Julius Meinl
WHAT: Julius Meinl Coffee Shop
WHERE: 3601 N. Southport Ave.
OUR RATING: Skip It!
(meinl.com)
Julius Meinl, the well-known Viennese coffee house, came to Chicago many years back and operates three purported “Austrian” cafes on the north side. While everyone seems to give this place rave reviews, we tend to disagree, and seriously suggest you stick with less “upscale” venues for your coffee in the future.
Adam: Let’s me be clear: Julius Meinl coffee is well-established and respected in Europe. Previously one of Austria’s largest coffee and gourmet grocery companies, it was forced to vacate Austria by the Nazis, but now had re-established itself as a quality brand. However, it’s blatantly apparent that this quality has not translated well across the Atlantic, and I for one believe that the Meinls would be smart to rethink their business strategy in this part of the world.
(meinl.com)
With abominably high coffee prices (you can pay up to $4.50 for a simple cup!), we weren’t out to a good start, but what really made our visit truly shameful was the baked goods we had been led to believe Meinl was so well known for. We ordered the special lemon ginger torte (actually a tartlet), consisting of lemon ginger curd, white chocolate mousse, topped with candied ginger and gold leaf. Sounds delicious! Only problem is that it’s dinky (literally, only 3 inches in diameter) and doesn’t taste like much at all. One could not detect the slightest hint of chocolate, nor much of the ginger either (except, of course, for the candied ginger – but I could have bought this and eaten it without the tartlet).
I’m not impressed, but then again, it does take a lot to impress me. Let’s just say that I expect my foods to be full-flavored and my drinks strong. Neither was to be had here.
(meinl.com)
Alicia: My entire experience at Julius Meinl, with the exception of the food quality, was an exact replica of my experiences at beautiful European cafes with terrible customer service (well, that latter part is pretty specific to Paris). When I walked into Julius Meinl, I thought I was in my own version of Wonderland – the Austrian cafe version with its Austrian built furnishings and fittings – and I was loving every minute of it. Until we sat down.
While the cafe wasn’t very full, it took an exorbitant amount of time for us to receive a menu or even a hello from our waiter, and once we did, while pleasant enough, there was a certain coldness radiating from him. Clearly unhappy at our minimal order of pie, he made a big deal out of us wanting two waters to come with it (as if that was unheard of). And then, it took ages upon ages to get a check, no matter how many times we tried to get his attention.
(meinl.com)
I wanted so badly to love Julius Meinl. In fact, I still so badly want to fall in love it. With the atmosphere. With the nostalgia and romance it brought back. With the pastry list. With their nights of live Classical and Jazz music. So maybe next time I will order a coffee served in a ceramic cup with a glass of water served on a silver platter, typical Vienna style. Or maybe I’ll just try another location. But I definitely won’t ever order their “pie.” Or torte. Or tartlet. Whatever they call that bastardization of lemon gingery goodness.
Final Thoughts: Pretty upon entrance, Meinl will leave you wanting anything but what they have to offer. The slow service will be making you think you’re on an episode of “No Check, Please!” while the food will make you sad you paid the check at all.