Kneads & Wants Artisan Bakery and Cafe — Restaurant in Niles Township

First the good - service was efficient. It was not warm and friendly for a neighborhood bakery but I'll take efficiency anytime, especially on a weekend morning with people wanting to get their caffeine and sugar fix. I was there at around 9:15 and most of the tables were occupied and a short line of people was ahead of me. The gentleman at the counter took my order and promptly gave me my pastries in two boxes for me to take out while the barista made my drink order.

I eagerly awaited my oatmeal cookie latte (chai with oatmilk). I took a sip as I headed out the door and was immediately disappointed because the supposedly hot latte was not hot. It was not even warm, tepid or lukewarm. It was closer to room temperature than anything else. I was tempted to go back and ask them to warm it up but there was a line of people behind me when I was served so I just decided to go home and heat my drink in the microwave. The chai flavor was mild and could have been stronger but it is okay. It's the temperature that was really bad.

The croissants were alright - a little bready and not as flaky as a good croissant ought to be. The lemon blueberry scone was good - just the right balance of sweet and tart. The crumb was tender with a crisp crust.

Now for their version of the kouign-amann... There were large chunks (please see photos) of raw granulated sugar on the outside. I had a glimpse of that when I ordered it and I thought that it was just a little dusting on the pastry. I didn't expect for the sugar to be coagulated in large chunks in parts of the pastry. The hallmark of a kouign-amann is its moist, buttery, flaky crumb on the inside and crisp crust enveloped in golden caramelized sugar. This version is none of the above. I strongly suggest they go back to recipe testing and back to the drawing board on this one.

I do not relish writing a bad review especially if it is a small, neighborhood business. I do want them to succeed and to do that, I believe they need to get good, honest feedback from customers. My daughter-in-law regularly walks in their shop early mornings on weekdays to get a coffee and pastry before she heads to work. She was the one who suggested that I visit and try their offerings.

I do not mind paying for pastries at their price point (a little pricey for the size) but I do expect them to be of good, if not excellent quality as their name suggests (Artisanal).

I also called as soon as I got home to give them feedback but I got their voicemail. I left a message and I hope the owners will take my suggestions positively.

I wish them well and I will definitely give them another try in the hopes that they...

I have the pleasure of working near downtown Skokie and not that far from Kneads & Wants Artisan Bakery. Kneads & Wants as well as Pressed Latino Sandwich Shop, and Euro Echo Cafe are cafes that have captured my interest this past month and I vowed to visit all three. After visiting Pressed nearly a month ago my next choice ended up being Kneads & Wants.

The night prior to visiting I tried to find an online menu, but could not! A pre-check on a menu often gives me the chance to see what my taste buds would take a liking to. Its interior has a different vibe in comparison to other cafes I have visited which prompted me to ask the employee about its past. He confirmed that it used to be a bakery which I can definitely see, but outside of that its set up does not match what you would typically encounter in a cafe.

What you see is what you get! I say this because on display is pretty much what sandwiches and baked goodies are offered which the sandwich choices are slim. Now, the drink menu is posted up on the wall consisting of your typical coffee, tea, and espresso options.

Along with a sweet tea, I ordered the 'trojan war' based off of its displayed appearance which the trojan war is a greek inspired turkey sandwich consisting of sliced turkey breast with feta-dill spread, onion, cucumber, and Agamemnon's anger on a baguette. To give you an idea of its taste I compare its taste to a chicken salad sandwich with baguette bread, yet with turkey instead of chicken. I ended up purchasing a tart cherry scone to go which I ate later in the day and loved! After its taste I wished I had purchased two instead of one, but luckily I work nearby, so the possibility of returning the following day to get another one was there.

This place rocks when it comes to baked goodies, but sandwich choices not so much which I believe is because it has not been around long enough. Doing my research I found that its predecessor was known as Sweety Pies which excelled as a bakery; listed as a 4-star one at that with over two-hundred Yelp reviews.

In closing, I am glad that I visited Kneads & Wants Artisan Bakery; the service I received was nothing less than great and I would gladly return. Now that I have visited Pressed, and now Kneads & Wants it leaves me with Euro Echo Cafe, which is the last cafe I identified in the...

Visited for the first time yesterday and I think we have found our new go-to bakery! We normally drive all the way to Evanston for Hewn. While we still love Hewn dearly I'll be honest, some of Kneads and Wants' versions are better! I am so impressed by the quality of the ingredients. You can see vanilla caviar in the vanilla items for example and they use Valrhona chocolate for the chocolate items. Below are the ones we tried:

Kouign amann: one of my favorite pastries ever and I think their version is the best I've had. Super delicate center with carmelized outside but not too chewy or hard.

Crinkle cookie: best I've ever had. Perfect size with fudgy center.

Coffee cake: exactly what you want it to be. Moist with a good layer of cinnamon crumble on top. (ate a day old)

Cinnamon roll: very nice soft texture. I like more cinnamon and more of a cream cheesey frosting but still a solid pastry

Bacon chive cheese scone: Huaband says this was delicious. Crumb was moist and the bacon bits were small and not chewy which kept the texture great....