Native Foods Cafe

Chicago, United States

4

Open now

20 reviews

Accepts Credit Cards

Contacts

QR code, vCard

Telephone:
+1 312-332-6332
Website:
www.nativefoods.com
Address:
218 S Clark St, Chicago, IL, 60604
The Loop
Nearby public transportation stops & stations:
140 ftClark & Adams
310 ftLaSalle & Quincy
550 ftJackson & Financial
Categories:
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Bussiness info

Takes Reservations
No
Delivery
No
Take-out
Yes
Accepts Credit Cards
Yes
Good For
Lunch
Parking
Street
Bike Parking
Yes
Good for Kids
Yes
Good for Groups
Yes
Attire
Casual
Ambience
Casual
Noise Level
Average
Alcohol
Beer & Wine Only
Outdoor Seating
No
Wi-Fi
No
Has TV
No
Waiter Service
No
Caters
Yes

Today

Today 10:30 am – 9:00 pm
Open now
Local time (Chicago) 19:36 Friday, 29 November 2024

Business hours

Monday 10:30 am – 9:00 pm
Tuesday 10:30 am – 9:00 pm
Wednesday 10:30 am – 9:00 pm
Thursday 10:30 am – 9:00 pm
Friday 10:30 am – 9:00 pm
Saturday 10:30 am – 9:00 pm
Sunday 11:00 am – 7:00 pm

Description

Specialties

Native Foods Café is a premier fast-​casual vegan restaurant group serving made-​from-​scratch, chef-​crafted cuisine to food lovers daily. Our menu, which is updated seasonally by our Executive Chefs, aims to please the palates of vegans, vegetarians & non-​vegans alike, with hearty dishes, delicious desserts & homemade beverages inspired by the travels of our chefs, & bursting with international flavors. At Native foods we make virtually everything in-​house; from our homemade tempeh & seitan, our Native Cheese, to sauces & drinks, dressings & desserts too! Our entire menu is 100% plant-​based as we strive to create a compassionate dining experience serving up homemade meals that are good for you, & the environment. We also offer gluten-​free, soy-​free & nut-​free menus. We invite you to join us for Native Community Days. Two days a month we give a portion of our profits back to the local community. Check out our chefs’ free monthly cooking demos where we show you how to go Native at home!

History

Established in 1994.

Native Foods was founded 17 years ago by acclaimed vegan chef Tanya Petrovna. Author of two cookbooks (and working on a third!), Chef Tanya has been featured on the Food Network, in many publications & has made many TV & radio appearances. Native Foods Café is her vision & she works fulltime as Executive Chef. Chef Tanya was raised in a gourmet household. In her family, mealtime was a celebration of taste, texture & companionship, which always began in the garden. Family vacations were global explorations of food & culture, visiting relatives in far off lands & discovering ethnic flavors and traditions. Her idea for a vegetarian restaurant came to her at a very young age. Having a special love for animals, Tanya’s quest began: how to maintain a healthy, balanced & nutritious diet using 100% plantbased foods. Well, much to Tanya’s delight, she learned it’s not only possible to live a healthy vegetarian lifestyle, but it’s also healthier for the planet as well as its people.

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Nearby

Near this location:
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20 reviews of Native Foods Cafe

