Oromo Cafe Lincoln Square — Restaurant in Lake View Township

I haven’t been to Lincoln Square in some time and did a quick search for a cafe and ended up at Oromo. Great find!

I settled in for a while to do some work, and it was a really warm and pleasant atmosphere. The design is lovely, the staff is friendly and welcoming. The cafe and pastries are excellent.

I happened to leave my favorite water bottle there and realized it later. I called back and yep, they’d found it, took down my info, and said they’d hold onto it for me. Like a dummy I forgot about it for several weeks. I stopped in, fully expecting it to no longer be there, but when I sheepishly asked about the water bottle I left over a month ago, the barista noted with a smile, “Yep, the green water bottle. We still have it!”

I love the story of the owner starting his own business after deciding pre-pharmacy school wasn’t what he wanted to devote his life to. Instead, he followed his passion for coffee and community and started his own business, a unique and flavorful take on the traditional Chicago coffee shop.

I also love and applaud Oromo’s ethics:

“At OROMO CAFE the purity of our ingredients and vitality of our customers is our top priority. Creativity. innovation, and originality are but a few words that characterize our craft lattes. We use house-made nut milks and nutrient-dense confections that are free of refined sugar, dairy, eggs, and gluten, as we aspire to support and nurture the health of your mind and body in new and exciting ways. With respect to ethically harvested organic ingredients and sustainable agriculture, we strongly advocate an environmentally friendly business model that preserves our Earth’s beauty and naturai resources. Our creations are prepared with love and passion for uniqueness, and inspired from an integration of globally diverse herbs, spices, and flavors. Bringing to our Earths complexity, we transcend the aditional coffee experience to bring CULTURE-CONSCIOUS COFFEE.”

Love this place!

ps-oh! and great music too! and (big deal for me): they allow well-behaved...

I wanted to love this cafe so bad, it's cute and has a wonderful menu, but Sunday 3/2/25 I left with a severe burn on my tongue.

I ordered a Golden Mylk Latte "for here", and all dine orders come in a large white mug. My bf handed me my mug by the handle, and I set it on the table for about 3 minutes while he waited to get his latte. I never touched the actual mug, and I absolutely regret it. My bf sat down, we toasted to Sunday brunch, and I took a sip....it took EVERYTHING in me not to spit the piping hot liquid back out on the table, the burn was probably worse because I held it in trying to keep my composure. My bf reached out to feel the side of my mug and it was lava, no exaggeration. We compared the temperature of each others cups and there was an incredible difference. I went to the counter and said to the gentleman, "Can I have a cup of ice please? I just severely burned my tongue". He handed me a cup of ice and said "Enjoy"............ok.

I went back to my table to try and relieve my tongue with the ice. After about 5 minutes I took the cup back to the counter and told the same person, "This is very hot and it just burned my mouth really badly. Can you please make this over?" He goes "Too hot?" I respond "Yes, I burned my mouth" Instead of making it over, he says he will add more milk and it will cool it down.

I just took to mug back to the table and sucked on ice. I was just done. We drove to the area to try a new restaurant, and while we waited we thought it would be nice to enjoy a coffee. I fully regret it because I couldnt even enjoy my brunch. It is now Friday and I am just now losing the razor blade burn feeling on my taste buds.

TLDR: PLEASE TOUCH THE SIDE OF YOUR MUG BEFORE SIPPING....

Had been wanting to try this place for a long while and was excited since there were so many options that looked great. Not sure if I will be returning after my experience. There was no food available since they mentioned they were understaffed--which I understand. But they were out of practically everything on the drinks menu as well. After the second thing I requested, I paid and they went to make the drink. They called out my order a couple minutes later and had me go to the pickup counter just to tell me they were out. I finally was able to get my fifth choice. Service was pretty sub-par. Not very friendly or happy vibe and nothing to really make up for them being out of everything. I ordered an iced matcha rose latte and it basically tasted like a glass of milk with no flavor. Ultimately, the service is what would make me not return. Seemed basic and transactional-- which would have been more okay if they were able to make up for it in availability and flavor. It felt like they did not want to be there, and also did not want me there.

Update: I appreciate the response from ownership and will definitely give it another try. Everyone has bad days so, maybe I showed up at a time of low-energy for that particular staff member. Appreciate the...