Protein Bar

Chicago, United States

4

Closed now

20 reviews

Accepts Credit Cards
Free Wi-Fi

Contacts

QR code, vCard

Telephone:
+1 312-629-3609
Website:
www.theproteinbar.com
Address:
10 W Lake St, Chicago, IL, 60601
b/t Wabash Ave & Dearborn St
The Loop
Nearby public transportation stops & stations:
220 ftDearborn & Wacker
300 ftState/Lake
360 ftLake
Categories:
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Bussiness info

Takes Reservations
No
Delivery
No
Take-out
Yes
Accepts Credit Cards
Yes
Accepts Bitcoin
No
Good For
Lunch
Parking
Street
Bike Parking
No
Wheelchair Accessible
Yes
Good for Kids
Yes
Good for Groups
Yes
Attire
Casual
Ambience
Casual
Noise Level
Average
Alcohol
No
Outdoor Seating
No
Wi-Fi
Free
Has TV
Yes
Waiter Service
No
Caters
No

Today

Today 7:00 am – 8:00 pm
Closed now
Local time (Chicago) 9:35 PM Friday, November 29, 2024

Business hours

Monday 7:00 am – 8:00 pm
Tuesday 7:00 am – 8:00 pm
Wednesday 7:00 am – 8:00 pm
Thursday 7:00 am – 8:00 pm
Friday 7:00 am – 8:00 pm
Saturday 9:00 am – 6:00 pm
Sunday 9:00 am – 6:00 pm

Description

Specialties

Protein Bar restaurants are committed to a better way of living and offer flavorful and nutrient rich food and drink like smoothies, high protein salads, burritos, quinoa bowls, Cold Pressed Juice, breakfast, lunch, dinner, vegan and vegetarian cuisine, and catering!

History

Established in 2009.

Matt Matros founded Protein Bar in 2009 with the goal of bringing nutrient-​rich, great-​tasting food to on-​the-​go customers. Growing up overweight and losing his father to a heart attack at a young age, Matt saw the connection that diet and stress have on oneÕs health. At age 22, Matt realized that he was on the same unhealthy path as his father and decided to make a change. With a commitment to doing the work to improve his life, Matt transformed through exercise and a protein-​rich diet into a fit, healthy adult — losing 50 pounds along the way.

Struggling to find convenient places to eat in a manner that supported his new lifestyle, Matt left his career in brand management and spent his entire life savings to open the first Protein Bar at Franklin and Adams in downtown Chicago.

