Gallery Café : River West — Restaurant in West Chicago Township

I visited the Gallery Café for the Plant and Clothing Swap in River West and stayed for about 45 minutes. Overall, I’d rate the experience a solid 4/5.

The Swap (4/5): This is such a creative and fun idea! I love that the swap is spread out over the 2–5 PM time period, making it easy to drop in. The concept is simple: bring something, and you can take something. Even if no one takes your item, you can leave it behind. Setting up is easy—you just hang up your items when you arrive and can browse without any pressure to socialize (unless you want to!). A thoughtful, community-oriented event that I’d definitely recommend.

The Café (3/5): The café itself is small but cozy, with a nice ambiance. I tried two Vanilla Sour Cream donuts, which were beautifully made (pictured in the review). While they were delicious, the $9 price tag for two donuts felt a bit steep. Additionally, the oven was turned off when I arrived around 3:45 PM, so I wasn’t able to order one of their sandwiches, which was a bit disappointing.

Customer Service (5/5): The staff here are wonderful! Both employees were incredibly friendly and helpful. They even offered great suggestions when I was deciding between donut flavors, which I really appreciated. Their warm attitude definitely elevated...

I’ve lived in the apartment above for two years and have been here countless times, now that I’m moving I’d like to leave a review. The food and coffee are average at best, the staff about two years ago was awesome, now the new employees don’t seem to care or take any pride in what they do, the wait for a coffee or sandwich can be EXTREMELY long as sometimes it’s just one person working, or their coworker is just sitting down drinking coffee during the rush and can get quite busy out of no where. The concept with having local artist hang their art on the wall is cool but it’s just that, no explanation or anything from the employees, it’s just art on wall lol. I would not go out of your way to come here at all, the service is completely forgettable , and you can find much better coffee right down the block at Big Shoulders. The concept and space is cool, but seems like they have a staffing problem and can never find people who actually care what is happening in there. Overall, If you’re nearby why not give it a shot, it can be convenient, but DO NOT come here if you’re in a rush or need to be somewhere soon, or expect the best cup of coffee. 3/10 I’ll never come back here...

Recently moved in, this cafe is the cutest concept considering there’s an art gallery right next door. All of the sandwiches are themed around famous artists, so far I’ve had the Monet & Basquiat & they’ve both been melt in your mouth delicious! I loved the subtle blend of cheese in the Monet as well as the delicious strawberry jam & turkey in the Basquiat. For coffee I’ve had the pumpkin spice & an iced house latte with lavender syrup. Both woke me up enough without having an overload of sweetness, which I appreciate in flavored coffees since I want to also taste the coffee. Staff have been very inviting & attentive, will definitely be...