Pick Me Up Cafe — Restaurant in Lake View Township

Worst. Service. EVER.

We went to the Pick Me Up Cafe specifically because my daughter wanted to eat at the "Fallout Boy" cafe. On the surface, it's pretty neat - funky decor, eclectic vibe, laid-back neighborhood joint. Underneath? It's not worth the reputation it currently has as a destination for good eats and service. Honestly, if I could leave 0 stars, I would.

We arrived late in the morning on a Sunday with a large group. I was actually willing to cut the cafe some slack given that we had a dozen people. After a very loooooong wait, we were finally seated at two tables side-by-side, and given enough menus for three-quarters of the group. We had no problem sharing menus, but it was a sign of things to come. Most of our drinks arrived quickly, though the server forgot one of them entirely for the duration of our visit (we ended up finally just getting it in a to-go cup).

It only took us a few minutes to decide on our order, but forever for the server to come back and take it from us. When she did finally show up again, we told her we needed to do two orders. Because of the way we were seated, the server said it would be "too confusing" to group our orders together properly, so we'd have to figure it out ourselves when it came time to pay the bill. Say what? I mean, seriously? She also left us only enough silverware for about two-thirds of the group.

After finally placing our order, it came time to wait. And wait. And wait. And wait. And watch as she visited every other table repeatedly but ours. Eventually, our food came out and lo and behold, it was actually quite good. The food quality was great - my "Clown Combo" with eggs, turkey sausage, seasoned home fries, and pancakes was delicious. Unfortunately, I didn't have anything to wash it down with as our server never brought refills - we had to flag down the manager / host before we could get our cups and glasses refilled.

After eating, it was time to wait. And wait, And wait some more. When she finally dropped our checks off, we then had to go through and manually figure out who had what. Half our group was paying with cash, half with card, so we figured we would just divvy it up so we could get the heck out of there after three terrible hours.

Not four minutes after she dropped the bill, the server came back and asked us what the hold-up was. By that time, we'd had it. We snapped at her that because she was incapable of splitting the bill we were figuring it out manually. This witchy woman snatched the check trays quite literally out of our hands and stomped off to go split the check. From my vantage point, I could see into the serving station where she was standing complaining to the manager about having to split our bill. But in the end, she did it...which means it was possible all along and she just didn't feel like dealing with it in the beginning.

I paid my portion of the check, and one of my fellow diners paid the other, receiving a snarky comment from the manager on the way out. Given the craptastic service we'd just received, I'm not surprised at the bad attitude.

So in the end, it wasn't worth the price we paid. We did get a single photo of my daughter sitting in the same booth where Fallout Boy took the photo for their album cover. Had I know it was going to be THAT bad, we'd have just gone in and asked to take a photo, and then eaten somewhere else.

If you're visiting Chicago, skip the Pick Me Up Cafe, even if you're a Fallout Boy fan. It's not worth visiting and there are way better places to...

Used to LOVE this place and was treated SO poorly on my last trip here I will never be returning. Showed up here for a quick coffee with a friend. We went to order drinks at the counter and a woman with brown hair with blue in it and glasses rolled her eyes and said 'did you order already?' We said 'no, should we order here?' and she said 'that's not how it works. we'll seat you when we're ready'. We asked to sit outside and she rolled her eyes again, grabbed some menus and we quickly sat down to not waste her time and she loudly said 'NOT there' and then pointed to the other table. I laughed thinking she was joking and she was not. She stormed back inside. We waited 30 minutes and no one took our order... we even popped our heads inside every 10 minutes to check in and a different server said they'd be with us... they weren't. We ran out of time and came in only to see a couple enter just like we did and order right at the counter with the blue haired girl JUST like we tried to do when we came in before she told us 'that's not how it works'. A different server took our order, the blue-haired girl SAW us come in and realized she'd forgotten about us (we heard her ask the other server 'oh they just wanted drinks?' in reference to us) and STILL made the drinks for the Two groups of people who had came in and ordered at the counter nearly 40 minutes after we'd gotten there (I had just ordered a drop coffee to-go bc we were out of time). Finally she came over, put them on the table (no apology), and charged us full price with no acknowledgment for the 50 minutes we'd been there with no service. 50 minutes to be treated terribly and given a $10 bad drip coffee... not worth it. I've worked in the service industry for years and I get having a bad day, but I have never been so appalled and SO mistreated. It felt almost discriminatory because everyone else seemed to be treated so differently than we were? So strange. I'll never come back here and I'm sad to see what used to feel like 'home' now be a place of discomfort and discrimination. The brown/blue haired girl with glasses is single-handedly closing...

Update: Thumbing through the reviews and I don't see a reply from management at all! Server did not make me feel welcome! Secret: ask for whipped butter from the chef!

Ugh NOT OPEN UNTIL 10am? Update Saturday July 22nd Joe saved the Day from my hippy chick waitress who is very slow. Sent omelette back it was overdone FYI bagels are always tough!

Update today's Sunday, I didn't feel special so I only left a 10% tip.

And today (Friday) the server is rude and short with our party. Relax lady!

We drove all the way there so excited as it's our first day in Chicago and we had to pay for parking only to find out they're not open till 9:00. I think this warrants a free cup of coffee if we go tomorrow and then we can change the review rating.

Update: Why so serious? I ordered the Clown Combo. "Server #9" gave us a lukewarm welcome and didn't offer her name! It's our second day and she had no interest! Unfriendly!

Sugar Shaker and fresh cream is a plus as there is no little wasteful packets to open. Free parking on Sunday! The potatoes are delicious!. Water pitcher for one good all day! (See image)

Tuesday Update: many walk-up guests puzzled by the late opening 10 a.m. The coffee is worth the wait! Omelette is a little misshapen but enough for two. Very fresh!

Father's Day update 😄 very busy they did not have a food runner and my food came out lukewarm it was nice to have a secret admirer.

French toast is...