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20 reviews of Protein Bar

No registration required
Place rating: 1
Sydney, Australia
Worst food I have ever tasted in my life. Ordered a chicken quinoa bowl and there was hardly any quinoa and I did not see any chicken. Would not recommend.
Place rating: 5
Los Angeles, CA
My favorite spot ever. Used to eat it every week. Now eat it when I’m in town. Can’t go wrong with anything on the menu. Such a great concept. Want this around the corner from me, always!
Place rating: 4
Chicago, IL
I love this fast food place. Healthier salad options, great wraps and smoothies, all done to the same standards as other locations. Friendly employees, too. This is a good location – close enough to State Street and close enough to the theaters so you can grab a quick bite before a show. My favorite is their spinach pesto burrito with extra spinach. Extra great!
Place rating: 5
Chicago, IL
Get the superfood vegan salad and ask them to put a small amount of sriracha sauce on it. It blends really well with the soy dressing. This thing is only 400 calories and will keep you full until dinner time.
Place rating: 3
New York, NY
Protein Bar is advertised as a healthy, feel-​good fast food chain, but it’s mostly just an expensive, healthy, feel-​good fast food chain. The food is probably better for you than, say, McDonalds, but for the most part, fast food is fast food. Nothing here tastes bad per se, but it’s also not amazing. Generally, it’s just a solid 3 stars — a-​ok, but not spectacular.
Place rating: 4
Chicago, IL
Possibly the best healthy food in the northern end of the loop. It was quick, it was super tasty, and was very moderately priced compared to everything around it.
Food: I like the Buffalo Bar-​rito — it has the right balance between protein, veggies, and is grilled to perfection. Not as big as a Chipotle, but the perfect size if you’re trying to be healthy, and twice as tasty.
Service: The food is very quick even during the lunch hour, and the staff behind the counter is very friendly and funny.
Environment: A small decent amount of seating — nothing particularly interesting, but for fast food it is perfectly fine.
Place rating: 4
San Jose, CA
I had bookmarked Protein Bar after hearing about it on an online food blog. When I finally made it out to Chicago, I knew it would be a must stop.
We stopped by this location on our first day in the city. I love the interior design– similar to Veggie Grill in CA. The menus were clearly placed on large TVs. The staff was friendly and helpful during our decision process. I ended up going with the Millennium Perk Smoothie with almond milk and vegan protein.
The smoothie was perfectly executed. It was balanced with the coffee and chocolate flavors and definitely not too sweet. The next day, we sampled the Fruit Loop’d Smoothie, The Red Line Smoothie, and the Santa Fe Breakfast Burrito. Again, all the items were delicious! The burrito was a tad salty, but it was still filling and healthy.
Overall, I was very impressed with the concept and I wish we had a Protein Bar in the Bay Area!
Place rating: 5
Fort Mitchell, KY
Black Bean Bowl made vegan is amazing! I usually am not a fan of fake cheese and tofu but they do it better than most. Also great service, I might grab a juice on the way out just to go through it again.
Place rating: 4
Detroit, MI
I was craving some vegetables and healthier food options after spending the previous day traveling via Megabus. I found the Protein Bar on Unilocal and decided that raw food was a good option. I ordered the Spinach and Pesto quinoa bowl which was tasty sans the overcooked and fried chicken. I also orders the Hi-​5 blended juice which was delicious! The combination of kale, spinach, cilantro and pineapple was refreshing. This was a pretty filling meal — the service was quick and there was plenty of seating during the lunch rush. Glad I stopped by!
Place rating: 5
Henderson, NV
While walking around Chicago my wife and I came across this place. I had eaten there many years before, and wanted to try it again. I had buffalo chicken salad, my wife had a chicken quinoa bowl. The staff was friendly, the food was delicious, and the location was clean. I could not ask for anything more.
Place rating: 1
Chicago, IL
This Protein Bar location downtown needs help. And I think people should be warned about it’s diminishing quality.
The buffalo bowl used to be predictably delicious. Then one day I noticed a lot less blue cheese in my bowl, less chicken on another day. This pattern continued over the weeks.
Today I had the worst one yet. After digging half way though the bowl for anything remotely buffalo in flavor (there was a very small cube of blue cheese that I found eventually) I noticed the chicken bits were a little discolored. Eventually I bit into one that was rock solid; crunchy like a bone. It’s disgusting and insulting to have been given this as if someone checked its quality and simply did not care. Keeping up with volume is one thing, sacrificing quality to do so is another. I am a lost customer as I’ve been completely turned off to what used to be my favorite lunch.
