Cinnamon Café

Appears to be permanently closed– there is a for lease sign up in the window.

So many cultured breakfast/​lunch restuarants in the Lincoln Square area, what to do? Keep Cinnamon Café off the list!
I would not recommend this place. Compared to all the ones in the area, this place does not stand a chance. A best friend of mine told me I had to check it out… so I did. When walking in, it had funny smell. Both of the items ordered; banana french toast and florentine benedict were less than mediocre. The coffee wasnt anything special, just a dash of cinnamon, which is something I could have done at home.
The staff was friendly and the food was serviced in a decent amount of time. However I would not go back to this place. Definately a place that can be skipped. Take the extra couple blocks to Golden Nugget and you’ll walk out satisfied.

«We only have one cook this morning, so the food may take a little longer,» exclaimed the server after she took my order. Although a bit unprofessional, it was an honest warning that the food is going to take a while to come out. Cinnamon Café’s relaxed environment, friendly servers and endless cups of hot coffee and water made the thirty minute wait seem like only fifteen minutes.
I tried Cinnamon’s signature Cinnamon Coffee. It had a subtle cinnamon taste on the finish, but it was nothing that I got too excited about. I ordered Benepuerco, that is a pork laden eggs benedict with their house breakfast potatoes. After the wait, my food came out hot and looked great. Two serrano corn bread bases with a thin pork loin layer topped with two poached eggs, my eggs poached a little too long for me, with garlic spinach and smothered in chipotle hollandaise. It was tasty, but nothing I will long for in the near future.
My whole brunch experience here was enjoyable, even with the A-​OK food and the wait. The servers and the cozy brunch ambience really made it worth the whole three star rating. See you soon Cinnamon Café?

The reviewers that stated this place is better than Over Easy are smoking crack. Yes, I understand that you have to wait up to an hour to get seated at Over Easy, but when you do get seated the food comes out fast and their service is excellent. My girlfriend and I tried Cinnamon Café out last week and although we got seated in 20 minutes it took well over an hour for our food to arrive and we never saw our waiter once after he took our order. We tried to flag 5 different people down before she could get a refill on her coffee. The décor of this place is nothing to write home about either.
I ordered the Chorizo Burger and it was just okay. I asked for it to be cooked medium and it came out well done. I am giving this place 3 stars only because my girlfriend had the Spanish Hash and she loved it. I’d be willing to go her again, but not on my own accord.

This restaurant was formerly named Ravenswood Grill. For all the changes in management, marketing, and name, it seems this restaruant has stayed true to its delicious roots.
If you’re craving breakfast with a bit more bite and a lot more chorizo (who wouldn’t?), you should check out this underrated brunch stop. I’ve eaten here 4 times already, and I’ll definitely return.
High points:
It’s not usually packed full. The longest wait is probably 20 mins around 12pm on Sundays.
Delicious food! My favorite dishes are the:
— Hangover Chilaquiles with chorizo (different from the normal menu dish). It’s found on the Brunch Specials menu.
— Benepuerco: Cornbread, 2 Poached Eggs, Roasted Pork, Apple Wood Smoked Bacon and Chorizo Hollandaise. also found on the brunch specials menu.
Lows:
— For the brunch rush, there are never enough servers. We’ve gone without drinks for a half hour at a time due to one confusion or another. They don’t leave coffee carafes at the table, either, so you’ll haver to flag them down if you go without refills.
— They realize they are shortstaffed, and last weekend they did warn us the food would take a while to get to us. We had a large party of 8 and the food took over 45 minutes to arrive. This may be understandable, but even when I was eating there with only 2 people during a slow period, we had empty water glasses and no refills on coffee for far too long. The food was still slow getting out to us.
— They serve their soda from cans, so there are no refills, and the soda is often warm without lots of ice.
I’m giving them 3.5 stars because of the food and the fact that they’ve never gotten an order wrong. The slow, understaffed service leaves much to be desired.

