Wildberry Pancakes and Cafe

Honestly this might be the best brunch place I’ve ever been to. AMAZING. There is a bit of a wait but it’s defiantly worth it. Amazing food.
The waitress was very slow and not attentive but other than that, amazing!

Despite super long wait times, I think it’s pretty standard fare for the tourist set. Their pancakes and waffles are overloaded with extras turning them more so into a decadent dessert and less a hearty breakfast. It has an ideal location and decent service at peak hours. Nothing extraordinarily memorable that I can recall, but if you’re wondering where to take your middle-​of-​the-​road relatives from out of town who won’t want something too fancy or too pricey, it’s a solid «diner» vibe with good options… ideal for taking food baby selfies at the bean in millennium park afterwards.
For the Chicago set, it’s along the same vein as Bongo Room in terms of dessert-​like menu options, a touch more expensive than Yolk. I’ve been three times in the last 3 years and cannot recall having a bad experience. It’s filling, so come with an appetite and you’ll be satisfied.

Holy guacamole! This place is BUSY! Our wait today was an hour and fifteen minutes. I liked that we got a text that we could be notified when our table was ready. I also liked that it is close to millennium park that we could go and sightsee while we waited.
By the time we were seated, we had amazing service. Mike was amazing! Our table had the Mexicana skillet with brioche French toast, butcher block skillet with campfire pancake and another with banana crêpe, and espanola omelette with cinnamon roll pancake.
Drinks were hot chocolate, a passion fruit mango mixed lemonade, and wild berry juice.
Our food and drinks were AMAZING! It is a long wait but well well well worth it. Definitely a fan. I recommend it.

You know those times when you’re so intensely hungry /​hangry, that you’ll eat just about anything?
That happened to me and my friend this past weekend while traveling in Chicago. We dropped off our baggage and headed to this place that had rave reviews for brunch — we had to check it out. We got there and there were tons of people crammed into the tiny waiting area /​bar area (probably the biggest downfall of this restaurant).
We were finally seated after 1.25 hours of waiting and people watching at the Bean and ice skating and let me tell you — it’s worth the wait! I would download the app «NoWait» and put your name in so you don’t even have to be at the restaurant to put your name in the line. It’s a great app.
We were finally seated and were blessed with a huge menu of an overwhelming amount of brunch items. Sadly, there wasn’t any mimosas or screwdrivers on the menu, but that was okay after we sipped on our Seasonal Special: Hot Apple Cider with whipped cream — it’s a MUST!
I got the garden skillet with scrambled eggs on top and an order of the berry bliss pancakes. There’s so much food that you will probably have leftovers. And the best part, my meal (skillet, cider, pancakes) was under $ 14. You can’t beat that! I wish they would ask you if you needed ketchup /​syrup /​butter before they bring it out because my friend and I didn’t use them at all either of the times we went and I feel that was a large waste of food.
My biggest turn off was that because they were sooo busy and had such a long wait outside, almost IMMEDIATELY after you finish your plates and food, they are stealing them from you and not even giving you a moment to take in the glorious food you just engorged yourself in. I found that to be very rude, especially since they reached in front of me while I was still eating to take a plate out of the way when I clearly wasn’t finished.
That part aside, this is my favorite food for brunch I’ve ever tasted… So good in fact that we had to go back a second time the next day. #NoJudgment. I had leftovers and it was just as good!
If you’re ever in the area, download the NoWait app, get in line, and be prepared to feast on the most affordable, best brunch food your tastebuds will ever experience.

This place is definitely somewhere you want to try! It’s a good spot for breakfast or lunch. I came here two days in a row on our four day vacation.
The first day I got two eggs scrambled with hash browns, turkey bacon and fresh glazed blueberry pancakes.
The second day I got the garden skillet and the berry bliss pancakes. The garden skillet had veggies like mushroom, asparagus, broccoli, tomatoes and a few more I can’t remember. All the veggies is sitting on top a pile of hash browns with melted cheese and two eggs on top which I got poached. The berry bliss pancakes had mascarpone in between along with berries and different types of syrup.
The pancakes were both so fluffy and soft. Even though I was full, I had to finish my pancakes!
The service was good and the waiters were attentive and kind.
The price for the food is pretty great! You get a lot for your money. I would definitely recommend trying this place. If you are going on a weekend, I would definitely try to go early so you won’t have to wait as long.

