Norma’s Coffee Corner

Nifty place! The man working behind the counter was very nice, welcoming, informative and patient. He answered a bunch of my questions and recommended a coconut crème latte. What a great recommendation!!! It is AMAZING! I don’t love-​love coconut and I promise I will probably always get this latte because it is THAT good! I also ordered the Turkey and Havarti With Mango chutney crepes. Wow! Wow! WOW!!! So good!!! I noticed the crepes were served with coleslaw and let me tell you, I DESPISE coleslaw, but I am blown away by their coleslaw! IT IS AMAZING!!! THIS PLACE ROCKS!

Great local coffee shop in Palatine with friendly baristas and good coffee. I ordered a soy white chocolate macadamia latte and it was pretty good, a little sweet but overall no complaints. I liked that Norma (who I assume was the nice lady who rung me up) knew her customers by name which really makes a difference and I wish I had a coffee shop like that near me. If I’m in the area I’ll stop by again to try more drinks and pastries.

Stopped in for a beverage, decided to try one of the crepes. Chose the turkey with mango chutney, it was delicious. The serving was generous and the side of broccoli coleslaw was delicious and crunchy. I will definitely be back to try one of her other lunch crepes. She also has crepes for the sweet tooth. Hurry in, they are only available between 11 and two, which was a problem for me yesterday when around 3 o’clock I thought I would stop in and try another flavor. See you soon Norma, I will definetly be back!

Very cute local coffee shop. Great coffee and options, clean and a very friendly staff.

I was looking for a place to grab a late breakfast/​lunch and stopped at Norma’s on my way home to try the new crepes they offer. I tried the turkey and havarti with mango chutney. Holy. Deliciousness. The combination of everything in the crêpe was perfect! The order came with two good sized crepes that were almost too much for a small lunch but I couldn’t stop eating them! A side of coleslaw is also included with the dish. I will definitely be going back to sample all of the other sweet and savory options they offer. They are only served until 2pm so make sure you get there before then!

You absolutely MUST try the new crepes! Love this unique offering — which can be lunch! I ordered the turkey and havarti with a chutney the other day. There are many more selections and can’t wait to get back there and try them! Thank you Norma’s for being a fabulous meeting spot for client meetings, a place where I can get a friendly cup of coffee, and now crepes!

I love the coziness of Norma’s. The only «classic» coffee shop left out here in the northwest suburbs! Hope it never closes, their vanilla nut coffee is the best!

I really enjoyed stopping at this nice, little coffee shop. I got there early and tried an egg-​on-​bagel sandwich and a scone. Both were both fantastic along with the coffee. A friend later met me there, and I tried quiche for the first time. I was not disappointed. I look forward to stopping here whenever I’m in the area.

Norma’s Coffee Corner is a great place to get your morning coffee. The people are friendly and fun. They offer different coffee flavors during the week along with all cappuccinos and lattes you can imagine. Exactly what you would expect from a locally owned and operated coffee shop. When I can’t stop in for my coffee I brew my own from their great selection of beans. There are so many good things about Norma’s that make it a wonderful place. I would like to highlight one of my personal favorites. On weekends they offer breakfast burritos. They are hot, fresh and made to order.
Go for the coffee and enjoy a breakfast burrito.

Just alright, nothing special. I don’t like the remodel. It doesn’t seem as cozy. I really want to support local businesses and really wanted to like this place, but sadly it just is not worthy of a good rating. (I have tried this place 4 – 5 times throughout the years it has been open, and have always been underwhelmed.) Norma’s needs to strive for excellence not just hang its hat on the fact that it is a small, local business. I would not go out of my way to recommend going here if someone asked. Sorry!

Norma’s is Palatine’s local coffee shop. Norma, or one of her very friendly staff, is always on hand to greet you with a smile. Once you go in there a few times, staff actually remember you. They are not just churning out the coffee drinks factory-​style like Starbucks. This is actually a locally owned coffee shop. A rarity in these days of characterless chains that couldn’t give a crap about you.
The coffee here is actually really really good! I’m a member of the coffee club, and come here to buy my whole beans. Norma stocks all sorts of different flavors, and the coffee is awesome. Once you buy a certain amount, you get a free bag. I also love that they always have a couple different types of coffee brewed daily, including a flavored coffee. I like to pop in and get my hazelnut brew. They can make all of the fancy-​schmancy drinks that you might want.
A hidden gem here is the breakfast bagel sandwich. It comes out on a hot toasted bagel with a huge pile of eggs and cheese. You can also get breakfast meat on there, but I usually skip that. They also have the best scones!
No, they don’t have a million different pastries on hand, and it might take you 30 seconds longer to get your coffee than other places, but come on people! Support your local businesses! Someday all these places may be gone, and we will be left with a land of strip malls and chain junk.

