Vegan-friendly
American
International

All housed in one building, Karyn's operates a cooked food restaurant (moved here 2015), a spa, and a raw food / fresh corner. Offers weekend brunch. Vegan except for honey. Confirmed closed, Jul 2017.


55 Reviews

First Review by condekedar

vegandoug

Points +189

Vegan
30 Jun 2017

Amazing vegan food in Chicago

Started off with a sample of the soft serve and we knew this place was goi g to be great. Had the southern comfort with a ton of greens, rice and beans. Cornbread is fantastic bit a little dry. Enchiladas were terrific. Hope we can make it back before leaving for home.

lavender25

Points +276

Vegan
23 Apr 2017

Mediocre

Meh, food is just average. There's also a ton of drama with this restaurant chain. Employees have come out saying that she doesn't pay consistently and that a lot of business practices are not good. I'd recommend looking up articles online before going here. I no longer go here after all the information came out.

XOXO

Points +1760

Vegan
17 Jul 2016

very yummy

Now Karyn's cooked and Karyn's raw are at the same place! You can enjoy both foods at the same time!

Spartacusprada

Points +41

Vegetarian
18 Apr 2016

Delicious

I enjoyed the Sea Dim Sum and Spring Rolls. The Sea Dim Sum was an avocado taste explosion. Enjoyable lunch

edwardbc

Points +1021

Vegan
11 Nov 2015

My favorite in Chicago

Karyn's been always the best vegan food I've tasted in Chicago. I often have my mom asking me to take her to this place as the quality of the dishes and desserts is amazing. Price is also very fair for the quality.

Dead

Points +74

Vegan
08 Nov 2015

Time to update

Unchanged menu forrrever! The staff never meets the price points, but the basket is great, great deserts, great brunch, but overpriced. Has failed to adapt to the Native Foods revolution to Chicago veganism.

Pros: Desert, Brunch, Basket

Cons: Staff , Overpriced, Stuck in the early 2000s

natvv

Points +329

Vegan
12 Oct 2015

delicious

I haven't been to Chicago in years, yet I still crave their fried mushrooms with barbecue sauce. So delicious.

Definitely stop by if you're ever in the area.

Kelljade

Points +191

Vegan
18 Jul 2015

serves honey so not vegan

Ordered through grubhub because the menu looked good but so disappointing.
The garlic bread wasn't garlic bread, no garlic flavour and the bread tastes charred.
The cornbread was dry and flavourless.
The Mac and cheese was ok but didn't taste like Mac and cheese and was quite dry.
My veggie sandwich was actually a wrap and was missing the coleslaw and ranch dressing that was meant to come with it.
My friend enjoyed his jerk tofu wrap, but it was also missing the coleslaw.

NML

Points +477

Vegan
12 Jul 2015

Mouth Watering

Karyn's Cooked has an eclectic and healthy menu filled with traditional comfort foods as well as new flavor pairings. The desserts are the perfect end to a delicious meal. Nice atmosphere, great service, and yummy food---you can't go wrong!

Pros: Great menu selection, Nice decor and atmosphere

AnnFromIllinois

Points +760

Vegan
05 Jul 2015

you won't leave hungry!

Wonderful staff and excellent food set in a cozy contemporary space. We made the mistake of ordering a pizza as an appetizer. It was a huge dinner sized pizza! Great for sharing among four people maybe. I had the crabs cakes and my husband had the fish tacos. We loved them although they were a bit oily. The menu did say fried so it was expected. By then we were stuffed, but the dessert case was extraordinary so we had to indulge. :-) Overall it was a great dinner and the wine selection was great too.

Pros: downtown location , nice staff, desserts

monicamariejones

Points +26

Vegan
24 Jun 2015

Good Place for Vegan Appetizers and Dessert

The basket of fried veggies and the buffalo wings were delicious and the lemon meringue pie was very tasty, but the vegan pizza and buddah bowl were just ok. Nothing was exciting enough for me to come back the next time I visit Chicago.

Pros: Tasty Appetizers and Desserts

Cons: Vegan Pizza not as good as it sounds.

theamundell

Points +57

Vegan
08 May 2015

Pure Joy

Had an absolutely AMAZING meal at Karyn's Cooked. We had the wings for an appetizer, I had the Floutas, and COCONUT CAKE, which was so indulgently delicious. Heavenly.

My omni co-worker had a roasted veggie sandwich which he said was very good.

I will be back!!

Pros: Friendly Service, Loads of options, Relaxing atmosphere

babcocklori945

Points +146

Vegan
22 Dec 2014

Needs more gluten free options

I'm not a huge fan of Karyn's Cooked. I think their salads and raw dishes are pretty uninspired, and the other gluten free options are limited. Their desserts are very good, however, and their home fries are delicious.

Tigra220

Points +10447

Vegan
16 Nov 2014

Love at First Bite!