No registration required
Place rating: 5
Bolingbrook, IL
Of course I love Native Foods! My order has always been accurate and I’ be personally never had an issue with my food. The servers there are fabulous and I just absolutely adore this restaurant! I hope they do not close like a few of their counterparts. So let’s get the dish on the dishes right… here is a list of what I’ve had the chance to eat maybe more than 5x
1. Native wings– extra crispy with Buffalo sauce. Ranch dressing on the side! 5 stars itself!!! My friend tried a piece and said «what type of witchery» haha. She thought it was chicken and she’s a hardcore meat eater!
2. Native Nachos– I’ve had bbq native chicken and seitan taco meat. Delicious!
3. Native chili– wish it could be spicer but tasty!
4. Native Oklahoma classic– probably my 3rd favorite on the list.
5. Moroccan bowl, Greek gyro, sesame kale macro
6. Meatball Sub
7. Peanut butter parfait
8. Oatmeal crème pie
My favorites !!
Place rating: 5
Manhattan, NY
Super duper veg/​vegan food with friendly staff. I asked what was good and was told the Thai meatball bowl went for it and was not disappointed! For my meatless Monday — perfect!
Place rating: 2
Chicago, IL
Location and all is great, but it’s pricy.
If I want pricy vegan food, I would go to Chicago Diner.
Place rating: 2
Chicago, IL
The food itself is pretty good.
–Scorpion Burger, yes!
–Portobello Sausage Burger, yes!
–Native Chicken Wings, yes!
But they have soooooooooooooooooooooooooo much to work on.
Please, Native Foods, stop:
–Using blatant false advertisement photos on your website. Yeah, that Chicken Bacon Avo Club looks awesome with its misleading 6 slices of avocado, when we all know the sandwich barely comes with 2.
–Cutting your delivery sandwiches in half, making them nearly impossible to pick up and hold
–Putting your formerly-​crispy appetizers, like chicken wings, in boxes piled with lettuce when out for delivery, creating a moisture bubble and getting them all soggy
Ok, those are the main gripes.
Place rating: 5
Glenview, IL
My friend knew about this vegan place and I’m not opposed to healthy food so I headed there with him. There were plenty on the menu, but he was raving about the fake chicken. I ordered the Japanese sesame chicken bites. The portions are small but the taste makes up for it. It’s clean and light. Also, it tasted like chicken; the texture was just right as well. For the small portion, I would say it’s priced a bit high. However, you don’t see a lot of vegan places around here. I think the rarity makes it worth it.
Place rating: 5
Downers Grove, IL
By far my favorite restaurant. As someone with a restrictive diet, Native Foods is heaven for me. I have had the oatmeal cream pie which is delicious as well as the Moroccan bowl, the Soul bowl, and the Gyro bowl all which have been packed with flavor and filling. The southern fried native chicken in the Soul bowl tasted exactly like chicken nuggets, I had to double check it was vegan! Vegan food can be fun! The prices are extremely reasonable for being a vegan café, all the bowls are under $ 10. I cannot wait to go back and try more!
Place rating: 4
Chicago, IL
The food taste fantastic here! I know not everyone likes a vegan or vegetarian menu so be aware that’s what it is. Super friendly staff, I’m always greeted, and they bring the good out to you. I haven’t found a drink yet that I liked, so I usually stick with water. The prices are very high for the portions you get.
Place rating: 2
Los Angeles, CA
I wish I could give this a higher rating but I’ve been a loyal Native Foods customer since going vegan a few years ago and although I go on and off of a plant based diet due to my love of trying new foods and discovering different cultures, this just doesn’t even compare to what it used to be. Instead of me bringing my meat-​eating friends here for a total vegan shock of a meal, food was half-​assed and I was left unsatisfied.
I ordered an online pickup of the Chicken Run Ranch Burger and Sweet Potato Fries so I could just grab my food and go. Upon arrival, it wasn’t on the to-​go order so I asked the cashier and he asked for my name and when I gave it to him, he was hesitant almost like he didn’t believe me and was kinda rude about it but oh well it’s been a long day so I just thought «oh well, at least I get food.» Upon getting home however I opened a container holding what looked like something that came off of the McDonald’s dollar menu. There was a drop of ranch on this very dry burger and maybe 2 tiny pieces of lettuce with a drop of slaw. It wasn’t even seasoned so I tasted practically plain tofu the entire time. Obviously I’m upset because I didn’t pay $ 13 for something I could’ve made better if I bought the CHEAPER ingredients from the Trader Joe’s fridge/​freezer sections. The fries also weren’t seasoned and they were damp and soggy and cold like they had been sitting out overnight or something.
Honestly, don’t waste your money here. If you’re in the mood for vegan fast food and you absolutely don’t feel like whipping up a meal from Trader Joe’s (I love me some TJ), maybe look for other vegan restaurants in the area? Or I hope if you come here, somebody actually cares about the quality of the food and service.