If you value your health fellow Unilocalers… avoid this eatery like the plague!
A-There’s nothing remotely «cinnamon» about the place. Considering cinnamon is one of my favorite spices, I was hoping for cinnamon pancakes, french toast, or something of that nature. Instead I was stuck with a small, flavorless portion of scrambled eggs with black beans.
B-​Lousy coffee. I’m not talking about 7’11 bad. I’m talking coffee grounds, burnt on the bottom, nasty coffee that should have never been served in our fine city.
C-​Bad hygine practices. After waiting for 30 minutes for my meal, I had to use the facilities. While opening the door, a kitchen worker barged right past me, proceeded to the urinal, then WALKED OUT WITHOUT WASHING HIS HANDS! Ewww! Then, when I brought it to the cashiers attention, she was indifferent, as if this was no big deal. Really? If the staff isin’t even practicing hand washing procedures, what else is going on in that kitchen?
With that being said, it doesn’t matter if the Cinnamon Café had the best food in the world (which it didn’t). When your not washing your hands, I’m telling mama Unilocal on you!

Recently my friend and I went to Cinnamon Café and we both ordered the «Hangover Chilaquiles» (though neither of us had a hangover). This brunch item was a heaping pile of crunchy and slightly spicy goodness, with a generous dollop of guacamole on top and sprinklings of chorizo interspersed (my friend went with the soy chorizo version and she was also impressed). My glass of coke was lukewarm despite the bit of ice, but I should have just asked for extra ice from our friendly server. This diner location has gone through a few versions over the years, so I hope Cinnamon Café sticks around a bit.

I’ve been to this place now almost every Sunday for the past several months and it has never been managed well.
Today I waited 25 minutes for a table when there were 4 empty ones (they just weren’t cleaned off!), 10 minutes for coffee, and then 30 minutes for food!
Besides the wait, we got our food and had no silverware, it took forever to get our bill, and they had run out of 2 items on the menu (both of which I tried to order and then couldn’t get).
I have always liked this place because it’s a little mom-​and-​pop kind of place, but they need to find someone to manage and train their people! It felt a bit like being on a episode of Restaurant Impossible or something. I’m taking a break from this place and going to find somewhere else to go… maybe somewhere where if I wait, I know I’m waiting for people to finish their meal, not waiting for the bus boy and hostess to decide to seat me.

I could have brunch every day of my life. Granted I would be huge, but I would be happy.
After I moved into my new neighborhood I started driving by Cinnamon Café en route to Lincoln Square. I figured I’d give it a go, because my Unilocal friends thought it was decent and said the wait wasn’t long. They were spot on.
I have gone twice now and both meals were average. The first time I had the eggs benedict which were standard, and the second time I had a Mexican inspired dish which left me underwhelmed (can’t remember what it was.)
Overall the meals were reasonably priced and, again, no wait which I love. Given that Tiztal Café is a bit closer I probably will frequent that more, but Cinnamon Café is worth a try once.

The food was great!
Service was amazing!

This is the place that one heads to when one doesn’t fancy waiting 40-​plus minutes on the sidewalk for brunch outside one of the trendier options. And it is a solid alternative. The food here ranges from pretty good to downright amazing.
The menu relies heavily on the Mexican flavors — black beans and peppers and tortillas and such. Hubby gets occasional cravings for their Hangover Chilaquiles, but be aware, these are strictly a weekend brunch item. If you get a chilaquile craving mid-​week, they can’t help you out. I haven’t sampled any of their sweeter offerings yet, but I have tried several omelets and scrambles. The Azteca Omelet disappointed me recently — too dry for my liking. However, the Double Heart Omelet is quite nice –artichoke hearts and hearts of palm with avocado and goat cheese. It is all creamy and tangy and good. Of course, in my world avocado makes everything better. They are also pretty veggie friendly, which I appreciate. They have of soy chorizo available to stand in for the regular porky kind in the various egg dishes. Yay for soy chorizo!
The place isn’t much to look at. The décor is a bit worn, but the staff is friendly. And there are always tables available. Service is generally pretty good, but this last visit we had to wait 40 minutes for our food to come out. Odd, as the place was not full. But these things happen from time to time. I won’t hold it against them. It’s just nice to have a «walk right in, sit right down» kind of place available for breakfast on the weekends.

