La Farine Bakery

One my favorite stops in the Avondale area. Cozy setup, great for setting up with a laptop or book. Staff is friendly and accommodating. Often stop in here for coffee whenever I get the chance. Their speciality is their bread and they often have some free samples laid out when you come in. I haven’t tried many of their sandwiches but I’d recommend the bagels & lox if you’re stopping in for breakfast. Keep it up guys.

I was visiting Chicago for the weekend and found yhis place on Unilocal.Nice place for pastry, coffe, tea chat and or wi-​fi. My pastries were delicious. I had a straberry cheescake tart. I love it! I also grab a cup of tea whuch was refreshing. The staff was super nice to us. He through in an extra treat! Oh and i loved my free pistachio macaroon… Unilocal checkin promotion! I would definitely go back.

Good coffee, great service, even better baked goods.
This place has lots of seating, free wi-​fi, and a friendly atmosphere. Good for posting up to get work done, or sitting down for a meal. (The breakfast sandwiches are delicious, and the pastries and desserts are A+++)
Couldn’t recommend it more!

Went here for an Americano with my family. La Farine is a local joint where it’s obvious that the locals prefer.
They are still a traditional coffee house with drip coffee, lattes, some sandwiches and pastries. It is comfortable and clean.
We really had a good time while there.

Just love love their bread here… I actually thought they had closed because the original location was on Chicago Ave. I would often stop in and Just get a loaf of bread. Before I got home half was gone … Sad when they closed.
I now found them to be on Milwaukee Ave and I will be a regular
Check them out if you love bread

Great coffee shop! One of my go-​to work spots.
Atmosphere – always quiet and well-​lit, with plenty of table space.
Coffee – FREE REFILLS! I probably shouldn’t be advertising this – if too many people take advantage they’ll get wise and start charging.
Food – a cut above standard coffee shop fare. Good sandwiches and sweets! I recommend the macaroons. There are also usually free bread samples at the counter.

Spacious, with (slightly worn) couches and an ATM (thoughtful). Nearby street parking is free on Sundays which was a nice surprise; at 3 on a Sunday parking was plentiful. An interesting selection of bread, pastries and mousse cakes/​macaroons; apparently «none of [the] mousse cakes are vegan or vegetarian» so I couldn’t comment on those (I asked about gelatin and got that reply). This is a lovely place to sit in the sun and have a cup of coffee (or tea) and maybe a sandwich. Lots of seating; not crowded.
I got a sandwich (garlicky broccoli rabe); a spinach croissant; a pear tart (really more of a crumble); an almond pastry thing; a multigrain baguette; and a quiche. Prices were very reasonable (would have been even more so if I had remembered my Unilocal coupon). The quiche was good with an excellent crust and good texture (cold quiche is sometimes rather sad) but my partner and I found it too salty. The pear tart was a bit greasy and didn’t really bring out the fruit; it was also a bit dry. The sandwich turned out to be a panino, grilled to a crisp and presented with a salad (spring mix and some tasty marinated grated carrot; balsamic? dressing on the side); it was nice enough, tasting mostly of a very sweet ginger chutney. The spinach croissant was a bit tough; the almond thing has a lot of very eggy filling without a real almond hit and the multigrain baguette is all right — a cut above, say, Trader Joe’s but not sublime. If you’re watching your calories and must spend them only on something wonderful, go elsewhere (though you might try the mousse cakes); if you’re looking for a nice corner place to pick up a spot of lunch and a cup of coffee it will do just fine.

This place is great! We went for lunch and I had a really delicious garlicky broccoli rabe sandwich. The atmosphere is nice and the prices are reasonable. The best part was definitely dessert — there are so many great options!

The kale salad is DELICIOUS and I’ve never been a macaroon fan until I tried one of theirs.

Went here with two out of town friends Sunday at 2pm. Probably won’t be back, even though I live around the corner. Ambiance is fine. It’s quiet, low key, and it wasn’t crowded. We waited a few minutes for someone to greet us and take our order while standing at the register waiting. An employee was making sandwiches in the front and saw us, but didn’t say anything. She eventually walked past us (still without saying anything) into the back, returned (didn’t say anything) and finally a guy came out.
We ordered two drinks. Pastries were scant and didn’t look all that great. The two drinks were hot chocolate and a mocha. Both were made with unsweetened cocoa powder and needed a lot of sugar dumped in. Even so, neither of us wanted to finish them. Probably the worst hot cocoa I’ve had out somewhere.
This place *could* be good… The location is good. The need for a place like this in the neighborhood is there. Just improve quality and greet people/​do customer service, and it would be a fine place.

La Farine Bakery is one of my favorite bakeries in the city of Chicago. I’m particularly fond of their baguettes and croissants for breakfast. The bakery also offers a wide selection of excellent sweets and pastries. In my opinion, the products are fairly priced and fresh all the time. Service has never failed to disappoint, and the owner always greets me with a smile. It’s truly a business I enjoy going to every weekend or as often as I can.

