Best cafés in Chicago

575 independent cafés and coffee spots in Chicago.

Ranked with the travel guide's picks and well-known places first. Showing the top 40 of 575.

DrinkCaféLincoln Park-Old Town
3rd Coast Cafe
Once known as the Chicago meet-up spot for 2600, the computer hackers quarterly, 3rd Coast is an upscale late-night oasis amid blocks of impressive, silent Old Town row houses. Evenings feature jazz and solo guitarists, and the food is far above average for a cafe.
7AM-midnight daily
DrinkCaféPilsen
Cafe Jumping Bean
Reputation has it that this is Chicago's warmest and most inviting neighborhood coffee shop. It certainly lives up to the name: tiny, and always jumping with people.
Mon-Fri 6AM-10PM, Sat,Sun 7AM-7PM$2-6
DrinkCaféPilsen
Kristoffer's Cafe and Bakery
A warm, large space with a range of sandwiches, drinks, and baked goods. (They call their seven varieties of tres leches cakes a family specialty.) You will find free Wi-Fi and flyers for every art opening in the area.
Mon 7:30AM-3PM, Tue-Fri 7:30AM-5PM, Sat Sun 8AM-4PMLunch $5-8
DrinkCaféBridgeport-Chinatown
Bridgeport Coffeehouse
Starbucks doesn't exist in Bridgeport and in this coffeehouse, the staff knows their customers by name. Features original blends roasted in house and some excellent loose-leaf teas. Free wireless, live jazz on Sundays, and live blues on Wednesdays.
Mon-Fri 6AM-9PM, Sat 7AM-9PM, Sun 8AM-7PM
DrinkCafé
Illy
Illycaffè S.p.A. (branded and stylised as illy) is an Italian coffee company specializing in espresso, headquartered in Trieste. Illy markets its coffee globally in silver and red pressurized, oxygen-free cans; operates a network of cafes on shopping streets, in museums, and in airports; and, since 2009, has marketed a line of coffee-flavoured energy drinks as illy issimo. Either as whole beans or ground coffee, Illy offers medium, dark, and decaffeinated roast variations, as well as single-origin arabica variations, as available, each from Brazil, Guatemala, Ethiopia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Tanzania, or India.
DrinkCafé
Argo Tea
Argo Tea began as a chain of tea cafes that was founded in the Lincoln Park community area in Chicago, Illinois, in June 2003. It eventually expanded to a dozen locations in the Chicago metropolitan area before expanding to New York City in 2010, where it opened four locations, and then further expanded to St. Louis and Boston.
DrinkCafé
Intelligentsia Coffee
Intelligentsia Coffee is an American coffee roasting company and retailer based in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1995 by Doug Zell and Emily Mange, Intelligentsia is considered a major representative of third-wave coffee in the United States. In 2015, Peet's Coffee & Tea (itself part of JAB Holding Company) acquired a majority stake in the company.
Open now · closes 7 pmWheelchair accessible · Wi-Fi
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Dark Matter Coffee - Meddle
601 West Jackson Boulevard
Open now · closes 5 pmWi-Fi · Takeaway · Outdoor seating
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Fancy Plants Cafe
613 West Briar Place
Open now · closes 4 pmWi-Fi · Outdoor seating · Fully vegan
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Drip Collective
172 North Racine Avenue
Open now · closes 4 pmWi-Fi · Wheelchair accessible
DrinkCafé
FROTH
1515 West Monroe Street
Open now · closes 7 pmWi-Fi · Wheelchair accessible
DrinkCafé
Jackalope Coffee & Tea House
755 West 32nd Street
Open now · closes 7 pmWi-Fi · Outdoor seating
DrinkCafé
Soloway coffee
2275 North Lincoln Avenue
Open now · closes 5 pmWi-Fi · Outdoor seating
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Swadesi Cafe
328 South Jefferson Street
Open now · closes 4 pmWi-Fi · Wheelchair accessible
DrinkCafé
Vietfive Coffee
1116 West Madison Street
Open now · closes 7 pmWi-Fi · Wheelchair accessible
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Ipsento 606
1813 North Milwaukee Avenue
Open now · closes 6 pmWi-Fi · Outdoor seating
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Bar Tutto
1110 West Carroll Avenue
Open now · closes 4 pmWheelchair accessible
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BomboBar
832 West Randolph Street
Open now · closes 11 pmWheelchair accessible
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Cafecito
7 North Wells Street
Open now · closes 5 pmWheelchair accessible
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Cor Coffee
700 South Morgan Street
Open now · closes 4 pmOutdoor seating
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Dollop Coffee
4181 North Clarendon Avenue
Open now · closes 8 pmWi-Fi
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Engine Coffee
1109 North Ashland Avenue
Open now · closes 3 pmWi-Fi
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Good Ambler
216 North Peoria Street
Open now · closes 5 pmWi-Fi
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Ground Up
900 West Van Buren Street
Open now · closes 6 pmWi-Fi
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Mano Modern Cafe
851 North Ashland Avenue
Open now · closes 3 pmWi-Fi
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OverLay Cafe
1411 West Taylor Street
Open now · closes 9 pmWi-Fi
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Panes Bread Cafe
3002 North Sheffield Avenue
Open now · closes 9 pmOutdoor seating
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Postcard
170 North Morgan Street
Open now · closes 7 pmWi-Fi · Wheelchair accessible
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Prequel
1957 West Chicago Avenue
Open now · closes 3 pmWi-Fi
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Sunny Side Up & Coffee Shoppe
42 East Superior Street
Closed · opens 8 am tomorrowVegetarian options
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Sweet Bean
1152 South Wabash Avenue
Open now · closes 5 pmWheelchair accessible
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Two Hearted Queen
1201 West Roscoe Street
Open now · closes 3 pmVegetarian options
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Coffee Lab & Roasters
2823 North Lincoln Avenue
Closed · opens 7 am tomorrowTakeaway
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Loba Pastry + Coffee
1800 West Addison Street
Closed · opens 8 am tomorrowVegan options
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Metric Coffee
2021 West Fulton Street
Open now · closes 4 pmOutdoor seating
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River Roux
110 North Wacker Drive
Open now · closes 4 pmWheelchair accessible
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A Cup of Joe Coffeehouse
1309 West 18th Street
Wi-Fi · Outdoor seating
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Altar Cafe
1856-1858 West Chicago Avenue
Open now · closes 7 pm
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Base Community Cafe
1200 West 35th Street
Open now · closes 4 pm
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Big Shoulders Coffee
1165 West Diversey Parkway
Open now · closes 5 pm

Listings from the Wikivoyage guide to Chicago (CC BY-SA 4.0). Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Place data from Overture Maps. Some descriptions from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).