Julius Meinl Coffee Bar & Patisserie

I have been to this coffee shop several times; their coffee & teas, baked goods as well as sandwiches are delicious. I do have to say its pretty pricey. I would love for them to expand a little more on breakfast and maybe sell items such as bagels, Danishes, and maybe other lunch items.
Unfortunately this is the only close coffee shop that is around the area that I work for. If they’d expand more of their items I guarantee they would have a lot more business from the current companies surrounding them.

I’m full of nostalgic bias towards my time spent in France which is why I initially became enamored with Julius Meinl, but it’s not because of my biased tendencies that I’m giving a round of applause for this little café. Julius Meinl has quickly become one of my favorite cafes in the area which means very bad things for my wallet since I work right next door. Thankfully, though, Julius Meinl is a little bit more affordable than many other cafes I have been in, especially those in France which Julius Meinl seems to aim at replicating. What’s affordable to me may not be considered affordable to others, but I consider a large mint tea for less than $ 3 a bit of a steal. It seemed to me that the drinks were more affordable than some of the baked items, but even those were comparable to the prices everywhere in the city. I’d say that the average cost of a pastry is about $ 4 – 5, but they’re made in-​house.
I didn’t have the pleasure of trying many pastries (though I’ll do my best to try more in future months), but the peanut butter cookie was super moist and flavorful. I had almost gotten the only scone left, but the cashier recommended the cookie so of course I listened to my peers ad did so. All of the pastries looked great, though! Onto the mint tea — it was ridiculously satisfying and I knlw I’ll be getting many more of those. I have a new found addiction to mint tea after having some spectacular mint tea in Paris so finding this place was like a godsend. They don’t use whole mint leaves, but they still use crushed up mint that has been put in tea bags. The flavor is still out-​of-​this-​world awesome despite this, though.
What’s awesome is that if you need a little bit more mint tea in your life then you can buy it in 1 oz packages within the café. It’s about $ 3 – 4 for this bag which is pretty fair I think… you can also buy other flavors of tea in addition to some coffee grounds. I was swooning over these, pondering if I should buy a whole armful or not, while sitting in their comfortable bar seats along the window front. There’s no other seating besides these bar stools so that could make things a bit inconvenient if you want to sit and enjoy your coffee, but it seems like this is more of a grab-​and-​go shop. However, the bar stools are super comfy if you do plan on sitting there!
Dearest Julius Meinl, I’ll be back again… and again… and again.

Kaffee in Amerika ist traditionell eher ein schwieriges Thema, obwohl man sagen muss, dass es eigentlich schon seit etlichen Jahren auch in diesem Land jede Menge sehr guten Kaffee zu kaufen gibt. Wenn man als Wiener nichts ahnend durch Chicago schlendert, rechnet man dennoch nicht damit, plötzlich vor dem roten Mohren des Julius Meinl zu stehen — ich hatte keine Ahnung, dass Meinl es mittlerweile bis nach Amerika geschafft hat.
Dieses kleine Café ist tatsächlich ein Stück Heimat und ja sogar eine «echte» Wiener Mélange steht auf der Karte, genauso wie Apfelstrudel und Schwarzwälder Kirsch Torte. Außerdem kann man die Original Meinl Bohnen kaufen — zu 20 Dollar je 500g Packung, in meinem nächsten Leben exportiere ich Meinl Kaffee nach Amerika.
Das Wichtigste zuletzt: der Kaffee schmeckt großartig, einer der besten die ich in Chicago getrunken habe — vielleicht ist da auch Patriotismus dabei aber das macht ja auch nichts.

I love this little local coffee shop!!! Super cozy. The staff is warm and friendly– just like the pastries and they remember your name (the staff not the pastries). Just off if the Irving brown line it is worth the walk vs any neighboring spot. And the SCONES! Simply amazing and I don’t even like scones. Love it. You will too!

I paid $ 3.70 for a cup of mint tea and this place doesn’t even have a bathroom. How can you serve coffee and tea and not have a bathroom at all? I left with a full bladder, which is to say I left unhappy.

I’m familiar with Julius Meinl’s dessert treats because I occasionally buy them at Real Kitchen, near where I live. Truly sublime, both in flavor concept and in actual taste, which are often a complex journey through the wonders of chocolate or mint or pumpkin or so many other flavors. I’m not a food writer so I don’t know how to put it better than that. Personally I like to eat them at home with a pot of black tea.

Tiny Julius Meinl nestled in an unexpected location along Ravenswood. There’s a lot of office space along Ravenswood so it makes sense. World class coffee and pastries that are always good. This location doesn’t offer the full food menu like other locations but is a convenient stop for coffee and pastries and take home beans.