I just moved down the block and was on my way to another café that I knew about this morning with my guy when I passed La Farine. We stopped in there instead and were not disappointed. The coffee was perfect and cheap, the bread and pastries were tasty, and the employees were super friendly. There is also ample seating, and the environment is warm and inviting. I will be back!

This could be really really fantastic place, but it is not there yet. I have been there several times since moving to the area a year ago and my main complaints are the bitter/​burnt tasting coffee and the fact that all their vegetarian sandwich options are SO OILY. If I order a vegetarian sandwich from a European-​style café I do not want it literally DRIPPING with olive oil or oily Pesto sauce to the point where my hands a greasy. The food they offer should be fresh and light and not make you feel like your eating a greasy burger.
I ask Every Every time for them no to add any oil but I still end up getting a greasy mess no matter if I order the eggplant sandwich, breakfast brioche, or the caprese sandwich.

Great pastries but even better service.
Best thing I’ve had in a while was the passion fruit éclair. The croissants were good too and enormous portion. I love almond crossaints and this was a great one, although I would not want powdered sugar on it next time.
Let’s note that customer service is exceptional. I had a groupon that expired around the holidays. I spoke to Sandra and Roger and they happily honored it given the holiday closing schedule. When I went in, Candy took my order and was so friendly. Will definitely come back again!

A nice little addition to the Avondale/​Logan Square area, La Farine fills a number of slots. They’ve got a fine selection of coffees (and, for me, teas), and a huge bakery where they make all kinds of good French and other pastries. It’s a nice big space, well-​designed if a bit hands-​off, and it’s nice to pass the time in. You can also get stuff to go, and they sell their excellent breads in a number of local markets if you’re lucky enough to live nearby. Nothing that will completely flip your wig, but it’s a very solid bakery filling an important need without being too pricey. I’m glad they’re in the neighborhood.

Try the «not your mommas grilled cheese»
It was soooo good. And a super friendly staff!

It was literally five minutes walk from the place I was AirBnBing. I went there for brunch. Ordered the Breakfast Sandwich (Scrambled egg and Pesto) and a 12 oz Moka. I would say the Moka was near perfect (ratio was on point). I wish they could have used different coffee beans, as the espresso tasted bit mediocre. That was not my major complaint. The breakfast sandwich came with a salad on the side. The Balsamic dressing that was provided was not carefully emulsified, hence the olive oil was floating on the bed balsamic vinegar. Thats a big no no. Sandwich was excellent, though they could have added some protein (Bacon/​ham even chicken) to get bit more flavour. I would recommend this to any one living around Avondale/​Logan Square.

Unfortunately discovered this place only after half a year of living in the area.
Great place for brunch, a cup of coffee, finishing up some work on the laptop (they have outlets!) or just grabbing fresh bread.
Love it!

Incredibly reasonable prices, friendly staff, amazing macaron flavors, 50c little ciabatta rolls… great deals, such as free coffee, Twitter giveaways… a great and cheap and delicious addition to my Logan square/​avondale afternoon.

I came here to pick up breakfast for a work meeting, by recommendation of the consensus of people on a neighborhood message board, who all raved about it. It was a little after 7 am on a Tuesday, and I was surprised to find them extremely low on inventory. The pastry cases were practically empty, as well as the bread. I didn’t smell anything freshly-​baked coming from the back. It looked nothing like the photos posted here.
Since there was very little to choose from, I ordered a large croissant and a six-​pack of macarons. Both were excellent — although the cookies had strange day-​glow colors and the cookie flavors were not easily identifiable. As a coworker said, they tasted «good, and sweet.» They were crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, with generous filling. The croissant was fresh and buttery.
My husband swung by later in the day to pick up some bread for dinner. He ordered a sourdough boule that he actually had to drive back to the store and return because it was stale.
Maybe someone was on vacation, or out sick, or maybe they don’t bake fresh on Tuesday mornings (???) but whatever the case, our experience was odd. I’m willing to give it another chance but I would expect a bakery to be fully-​stocked and reliable 7 days out of the week.

