Nutella Cafe Chicago Menu

What You Need to Know Before Going to the Nutella Cafe in Chicago

I spent about forty-five minutes at the Nutella Cafe on North Clark last Tuesday trying to figure out how to order without looking like a tourist who just watched a Food Network episode. The menu is basically everything you expect from a Nutella-themed spot, which is to say a lot of things you can't finish and a few surprises. I'll walk through it. The core of the menu is crepes. That's the anchor. They do both sweet and savory, though the savory options are limited and honestly not worth your time unless you're trying to cut back on sugar before your third glass of wine. The sweet crepes start around $8 and go up to about $14 depending on how many toppings you pile on. The Ferrero Rocher crepe is the most popular item. It comes with chocolate sauce, whipped cream, crushed hazelnuts, and a whole Ferrero Rocher on top. It is genuinely good. I ate it in silence for ten minutes and didn't care about anything. Below crepes you'll find waffles. Belgian-style, thick. They do a Nutella waffle that's essentially a vehicle for more Nutella, which sounds redundant but works because the waffle itself has a slight crisp on the outside that balances the spread. Prices run $9 to $12. If you go here with a group, order two waffles and split them. One waffle feeds one person with a decent appetite and leaves the other person hungry and resentful. I've seen this happen more than once.

The Drinks Situation

Hot chocolate here is not the same as hot chocolate anywhere else. They use actual Nutella as a base, which means it's thicker, sweeter, and more hazelnut-forward than typical café hot chocolate. A large costs about $6. It's not a drink you sip slowly over an hour. It's a drink you finish while it's still hot because it turns into something close to pudding if it sits. Order it immediately after you place your food order so it arrives at the same time. Iced drinks are mostly Frappuccino-style blends. The Nutella coffee blend is decent but slightly overpriced at $7. The plain Nutella Frappuccino at $6.50 is the better value. There's also a milkshake menu with three flavors. Stick with the Nutella shake. The vanilla and chocolate shakes are just standard milkshakes with a thin Nutella swirl that gets lost by the time it reaches you.

What's Missing From the Menu

They don't have anything savory that actually excites me. The Nutella and prosciutto croissant exists and sounds interesting on paper. It arrived lukewarm with sad, soggy prosciutto. Skip it. There's also a breakfast menu between 8am and 11am on weekdays that includes Nutella pancakes and a French toast option. The pancakes are fine but standard diner quality. The French toast is where you'll find some actual competence from the kitchen. Thick-cut brioche, properly caramelized, with a light dusting of powdered sugar and a warm Nutella drizzle. Worth waking up for if you can handle the wait. There's no alcohol on the menu. You will hear people ask. They don't have a license for it. Some locations in other cities tried adding this and it created more problems than it solved. Chicago stayed sensible about it.

A Practical Tip Most People Miss

The menu lists add-on toppings separately, but they don't tell you that requesting extra Nutella on anything is free unless you're ordering a custom creation. I asked for an extra shot of Nutella on my crepe once and the person behind the counter looked at me like I'd asked for something unreasonable. I brought it up again last month to confirm and they confirmed it. It's just standard practice. Add it to everything. You won't regret it. The one real problem I ran into is the pricing math. The menu makes it easy to accidentally order four separate items that each cost $10 and then realize you've spent $45 on food you can't finish. The solution is the sharing plate concept. Any two people can order one entree and one drink and it becomes a meal. The menu doesn't advertise this but it's absolutely how regulars handle it. Ask for a to-go box for half before you start eating. You will get home and still think about it.

When to Go and When to Avoid It

Weekday mornings between 8 and 10 are quiet. The staff moves fast, the food is fresh, and you won't wait more than twelve minutes from order to table. Weekends are a different story. Saturday afternoon turns into a twenty-five minute wait even if you're just getting drinks. The line wraps around the seating area and the kitchen slows down significantly after minute eighteen. If you show up at 2pm on a Saturday, you're done before 3:30. The location on Clark Street is the flagship and it gets the most traffic. There was a second location near Ohio Street that closed last year. Don't bother checking if it reopened. It didn't.

Quick Reference Prices

Crepes: $8 to $14 Waffles: $9 to $12 Hot chocolate: $5 to $6

Iced blends: $6.50 to $7 Milkshakes: $6 Breakfast items: $7 to $10

Extra Nutella topping: free on standard items That's the practical breakdown. The menu rewards people who order smart and punishes people who try to sample everything. Pick one heavy item, one drink, and share it with someone. You'll leave satisfied instead of miserable and broke.