So apparently this place is really crowded on weekends? I went on a weekday around lunch when it was only about half full, thankfully. The decor is super cute - a bit retro. The tables are bit and spaced openly - I love that they're not cramming tables into their small space.
First of all, with their awesome sounding menu and elevated food concept, I would've expected their coffee to be excellent. It was dilute and a bit burnt and tasted as crappy as (if not a little worse than) 24-hour diner coffee. Tsk.
Second, the service was really crappy. I don't know if they were understaffed or what, but the waitress was in a rush to take our orders but rarely refilled our waters and coffees. And food took forever to come out... what's up with that?
Third, the food. It was a bit of a letdown. The pesto/sun dried tomato/salami omelet is one of my favorite combinations at my favorite brunch spot in Chicago. This version was alright... but something was missing, and the flavors just didn't seem balanced. The omelet seemed like it was supposed to be fluffy, but it wasn't that great. My friend's smoked salmon omelet was collapsed (not to mention underwhelming in smoked salmon flavor and presence). I didn't try the challah french toast - no complaints or raves from the person who ordered it though.
I'm still willing to give this place another chance. And by no means was the food bad - just not super awesome. But the reviews here and the menu itself sounded AWESOME. The actual food didn't quite live up to the expectations.
Maybe it's a fluke? Maybe since brunch food is a pretty competitive and saturated niche in Chicago, my standards are set pretty high? Maybe they are just staffed better in the front and back on the weekends? Who knows. I'll see next time.