Spiked mango sorbet. a creation of mine for a house party the night before. Then a dip in Lake Michigan with great friends and a speedy two hours of sleep before church the following morning. After service my body was longing for good coffee and something to soak up the hangover.
From Lasalle and North Avenue to this area we were stopping and checking brunch spots all the way. Sunday brunch is such a busy time in Chicago and most places had a forty to an hour long wait. F– that. On the drive down, we were planning a switch from brunch to burgers (thoughts of burger philosophy) just then we passed this café. Peering inside we saw an abundance of open tables and available servers. A quick scan on Unilocal to see the average rating and decided, we’d try it. We were seated immediately. Our waitress was new to the game, she was slow and performing duties a runner might. Coffees on the table in fifteen minutes and food on the table in an additional twenty. Getting her to come back and take the order was work. I requested a short stack to be brought out like an appetizer. She neglected to tell me that she either forgot to relay that to the kitchen or that they can’t bring out an order in such a fashion, orders must be brought all together. «Yeah, sure whatever.»
Short stack wasn’t awesome. There was a dusting of cinnamon over the top, their signature perhaps.
Hangover chilaquiles was divine, flavor and spicy the way I like it. I was thrilled that I didn’t need to reach for the hot sauce. Except for the fact that the runny poached eggs I requested were well done. With chilaquiles I find it important to have yolk to play with. Once eggs are done, if they are left on top of a cooked order, the time it sits it continues to cook. The waitress was MIA and therefore one egg was overdone and the other had a taste of yolk, the rest fried through. For chilaquiles or egg fans, this is a major annoyance but being that I had a hangover that needed curing I wasn’t about to send it back for new eggs. Looking at their menu online (right now) I realize that I could have added skirt steak to it for an additional $ 3.00 WTF! this lady needs to take a lesson from Burger King. Order a whopper and the counter person is on top of you asking if you’d like to add jalapenos, BBQ sauce or bacon.
I said a lot about chilaquiles and not enough about my buddies dish. It was called something like «Foster’s french toast» or maybe it was «Jason’s french toast». Any brunch menu item that comes with fruit on it, is probably a must if it is anything like the above mentioned french toast which was adorned in a medley of fruits and crème and covered in a cereal and fried. It was good.
Service aside, I’ll keep this place as a solid back up the next time chilaquiles is desired.
As others have pointed out, its hard to figure out what this place is. Is it a café, a restaurant, a breakfast joint, what? It’s got an identity crisis. Till then enjoy the breakfast.

I came back here to give this place one more shot after receiving a 35 minute wait quote from Over Easy…
I was seated straight away at Cinnamon Café, no wait. However, after putting in our order, it took OVER AN HOUR to bring my husband and I our pancakes and eggs (nothing fancy, just pancakes and eggs). I would have been fed quicker had I waited the 35 minutes to get in Over Easy (which is always packed, but always manages to feed it’s patrons very quickly).
Never again. Awful service aside, the food is still gross. My pancakes were raw in the middle. I’d honestly rather eat the food at Golden Nugget than this place.

You know how you know not to put your hand on a stove because it’ll burn? But what if it’s a new stove that you’d like to support because it’s local, and look, it’s a *café bistro* stove, and oh that’s kind of cute, and OH MY GOD. IT’S HOT. IT’S STILL A DAMN CRAP STOVE THAT BURNS YOU.
That’s the best analogy I can give you for my experience at Cinnamon Café Bistro. I knew better, but I tried it anyway.
The chilaquiles were tasteless, and despite how much there was on my plate, it didn’t fill me up. A single line for the next terrible point:
WORST COFFEE I’VE EVER TASTED.
I’ve had bad coffee – diner coffee, questionable gas station coffee, fake «tea» coffee, family members who dislike caffeine coffee… This was the worst. Watery, not close to black: barely a burnt sienna or auburn in color.
And yes, the service was slow, bad. There were signs up in the window they’re hiring a cook, and when one applicant came in, they had no application for him to fill out. He did get to do the interview right then and there, a booth over from us though. I think he got the job. Maybe he can help.

