It’s hard to say whether the décor or the food is more enticing at A Baker’s Tale, situated along a bustling stretch of restaurants and cafes on Division Street in Wicker Park, because both are equally spectacular.
The whimsical design is fairytale-like, with a huge awe-inspiring tree sculpted out of book pages and comfy colorful chairs—lime green, pink, purple and sky blue—making for cheery décor to eat a treat. The outdoor patio is the perfect spot to plop your latte or Moroccan mint tea and do some serious people watching as hipsters hit the brunch scene. There are a dozen flavors of Benjamin Teas, any specialty coffee concoction one can imagine and various flavors of Vero water, both still and sparkling.
Now, the food. Where to start? One can spend hours gazing at the displays of artfully made goodies before deciding which to choose. (I found out with three kids in tow that I basically had to drag out of there before our parking meter ran out.) We went for the salted caramel cupcakes and the banana cupcakes topped with chocolate cream frosting served later to party guests who were raving and opting for seconds. The children also tasted colorfully decorated cookies that generated a lot of murmurs of “yum” through the last bite.
The café is also known for its tarts like white chocolate passion fruit, pies such as caramel apple and coconut cream, eclairs including banana split and vanilla bean, and cream puffs with peanut butter chocolate among the options.
Looking for some lunch before the sugar? Sandwiches include turkey and white cheddar, ham and pineapple, and caprese. The café also serves small salads: beet and arugula, Caesar and garden, along with a soup of the day.
Just in case you’re not sold yet (and if not, you’ll be missing out), the patio is pet friendly, so bring the pooch along on a family outing.
A Baker’s Tale
- 2127 W. Division St., Chicago
- a-bakers-tale.com
