Maybe it was on off night for them.....
We were excited to stop in at this neighborhood cafe. Â Our first impression was that they were closed. Â The place had just finished a private party and was a bit disheveled and had nobody but party laggards milling about. Â
We were seated and followed the server's suggestions on the taquitos and the meatloaf. Â They both took forever to come out of the kitchen; so long that we debated leaving $20 on the table and walking out down the street to Pasta D Arte. Â When the meals finally landed, they were underwhelming....the taquitos were waaay overcooked and the meatloaf was blah.
There is nothing "Bungalow like" in their decor. Â There was no warm and cozy feeling that the word bungalow should conjure up.
I really want to see neighborhood places succeed, but a mediocre experience is not what i seek.
This is a gem of a cozy neighborhood eating establishment. Â The ambiance is warm and inviting. Â The decor is an eclectic collection of antique/vintage furniture and various wall hangings, etc., all very interesting. Â This place reminds me of a Starbucks atmosphere (comfy place to hang out) with fabulous food. Â Whether you dine alone or with a big family, you are made to feel welcome by the attentive wait staff, and the owner also greets diners and waits tables. Â
My omelet was scrumptious, as were the flavorful breakfast potatoes. Â My co-diners ordered the pancakes with bananas and pecans, and they loved it! Â And, they offer a varied menu for lunch and dinner, too. Â You won't be disappointed at The Bungalow.
Don't judge this place by its cover. The food at Bungalow Cafe is good but decor feels like an antique shop and less like a restaurant. Â Solid menu menu including sandwiches, salads, pasta, and few vegetarian options. Â We tried the Dijon burger with fresh avocado, bacon, and dijon aoli, pesto panini, and kids burger. Â Really satisfied with what we got. Â For dessert we had the pumpkin bread pudding...holy crap this is good. Â Creamy, not too sweat, and a bit of crunch from the toasted crumbles on top. Â
Go ahead and go in, or get take out, and you'll find out what I mean. You'll like it.
I went there for a lunch with my friend. Â I live very close to The Bungalow Cafe and was thinking of going there since the grand opening.
 I had a Mushroom  salad and a Ruben Sandwich . My friend had a chicken pesto sandwich. Everything was tasty and fresh, even side dishes(broccoli cole slaw).
 I don't know if we will go there again. For some reason the place doesn't feel cozy or warm. I would throw away the pictures and some older furniture and create more clean cut, quiet, elegant atmosphere. The mixture of Banksy "reproductions"  and old pictures on the wall made an impression on me that the place was decorated after somebody's very productive trip to a flee market..
I just visited for the first time and I am marking this place off as one to visit again.
I had the Sauganash- menu items have Chicago referenced names- grilled chicken panini with roasted peppers for $8. Instead of fries I substituted the cup of soup; minestrone. The substitution was at NO ADDITIONAL CHARGE, which was a surprise because it was more like two cups of soup, instead of one, served in a large mug-bowl.
The panini was delicious, seasoned and cooked perfectly. The chicken portion was much larger than I anticipated. (Whenever I order chicken sandwiches from other places they never gave me as much as they did HERE.) Pickle was good. The little cup of slaw was interesting as well as tasty. It was a creamy broccoli slaw with raisins. (Of all the slaw from all the different places I've eaten, none of them have included or asked if they should include raisins.) What I liked about the soup was that it was not overly salty like many other restaurant soups. The coffee was a little hit or miss. The first cup was great, the second was a bit strong. The best thing about the slaw, panini, and soup was that they tasted freshly home made.
The decor is a little bit confused, but there is no one thing that really stands out from anything else that unnecessarily draws your attention... except maybe the ceiling. A tin tile ceiling would bring everything together. But this decor especially isn't something so outrageous as to drive someone away. I have to mention that the most deceptive thing I observed is that the outside sign in no way hints what the inside is actually like.
I went on a Saturday evening and saw a range of people there from seniors to children. There were books and coloring pages for the kids. The seating was comfortable. There was old-fashioned music playing in the background, including pieces like Sing Sing Sing (With A Swing) and What A Wonderful World.
The server we had was nice and observant. What frustrates me with most restaurants is that when you have little bits of garbage- from straw covers or cracker wrappers or empty sweetener packets- on your table, the server usually doesn't pick up those bits UNTIL you place it on a dish that you've finished eating off of. Our server was different. She made sure to quickly pick up those bits whenever she was around our table. She also made sure not to touch the coffee decanter to our mugs when doing our refill.
Payment happened at our table, keeping our credit card within view the whole time! It was swiped on an iPad. I found it a nice convenience.
I enjoyed the food very much, the soup was really good and tasted home made as did the broccoli cole slaw which was sweet and tasty. Â I can't remember the name of the sandwich I had but it was a toasted Portobello mushroom and cheese sandwich which was so good I did not need to add any condiments at all. Â The coffee was good the first cup but strong the second cup, maybe on the heat too long. Â
 Went on a Saturday night and it was busy but there were tables available.  The crowd was a mixture of seniors and kids, a comfortable mix. Â
 Our waitress was attentive and friendly and on top of things especially on a busy night.  Parking was either on the street or after 6pm, the auto repair place next to the cafe, which was convenient. Â
  I agree with one of the previous reviewers about the decor being a little scattered but interesting.  There are old looking signs on the walls which ranged from the 3 stooges to Barney Fife, which gave me something to look at while being served.  The white drop ceiling needs to be replaced with a more period tin or wood beam type, but its not that big of a deal all things considered. Â
   Its in my neighborhood and I will definitely go again to see how they progress.
