Vegan
American
Fast food
Delivery
Take-out
Catering
Vegan cafe est. 2013 by Upton's Naturals. Menu features vegan comfort foods like fried bacon mac, croissant sandwiches and Chicago-style hot dogs, plus a full ice cream menu, vegan donuts, and items from other Chicago vegan businesses available in the cooler. Dog-friendly patio. Donuts available earlier on weekends starting at 9am Fri-Sun. Open Wed-Fri 11:30am-7:00pm, Sat-Sun 9:00am-6:00pm.
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Last update on 28 Dec 2023 by NicoleSopko
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118 Reviews
First Review by ·X·
maiaschwallie
Points +75
love this place!!! - Edit
I’ve been to liberation kitchen a handful of times and really appreciate their mission and extensive vegan donut selection! Absolutely love the For Greta (strawberry cream donut) and the Flapjack (vanilla donut, maple frosting, spiced chocolate crumble) especially.
Read moreGot a day-old donut deal for 6 donuts for 10 dollars which I thought was a pretty great deal for vegan baked goods. Maybe a little dryer than I would have liked but that is to be expected with day-olds!! The flavors and the frostings especially were still incredibly delicious. Also highly highly recommend their cookies!! We got a large chocolate chip/oat cookie and it was AMAZING.
Also has a fun selection of vegan candy bars which I hope to try more of! Have had their food in the past as well, which even my non-veg family enjoys😄
Updated from previous review on 2025-01-11
Pros: donuts
Guest
oszum
Points +594
Love this place! - Edit
I love the energy of this place: super friendly service and great food. The doughnuts are insanely delicious, but the salty dishes are also worth a try.
Read moreGuest
AfterSeeingOkjaTwice
Points +535
Great food - Edit
Very much enjoyed the Updogs and a donut.
Read morePros: Friendly staff
Guest
ECDLR
Points +765
Great donut selection - Edit
I’ve heard amazing things about liberation kitchen, went for breakfast and was a little disappointed. The donut selection was amazing, such unique flavors. I got a cream filled and chocolate cake. The cream filled was great, the chocolate cake was alright. Not as good as any of the Beacon donuts. I got a breakfast sandwich that was premade and wrapped. It was not great, very salty. They have a limited breakfast menu and only hot coffee, would’ve loved an iced coffee. Nice outdoor seating though. 3.75/5
Read moreGuest
recycledstar
Points +299
Great food and donuts! - Edit
We love Liberation. If you’re not from Chicago, it’s a must visit. The beef sandwich (same faux beef they supply to Buona) is somehow so much better than when stopping at a Buona.
Read moreIf you’re partaking in donuts, I recommend the Greta (strawberry cream).
Pros: Fast, Variety of healthy bites and fast-style food, Donuts!
Guest
JohnCalvinism
Points +37
Fast and Easy - Edit
Really great food. Easy and convenient.
Read morePros: Cost, Taste
Guest
aubreyj27
Points +2016
amazing service AND amazing food - Edit
this is a wonderful restaurant and the food is made with love ! the staff were so kind; they were out of the month's pie pie my darling cake that i was looking for and they gave us extra donuts instead! i looove my vegan donuts. i came here because i tried the upton's seitan in the buona beef sandwich, and i knew i had to go to liberation kitchen to get more food.
Read morei ordered the fried bacon mac n cheese and it was AMAZING. i didn't get any other savory items there but i know i'll be getting the bacon mac every time from now on... the texture was perfect, it was packed with flavor, and the bacon was delicious. not overly salty or greasy either!
for dessert, i wanted to get a good idea of their donuts! i got lydia’s eclair, flapjack, for greta (strawberry one)?, lemon curd, chocolate sprinkle, double chocolate sprinkle, and bumpy cake. personally, i think the lemon curd (for those who love citrus), bumpy cake, and flapjack were my favorite... although flapjack takes the cake. they weren't huge donuts, but they were reasonably sized and all very tasty.
i had a great experience here... everyone was incredibly helpful and friendly, and i'd love to try more menu items + donuts because i saw quite a few things i'd like to come back to! definitely recommend.
Pros: very kind staff, tasty comfort food, vegan donuts !!!
Cons: not too much seating/space
Guest
tdroeth
Points +373
🍩 - Edit
highly recommend the donuts!!!
Read moreGuest
VRunner
Points +335
Bucket List Stop - Edit
This place has been on my list of must try’s when I visit Chicago, and I am glad I finally made it there. I had their tofu Bahn Mi sandwich and got donuts to go. I am used to a California version of Bahn Mi (think pickled veggies), and the flavor profile of this version was definitely less Asian and more midwestern. It was still tasty as far as the sandwich went. The donuts were very good and they had a good variety to chose from.
Read moreGuest
Haley_Kat
Points +362
Great Chicago dogs - Edit
Had the two Chicago dogs and a milkshake, did not disappoint.
Read moreGuest
DianaCarter
Points +217
Donuts!! - Edit
Best donut I’ve ever had. Low cost. Friendly, helpful staff.
Read moreGuest
ohgeorgia
Points +833
Yes please! - Edit
Loved our time here! Super great staff, awesome (all vegan!) food, nice drink selection and some Upton's products that I can't get back home. The donuts are incredible.
