Ann Sather is a famous “Swedish” restaurant chain in Chicago that serves up a huge selection of brunch foods (my favorite!)…and according to its patrons, world-class unforgettable cinnamon rolls.
Nick and I decided to go one morning despite the 3-star average reviews on Yelp (Strangely few stars considering they have supposedly nailed the great American cinnamon roll.) My verdict? I’m so glad we went and satisfied my eggs benedict craving! It may not get all 5 stars, but for the price, the value, and the selection of the food served, this is totally at least a 4 star restaurant! For now, here’s the menu link.
It was noon on a Saturday and we walked into the Belmont restaurant. NO WAIT, No line!!! Woohoo! I get cranky when I have to wait 45 minutes for my brunch (*ahem* Bongo Room)
I didn’t realize that all breakfasts come with two sides of your choice, included in the price of your entrée. The list includes:
- 2 cinnamon rolls (yes, 2 giant rolls = 1 side dish!)
- 1 Sweet muffin
- 2 Biscuits & Honey
- Toast and Jelly
- Sliced Tomatoes or Applesauce
- Fruit Cup
- Hash Browns
I picked the cinnamon rolls and the fruit cup. Nick picked the cinnamon rolls and the hash browns. Our rolls came out LITERALLY 1 minute after we placed our order. Nice, warm, fluffy, and dripping with goopy frosting.
Tastiness: B+.Warning- I’m a tough critic. The outer edges were a little tougher than I liked and the frosting was RIDICULOUSLY sweet. Too sweet for my liking. However, the inside of the roll was soft, fluffy, and moist. Once some frosting was scraped off the top, I fully enjoyed the cinnamon roll. There are others (like Nick) who think the frosting is the best stuff ever. He didn’t leave a sliver of frosting anywhere on his plate.
The best things about our benedict entrées were that they come with 2 sides of your choice, AND the hollaindaise is served on the side without needing requesting! The sauce was actually pretty nasty looking and clumped up as soon as it started to cool. Ick. Lucky it wasn’t on top of my eggs.
Crab Cake Benedict – $9.95
Poached Eggs, Cajun Crab Cakes and Hollandaise Sauce
Tastiness: I can’t judge since this wasn’t my order, but from what I tasted, although the egg was perfectly cooked with a hot runny yolk and soft egg whites, I absolutely did not enjoy the crab cakes!!! They were dry on the outside and the crab might as well be non-existent. I definitely recommend going to Tavern on Rush and paying $3 more for a REAL crab-stuffed crab cake. This got a B- because Nick didn’t mind it…the flavors were “good.”
Smoked Salmon Benedict – $9.95
Poached Eggs, Norwegian Salmon, Fresh Dill and Hollandaise Sauce
Tastiness: A-. My benedict was perfect. The salmon was warm and the poached eggs were hot with a perfectly cooked runny yolk. The muffin didn’t get soggy because whoever was in the kitchen took the time to drain the eggs and wick extra moisture off the smoked salmon slices before serving. Delicious! There was so much flavor no hollandaise was needed! All it needed was some ketchup. Of course.
RATINGS
Taste: 3.5/5 (my entrée was fabulous and so were the cinnamon rolls)
Originality: 4/5 (the menu is SO huge they have all the classics and much more!)
Plating: 3/5
Value: 4/5 (For a $20, you get a LOT of food)
Service: 4/5 (No complaints at all. They took care of us so well and so promptly I was amazed)
wow. those cinnamon rolls look to die for! sorry they didn’t live up to your expectations!
You crack me up… you go to a Swedish restaurant and don’t get Swedish pancakes?! It’s the best thing on the menu there!!! I love the cinnamon rolls, almost as much as i love their biscuits :)
hi i am drooling over here. benny is one of my faves and those rolls are incredible! for what it is worth, they LOOKED like a 5! haha
Mmm looks yummy! I love brunch, too!
That sounds awesome! I think they were on The Best Thing I Ever Ate on Food Network for their rolls
oh hot damn — these put the pillsbury dough boy to shame!
WOW those cinnamon rolls look YUMMY! Your whole meal looks pretty good especially considering you paid 20 bux! good deal! Im glad you enjoyed brunch!! <3 <3
OH wow, those rolls look fantastic! My Nick would actually be the same way you were, and I’d be like your Nick! Nothing can ever be “too sweet for me”. For Nick, it doesn’t take much for things to be “too sweet”. I eat his icing on birthday cakes all the time!
Mmm, I LOVE Ann Sather’s. I want to go every time I’m in Chicago! The cinnamon rolls are awesome, and I really like the “Ann’s Darling” oatmeal-porridge mixture. So good on a cold day!
Mmmm, Cinnamon rolls are one of those forgotten delights that just make life worth living. I always forget how amazing this treat is until I smell the delicious scent of warm cinnamon and brown sugar baking away.
Okay, and I know how ridiculously awful these are but I really think that little dough boy produces some of the best rolls I have ever had! Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls just bring back so many fond childhood memories. ;)
Hope you are having a great week girl!
Sounds like a great restaurant! Those cinnamon rolls look delicious, as does your salmon! Love what you ordered :D
<3 jess
xoxo
DROOLING OVER THOSE ROLLS! ah!
that Smoked Salmon Benedict looks pretty yummy…they are quite generously loaded with Salmons aren’t they? ! hehe, when I go out eat, I normally order meat !(and always, my friends laughed at me about this). because, I can cook veggies much better then their salad style :-P
The cinnamon roll looks…really luscious!! I can even smell that sweets!
I used to live at LSD & Belmont, just a short walk from A. Sather’s and boy oh boy, I could smell those things wafting thru the air and they were decadent and lovely. I can’t eat half the stuff that’s in them but yeah, soooo good looking!!!! A Sather’s is SUCH A chicago place. Wow, memories I have of that place. My sis and her hubs still go there all the time as does the rest of our chicago family.
Have a great week, Michelle. And thx again for the Flackers. Just posted them about an hour ago :)
xooxo
Both of the eggs benedict dishes look amazing. I would have tried to eat them both myself (and my husband would laugh as I tried!).
i would fooo shooo have SUCH a hard time deciding! especially if the menu is that huge :) looks like you made the perfect decisions though! i woulda been all over those crab cakes like white on rice
great review girl :)
MMMM! Those cinn rolls look great! although, I probably would have been with you on the whole icing debacle!
I’m totally craving cinnamon rolls now! Haha. Those really do look fantastic :)
brunch is definitely one of my favorite meals! I tend to not get eggs anymore and usually stick to french toast or pancakes :) love my carby breakfasts!
yum! Breakfast is my favorite, and I would love cinnamon rolls as a “side dish” :) and runny eggs are the best!
MAN!! Those look out of this world!! Best part about cinnamon rolls = icing. :-)
I am rather fussy about cinnamon rolls too, which is why I usually just end up making my own! But those do look good & that restaurant sounds like a place worth visiting :-)
Sounds like such an awesome meal out! I loooove smoked salmon on eggs benedict and I do exactly what you do- no need for the hollandaise. I cant believe they give you all that awesome breakfast food for $10, either! That is amazing!
Those cinnamon rolls look amazing!! MMM I haven’t had one of those in sooo long!!
i love your restaurant reviews!!!!!! salmon lox are my fav….but on bagels with cc!!!
HUGS TO YOU MICHELEEEEEEEEE
i love your restaurant reviews!!!!!! salmon lox are my fav….but on bagels with cc!!!
HUGS TO YOU MICHELLEEEEEEEEE
My fiance and I ate at Ann Sather’s the morning after we got engaged! it was such an amazing breakfast!
The bread there is unbelievable!