What a great addition to Milwaukee Ave. Â Parked right in front and greeted with a warm smile by the owner, Margaret, who chatted amiably and seated us at the table for 5 we called ahead for. Â
We asked for a few recommendations, as our group of neighborhood women had never been there before, and the fritters were the first item that was suggested.  Good choice! as they were not your average fried dough, but a slightly sweet  and chunky filling inside a piping hot crispy exterior.  We ordered several items to share and were please with all of them; the LSD Spinach side salad was extremely generous with carmelized onions and warm bacon, the chicken panini had an excellent pesto sauce that complimented the warm chicken breast chunks.  The portobello mushroom sandwich with roasted veggies and Reuben sandwich were also delightful and all served with a remekin of broccoli salad and handcut garlicy bungalow fries. YUMMY.
Loved the photos in the ladies room, but the artwork on the walls in the restaurant could use some regrouping to help the atnosphere.
Looking forward to my next visit.
I went here for dinner. I went for the roast beef sandwich.
The beef in the sandwich was full of flavor. The toppings on the sandwich were all fresh and very good. I'm not sure what kind of bun it was, but it had a great buttery flavor.
The fries were the fresh cut type and had great potato flavor.
It also came with some sort of broccoli, it reminded me of a coleslaw. The broccoli was very good!
The price was reasonable. It may seem a little high for a beef sandwich and fries, but everything was of very high quality.
It's clean and quiet inside. The people were nice and friendly.
I will be returning.
Updating our review from a week ago. Â First, we want to admit, that little annoys us more than annoying service while hungry. Â We initially rated The Bungalow Cafe a 2, for the reasons below. Â However, we were ruined, their burgers and fries are awesome and we want more! Â
I am hoping that the owners read this review and get the service together. Â We will be back in a month or two to give them another try - they did just open a month ago! Â :/ Since we did initially give them a crappy review we may have to send in one of our kids with a cash carry out, but we need their juicy burgers.
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Previous review about decor dead on - there's a little identity crisis going on. However, decor would never keep me from returning to an establishment.
We ordered the the two burgers on the menu and fries. The burgers were very well cooked and extremely juicy. Most places have gone the route of using pretzel bread which we do love but were very happy that this location decided not to be like all others. The bread was very fresh as well as the homemade fries.
Issues:
* Waited around 10 min. for someone to take our food order. 3 different staff members walked by constantly, yet no eye contact after we received our drinks; had to send signals for some service.
* Second issue: "apple pie a la mode"...ALWAYS warm! Â Not only was it not warm, it wasn't apple. Waiter laughed it off, eventually confirmed it was peach, and kindly gave a coupon for free dessert for our return visit.
Speaking of next time, no thank you. SAD because our burgers were better than the establishment across the street, pretty juicy actually, BUT our experience not so much.
In conclusion, good burgers can be found throughout our city - the trick to surviving is having a great combination of food, service, and atmosphere. They almost got the food part right. On the last note, calling this place a cafe sort of throws you a curve ball when you find out they don't serve a better quality coffee or a few more options to go with dessert.
Identity Crisis!
OK first of all, it's Gladstone Park, not Norwood Park. Second, I don't think you can call it a 1$ resturant when a panini is $8! This is the FAR NORTHWEST side, not downtown. The local neighborhood does not have this kind of money. I think they are trying to make back all the money they spent on opening this place in one year.
OK back to the title. According to the decor, they don't know if they want to be urban, kitchy, edgy, artsy or americana. Are they a "cafe" as the name states or a "diner" like some of the decor states? Or a bar? Or is it a fancy sandwich/pasta place like the prices state? Also the name and signage  clashes with whatever it is they are trying to do. To me it all just looks sloppy and cheap and they need a better branding direction otherwise they won't last. The tables, booths ,bar, chairs and couch are just as bad. They all look cheap and uncomfortable. Ambiance sucked. I'm sad because I was really looking forward to a cool new urban place instead of all the junk we have here. :(
I did like the Panini. It was great! I could eat that everyday...if it didn't cost $8! The fries were gross. I am sick of thick fries. I think they should give a NO COST option like a side salad, yogurt, fruit, or fresh raw veggies with some super fancy dip.
Great sandwich, not worth $8 though, and because of the poor branding I don't think this place will last.
Yelp describes this rating as "as good as it gets". Yep.  The food is as good as it gets.  I had a chicken pesto panini that had a perfect blend of flavors from the fresh vegetables, but the chicken was probably the most tender I've ever had, and cooked just about as perfectly as it could be.  I think I'll go back and try one of the other chicken dinners. I was very impressed by the selection of beer and wine.  I wish I knew more about wine, but I like a good beer and they had several that I would like.  I went with Stella.  I was very surprised that Stella was only $4.  That made it so much  tastier!
So, yeah, I guess that is as good as it gets!
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