Sabor A Cafe

I don’t know why I waited so long to write a review for this place. I have been coming here for years, food is delicious for its price! Empanadas are great, both chicken and beef. They have good sangria for a very reasonable price. If you come here on weekends, you might be lucky to catch a free Columbian concert! The owner of this place is very friendly, if he’s around, he usually stops by tables and ask customers how things are. A very nice neighborhood restaurant.

Authentic Colombian food, flavored just right. I’ve been here for lunch several times over the years and have enjoyed it every time. You know it’s good when there are lots of Colombians dining here too.

Very disappointed. First regulars get to sit in back were there is a nicer atmosphere. We were newbees. Stuck by door.
The steak I wanted was sold out by 7:45.
The hammered steak was too tough to chew. The taste was fine but left most of it.
I don’t do fries often but asked for well done and crisp. The fries were swimming in the juice of the steak and were like noodles. Not what I wanted.
My friend had lower expectations and wasn’t disappointed.
I asked for lemonade, it was limeade. I don’t like lime.
Price good. Quality poor. Friendly people.

Good food at affordable price. Not variety of Caribbean Colombian food. I had beef tongue in criolla sauce, and it was good.

Great food and service. The spot is sort of split into two areas. One side is definitely more quiet despite being by the entrances. The other is where they have live music. I thought it was nice either way. And considering it is a Colombian spot and way up north the prices are great!

Two stars only because the food is good. The service is HORRIBLE! The worst customer service. I usually order ahead and eat out. Every time I arrive to pick up, I am never greeted and still have to wait several minutes before I am acknowledged just to pay for my food!
I’ve ate in the restaurant in the past. NEVER AGAIN! You have to hunt down the waiter in order to get your order taken, and you better make sure you tell them everything you’ll end up wanting/​needing since they won’t end up coming back until your food is ready. Then you’ll have to hunt them down again to get your check.
The food is overpriced with horrible service. I recommend this place to the EXTREMELY patient customer.

Everyone there is always so nice and the food is bomb. Never disappoints. One of my favorite restaurants!

Although the food tasted delicious, it was definitely not worth all the money we paid. The pics of the food on the menu, especially the serving size, was totally misrepresented. The serving size of all the food we got was smaller that we thought, especially the parrillada and the mariscada (something like that); definitely not worth $ 20 each.
Then the service, if u don’t have a reservation don’t bother going. The service from the male waiter was rude and left me thinking if he purposely told the cooks to not serve as much food. Yes, we did have a reservation but since it was done online the night before they might have not gotten it put on their books yet.
Place is nice but WAY OVERPRICED!

The worst service the waiters never came to my table to take my order the guy the cleans the tables took my order the only time wtf not going back… … The food El peor servicio la mesera nuncio llego a mi Mesa a tomar mi order el muchacho que limpia las mesas la Tomo la unica ves Que vi a la mesera cuando llevo la Cuenta comida e comido mejor Que esto

Worst service I have ever had. I would have given the review as a 1 star if the food wasn’t so good. Their server, Sandra, did not write down any drink orders. She then would return to our table 20 minutes later asking for people to repeat their orders. This happened too frequently that we did not continue to order drinks. Since we came as a party of 7 she received automatic gratuity 17%. I normally don’t mind paying this if the service was appropriate.

This is one of those rare gems in that is quaintly situated in the city. You won’t think much about the façade of the place but once you settle inside, it’s a different experience.
If you come in early in the evening, there won’t be that much people and the service is really good. I recommend trying the Carne Encebollada. The plate will surely fill you up. I was never an onion person but omg those caramelized onions are addicting!
Another awesome thing about this place is it has live authentic music! I highly suggest making reservations especially on Fridays and Saturdays because it gets really packed in there. The service gets kind of slow on those days though but the experience and food sort of makes it up.
So if you’re looking for a unique dining experience, then try this humble but booming Columbian joint.

Went on the Wednesday night. Somewhat stady. Great service. Good food. And I wasn’t even craving Colombian food. Just family gathering.. had to come. Wasn’t exited… but food was really good. Surprise! !
I had beef tongue.. Good. But really enjoyed the apetaizer.. the chicharron. Try it!

Sabor a café is a casual Colombian steakhouse located in the west rogers park neighborhood. The restaurant has the best shredded beef empanadas I’ve ever had in the city. You must try them with their green chimichurri sauce! They taste even better when you mix it with sour cream and use it as a spread for the empanadas. Absolutely Dee-​lish!
Most of their menu is delicious and their most expensive plate is about $ 26 and under. They serve a lot of marinated grilled meats, seafood and fried dishes. So be prepared for some heavy eatin. Although they do have a few plates for vegetarians such as the Plato vegetaranio and the ensalada de quinoa, I decided to go with their grilled marinated steaks plate. My thought of it was on the okay side. What I love the most are their empanadas with a side of Tostones. In addition to the food, they have a full liquor bar. They have a small music stage and there are music events held nightly every (Thursday-​Saturday) so check out their website to see who’s playing that evening for some contemporary Latin Jazz and Blues. Interior space has a lot of wood accents with traditional Colombian art and furniture. They have a reservation page but they also accept walk ins. Parking is only on the side streets and along Peterson avenue. Please note: the restaurant is closed on Tuesday’s.

