Alliance Bakery & Cafe

I’ve been coming to this bakery ever since my friend bought me my birthday cake from this bakery. It’s been more than 5 years, I’m sure.
The cakes are gorgeous and they can create just about anything. This last time I was there, they had the whole front decorated with Minion cake figurines in various different Holiday movies scenes. Adorbs!
I had gone in to get a cupcake for the road and totally changed my mind after seeing their beautifully decorated, and incredibly witty «New Years Resolution» sugar cookies. Hilarious! It kinda of reminded me of what Alice in Wonderland would’ve found in the cookie box or at the White Rabbit’s house. The cookie itself was buttery and crumbly. But not too crumbly where when you bit into your cookie the whole thing shattered. There was just enough give that gave that melt in your mouth crumble while keeping the cookie intact after that initial first bite. The frosting on it wasn’t overly sweet, that overpowered the cookie.
The latte I had paired perfectly with this delectable treat.
I can’t say anything I’ve ever gotten here was bad or disappointing. It’s always been good.

My wife moved to Chicago from her home state of Texas after we got married. In celebration of her first milestone birthday in Chicago I wanted to order a custom cake for my love. Alliance Bakery came highly recommended by multiple friends. It was an easy process placing the order over the phone and then have a couple conversations with the staff to make my «Texas» themed cake perfect. I ordered a 12 inch vanilla buttercream cake with fresh strawberries that came out to $ 120. My wife and all the guests enjoyed the cake, probably one of the best tasting cakes I have tried. Definitely will return! Thank you Alliance.

Our wedding cake was unbelievably beautiful and delicious! Alliance Bakery worked very closely with my florist and incorporated all of the special touches that I asked for including the pearl buttons, custom monogram, and lace. The groom’s cake was also over-​the-​top. Since my husband and I met in Mongolia while serving in the Peace Corps, they made us a traditional Mongolian ger (similar to a yurt).. The baker took time to research all of the intricacies of a traditional Mongolian home — I was blown away by how detailed it was!

Alliance Bakery did a fantastic job on both the wedding cake and my husband’s groom’s cake at our wedding. The groom’s cake, which was in the likeness of our dog Jake, was so good that it hurt to cut it. (We covered his eyes so he wouldn’t see the knife coming). Not only were the cakes beautiful, but they tasted wonderful.

Peter, the owner must have switched bakers. His brownies used to be the best in the city, they’re now tasteless, the almond croissants are consistently burnt, and the chocolate chip cookies, well… Chips A Hoy makes a better cookie.
Peter, I implore you, return to your roots. I can no longer shop at any of your bakeries or outlets (eBar at Nordstroms).

I used Alliance Bakery for my wedding cake, and I have to say that working with them was both easy & fun. The cake tasting was one of my favorite parts of wedding planning, as everything was completely delicious! The cake was beautiful and was exactly what I was envisioning, and I got a lot of compliments from guests on how delicious it was. It was very simple to work with Alliance and they were very responsive every time I contacted them.

I wish I remembered the person that helped me, but I bought my wedding cake from here with only a few weeks to plan. We emailed for a period of time and then I came in and presets. I declined a tasting because I liked their other baked goods. You know when you go to a wedding and someone spends $ 3000 on a cake and most is left over? Mine was a few hundred (my order was very simple) and my cake was gone! I had no cake left! I think people were getting 2 and. 3 pieces! It was worth it!

I’ve hung out at this place several times over the past few months, working out of it a couple times a week. Great coffee, tried a couple of their pies (pumpkin during the holidays was amazing!) and have nothing negative to say, and their staff are always courteous and entertaining.
They just expanded their small tasting room into another full, cozy lounge which I love. Seems like others do too since it seems to have attracted more people than it has in the past. The bathroom and couches for seating are great, and make it a more realistic option for working there for long periods of time.
Biggest issue for me is the inconsistent internet at this place. Only really worked for me a couple times, and have had to usually set up my own hotspot on my phone or connect to an xfinity spot.

This review is specifically for the macaroons ONLY… they have a great variety of yummy flavors to choose from. I’m a huge texture freak when it comes to macaroons and they get it RIGHT flaky chewy and DELICIOUS!!!

