Ikram Cafe

Ikram Cafe is a cozy dainty dining space for the ladies who need a lunch break from shopping in their high fashion boutique. Service was top notch - our server was polite and charming. A bowl of artisan bread and sauteed baby kale was served first as complimentary appetizers. I especially liked the sunflower seeds bun and the wrapped butter. The bison burger is an excellent choice featuring a thick layer of cheddar and fluffy buns. Very savory and filling. For the lamb meatballs entree, I most enjoyed tasting the crunchy zucchini fritter! Ikram boutique sells very eclectic styles with refreshing color, fabric and pattern combinations. I wish I could show you some of their clothing and accessories, but no photography is allowed on the first floor, which I understand as it would violate proprietary rights of the fashion designers.

Such a pretty restaurant above a designer shop. You can imagine an elegant Parisian lady having lunch there. There is even a piano in the dining area! Food is great. I had the daily five salad, $19, which is a plate of five different types of salads. I absolutely loved it! It's so well balanced in nutrition and tastes very good! The meal also came with 5 different types of bread (all very good), butter, olives, and olive oil. Will go back! Service was great too.

This was a easy find just look for the bright red building in the middle of the street. The cafe is located in the second floor where there is a luxury shopping center on the first floor. The food was good and the waiters were attentive. I went for an afternoon lunch on a weekday. They weren't too busy. The menu isn't too extensive... I was suspecting more options. The portions were good. They're very big on red. The flower on the table was a red rose, the take away bag was red, the decor has elements of red everywhere. I didn't get a chance to use the restrooms but the establishment was very clean.

Ikram cafe is a great hidden gem in Streeterville located above a very high end clothing boutique. I came here for a birthday lunch with my boyfriend and his family. We had a hard time finding it, because you have to actually walk in through the boutique to get upstairs to the restaurant. It is very fancy, I was almost uncomfortable at first, but the staff is very warm and friendly and we were warmly greeted once we came in. The ambiance is great, and I love the menu, not too overwhelming and everything is farm to table. They have a nice variety of teas and coffee and the water is infused with cucumber. I ordered the open face veggie sandwich, toasted baguette half with eggplant, mushrooms, peppers, goat cheese and a honey balsamic glaze. It was delicious.This looks like the perfect place to come for a quiet afternoon tea or fancy lunch with the ladies.

I love this place. Ambiance. Personal Service. Outstanding food. Daily specials are always good. Bread is warm. Water is infused. Love the little bites served when you sit down.

First off, how to get here:1. Get on your phone and get your GPS going2. Look for a red building that looks like a very fancy clothing store3. Go inside the store, walk your girlfriend/fiance/wife quickly by all the very-nice-yet-super-expensive stuff, up the stairs past what appears to be an art gallery entrance, and you'll find this placeOnce you arrive, you'll find a cool little lunch spot that may seem a bit stuffy at first on appearance (because it's nicely decorated - i'm not an art expert but it's probably modern or contemporary or something like that) but is quickly dispelled by friendly and welcoming service.My wife and I both had the bison burger, which was perfectly cooked but maybe a notch too juicy. Good problem to have. Some random complementary small plates, like fresh grilled shishito peppers, were dropped off which was a nice touch. The bottle of wine we had matched perfectly with everything we ate, and the dessert, which was a small portion of cherry sorbet, was unexpectedly mind-blowing. The Chef was out talking to some other patrons and we had a chance to thank him while we were walking out.Awesome meal on a great summer day in Chicago. Highly recommend Ikram Cafe and appreciate the good service from Nathan. Note: Not sure of the hours, but I'm pretty sure they were the same as the store. They don't serve dinner.

When our business partner suggested meeting here for lunch I was kind of unexcited. From her description, I imagined something like the old Bonwit Teller restaurant in NYC, where "ladies who lunch" would gather for a meal of crustless watercress sandwiches after a rough morning shopping for designer clothes. This image was not dispelled on arriving at the shop, which seems geared toward outfitting the well-to-do of Chicago's tonier neighbourhoods. Once you approach the café, however, the situation starts to improve. First of all, the area before the café is devoted to a very interesting art gallery with some truly unusual art, and a little shop selling design items and artistic goods. Then you get to your table and see the menu, which is devoid of watercress sandwiches and is instead full of interesting sandwiches, salads and other dishes that make ample use of locally sourced produce from the area's farmer markets. Everything we had (I had a turkey banh mi sandwich) was excellent and interesting, and served by an enthusiastic waiter who was very excited by all the cool things on the menu. The other diners were a motley crew, and not at all the type of lady I was expecting. And best of all, the pricing is not stratospheric.

The décor and waiting staff was excellent. When I go out to eat I expect fair service, otherwise I would just eat at home. I brought my fiancé there and she was awed by the design of the place, we came in at 10:30am and we had to wait about 10 minutes to get seated. We were the first customers there. They were still getting ready and printing menus. The food was alright, I think I expected more from the omelette because everyone and their moms hypes it up on yelp. We were served olives, fresh bread, and butter. I ordered the Omelette and my girlfriend ordered the pasta. Then they gave us cookies for dessert.* I heard the chef yelling at the kitchen at the waiting staff about making him work right when he got in. It made it feel like my meal was not made with love and rushed. I mean their listed hours was 10 am. I would figure he could whip up eggs by 10:45 am. I felt bad for the waiting staff and give them a good tip.

This is a perfect place if you truly want to be in a place that you can catch up with people without the too much noise. I went here for an afternoon tea with friends and it was superbly done!Overall the cafe has the perfect ambiance and the staff are just the best!

We were the only ones in the restaurant for lunch. Food was extremely good. Bison burger was delicious, can be split by 2 people. Grilled salmon delicious, also can be split by 2 people.Disappointed by the following:No one asked if we wanted more hot water for tea and also was not served any of the bread that all the reviews stated was amazing. Missed out on that. I thought it was strange that there were bread plates, but again no bread was served. Just sat there, for a long time with nothing on the table to eat till our meal arrived. Even the complimentary olives were not served. Feel like our party was cheated.If the owner reads this, what's the excuse? Was our first time there so how would we know. If you're a first timer, be sure to ask for bread and olives.