(oops I might be THAT vegan chick but I feel ripped off so I apologize for my novel above.)
Place rating: 3
Chicago, IL
So sad to have to take away two stars but I have good reasons to back up my decision.
After writing my review, I came that night to meet up with a friend. She got lost and I ended up waiting a good 30 minutes and one or the staff members asked if I had ordered any food and I just told her I was waiting on someone. After that, they constantly kept walking by me staring so I thought that was kinda weird.
Once my friend came, we ordered our food. She loved the Oklahoma Bacon Cheeseburger and couldn’t stop talking about it, but they forgot her fries and doubted her by saying that they should’ve came with the burger. I got the Twister Wrap with buffalo grilled chicken which was horrible so I ended up reordering and got the OC Raw Chopper which wasn’t that great either (too raw for my liking).
THIS IS WHERE I DECIDED I’M NOT COMING BACK TO THIS LOCATION. I asked one of the servers to take our picture because we hadn’t seen each other in forever and the lady told us «I really don’t have time for that. I have a lot to do». It was around 8:15pm, it slowed down, and it took her longer to say that than to take a quick picture. Really lady? lol. Customer service is huge for me and I felt like they were too overwhelmed and very rude at that hour. Not returning here for awhile.
Place rating: 5
Minneapolis, MN
Whenever I visit Chicago, I try to eat at least one meal at a Native Foods. They are spread out all over, but I often stop here. The past trip we ordered 2 meals to share. One was a crispy Twister wrap with added tofu bacon and the Oklahoma Bacon cheeseburger with sweet potato fries. I’d say my favorite was the Oklahoma tempeh cheeseburger. Make sure to add the Ranch and Chipolte sauces. I also think the sweet potato fries are some of the best I’ve ever had. Another condiment recommendation, is their housemade ketchup.
Don’t forget to wet your whistle with some of their lavender blueberry lemonade or Watermelon Fresca. No charge for refills and trying them all. Be sure to close out the meal with a carrot caramel cupcake or oatmeal cream pie. The pie is enough for 2 – 3 people, and worth every penny.
For locals, it seems worth it to get the Café Tribe Card. Rack up points and get rewards for every dollar spent.
Place rating: 3
Chicago, IL
This is an update to my 2011 review. To be honest, I don’t really eat at Native Foods at all anymore. Overall, the menu is heavy on fake meat and cheese, which I find makes me feel bloated and awful afterwards. Therefore, I feel my new rating is more suitable. I hope one day Native Foods deviates from (nearly a pure) fake meat/​cheese heavy menu and focus on making good veggies.
Place rating: 3
Manhattan, NY
Ok Maybe I took anything I liked but I was disappointed
I ordered the bowl with tofu vegetable and brown rice, a Weiss beer and a cookie crème pie!
Well I’m not a fan of cinnamon and the cookie tasted cinnamon :(
The plate… well not my cup of tea but the rice was good (coconut sauce).
It was maybe bad-​luck but for my first dinner in Chicago I could have picked a better one I suppose
Place rating: 3
Bayswater, London, United Kingdom
Cupcakes are ah-​may-​zing! That said, the place creeps me out just a bit. This many meat substitutes cannot actually be healthy for you.
So I checked. As the place was not busy, I asked for the ingredients book. The lady behind the counter kindly gave it to me, and we sat and had a nice chat. WOW, most of the dishes have dozens of ingredients, and each of the meat substitutes have at least half a dozen ingredients I cannot pronounce. This does not pass the «healthy» sniff test, no matter how we slice the tofu.
So no, not going for their meat substitutes. I’ll stick to the cupcakes. Seriously, seriously good.
And their «curry» is basically steamed veg with a small pack of sauce poured over — not cooked as a curry should. So very fast-​foody, and not really quality at all.
Place rating: 4
Chicago, IL
For a vegan restaurant, this place is very good. It wasn’t crowded at all on a Saturday night. I got the Bangkok curry bowl. Expected it to be a curry, but it was more of a dry dish with a bit of curry in the rice. Anyhow, it was very good. The «steak» was tofu and had the density close to actual meat.
I also got the watermelon fresca, which was watermelon juice. I love watermelon juice and it’s not commonly offered in restaurants, so I was happy to find it here. The best part was the free refills for drinks. How awesome is that?
As a meat lover, I really liked Native Foods and would come here again. Everything was filling and just as tasty as meat. Plus, I felt a lot healthier eating this meal.
Place rating: 5
South Berwick, ME
This is a great place to go when you’re tired of the same old lunch options. Yeah, it’s vegan but so what? I’m not a vegetarian, much less a vegan, by any stretch of the imagination but I did enjoy this place.
I had the Moroccan Bowl and my wife the Thai Bowl. Not were flavorful and filling. We also really enjoyed the Lavender Lemonade. Give the place a try — you’ll find something there to enjoy!
Place rating: 5
Chicago, IL