Finally! After years of having this place bookmarked I finally got the chance to check it out.
I got Pistachio, salted caramel, raspberry, pineapple and rose flavored Macarons.
The star of the show was definitely the rose. I don’t know what the heck is in them but I’m pretty sure LOVE is one of the ingredients. *I know. Cheesy AF. lol* They have a light, flowery taste to them. They would be perfectly paired with a cup of tea. Yea. Tea.
If I’m in the area, I’ll make it a point to stop at Alliance for some Rose Macarons.

my friend’s room mate ordered a chocolate cake here to celebrate her graduation from a masters program!
i didn’t get to visit the actual bakery but with the good vibes from the chocolate cake we tried, i would definitely make a visit!
—chocolate cake: MOIST the frosting was a bit sweet but the chocolate cake sure was good

Alliance Bakery was included in our wedding reception package, and we’re so grateful! They were so easy to work with and everything was delicious. The tasting itself was fun to mix different flavors. I brought in friends to help my now husband as I’m gluten free. It was easy to pick the cake design. I went off one of their previous design and made some modifications to make it unique for us. Everyone complemented how beautiful it was, and how good it was.

Went here to buy some breakfast pastries and it did not disappoint!
They have great varieties of croissants (both savory and sweet), Danishes, scones, cinnamon rolls, sticky buns, bagels, and even their version of cronuts!
We got different croissants: ham and cheese, goat cheese and peppers, almond and regular. We also added a cinnamon roll since it was recommended. My favorites were the almond croissant, then goat cheese and pepper croissant, and the cinnamon roll.
They also have a gorgeous array of French macarons and small cakes. You can also order a cake there which they decorate beautifully! We saw a lady pick up a huge bumblebee cake for a party. Very cute!
Lastly, they have doggy biscuits as well which my boyfriend’s sister’s dog gladly devoured!

Came for a late breakfast and ate a Ham and Cheese Croissant. Walking distance from the subway. Since I make macarons for a local bakery, I wanted to talk to staff about the process. Kristin was very welcoming and responded my questions. She has an advanced degree in physics and explained several baking concerns and gave me valuable information. She even recommended Stan’s Donuts within walking distance.
I completed lunch with an Anne and two macarons, a strawberry shortcake and a salty caramel. Somewhat difficult to eat the Anne with a plastic fork. It would likely be better to wait for the Anne to melt so it would be easier to eat, but did not have the time. Everything was on point and it’s easy to get to in a trendy area. Highly recommend. Heard they have cronuts on weekends and would love to try if I’m in Chicago on a weekend.

Love!!!
I could eat their delightful macarons every day. They are light, flavorful, and just a perfect treat.
Recently, I had a cake decorated for a special occasion and it exceeded my expectations. The cake was perfectly moist and delicious, and the decoration really captured not only the picture I provided but also the fun feel I wanted.

This review is specifically for only the macarons. Overall, I would give Alliance 3.5 stars.
I love macarons and visiting Chicago had me on the search for some macarons! I ran into Alliance Bakery while walking through Wicker Park. After seeing that sign that said «Macarons,» I knew that I had to get some!
If you purchase 5 macarons, they’ll start putting it into the cute little boxes. Otherwise, it comes in a little bag. I tried the three macarons that I thought were not the normal ones you could find anywhere.
Pina Colada — This beautiful, sunshine yellow macaron tickled my taste buds and made me smile. It was phenomenal! The texture was perfectly crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. I love the surprise bit of pineapple jam in the very center. You could taste the pineapple in this without it being too overpowering. The macaron was light and so refreshing.
Key Lime — This alien green macaron did have a nice tartness to it. The only downside was the texture. The key lime was so underbaked and just fell apart when I bit into it. It was way too wet on the inside. If it was baked right, I think this macaron could have been a hit. It wasn’t too sweet but not too tart either.
Chocolate Passion Fruit — I’ve never seen this macaron flavor so I was really interested. It’s yellow with a dusting of cocoa powder on top. I didn’t mind the powder, but it did leave my mouth a little dry. I think it could have used a little less cocoa powder on top. In contrast with the key lime, this macaron was unfortunately overbaked. The inside was very dry. However, the passion fruit shell was delicious and I did like the richness of the chocolate cream inside.
The problem with the macarons here are not the flavors, just the texture. The consistency of doneness is a little off.
Pricing is fine with the macarons being about $ 2 each. Service was great, the guy was really patient and friendly. This bakery has some amazing cakes on display, as well as some awesome treats in the display case! The slices of cakes, tarts and cookies looked scrumptious! Maybe next time I’ll get those.
If this place shipped across states, I would probably order a dozen Pina Colada macarons because they were just so good.

