Ann Sather Restaurant

"Nothing compares to a quality cinnamon roll, and nobody does it better than Ann Sather on Belmont. Ann Sather is a standard breakfast and lunch restaurant, except for two special twists. First, it’s technically an ode to Swedish cuisine, but more so in the form of serving a few Swedish staples like pancakes with lingonberries, meatballs, and potato pancakes with applesauce. Imagine the items you’d see at an Ikea cafeteria, but a bit better. The second twist, and the more important of the two, is the cinnamon rolls. These bad boys are everything you want in a cinnamon roll and then some, and we often seek them out as diligently as humanity has searched for the Lost City beneath the sea. Keep in mind that a single order of cinnamon rolls actually includes two. Ann Sather has the look and feel of a classic diner, and you can also BYOB for mimosas or Bloody Marys if you so wish. Aside from these two things and our favorite baked goods though, the rest of the food is so-so. The Swedish pancakes are fine, but other breakfast items like omelets, wraps, and benedicts are by no means impressive. They will help satisfy your hunger, but that’s about all. The cinnamon rolls, however, are exceptional, and they will make for a better rest of your day. Food Rundown Cinnamon Roll Fantastic, and the real reason we come to Ann Sather for meals. So good, so sweet, so divine. Pecan Roll A sophisticated version of the regular cinnamon roll. And by sophisticated we mean a similar great baked good covered in pecans. Biscuits Douse them in honey and you’re good to go. Swedish Pancakes with Lingonberries Swedish pancakes are more like French crepes, and lingonberries are basically cranberries. Imagine thin pancakes with a sweet cranberry preserve. Breakfast Wraps A sizeable breakfast wrap in a large tortilla. You have the options of the basics like bacon, egg, and cheese, or build your own with a number of different available ingredients. Overall, they are OK, but you probably won’t want to eat it all anyway once you power through the cinnamon rolls. Smoked Salmon Benedict Our preferred route in the benedict department. Again, nothing out of the ordinary, but it won’t make you mad." - Sam Faye

"Ald. (44th) Tom Tunney, owner of Swedish restaurant Ann Sather, paid $2,000 in fines after he was caught in late December allowing patrons to eat indoors, despite the state's ban on indoor dining at the time." - Naomi Waxman

"Ann Sather, the restaurant owned by Ald. (44th Ward) Tom Tunney, was ignoring state and city rules by serving customers inside its Lakeview dining room; indoor dining had been banned from late October through late January in Chicago. The news agitated residents and other restaurant owners who followed the COVID-19 rules and though he had no direct hand in establishing the dining bans, they felt that Tunney was a hypocrite as a policymaker on the City Council. Tunney, a former chair of the Illinois Restaurant Association, would say the restaurant allowed a limited number of mask-wearing indoor diners 'on a sporadic basis.'" - Ashok Selvam

"Ann Sather, a popular breakfast restaurant near Belmont and Clark that’s been open for 75 years, has been cited twice for serving customers indoors and ignoring the state’s COVID-19 safety rules. It faces a maximum $10,500 fine according to the city. The restaurant violated the state’s indoor dining ban instituted on October 30 as novel coronavirus cases spiked. Ald. Tom Tunney, who owns Ann Sather, admitted to serving regular customers indoors and promised his staff would cease dining room service. He stressed that his staff required social distancing for customers despite the violation." - Ashok Selvam

"Ann Sather, a Lakeview restaurant, was the site of a protest against a controversial proposal to designate the Pilsen neighborhood as a city historic landmark district." - Naomi Waxman