Nellie’s

AVENA DE COCO… That is, if you happen to be in like or in love & absolutely obsessed with the warm, stick to your stomach, full of flavor (that scream «Caribbean») coconut infused absolutely AH-​mazing oatmeal, then THIS my Unilocal!Friends is your place to go. And mine to say the least.
P. S. Go for the Avena but visit the buffet while you are here, you will not be disappointed.

Fantastic brunch when your in the mood for a Puerto Rican breakfast! Pastelon was scrumptious, made to order omelettes were hot and fresh. Avena de coco is so creamy, I highly recommend trying it!

Great food and even on the weekends it is rare to encounter a wait time of more than 15 minutes (usually there is no wait at all). Has a pretty good buffet for inpatient consumers; however, the service is rarely as good as the food and identifying your actual server/​paying for the bill can be frustrating at times.

The food and service is good, we got there on a Sunday and they had just opened. There was no where for us to sit. They where waiting for people to come in that had a reservation. So we were forced to leave or sit at the bar. The buffet is $ 16.00 to much for an ok breakfast.

I came in here with four friends for a basic brunch.
The service was awful. We had about 4 different «servers» erratically checking up on us, sometimes 4 within a couple minutes, sometimes no one would come by for 20 minutes.
No one knew what the heck they were doing. Two of our «servers» would ask if we wanted coffee, and they brought it to us 30 minutes later.
One of the servers kept sticking his arms over our table to grab plates that still had food on them. He repeatedly asked if we liked the house-​made hot sauce and if we wanted to buy some.
We waited 30 minutes for a check, and we finally went up to the cash register to get it. The cashier ran the wrong ticket, and then he finally ran our ticket, but grabbed it and walked away for a few minutes. He came back, and they ADDED A 20% AUTOMATIC GRATUITY.
This is shameful! We only had a party of five — we weren’t told there would be an auto-​gratuity and 20% GRATUITY IS FAR TOO MUCH. The service was horrible.
The food was bland.
To top it off, I got FOOD POISONING later that evening from eating their bland, watery omelets and cold, flavorless ham jibarrito.

Came in on a Sunday morning and was tremendously pleased with everything! Our waiter was funny, quick and gave my friend and I avena de coco on the house. Wouldn’t have spent my morning any other way.

Nellie’s has been on my bookmark for over a year now. Humboldt Park is going through some sort of transformation and diversity is gradually implanted in this area of town. Rosa J. has explored and visited many places and neighborhoods in Chi-​town, yet she hasn’t had lots of footprints in Humboldt Park. Perhaps she needs get on that CTA #70 bus more frequently.
Hubby and I came for their AYCE breakfast/​brunch. For $ 15.99 per person (as of 12/​13/​2015), you can sample an assortment of Puerto Rican yumminess. Yes, my understanding of anything Puerto Rican is «Zero,» with a capital «Z.» However, I am still «livin’ la Vida Loca» with all the good food I can find in town.
There were several highlights in my AYCE brunch date with Ms. Nellie:
— pastelon: it is «sweet plantain lasagna» in English. I couldn’t tell what it was with the first glance, but it didn’t bother me since I take chances on everything I do in my life. It was more savory than sweet, so it’s appropriate for being a breakfast/​brunch item since my tolerance for sugar is higher before 1200 hour.
— potatoes: they had a unique seasoning, which I couldn’t precisely pin-​point what it was. I was quite diggin’ those sautéed potatoes though!
— coconut cinnamon oatmeal: oatmeal and I are usually strangers and we don’t converse. Nevertheless, coconut and cinnamon were the catalysts that helped me take a second look at that gooey oatmeal. Ummm… maybe he’s just as attractive as an Italian supermodel. He just doesn’t dress fashionably like other dishes on the buffet table.
–made-​to-​order omelet: a friendly older gentleman was in charge of this station. He could oversee four (4) omelets at a time. I’m a sucker for omelets. I had mine customized with feta, spinach, onion, mushroom, and green peppers.
The «youngest» young man was attentive. He was so cute when he filled our orange juice ALL the way to the top of glass. We didn’t ask for more coffee because I was afraid that our coffee would be too full to have room for the creamer (jk).
I will definitely come back again. Be sure to dress in layers so you can remove the sweater or cardigan since the venue is toasty warm, especially when you step into the buffet bar in the back room.

I ate breakfast here this morning. My friends’ brother-​in-​law (A Chi-​town native) suggested we try it out based on word-​of-​mouth suggestion from his co-​workers.
Our party of four all had the breakfast buffet. We were all blown away by the customer service. Most of the servers/​people attending to the tables were very young adults and at least two of them had to be less than 18 year old teenagers. They were absolutely fantastic! They were very courteous, pleasant and were always buzzing by to re-​fill the drinks and to remove plates. My friend was so impressed he left a $ 20 tip…
The food was fantastic as well. A lot of others reviewing Nellie’s already summed up the buffet so I won’t dive too much into it but I was for seconds on the Pastelon de huevo. The Coco Oatmeal was very unique and tasty, especially when I added the fried plantains to it. The one thing we all raved about was the omelette. The man making them must have seasoned them with something special because we could taste something a little extra in there – but it was a good thing ;) I had mine with feta and all veggies and would of went again had I not doubled up on the other items!
I don’t live in Chicago but if I ever come back I will be returning here.

