Atlas Café, Oak Park

Atlas Café, Oak Park

Over the Christmas holidays, some folks I know stopped for a bite at Atlas Café. They reported back that the crepes were greasy and the coffee just plain bad.

I was surprised to hear this negative observations as there were positive comments in response to a recent post on oakpark.com about the opening of this restaurant, which is owned by the same folks as the Icosium Café in Andersonville:

• Fantastic news! Used to make the long trek to Andersonville just for Icosium. And now it’s back, with a new name, and a whole lot closer.
• Seconded! I stopped in at Atlas on a whim, on my way to the movies, and it was SO good. It's great to see a new restaurant concept in OP!

Hearing dramatic difference of opinion, we had to try the place, and so we did: I had the Crepe Atlas and Carolyn had the Crepe Athens.

I didn’t find the Crepe Atlas to be very greasy; rather it was pleasingly moist, which I much prefer to a dry crepe. This crepe contains arugula, caramelized onions, roasted peppers, Roma tomatoes, and goat cheese. The goat cheese added a slight richness, but there was a lot going on in this sandwich so the cheese was barely detectable.



Overall, though, this was a fresh, light lunch, all the ingredients were done well, and we appreciated nice touches, like the poached pear that came with two other little fruit chunks that accompany the savory crepes.

The Crepe Athens was also of buckwheat, and so it’s also gluten-free (buckwheat is actually not a grass or a kind of wheat; it’s related to sorrel and rhubarb and the buckwheat flour is made of the ground-up seed). This crepe contains almonds, cilantro, garlic, spinach, Roma tomatoes and feta, which is more easily distinguishable in the mix than goat cheese. I liked this crepe more, but I always like my wife’s menu selections better than mine.

The only criticism I had was that the arugula and spinach should be chopped a little more, as it’s very difficult to cut a bite without bringing up big, knotty green strands. Also, the prices are a little high: $9.50 for a simple crepe seems to be pushing the limits, especially when for fifty cents less, you can have a whole lunchtime buffet of pickles, vegetables, meat and falafel across the street at Jerusalem Café.

The regular coffee at Atlas Café is, indeed, weak and mediocre, but the Turkish coffee was very good, thick and dark, as it should be, and lightly spiced with cardamom.



It’s a good thing to have a restaurant in Oak Park that focuses on gluten-free options, and it’s excellent to have another small, independent business on Lake Street.

Atlas Café is connected via an open interior archway to Puree’s Pizza, and they share a common restroom, though they’re owned by different people.

Atlas Café
1025 Lake Street
312.758.2925