The Most Delectable Coffee & Tea in Chicago

Edgebrook Coffee Shop

★★★★☆ 4.4 (226) • $$

"Chris' s final day as owner. He found new owners and will be here for a couple weeks during transition. New owners are planning on keeping things the same. Always have enjoyed my visits over the past 7 years."

Crepe & Bean

★★★★☆ 3.7 (17)

"I was looking for a coffee shop in the loop and ran across Crepe & Bean. As the name implies, they have crepes and coffee, but they also have smoothies and smoothie bowls. Plus, the crepes include sweet and savory options. What's more, the savory crepes use halal meat. What more could one want? I had to check this place out.The interior is nice and spacious, and the ambience is relaxed. I like the decor, especially one of the paintings that I unfortunately didn't snap a photo of. Service was friendly. I decided on a spicy beef crepe and a cappuccino, although I would have liked to try a smoothie as well.The crepe was presented like a bouquet of flowers. Very cool. It was kind of hard to eat, though. The crepe itself was excellent, and it wasn't overly sweet or anything so it worked perfectly fine with savory fillings. As for the fillings, there wasn't much ground beef in there, but the little bit in there was quite tasty thanks to the sauce it was slathered in. Even though it was called spicy beef, it wasn't spicy at all. The matchstick carrots and red onions were nice, but unfortunately the bulk of the filling was lettuce. I mean, it's a good way to get your greens, but I also like my protein.The cappuccino was excellent. It had a nice, thick layer of foamed milk on top. Most places simply cannot get that right. It could be that some baristas simply aren't trained properly on using the wand, or other shops don't have very good machines. Crepe & Bean got it right, so the foam was very satisfying.All in all, a very nice lunch, coffee, or snack spot if you're in the loop."

La Malinche Coffee & Tea House

★★★★★ 4.7 (84) • $$

Girl & The Goat

★★★★☆ 4.4 (10207) • $$$

"We luckily scored a last minute reservation few hours before the reservation time. There is indoor and outdoor seating available. If you're going at daytime, I highly recommend the outdoor seating to enjoy the summer weather. The staff were super friendly and service was great. The menu is small, portions are small, and prices are on the higher end for what you get. Each dish is unique and creative - taking the traditional dishes and adding an interesting twist. For two people, we ordered the chili crab noodles, chicken skewers, and crispy short ribs. Everything was absolutely delicious. * Surprisingly, the grilled chicken skewers were my favorite. They were very well cooked and tender, combined with the cashew butter, savory mushroom oil, and crispy sunchokes. It was a burst of flavors and textures in each bite! Easily 5 out of 5* The short ribs were crispy on the outside yet tender on the inside, and so well marinated. The japchae served with the short ribs also had bits of pineapple, which added an unexpected sweetness to the dish. This dish was a bigger amount of food compared to the other two we ordered. * The chili crab noodles were great, but my least favorite. It was more of a crab dish as there was a very small amount of noodles in the dish. There were strawberries with the chili sauce, which was an interesting combination. It was a light and refreshing dish. I highly recommend checking out Girl & the Goat! The food is sooooo good, but be prepared for the small portions."

The Spoke & Bird - South Loop

★★★★☆ 3.6 (537) • $$

"A nice local spot to stop for a drink. They have both indoor and outdoors seating. We opted to get out of the elements after a 4 hr walk and sit inside.The peppermint tea came quickly and was piping hot.The bathrooms were plentiful and very clean.I recommend this place for a snack or a drink. A great place to rest your weary feet."

Cafe Tola

★★★★☆ 4.4 (356) • $

"Stopped by here for the 2nd time getting off work to grab the cheese n potatoe empanada, and it was equally as good as the first time. I must say it was smaller just like the interior of the store but flavorful/unique things come in small sizes. Very beautifully decorated with cute outdoor seating, you have to stop by."

