Karyn's Cooked

Great Vegan desserts. This place is definitely worth trying. This is not an overtly relaxed environment, it has black napkins and is a little stuffy. The dinners are overpriced and a little underportioned, although they are original dish ideas and have many gluten-free dishes and options. I came here for coffee and the vegan deserts and I recomned you do the same as I feel they are more worth the price than the full dinners are.

Delicious food in a friendly casual environment. Great location for plant based food options. Feels good to go to a restaurant where one can eat anything from the menu. Crab cakes, pasta primvera and guacamole were delicious. Ginger beer is great. Overall good food choice close to Chicago Magnificent Mile.

My husband's folks came in from out of town, so the 4 of us went to Karyn's Cooked. We ordered a variety of items -- like the ribs, sloppy joe and more-- meads & desserts. Customary to us, we each shared a bit so we could all have a taste... and loving it. Mid-way through the meal, we mentioned this was a vegetarian restaurant. My father-in-law asked why would a vegetarian restaurant serve ribs and motioned to all the food on our table. They were both amazed to hear that everything they enjoyed today was vegetarian -- never had a clue.

I'm a carnivore but came here to try the desserts (I can't eat eggs so I am essentially vegan when it comes to dessert). Everything else looked so good I decided to I had to try it. We had Jerry's pizza and the Italian eggplant - both had a delicious tomato sauce that had just the right amount of sweetness. (Jerry's pizza is in the appetizer section but could probably feed 2 people as an entree and is only $10.) The potato soup was pretty good but a little bland. My pecan pie was pretty tasty too, but not what I expected (it was drier inside than I'm used to and had a crumb topping). Overall, the quality of the food is very good and it's very reasonably priced (especially as far as organic vegan options in River North go). Between the two of us, we had an appetizer, a bowl of soup, an entree, dessert, a beer, and a cup of coffee for $43 after tax and still took food home. We're both carnivores and really enjoyed the food. We will be back.

Karyn's Cooked is my personal favorite of her restaurants. Sure, the salmon is a bit precious but it's also fantastic. The food may seem a bit over the top in the 'cute' department, but it never lacks for quality and flavor. Other restaurants rely almost solely on quaint imitation. Here it is the finishing touch to a plurality of wonderful dishes.