Orange

Had a lovely lunch here before heading over to Wrigley Field… loved being able to bring in our own champagne and make mimosas… the fresh-​squeezed orange juice was divine. The fruit sushi was adorable, but no longer original, and not as tasty as I was hoping. The scrambled eggs and toast were fantastic, my friends got sandwiches and they seemed pretty yummy. Cute décor, I wanted to take a picture of the bathroom it was so cute. Watch out for a wait time, but a good place to go!

I think Orange is more of a gimmick than there for real taste, at least that’s what it felt like. A few of us stopped by here before we headed over to Wrigley on a Sunday morning. The service was good, we sat outside so the atmosphere was nice.
I asked if I could substitute bacon for ham on the 11.5 omelet and was told yes, but later informed that everything is premixed, which leads me to question the freshness of everything at Orange. I did end up choosing to make my own scrambler out of ham, asparagus and white cheddar. It looked pretty, but tasted bland. I hardly ever add salt to anything I order, but this just needed some salt.
The frushi was okay, wouldn’t say I would’ve ordered it myself (we got some for the table).
Don’t think I’d go back, head over to Nookie’s on Halsted instead!

Insert joke here about orange you glad… etc, etc. lol
This is a pretty good place to hit up for brunch. It can get a bit busy though… My omlet was a bit dry, but not bad. I should have got the eggs benedict that my friend got… cause that was GOOD!!! The orange juice is really good here, but a lil bit $$$ for OJ.
They have a really great outdoor patio in the back… nice a relaxing.

I recently went for Sunday brunch at Orange and had a great experience. I had the steak and eggs benedict and was very impressed, the balsamic vinaigrette on top made it a great mix between savory and semi-​sweet.
Plus, the orange coffee was amazing! Our servers name was Emily, she was also real great.
We’ll be back :)

I’m going to give you the good, the bad, and the ugly for this one.
The Good:
Cute, Bright Space
Fresh-​Squeezed, Made-​to-​Order Juices
Great Food
Friendly Server, but*
The Bad:
Long wait on Sunday mid-​day, along with**
The Ugly:
**Not-​so-​Nice Hostess
*Terrible Service
Notice that the Good list is longer, so that’s a positive. But fix the things on the Bad and Ugly lists (i.e. better service will lead to faster tables turning…), and this place would be GREAT!
Loved the little slips of paper for ordering juices (Watermelon with Lime was refreshing)
Loved my Green Eggs and Ham and the bite I had of the Cinnamon Roll Pancakes
Loved playing Trivial Pursuit at the table while we waited.
Hated not knowing when or if we would see our server.
Hated that we didn’t get coffee or tea for about 20 minutes and had to ask for it,.
Hated that my friend, who just ordered toast, had to wait 20 minutes for it.
So, what was it: Wonderfully frustrating? Frustratingly wonderful? All of the above, and just a few maddening steps away from being so much better.

Solid three.
+ Custom-​blended fresh fruit juices. A perfect marriage of orange and pineapple with miraculously little pulp.
+ Pancake flights.
+ No wait on a Saturday morning (10ish).
— Spotty service. Two attempts to drop something on our table that we didn’t order. Complete omission of the Frushi we had ordered as our starter, even though it showed up on our bill.
— Uninspiring omelet.
— Wobbly chairs and one too many tables crammed in along the wall.
— Décor that seems like a construction zone — plywood everywhere.
Fine for the neighborhood, especially if you’re craving fresh juice, but not worth a special trip.