Nellie’s is a warm neighborhood restaurant with a delicious and different coconut oatmeal and interesting art on the walls. I enjoyed the generous Nellie’s Breakfast Special with a fluffy omelet and garlicky toast while my friend had thick slices of French Toast and a heaping side dish of bacon. The woman who took our orders was very competent but be prepared for somewhat young and inexperienced bus boys.

If I could give this place 6 stars, I would. Delicious food and awesome customer service at Nellie’s. El Coqui sandwhich is amazing and I also tried and loved the coconut oatmeal. I would highly recommend eating here to anyone staying in or visiting the area. The coffee is also really good!

This restaurant had great overall service from the get go. Not to mention the food was great as well.

I love Nellie’s brunch on Sunday, I haven’t ate anything else here. The brunch is $ 16 and has unlimited Orange juice and coffee. Most people think of Old Country Buffet, Cici’s pizza or some grimey chinese place when I say buffet… this is not like that.
They have a chef in the back that will make your omelet’s anyway you’d like, homemade desserts, great oatmeal, bacon, sausages… etc. Well worth the price!
** The neighborhood could still be sketchy on the side streets, try to park on Division. If you are riding a bike, double check that the pole is screwed to the base! Many thieves unscrew the base before hand, you use a U lock to secure your bike but it doesn’t matter if the pole can be pulled out. lol.

Avena de coco is delicious!
Ordered the Nellies Special which was great, the sweet plantain was different, but good!
I also took a few bites of The El Coqui sandwich which was also great… no complaints on my end. Will definitely be coming back to try out the brunch buffet they have on the weekends!

Delicious, clean, easy street pay box parking. Courteous service. Went in for breakfast and the coconut avena (oatmeal) is so delicious it’s a must! The coqui breakfast sandwich, amazing and oh so filling also a must! My kids had pancakes and the other had the standard eggs, bacon, potatoes. They loved it. Standard breakfast prices. Wepa! Check it out…

I am someone who can be very frugal with my money so $ 16 for one meal has to be worth it. Well, the brunch buffet is definitely worth it! It’s probably the best brunch buffet I’ve ever had. Whenever I have someone visiting from out of town, I always suggest this place.
The brunch includes:
An omelette station
Pastelon de huevo
Avena de coco (coconut oatmeal)
French toast
Pancakes
Bacon
Sausage
Seasoned breakfast potatoes
Toast
Seasonal fresh fruit
Coffee and orange juice
Make sure you try the avena de coco

Of course it was a must try knowing that this place is famous for their Coconut Oatmeal. Puerto Rico is in the house… my goodness this food will put you in food coma. I decided to come here for breakfast and boy am I happy that I did. The atmosphere is surrounded with beautiful artistry.
My lovely breakfast choice was the Nellie’s Breakfast Special. The breakfast special is enormous and delicious. This lovely meal includes an omelette with cheese, tomatoes, onions, green peppers, onions, sausage and sweet plantains. The meal comes with a side of garlic bread and cup of the most delicious coconut oatmeal you will ever have in your life. Nostalgia was present as I tasted each bite of this savory oatmeal it reminded me of the oatmeal my grand mother used to make growing up. I could not even finish my whole meal it was so filling.
You honestly can not go wrong by ordering this special or just coming to this place period. The staff was super friendly and the food came out extremely fast. Overall, I had a tremendous experience!

Today was my first visit. 12:00 noon on Thursday. Although the restaurant was not «packed», I noticed there were quite a few large carry out orders. It did take them a reasonable amount of time to bring the food. Not fast but not slow and expected for a restaurant that serves delicious food at lunch time.
The ambiance reminded me of the Dominican Republic. Loved it. Simple. The food was Delicious! Served quickly after preparing. I had their special Tortilla Boricua which is an open faced omlet. I asked to substitute toast and was offered a delicious bowl of fruit. The service was great. If you need something, ask for it with a smile. This is a lesson in life that well take you a long way. Relax! Also, consider avoiding the weekend lunch buffet if you do not like crowded, busy, delicious restaurants!
THE OATMEAL… ! I’m definitely coming back for the Mofongo!

Fresh, hot and ready! Love the brunch buffet! And the fresh omelet with sofrito… Mmmm…like no other! Super clean and beautiful art work! Definitely will be back!

Looove the plantains in the omelette!
I’ve been here twice and both times I’ve gotten the Nellie’s special. You can’t go wrong with it. A cup of the coconut oatmeal, and an omelette with plantains in it (ingenious!) and you get a piece of bread with it too.
If I remember correctly, they kept my coffee cup full. This can make or break a breakfast meal so bravo for that.
It seems to be family run and they are pretty friendly but both times I’ve been here it has taken forever to get someone to come over to take our order. That’s why I took a star off.
Parking is easily found on Division.
Will definitely be back.

Great breakfast! I gotta go back n check out their brunch buffet. Can’t go wrong with the Nellie’s special. Da avena de coco is da shiet!