Stax Cafe

I can’t believe I’m just NOW reviewing my beloved Stax Café. My coworkers and I had lunch here this week. I, of course, have eaten here numerous times, but some of my cohorts were new to try it… I was more than happy to offer my suggestions:)
First off, they serve Intelligencia coffee, so that’s amazing. Also, they have a full juice bar if that’s your thing. The menu is rather large with offering both breakfast and lunch options. I’ve tried many items to include the chiliquiles, fried chicken sandwhich, tuna sliders, mini egg sandwiches, the turkey club, the chicken salad, I mean I could go on… Honestly these dishes are nothing short of delicious. But the absolute best is most definitely the breakfast wrap. It’s my «go to» for sure! I highly recommend this dish for anyone who loves bomb food… and cheese! ;)
The customer service is always on point. There is sometimes a wait, but that’s only because this place is the real deal. It’s worth the wait I promise. I have to say, one of the best diners in Chicago! See you real soon Stax!

I literally come here like once a week, everything on the menu is delicious ! Service is great, just suggest to go early because there is a wait sometimes.

What a cute, hip little spot!
We waited for an hour and a half to get a table for 3, but it was so worth it. The atmosphere is incredible and very enjoyable. The wait was only long because of the hot chocolate 5k going on that morning. We called ahead and got our name on the list so we were able to wait at home and then head over.
I ordered the stuffed pepper soup of the day and it was absolutely delicious. It was simple enough that I am hoping I can recreate it at home, that’s how great it was. I also ordered the mini egg and ham sandwiches. The eggs were cooked perfectly and the rolls they served them on are really yummy. I wasn’t a huge fan of the potatoes that come on the side, but luckily I was full from the soup so it didn’t really matter. My friends ordered the breakfast tacos and one of the eggs benedicts. Both of the dishes were presented nicely and tasted as good as they looked.

This is a good place to have brunch, but they don’t’ offer mush potato or the real steak, and the burger is not very big. Is not cheap for a brunch.

We love stax! Big portions and it includes pancakes if you so choose. Always willing to recommend their favorite.
I don’t like their coffee much, but all food is delicious! Kiddos love it too!

Worst hostess ever.
Overpriced bland breakfast.
Insane wait time, for piss poor quality.
Dont come here!
I don’t really feel the need to wait a while before I write a Unilocal review but I did for this one. The fact that I still remember the negative experience, is a strong indicator of the long-​lasting impact of bad service — and fair warning to choose the other nearby breakfast options over this one.
The hostess called our name and we didn’t hear it. When we told her that we were overlooked and had been waiting already for twenty minutes, she barked at us and said «Well, you could wait longer then!» and proceeded to call two more groups of two before us. The managers need to train their hostesses better, or get pagers like the rest of the brunch world. Either way, I’m never going back and take it from me, neither should you.

My first time visiting this place was kool. The atmosphere was laid back & roomy, and The waitress we had was nice & helpful. I tried the vegetarian skillet, with mini waffles on the side, with some oj. I can say this will be 1 of my main picks.

It’s awesome knowing that Taylor street has some solid choices for brunching with Stax and Sweet Maple Café only a block or two down the road. Stax is a more modern brunch spot with a bright, hardwood interior and neat rows of tables. For the busy student or healthcare worker, Stax is a nice to place to get your brunch fix, feel good about it, and leave when you have to.
My friend wanted to try this place out because they apparently offer amazing hot cocoa. I can’t really comment on how good it was because tbh i’ve never really had bad cocoa, but she seemed to be enjoying the chocolate and the mountain of whipped cream that came with it.
For food, I had the veggie frittata (an open omelette) that came with broccoli, mushroom, roasted pepper and onion. On top was a slice of melted swiss. The vegetables were bright and well cooked but the swiss was a little overpowering, especially since there was no meat in the dish – cheddar would have been a better option. The real star here are the potatoes which are gold, crispy, and fried with peppers and onions. They are so flavorful and I could probably eat them for days and days. You also get a side of waffles, toast, or pancakes and it’s quite a bit of food.
Service here is excellent! Our waitress was attentive and made sure we had everything we needed/​checked up on us regularly. I also like that you pay at the register instead of waiting for a server to pick up a bill which goes with the theme of get in and get out. I’ll be back!

