Space 519 The Lunchroom - Chicago

Food (5/5): We ordered the Carolina bbq chicken flatbread and the avocado toast club. I also ordered an iced latte with oat milk Carolina bbq chicken flatbread was delicious and generously portioned. I loved the tangy flavor of the bbq sauce, especially when paired with the cheese and red onions sprinkled on top. I would say it is shareable between two people. Avocado toast club sandwich was also really delicious and refreshing. The avocado was so nicely creamy and refreshing. The bacon, chicken, and tomatoes complemented the avocado well. In terms of portioning, I would say it is best suited for only one person. Iced latte was pretty standard. Nothing too special but I did enjoy the creaminess of itService (5/5): It seemed that they were a bit understaffed but our server did his best and seemed apologetic when mistakes occurred. Overall, I have no complaints and thought they did a great jobAmbiance (5/5): Very aesthetic restaurant. They have an store right next to the dining area where you can buy a bunch of special food items Great for brunch with friends I don't think I would bring a date here as it doesn't feel as intimate. It is very aesthetic though

Service was amazing!! We all loved our food. That said I loved the watermelon gazpacho My friend less so. But we both loved our shared salad nicoise. Two of our friends had the Bangkok bowl and loved it. And other friend had tuna sandwich which was a hit. Only open at lunch but truly great to take advantage of.

I was impressed by the freshness of the ingredients. I ordered Avocado BLT, and my husband had the avocado toast. They served generous amounts of avocado, and the tomato was sweet and delicious. It is a little expensive side for breakfast, but I think the quality is worth it.

This place is super chic inside and a great one-stop shop to browse the store, grab a coffee or bite, or sit down for a meal. The patio is lovely especially on a sunny day. But honestly it was a weird vibe at first. After we were seated outside, I noticed that the staff were spending more time at other tables explaining the menu and such but kind of being standoffish towards us. They also didn't offer water or anything for my tired, thirsty puppy, which is a first. It got the job done though..I forgot about the weird vibes for a while when the food arrived though. I ordered the avocado toast club sandwich. It was on perfectly crusty bread with fresh chicken breast, bacon, avocado, Mayo, and tomato. It was yummy and filling, but I wish it had a more flavorful sauce like a Chipotle, aioli, or pesto though. I appreciated the flavorful watermelon salad on the side. My boyfriend ordered the multigrain pancakes, which were like homemade with the hint of cinnamon.

I’m a regular here, but honestly I can’t give 5 stars. I have dined in and bought stuff from the bakery multiple times. The atmosphere is very chic and intimate yet still has a casual feeling. The cafe is within a boutique. You can feel the passion and effort the owner put in down to the little details, which I appreciate. The pastries are made fresh there everyday. I love their almond croissants. The food is expensive for what you get but it’s always well done and tasty and the setting is nice in a good location. It’s also good to support small, local businesses.However, I don’t like dining in because there were a number of times that I thought the waiters were a little snooty. For example, I dined in recently as a treat and asked a few questions at the end of my meal about a take-out container, the promotion, and payment. I’m a pretty low-key customer who just wants to eat and go and don’t like wasting people’s time. I didn’t think I asked that many questions and thought they were all reasonable. The waiter, who was a tall man with dark hair and glasses, politely answered them but because the setting was pretty small, I could hear him quietly complaining about me to his coworkers from across room even though multiple tables were filled. I felt extremely uncomfortable and was deeply offended. It pretty much ruined my whole morning. I almost left a $0 tip but still gave the standard 15%.If this was a one-off thing then I wouldn’t even mention it. However, I’ve had multiple lackluster dining experiences like this here. Just because I’m not an old rich lady with deep pockets doesn’t mean I’m a less valuable customer. I buy the same food, tip the same as everyone else, and leave relatively quickly compared to other people who take their time to sit around and converse. Waiters should expect to answer customers’ questions as part of the job and not look down on people. I’ll still get their pastries and coffee to-go but I wont dine in again nor recommend colleagues to come here.