A great place for brunch!
We shared classic eggs Benedict and butcher block skillet. Both tasted good! The pancakes came with skillet were soft and delicious, not too sweet. Eggs were perfectly cooked, and the hash browns were crunchy and tasty.
The waiters were nice and friendly. And the location was pretty good, right across the street of Millennium Park. The only not-​so-​good thing about this place was the long wait, we had to wait about 40 mins, but it was well worth it!

As a nationally ranked place for pancakes, you can’t overlook Wildberry… or the insane wait time. Here’s my advice:
(01) COME EARLY. Wildberry opens at 6:30 AM, and as someone who loathes mornings, I’ll roll out of bed so I don’t have to hear that there’s going to be a 90-​minute wait. I can be seated right away at 7:45 AM, but by the time I leave at 8:20 AM, tables fill up fast.
(02) ORDER PANCAKES. Duh, this is a no-​brainer. You need to eat the pancakes at a nationally ranked pancake destination. The hard part is figuring out WHICH pancakes to order. I tried «being healthy» and asked for a three stack of multi-​grain pancakes with figs and walnuts, and I have zero regrets. They were fluffy and fantastic from first bite to last.
(03) TIP YOUR SERVER WELL. Wildberry has a pretty smooth operation. I feel like it was a matter of blinks before receiving my coffee, fruit, and pancake platter. They probably want you in and out as quickly as possible to reduce the line times, but most people are on the go in the mornings anyways.
Follow these steps, and you’ll be indulging at The Loop’s busiest and most delicious breakfast spot in no time!

Wildberry has large portions, tasty food, reasonable prices, and great service. The only problem is that you’ll probably have to wait, because everyone else wants to eat at the great place to. Having gone 5 times on different days, there isn’t any way to avoid the line. The best solution is to use the No Wait App to get in line before you arrive, you’ll know about when to arrive and get straight to your food.
On to the food. Pretty much everything is good here, and most flavor combinations go well. That being said, I sometimes remove mushrooms or Jalapenos since I would rather not eat them, and the dishes are still stellar. Berry Bliss and Tiramisu pancakes both amazing (Oreo Smores pancakes extremely sweet, but exactly how you would imagine them). Crepes are very light and fluffy, again Berry Bliss the best variety (skip the whole wheat and berries, sounds good but is dry, definitely need sauce). Florence and Los Altos Eggs Benedicts are both great, the Los Altos having a stronger flavor with a bit of kick from the chorizo. Rutherford Omelette tasty, the bacon balancing well with caramelized onions and goat cheese. Espanola omelette and Mexicana skillet are the same foods, just packaged differently, a Choose-​Your-​Own Adventure if you will. Really the only item I disliked was the Garden Skillet, sounds healthy, but doesn’t have any dominant flavor to carry the dish, and so it just falls flat and bland.

Such a great breakfast spot and everything was delicious! After a pretty lengthy wait, we were seated outside. Service was quick, food was great and everyone was so nice.

This was the first time I had ever been to Wildberry and it was delicious! The staff was very friendly and the food was to die for.
First off, the location of Wildberry is prime. They are by the corner of Michigan Ave and Randolph St. It is close to the Metra, ‘L’, and easy to walk to if you are out shopping the Magnificent Mile. When we got their the line was crazy. The lobby was crammed with people waiting to be seated, but amongst the chaos our hostess still greeted us with a smile which is much appreciated. They also have a cool texting system, so even though our wait was about an hour, we were able to walk around Millennium park across the street always staying 10 minutes away. This made the wait go by fast and since you have about 10 minutes from when you get the text to when you have to get to the hostess, you have time to make it to the restaurant. Of course after they called us we still had to wait about 10 minutes to be seated, but that was ok. They have a nice system going that seems to work for them. If anything about our experience was bad, it was the crammed waiting area. Once you step inside, it feels very claustrophobic and I think opening up the area a little will do it some good. However, you have to work with what you got and they do that nicely.
Once we sat down we were greeted by a very nice waiter. He took the time to explain specials and answered our questions. He was in such a good mood even though they were swamped and really brightened our experience. Even the busboys were prompt, refilling our waters and taking away empty plates within seconds of us finishing.
All that aside, when you come to a restaurant you come for the food, so on to the important part. I ordered the berry bliss pancakes and it was a little slice of heaven in my mouth. The berry mascarpone was sweet and tart making a great addition to the vanilla anglaise. The pancakes were fluffy, but still decadent so I only ended up eating half of the breakfast. My boyfriend got the corned beef benedict and that was very good too. However, if you are coming to Wildberry, the pancakes are where its at.
I will definitely come again, although hopefully not on such a crazy Saturday morning.