Breakfast and brunch can be a task in Chicago unless you get to the restaurant early. So, I opted to go to Stax Café early on Sunday morning. Fantastic!
I ordered banana French toast with dulce de leche, eggs scrambled well with cream cheese, and house potatoes.
The French toast made my day. The fact that they didn’t require any syrup was all the better. I love the fact that they actually scrambled my eggs with cream cheese rather than sending out a plate of scrambled eggs with dollops of cream cheese. The home potatoes were also good, seasoned with onions, red peppers, and green peppers.
Having gotten to the restaurant early, the service was good. Given the area, I imagine the restaurant gets crowded, so I recommend going early enough to enjoy your breakfast, brunch, or lunch without complaint. I’ll definitely have to return to see what else is on the menu worthy of gobbling.

I was surprised when I saw this place had been recognized by Michelin rating. Well, it was worth the recognition! My friend had the breakfast tacos and I had the open face bacon jam and egg sandwich. Both very good! We also got a free pancake when I checked-​in using Unilocal… not a bad idea! The only concern I had was that it did take some time to get our food. I WILL BE GOING AGAIN to try more things on the menu. The place was also packed which is usually a good sign.

We met a friend here for breakfast and it was fine, but not exactly mind-​blowing. We were seated after a brief wait, and coffee (Intelligentsia, no less) came out quickly. However, the poached eggs on my Benedict were bit overdone, and if I hadn’t been with friends, I definitely would have sent it back. The English muffin toast on the bottom was overwhelmingly large — a theme of their bread items — and made it tricky to eat, and I could have used more Hollandaise. The potatoes needed a little salt, but were otherwise good.
I didn’t love it and I didn’t hate it. I’m unlikely to ever be back in this neighborhood, and definitely wouldn’t return just for the Stax Café.

I’ve now been to Stax Café on Taylor three times. Each time I have tried something new and I can say that the food is consistently good.
Normally I dine at Stax on a Saturday or Sunday which is probably their peek business days I’m sure. The wait list seems to move very quickly using the «under promise; over deliver» technique for quoting wait times.
The restaurant is a decent size in comparison to other restaurants on Taylor St. However the lobby or foyer area tends to get quite a bit crowded as patrons waiting for tables and customers paying their bills merge.
The service can be a touch slow at time, not sure if servers have table limits or what the deal is but I’ve had to flag a server down at least twice for a coffee refill and I am by no means sucking them down at a accelerated pace.
The food is quite delicious though. I’ve had the brisket bennies, raspberry and white chocolate chip pancakes, and the falafel sliders. All of which are great. They also do run specials but I have not indulged on any to report yet.
Overall Stax is a really good brunch spot, I would recommend for sure.

I went with a group of friends to Stax Café after seeing it reviewed on Chicago Best’s television show. We got there around 12:30 on a Sunday and it was about a 20 minute wait, which isn’t bad compared to most places. Parking was easy to find on Taylor street and better yet free since it was a Sunday. The ambiance of the restaurant wasn’t anything fancy, but it was quite cozy. If you check in on Unilocal you get either two free mini pancakes or two free mini waffles. Most of the meals also come with two free pancakes or waffles. To mix it up I went with a side of two mini white chocolate banana pancakes (a little dry). I also went with two mini chocolate chip waffles and those were very good!
For my main meal I had the Spanish omelet and it came with potatoes on the side. They don’t have the siracha (sp) sauce sitting on the table, but ask for it! After putting some of that sauce over my omelet my meal was delicious and complete. Prices were reasonable and it’ll definitely be on my list of places to come back to for brunch. I don’t visit this area often, so I plan on venturing around the next time I’m here.
For more pics follow me on Instagram @chiataglance

