there!"

Cuckoo

★★★★☆ 4.3 (76) • $$

"Ordered a bunch of food for delivery and we were very pleased! The soy garlic tenders were the ultimate favorite that we'll be coming back for. Soy Garlic Tenders: amazing flavor! Light and crisp, 5 tenders are enough if you're mildly hungry. Since they're delicious I would order more next time. Snow Onion Sandwich: spectacularly tasty sandwich. Split it with my husband. Could do with less Mayo next time but still impressed. Smoothies with cheese cloud: wonderful!!Dumplings: Good no issues. Pork Buns: While not bad I generally wasn't impressed. Wish there was a sauce on it."

Five Spice Kitchen

★★★★☆ 4.2 (132) • $$

"I heard a lot about how this restaurant is a rebranding of Silver Lake Chinese food. They did have w a Silver Lake menu and one of the staffers said it's a rebranding of Silver Lake, so I guess it's true. It's significantly more upscale than Silver Lake but the people are just as nice. Personally, I think the food is better. I was happy my husband suggested we try it. I love the updated decor. Very chic. If you liked the old Silver Lake, this is a sure bet."

Poke Burrito

★★★★☆ 4.4 (141) • $$

"Ordered a fantastic poke bowl for delivery!! It felt very appropriately sized for the price. But more than anything, it tasted SO fresh and like the ingredients were very high quality. You could just tell. And love how many topping choices there are, and how you aren't charged extra for just avocado. I will be coming back!"

Joy Yee

★★★★☆ 4 (9)

"Such a classic place- the staff is friendly- food comes out quickly. The menu is HUGE! A little overwhelming. The spicy pork stone rice bowl was so good and large portion- it had a bit too much rice and not enough sauce/meat/veggies. Brown sugar milk tea was perfection. Would come back just for that"

Boki’s Tea House

★★★★★ 4.6 (32)

"Boki's Tea House is a newer bubble tea place that opened right across from the North Park University campus - the menu offers milk teas, milk foams, fruit teas, flavored yakults, Vietnamese coffee, caffeine-free beverages (such as lemonades), as well as various toppings to add to your drinks.We came here in the early evening, and we ordered:+the Brown Sugar Boba Milk Tea - this was milky and cream, and the preferred out of the three+the Peach Orange Lemongrass Tea - tea was not strong as it needed to be and needed to be steeped longer; really wasn't able to taste the peach and the orange flavors, and the drink tasted diluted +and, the Kumquat Black Tea - tea was not as strong as it needed to be as it needed to be steeped longer; couldn't taste the kumquat, and the drink tasted dilutedStaff were very friendly and kind, and the place itself is bright and minimalistic - there were a good number of handful of seating inside.Their corgi logo is super cute!Limited street parking available in the area.+friendly service+limited street parking available"

TSAôCAA

★★★★☆ 3.9 (248) • $$

"I was looking for a shaved snow/ice place and this one seemed to fit the bill. I'm honestly quite surprised there aren't more places around Chicago serving this type of dessert. This store has a small free shared parking lot outside with limited spots. Portion is huge and meant for sharing. I went with a peach and mango combo. The fruit tastes very sweet and fresh, with syrup drizzled on top. The shaved snow is very light and creamy and there's a surprise bit of red bean sandwiched underneath the layer of fluffy snow. It's the perfect antidote dessert for a hot steamy Chicago summer day."

Matcha Cita

★★★☆☆ 2.8 (17)

"Cute, Instagramable matcha spot. It's located in the Studio Three so after your workout, you can grab a matcha, smoothie, or some grub. The woman who made my matcha was friendly and nice. I ordered the hot matcha horchata. While it wasn't the best matcha I've had or made, I liked it. It was a bit gritty (from the rice I assume?), but a good whisking will alleviate that. I recommend watching some of Veggiekin's IG videos on how to make matcha for some help.Anyway, it was still a good vibe. I worked on my planner while sipping on my matcha. If I'm in the area again, I definitely want to try some of the food items on the menu!"