Orange has a lot going for it, but it also has a lot of competition. Chicago has a plethora of great breakfast spots. And while this is one of them, its not the cream of the crop.
I think my favorite thing about orange are the gimmicks. I don’t normally let these kinds of things pull me in, but I have to admit here they are done quite well. There are three that I will name–
1) Juice mixing menu. You can mix nearly any variety of juices that you can imagine together to create your own drink. It is expensive, and I’ll admit that I’ve failed a couple of times in my attempt (some juices just don’t go well together), but I admire the option to do this.
2) Frushi. This is just too cute. I’m sure its mentioned a million times in other reviews, but you can get a small plate of ‘sushi’ made out of sweet rice and fruit. Its almost too cute to eat (must like real sushi I guess) but its a lot of fun and usually quite tasty.
3) Pancake flight. As you can see in some of the pictures, you get a high school cafeteria style sectioned off plate with 4 types of similarly themed pancakes. It has the potential to be quite delicious. On our most recent trip the theme was cereal and there were some great combos in there.
Anyway, I really don’t have anything to complain about with this place, its quite good. But there are a couple of places in the city that are just a little better. But if you are on the fence, I will tell you that this place deserves a visit.
Note, I have only been there for breakfast.

Very creative food, and GREAT COFFEE– it has a hint of orange, which works. Seriously, try it.
I loved the menu– it’s full of very interesting flavor combos and ingredients. I was trying to pick between the Chai French Toast and Green Eggs and Ham, and went with the Green Eggs. I still wonder about that french toast.
Great place to go with friends for a slightly-​upscale brunch. It’s a little crowded, but cozy at the same time, and is a welcome change from your traditional breakfast joint.

We were in town for a couple days this weekend, and the friend we were staying with suggested Orange for brunch. Awesome. Never been there, and I’m always down for something new.
The wait wasn’t very long, maybe fifteen minutes, but half of that was spent trying to get the attention of the hostess. If you’re gonna be a host/​hostess, you need to be a little assertive. This girl was not. She was busy, but not crazy-​busy.
The menu had a lot of things that sounded really good, like a caprese eggs benedict with pesto hollandaise and the aforementioned pancake offerings.
I really couldn’t decide. In the end, I went with the Omelet #11.5, which was filled with brie, chopped bacon, spinach, and leeks. There was a curvy stripe of avocado mousse on top, but I couldn’t taste it. I think it was just decorative. The omelet was good. I’ve had better, but it wasn’t bad.
Here is where we get into the annoying part (yes, there is always something that annoys me). The ‘house potatoes’ were completely bland and tasteless. Served in a cylinder-​shape, the potatoes were hash browns-​esque, but not quite. There was something green in there like a seasoning of some sort, but I couldn’t tell what it was. Even salt couldn’t save them. Once you broke apart the cylinder, the potatoes just fell apart into a mushy mess.
What I really wanted was to sub a side of mixed greens instead of the house potatoes, but they charge $ 2.50 to do so. I’m on a budget, but trying to eat healthy. They choose to offer organic mixed greens, and that’s more expensive than what are probably not organic potatoes, blah, blah, blah, I get it. Still unhappy.
My one friend got the traditional eggs benedict. I tried it, and it was good, but their hollandaise is light on the lemon juice. Personally, I prefer it to go the other way. But the rest of it was good. The eggs were poached properly. It’s surprisingly hard to find a brunch restaurant where the cooks consistently know how to poach an egg.
My other friend got the omelet #6, which involved all kinds of stuff, including dry-​aged jack cheese, almonds, garlic, and asparagus. Hers had one of those curvy lines of decorative liquid on top of it, too. In this case, it was a balsamic reduction. She also had cream of mushroom soup and liked it.
Overall, it wasn’t too bad. I wish I had tried the pancakes, since that seems to be their specialty, but I was really in the mood for an omelet.

I love this place due to its creative nature and always changing menu. My friends and I went during pride week last summer and I had the pancake special which was 4 differen types which I can’t decide which one I liked the most. The green eggs and ham is also something everyone should try once in their life. Just amusing creative food with different combinations you wouldn’t think would go so well together. Whatever you decide to get, make sure to get some fresh orange juice. :)

We had Saturday brunch about noon and I was surprised that there was no wait. I think the Taste of Chicago must have pulled away some of the usual crowd.
I had Omelet #11.5, which includes bacon, sweet leeks, and brie, with an avocado sauce on top. It was very good and creamy, though I tasted the brie less than I expected. They had a pancake flight special, which I think changes weekly. My wife had those and let me try them, and each of the four was very good. The descriptions sounded as though they might be overly sweet, but the taste was subdued and came out just right.
Coffee with orange in it is a bit unusual, but the taste is right on even if the smell is a little bit household-​cleaner. It isn’t something I’d want everyday, but it’s worth a try. Good service and okay prices, except a side of bacon which was too small for $ 4, considering it was not uniquely prepared. Also, this location does not serve alcohol although it does allow you to bring your own. The location on Roscoe does serve alcohol, so next time we’ll probably try that one.