Good bakery items, delicious hibiscus lemon iced tea. We had the Ann cake, it was mainly chocolate ganache and was quite tasty. Docking a star for super slow service.

I came here looking for macaron ice cream sandwiches but they didn’t have any. I think they said they serve it in the summer, but I’m not sure if I remembered that correctly.
I got 7 macarons instead: raspberry, pistachio, piña colada, vanilla, peanut butter and jelly, Nutella, and strawberry cheesecake. Raspberry macaron was my favorite. Staff was friendly and helpful. The free raspberry macaron given to us was a good pick. They were closing in 20 minutes but invited us to stay anyway, but we decided to go on a walk and eat our macarons elsewhere instead. Thanks!

I’m not a vegan by any standards, but the vegan chocolate chip cookies here are fantastic, and by fantastic I mean they’re better than most normal chocolate chip cookies. Other things that I’ve tried include the carrot cake cupcake, the red velvet cupcake, and the almond croissant – all were very good.
Other than baked goods though, Alliance is probably one of the best places in Wicker Park to study/​get work done. Their separate lounge next door (with free wi-​fi!!) has been very quiet both times I have gone. Note that the lounge isn’t too big so come earlier or get ready to possibly be a bit cramped.

This review is strictly for their Fat Tuesday paczkis only.
I normally enjoy Alliance, especially their macarons, so this year I put in an order for their paczki specials for Fat Tuesday since they were much closer to my place than many of the other bakeries. The pre-​ordering process was a bit of a mess (but I think the employee was particularly out of it that day), but I didn’t make much of it.
Come Fat Tuesday and we get our 6 paczkis. Some of them were decent but some of them were direly lacking in filling (I’ve posted a picture of it above), and all of them were dry as hell. Really disappointed. If I had known I would’ve just gone to another bakery…
I hope they step up their game next year. Not like I’ll be back for them for paczkis, but still. For all the other clueless (non-​Polish) people out there, I guess.

Love love loved the macarons. Amazing! Great outter shell with the classic chewy texture and delicious filling.
Loved my croissant sandwich as well. Good latte, not out of this world but good.
I’m just disappointed at the blah service. I came here for the first time on valentine’s day with my husband. I was so excited and our girl at the counter just didn’t care if we were there or not. Not «can I help you?, first time here?» Nada. Just figure it out for myself. Oh well. But the dude making my coffee had a smile on his face.
Won’t go out of my way to get here but if I’m in the neighborhood I have to have a macaron. Those macarons were on point. Delicious!

So disappointed to find out this place is still open. I took my godson here who was a toddler at the time. We were concerned he might have a peanut allergy. Since I know I’m allergic to nuts and peanuts, I specifically asked the employee what she would recommend that did NOT have nuts or peanuts. She recommended an everything bagel and a banana muffin. I again confirmed they did not have nuts, paid for my purchase and we sat down to eat. I broke the muffin up and gave a section to the toddler first while I broke up the bagel. He wolfed down the muffin and began on the bagel. I took my first bite and there was a chunk of something which felt and tasted weird. I spit it out and examined the item and bagel closer. Since I am allergic to nuts, I’m not around them very often so I’m not very familiar with them. I leaned over to the lady next to me and asked if she knew what it was. She told me it was a walnut which was in the muffin as well. I called 911 and both my godson and I took the ambulance to the ER to get Benadryl shots.
I called and left a message for the owner the next day. Two days later I called back again and spoke with him. He told me he had received my message but since it wasn’t about an order, didn’t see why he should call back. I told him that I had wanted to speak because I felt his employees should be aware of what is in their foods or at least where to find it, especially with the growing number of food allergies today. He responded that that is a risk I took by dining out with food allergies and it is not his responsibility to do anything to prevent it.
Thankfully, my godson and myself were okay, neither of us have a severe allergy. I understand mistakes happen but I was more disappointed in how it was handled. Two people, one of which is a child, leave your facility in an ambulance and you just don’t care and have NO intention of doing anything to prevent it for the future? Not only is that horrible customer service but I am very concerned about what you allow into your baked goods (hmm…maybe some rat droppings, a couple bugs run across a counter when dough is about to be kneaded, etc.)