Esencia Urban Kitchen Now Open After Permit Snafu

The bright corner café Esencia Urban Kitchen is now officially open in the East Lake View and Boystown neighborhoods, with owners citing permitting problems as the reason behind the delay.

The space at 3351 N. Broadway St.—which was once Phoebe’s Bakery & Espresso Bar—was first slated to open April 19. But according to co-owner Isabel Castro, approval the new Mexican-American fusion restaurant was put on hold.

The same issue happened to the DryHop Brewers—which opened June 13—just three blocks south of Esencia. Owner Greg Shuff told Patch in December he was waiting for a month to have his paperwork approved.

But now that Esencia is open, it’s ready to dish up breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner to hungry hoards of people. One Yelp reviewer already snagged a seat at the café and said he was impressed. 

“Came here for Sunday brunch with a friend and was completely blown away by the food and service,” Drew B. wrote on Yelp. “This little gem is family owned, and as our server described the dishes on the menu are what his mother used to make for them growing up. The entrees have a slight Mexican influence but are pretty American otherwise. I definitely recommend checking this place out.”

Esencia has everything from French toast to chilaquiles on its menu, with special treats like homemade marshmallows.