Ended up here again today after another failed trip to Over Easy, but with less success this time.
I ordered the chilaquiles again. They were still tasty (especially with chorizo), but our server was inexcusably slow.
I always try to be understanding, but this woman was just straight-​up not doing a good job. And worse than that, she didn’t have the courtesy to at least recognize or apologize for all the waiting we had to do (no wait to sit down… but we waited forever for her to greet us, then to get our orders in, then again for our food, then again for the bill, then again for her to actually run the card…).
The saving graces are that the food is good and the host, wait assistants and other servers were seemingly more on top of things. I guess I’d still recommend this place because the food is pretty delicious, but just hope you don’t get stuck with the one bad egg server.

This place blows, and was exactly what I thought it would be, weird.
Is it a bistro or a café? Or a café bistro? Does it matter? Although the food was presentable it lacked any sort of flavor. The coffee, watery in taste and appearance. The service was fine, although our waiter was dressed more for a bistro than a café, which I guess makes sense?
I can’t imagine why people enjoy this spot, zero atmosphere and food that left me hungry. Booo Cinnamon Café Bistro.

So good. We stopped in here after trying to get into Over Easy Café, and realizing that the crowd on the sidewalk was in fact, all people waiting to get a table. We almost didn’t go in here because I saw it had 3.5 stars average, and I was really excited for the 4.5 stars Over Easy was boasting, but this just goes to show that you shouldn’t rely on Unilocal so completely all the time (something I’m guilty of).
I ordered the Spanish Hash with tofu and it was delicious. I ate almost everything, and the portion was large. It also came with a side of cornbread, which was a great little surprise and also very tasty. The server was very sweet, and helpful. Everyone really enjoyed their meal, and we were full for many hours. Can’t ask for more than that, really.
If I lived in the area, I would definitely be back, and often. Unfortunately I live on the other side of town. But I’m sure I’ll find my way back someday.

We were going to meet some friends at Over Easy Café, but they had a 30 minute wait, so decided on Cinnamon Café. I didn’t read any reviews since I was so set on Over Easy, but when I walked in, it kind of had the typical greasy spoon décor — vinyl booths, long counter with seating, and a few synthetic plants. It was kind of a strange name for a place called ‘Cinnamon Café’.
The food though was good — I ordered the pancakes and my wife ordered a Mexican inspired dish (whose name I can’t remember right now). My pancakes were great and her dish was great as well. Whatever my wife ordered was a lot of food.
Cinnamon Café — You have a bit of an identity crisis. After reading some of these reviews, I’ve learned that you’re trying to be an organic type place and if this is the case then definitely your décor doesn’t match the menu. Granted, I’m there to eat from the menu and the décor doesn’t need to match, but it might help.
Total damage for 2 people including gratuity (without any drinks) was roughly $ 25.
Great place for kids as well. We’d return if we were in the area.

I don’t know why Ravenswood Grill bothered to close and reopen with a new name, because they have changed literally nothing else. Just the name. Same menu, same food, same interior, even the same chronic bad habit of undercooking the eggs – all of the eggs. Must be the same chef. Why bother renaming?
That said, it’s a fine place to have around the corner. I’ve always enjoyed their Mexican-​inflected brunch fare, and yesterday’s visit was no exception. They didn’t have an item from another review that I had been looking forward to trying (must have been a special) but I contented myself with the Beneverde – a benedict of cornbread, baby arugula, applewood smoked bacon, and pesto hollandaise. That was a really nicely conceived and executed dish; I like to see creative variations on brunch standards. However, the potato «hash» was merely oily, undercooked cubes of red potatoes. Pesto hollandaise to the rescue.
I’m rounding down from a true rating of 3.5 because I had hoped to see something new – besides the name, of course. We’ll be back, but only because it’s close by.

Ravenswood Grill is back but this time under a more appropriate name… Cinammon Café. I could not really notice any changes to the décor and barely any changes to the menu. The former is not necessarily a great thing but the latter is. The food was as great as it was before. Had the chilaquiles which were excellent and the Philly steak torta which was also very flavorful. Prices are reasonable for the amount of food you get and the service is very friendly. We are so happy that they are back and will look forward to giving them our business on a regular basis.