No wait if you go before 10am! Otherwise Stax gets pretty busy really quickly. Free mini waffles or pancakes with Unilocal check-​in (you can even ask for blueberry pancakes!) = super super awesome.
Their giant slices of whole wheat toast studded with sunflower seeds + over easy eggs was perfect for a post-​4^th of July brunch. It’s all I wanted, so I ordered the starving student (which you can sub the bacon for pork sausage for no extra charge! if you want turkey sausage it’s $ 1 extra). My bf got the beef brisket and really enjoyed it. He loved the mini waffles even more, of course. It’s their specialty
We’ve tried their Taylor Street Frittata before and it’s always a good choice. Their potatoes are better than other places since they some add onions and bell peppers!

Stacks on stacks on stacks at Stax! Yum, pancakes!
This cute little breakfast place located near UIC offers up some delicious breakfast options in their cozy building. I love that it’s so clean inside and really modern like in design. The menu is on a single sheet and easy to read. From platters, to benedicts, to omelettes, pancakes and french toast, you’re sure to find a breakfast treat for you.
When I hear «stax» I immediately think of a stack of pancakes. So naturally, I decided that I wanted pancakes. I decided to go with the Healthy Start Pancakes because of the blueberry compote. I love blueberries and was drawn into the blueberry and greek yogurt with honey combination! I was so surprised by the portion size of these pancakes. There were 3 giant pancakes filled with blueberries and on top, a dollop of greek yogurt, blueberry compote, granola all drizzled in honey. The pancakes are made out of oat so it gave an interesting texture and flavor. I really liked it though, being an oat fan that I am. The blueberries bursted in the pancakes and the greek yogurt was tart and refreshing. I could have eaten it without maple syrup, but maple syrup never hurt anyone! I barely got through half of the stack before my stomach caved in.
My friend got the Starving Student platter which comes with eggs, bacons, potatoes/​veggies and either mini pancakes or waffles. It was a big meal, definitely fit for a hungry student. And trust me, after finishing that plate, you’ll leave as a satisfied student!
My other friend decided to go with the carnivore omelette. He is a huge meat lover and said that the omelette had so much meat that it was almost too much (can you ever have too much meat?!). I could see all the different pieces of meat throughout his giant omelette. It also came with potatoes and HUGE pieces of toast. I’ve never seen toast that big ever. This is a hefty portion so be prepared!
The pricing is really fair for the big portion sizes. Each menu item is about $ 10 – 15 depending on what you are getting. Service here was pretty good. Our server was a little hard to understand but we made it by. She checked up on us here and there and our water was refilled promptly.
Breakfast food is comfort food, and Stax embraces comfort.

Breakfast brunch place wasn’t too crowded. Everything fresh. Had an apple juice that was squeezed (crushed) very good! I had the angus burger with tomato jam which was interesting. It was alright. The bacon was fantastic.
The one thing I didn’t care for was the coffee. Which is pretty big for me. Disappointed.
The waitstaff was really great.
Food alright.
Coffee blah.

My fiancé and I happened to be driving down Taylor St. after an early morning doctor’s appointment this past Saturday and decided to stop and grab breakfast at a little place that caught our eye called Stax. We were greeted and sat immediately by a friendly host, as it was only about 8 a.m. and the brunch rush hadn’t started yet. As usual when everything looks good and I get nervously indecisive, my fiancé and I opted to order one sweet and one savory breakfast and share. I hemmed and hawed over whether to order the mixed berry crepes or the butter pecan waffles, but decided on the crêpe, you know, to be «healthy.» By crêpe, they meant three crepes stuffed with and topped with strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries, with a raspberry and cream coulis and whipped cream. No skimping on any ingredients here!
Once I thought I had decided, I pulled out my phone to check in on Unilocal,and was delighted to find a check-​in would get you a free order of mini-​waffles, and yes, these mini-​waffles COULD be butter pecan. You can have it ALL at Stax! The waffles were hot, fluffy, crisp, sweet, and had whole pecans IN and ON the waffles, lots of waffle-​y goodness, with whipped cream.
My fiancé went with the tender beef brisket hash with potatoes and an egg, which also came with mini pancakes. Well seasoned, well cooked. SO MUCH FOOD! Add a hot chocolate with whipped cream and a coffee and we still hadn’t even spent $ 30. Our server was also great — Merissa, genuine smile, appeared to offer a coffee refill without being flagged down and to check in at the right times, efficient; joked about my whipped cream overdosing, definitely the person you want to deal with before 9 a.m. We packed up at least half of our meal to go and got Sunday breakfast out of it too, supplemented with an egg or two of our own. With such great food and great service, I imagine it gets pretty busy later in the mornings, but I definitely would recommend Stax to anyone and have added this to my own list of great breakfast spots!

