Mulata Kitchen + Coffee — Restaurant in Oak Park

On Tuesday, August 19, between 5-6 pm, I swung by Mulata to pick up dinner I ordered online. When I got home, I realized I'd forgotten to request a substitution for my strict dietary restrictions. No big deal, I thought. I'd just call.

Big mistake!

The woman who answered (not one of the younger ladies), after confirming I was the customer who came into the restaurant earlier to pick up my food, immediately and inexplicably went into full "DMV clerk on their worst Monday" mode. Shocking, because I've spoken to her by phone before once and she was very nice on the phone. After reading other reviews, I am wondering if this was the owner herself because that kind of rudeness felt too deliberate.

She claimed I had called multiple times before about the same thing. For the record: twice! Once due to their mistake, once due to mine.

To be clear, when she initially declined to redo my order, I said, "ok, I understand," knowing the restaurant had discretion on whether to extend a courtesy.

But instead of ending it there, she gratuitously launched into a bizarre, condescending 10-minute TED Talk on economics, produce prices, wastefulness. She then asked why I couldn’t "just pick out the part I couldn't eat and eat the rest." Because we all know that's an obvious fix for every dietary restriction. How did I not think of that?

Clearly, she’s more passionate about economics than customer service. Maybe she should open a school instead of a restaurant.

I sat in stunned silence while she ranted. When she finally finished, dumbfounded, I managed to only squeak out, “thank you!”

So yes, Mulata saved $20 that day. And me? I saved myself from ever experiencing this woman’s brand of “customer service” again. Truly,...

Edit: I've now been coming here for years since they've opened. The food and the coffee have only gotten better. The staff is friendly and hard working. They now offer full authentic Brazilian entrees like feijoada and moqueca de peixe which are phenomenal. I just can't recommend this place enough. The price to quality ratio is off the charts.

Popped in here with my Brazilian cousin for a quick lunch. This restaurant, from the name to the staff, to the food is a celebration of Brazilian culture. Everybody we interacted with was incredibly friendly and welcoming and happy to tell us about any and all of the menu items.

Lunch started off with coffees a Cortadito for me and a cappuccino for my cousin. Both were absolutely delicious and some of the best coffee I've ever had. To start lunch we had the Beef Baked Pastel (which is similar to an empanada) and quite delicious, along with the Brazilian cheese bread with Doce de leite which is simultaneously a sweet and savory treat. For lunch I had the Bacon Meatloaf burger which is definitely meatloaf but definitely still a burger and 100% delicious. My cousin had the Carne Louca which was equally tasty.

The entire time we were there the staff was just fantastic warmly greeting everyone who came in. With both a calming relaxed attitude, and a sense of urgency to get the food out. It's a difficult balance to strike but they nail it.

I will definitely be coming here again for the great food and the friendly...

This is a charming, small locale on a bustling street corner. Mulata means: a beautiful, unique, and exotic blend of people, cultures, nations, ethnicities and languages.

The Brazilian Kitchen menu offers vegetarian and non-vegetarian options, pastries, smoothies, hot and cold coffee, lemonade. I picked-up a take-out order from here once and decided to return for a dine-in experience because the place place was so charming. I enjoyed sitting on the high top table next to the windows so I could look out at the people walking by and others sitting on the park benches across the street. They have in-door and out-door seating, although the outdoor seating is uncovered, so it's probably not available during the cold chicago seasons. In the pictures I shared, you'll see I ordered the Meatloaf sandwich. It was a regular burger, nothing fancy, but still good. On another occasion, I ordered the Mulata Bella sandwich which has eggplant, portobello, cheese, arugula - also yummy.

There's free wi-fi here and low-volume music, which makes this a relaxing place to write in your journal, get some work-done on your computer, etc.

There was a lunch rush at noon when I was sitting here eating. A lot of students walked in all at once, i'm assuming from a nearby school, to get lunch. They cleared out pretty quickly, and I was one of few people left sitting here, enjoying the ambiance.

I...