Since I was in high school, I loved trekking around Lakeview and doing some shopping. It’s a bit of a drive (Well, I took the train back then) but it made for a day of exploration and getting to know Chicago better. I always noticed Orange and wondered about it. Then, I read reviews on Unilocal and decided I NEEDED to go. I’m a brunch junkie!
I went around 2pm with a friend, so there was no wait. Pretty small place with cute paintings of Chicago all over. Many posters advertising 5Ks and other charity events.
Cucumber water? Never had it (I know) but, yum on the hot, humid summer day.
However, right away our service lacked. Do note that it was NOT incredibly busy at all.
We decided on our drinks (I got orange pineapple with yogurt…$ 4.50 uhh) and waited wayy too long to order them. My friend and I were in NEED of a bathroom, but I insisted we place our drink orders. Yeah… we gave up and on the way to the bathroom, we passed our server. «Uh, uhhh» she stammered. Also, after we placed our drink order, we saw them sitting on the nearby counter for a few minutes. We had to grab them ourselves. Umm what am I tipping you for?
That aside, the food was stellar. I got a plate of frushi (See photo). Quite an interesting idea that sets Orange apart from other brunch places. $ 2.50 for first plate, $ 1.50 for an additional. I especially liked one piece of frushi in which the rice had coconut in it. My friend ended up basically licking the mango and strawberry/​raspberry sauce off the plate!
For my entrée, it was between the chai tea french toast, the french toast kebabs and the green eggs and ham. The chai tea won (See photo). I love chai tea, but am not excited by french toast… this excited me! So delicious and kept me full all day. It came in the coolest, big bowl.
If you love pancakes, try their flights. You get four pancakes, each of a different flavor. The theme changes by the week. The week I went, there were Father’s Day pancakes. My only complaint would be the price…$ 11 for pancakes? They better be so good they make my head explode. Or something.

Yummy.

Ambiance: Neighborhood restaurant with no bells or whistles. Has a very unpolished feel to it, but not in a bad way.
Staff: Everyone here was so nice and friendly. From the host to the server to the busser. We really felt at home.
Food: Pancake flight — I have found true love and thy name is Pancake Flight. Okay this is just a brillant concept that is right up my alley. You get four different flavored silver dollar pancake stacks served to you in a divided plate. This satifies two desires for me 1) The desire to taste as many different flavors of pancakes I can and 2) My desire that my food NOT touch each other an interrupt the integrity of each flavor. Each week they change the theme of the pancake flight. This week happened to be Cinco De Mayo. The pancakes were: Bananas Mexicanas with Plantains and a Mexican Eggnog Cream (Rompope). Mexican Upside Down Cake with Pineapples and Jalepeno’s inside the pancakes and a Horchata whipped cream. Kahlua and Cream Pancakes and finally Arroz con Leche Pancakes with rice pudding and clove syrup.
Beverages: Their orange flavored coffee was to die for! I had their orange juice with cantaloupe and I loved it.
Pointers: Be prepared to wait. They don’t take reservations and it appears to be a popular restaurant. I say come in shoes you can walk in and bum around the neighborhood while you wait for your table to open up.
I definitely want to return I want to try more pancake flights, their frushi and many other things on their menu!

Love this place! Crazy lines as always, so if you dare try to come during the weekend, be prepared to wait. It will be long. But what else is crazy for brunch in chicago on the weekends.
Their chai french toast is sweet but tasty. The coconut-​infused kabobs are not only beautiful, but tast fresh with the strawberries and pineapples. If you want something savory, the green eggs and ham definitely does the trick. And something pretty standard, but not? their fancy pants grilled cheese does the job.
As for the create your own juices. love the concept. but have failed each time i’ve made it. I stick to the fresh orange juice.

