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A coffee counter.
Dayglow Coffee in Humboldt Park is a great find.
Kim Kovacik/Eater Chicago

Chicago’s Essential Coffee Shops

Drips, espressos, lattes, matchas, and more

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Dayglow Coffee in Humboldt Park is a great find.
| Kim Kovacik/Eater Chicago

Chicago is home to several roasteries that painstakingly source beans to produce the perfect blend as well as serious coffee shops that brew drips and espressos that put cheap diner swill to shame. Meanwhile, baristas continue to hone their skills and experiment with new flavors. Sit down and enjoy their efforts at these 20 essential shops.

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Metropolis Coffee Company

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This family-owned coffee company does mostly wholesale business these days — its roastery is in Avondale — but the cafe where it all began is still in Edgewater, where it’s been for the past 18 years, and it’s still a friendly place to sit with a laptop or a book or a friend and sip coffee and maybe nibble a pastry (from Phlour) and watch the world go by.

Oromo Cafe

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This is a veritable United Nations for coffee. Baristas combine beans from Africa and South and Central America and flavors from India, Turkey, Cuba, and Japan to create some of Chicago’s most unique coffee drinks, some spiked with superfoods to make them even more powerful. The kitchen serves an assortment of sandwiches, pastries, and gluten-free treats. There’s also a Bucktown location.

Osmium Coffee Bar

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Osmium Coffee Bar is the Lakeview sibling in the Dark Matter family, which is spread out all over the city. Enjoy some strong coffee in a funky space with neon lights and graffiti-style artwork. There’s also a patio for outdoor sipping. Dark Matter has locations in West Loop, West Town, and Avondale.

Necessary & Sufficient Coffee

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This small takeout-only coffee window has serious seasonal specials that will make regulars come back. For fall, for example, grab a chai-pumpkin cider or a Belgian cookie con panna (a double espresso with cookie butter — yes, cookie butter), whipped cream, caramel, and a Biscoff cookie. Eggnog lattes and more are on their way for winter. One of the most creative coffee shops in Chicago. Might as well go a few doors down and grab a treat from Sugar Moon. You deserve it.

Gaslight Coffee Roasters

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Gaslight changes up its selection of house-roasted coffees regularly, and hipsters and families alike find common ground in the small cafe next to the roastery, where they can sip a variety of coffee drinks, nibble on pastries, and watch the Logan Square scene through the large picture windows.

Ipsento 606

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Ipsento 606, nestled between Milwaukee Avenue and the 606, is always busy. The enthusiastic energy makes a nice backdrop for enjoying a Nutella or Ipsento latte (the latter made with coconut milk, honey and a sprinkle of cayenne) or a fresh-made mini-doughnut.

Dayglow

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Inside the Kimball Arts Center, this West Coast import serves some of the most creative drinks in town. Concoctions like Defund the Military (matcha, milk chocolate, espresso, bourbon vanilla, milk) make this sleek place special.

A coffee counter.
Dayglow Coffee is a fun time.
Kim Kovacik/Eater Chicago

Passion House Coffee

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Passion House is a coffee chain that doesn’t do anything fancy but can be counted on for reliable and well-made cups of coffee, plus great espresso specials. The pastries come from a variety of vendors, including Aya Pastry. Good service and consistency make Passion House a great choice.

Standing Passengers

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Despite its name, there is seating at this charming little West Town coffee shop and art gallery. The coffee is Dark Matter, and the food menu features Do-Rite Donuts and PB&J sandwiches with a choice of nut butters, jams, and jellies. There are also vintage 16-bit video game systems set up for Mortal Kombat in case there are gamers in the house who need to kill some time.

Metric Coffee Co.

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Metric Coffee opened its first cafe in 2016 at its West Town roastery, where it serves coffee brewed from freshly roasted beans and doughnuts from Brite. There are only a few seats indoors, but during warmer months customers can sit at sidewalk tables. The cafe gives baristas a chance to serve experimental drinks that other cafes don’t have. The team is working on a major expansion, including an all-day cafe in, that’s set to open in 2023 in Avondale.

Sawada Coffee

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Sawada, the tiny spot tucked inside Green Street Smoked Meats, is evidence of Hogsalt Hospitality’s commitment to coffee: Hogsalt brought in famed latte artist Hiroshi Sawada, who runs a few coffee shops in Japan, and his unusual Military Latte mixes green tea and vanilla syrup into a wonderful concoction that will leave patrons with a pleasant buzz.

Cà Phê Dá

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This cafe attached to HaiSous is only open Thursday through Sunday, but it serves chef Thai Dang’s chicken wings, waffles, pho, and Vietnamese street food like banh mi and papaya salad. The coffee is also “Dang Good,” brewed Vietnamese-style and served with a decadent egg custard cap. It’s temporarily closed for renovations as of November 2022, but earlier in the fall opened an outpost at the University of Chicago.