Strapoli Pizzaria & All Day Cafe

★★★★★ 4.5 (33)

"The food is amazing, the service is amazing and the people are kind. The restaurant is georgious and is very beautifully designed. I love to sit at the bar facing the window and just people watch while I eat Neapolitan pizza. It's so good that I usually order four pizzas and go every weekend at least once. It's my favorite pizza place, and I've been to almost every pizza place in Chicago; just no place does pizza better than Strapoli.If I could I would get a second job and move to the apartments closest to this restaurant so I can eat here every day. I strongly recommend the Margherita, Pistachina and Soppressata pizzas, in that order. I love the Soppressata because it has meat and has a beautifully sweet tang to it, while the pistachina is a more earthy and fulfilling pizza and the margherita is just so delicious and fulfilling."

De Mar's Family Restaurant

★★★★☆ 4.2 (44) • $

"My favorite diner in Blue Island. The managing is by far the best I've seen. They are always welcoming and as a regular, I appreciate that they remember me. The food is NEVER bad and I try all kinds of food. I mean, where else can you get an omelette and meatloaf in the same place? It's worth a try if you're in the area. Come on Wednesdays, the split pea soup is good!"

Caffe Umbria

★★★★☆ 4.4 (321) • $$

"I enjoyed the cappuccino al cacao. I thought maybe it would be something special compared to a regular cappuccino but I'm pretty sure it was just your standard cappuccino. It was still good. There is pretty limited seating in the shop but there is a quaint little lobby with additional tables and seating. This was a nice place to stop into on a chilly day."

Sawada Coffee

★★★★★ 4.5 (999) • $$

"Coffee and friends make the perfect blend If you've never had @sawadacoffee here's your sign to drive over to Fulton market and try it! Pictured here is the cold brew with almond milk and the military latte and of course we got the bakery items, it's too good to pass up! We ended up doing the chocolate chip cookie and blueberry lemon cookie which is only seasonal so they are getting rid of it soon and both were as big as our heads! And we even tried the military mochinut and it matched to what the drink tasted like! All of it was very delicious The service and ambiance are always great here!"

Bang Bang Pie & Biscuits

★★★★☆ 4.3 • $$

"I love Bang Bang. It is consistently good even with an evolving menu. Their biscuit sandwiches are my favorite in Chicago, and I'm craving one now. The outdoor seating area is nice for larger groups with enough space for kids to trot around. The service is pretty quick - they keep it moving and for that I am grateful."

Le Café Station

★★★★★ 4.7 (29) • $$

"Ambience - cute, unique decor, intimate w upbeat music (at the right volume!) Food - great! I appreciate a breakfast that I can't make myself at home. I recommend Carnitas skillet, horchata latte, avocado toast, fruit plate is not your lazy fruit plate - fresh w variety. My kid loves the coconut chicken and waffles Service - very friendly. Depending how crowded you might wait a little for your food but it comes out hot.Right off the western blue line."

OverLay

★★★★★ 4.8 (6)

Chi'Tiva Cafe

★★★★☆ 3.7 (10)

"Good! Got danishes and muffins and they were still tasty the next day! They have some typical bakery flavors and then some unique ones with coconut!"

Tempo Cafe

★★★★☆ 3.6 (975) • $$

"As always Tempo is just perfect!!I LOVE that they're not like most diners who serve greasy eggs, potatoes, etc.If you're looking for a healthy breakfast, lunch or dinner Tempo has you covered! I've ate here probably 10 times whether it's in person or through Uber eats or DoorDash and everything has always been perfect !10/10 for their egg white omelettes which are Massive! 10/10 breakfast potatoes10/10 Turkey club!Highly recommend Tempo cafe!"

Everybody's Coffee

★★★★★ 4.5 (263)

"I don't drink coffee--so why do I love this coffee shop? First, they take tea seriously ( mostly hot, but they is usually have at least one variety of iced tea on hand). They also have nice baked goods, and sandwiches at lunch. Their breakfast sandwiches are also mouth watering.But in the end it's all about the staff. Super friendly, to literally everyone. Their slogan ("We filter coffee not people") Turkey reflects who they are!"

Colectivo Andersonville

★★★★☆ 3.8 (87) • $

"I love Colectivo and was excited to try this location, it's really adorable and cozy inside. It happened to be a gorgeous day when I visited so the garage doors were opened and the place was packed! Despite that, the friendly staff was able to take my order quickly. I went with the iced pistachio matcha latte which was sooo yummy. The pistachio flavor complimented the matcha so nicely -- it was nutty, slightly sweet, and deliciously creamy. Since it was lunchtime, I also ordered the turkey club which was bomb. I love a good turkey sandwich and this is just that. The sandwich has smoked turkey, bacon, swiss cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, and pesto mayo piled high on sourdough. So yummy! My love for Colectivo continues to grow."

