Wildberry Pancakes and Cafe Review: Chicago Travel Guide
My best friend Meagan and I had big plans to get up early, get donuts, catch the Bean at sunrise, grab breakfast, and go ice skating – all before noon.
You can stop laughing now.
What actually happened was closer to the usual: we slept in a little bit, took our time getting ready, gossiped as we put on makeup, and then finally made our way out. Up State Street to Jackson to Michigan Avenue – stopping for a minute to listen to the North Lion in front of the Art Institute of Chicago – and then just past Millennium Park to Wildberry Pancakes and Cafe on Randolph Street.
(This is a reposted article from my old blog about a trip to Wildberry Pancakes and Cafe in Chicago taken in 2016. I’ve made edits to the writing but the opinions have all stayed the same. I still love Wildberry, and was there as recently as May of 2018.)
We got there about 11:15 (ish) on a Wednesday morning, and there was a crowd of people waiting. A table for two had a wait of about 15 minutes, so we waited. The menu was great – seemingly huge, with all kinds of gluten free things labeled. Check it out here or at the web address at the bottom of this post.
Meagan was instagramming when our waiter showed up (shoutout to Ryan L.) – we have no idea how long he was there before we noticed him. It wasn’t cold in the restaurant, but I still went for the (decaf) mocha with lots of whipped cream. He made it sound so good and oh. boy. it. was.
It took a couple return trips on his part before we were ready to order – the first time, we were being intentionally basic (though Ryan pointed out that there wasn’t a pumpkin spice latte on the table, so how basic were we really?), and the second, we just hadn’t decided yet.
I ended up with the farm fresh eggs – two sunny side up eggs with sausage patties, served with hash browns and pancakes (I subbed the gluten free ones in for an extra dollar). Meg got over-easy eggs with turkey sausage patties, hash browns, and toast.
There was so. much. good. food. My bill came out to $16.45 pre-tip (the mocha was $4), but it was totally worth it. I think the pancakes might have been the best I’ve ever had. SO fluffy, so yummy. There were three of them, at normal pancake size. I ended up taking my sausage patties home, and I need to remember that at restaurants, I should copy Meg and order the over-easy eggs (just because that’s basically how I make them at home).
Originally, I thought that when I went back, I might just order the pancakes. I figured I could eat more of them if I didn’t have the other things to eat… but I haven’t done that so far. It turns out, I really like the variety that the entire meal gives me. I’m in Chicago frequently enough that maybe someday, I’ll do just pancakes.
I would seriously give Wildberry five out of five stars. It was so tasty, and well worth the wait. I’d love to see it earlier in the morning, but I can’t see it being anything but popular. Be prepared to wait a bit – especially with a large group, since they won’t hold a table unless all of you are there. Also, go hungry! You’ll really enjoy it.
Wildberry menu: http://www.wildberrycafe.com/menu-chicago.html
This trip took place in January of 2016. I was back in May of 2018 and ordered the exact same meal. I cannot guarantee that locations and menu items are the same beyond this posting; please check for yourself. Feel free to let me know of any changes! When I return to this location, I’ll post a link to the updated review here.