In light of my recent negative experiences with Freshii, I have been forced to seek new alternatives for a healthy lunch in the loop. Everything about Native Foods was positive, starting with the cashier, who cheerfully answered questions and joked with my friend and me while we were dithering about.
I ended up going with the Chicken, Bacon & Avo Club, which the cashier reminded us was an entirely plant-​based sandwich despite the name. The sandwich didn’t taste like chicken, nor did the bacon taste like chicken, but it was a nice portion, freshly cooked and it tasted healthy and delicious. No less than five times, I mumbled out loud «I can’t believe how much I’m enjoying this». (I’m pretty sure my friend tuned me out after the first three times, but I wanted to beat a dead horse because that’s just what I do)
A very inviting place for a quick healthy lunch — I foresee becoming a regular.
Place rating: 5
San Jose, CA
I went in here thinking it was a normal restaurant with some vegetarian options – I know, my bad for not researching enough, especially as a Unilocalie. But I actually wasn’t able to tell that the food on the menu was ALL vegetarian either because it had words like Sausage and Chicken in there. But it was NATIVE CHICKEN and NATIVE SAUSAGE… which meant that the food is all soy-​based.
I got the famous chicken with ranch one… forget the name. But It was pretty darn good! I don’t think it tasted like chicken… but then again… why would I want it to taste like chicken? Definitely looked like it though.
Their chocolate ganache cupcake was really good too. Their portions of the side of fries and sweet potato fries are not the much… even though you pay more for the sweet potato fries.
I also liked the ambiance and that there were so many statistics about water and how much more water non-​vegetarians use! Very clever and discussion-​provoking.
Place rating: 5
New Hyde Park, NY
It broke my heart to find out the location in the loop closed. so thanks to Unilocal and Google maps I was able to find this location. I had to get my fix before I went back to New York. I love love love this restaurant chain!
I got the native chicken sandwich and it was so good. It’s places like this one that make me think I could actually be a vegan. I was a vegetarian for years (was being the key word) and I’m happy to see how many options and things have changed and developed.
The kale was so good and I think I’m healthy when I eat it. Ha ha. I love the lavender tea. Delicious. The staff is friendly and happy to answer questions if you’re overwhelmed by the menu. It’s huge and everything. Sounds amazing! I truly wish they had a location in NYC! I would eat here all the time.
Place rating: 4
Carol Stream, IL
As long as you don’t for a second buy into the fact it’s being marketed as meat, the Oklahoma «Bacon» «Cheeseburger» is actually pretty solid.
This place has been on my mind for some time, and after a long day I figured I’d go with something allegedly healthy. To my credit, vegans probably don’t consume all that much saturated fat.
I got a side of sweet potato fries and drank up unsweetened tea along with my burger. The sweet potato fries were good; some crispy, some not-​so-​crispy, all of it seasoned very well and something I’d gladly get again. The tea was good.
The main show was the burger, and I thought this was quite good. The «bacon» is actually strips of tofu dipped in some sort of a sauce. I tried one on its own, and, well, it doesn’t stand up. It’s better in the burger.
In place of the «meat» is seipan, which tastes surprisingly like shaved turkey. A well-​seasoned, moist turkey. I’d eat this again. The «cheese» is… well, I have no idea what it is.
Vegan cooking of this variety involves using texture as a substitute for flavor, and on this count Native Foods does very well. The crunch of the lettuce leaves and the shaved texture of the seitan complemented the stickiness of the «cheese» and the firm tofu. Assuming you’re an actual vegan that wants to get the closest thing to a cheeseburger you can find, this is pretty good.
Flavorwise, the burger could use some more umami «oomph». Sautéed portobellos would work.
It was an interesting experience, to be sure, and expanded my world about what vegan cooking is like. Not bad for $ 16.
Place rating: 5
Evanston, IL
I have recently tried to adopt a vegan lifestyle, and I adore this restaurant chain.
Honestly, if you aren’t vegan/​vegetarian and you don’t care about how food makes you feel, you might overlook the goodness of this restaurant. I wanted to adopt a vegan lifestyle, because I have been struggling with allergies to meat and dairy products all throughout my life. Thinking about all the tasty foods I couldn’t eat really made me sad. However, I am so glad there are restaurants like Native Foods café which actually makes food that’s good for my body and that is extremely delicious as well.
You know how most vegan food replications taste awful? All the vegan cheese in the grocery markets taste gross, and most fake chickens or meats taste so disgustingly synthetic. However, the meats in the dishes I tried actually tasted like human food. And amazing human food. I would be grossly exaggerating if I said they tasted like the real thing, but I am not lying about the taste!
As an aspiring health nut, I totally approve of this place!