Love this place! Great breakfast idea, personable customers service. Will always make a stop when up this way.

I really want to give this family business more but you can not use your Credit card unless you buy 5 dollars or more. The coffee is pretty good but I have been there 3 times and they messed up my order twice already and I usually get stuff to go so I don’t realize it until I am halfway to work. Today I got a breakfast sandwich and told him 3 times i wanted sausage. I pull it out there is ham on it, not a huge deal I guess. Its okay. Probably won’t go back. The muffins and scones are just okay.

I REEAAALLLY wanted to like this place a lot, but I just don’t. I’ve been there 4 times over the past year and a half. The coffee is pretty good — I’ve had 2 cappuccinos and 2 regular coffees.
I’ve a had a scone and choc. chip banana bread. Both were pretty good, but I chose them mainly because there was nothing else left by late morning/​early afternoon. I don’t know if you have to be there super early to get a good selection of baked goods, or if it’s always slim pickins.
Last time, I went with my husband around 10:30 am. It was not busy at all. There were 3 people already there and maybe 2 people came in after us. My husband ordered some kind of bagel sandwich with eggs, etc. It took them 20 minutes to bring it out! What?!? I could have driven home and made him the same thing in less time than that.
Last of all, the WIFI. Ugh. You have to ask for a password. Why not just have Guest Wifi? Then when I finally got on, it was so slow that I couldn’t do anything… email wouldn’t load, Facebook wouldn’t load… totally useless. I happen to know that there is a Dunkin Donuts opening up ½ a block from Norma’s, and they need to step up and fix some of these issues if they’re going to compete.

Of all the coffee shops around, Norma’s is not on the top of my list. It’s not too shabby, but it isn’t my favorite. They have your normal coffee/​espresso drink selection, with some teas, pastries, and some gourmet coffee beans for purchase. The prices are decent (cheaper than Starbucks), but they didn’t have anything out of the ordinary that I had not seen before. I ordered the toffee coffee crunch frap — it was good, but very sweet.
This place is tiny — they only have a few tables to sit at. I felt sort of claustrophobic. The tables and chairs are sort of dated, there was something… missing. It just didn’t feel that cozy to me. They do have some books on the wall that you can read, but you would have to climb over people to get to it. The service was ok — we ordered a quiche and it took forever to get it. There was only one girl working so I can’t really blame her.
You also need to spend a minimum of $ 5 if you use credit (I don’t like it when places do that), and their check-​in deal wasn’t good until after 3PM. Meh.

Sorry y’all, I’m not on the Norma’s train. I really don’t feel it much at all and I’ve tried a few times now.
Prices aren’t all that bad, a small hot chocolate is $ 2. No variations on this classic but I really enjoyed it. At 9am, they were lacking in the pastry department. Not sure if that’s their norm or they had sold out of most items by then. I was hoping for a donut or something chocolate & yummy, but alas there was not anything.
Norma’s is full of mostly regulars and I honestly felt out of place when I popped myself down. People come in to meet and hang out with their friends… mostly an older clientele. It’s not a big coffee shop but it gets packed to the brim and quite loud.
I brought a book but wasn’t able to focus well because of all the noise in such a small space. That and because it was so crowded and I was sitting in a comfy chair up in the front where people kept bumping into me and standing right on top of me… with their bodies on my legs making me feel quite uncomfortable and as if I was in their space. Anyways, I don’t recommend it for studying or reading, more of a socializing coffee shop.