The service, coffee, sandwiches are top notch. I love the roasted eggplant sandwich

Though we prefer the overall look of the Southport Avenue location, this store didn’t disappoint on quality or service. The coffee is always a pleasure… with a unique attention to presentation. The pastries were fresh and tasty.

Would be five stars but they are a bit expensive. The service is nice and it is very cozy. I had the mozzarella sandwich which was very fresh. The iced tea was brewed on the spot and had just the right amount of sweetness. I wish they were open after 5 so I could stop by after work. Definitely recommend it if you are in the area.

The coffee is good, the pastries are good and has a charming interior but Julius fails where most establishments fail which is in the service. On my first visit I asked for my coffee and pastry to consume there and not to go, however, the girl gave me my coffee in a to go paper cup. I think coffee tastes terrible out of a paper cup and I was really expecting to enjoy it in a real ceramic cup. On my second visit there was a different girl which had a very bad attitude.

Would have been fine if not for this strange apparently OCD employee madly scrubbing the floors around people’s feet with Pine Sol. Maybe there was a hazardous waste spill just before I came in? The overwhelming smell of Pine Sol does not enhance one’s fancy café experience. Mmmm… delicate Austrian pastry, fine coffee… and acrid pine-​tree disinfectant. Delightful. Like dining in a public restroom.
At least the wifi worked. (At the JM on Lincoln it rarely does, and they act like it’s your fault when it doesn’t.)

good coffee & even better cookies.

So apparently I lied when I said that I wouldn’t be writing any more updates…
But I cannot *not* update JM when they provided us with the best wedding favors ever: krapfen.
Just read any of my previous reviews and you’ll know how special they are to me, and now, to my husband. We wanted our guests to enjoy them as much as we do.
We hadn’t even thought of offering any wedding favors (who needs another mesh bag of jordan almonds?!) until my husband suggested giving out krapfen. The fact that we got engaged at a donut shop made giving out krapfen a perfect choice.
Problem was, we didn’t think of this until about a week before our wedding. I was skeptical that it could be done in time, and truthfully, I could not take on any more wedding-​related tasks. I told my fiancé, «If you want them, then you need to handle everything – ordering them, getting them packaged appropriately, and arranging delivery. I’m not making one single phone call or sending one email.»
I should never have doubted him, because when the man puts his mind to something, he can move mountains. With the help of Julius Meinl’s resident pastry chef, Katie Cunningham, it all came together.
Everyone loved them, and they were a huge hit.
We stopped in to JM this past weekend to thank Katie in person and she couldn’t have been any sweeter.
She had read my previous three reviews and was so happy to finally get to meet the city’s biggest krapfen fan in person.

Hands down best scones in the city. Not your overly dry, need a drink in between eat bite, scones from that one mega chain But moist and chunky, sweet sweet goodness. This store is located right next to my work so I stop in once or twice a week for a breakfast pastry. They are all delicious and change occasionally so don’t get too attached to something new. Location is small as it’s more of an outpost for their baked goods production in the back, and the staff is very friendly.
Only reason I’m not giving the 5 stars for deliciousness is because they used boxed chai and that drives me crazy.

This is my go to place to take people who are in from out-​of-​town. So many options for whatever you’re looking to eat at any time of day. Ive had everything from their pastries to pancakes to salads and sandwiches and everything has been phenomenal. And you cannot stop and without trying some of their fantastic coffee or teas.

Coffee and pastries are amazing but they are slow as molasses… And, it always amazes me when you order something and immediately they forget what you requested.

This place makes me miss Vienna. The coffee and pastries are delicious.
Chocolate croissants, almond croissants, or black forest cake… you can’t go wrong.
My favorite thing about this place is the staff who is always there on Sundays. He’s awesome!

I’m relatively new to Chicago, but so far, this is my favorite coffee place in the city! I had heard of Julius Meinl before moving here, but I didn’t expect to find the Patisserie off the beaten path along the Ravenswood train tracks. I stumbled along it one day and I am so happy I did. Walking in to this place is the best part of my morning. Seriously, if heaven has a smell, this is it.
I order a latte most mornings and it’s equivalent in price to Starbucks, but I feel better about order from JM. I also like to pick up some scones for my officemates about once a week. TRULY amazing scones. I’ve only had the fruit ones because I’m a vegetarian, but the ham and cheese croissant is a favorite with others who order around me.
The counter is filled with mouth-​watering desserts. It’s just so beautiful to look at in the morning!
Parking just outside the building is fairly easy angled parking.
If you’re in the area, you must stop in.

