After a long search for a veggie place to entertain a vegetarian friend from out of town, it was exciting to find the Chicago Diner: ranked one of the top vegan/veggie restaurants in the city. The dish I tried, unfortunately, did not live up to the diner’s name.

The diner itself is a cute, warm little place bustling with people. The service is great (very friendly for the newbies) and the menu diverse, offering meat substitutes and a fiesta of vegetables. The beef seitan, a type of “meat”, was a little dry and hard for me, but my meat-loving self may be prejudiced against meat-wannabes. On the plus side, portions are VERY generous.

If I return, I’d stick to the vegetable dishes. I appreciated a taste of my friend’s black bean burger and would have welcomed a trade.

And expect a wait. We arrived at 8:30p.m. on a Saturday evening to be greeted by a long line and a 30 minute wait – not bad for a Saturday night but chilly outside in the middle of January.

I love the Chicago Diner, the servers are always super friendly and I always delight in reading the menu and seeing what Chicago Diner is offering that day. I consider myself a pretty hard carnivore but I always love the dining experience at Chicago Diner. With their innovative specials, the diner offers the vegetarian version of all possible home comfort foods such as lasagna, meatloaf, even “chicken” fajitas. Even die hard meat lovers will be able to find something here that would satisfy them, if not, at least they would get a laugh reading the menu.

While there obviously isn’t any meat here (since it’s a vegetarian diner), you wouldn’t have guessed by looking at the menu. There are all kinds of meat dishes – BBQ “chicken” wings, Philly Cheese “steak”, nachos with “chorizo”, and so on. It’s an unexpectedly extensive menu.

Being a devout meat eater, I was pretty excited to see if I could find a decent meat replacement (for health reasons of course :P). After trying my dish and some of the others, I can say with certainty that my cholesterol will probably continue to be in danger. The ‘meats’ were a good attempt, but the taste and textures weren’t quite “meaty” enough for me. However, the food was good on the whole and if you’re a vegetarian, I definitely recommend the restaurant. The best part of the meal for me was the soy milk shake – tasty and easy on the stomach!

if you’re looking for a veggie/vegan-friendly joint, give chicago diner a try. located in boystown, this “diner” isn’t so much like what you might think when you think diner (i.e. 40s-50s style w/cushy booths & soda fountain bar) – it’s more a cozy, low-key place with a number of wood booths.

the menu is extensive, offering all sorts of “meats”. service is super friendly, ambience is more on the loud side, and the food is just alright.

although i probably won’t be returning here anytime soon (i’m a carnie), i would consider bringing a veggie/vegan friend here for breakfast/brunch.

This is a great small non pretentious vegetarian and vegan restaurant. They do it because they believe in it and not because it is a fad or trying to be trendy. With about 20 to 25 seats, the service is done with pride and the prices are right. There is a wide selection of dishes that will make even the mild meat eater sure they are eating meat dishes. You won’t find fake steaks or prime rib look alikes, but you will find a wide variety to please most open minded palettes. Great for brunch, lunch and dinner.

I fail to understand some of the other reviewers’ comments. Perhaps there are too many people writing who really don’t understand what it is to eat a vegan meal! The Chicago Diner is perhaps the best place in the country for creative, unpretentious, fresh and delicious vegan food. They do have cheese items, and eggs, but I always get the vegan stuff here because it is so phenomenal. Inexpensive, too! Their salads are absolutely amazing. Beautiful, fresh, abundant. Now that we live in the NY area, I really miss the opportunity to eat at the Diner, as we used to come here about once a week. If you go, be sure to try the Santa Fe Salad, the Rain Salad, or for a decadent brunch, the French toast or deluxe breakast platter. Everything is good, I am not a big fake meat fan, but you really cannot go wrong here. Service is generally very friendly and sweet, but you will occasionally have to wait for a table on a weekend day.