Place rating: 4
Chicago, IL
I’m pretty leary of those supposedly healthy, quick lunch spots, but I was pleasantly surprised! I got a fresh and delicious guac and roll in a bowl. Loved the light, fresh cilantro and citrusy dressing and the generous portion of avocado! They prepared it super quickly and had a smiley, friendly man calling names and giving out the grub as it was ready.
Place rating: 4
Benicia, CA
After what felt like the longest flight of my life, I took the blue line straight to the Loop with a very empty stomach and strong appetite.
I had a list of food places I wanted to try during my stay and although Protein Bar is a chain, I knew I wouldn’t find one back in CA. I had the Santa Fe Bar-​rito and the Millennium Smoothie. I mostly chose the burrito because of the macros, but also because I wanted something spicy.
Bar-​rito: It really hit the spot, but I had problems eating it because the cholula sauce and other juices were dripping all over the place. Other than that, it was an extremely flavorful breakfast burrito with a healthy kick.
Smoothie: I didn’t end up consuming the drink, because I can’t digest caffeine and apparently didn’t realize it had caffeine until I tasted it. I blame it on my red-​eye flight/​jet lag. I will def be coming back to Protein Bar when in the area.
Place rating: 4
Chicago, IL
I’ll admit it: I didn’t think I would like Protein Bar. At the end of the day, healthy’s just not my thing, but the Buffalo «Bar-​Rito» was pretty tasty. Fairly filling, lots of chicken, quinoa and sauce, quick service after ordering, and the diet black cherry soda did the job. A great place to take my vegan/​veggie co-​workers when I need a spot to go to appease their needs! Got out for under $ 12 but next time I’ll skip the soda to keep this under $ 10.
Place rating: 4
Berkeley, CA
My sister and I didn’t plan to go here but after a couple hours of shopping, we decided to stop in and try a smoothie or two. We got the fruity loop and hi-​5, and really liked both! We both I think prefered the hi-​5, as we are crazy about green smoothies/​drinks. The fruity loop was also really great – I would totally drink this after a workout!
It wasn’t busy when we got there, so service was very attentive. I would love to come back and try other things on their menu, especially their food!
Place rating: 5
Chicago, IL
Holy crap. talk about service. the moment I walked in I grabbed a menu. Probably spent 10 minutes because there was some pretty good stuff on there. The ladies walked me through the menu and was very happy with my choice
Place rating: 5
Indianapolis, IN
Superfood Vegan salad and Pier-​nut butter & Jelly (PB&J street to the DC Market) how I love thee! The bowls are good, and other salads Bar-​ritos are great, but I can’t get enough of Superfood Vegan and Pier-​nut butter & Jelly. And I can get cold-​pressed juices if I’m not feeling like chewing my nutritious diet. My second fave item is the Green City Vegan Bar-​rito. Hey all. i’m a meat eater, so these vegan choices are totally great for me to ditch my usually meaty meal!
How fun to get interesting food where they care about what type of calories you’re taking in. Healthy fats and proteins with lots of veggies. I feel so full and satisfied yet healthy and clean when I am done with my meal from Protein Bar. (Not so Subliminal message: Come to Indianapolis!)
Place rating: 5
Denver, CO
I think it’s really important that quick food evolves to healthy options. I enjoy the gluten free and vegan friendly options offered by Protein Bar. Today I had a buffalo chicken bowl (small amount of food but portion appropriate) and the beetbox cold pressed juice. The bowl was tasty and I felt really good after eating here. Though it’s not cheap, you pay for what you get in this world. Keep up the good work protein bar!
Place rating: 4
Indianapolis, IN
I did a juice cleanse (I know: what was I thinking), and although I was finished, I found myself hankering to wash my biscoff and donut pocket (see my review on Stan’s Donuts) down with some micro minerals. Luckily, there was a Protein Bar located downtown near the corner of Michigan and Randolph.
There were five cold-​pressed juices to choose from, so I went with the greenest and least caloric: the Market (kale, romaine, spinach, celery, apple, ginger, cucumber, parsley, lemon and lime). The drink was just what I needed. I’m glad to know that Protein Bar is there when my stomach needs a break from my self-​indulgent binges in the Windy City.
Place rating: 4
Los Angeles, CA
Too many chicken options. But that’s just me being selfish. More veggie options pleaaaase :)
Really good, healthy protein (obvi) heavy options for about 6 $. A nice warm bowl is perfect post workout, esp on those chilly days… The salads just sound unappetizing in this weather haha
Food comes out quickly but I’d stay away from their juices n smoothies since they don’t use organic produce… Not worth the cost.
There’s an outlet by the table across from the restrooms and a few near the tables by the entry for obsessive phone users that are always lurking for open outlets: P