City Mouse

Good, American brunch menu with all the classic dishes of the last five years (avocado toast, grain bowl, etc.). Amazing location across from Google- so much street life and art! I’d give them five stars, but they charged us twice for iced tea because we got a refill... seemed a bit cheap on their part considering how much tea bags cost....

I love City Mouse. I started coming here maybe a few months after it opened because there was so little hype about it. It’s a low-key restaurant / bar flowing off the lobby of the Ace Hotel. The menu is pretty much standard American diner fare, but with an upscale execution. And, when I say upscale, I don’t mean it in a fancy-pants, foie-gras-in-random-foods kind of way. To give you an example, The Breakfast Sandwich is just... good. And, not because of any exotic pricy ingredients. The bread is soft and some sort of pita or naan-like texture with a slight toasting. The sausage and eggs are seemingly unremarkable, but somehow just perfect every time. There’s a hash brown inside that manages to be balanced in being crispy and soft (like how I like it at Waffle Houses). There’s a little of sweet jam to balance the saltiness. The Sandwich: It. Just. Works. Everything from their dinner dishes to their simple oatmeal is just better than what their names suggests. I can’t really explain or replicate it. Plus, the servers are friendly, and there’s a good vibe here. I don’t feel that mild sense of haughtiness from other people relaxing or eating here like I do from say... across the street or elsewhere in West Loop. People bring their dogs, their kids, or whatever else inside. There’s also now a flower shop and a coffee place attached. City Mouse is just a nice little spot. It is getting more popular each time I come. Hope it stays true to it’s beginnings.