My cousin, whom I haven’t seen in over 20 years, and I came here for brunch on a Saturday we had a great catch up over a very appetizing meal!
First Impression
It was BUSY! We arrived at 11:30am and put our name down, noting a 45 minute wait. From the time we walked in until we were seated, the traffic entering the restaurant was continuous. We got a text just before we were called to be seated and be hostesses, despite the busyness were all very friendly.
Our table was clean and the environment overall is very pleasant.
Menu/​Price
The menu was extensive with a lot of great options. Basic dishes, a variety of eggs benedict, omelettes, pancakes, waffles, french toast, etc. Typical brunch pricing with most dishes averaging between $ 10.95-$ 12.95
Order
I ordered the Signature Berry Bliss Belgian Waffle and my cousin ordered an omelette (but I can’t recall what kind). Both dishes were delicious but I gotta say my waffle dish was better than the omelette. The omelette was gigantic and it looked like there were at least 4 or 5 eggs in it haha! My dish was sweet, no doubt, but I ordered a side of bacon and made it somewhat savoury. I suggest others do the same because you won’t be disappointed! The Signature Berry Bliss had some sort of berry cream and was topped with fresh blackberries, blueberries and strawberries. Just talking about it makes me want to order it now!
I also ordered the Wildberry Orange Juice and it did not disappoint. :)
Service
Our server was friendly and prompt to greet us after we were seated. She was also very attentive to our needs throughout the meal which is impressive for a busy brunch rush!
Other
Love it! Can’t wait to come back. Parking was pretty easy to find around here too.

3.5 stars
COME EARLY! Originally, the plan was to come at 9am on a Saturday morning but after hearing about the wait from our friends who recently came, we arrived around 8:15am and waited roughly 15 minutes for a party of 4. By the time we left (9:30ish), there was a huge wait!
Create your own omelette ($ 10.45): Choice of two items with each additional item being an extra quarter. I opted for sausage, pepper jack cheese, avocado, and spinach. The omelet also comes with a side of toast, fruit, or pancakes. Absolutely love how they did not skimp on the amount of avocadoes in my omelette!!! There was however too much cheese as well =(Sorry to break it to you but there is such thing as too much cheese =X
I had a bite of the infamous berry bliss pancakes which was more than enough. I would not suggest this particular pancake if you do not have a huge sweet tooth.
I might have had too high of an expectation for Wildberry after hearing my friends rave about it. I tried a few of the other dishes my friends had ordered but everything was pretty standard and comparable to other brunch places I’ve been to. It doesn’t hurt that Wildberry is right across the street from Millenium Park!

THIS PLACE IS AMAZING! We had to wait about 45 minutes on a Monday morning for brunch for 2 which was a little crazy but it was so worth it. The food was awesome! The pancakes were the best — I had the chocolate chip and the hubs had the berry.
Service was quick. I wish the wait weren’t so long but I would make it a definite stop on your trip to Chicago!
TIP: Use the No Wait app to check in prior to arriving!

I avoid breakfast foods, but I’ll give this place 2 thumbs up.
It’s pretty popular to the point that the lobby/​entrance is hard to maneuver by. You put down your name, phone # and # of your party and they will contact you when a table is available. Our wait was an hour for 2 people.
Inside, the restaurant was a decent size. When we finally got seated, we were ready to eat and ordered the apple ciders, speciality omelet, Mexicana skillet, and sides of their famous wildberry pancakes and banana foster pancakes.
Everything was just fantastic! I love a hearty omelet and most restaurants just fall short on this, except here. Not only the omelet hearty to the point I couldn’t finish, the eggs were perfectly cooked! Seriously one of the best omelets that I’ve had at a brunch place. Sides of the hash browns were pretty tasty with crunchiness and freshness. BF ordered the skillet and it tasted great as well.
Luckily for us, we didn’t order the pancakes as our main dish as it would have just been way too heavy and sweet, but still a good side. Preferred my banana foster over the wildberry pancake though.
Overall, it was a great start of our Chicago trip!
(Pretty generous on your wallet as well!)