I hate that I don’t like this place. I so want to support a local coffee shop, and I spent a good part of the summer studying there instead of the chains that we are surrounded by, but it just isn’t my thing. I’ve tried many things on the drink menu and the only thing tolerable is just plain ol’ coffee. So I continue to go and drink the coffee, and the truth is that now that I know not to order anything else, it is a nice place to meet with friends.
But after today’s experience, I’m just done. I ordered my regular coffee as usual and because I was meeting somebody there I ordered it in a ceramic mug. Well, turns out I didn’t stay as long as I anticipated so I only got about halfway through my coffee. I went up to the counter and asked Norma if I could get a to go cup so that I could take the rest with me. She interrupted me and told me «[They] don’t do that here. It’s one or the other.» Baffled, I set my half full mug on her counter and walked out, not willing to chug my coffee. I thought to myself that maybe there was a different price for in a mug and to go coffee, but even if there was I’d happily pay the extra quarter (or whatever the cost is) to take the rest of my drink with me.
It later occurred to me that it is possible that she thought I wanted a refill (as that is what she initially thought when I came up there) in a to go cup, but the thing is I clearly said «so I can take this with me.» So if there was a misunderstanding, it was because she started talking over me once I said I was looking for a to go cup.
Either way, I’m over Norma’s.

I am a coffee novice… I don’t do well on caffeine. It usually makes my hands shake and my eyes dart around the room like I am following an imaginary fly. I was in the area picking up some ingredients for a beer I was making, and I was hungry and my buddy wanted to get some coffee. I pulled up the handy dandy Unilocal app, and behold Norma’s coffee is on our way home.
We walk in and there is only one customer who is spread out at a table with her laptop and headphones. I walk up to the counter while looking at the menus. It is all gibberish to me. Do you have anything that won’t kill me? Also, I want some of that quiche in the fridge. Norma recommended a Vanilla Caramel Delight. It was delicious, but I was lucky to keep my eyes from popping out of my head. The caramel flavor was amazing and not too strong. The only bad part was the excessive amount of sugar which I should have realized prior to ordering.
As we were being rung up, Norma told the cashier to remind us about the breakfast burritos. Cue the choir of angels. We want 2 chorizo burritos with everything you got on it. It was heaven in a tortilla. My buddy enjoyed his coffee and appreciated Norma’s patience in describing her choices.
I will definitely stop in here again if I am in the area. Unfortunately they only serve breakfast burritos on Saturdays, but they are definitely worth trying.

Say my name, say my name…
When it comes to life, love and above all, coffee, Beyonce puts it best.
They remembered my name.
I live about 45 miles from here so I don’t get in as often as I’d like, but my boo lives not-​so-​far from here so sometimes (as often as I can) I’m able to stop in after dropping him at the train or when I’m looking for a good coffice space.
Best I never had…
I pretty much always get the same thing, everywhere I go, or at least when it comes to caffeine. This past Friday am I was in need of an extra strong boost to keep up with my workload. You got anything that can help me get through close to 1,000 unanswered emails and not taste like tobacky? Hyup! Invented just for me and my need for speed: An extra EXTRA dirty chai latte w/​extra chai.
Run the world girl…
Turns out, all you need to do to become a bonafide RTWG is 2 shots of espresso in your cup.
I’m a survivor…
Hyup. I made it through the work day and I didn’t give up thanks to Norma’s inventive barista’ing.
Dangerously in love, I am.

I can’t believe it took me so long to realize this place was here!
I can’t believe it took me so long to drop by once I heard about it!
After noticing fellow Unilocalers stopping at Norma’s, I knew I had to make an excuse to visit since I’m a huge fan of independently-​owned coffee shops. Finally, yesterday afternoon, I rerouted my way home from volunteering so I could end up at Norma’s.
Norma? You satisfied me. The first thing I noticed when I walked in were the kitschy, vintage items and random jewelry on the shelves (are they for sale or just decorations?). Unique. The place has a cozy but modern feel with assorted ceiling lights and good lighting from the windows. Random books and games on the wooden shelves add to the atmosphere and invite you to stay longer than at some big chain coffee shop. While I was there, no one left; we all stayed in our cozy spots reading or playing a game.
I sat in a couch for an hour, reading a book and drinking my iced chai. The lemon cookies were devoured instantly — amazing! I was so tempted to get up and get some more, but my conscience was telling me to save money (boo, conscience). The iced chai tea? The best iced chai I’ve ever had. I kid you not. Norma’s iced chai was the perfect blend of spices, [soy] milk, ice, and whatever else is inside.
By the way, Norma is incredibly friendly and helpful. She seemed to be so happy that I was there, and I’m sure she’s the same way with everyone else. Her warmth drew me in. It’s not often that someone standing behind the counter makes me feel like staying.
Thank you, Norma!