Taiyaki Chicago

★★★★☆ 4 (192) • $

"Honestly a 3.5 but rounded up to 4 because service was so good. We dropped by here after a random dinner in the area and were going right for the taiyaki. My friend and I being mirror images ordered the same taikyaki with matcha with the only difference being red bean vs custard fillings.Our orders came out pretty quickly and were giant! Definitely have dessert space in your stomach if you come here. I will say that the matcha soft serve had a great robust matcha flavor - not dilute or faint at all and not too cloyingly sweet in any way. Loved it! Now the problems started once I got down to the taiyaki itself. It was a hefty taiyaki and I truly wonder if it should have been cooked for a longer period of time because parts of it felt very thick and gummy. The outside and the top had a little bit of a crisp but the middle was honestly very hard to get through. The filling was fine -- i.e. the custard that I got and it complimented the rest of the dessert well but I have to say I have some reservation about the thicc taiyaki which felt a little underdone imo. Service was very sweet; you order at the counter and they call your order out. We went on a weekend night but the crowd was not insane which was much appreciated. There is a good amt of sitting area on the inside too!"

Uni Uni

★★★★☆ 4.4 (30)

"I had a coffee based drink with boba, it was quite nice on a warmer day after going to the nearby art museum. Their system was down which made ordering difficult but they were kind and worked hard to get it restored, even to the length of getting my information to charge later, but then it came back up and they gave me a little discount. Small but nice interior, I took it to go. Cute Uni decor"

Top Tao Tea

★★★★☆ 4.3 (130) • $$

"Great boba spot in Uptown! Workers were friendly, easy ordering system, and our drinks came out timely. Boba was tasty and the cups our drinks came in were so cute! Pro tip: order 25%-50% sugar since these drinks do get sweet! They have a lot of seating (mostly booths) and an area with a pretty flower backdrop. There's some board games at the front of the place, so you can spend some time here!"

Snow Dragon Shavery

★★★☆☆ 2.7 (73)

"Snow Dragon Shavery is a fun spot. Especially now that we have hot summer days and warm summer nights.On our visit, we brought my friend's niece and she was so excited by the colors and all the goodies. She loved her ice cream and cotton candy. I loved the macaron cookies.I thought the store was kept really clean and organized. It's bright and colorful. And the staff was very friendly and helpful. They were very patient with our little one who had a tough time making decisions on which sweet treats she wanted.Overall, it was fun to try. I think tourists and locals will enjoy a little bit of shavery too!"

Tasty House1

★★★★★ 4.7 (106)

"My sister recently told me about an Asian restaurant that was absolutely fantastic. She told me that I needed to check it out as soon as possible and that I would absolutely love it. The name of this restaurant is Tasty House #1 in Carol Stream.We ended up going on a Sunday night. The restaurant was completely packed, which is a good sign of a restaurant that serves good food.The owner remembered my sister. He was extremely friendly to her and her family and was happy to meet me. I already had a very good feeling about this place. The level of customer service was fantastic.The main dish that this location is known for is Pho. Pho is a Vietnamese noodle dish with herbs and meats.I went with the make your own Pho. I added brisket, Vietnamese meatballs, and chicken. While we waited for our main dishes, we also ordered egg rolls and spring rolls. The eggrolls and spring rolls were super fresh and delicious. One thing that you definitely need to try when you go here is their hot chilli oil. It is the best hot chilli oil I have ever had. There is a heavy flavor of garlic and the spice is not too spicy.They are also known for making fresh fruit drinks and Boba teas. My favorite flavor is taro. It is a purple potato/Yam that is sweet and delicious, something you need to try.The restaurant seemed to be getting busier as we sat and the owner was very busy serving tables, while one of his workers made fresh fruit drinks for the entire little league baseball team that suddenly walked in. All of this chaos and they never missed a beat.Our main dishes arrive at the table. The Pho came with a side of bean sprouts herbs, such as cilantro and mint amongst other items to add in to your Pho.The broth was so rich and the noodles were perfectly cooked. I was in heaven.We all ate until we were completely full. Six people and the bill was under $200 to eat like kings and queens.I definitely cannot recommend this place enough for you to check out. You will not be sorry. When you stop in please tell them the Chicago Food King sent you.I give a rating of 9 out of 10. This is definitely a place that you need to check out."

