Nookies Tree Restaurant

Too bad the staff and owner treated me so poorly.
Not bad service, but like a BUMS RUSH, and a strange attitude that I couldn’t figure out. I guess the string quartet music being pumped in was supposed to let me know that this place was supposed to be fancy. Oh well I took my time, looked at my maps of the city and made my plan for the day just as well. I haven’t been treated this poorly in years. Won’t be back.

Yum yum yum yum. I frequently go out for breakfast food, so I’ve had my fair share of good, and bad, breakfast plates. I can confidently say that Nookies serves one of the best veggie omelets I’ve tried! I’ve never ordered anything here that I didn’t like. The service is also exceptional. Make sure to ask for your hash browns «extra crispy».

This place is my go-​to brunch spot so I frequent it quite often. My usual is the Sweet and Savory (2 eggs, 2 pancakes, 2 bacon, toast) but I’ve had other items on the menu too and they’re all equally good. Portions are hearty and I always leave full – sometimes too full :-) Prices are reasonable and the staff is always friendly. It’s a great spot!

Is it possible to give more than 5 stars? Haha. This place is perfect for brunch. I can’t say that I’ve had better service in the city than I did here. The staff is beyond friendly and attentive. The idea of BYOB is really cleaver and the food was GREAT! I will definitely be returning and I would 100% recommend this place for brunch, dinner, whenever!

Love that this place is BYOB! We got to run across the street (not realizing we can bring our own drinks) and bought a couple bottles of champagne. When we were seated, we asked for 2 glasses of orange juice, and the waiter suggested an orange juice carafe. We agreed to the carafe. For an appetizer (…yes, we get appetizers for brunch) we got the Nutella crêpe. The crêpe was by far my favorite part of the meal. It came with full, sliced bananas and it was bursting at the seams with Nutella. For my meal, I ordered the Meat and Cheese Omelet with my pick of goat cheese and bacon. The omelet was not great, the goat cheese for some reason was curdled (possibly cooked too long?) which was strange because the goat cheese in my roommates entrée was fine. When we got our receipt, we were surprised by the cost considering there was no corking fee, and we didn’t have to pay for alcohol. Turns out the orange juice carafe that the waiter suggested was $ 13. There was only two of us at the table, and we had only drank two glasses of OJ. There was no need to have an entire carafe for ourselves, and he should have mentioned it was a thirteen dollar pitcher when he suggested we should get it. As we kept looking into the summary of charges, I saw that I got charged for the cheese in my ‘Meat and Cheese Omelet’. Seems strange that you charge extra for something that is written in the title of the meal. We reluctantly paid, and left. Overall I don’t see myself coming back to Nookies Tree. Nookies Too in Lincoln Park is a better option.

The bbq sandwhich was alright, nothing to Unilocal about. But the baked goat cheese was really good, try it plain with no bread. Service was decent. But sitting outside on the patio was beautiful!

Such a great diner located right in the heart of Boystown. Great service and excellent food! The portions are huge (although my eyes are larger than my stomach) and are a reasonable price. Love me some Nookies

Really fabulous service and delicious food. Just not much on the ambiance front. Very plain.

Friendly service, good food, and open an hour earlier than anything else in the area? Yes please!
We were visiting from out of town and needed a good breakfast to fuel a day of wandering around Chicago. We walked in and were greeted quickly. The service throughout the meal was similarly fast and friendly, which is a huge plus for the place right there.
I had the green goddess skillet, which is a hash of potatoes and green veggies with eggs over the top. My husband had the special, which I’m going to describe in its entirety because damn: corn cakes smothered in fried eggs and ham gravy, plus a skewer of seasoned shrimp. I don’t eat meat, so I was only able to snag a piece of corn cake, but woo-​hoo. Hold on to your butts. Literally one of the best things I’ve ever eaten.
The coffee was hot and plentiful, if a tiny bit acidic. Overall, a very good place for breakfast in Chicago.

Went there for lunch, I ordered the fried tilapia and it was pretty good wished the Cole slaw was cold but it was warm, the soup was great I got the potatoe soup which was good and my husband got the tomatoe vegetable and that was really good. He also got the hamburger which he liked. If your looking for a quick good meal I would recommend this place.

I ordered the Denver omelet. It was very good and the omelet itself was sized well. I ordered the omelet well done, and they cooked it accordingly which made me happy. The meal included has browns and toast. The hash browns were a pretty small portion and were very cold when i bit into them. The omelet was warm, however. My only complaints for the meal were the small portions of hash browns and the single type of pepper (green) used in the omelet. I wish they used sweeter peppers (orange, red, yellow) mixed in with the green. Solid breakfast spot in boystown.

