The Top 10 Cafés & Coffee in Chicago

A quirky, craft-focused café on Milwaukee Avenue with retro memorabilia decor and serious espresso skills. Get their signature Ghostly Trio (miso/black sesame latte) or creative seasonal drinks—reviewers rave about the vanilla bean latte and fig matcha too. The spacious interior works well for working or lingering, though the novelty factor means it draws crowds.

TARY is a Kazakh café in River North serving traditional Central Asian cuisine alongside excellent coffee drinks. Order the Balgyn quyrdaq, Baursak, or eggs Benedict with salmon, and don't miss their fresh bakery items and milk tea. The place gets packed during busy times, so expect waits on rainy afternoons or peak hours.

A nonprofit coffee shop on Fullerton where 100% of proceeds support mental health initiatives. Order the Nectar of the Gods latte, Lake Effect, or matcha—all excellent. Note that they close at 1 p.m. on some weekdays, so check hours before visiting.

Hexe Coffee Co. is a witchy-themed cafe on Diversey serving excellent specialty coffee, pastries, and breakfast items with plenty of seating and outlets. Must-tries include their pimento cheese croissant, chocolate croissant, breakfast sandwich, and house-roasted beans to take home. One review mentioned customer service fell short of expectations, though most experiences were positive.

A specialty coffee roaster and café on Milwaukee Avenue where the owner Adam and his baristas (including Matteo and Valeria) roast their own beans and create excellent espresso drinks. Get a bag of their roasted coffee to take home, try the Colombian pan de bono or local pastries, and catch vinyl DJ sets or live music most weekends. The reviews don't mention any real caveats about the experience.

Tucked inside the Green Street Smoked Meats building, Sawada is the Chicago outpost of Japanese barista champion Hiroshi Sawada, and it shows in every cup. The Military Latte — a matcha-espresso hybrid — is iconic and worth the hype. The space is small and intimate, so seating is limited and it fills up fast during peak hours.

Dark Matter's flagship Osmium café is a theatrical, maximalist space that matches the brand's bold, irreverent approach to specialty coffee. The drinks are creative and the roasts are distinctive — often darker and more intense than typical third-wave fare, which is a deliberate choice. The aesthetic is heavy metal meets coffee nerd, and it's genuinely fun if you're in the mood for something with personality.

Metric is a roaster-first café housed in a spacious, light-filled warehouse space that doubles as their roasting facility — you can often watch the roasters at work. The espresso program is exceptional and the batch brew is reliably excellent for those who want something quick. The space is large enough that it rarely feels oppressively crowded, making it a great place to work.

Bridgeport Coffee is a genuine neighborhood institution that's been serving the South Side community for years without pretension or fanfare. The coffee is well-made and affordable, the space is comfortable and lived-in, and the regulars are as much a part of the experience as the drinks. It's the kind of place that reminds you what a neighborhood café is actually supposed to be.

A vibrant cafe on Argyle serving Vietnamese and Asian-inspired coffee and tea drinks alongside pastries and empanadas. Order the ube latte, hand-brewed loose-leaf teas, or unique flavors like sesame pandan latte and Dee Dee's Apple Pie Chai—baristas happily customize sugar levels and steep times. The main caveat: reviewers note it's a bit pricey for the neighborhood.

The Chicago outpost of this Milwaukee-born roaster occupies a gorgeous converted building in Lincoln Park with soaring ceilings and a beautiful patio. The coffee is reliably excellent — their espresso blend is crowd-pleasing without being dumbed down — and the food menu is more substantial than most cafés. It's popular and can get very busy, but the large space absorbs crowds better than most.

A stunning cafe housed within the RH Chicago furniture showroom, featuring a dramatic glass-ceilinged atrium with fountain and chandeliers. The brunch menu earns consistent praise—try the truffle fries, eggs Benedict, RH Scramble, or burrata with roasted peppers. One caveat: service can be inconsistent, with some servers appearing disengaged, particularly during slower periods.

Soloway is a cozy Lincoln Park coffee shop known for inventive seasonal drinks and European-inspired pastries. Order the syrnyky, croissants (truffle, strawberry, or pistachio), matcha, or their unique drinks like thai basil matcha—staff are genuinely welcoming and will remake drinks to your preference. The main caveat: it gets busy on weekend mornings, so arrive early if you want a guaranteed seat.

A neighborhood coffee roaster on West North Avenue that takes both beverages and food seriously—reviewers rave about creative drinks like the Irish Dream Cream Latte and Horchata Cold Brew, plus standout breakfast sandwiches and savory options that go beyond typical cafe fare. The staff is consistently praised as friendly and attentive. One caveat: beignets have occasionally arrived with a stale oil aftertaste, so quality can be inconsistent on the food side.

A coffee shop in Bucktown with solid espresso drinks and pastries, housed in a space decorated with 80s horror-movie memorabilia and connected to a vintage vinyl and collectibles shop. Order their lattes, drip coffee, or creative seasonal drinks like the Krampus cranberry-tonic, plus pastries from Beacon Donuts. One note: the horror-themed decor skews more 80s slasher than witchy-mystical, so adjust expectations accordingly.

A stunning modern café and bakery in Millennium Park with soaring glass ceilings, excellent natural light, and views of the L trains—perfect for breakfast or brunch. Order the bacon avocado omelette, egg sandwiches, croissants, or specialty pastries like the cherry cruffin, paired with their drip coffee or creative specialty drinks. It gets packed, especially during peak hours, so arrive early or expect a wait.

A flight-themed coffee lounge on Lincoln Avenue with floor-to-ceiling skyline views, excellent cold brew, and generous crepes. The vintage aviation decor is genuinely unique—airplane seats built into booths, overhead storage, and the owner's own paintings throughout. The space has multiple seating zones for different moods, though reviews don't mention any real drawbacks.

A bright, cozy cafe in Skokie known for excellent espresso drinks and standout Argentinian empanadas—try the spinach-and-feta or chicken pot pie versions, plus their iced matcha lattes. The food and coffee quality are consistently praised, though service can be inconsistent depending on when you visit, with some reviewers reporting inattentive staff on slower days.

A small, highly-regarded specialty coffee roaster in Lincoln Park where the matcha lattes and cappuccinos are expertly made with quality ingredients. Try their seasonal drink specials, fresh-roasted single-origin beans, or pastries like the almond croissant. The main caveat: it's tiny with limited seating and gets genuinely crowded during peak hours, though the line typically moves quickly.

Move Along Coffee is a walk-up window café on West Grand serving excellent specialty coffee from Gaslight and inventive pastries that change regularly. Get the croissants, donuts (try wild blueberry caramel corn or lemon poppy seed), and seasonal drinks—the owner personally chats with regulars and even has dog biscuits for four-legged visitors. Fair warning: there's often a line and wait, but regulars say it's absolutely worth it.