Hello Jasmine - Lincoln Square

★★★★☆ 4.1 (28)

"Hello Jasmine is one of the better bubble tea places in the city but this is probably my least favorite location. I think that it's the biggest and the nicest but the food and drinks are not as good as their other locations. I ordered the pink guava tea and it was way too sweet I was so disappointed. I also got their pork rice bento box and the rice was cooked so poorly where everything was clumped together :( Maybe they were having an off day this week but it was very disappointing. Aside from that it's a beautiful space and the service is decent. You basically order at a kiosk and then they bring the order out to you! Ample seating and parking is never too difficult in the neighborhood!"

Simple Delights

★★★☆☆ 3.2 (40) • $

"The Saturday that I went to Simple Delights and tried their breakfast combos, was one of the fullest I have ever been.. and I was very happy. I came here with my daughter and we were greeted once we got inside. There was limited parking spots because the place was in a small commercial strip. There was no dine in service since they were strictly following the Covid precautions so we waited there for our meals to be cooked. We tried the DAINGSILOG and LONGSILOG. Both the daing na bangus and longganisa were delicious, especially with the garlic fried rice. I loved the toasted garlic that were sprinkled on the rice. While waiting for our breakfast combo meals, the smell of fresh-out-of-the-oven PAN DE SAL was distracting me so I had to get a few pieces. They were still warm and soft, so how could I resist?! They also encouraged my daughter to try their freshly made chicken emapanada. We loved it. It was stuffed with delicious filling and the pastry was so good. I am definitely going back to try other meals. Hopefully I can get lucky again with my timing so I can catch those warm and delicious pan de sal. The service we received was great. They were friendly, efficient and very pleasant. Til next time."

Wentworth Seafood House

★★★★☆ 4.3 (177) • $$

"Our party of 4 returned here for a Friday lunch.  It's been 4.5 years since I was here, and I really didn't remember it, but they have a comfortable and airy space.  It was fairly busy at the time but service was quick and attentive. We had an 8 item lunch comprising of 6 dim sum items and a couple of entrees (a chicken feet and spare rib rice and a mixed mushroom rice noodle dish). Pricing is reasonable and quality is decent although the rice in the pot of rice was ordinary white rice and not flavorfully cooked clay pot rice."

Te'amo Boba Bar - Chicago

★★★★★ 4.6 (49)

"Overall, a decent spot to grab boba near Millenium Park! They have a big variety on the menu, and it seems their dalgona drinks or volcano milk tea are most popular.I got the Rose Green Tea this visit, which was VERY STRONG tea. Refreshing and lightlt had the aftertaste of rose. Not bad! I also tried the Coconut Double Pudding, which was okay. The flavor was good, but the texture was too goopy for me. I wish it was a little more firm or jello-like."

Mambo Wings

★★★★☆ 3.8 (4)

"Fresh food, made to order. I got the 5 tenders in spicy and fries combo with a super fruit green tea. Tea is so refreshing with real fruit in every sip. Might be a texture thing for some people but I like it. Tenders are good and seasoned, glad I got spicy and not hot spicy because the spicy is actually spicy and not white people spicy! Workers were nice, I think I met the owner, she was very kind. They gave me more than 5 tenders which is always great. They have a kiosk for orders but you can also place your order with one of the workers. Small place but I ate in my car so no big deal! I will be back, I want to try more of their teas!"

Kurimu

★★★★☆ 4.1 (157) • $$

"After dinner, I happened to walk by this dessert spot and decided WHY NOT? Though I do want to point out, on a windy day it's a BATTLE to get through the heavy doors-- I almost gave up. Mango Sticky Rice - THIS is such a UNIQUE idea, they have mochi in every bite to resemble sticky rice -- I LOVE itBlack Sesame - This was AIGHT, not too impressed Anyways, I definitely recommend y'all stop by and try out their fun ice cream flavors."