UPDATE:

I was passing through Chitown last weekend and stopped by Karyn's on my way to the airport.

I ordered a Jerk Tofu Wrap & fried broccoli basket, and was happy to see that they were still as delicious as ever.

The Homestyle Meat Loaf was not as good; I did not enjoy it. I'm basically writing this so that I'll remember not to order it again on my next visit.

Key Lime Cheesecake was the bomb! I wasn't expect much at all, but it blew me away! May have to order a whole one next time.


-----------------------------------------------------

I went to Karyn's Cooked for the first time two weekends ago and a couple of my omnivore family members decided to tag along. Let me just say that it was so fantastic that they insisted on driving back (4 hours) this past weekend.

My absolute favorites are the Fried Broccoli Basket, the Jerk Tofu (And I'm not a tofu fan, but both the sandwich and the wrap are delicious! If you're sensitive to spicy foods ask for light jerk sauce. If you love spicy, ask for extra!), the carrot cake, the chocolate chip cookies, and the bread pudding (it's a must!).

The Southern Comfort (flavorful beans & greens w/o meat!), Falafel, Homestyle Meatloaf, the Flautas, and the double carob cake were all very good. Excellent seasoning and spices on the meatloaf.

The taco salad was ok. There was something missing or off with the ground soy, but I can't quite put my finger on what it is exactly. If you like the taste/flavor of coffee, you'll love the tiramisu cake.

My companions loved the Grilled Portobello Mushroom sandwich, the fried mushroom basket, the Vegan Pizza, and the Bruschetta.

All of the food (on all three days) was fresh and beautifully presented. The portions were large enough to share and to take home for the next day's lunch or dinner; a great value. Service was excellent and friendly. The restaurant is small with a very warm ambiance. Perfect for dates, lunch/dinner for a few, or lunch/dinner alone. Reservations are suggested for weekend dinner.

Updated from previous review on Tuesday October 13, 2009

Pros: Excellent vegan food, Excellent value; large portions, friendly staff; open late

njhassinger945

Points +104

Vegan
18 Jul 2014

A decent Vegan selection!

In all honesty, Karyn's is often hit or miss when it comes to taste and quality. Sometimes I order in because sometimes the service is exactly top quality either. They do have some really great items though, but definitely not the best vegan food around.

Pros: decent food

Cons: consistency, service, quality

nstrawbr

Points +65

Vegetarian
06 Jun 2014

Gourmet Vegan Restaurant

Karyn's Cooked is a nice Vegan restaurant serving Gourmet food that is good value for money. We shared the Buffalo Wings and the Nachos both really good and then purchased a Vegan Cookie to have on our walk back to our hotel. We were more than happy with the food and it was a good night out. They have friendly staff. We would definitely recommend going here.

Pros: Good Selection, Gourmet Quality, Friendly Staff

Rosa and Joe

Points +469

Vegan
02 Dec 2013

nice enough, but really nothing special

We were disappointed by Karyn's Cooked, after reading some good reviews. We shared a nice pizza starter, but the main courses were hard to finish. The salmon looked amusingly convincing, but was large, bland pieces of seitan wrapped in seaweed - we were pleased to see somewhere having a go at vegan fish though, quite rare - we don't know how to do it at home... Ribs we similarly huge pieces of bland seitan drowned in an over-sweet gloopy sauce. The veg and accompaniments weren’t great either - nice coleslaw but undercooked rice and overcooked broccoli!

MissAlanna

Points +61

Vegan
04 Oct 2013

One of my favorite restaurants!

I'm shocked to see all the negative reviews! I've enjoyed pretty much everything I've ordered and the staff is always super friendly. Don't let the negative comments scare you away, try out Karyn's Cooked for yourself!

If it's your first time going, I recommend the gluten free spaghetti w/lentil meatballs(:

Pros: Amazing food, Friendly staff, Gluten free options

Cons: Price

twovegans

Points +179

Vegan
25 Aug 2013

One of my favorite Chicago restaurants

I took a colleague to dinner at Karyn’s Cooked, one of my favorite Chicago restaurants. It was an easy walk from our downtown hotel. We started with the buffalo wings appetizers, which were tasty. I had the flautas, which were delicious – rolled fried tortillas with a tofu stuffing topped with vegan sour cream and guacamole – and came with salsa, mixed greens and refried beans. This is an upscale vegan restaurant with a diverse menu and delicious desserts that will satisfy anyone. I’ve eaten here a few times and have thoroughly enjoyed the food each time. On the weeknight we dined, they did not take reservations. They seem to do a decent to-go business, too. With our check we were given coupons to Karyn’s Raw restaurant and Karyn’s Corner, which is a good way to get people to visit those sister businesses owned by the same woman.

