Urban Leaf and Bean Cafe

---LOCATION CLOSED. MOVED TO FOREST PARK---

I've been here a few times since it opened and sad to say that it will be moving at the end of March. Yet another business Riverside has lost, even if I'm not a huge fan.

The first time I went here was not too long after it had opened, so I did not judge them too harshly for not really seeming ready to open. When I first walked in, I was shocked they were open. The place was really sparse with few decorations, two tables, and a ton of open space. When I asked for a few items on the menu, they did not have them. The second time I came here, the menu was smaller and there were not very many options at all.

The second time I came here, I wanted to check beforehand if there was free wifi because I intended to spend the day there. So, I made a call and they told me that they did indeed have wifi. So, about half an hour later, I showed up there and ordered an iced tea (because it was quite warm in there despite it being winter). The options were really limited, but my drink was fine. I also ordered a piece of cheese pizza. When it was done, I asked for the wifi password. The woman looked a little confused and told me to wait a moment. There was one other person in the cafe and he quietly told me the password. Then, the woman came back and said, "Sorry, we just shut down our wifi, so we don't have it anymore." Oddly enough, I tried the password the man gave me, and it worked! I have no idea what the confusion was.

My pizza was pretty good and actually better than I expected. I liked the flaky crust and the tangy sauce. I would definitely go there again just for the pizza. My experience there was fine: I got food and I got work done on my laptop. There was also a lot of business during the day, which surprised me because I knew it was moving locations. It was also odd that there was someone scraping off the "Urban Leaf & Bean" cafe paint off the window while people ate there.

Overall, on both of my visits, it never seemed like a real business to me. It seemed like people who had the idea to open a cafe, but didn't really know how, especially when it comes to presentation/PR. Of course, I'll be sad to see it go because Riverside needs businesses! It was nice having pizza available locally, even for such a short amount of time.

At a holiday party which was held at the Tap Room last month, we had pizza delivered there from here. It was really good, with a flaky, thin crust, and plentiful toppings, and the sauce on a few of the pizzas actually was kind of spicy. It didn't detract from the pizza  for me, but maybe it would for someone else.

Since then, I had been meaning to order it on my own, so I placed an order for pickup. I wasn't disappointed by the food, but I thought it was a little pricey. it was $15 for a little 10" pizza with 3 vegetable toppings ($1.50 per extra topping as the sign reads). To be fair, it does appear to be a flat charge across the board for the different sizes, so it isn't like you'd be paying $3 per on a large pizza. Also, the sauce on my pizza this time was not spicy like before.

If I had to compare the pizza to one of the other places somewhat nearby, it would probably be Michael Anthony's on Ogden in Berwyn. The crust is similar and the sauce isn't super-sweet like a lot of places use. It's a bit out of the way for me, so I can't say I'll be a regular, but it'll certainly be an option. It would be nice to know if the spicy sauce will be a menu option or if it was trying to iron some of the kinks out, because I'd definitely get that again sometime.

Pizza is excellent!  We live here in Riverside and have finally found a pizza place that we really like.  We ordered 2 pizzas; a pepperoni, and a tomato and mushroom. The sauce has a meaty flavor to it, and they were very generous with the toppings.  Definitely the best in the area and I am hoping they are here to stay.