Macarons and/​or Brownies make me happy. I seek them out if I need a pick me up and work has just been so unbearable lately.
I didn’t see either when I walked in and sadly thought, well, I’ll just get some coffee. Glad I asked the counter dude because he happily said «Oh! We’re just getting ready to restock the counter!»
The macarons colors are so bright! Greens, Pinks, Yellows – nothing subtle about the colors. There were about 10 different kinds to choose from. I had to leave them out a bit to bring them back to room temp as they were chilled. Once at room temp, they did have a nice crisp shell that broke down to a nice chew.
I found the flavors to be hit or miss. I was really disappointed with the passionfruit as that was pretty bland and not at all tart/​sweet like the ones I’ve had from other bakeries. The Raspberry though was really good – the flavor very fresh and a nice thin layer of raspberry jam in the middle. The Baileys was also a bit bland and I didn’t find any hint of the liqueur flavor. But the Lavender was lovely (and I’m usually not a big fan of lavender but wanted to try it here).
Friendly service, delicious coffee. The place seemed kind of bare to me – probably because of the high ceilings and minimal décor. The wall colors are warm though and there was plenty of seating for the folks chilling or working on their laptops. The case also held croissants and financiers and other small pastries. The counter menu listed different kind of sandwiches.

My sister came to visit and had found this place so we decided to give it a try. Between the two of us we had a latte, lox and bagel, and a breakfast briochetta. The interior is really nice, quaint and cozy. Parisian café ambiance. After a careful look at the pastries, I kind of felt like the pastries and breads wouldn’t be too good. Something about the croissants and loaves just didn’t look to well made.
The food was pretty quick to come out, there was only one staff member running the store when we had decided to eat there. Our dishes looked better than they tasted. My bagel for the lox wasn’t very good, it was kind of soggy. The lox was okay. not a lot of smoke flavor. Although there was very little onions on my bagel, the onions were quite strong and overpowering.
My sisters briochetta had some delicious toppings, goat cheese, salami, and eggs. The briochetta was very dry and dense though. When you see/​hear brioche you think soft, flaky, buttery goodness but this was not that.
Overal, decent stuff, coffee was okay. Will have to come back to try the macarons though

I like to joke that I’m made up of 40% bread and cheese. OK, maybe it’s more like 60%. In other words, both are big staples in my diet.
When we had a hankering for a sandwich, I knew that it wasn’t a craving that the likes of Potbelly or Costellos could satisfy. I didn’t want a run of the mill place, I wanted something that I’d remember. Mission Accomplished.
There were a few items that caught my eye on their menu, but I just couldn’t pass up the Not Your Momma’s Grilled Cheez. Made with cheddar cheese and homemade adobo sauce, it was most excellent. The cibatta it served on was crusty and delicious. The manfriend went with the Kickin’ Tuna on sourdough. I didn’t try his, but he seemed perplexed, yet pleased with what in the concoction was giving it a bit of heat.
On our way out, I bought two chocolate chip cookies for the road. Their cookies are thick, reminiscent of Specialty’s. I worried they might be crumbly and dry, as some thicker cookies are. Fortunately, they were moist and delicious.
Such a great find on this relatively sleepy little stretch of Milwaukee.

Apparently I’m not as big of a fan of this place as everyone else seems to be. I got the Shroomin Mushroom Panini and found the bread to be too hard to bite and every time I did (even with small bites), it would just hurt the top of my mouth. The mushrooms were one big mistake in my mind. There weren’t enough mushrooms to begin with, they had no additional flavor by itself — the flavor of the entire panini came from the tomato pesto and the cheese. Instead, the mushrooms tasted way too raw for my liking, almost like I was eating soil.
I also got a couple of macarons which I thought were below average to maybe average. On my first glance, the macarons just don’t look pretty. None of them seemed to have enough filling for the macaron size. Taste-​wise, they were too chewy and bit on the harder side. I normally prefer a chewier texture but this went overboard. Lastly, they need a new lemon filling and coloring to the macaron.
Service: I didn’t notice any particularly good service. She seemed rather nonchalant and distant.
One of the good things: It’s a pretty nice space to sit when the sun is shining through the windows during the afternoon. It heats everything up which works out well during the colder days.

La Farine’s macarons last for four bites. These might be the largest macarons ever, and for $ 1.60 they’re a bargain. I decided to treat myself and bought 1 of each variety (11 total). The chocolate, pistacho, orange blossom, passion fruit, and blueberry all were equally delicious!
I love bakeries that are open late. La Farine was open until 7:00 p.m. in the middle of the week! And they still had lots of goodies available.
I washed down some of those macarons with a Blood Orange tea, which scalded my mouth initially. I left it in my car while I had dinner with friends. When I left dinner, I was thirsty on the way home. I expected the cold tea to be nasty, but it was even BETTER.
The service here is great too. The girl behind the counter was friendly and patient while I looked at the case. Even at 6:00 p.m., there were still a few patrons lounging on computers and enjoying the atmosphere. It’s not very bright in here, so I’m not sure I would like to spend a lot of time here working.

Pretty good coffee/​pastries! The place is quite spacious and has some comfy seats for people to come in and hang out. I have tried several of their espresso drinks and they have all been on point. The first time I tried a croissant and I felt like the bottom of it was super greasy but this weekend I got a cranberry scone and it was a totally different story. I have yet to try their breakfast sandwiches however I am sure I will eventually try them.