We weren’t intending to come here, but the other place on Taylor closes on Mondays and Tuesday’s during the winter season (sucks to be a Midwesterner; business operations are seasonal as well). We, of course, didn’t want to settle on Starbucks (what a fool if we did). Stax was the next breakfast/​brunch we saw. There were lots of patrons dining in; the lights were shining and bright; servers were working hard. Yeah, this was it! Look no further.
We were warmly greeted by one of the servers, and then the hostess guided us to the table. The menu was pretty extensive, not to mention that the daily specials were written on one of the columns which I failed to notice after we placed our order (not a big deal). I ordered the Spanish Harlem (chorizo omelet with diced veggies on the side) with mini waffles. Hubby, on the other hand, ordered the oatmeal pancakes with bacons.
The wait wasn’t long at all. I barely had a couple sips of coffee. I took a bite of the mini waffle. Wow, that was the best waffle I’ve had for a long time. It was so soft, fluffy… anyways, everything was so lovely about this piece of angelic waffle. The actual Spanish Harlem entrée was well-​done. Everything tasted fresh and flavorful. Hubby said the pancakes were delicious. The granola on top weren’t overly sweet. The bacons were cooked right; they had a nice «bark» to it. Overall, it was a pleasant dining experience.
They were fairly busy on a Tuesday mid-​morning, but the service was attentive. All servers and the hostess were working together as a great team. The total came to $ 32 after tax. The prices were better than what you would have in the Chicago loop area, but it’s literally one (1) bus ride away (CTA 157-​Taylor/​Streeterville) to get this place if you want to avoid some over-​priced diners downtown.

Stax was the first restaurant I ever ordered an eggs benedict, and I’ve been looking for a benedict to match since. Stax has perfected a dairy-​free eggs benedict, and their potatoes on the side are cooked to perfection. Without the use of butter and any other dairy products (after I ask, of course), stax has made the best eggs benedict I’ve had yet. For several weeks, I would go spinning and then come straight to stax for a filling and satisfying brunch.
The menu is short; with limited options and not a lot of variety, I have not been too eager to try anything else. I always enjoyed trying my friends’ plates, but I’ve only enjoyed the eggs.
The environment is friendly, and the restaurant is slightly tight, but you can still move around. I haven’t always appreciated the staff; I understand that brunch gets very busy on weekends, but I found the service almost negligent sometimes. I also found the hostess slightly rude and combative, and my newcomer friend wanted to immediately go somewhere else because of the attitude. However, I am always willing to come back for the food, and I’m always willing to wait.
Overall, I love this restaurant. The servers are competent about the food and are always nice. This place is my go to every time I’m in the area.

I love breakfast and Stax is my latest find in Chicago. The menu has incredible variety so there is something suitable for any craving I have. I love savory foods for breakfast but sometimes I like to have something sweet. At Stax you can order an egg dish and get a side of the amazing pancakes for a small up-​charge! What a great idea!!!
The space is clean and comfortable and I found the service to be exceptional. I plan to go back very soon.
Bonus Points… It’s on «Taylor» Street :)

Good coffee, awesome banana with dulce de leche french toast. Crispy bacon!