Read moreMy non-vegan partner loved the Italian beef sandwich. 😊
Pros: all vegan, eats and sweets, great staff
Cons: small space
Guest
Yvonne108
Points +126
Best Breakfast Sandwich & Donuts - Edit
The donuts do not disappoint and they are often doing charity with donut sales, which is a plus. Great staff! Ask for extra cheese and avocado in your breakfast sandwich.
Read moreUpdated from previous review on 2024-02-16
Pros: Best Breakfast Sandwhich , Best Eclaire Donut, Quick cafe setting
Cons: Parking can be tough
Guest
Vegan Vagabond
Points +4431
Could be so much better, but not bad - Edit
This is a small cafe attached to the Uptons corporate building. They make good food, based on the Uptons products, such as fried "bacon" mac and "cheese", "Pastrami" sandwiches, etc. They also have soft serve "ice cream," and I have tried really hard to like it, but it's really not that great. 100% vegan.
Read moreWow. Time flies. It’s been 10 years since my original review. So, the place has gotten bigger. It looks like they’ve opened up the first floor for more seating and for an arcade. The arcade was closed on this day, for a private event, so I can’t say anything about it. As far as the food, they seem to have mostly the same menu I remember, with a couple of additions and subtractions. The woman behind the counter told me that the Italian beef and the Up-dog are the most popular items on the menu. I got the Togarashi Bowl, which was tofu, kale, carrots, brown rice, pickled radish and a tahini dressing. I really enjoyed it. A fair sized portion, too. I finished with an eclair donut. A chocolate iced cake donut, split in half and filled with custard. Pretty tasty.
I’m updating my rating to 4 stars.
Updated from previous review on 2014-09-15
Pros: 100% Vegan!, Good Food
Guest
Samantha18
Points +475
I’m happy this place exists - Edit
As someone who loves a good donut, I can really appreciate an all vegan donut case. And the flavors we tried were the best vegan donuts we’ve tried thus far. The milkshake was good too - a bit too thick for my liking but still yummy. The surprise vintage arcade was a nostalgic cherry on top!
Read morePros: All vegan/many options , Friendly staff , Arcade
Guest
kellifer10
Points +110
Great Vegan Donuts - Edit
Ordered a dozen donuts online for pickup. The best one was the strawberry with whipped cream inside!!!
Read moreGuest
ApexHerbivore
Points +56
My favorite vegan place, hands down - Edit
Amazing breakfast, brunch, and lunch. Vegan and ethically sourced chocolates for sale as well. An amazing experience every time.
Read morePros: Ethical, Delicious , Staff paid fairly
Guest
Mmaarrss
Points +512
Do-nut want to miss out - Edit
We pre ordered a dozen doughnuts so we got to try every type.
Read moreWe ordered pickup for when they opened. The food was fantastic and staff was nice. Big fan
Guest
vegan55
Points +142
Amazing Food! - Edit
Great food! The Chicago dog was amazing!
Read morePros: Delicious food
Cons: Kitchen is slow
Guest
lordofthestrings86
Points +850
Hail Seitan - Edit
Their seitan sandwiches are so good. Really loved the Italian style.
Read morePros: Very friendly service
Guest
jadaruss
Points +1847
So yummy - Edit
I loved everything I tried!! Will definitely be back 🎊
Read moreUpdated from previous review on 2023-03-27
Cons: If you eat inside beware of the lighting, It’s so bright it hurt my eyes
Guest
SarahGibson
Points +152
Doh - Edit
It has been a few months and I am still dreaming of the donuts at Liberation.
Read morePros: So many options
Cons: Need to pre-order
UptonsNaturals
So glad to hear you're a fan of our donuts, Sarah! Just wanted to let you know that we have donuts in the case every day, you don't need to pre-order them. We do offer some holiday boxes as pre-orders, or you can pre-order boxes but you can always pop in and grab a donut!
Read moreGuest
DavidDainko
Points +360
🍩 🤤 🍩 - Edit
STOP BEING SO AMAZING. There’s not enough strawberry and whip cream donuts in the world. It’s not fair 😭 😭
Read morePros: Literally everything about this place
Guest
bvankampen
Points +646
Wish I lived closer!!! - Edit
Stopped here while passing through Chicago and everything was so good!! Got the sausage roll, donut holes & breakfast croissant 🤤🤤
Read moreGuest
Kallday
Points +301
Best Vegan Hotdogs - Edit
I’ve seen Uptons products in my local grocery store for quite some time but never tried it. Let’s just say I’ve been missing out & will be loading up once I get back home haha! For hotdogs, I’m usually a ketchup & mustard type of guy, but the Chicago style opened me to a whole new hotdog experience!
Read moreI didn’t try the doughnuts because they looked over priced & not that appetizing. Everything was great.
Guest
Eric_Alexy
Points +52
Yum - Edit
I’m sure there was a salad or something healthier on the menu but this is what I ended up with: donuts and hot dogs.
Read moreGuest
MichellePecoraro
Points +155
Delicious - Edit
I had the breakfast sandwich which consisted of tofu, vegan bacon and vegan cheese, it was delicious. If you’re a breakfast-lover like me, definitely give it a try. The nachos are also very good.
Read moreGuest
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