Yolk - Oak Park/River Forest

★★★☆☆ 3.4 (95) • $$

"Coffee is amazing! Service is ok. Food is great. They give you a ton of food. Everyone leaves w a to-go box. Pancakes were delicious. French toast was amazing. Can't wait to come back and get kid menu for our boy that way we can further enjoy our adult meal. You can get added to waitlist before you get there which is good to know. Parking stinks tho. You can park a block or two away and walk too."

Donut Dudes

★★★★☆ 3.9 (24)

"Great donuts, friendly staff, ample parking. I will definitely be back. They also have a classic donut and coffee special for $3.99"

Dark Matter Coffee

★★★★☆ 4.4 (135) • $$

"Absolutely love the aesthetics of the coffee shop.. the decor definitely is a good conversation starter. The barista (Stephanie) is a wonderful person. She recommended an iced coffee named Cafe Miel, and it was absolutely delicious. Well worth taking a trip here"

Tous Les Jours

★★★★☆ 4.4 (205) • $$

"Tucked between the many shops of China Town is an amazing Patisserie Coffee Shop. Tous Les Jours offers the most exquisite desserts and custom cakes including Sweet Potato Cake, Blueberry Cloud, and Green Tea Matcha Cake. The interior and exterior is super clean and the service is friendly and fast. I was so happy with my experience and will most definitely go back!"

Pedestrian Coffee

★★★★★ 4.7 (15)

Chiqueolatte

★★★★☆ 4.2 (120)

"What a CUTE spot! I met with a coworker here and didn't do much research prior, which is rare for me. I was so pleasantly surprised with the adorable decor and warm ambiance. They have these little "tree house" seating options in the windows that are so fun and would be a great option to camp out and get some work done or have a coffee date!I pulled up their website to refresh my memory on the name of the drink I ordered and learned that their other locations are actually in Amsterdam, Dubai, and two other cities in the Netherlands...so cool! I went with the iced knafeh latte off the seasonal menu. The drink is a double shot of espresso and milk topped with housemade knafeh cream, toasted kataifi, and pistachios. The drink was creamy, toasted, and just sweet enough without it being overpowering. I was able to find metered street parking right out front which was really convenient. I'll definitely be back to explore more of the menu!"

Pierrot Gourmet

★★★★☆ 4.1 (700) • $$

"Best place to stop and get a vanilla latte. Loved the fact the latte was good in the sense of sugar and taste. Desserts look amazing but we don't get any since we were walking around. They are super busy. They have a few tables you can sit down and enjoy your treats. Very instagram esthetics. 10/10"

Eggsperience Cafe

★★★★☆ 3.9 (133) • $$

"Went Saturday around noon. Service was excellent, prompt and friendly. Food was fresh, delicious and good portion size.I went to the Elmwood Park location first, found this Irving Park location praying their offerings were the same-they were! My wife and I truly enjoyed our brunch, we will return often."

Frosted Donuts

★★★★★ 4.5 (142) • $

Dollop Coffee

★★★★☆ 3.9 (269) • $$

"Another good place for coffee. Dollop is a small cafe along Dearborn. It mainly has coffee drinks but there's also bagels and pastries. Fairly okay prices considering the location and how they would be able to take advantage of office workers looking for something convenient in the morning. The inside has some comfortable couches and a few outlets. It has a good choice of drinks. Many things to get any time of the year, chilled and hot. There's often a seasonal menu along with their regular stuff. Coffee here seems like it's epic. This gives a pretty big jolt so maybe think again if you're ordering a large. Last time here it was pretty warm so I got a cold brew. They had some seasonal specials. I had a Babe On Rocks. It's $5 for the regular size. This is a cold brew with oat milk and spice. Among the food here are bagels and donuts. There's not a whole lot to choose from. I usually get a bagel. It's $3.25 for most. They have a pretty limited selection of toppings. Butter, cream cheese, and jelly. The bagel selection is pretty small too. Clearly they're more focused on brewing coffee. It has some things to eat but nothing that makes a meal. The good thing is the coffee is the best around so they know what works."

