Cafe 53

Tasty sandwiches and amazing bread I would say the Dutch crunch baguette was one of the best sandwich breads I’ve ever had. It was perfect for my tuna, avocado sandwich. The only problem was I didn’t really taste the avocado. I would’ve loved to have more lettuce, tomato, and onion in there, but I didn’t ask so that’s not their fault. The sandwich was very tasty especially because the bread was so good. This is on a strip of lots of restaurants on 53rd St. near you Chicago so you’re gonna get a lot of fun eateries here. Parking on the street and you have to pay.

Oh yea, I can totally see why this spot is popular amongst Hyde Park folks! Friendly and helpful owners when I asked for recs. There's even a community board towards the bathroom, which gives this spot a community-based vibe. It's a quick, casual spot with several tables open for grabs when people leave. I got a traditional everything bagel w cream cheese to start the day, which had the RIGHT amt of cream cheese. Sometimes places give wayy too much, ruining the exp. I also ordered their popular Sumac Chicken sandwich on their Dutch Crunch bread, which was really good!! The bread had a slight sweetness to it that was satisfying and the flavors altogether were soo yummy. I waited ~12 min for my order, since they were rightfully packed. No outside food/drinks allowed if you're grabbing a ta

This place is a sleeper that makes a great garlic chicken salad sandwich on a dutch crunch bread. A dutch crunch bread, when baked, has a pillowy inside but the exterior is a crispy crackled crust that looks similar to the bark of a tree/log. And the crunch is second to none!!! This should be used on all sandwiches!!! The creamy garlic chicken salad has chunks of premium white meat with a hint of garlic, followed by heat from the giardeneria. All this is wrapped up with liberal amounts of cooling shredded lettuce. And the sub sandwich was huge and price point was fairly low at under $13 for this size. Definitely going to come back and try other ones in the future. The space is small and dark, a bit cramped and many students tend to be socializing or studying. And that makes sense

Such a wonderful spot! The vibes are awesome, very chill and friendly. Their menu is HUGE and they have so many vegan options! I love that you can order any of the sandwiches as a salad or wrap as well. The service was so kind and helpful. I got the vegan sumac chicken sandwich on wheat and it was absolutely phenomenal. Sat for a few hours and got some work done, just enjoying the ambiance. This place reminds me of Pick Me Up on the North Side, so if that is your vibe you will love it here! Will DEFINITELY be returning!

If I could give this place 10 stars I would! I drove all the way from North Carolina to Chicago, and I’m so glad I was able to stop by a few times at that. As a vegan a sandwich is hard to come by let alone a good one. The Dutch Crunch, & French bread are a bomb 10 out of 10. I tried the vegan Cajun chicken sandwich, & the other one was maybe vegan pineapple something but I don’t remember. So fresh, so good, the perfect amount of sauce, veggies and meat, and you can’t beat the price for the amount of product. The lemonade is really good I love the mint lemonade, or just regular. The vegan scone is sooooo good too especially the pumpkin seeds. I can’t wait to touch back down in Chicago for cafe 53!!!!!! P.S the men running the front counters look a little terrifying but I promise they are n