I am a long-​time fan of Julius Meinl and was happy to see this unassuming storefront open. It’s about equidistant from me as the Montrose location, so I go there when I want the full experience and here when I just want a few to-​gos.
They feature a selection of the usual Meinl wonders, most notably the tortes but also a gingersnap cookie sandwich, a blondie, and many others. Check out the cinnamon roll, which is very, very, very, very, very good, but comes in a frustrating paper wrapper that tears away half of the delicious caramelized sugary goo on the bottom. They make a decent monkey bread, though not as nice as my mother-in-law’s. J.M. bakes theirs in little muffin papers, so there is a lot of crust and no moist, gooey center – the best part of any monkey bread. They should bake one big pan and sell chunks of it. And of course there is the high-​quality Meinl coffee and tea.
Back in December I found their krapfen – basically an upsized doughnut hole – on the TimeOut list of «100 Best Things We Ate» from 2012. Intriguingly, I read that they sometimes fill them with apple butter, of which I am also a major fan. Unfortunately, my quest for krapfen has been highly frustrating. First I came on a Saturday to find no apple butter that day. Then I came at 7:30am on New Year’s Eve (Monday) to find them closed. New Year’s Eve is not a holiday, folks! Then I came the same Thursday and discovered that krapfen are made only on Fridays and Saturdays. The kicker was when I came the next day (Friday) at 7:20 to find that they had NO pastries of any kind and that it would be «about an hour.» No pastries for over an hour after opening?! Inexcusable.
So I gave them one last chance today (Saturday) and found both krapfen and a friendly guy who answered my queries about apple butter. He went back in the kitchen and found out that they don’t have any plans to make that variety in the near future, but that they had some apple butter in the freezer, so that I was welcome to place a special order anytime. I really only wanted one to try it first, so I probably won’t do that… but it’s in the back of my mind. I appreciated his follow-​up and the offer.
The lemon curd, the chocolate, and today’s offering, red wine/​honey/​blueberry, are all pretty good; but the plain cinnamon/​sugar type, which are superb and only 95 cents apiece, are the tops. Besides, I can take them home and embellish them with my grandmother’s homemade apple butter. Best of both worlds.

This is not at all a location you’d expect to find a coffee shop/​bakery. I like jogging along this stretch of Ravenswood because there is relatively little foot traffic, and the old industrial buildings are very nice looking.
I asked the barista how long they’d been open. March was the answer. I was surprised, because I’d never noticed the place in many jogs by it. Business had been good enough, he said, but this location’s primary purpose is to serve as the nerve center for Julius Meinl’s bakery operations. Here they make pastries for all of their other locations. The other three of them, that is, all located a mile or less from here. So while your pastries at any other Meinl location in Chicago may taste fresh, and rightly so, they won’t get any fresher – or warmer out of the oven – than right here.
I opted for the coffee of the day, and a banana chocolate chip scone. With your coffee, you get a little tray with fresh cream, sugar, honey, a small glass of water, and a little caramel flavored biscuit. The scone was fantastic, not at all the dry, perpetually overbaked item I’ve come to expect from pastries of that name. Crispy on the outside, moist on the inside, with little bits of banana and no shortage of chocolate chips.
I could have eaten six or seven more of those scones, but I had some irregular sense of modesty that day, and it didn’t happen. I did get a small raspberry pastry with topfen cheese. Not quite as good as the scone, but nothing was going to match that.
There’s very limited seating in here, which makes it a coffee shop that I could really enjoy. You get your coffee, and you hang around for a few minutes if you like, but you don’t spend the next six hours here, diddling around on your laptop and trying to look like not a waste of public space.

I absolutely love Julius Meinl! Must be the European in me! They have had their Montrose/​Lincoln café, Addison/​Southport café and Irving Park Patisserie for some time, but now they have their new Ravenswood location! I am thankful that it is off the beaten path because all of the other cafes in the area are usually swamped with people. With that said, one downfall at other Julius Meinl locations is that they never offers Wi-​Fi, perhaps to have the tables turn over faster… Here, however, they have only 10 seats but DO have wi-​fi for use. Oh and parking! I love Meinl for their delicious fresh eats (salads, sandwiches and soups), desserts/​pastries and coffees/​tea (of course served with a gingerbread cookie!). The look is always cute and quaint with adorable cups and teaspoons, plus our little friend Julius watching over everyone like Big Brother. I can’t help myself from getting a chocolate croissant because it’s one of the few places where they are fresh and have real melted chocolate within. Or any of their fresh fruit tarts which melt in your mouth so perfectly. During this visit, however, I splurged and went with the Black Forest Mousse cake that I have been eyeing all these years. WHY WHY WHY did I wait this long?! Please don’t make the same mistake I have! The pastry chef, Rochelle DuBridge from Chicago’s own Hot Chocolate and Vie knows what she’s doing. Glad you’re spreading your love throughout the Ravenswood neighborhood, Meinl!
Soon to be patrons, keep in mind that this location is only open every day of the week from 7 am until 2 pm. As I call it, they have «Café hours.»