Yes delicious… to me its as close to authenic out side COLOMBIA and New York, Jackson Heights, Queens.

Best carne empanadas in the city! Try the refajo, refreshing and delicious!!! The ambience is cute and festive! Definitely one of my favorite restaurants.

I wasn’t too happy with the service I feel like they could’ve had a little bit more staff working. But when it came to my entrees and food. Top shelf. Rice and beans with medium well Churasco Steak. Seasoned and cooked perfectly. This place is very cozy and family oriented. Just need to step up service a little better. I repeat food was yummy !

If I were to base this restaurant solely on the I food, I would gladly give it 4 stars.
Drinks = 5 stars. The maracuya (passion fruit) margarita was awesome, as well as the piña colada.
Service = 3 stars. The server was friendly, but overall service was on the slower end.
The beef empanada is amazing especially with the Aji! I ordered the beef tongue entrée and that was tasty. The beef tongue was very tender and the rice was perfectly cooked, but the sauce was thin and watery. One friend ordered the steak entrée and another ordered the grilled chicken entrée. Both of them were very pleased with their meals. I will also mention that both of my friends were born and raised in Latin America and they felt that the food was very authentic. My problem with the food seems to occur the day after, when me and one other of my friends got sick. This dinner was the last meal we had and the next day we were both ill. I really enjoyed the food and I want to love this place, but because of this incident I cannot ignore the fact that the food made us sick.

I went on a Thursday afternoon. It was pretty dead which is not a problem but it made me question if the food was going to be any good.
We started with the empanadas. These were great with the salsa that they bring you. Order these, and for $ 1.50, order a few.
For dinner I had the Banda paisa. I was pretty unimpressed. It was $ 16.99 and all I liked were my beans, rice and plantains. The meats were dry…
If you come then come for the empanadas and music. They have a cute stage for music in the back.

This spot was raved about by a Colombian friend of mine… Ravenous after a gym session, I opted for the bandeja paisa. I was warned this was a ridiculously big plate, and this place did not disappoint!
(We actually had the beef empanadas as a started. A little on the salty side. Definitely needed the verde salsa that came with it. But good!)
So the bandeja paisa! The beans (soupy, but delish). The chicharrones… I have never seen my chicharrones cut in a flowered fashion, but hey. It was good. Maybe a little hard and chewier than I liked, but I might also be splitting hairs. The carne asada was sooo tasty. And the chorizo was good, but eh for me. I looooove that they had an avocado, plantain, and a fried egg to break over the rice. Each added a different texture to offset the saltiness of the meats and beans. All together, everything worked. Devouring most of the plate, I didn’t feel stupid grossly full or greasy.
I’d say over all, thumbs up! Definitely on the healthier side for a larger meal.

It’s very hard for me to decide how to write this review.
I came here with my step mom and dad. My step mom is the singer with the band on Saturday nights. Now I’ve told you how this review can seem a little biased feel free to read on.
The service was super friendly.
We tried the empanadas. I have had many empanadas of all kinds from all over it seems. I have to say these are the most amazing ones I have ever tried. I could eat a complete meal of empanadas and be super happy.
I ordered the breaded shrimp. I don’t know if it was the breading I didn’t care for or maybe the shrimp was a little over done but I was not a huge fan. However the rice that came with it was superb. It was just white rice but they definitely took the time to season the water it was cooked in and it was fluffy and soft. My favorite way to eat white rice. I was told this is not really a true Columbian dish so you can’t really judge Columbian food on this alone.
We then ordered a desert. I ordered the Torta Negra. I don’t know why but I expected chocolate cake. I was wrong and I should have asked the server but I was very distracted by the great musicians on stage. The texture was very nice and I appreciated how the plate was decorated with sauce and not directly on the desert. However this piece of pastry has some kind of fruit baked in, tasted like cherries. If you like cherries you should order this as your desert. I however do not like cherries so it was a little bit of a let down for me.
Pina Colada top notch. Probably the strongest one I’ve ever had. This place is def. worth a try and I would come again and probably just order Empanadas and french fries. Maybe some tostones, because those were tasty too!

Judging by the number of times we’ve frequented this place it deserves the 5 stars.
Round one:
Empanda de pollo vs Empanada de carne: carne winner!
Round two:
Camarones a la plancha vs Camarones apanados: a la plancha winner!
Round three:
Bandeja Paisa vs Me and Jose: Bandeja Paisa winner!
My cheesy review will end with the arepa con queso which was also good.
Overall, their food is consistently enjoyable whether in the restaurant or when brought home. They also deliver!