Cafe Jumping Bean

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A Pilsen standard for more than two decades, Cafe Jumping Bean has become a community hub and now has a second location a few blocks west on Damen Avenue. In addition to coffee, including the house special “Screaming Bean,” the cafe serves a limited menu of sandwiches and salads.

Bridgeport Coffee Company

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This neighborhood cafe grinds out some of the city's best coffee using beans procured from across the world, which it sells by the pound.

Back Of The Yards Coffehouse & Roastery

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Back of the Yards Coffee is a community icon in a neighborhood that often only finds itself in the media spotlight for the wrong reasons. The owners pledged to make their coffeehouse and roastery a welcoming place. Their motto reflects their efforts: "resilient and robust."

Plein Air Cafe & Eatery

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This European-style cafe on the University of Chicago campus features a full assortment of coffee drinks and pastries, plus breakfast, lunch, and wine. It's a collaboration between Kevin Heisner (Heisler Hospitality) and former Little Branch partner Soo Choi. The patio affords nice views of the Frank Lloyd Wright Robie House.

Build Coffee

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Build Coffee serves as an informal community center in Woodlawn and a gathering place for journalists and nonprofit workers whose offices are nearby. It serves java from HalfWit, treats from Justice of the Pies, and hosts performances, gallery shows, local group meetings, and other projects. And, if all this weren’t enough, it’s also a used bookstore.

Kusanya Cafe

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Kusanya Cafe opened when Phil Sipka came over from Robust Coffee Lounge to give Englewood a coffeeshop and alternative to fast food. He uses beans from Bridgeport Coffee and serves sandwiches and all-day breakfast. The coffeehouse also hosts community events, like open mic nights and yoga classes.

South Shore Brew

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Located across the street from the South Shore Cultural Center and just a few blocks from Lake Michigan, South Shore Brew is a bright, sunny space that serves up a solid menu of coffee drinks, including the surprisingly good coffee lemonade, as well as oatmeal and panini sandwiches.

Afro Joes Coffee & Tea

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Afro Joe’s has been a revelation since Kendall and Aisha Griffin open their first location in Auburn Griffin. Great food — the short-rib grilled cheese is amazing — quality coffee, and a community gathering spots; places like this are sorely needed in the neighborhood. They’ve since moved to Beverly and have continued to perfect their formula.

A couple pose in back of r counter smiling with pastries on the counter.
Afro Joe’s first location.
Barry Brecheisen/Eater Chicago

Metropolis Coffee Company

This family-owned coffee company does mostly wholesale business these days — its roastery is in Avondale — but the cafe where it all began is still in Edgewater, where it’s been for the past 18 years, and it’s still a friendly place to sit with a laptop or a book or a friend and sip coffee and maybe nibble a pastry (from Phlour) and watch the world go by.

Oromo Cafe

This is a veritable United Nations for coffee. Baristas combine beans from Africa and South and Central America and flavors from India, Turkey, Cuba, and Japan to create some of Chicago’s most unique coffee drinks, some spiked with superfoods to make them even more powerful. The kitchen serves an assortment of sandwiches, pastries, and gluten-free treats. There’s also a Bucktown location.

Osmium Coffee Bar

Osmium Coffee Bar is the Lakeview sibling in the Dark Matter family, which is spread out all over the city. Enjoy some strong coffee in a funky space with neon lights and graffiti-style artwork. There’s also a patio for outdoor sipping. Dark Matter has locations in West Loop, West Town, and Avondale.

Necessary & Sufficient Coffee

This small takeout-only coffee window has serious seasonal specials that will make regulars come back. For fall, for example, grab a chai-pumpkin cider or a Belgian cookie con panna (a double espresso with cookie butter — yes, cookie butter), whipped cream, caramel, and a Biscoff cookie. Eggnog lattes and more are on their way for winter. One of the most creative coffee shops in Chicago. Might as well go a few doors down and grab a treat from Sugar Moon. You deserve it.

Gaslight Coffee Roasters

Gaslight changes up its selection of house-roasted coffees regularly, and hipsters and families alike find common ground in the small cafe next to the roastery, where they can sip a variety of coffee drinks, nibble on pastries, and watch the Logan Square scene through the large picture windows.

Ipsento 606

Ipsento 606, nestled between Milwaukee Avenue and the 606, is always busy. The enthusiastic energy makes a nice backdrop for enjoying a Nutella or Ipsento latte (the latter made with coconut milk, honey and a sprinkle of cayenne) or a fresh-made mini-doughnut.

