El Pikete Mexican Cafe

Now closed.

I randomly found this place on Unilocal and made it my mission to go. Yesterday my friend Steff and I stopped there for breakfast on the way to a day at Six Flags.
The place was super crowded and when we asked the lady behind the counter for a place to sit she told us it was so crazy because it was their last day. We couldn’t believe we had ventured there on the last possible day to go.
The food was great. I had the pia fresca which was just like the ones I used to drink in Costa Rica and tostones and chilaquiles. They were all awesome. Steff had the breakfast torta with chorizo and eggs. It was also awesome.
I’m sad this place had to go. I wish I could have come back for more delicious food.

After reading Mia Mia Mia’s review, I came for my greatest guacamole in Chicago research. All I can say is that she and I are WORLDS apart in terms of ‘outstanding’ guac! It was all cilantro, lime juice, tomatoes, cucumbers and long strips of romaine, with (seemingly) not much avocado and no garlic. Very hard to scoop with the chips because of all the chunks falling off the chip. Also had a veggie torta — good, but (note to self) tortas are always so damn messy to eat. Horchata was tasty but watery in comparison to my fave horchata at Garcia’s.
Nice staff and not far from home, so I may return to try their chilaquiles or huevos a la Mexicana.

El Pikete is a very cute little café. When I first moved to Chicago I was feeling a little homesick. I quickly found El Pikete Mexican Café nearby. Their tostones remind me of my dad’s cooking and bring back the comforts of home. I’ve also had their nachos, which aren’t like regular nachos. They are really fresh and light. Food presentation and atmosphere were very nice as well.

When you pull up to El Pikete, the first thing you might ask yourself is, «Hmm…what might I have gotten myself into?» Then you walk in the door to find a cozy, beautiful restaurant filled with kind people and great food.
I went this morning for breakfast and got the huevos rancheros with café. It was really amazing. The fried plantains were perfect, and there seemed to be just enough spice on everything to make it really really yummy. The coffee had a hint of cinnamon, which made it absolutely delicious.
My girlfriend got the Croissant Sandwich with avocado. She loved it. The croissant was just ever so sweet as to balance out the other savory flavors.
Great place. Apparently they have game night once a week. I’ll be back.

Another awesome little joint my kids told me about. This is not just another predictable tacqueria. It’s not a tacqueria. They mean what their sign says: it’s a café and bakery; a friendly, classy, colorful, clean and clever one. There was even some interesting art on the walls. I’m not a WIFI person, but they have that, too, apparently.
The place is tiny; six tables. That’s it. The menu is limited, in a way, but interesting. They serve breakfast, lunch and dinner.
At dinner, there was not a speck of grease on the tacos or the jamon y queso torta. Everything was fresh. The guacamole had something in it which I could not identify, but it was original and delicious.
We went back for breakfast: chilaquiles, huevos rancheros and chorizo torta. Chocolate abuelita. All excellent. Everyone happy.
We’ll be back.

What a cute little shop… Mexican Café. Gay Friendly! A bit different from all those Mexican dive taquerias. You can actually get coffee or fruit smoothies here to go with all the nice pasteries. I love the round breads that look like armadillos, I think they are called Guatemalan Sweet Bread. If you want something hot just ask the cook to kick it up a notch, and she’ll put in some Rajas for you.

love, love, love el pikete! i went there for the first time yesterday and i was super hungry. my friend and i got the tortilla soup, order of tostones [which come with salsa verde and are not super crispy or dry or greasy… delicious!], a torta de milanesa de pollo, a mexican pizza, an order of platanos maduros con leche nestle [oh my god, sooooo good!!], and a café mexicano… there aren’t enough words to describe the amazing goodness of this café! needless to say, it’s so good. all together it was $ 20, which at any other café shop could easily be more expensive. plus, did i mention it’s wi-​fi? or that the colors on the wall are beautiful? or that the tables have amazing designs one with my fav frida painting? or that they’re so kind? and my favorite of it all, it’s a queer, of color, politicized, and conscious coffee shop! i will travel the ½ hour to get to el pikete… it’s amazing!

Ok, so I only stopped by for some coffee so this isn’t a full review. It was mmmmmmmm, delish! I had the Pikete Coffee which was a wonderful! I’m glad to see a cute café in the ‘hood and a coffee place.
I thought the café was really cute and inviting and hope to stop by for food — I’ll let you know how it is!
Oh, don’t be confused by the BBQ joint sign:)

El Pikete just opened up in the Uptown/​Lakeview area, and I hope the neighborhood shows some great appreciation. So new that they promise to have a phone number and Wifi soon, this mexican café and bakery is great for bread goods, breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and treats. I’ve heard some groups have already started holding events here!
Of course, Mexican is easy to find in Chicago, but El Pikete stands out on a number of grounds. The food is particularly great and high quality, with refried beans like you don’t find else where, an awesome fresh drink selection, plenty of choices for both vegetarians and meat eaters, and fantastic coffee options.
So, let’s talk specifics. Firstly, love the plantains/​plantanos, always a top prize to me. I’ve so far had the pleasure of indulging in the delicious breakfast Torta Vegetariana Mexicana (the lunch one doesn’t have avocado) and also the Chilakiles, which were amazing. I also had the pleasure of getting in on Pikete Café (and I plan to go through some of the other coffees) and the amazing agua fresca de coco (a fresh coconut drink). I plan to cycle through plenty more aguas frescas, licuados and smoothies, all affordably priced.
For the baked goods, I got a $ 1 bag of day old treats since I went in with a thin wallet anyway, and they were great too. Can’t wait to go for the fresh stuff, or some of the amazing sounding desserts, like their strawberry covvered tres leches cake, flan with rompope (latin american egg nog), and other amazing sounding treats. For a little more, you can also get one of several amazing sounding salsas, and I plan to Unilocal on them too in the near future. And for the meat eaters, there are plenty of chicken, beef and chorizo options as well.
Prices? Well, they’re mostly a little bit above your corner taqueria, but not always. Actually, the taco dinner (3 tacos) and the nachos are both cheaper than you might find elsewhere. And the place is nicely decorated with progressive Latin American imagery (Frida, Che, Zapata), and has a sofa/​low table seating option. I’ll be back, and often.