Cafe 28 Review

Went to Cafe 28 on Irving Park last Thursday. Thanks for all the recs.
We arrived at 7:30 and our party of 4 was seated without a problem.

Drinks- The girls ordered margarita's, I had a mojito. THe mojito
might be the best I've ever had. The margarita's were awful.

We ordered 3 appetizers, Coconut Shrimp , scallops special, and
chicken quesadilla's. (not my pick) All were very good. Two of the apps were barely warm upon arrival though.

Entrees- The ladies ordered the The ropa viejo. I had the halibut and
jalapeno mashed, and my friend had a chicken breast dish.

The ropa viejo was a well seasoned dish, the meat was tough though.
It was difficult to eat, while it was good, I would say it was a bit
disappointing. I had the halibut which was incredible, but the mashed
potatoes were nearly cold.

We are not picky eaters or complainers but the whole night, while
fun, a lively room, and great service, every time an item was brought to
the table it was inconsistent.

Tab for 4 people, 3 apps, 5 cocktails, and 4 entrees $130. Pretty fair for the kind of place it is.

We would probably give it another go, unfortunately it probably won't
top the list.

Thanks for the recs

Dave M

Cafe 28
1800 W. Irving Park Rd.
773-528-2883

I, too, have had mixed experiences at Cafe 28. Food is very hit and miss, as is the service. One thing that really irritates me about the place is that they seem to use some kind of store-bought mix for their margaritas. As you say, the margaritas are awful--they have a strong powdery taste that is really quite nauseating. A good margarita is not difficult to make, and I certainly would expect more from a place that charges as much for cocktails as Cafe 28 does. As for the mojitos at this establishment, I find them of a middling quality, not even close to the best I've had. Recently, I enjoyed a far superior mojito and overall dining experience at Adobo Grill, 1610 North Wells, a similar kind of place to Cafe 28, although it does not offer any Cuban dishes.

I agree on the Maragarita accessment. I have made margarita's at home a few times. Everything from the store bought mix to tin can margarita's.
(An Emeril recipe) Not hard and either one was superior to the ones at Cafe 28. It tasted like a bitter bad bloody mary. Hard to describe but not good. It is an easy cocktail. They also serve 3-4 kinds, so it was puzzling.

Mojitos- I said the best I have had. I am a fairly inexperienced Mojito drinker, but I did feel that was solid.

Dave M

That seems to be within the range of folks' experience at Cafe 28. The only surprise, to me, was that the ropa vieja was tough. The Mexican stuff (quesadillas and margaritas, eg) usually suffers in comparison to the Cuban (ropa vieja and mojitos).

It's a neat trick to pull off, tough ropa vieja, but it's been done many times. Sounds like the beef was not cooked long enough, which may be attributable to high turnover/poor kitchen planning. They might invest in a pressure cooker or take it off the menu until ready.

I, like Kenny, enjoy Adobo Grill. I think it gets a little bit of a bad rap (or no rap) because it seems a little more gringo (guac and 'ritas) oriented than the Bahena/Bayless type places. But the quality is very good in my experience and they have some interesting stuff. But I'm not sure it's a completely fair comparison, as cafe 28 is a really small time family operation compared to the more "corporate" Adobo. But apples to oranges, I guess I'd rather go to Adobo also.

My recent trip to Cafe 28 provided some entertaining service moments.

1. Our waitress asked if we were ready to order appetizers, took my dining companion's order, and immediately, without pause/hesitation/gesture in my direction turned and swiftly walked away. I was, apparently, undeserving of being appetized.

2. The busboys were very diligent but completely contrary. Minutes after our first appetizer was set on the table - I did eventually manage to order a second - the busboy swept in and attempted to take the virtually full plate away from us. We fought him off. Later he aked if we were finished, I said "no," and he grabbed at the plate again. A third time, now with the entrees, he asked if I was finished, I said "yes," and he turned and walked away without taking the plate. Rather than being annoying, this was fairly entertaining ... as if I was trapped in a poorly scripted sitcom.

3. Less entertaining: they substituted a different pinot noir for the one I ordered without mentioning it. I was perplexed by the wine until I saw the bill and noticed it was not what I had ordered.

The food was acceptable ... comforting, adequately prepared, unsurprising, and unchallenging. I do think it's a tad over-priced ... that $1 - $2 more per item that seems unobjectionable until you realize it's added $10 -$20 to your tab. The place was fairly mobbed on a Thursday night. The gentrification/condo-fication of the area has definitely been a financial boon.

Regardless, it's a solid compromise choice when dining with someone unadventurous.

rien

Any recent experiences here? Ordering guidance appreciated: have to do a work function and hope to eat well. Thanks!

annak,

The honey-jalepeno pork chop is excellent -- best thing on the menu. I always liked the green tamale app. as well.

I'm not a big fan of the restaurant, but I agree that the pork chop is very good . . . it was the only item that really stood out to me on my last visit.

I ate at Cafe 28 last week. I too thought that green tamales were great, but was overall very disappointed with the meal. The ceviche was "ketchup"y, in an almost cloying way. Most other dishes were just large pieces of meat without any particular flavor or only had a sweet BBQ sauce flavor. The Mariscos al Mojo de Ajo was not fresh and I had to spit out some of the mussels. By the end of the meal, I wanted to get out as fast as possible and did not send back the dish. Prices were also quite high. I will not return.