Egg Tuck

★★★★☆ 4.2 (225) • $$

"We came on a Saturday morning and it was about a 40 min wait for food. They don't text you, they just call your name so best to stay and wait inside the place. They have a decent amount of seating in the back. The interior is pretty simple, I think a lot of people just take their food to go instead of eating inside. I got the classic egg sandwich, the egg was super creamy and delicious! The bread was soft and buttery. My friends tried the egg and bacon as well as the short rib patty which they also said was really good. We also got the tater tots with eggs and those were really good too. It's a long wait but soooo worth it! I'm still dreaming about the sandwich haha"

Doppio Coffee House

★★★★★ 4.7 (120) • $

"Ok, Doppio is officially one of my favorite coffee shops (and I don't drink coffee!). A great little coffee shop that had precisely what I wanted. In the summer I crave lemonade like nothing else, and though some coffee shops have it I never really know. I checked out a few Instagram pages for coffee shops and saw that Doppio has summer sparklers as one of their current specials (which can be made with lemonade) so I headed over. They have a small outdoor seating area where some folks (and a pup or two!) were relaxing. Inside is not large, but there are a dozen tables or so. When I stopped in it was a Sunday and there was no problem parking on the street here to stop in briefly (it's pay parking, so either pay or live on the wild side). They offer online ordering as well because someone came in to pick up an order they'd placed while I was waiting.Employees were really friendly. I ended up getting a lavender limoncello (a mixture of lemonade, lavender, and vanilla) as well as a summer sparkler (lemonade with strawberry puree) because I couldn't choose between the two which I wanted. Both were yummy, but the sparkler was deeeeelicious. They offer different fruit flavors to add to it, and I had to get strawberry both because it is in season and because strawberry is far and away my favorite fruit. I'm so glad they have non-coffee cold drinks; I know other places do as well but not reliably so I'm glad they put this on their Instagram.For my SO I bought a Bumblebee's Bite Latte. I don't drink coffee myself, but I like to buy the unusual drinks for him to try. This one is a latte made with lavender, honey, and cayenne. I think he was not totally sure about it at first but by the time he was finished he really liked it and said he'd definitely order that again from here.I stopped by a second time a couple days later since I was driving by. The peach sparkler I tried this time was pretty good too but the strawberry will always be my favorite (though I think the strawberry I got this time may have been made with something other than lemonade because it tasted like strawberry flavored water). SO got an Almond Joy this time (another coffee special) and said it was great. I needed to get something to eat as well to make sure my blood sugar didn't get too messy so I ordered the eggstravagansa sandwich and it made me remember how good egg sandwiches can be--and this one was in a class by itself; it's not your typical egg salad sandwich. The egg was roughly chopped which was nice texture wise (when I make it I always get it very fine but I might do a rough chop next time). They also used homemade mayo (which if you've never tried you're depriving yourself of though I confess I've only made it once or twice myself--even if you don't like mayonnaise typically, you may find you like homemade because it's nothing like the store stuff). The most controversial of the ingredients was probably the dill, which they mounded on in truly impressive quantities; undoubtedly there are folks who would be UNpleasantly surprised at this but dill is my favorite herb so I was delighted. I'm going to recreate this sandwich myself someday because it was so yummy; I'm actually pretty obsessed with this sandwich and have had it a few times now on different stops to the cafe, to the point I'm almost embarrassed to stop today to get one but I probably will anyway.Pastries are so good. I've only had a couple--the strawberry cream cheese danish and blueberry cream cheese danish. They are not overly sweet at all (to the point that when I checked my blood sugar it didn't spike it). I was surprised that I liked the blueberry one as much as I did because I'm but then biggest fan of blueberry, but it was excellent. They have too many great treats for me to decide between here!"