I dream about coming here for a fun, casual meal with friends. The chilaquiles are amazing but it is the homey atmosphere and fun menu options that make this place a Chicago classic.

I used to live across the street from Nookies Tree and would order and/​or eat here at least once a week. Having a bad day? Their onion rings are the cure. You also can’t beat 24-​hour breakfast on the weekends. I spent many hungover Sundays in this place and I don’t regret a thing. Another awesome part about Nookies is that they are BYOB. Whenever I’m up in the Lakeview area, I stop by just for old-​time sake.

This place used to be decent. It was also a plus that they were open late.
Eight of us went here Saturday night after closing down the Green Mill. We got there around 6:00AM and there was only one other table occupied. We all ordered. My buddy ordered biscuits and gravy and I ordered a ham, cheese, and egg croissant (of which I was given the choice of cheese and I chose smoked Gouda).
My buddy bit into his biscuits and gravy and said they were terrible. I tried it and you could tell that the biscuits were old/​stale and the gravy was lumpy and bland. Since I was very hungry, it took me until I was half way through my breakfast sandwich before I noticed my smoked Gouda was actually a slab of cheap American. How do you mess up biscuits and gravy or substitute what a customer ordered without asking?
I informed the waiter that my buddy’s biscuits and gravy were horrible (less than half of one of the biscuits had been eaten). He took them away. He never offered to bring us something different. When the bill came, he didn’t take it off the tab. It was hardly even touched, that’s how bad it was.
A terrible end to a fantastic night. We won’t be going back here again.

We had breakfast here, ordered an omelette and crêpe. The omelette was well made and delicious but the crepes were too thick. Seriously, how can you call something a crêpe which felt thick as pita? And then they also forgot to get our fruit bowl and we had to ask for it. Overall, I guess only the omelette is worth the price here.

WARNING: ONLY COME HERE IF HUNGRY! This place will challenge your waistband in the best way possible.
I came here with my girlfriend and we indulged in two very different but equally delicious skillets. The Good ‘Ol Boy skillet has hash browns, bacon, American cheese, eggs, and is topped with sausage gravy. It is so rich and so filling that I ate it before my body had a chance to tell me to slow down. My girlfriend chose the Green Goddess skillet which has hash broccoli, asparagus, green onions, spinach, eggs, Swiss cheese, and topped with basil pesto. In her own words, «It’s really good.»
I’m now slowly catching the itis, and my body is becoming sluggish from the amount of food I just consumed. Tell my family I went out eating delicious food, they’ll understand.
tl;dr come here for the food, stay here because you ate so much you couldn’t get up.
Edit: this place is not actually in a tree.

Ron from the B&B (The Villa Toscana) down the street recommended we try Nookie’s for breakfast. He was right on!
My he food was delightful and the service was polite.
We ordered the Paris Bendict and the Dixie Benedict. Both were yummy!
We’d return for another round!

Updated 6÷30÷15: Aaaaand he’s STILL there acting grumpy and horning in on people’s meals. And what’s up with their erratic hours? Arrived at 8pm, sign says they’re open until 11pm, yet they were mopping and cleaning and some Mexican guy said «Sorry, we’re closed.» WTF???
Updated 3÷16÷15: horrific!!! The old bald buzzard is STILL there and still being rude to guests. He’s killing this place. Service was slow as the two waiters very busy texting. There were only two other customers there … at 7pm of a Friday. This place used to be packed during lunch and dinner. I give it four months before RIP time.

FRAUD!
Suspected them once; then caught them twice.
THREE TIMES, I’ve caught the restaurant ripping me off by adding $ 1 or $ 2 to the receipt after I left. The first time, January 2014, I noticed Nookies Tree charged my bank statement a couple bucks higher than what I entered in my Quicken. I overlooked it thinking I made a mistake & I didn’t keep the receipt. Then in March 2014, I caught them red handed by keeping the receipt and matching it up to my credit card statement. I called & spoke with the manager, and he said to bring it in & they would refund the money. I went in a couple weeks later, and they simply gave me the difference in cash. The employee blamed it on a server who was no longer there.
They did it again! August 2014, they mysteriously added $ 2 onto the amount charged. Again, I kept the receipt and matched it up to my credit card statement.
Contacted my credit card company to see what they could do.
Not going back, but if you do, save & check the receipt against your bank statement.

What happened to this once incredible restaurant on Halsted Street?
Last time, I was there, I was there for almost 10 minutes before I was acknowledge by the server and there only couple of tables on the patio.
So when Janet, server, took my order, I decided to just take a Chicken Caesar Salad since that would be quick and a soda.
I was certainly wrong… when I finally received the salad, or should say the dressing with lettuce…
So many other great places in the neighborhood to have lunch /​dinner at.