Courageous ELMHURST — Restaurant in Illinois

I'll be waiting for this location to work out the kinks before I return again. I went in today, a Friday around 10:30ish to get a look at what they had, and order a coffee and cupcake to go. The first thing I noticed was the chaos in the line to order. It's loud in here, and people working the counter couldn't seem to get people's attention so they could take their order. People are staring at the menu boards and looking around, then factor in the noise level, it's kinda nuts.

I knew what I wanted going in, and was eagerly waiting my turn. While in line I noticed the people in front of me were busy looking at the menu board, while a bakery staff member was trying to get their attention. I had to inform these patrons to move ahead if they were ready to order. Not sure what if anything CB can do about this, which I saw happen more than once.

When it was finally my turn to order, I had a difficult time with the person taking my order. All I wanted was a decaf latte and a cupcake, but that took some time to get "figured out." I was told that they did not have decaf, that's all she said. I responded with the question, "no decaf at all?" That's when she offered an Americano. I responded with, "but I thought you didn't have decaf espresso?" She replied, "yes, we do not have decaf espresso." I replied, "but I asked for decaf, so why are you offering offering me an Americano if you don't have decaf espresso beans?"

This young woman then informed me that they have decaf coffee not the other. By "other" I took that to mean decaf espresso. I started to tell her that decaf coffee would work, and before I could finish what I was saying, she was walking away to get me a decaf coffee. Possibly too loud for her to hear me, but she was walking away while I was still talking to her... When she came back I then requested a decaf Cafe Au Lait. That's when I saw this girl's brain explode. She had no idea what I was talking about. I explained to her what a Cafe Au Lait was and she told me to wait at the end of the counter for my drink.

All in all everything tasted good. The decaf Au Lait was nice and the cupcake was delicious, but I feel the staff could use some additional training. It would also be nice if they could look into some sort of acoustic panels to help reduce the noise level. I'll be back in a few months once they hopefully get in a...

My experience at Courageous Baker my has always been a pleasant one. Located in a quaint downtown area it stands out with colorful logo and large plate glass front. Inside the whole restaurant is neatly arranged. While relatively compact, management does quite a bit to balance a seating arrangement that makes for a comfortable breakfast. This venue does tend to get crowded, and while it does get loud, you do not lack for space to move around whether than it for a family breakfast or a Sunday brunch date.

Decor is tasteful and cute, bright color scheme matching well with the brunch theme. Clean white shelves, polished hardwood floors and tables, and a variety of artwork on the walls. It is a light and playful environment that allows for a relaxed meal. It's fun that despite having a robust cupcake business I more often associate CB with my favorite breakfast food, biscuits and gravy! They clearly have placed effort behind their menu and work hard to make each option delicious and visually appealing. If you are unhappy with a dish management bends over backwards to remedy the complaint.

While you do not have a server, rather you place an order at the counter and it is brought to your table, their staff is readily available. In that regard I have to say their really did excel. Andrea was wonderful! Fun, and lighthearted, she displayed a real professionalism and dedication to the business. It was just the cherry on top of an already good experience, but really made the difference in how memorable it was.

If I could cite any fault, my one point might be due to pricing. Portions are plentiful, and with such a diverse menu worth it, but just we ready to pay a little more for an exceptional meal. There is an effort to create, more so than to simply make food. Dishes that are a blend of American and Mexican, like Choripapas, roasted herb potatoes with cherry tomatoes and onion, served with eggs and salsa. Even writing about the food...

Update: since our wedding in Sept 2024, we have been back twice. Once for dine-in breakfast and once to order another cake, this time for my husbands birthday. Both recent experiences were great, so I am updating my review to reflect that.

We loved courageous for their baked goods and their breakfast, so much that we wanted to use them for our recent wedding. We ordered an 8” single tier cake off of their wedding ordering page, all white, with white ridging. I even spoke to the manager via email and phone a few times to confirm and we paid more for delivery fee than the cake itself because we wanted them so much but it was out of their delivery range. The cake was delivered to our venue the day of our wedding with rainbow sprinkles all over the top and big globs of frosting. When my maid of honor addressed it with them, they said they thought it was a birthday cake. This was being delivered to a wedding venue, and like I said we had spoken with them many times about the cake. They were able to send a decorator out from their other location to fix it and it looked great, which we really appreciated. However, it shouldn’t have happened, especially since we had so many conversations about it. Someone told my maid of honor that we’d be receiving something from them to make up for it, however, we only received an apology email. I hate to take stars away from a small business, let alone a place we usually love. It just wasn’t right considering the level of communication we had. Maybe the ordering platform needs to be revamped so it’s easier for customers and staff to be on...