Lutz Cafe Pastry Shop (w Montrose Ave)

This update has been a long time coming. Back in 2017, I was really let down by the quality of a cake I ordered, which caused me to rate them three stars. Since then, Lutz's has truly lived up to the reputation I had initially admired. Although I took a break from them after my 2017 review, I've been returning for the past four years. The quality of their cakes and pastries is undeniable, and that can be quite dangerous! I'm not usually a big dessert person, but when I walk in there, I've found myself easily spending over $100 on various slices of cake and pastries, trying to indulge in them all once I'm home. This has become my go-to spot for entertaining at home when I don’t want to make desserts myself, or when I need to bring something sweet to someone else's dinner party. I’m really glad our friendship has been rekindled... I've missed you!

We visited this place after grabbing pizza at Spacca Napoli, and what a wonderful experience it turned out to be! We arrived nearly at closing time, but the staff member who assisted us was incredibly patient and friendly. I regret that I can't remember his name, but he truly did an amazing job. We ended up trying the Marzipan cake and a chocolate cake filled with apricot. Both were absolutely delicious—I can't stop thinking about when I can return for these cakes again. The Marzipan cake might just be the best cake I've ever had in my life. We will definitely be coming back!

During our visit on a Saturday morning, we were one of only two customers, and it seems most of their business is now takeout. We had pre-ordered the cake to ensure it was available. Nowadays, they only have three small tables for dining, which are located right near the entrance and across from the pastry displays, making dining in less appealing. They used to have a more conventional dining area in the back, which used to attract a lot of customers. However, there was a steady stream of pickup customers during our ten-minute stay. Let me share a true story that I remember vividly. One Saturday morning, back on December 24, 1983, I came here from Skokie to pick up a holiday cake. Back then, getting special occasion cakes here was routine for us. If you look up that date, you’ll see it was the coldest day on record in Chicago, with the temperature at just 25°F when I drove

I used to think this was the most charming place to bring a special guest. Today I realized that we were nearby with our 2 granddaughters who were suddenly and predictably hungry after ice skating. I was sorry to discover the restaurant part is closed, for good apparently. The white tablecloths and all the niceties that went along with the experience are gone. Just 4 tiny tables sharing space with the backs of people in the line. Paper cups and plastic forks. Jeez! I suppose the pastry is good as ever, but it was hard to taste through the bitterness of disappointment.

I highly recommend Lutz's cakes. For my birthday, I don't like buying a whole cake, since I don't want that much, but Lutz sells cake by the slice, which solves that problem. Better yet, if you're an indecisive b*tch like me, you can pick a slice from more than one cake instead of only being able to eat one type of cake. It's the sh*t. I have yet to get bad cake from them, and I'm a fan of their Sachertorte. The chocolate is glorious and the apricot preserves in the middle are perfect. I've had Sachertorte from a few other bakeries in the Chicagoland area and Lutz is my favorite. I also tried their hazelnut mousse cake and I was shocked at how even the mousse part tastes like hazelnut! Huge fan I got the cake slices delivered so the pics aren't as pretty as normal, but still just as delicious!