10 cafe rooms in Chicago we have eaten in, sorted by editor score. All cuisines in Chicago | Cafe across every city.
Chicago's coffee culture grew up around a handful of roasters who pushed the city beyond the diner cup. Intelligentsia Coffee, with its Monadnock Building room in the Loop, and Metric Coffee on Fulton Street are central to that story, and Sawada Coffee on Green Street built a following on its military latte. Older institutions hold their ground too, with Lou Mitchell's on Jackson Boulevard and the Valois Cafeteria on 53rd Street serving a different idea of the morning room.
Sawada Coffee ★ 4.3
112 N Green St, Chicago, IL 60607
Sawada Coffee in Chicago is Hiroshi Sawada's West Loop cafe on Green Street, doored with Green Street Smoked Meats, home of the matcha-espresso-cocoa.
Intelligentsia Coffee (Monadnock) ★ 4.4
53 W Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60604
Intelligentsia in Chicago is the Monadnock Building flagship of the third-wave roaster (founded 1995 by Doug Zell) on Jackson Boulevard, with Black Cat.
Metric Coffee ★ 4.5
2021 W Fulton St, Chicago, IL 60612
Metric Coffee in Chicago is Xavier Alexander and Darko Arandjelovic's West Town roaster-cafe on Fulton, in a former blacksmith shop, with single-origin.
Big Shoulders Coffee ★ 4.2
1105 W Chicago Ave, Chicago, IL 60642
Big Shoulders Coffee in Chicago is the Noble Square cafe on Chicago Avenue with a strong cortado and a small back room of communal-table seating.
Dark Matter Coffee (Mothership) ★ 4.3
2521 W Chicago Ave, Chicago, IL 60622
Dark Matter in Chicago is the Ukrainian Village roaster cafe (the Mothership) on Chicago Avenue, a heavy roaster with Unicorn espresso and rotating gallery.
The Wormhole ★ 4.0
1462 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago, IL 60622
The Wormhole in Chicago is the Wicker Park cafe on Milwaukee Avenue with a DeLorean in the shop, pop-culture latte art and a comfortable back-room study.
Valois Cafeteria ★ 4.0
1518 E 53rd St, Chicago, IL 60615
Valois Cafeteria in Chicago is the Hyde Park cafeteria on 53rd Street since 1921, an Obama-era regular, with the See Your Food sign and a steam-table.
Lou Mitchell's ★ 4.3
565 W Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60661
Lou Mitchell's in Chicago is the West Loop diner on West Jackson since 1923, the historic Route 66 starting point breakfast, with Milk Duds passed out.
La Colombe Coffee (Randolph) ★ 4.0
955 W Randolph St, Chicago, IL 60607
La Colombe in Chicago is the West Loop branch on Randolph of the Philadelphia roaster, with the draft latte (nitrogen-infused) and a large airy front room.
Milli by Metric ★ 4.5
Avondale · 3110 N Kedzie Avenue, Chicago, IL 60618
Milli by Metric is the 12,000-square-foot all-day Avondale cafe Metric Coffee opened in September 2025. Order the metric house espresso and seasonal filter.