Lucy’s Cafe — Restaurant in Lake View Township

Hostile customer service.

I came in with my infant in a stroller this morning. When I walked in, no one acknowledged me at all even though the restaurant was half empty. No big deal, so I went to sit down by the window because it seemed to have a place to tuck the stroller away.

First, the waiter loudly called across the restaurant “ma’am, do you NEED to be near the window?” as if I had walked across some invisible velvet rope. I said no, I don’t “need” to be by the window (admittedly with a little attitude in response) and he said can you sit over there so you’re not in the way with all that stuff? Again, I had a stroller - as many people in Roscoe Village at 9am on a Sunday have. That’s why I chose an almost empty restaurant in a kid-friendly neighborhood.

I sat down and parked the stroller and he took away 3 of the water glasses from the table. I said “oh, actually can I have two of those back please? I’m meeting someone.” He said “you need to learn to communicate. We have policies” and I was super confused because I thought asking for the glasses was me communicating and I had no idea what policy he was talking about- especially because he had never asked how many were coming (again, no one had seated me).

I felt like everyone was staring at us because he was being openly hostile.

I said “is there a reason you’re angry with me?” Because he was dripping with condescension. He said “I’m not angry, you’re just annoying.” I was shocked and I said “if I’m annoying, maybe I should leave?” And he said “yeah I think you should.” So then my friend and I and our babies went and found another place to eat - Kitch’n - and they welcomed us and even helped me get the stroller inside without asking.

Ultimately I have no idea what policy he was referring to or what I did to make him so angry. The only thing I can think is that I didn’t wait to be seated, but there is no hostess and no sign saying please wait to be seated and I wasn’t acknowledged when I came in. Another thing is that I had a hard time with the stairs and the stroller, and a very kind customer jumped up to help me. I was thanking them a lot at one point and I wonder if that worker thought I was being passive aggressive. It definitely wasn’t my intention, I just really...

Vegan Breakfast options - my experience at Lucys was good. Therefore I will rate it 4/5.

Here is why:

Let’s begin with the food: I ordered the vegan blueberry pancakes, Tofu Scramble, coffee, Orange Juice. This is how I rate the Food & Drinks

The Orange Juice was unexpectedly a solid 5/5! Freshly pressed and very refreshing. “Tofu Scramble” with onions & mushrooms, was also pretty good 3.5/4 from 5. It tasted good and healthy; but nothing out of the ordinary. The Blueberry Pancakes were a 3/5 at most. (in My opinion) I have had many vegan pancakes in many different places and tasted better. The Texture of the pancakes were opposite of Fluffy. The moment I tried cutting the stacked pancakes, they were kind of mushed together in a big mass. Almost as if it were a chewy cookie. Perhaps it was due to a lack of backing powder. The Coffee was just regular coffee, but I have definitely had better. 2/5. Regarding the Atmosphere, it gave off a “homey” or and cozy feeling. The decoration was also friendly and comforting.

Service: Overall, a good service, without reservation, we did immediately get a table. BUT! I would recommend reservations for this place, within a 20 minutes Later, the place was pretty packed!

If you’re looking for a quiet homey place to have some breakfast and good orange juice! This is a good option. Their Vegan selection in the menu was ok. You will find it in their Menu all the way at the bottom with the title “Eggless”.

Thanks for supporting the customers decision, to go against animal cruelty and offering vegan alternatives. For more impressions, have a look at the attached videos and pictures.

Take care &...

The restaurant has been under new ownership since 2016; it is not the same Victory Banner that it was. Gone are the sari wearing staff, their pleasant attitude, great vegetarian food and efficient service. Our recent experience (we have been customers since they opened in early 2000’s) was rather lackluster. One guy waited the entire outside patio and inside. I saw only one cook who looked like he was ready to throw in the towel. Needless to say, everything was lacking, some severe and some slightly.

Because there was only one waiter, us and other diners were constantly asking for refills on water and the bottomless chai which lacked the complexity of spice (without being overwhelming) it used to. Our omelets were rather dry and rubbery, although they fared good in the flavor category if not the texture. The potatoes were undercooked; the kind they make (usually called home fries) are typically parboiled and then pan fried. They could have used more boiling time and were rather toothsome and my portion was barely browned.

I hate to be a restaurant nitpicker, but they’ve had two years to at least get consistent and up to par with what Victory Banner was and its tough to fill the shoes of what was a beloved neighborhood mainstay. That means your standards have to be high and unfortunately, it wasn’t under the new owners. I hope they take my review seriously because if you can’t get service, experience and the food right, its a recipe...