Yolk - Streeterville — Restaurant in Chicago

To start I want to say that yolk has always been my favourite breakfast spot in Chicago and we have been coming here for 10 years, maybe that’s why I am even more disappointed with our most recent experience there. I get that they were understaffed, but that is not an excuse to not deliver on the quality of the food served, you aren’t marking down your prices either because you are rushed, right? We ordered a side of the strawberry cheesecake pancakes, which are supposed to come filled with cream cheese as advertised on the menu and insta (I always do my research). Instead they came out with everything piled on top, no filling to be found anywhere, strawberries were mushy and overripe, actually the parts I cut off and throw out at home. You seriously cannot put rotten parts of strawberries on specialty pancakes, no matter how rushed you may be, your customers deserve better. Long story short, the manager came over and swapped them out, which was really nice. I wanted to get a different kind of pancakes with additional icing and the manager basically told us they were too busy and short staffed and she couldn’t promise they would be able to make the food right let alone fulfil any special requests…. So you cannot make items as advertised on your menu and instagram, you are denying me to make any alteration to existing items, but you still charge me 25$ for mushy fruit on basic pancakes and mediocre coffee? I give the second star only for our waiter who was really nice, even though he was clearly under water and nowhere to be seen for 20 minutes to even refill our coffees….

I would like to comment on your reply:

Thank you for reaching out. This has already been my second visit within less than a week and as a longtime customer I just gotta add that it has been my impression that yolk is losing that attention to quality and detail that has made them stand out for so long. Potatoes are burned, eggs overcooked, lack of salt/taste, everything is quickly thrown on top of the pancakes instead of preparing them as advertised. We can all get buttermilk pancakes, omelettes and skillets literally everywhere else in the city. People chose yolk because their food just always used to be that tat better in quality, taste and finesse and service was great. Don’t lose yourself that competitive edge you got going for you. I will happily come back and give it another try soon.

I want to be fair and rate my second experience with 4 stars. Had the California Omelette and a side of blueberry crunch pancakes. The portion size was generous and enough for two. I liked the pancakes but they were very dry, they could really do with some Greek yogurt or cream cheese filling and some blueberries on top (I added blueberries) and they could have spent a bit more time on the grill, they were almost underdone. We were there super early after they opened and service was excellent. Both experiences average 3 stars together. Still convinced they can do...

I arrived around 12:05pm on a Tuesday afternoon (NYE) to get food with my son. I joined the YELP waitlist around 7-8 minutes before arriving during my 12 minute walk here from my hotel. It was perfect timing as less than a minute after we arrived, they were calling my name to be seated.

Shortly after being seated, a staff member brought over glasses and a pitcher of water. It was VERY busy! About a minute later, our waiter came over. He didn’t say his name, which is a personal pet peeve. Per receipt, his name was Martin. I would’ve liked more hospitality as far as asking if we’ve been there before and giving some highlights. Conversation and information was minimal, unless asked directly.

We placed our order at 12:17pm. I got the Yolk all star combo with lemon blueberry pancakes ($3 up-charge) and egg whites. I wanted to substitute one of my meats for potatoes but was told substitutions weren’t allowed. My son got the kids Oreo pancakes and apple juice. The kids specialty pancakes doesn’t come with sides.

The food came at 12:34pm. My son’s pancakes and my pancakes were huge! One piece of my bacon was crisper than the other, which I didn’t like. I prefer crispy bacon and thought it was odd that the consistency didn’t match. The sausages were thick and tasty. The eggs whites tasty normal but needed salt and pepper, which I added myself. I highly enjoyed my pancakes and my son really enjoyed his as well.

Overall, it was a good experience and I definitely would return. I recommend joining the waitlist because the waiting area is small causing a little chaos especially when tables are ready. There is a bus stop right outside, if taking public...

Disappointing.

Let's start with the positive; Our server was friendly and the service provided was attentive. Albeit it was hard to get our server sometimes.

Now the unpleasant: food 2/5 The food here was bland and unseasoned. This is a response to 5 out of 6 plates served to our table. The breakfast burrito had only the flavor of the green onion and the eggs were so watery that the burrito was soggy.

The country potatoes were also void of any seasoning and undercooked.

I was told the chorizo did have good flavor, but since it was left off of the burrito, even though I ordered it, I cannot speak from experience.

The pancakes tasted like you were sipping directly out of the vanilla bottle

Atmosphere 2/5 I understand it's a big city and restaurants struggle with seating arrangements, however, to have a table placed within 3 feet of the service station not only makes it challenging for staff, it was uncomfortable to have staff making drinks and hovering behind where you are trying to enjoy breakfast.

The chairs are also at risk of breaking. Several chairs at our table were unstable. Unfortunately, so were the chairs at the tables surrounding ours so we were unable to replace them.

Table placement issues also led to staff bumping into customers as they attempted to squeeze between tables to clear plates.

Price-overpriced 3 dollars for about 4 -5 oz of orange juice. Is insane and what you pay. Also the value of the food did not match the price that is for certain.

For the same price, the Kanela Breakfast Club a block away was a much better option.

In all, not a...