Leckeres Frühstück, Rührei und Pancake wahren sehr gut. Ich würde wieder hier essen gehen.

Wonderful brunch! Both savory omlettes and sweet pancakes were delicious.
Inteligentsia coffee allows you to finally enjoy a good cappuccino with the food, which is not so obvious!
Our server Emily L. was great!
Would definitely recommend and come back.

Amazing Food!!!
I got an omelette with fruits as a side and the cinnamon roll pancakes! And I finished all of it (even though that’s quite a task). The omelette was delicious but the pancakes were simply my dream come true! So if you don’t feel like taking them as a main dish … Definitely invest the $ 1 extra to change your side toast to a pancake!!!
When you order food that contains jalapeños just be a little careful, it gets pretty hot! Not too hot for my taste, but cut the edge!
I would have loved to give 5 stars, but the service wasn’t really good! The waiter was kinda rude and they cleaned of the table before we actually finished our food! Maybe I just got a bad day, but that’s why I cut a star!

Si vous né faites qu’un seul repas à Chicago, optez pour un brunch au Wildberry Pancakes. D’abord ce resto est idéalement situé, en face du célèbre Millenium Park qui vaut bien d’y flâner une petite heure… Car le Wildberry Pancakes est très très couru. Mais né vous effrayez pas de la foule en attente d’une table car il vous suffit de vous inscrire au comptoir d’entrée et d’indiquer votre numéro de portable à un employé (pas de problème si votre portable n’est pas local) et la maison vous enverra un message sms lorsqu’une table se libérera pour vous (vous disposez alors d’une dizaine de minutes pour regagner le restaurant). Donc vous vous inscrivez, on vous indique le temps d’attente (pour nous ce fut une petite heure et l’estimation s’avéra exacte) et ensuite vous allez vous balader au Millenium Park (ou ailleurs, on est en plein centre, à proximité des plus beaux gratte-​ciel de Chicago) pour vous ouvrir l’appétit. Leurs plats et pancakes sont excellentissimes. Bien sûr plus américain que ça tu meurs mais c’est précisément pour ça qu’on y va. Vous vous y prendrez une bombe calorique qui vous tiendra au corps toute la journée et franchement né boudez pas votre plaisir. Et, pensez que des endroits comme ça avec de si bon pancakes et le décor genre «dinner» authentique, vous n’en trouverez pas de sitôt en Europe. Heureusement pour votre ligne d’ailleurs mais bon Dieu qu’est-ce que c’est savoureux !!!

Wir mussten zwar etwas warten (Sonntagmorgens), aber es hat sich gelohnt! Ob Pancake, pochierte Eier oder Egg Benedict, alles war hervorragend!
Der Service war gut und schnell, alle waren sehr freundlich und wir werden auf jeden Fall wiederkommen !!!

Leckeres Frühstück mit großer Auswahl. «Leider» sehr gut besucht, daher sehr lange Wartezeiten vor der Tür (mehr als 1h).

Visite wildberry en enero 2014 con mi esposa e hijo nos encantó toda la comida las buttermilk pancakes excelentes, mi hijo comió como nunca se nos hizo rutina tomar el desayuno en wildberry definitivamente uno de los mejores sitios para desayunar en Chicago altamente recomendado para personas latinas seguros les va a gustar nuestros meseros fueron muy atentos sus nombres Will y LA

I know that wildberry is a huge deal in Chicago and it was definitely fun to go, but I felt like the food fell flat. I got the duck hash with a side of the wildberry pancakes. The duck hash was not super flavorful and the duck itself was overcooked and resultantly dry. I had to add a lot of hot sauce to make this taste like anything at all because it was so plain. I get the hype about the wildberry pancakes — they’re definitely very pretty and fun looking — but I felt like all of that sauce was just there to hide an average, non-​fluffy pancake, and the sauce itself was just too sweet.
The reason I gave this three stars instead of two is because the service was phenomenal. I don’t remember the name of our server (he was a skinny black dude with a big smile) but he was friendly, enthusiastic, and efficient. He regularly checked on us and made us feel like welcome guests in the restaurant. Despite the mediocre food, he made the experience itself pretty great.