Dayglow

Inside the Kimball Arts Center, this West Coast import serves some of the most creative drinks in town. Concoctions like Defund the Military (matcha, milk chocolate, espresso, bourbon vanilla, milk) make this sleek place special.

A coffee counter.
Dayglow Coffee is a fun time.
Kim Kovacik/Eater Chicago

Passion House Coffee

Passion House is a coffee chain that doesn’t do anything fancy but can be counted on for reliable and well-made cups of coffee, plus great espresso specials. The pastries come from a variety of vendors, including Aya Pastry. Good service and consistency make Passion House a great choice.

Standing Passengers

Despite its name, there is seating at this charming little West Town coffee shop and art gallery. The coffee is Dark Matter, and the food menu features Do-Rite Donuts and PB&J sandwiches with a choice of nut butters, jams, and jellies. There are also vintage 16-bit video game systems set up for Mortal Kombat in case there are gamers in the house who need to kill some time.

Metric Coffee Co.

Metric Coffee opened its first cafe in 2016 at its West Town roastery, where it serves coffee brewed from freshly roasted beans and doughnuts from Brite. There are only a few seats indoors, but during warmer months customers can sit at sidewalk tables. The cafe gives baristas a chance to serve experimental drinks that other cafes don’t have. The team is working on a major expansion, including an all-day cafe in, that’s set to open in 2023 in Avondale.

Sawada Coffee

Sawada, the tiny spot tucked inside Green Street Smoked Meats, is evidence of Hogsalt Hospitality’s commitment to coffee: Hogsalt brought in famed latte artist Hiroshi Sawada, who runs a few coffee shops in Japan, and his unusual Military Latte mixes green tea and vanilla syrup into a wonderful concoction that will leave patrons with a pleasant buzz.

Cà Phê Dá

This cafe attached to HaiSous is only open Thursday through Sunday, but it serves chef Thai Dang’s chicken wings, waffles, pho, and Vietnamese street food like banh mi and papaya salad. The coffee is also “Dang Good,” brewed Vietnamese-style and served with a decadent egg custard cap. It’s temporarily closed for renovations as of November 2022, but earlier in the fall opened an outpost at the University of Chicago.

Cafe Jumping Bean

A Pilsen standard for more than two decades, Cafe Jumping Bean has become a community hub and now has a second location a few blocks west on Damen Avenue. In addition to coffee, including the house special “Screaming Bean,” the cafe serves a limited menu of sandwiches and salads.

Bridgeport Coffee Company

This neighborhood cafe grinds out some of the city's best coffee using beans procured from across the world, which it sells by the pound.

Back Of The Yards Coffehouse & Roastery

Back of the Yards Coffee is a community icon in a neighborhood that often only finds itself in the media spotlight for the wrong reasons. The owners pledged to make their coffeehouse and roastery a welcoming place. Their motto reflects their efforts: "resilient and robust."

Related Maps

Plein Air Cafe & Eatery

This European-style cafe on the University of Chicago campus features a full assortment of coffee drinks and pastries, plus breakfast, lunch, and wine. It's a collaboration between Kevin Heisner (Heisler Hospitality) and former Little Branch partner Soo Choi. The patio affords nice views of the Frank Lloyd Wright Robie House.

Build Coffee

Build Coffee serves as an informal community center in Woodlawn and a gathering place for journalists and nonprofit workers whose offices are nearby. It serves java from HalfWit, treats from Justice of the Pies, and hosts performances, gallery shows, local group meetings, and other projects. And, if all this weren’t enough, it’s also a used bookstore.

Kusanya Cafe

Kusanya Cafe opened when Phil Sipka came over from Robust Coffee Lounge to give Englewood a coffeeshop and alternative to fast food. He uses beans from Bridgeport Coffee and serves sandwiches and all-day breakfast. The coffeehouse also hosts community events, like open mic nights and yoga classes.

South Shore Brew

Located across the street from the South Shore Cultural Center and just a few blocks from Lake Michigan, South Shore Brew is a bright, sunny space that serves up a solid menu of coffee drinks, including the surprisingly good coffee lemonade, as well as oatmeal and panini sandwiches.

Afro Joes Coffee & Tea

Afro Joe’s has been a revelation since Kendall and Aisha Griffin open their first location in Auburn Griffin. Great food — the short-rib grilled cheese is amazing — quality coffee, and a community gathering spots; places like this are sorely needed in the neighborhood. They’ve since moved to Beverly and have continued to perfect their formula.

A couple pose in back of r counter smiling with pastries on the counter.
Afro Joe’s first location.
Barry Brecheisen/Eater Chicago

Related Maps