Pros: Nice ambience, Vegan dessert choices

Cons: Pricey, Did not take reservations

youshouldbeglad

Points +21

Vegetarian
27 Jun 2013

Dissapointing and pretty awful

What expectations I had after reading the reviews and their website. However the food was absolutely terrible. It had a glaze and taste of being old food warmed up to serve and on top of that, it wasn't even warmed up enough. The polenta lacked any flavor and the meatloaf was mushy and gross. The place had no airconditioning either and it looked like they are more concerned about marketing Karyn and their packaged products than putting out quality, fresh food for the dinner crowd. I would never go back and I would pass on Karyns Raw on principal after our terrible experience and food and Karyns cooked

Pros: NONE

Cons: Hot and stuffy, Terrible Food, Bad Service

sglcklch

Points +2815

Vegan
23 Jun 2013

Fair to middling

It wasn't in our plans to eat here due to the mixed reviews, but staying in the loop meant a lack of vegan options within walking distance (especially on a weekend evening), so we popped down here for a little dinner.

Having no expectation whatsoever, we actually quite enjoyed our meal. We got the Ron's salad to start. As simple as it was, it came with a side of the almighty hemp seeds for sprinkle, which I thought was a nice touch. We also ordered the apparently highly popular enchiladas, which were pretty good, and the green curry off the daily special. Served like a risotto studded with assorted veggies in a creamy coconut sauce, the curry plate was a clever twist and was pretty yummy. Just a few Thai basil leaves would have taken this dish up another level.

Reasonable prices, decent food, adequate service, our experience was good, although not great, but certainly not as bad as some of the reviews suggested. We leaned towards the straight-up vegan items (as always) other than the fake meat/dairy stuff and would recommend the same.

Elodie

Points +23

Vegetarian
19 Jun 2013

Pricy and average...

The feel and the menu were more like a regular restaurant trying to have vegetarian/vegan options. It wasn't bad, it wasn't good either. And I wasn't convinced by the quality of the produces. Pricy for what it is, I guess you pay for the trend.
Special mention for the strawberry cheesecake tho, velvety and melt-in-your-mouth.

BanjoGirl

Points +227

Vegan
19 Oct 2012

LOVE this place!

This is one of my favorite places in the city (if not my absolute favorite)! They have so many great options to choose from. I have taken several non-veg people here and they also loved it. My favorites are probably the enchiladas or taquitos, but I have never had anything bad here. Highly recommend!

Pros: excellent food, nice vibe

ieatmodestmouse

Points +140

Vegan
27 Sep 2012

karyn's cooked

this was the worst meal i have ever had. after i heard so many great things about this place, i had to try it. my non veg friends said it was great too, so i thought it would be amazing. my husband and i got the fried basket appetizer of tofu, mushrooms, and zucchini. came with ranch and bbq. that was good. for dinner we got sloppy joe and the steak sandwich. the sloppy joe was mushy and soft and watery with not much flavor. the steak sandwich was so SPICY and peppery you couldn't really taste anything else. they both came with sweet potatoes topped with bbq which was good. and some coleslaw which was watery as well. we didn't finish our meals and we NEVER leave food on a plate.
i heard great things about the dessert before so we got the german choc cake and the coconut cake to go. ate it once we got back to our hotel and had to THROW IT AWAY it was so bad. the german choc cake had a weird flavor. and as bad as this sounds, the coconut cake left a taste in your mouth that was reminiscent of barf. i have the biggest sweet tooth and will eat just about anything that is dessert. and i had to throw them away. it was horrible and i was shocked. an expensive meal ruined! on top of that our waiter was very unfriendly and there was a weird vibe in the restaurant. our waiter didn't even smile once the entire time we were there. and we were one of 3 tables in the place. so it's not like he was stressed and busy or anything. so disappointing!

Veggie46

Points +112

Vegan
27 Aug 2012

pretty good

I like Karyn's on green better, but Karyn's cooked is also good.

KatieFucito

Points +75

Vegan
07 Aug 2012

We were very excited...

We were very excited to eat at Karyn's because I had thought it to be a gourmet restaurant and we never really eat anywhere fancy. The interior of the restaurant does give off the fancy vibe - so do the prices! The food, on the other had, was average at best. My husband had the cheeseburger and he said it was good but he liked the ones we make at home better. I had the green enchiladas. While the sauce was delicious, the enchiladas themselves were simply corn tortillas stuffed with what tasted like plain instant mashed potatoes. The refried black beans on the side had a very strange taste and the rice was cold and dry. We ordered blueberry cheesecake for dessert and were VERY disappointed. It was expensive and not enjoyable at all - it tasted watery and bland. It also took forever to get our server's attention, it seemed that he was paying more attention to the people coming in who looked wealthy.
Updated from previous review on Tuesday August 07, 2012

Pros: nice interior, good location

Cons: staff, food, expensive

creative tea cafe

Points +25

Vegan
23 May 2012

The place to be

De-Lishhh!!

Cons: its not close to my home




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