Dark Matter Coffee - Electric Mud Coffee Bar

★★★★☆ 4.4 (70) • $

"Another place around here that has this great coffee. Dark Matter has this shop called the Electric Mud. It's hard to know what this name means, but it sounds cool though. Basically there's only this one small room for a few customers if that, and the menu is small also. That doesn't mean it's bad of course, as the coffee is the most important part. Came here recently one morning and got some coffee and one of the few things they had as food. It has about the same menu at all locations. There's not a whole lot to choose from, but it's good no matter what kind of coffee you get though. It has several choices of cold and hot brews. The best one so far is the Agave Latte. It's about $4 for a regular cup. That's kind of overpriced but it's still not as bad as other places. It's made with agave, almond syrup, dark chocolate, and the Matter Cinnamon Blend. Mostly the food options are only the Taos Bakes bars, which are good to munch on between sips. It's about $3 each. These come in a few vegan flavors and these are also fairly healthy. Good stuff as far as coffee. It's kind of expensive for the amount you get which is the worst thing about it. There needs to be some more food options but the Taos Bakes bars are good for morning snacking."

Tom’s Place Pancake House

★★★★☆ 4.4 (30)

"Love this place got to try the lunch today. Cheddar broccoli was off the chain, grilled cheese or cheddar and Swiss was cooked to perfection. We have not had a single bad meal here."

Hero Coffee & Bagel Bar

★★★★☆ 4.2 (91) • $$

"They only take credit cards but this place is awesome. The service is excellent, friendly and upbeat. Coffee was delicious. I wanted to try the bagels but I just wasn't hungry. Their music is cool. The place is clean and comfortable. I will come back again soon!"

Hero Coffee Bar

★★★★☆ 3.6 (9)

"They have delicious tea - the good kind in the sachets. You can smell each one they have in jars on the counter. Peach Blossom was really good.FYI - they are located inside 222 N. LaSalle, on the Wells Street end."

Ludlow Charlingtons Coffee Shop

★★★★★ 4.8 (103) • $

"This is a cute little tiny coffee shop. I've been in the area when I've been looking for coffee shops since it has shown up in my Yelp search, but I hadn't located it until today. I was only a block or two away so today was the day I got to try it! Of course there are themed coffee shops out there and this has a light theme, of dogs--fancy Victorian era dogs in particular. There's a sign on the window saying that the city won't allow them to have dogs inside but if you have a service animal they're welcome--perhaps their subtle way of telling patrons to say their dog is a service animal since they can't question it? Half the proceeds from their branded merchandise goes toward dog rescue charities and the photos on the wall are inspired by furry friends from their favorite charity.I picked up a pumpkin pie latte and chai latte. The chai was okay; I wouldn't have minded if it had a bit deeper flavor, but I would have it again. I was told that the pumpkin pie latte was EXCELLENT. Obviously the coffee shop that shall not be named has made pumpkin flavored lattes an annual Epic Event but this was better than anything they could produce. I also got an apple danish and raspberry beignet, which were fine. I had a bite of the beignet and I probably liked it better than the danish, although I must say the lamination on the dough for the danish was perfect. The beignet is not a Louisiana-style beignet (so don't say you weren't warned) and it was really good--not too sweet and there was not too much filling. And the jam inside was excellent.Ludlo Charlington's has a Print With Me station, which is handy and would have been useful if I could have remembered what it is that I thought yesterday I needed to have printed. Most of the seating is the counter that runs along the wall and front window; however, there are two tables inside and two outside when the weather permits."

Elly's Pancake House

★★★★☆ 4 (387) • $$

"We went out for our usual Saturday brunch with my 91 year old mother. Elly's is close to her residence, and while she goes there with friends, we hadn't tried it before. It is a brunch location so they didn't go overboard of decorations. But, although not decorated, it was ample in size and it was clean.The restaurant is nice, and has a great brunch menu. Mom ordered her usual, Eggs Benedict (and as usual, ate a few forkfulls, only). I had the Lox and Onion Omelette - the lox used is very salty and made the omelette itself too salty, but delicious none-the-less. My son had a Skillet. The food, overall, was great.The service was fair. We had a server who was either new or distracted. We had to remind them several times to bring items, some of which never made it at all. When the check came, we made sure those items were removed.I don't believe service like that is typical. My mom would never recommend we go there since service is more important than the food to her. So, when Elly's comes up in our brunch location rotation, we will return."