Frushi!

The food gets 5-​stars, the service 1-​star.
I don’t know what I can add to what others have written about Orange other than five photos of their food. But the reason you should come to Orange despite their horrible service is because you love breakfast and you are ready for a twist. I mean come on, a pancake flight? Who wouldn’t love four different pancake preparations on one plate?
The Chai Tea French Toast is perfect if you love chai tea and French toast. The girlfriend, J, isn’t a big fan of chai tea and didn’t care for it as an accompaniment to French toast. But J was a fan of the French Toast Kabob. If you love tropical fruits with your French toast the kabob is for you.
The pan seared oatmeal is very interesting. The best way I can describe it is a giant gooey oatmeal cookie. It is very rich and can easily be share by two or more people.
This place will be a regular stop for us in Chicago and I would encourage anyone that can side step traditional breakfast to try it.

When I came it was like 11AM on a Saturday so we waited for 45 minutes for a table for two. When we got seated, it was a little cramped which is ok because almost eveything is like that in the city. The service did suck, we ordered some of the fruitsushi and our server forgot about it. It is overpriced but what do you expect, everything in the city is. I thought the food was good, but it is a little expensive. I have definitely have been to better places. It really isnt worth it for the price but it was fun to check it out…
Pros: different combos, good food
Cons: loud, expensive, cramped, bad service, long waits

I’m a big fan of breakfast food and I think this place really is as good as it gets.
The menu options are fun and original as well as absolutely tasty. Eggs Benedict with pesto is delicious as well as the chai French Toast.
The custom made juice bar is delicious and you always get what you want. And the coffee is amazing. I love coffee and I think the orange infused coffee is a great idea and it’s absolutely delicious. I’ve even infused my own coffee at home with orange and it’s great!
The atmosphere is fun and fruity and the whole place smells like orange zest, which is pretty refreshing. I saw that one person had said the restaurant seemed «dirty» but I didn’t see that at all. I thought everything was clean, refreshing and bright.
Only downside is the service — it seems that at both locations I have visited (Harrison St. and Clark) the service could have been a bit quicker., both in the time that we waited and interacted with the hostess to our server’s performance. However, each time I ate at the restaurant I was with good family/​friend company so it wasn’t awful that we had to wait a little bit longer than usual to get our check.
I definitely recommend to those who enjoy all things breakfast — from juice to coffee to brunch — it really has something for everyone.

I love this brunch place! We came at 12:30p on Sunday afternoon and had to wait 15 minutes for 2 tables of 4 (they couldn’t seat all 8 of us together) which is totally acceptable for prime brunch time.
It’s the little things that really set Orange apart from other brunch places — from the orange flavoured coffee to the cucumber slices in the water to the pancake «flights.» That said, some things are more successful than others. For example, the orange coffee was not good as they used orange oil or something that created a thin film on the coffee and tasted artificial. The fruishi (fruit sushi) was a novel concept, beautifully presented, and just put me in a good mood because it was just so darn cute. My friend suggested that they slice up fruit and call it «fruishimi.» Ha.
I ordered the green eggs (whites only) and ham and found it really, really, really good. The pesto didn’t make the dish oily at all and the diced ham mixed in went really well with the eggs. The potatoes were definitely more like mashed skin-​on lumpy potatoes, but I forgave them because they tasted fine with salt and ketchup.
My friends seemed to enjoy their more adventurous omelet which included pineapple and coconut. I had a bite of the huevos rancheros and found the sour & spicy salsa verde to be quite tasty. I also tried the orange rosemary-​infused french toast and found it ok though I wasn’t a huge fan of the sweet milky rosemary sauce they used.
Service was only ok — our waitress was missing at times and it took her a full 10 minutes to bring over ketchup. I would definitely come back just for the green eggs & ham though!