10 spots to drink coffee in Chicago
Chava
Restaurants
Mon–Fri 6:30am–9:30pm; Sat, Sun 7:30am–9:30pm.
Chava
This coffeehouse could probably survive on drinks alone—the coffee is smooth and rich (and that’s not even the stuff from the Clover brewer), and teas are served with ceremony
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- Critics' pick
de.li.cious café
Restaurants
Mon–Fri 6:30am–7pm; Sat 8am–7pm; Sun 9am–5pm
de.li.cious café
It’s a coffee shop with vegan tendencies, but de.li.cious doesn’t have that kumbaya vibe of spots such as Heartland Café. Instead, it appears to be just another coffee shop
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The Coffee Studio
Restaurants
6:30am–9pm
The Coffee Studio
Andersonville is nuts about this coffee shop, which offers a colorful variety of organic, sustainable menu items. The quiche selection, featuring a hearty wild mushroom pie, is definitely a draw, as are the handful of can’t-believe-it’s-vegan desserts
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- Critics' pick
Beverly Bakery & Cafe
Restaurants
Tue–Fri 7am–2pm; Sat, Sun 8am–2pm (closed Mon)
Beverly Bakery & Cafe
You know you’re in a neighborhood favorite when a cop stopping in for his “usual” knows the name of the stroller-pushing mom who’s come to pick up her sister’s birthday cake
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Julius Meinl Café
Restaurants
Mon–Thu 6am–10pm; Fri 6am–11pm; Sat 7am–11pm; Sun 7am–10pm
Julius Meinl Café
A café as lovely and sunny as this inspires lingering. But lingering requires cup upon cup of caffeine, and that could become hazardous. This European export has a solution for that, though: a full menu of food, most of it the unlikeliest coffeehouse food you’ve come across
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- Critics' pick
- Updated

Istria Café
Restaurants
Mon–Fri 6:30am–8pm; Sat 7am–8pm; Sun 7:30am–8pm
Istria Café
The guys behind Hyde Park’s Istria are all about keeping things small-scale and local. But that may be hard for them to continue, as people are bound to respond to roasted-to-order coffee, fresh panini and the dozen varieties of housemade gelato
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The Wormhole
Restaurants
7am–11pm
The Wormhole
To get Wicker Park excited about another coffee shop, you’d have to do something pretty crazy. Like, say, install a DeLorean in the store. Okay, Wormhole, you win. So now that this time-travel-themed coffee shop has the neighborhood’s attention, what else is going on here?
- Cheap
- Critics' pick

New Wave Coffee
Restaurants
Mon–Fri 7am–11pm; Sat, Sun 8am–11pm
New Wave Coffee
Commuters heading for the Logan Square El station make a beeline for the Metropolis coffee drinks at this spacious café. Those not tied down by the nine-to-five prefer to roll in just before noon and set up camp to take advantage of the free Wi-Fi
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Kristoffer's Cafe & Bakery
Restaurants
Tue–Fri 7:30am–5pm; Sat, Sun 8am–4pm (closed Mon)
Kristoffer's Cafe & Bakery
There’s plenty to nosh on at this Pilsen bakery: breakfast burritos, sandwiches and fair-trade coffee. But it’s outstanding tres leches that, um, takes the cake

