Whether you’re zipping up the 606, slogging along the Kennedy, or screeching loudly around a curve of the El, there’s no question about it: traveling the streets of Chicago is only ever seeing just the tip of the iceberg. Sprawling, luminous Chicago is so big, so packed with things to taste and see and do, it seems impossible to this native to make any short list out of the heaps of choices for food, drinks, or anything else delicious in this decidedly gustatory town. It’s here in Chicago that groundbreaking moves were made 30 years ago by Intelligentsia Coffee & Tea, followed by other institutions like Metropolis and Dark Matter, all still going strong. Today, great coffee spaces can be found from 99th Street to Foster Avenue (though good luck getting an espresso at most of these joints after 3pm, when presumably most folks have switched straight over to Malört). We stuck to the city limits for this adventure, but of course, there’s plenty more where this came from. Join us now on a small coffee tour of some of Chicago’s finest.
Afro Joe’s
Beverly
It’s a delight to see how truly slammed the patio is at Afro Joe‘s on a good-weather day: this former garden store now cultivates coffee lovers, with a full service restaurant to back up their own roasted coffee program. This cafe is inclusive of a lot of tastes and aims to make you feel at home, a vibe tuned appropriately to the still-growing coffee scene on Chicago’s South Side. The skinny coffee bar area—topped with an Astoria espresso machine—opens into an indoor/outdoor courtyard space. You can snag a loaf of fresh bread or a pastry from Publican Quality Bread with your coffee, and don’t overlook the events calendar here, ranging from cigar nights to kids’ movie screenings.
Allez
Bucktown
Has the siren song of filthy Western Avenue always called out for a charming little coffee place? No? Well it was answered despite itself, in the form of Allez, opened in 2023. This pink-splashed sweet spot may be best known for its trend-touted laminated pastries and oddly geometric breakfast sandwiches, but trust that the coffee, too, is on point. This space is simple and sweet, letting the food and drink shine. Blush-colored tiles soften the coffee bar (home to a La Marzocco Linea), made all the warmer by the kind and gregarious staff. Featured international roasters include the likes of Calendar Coffee, Talor Made, Swerl, and Heart Coffee Roasters, while signature drinks range from the spicy El Chupacabra (with smoked salt and chile de arbol) or a rotating Cream Top offering (last visit, we found a daring banana flavor!) Clack away at your keyboard on a stylish terrazzo two-top, or post up at the communal table in back—a pleasing coffee experience awaits at Allez.
Dayglow Coffee
Humboldt Park
Dayglow‘s odd, stylish business plan has peppered cafes in a handful of major cities: four in LA, one in Brooklyn, and this rosy pink space tucked in the back of the Kimball Arts Center in Chicago. Their aesthetic (and their menu) walk a curious tightrope between austere and novelty, a combination one might be unsure about until they’re convinced by the quality of the coffee. The signature drink menu, from the Totoro with activated charcoal and orange blossom, to the Belafonte a la Zissou with juniper berry and angelica root, is truly wild, and the multi-roaster roster of hand-brew options (offered on Kalita 155, Origami Dripper, and AeroPress) is similarly bonkers, drawing from boutique roasters in Europe, Asia, and Canada. (There are even a couple from the United States.) The bar setup is hyperminimal, a poured concrete bench with undercounter Modbar system, while the space itself blends over into the common hallway of the arts center. Hospitality is on point and unpretentious despite the intense drink menu and environs. The space is fully accessible, with outdoor seating as well as a restroom.
Four Letter Word
Logan Square/Avondale
Sometimes you slip through the door of a cafe and exhale with an immediate sense of relief and homecoming: Four Letter Word is that place in Chicago. When I say it’s got a little bit of everything, I don’t mean it’s a huge space (it isn’t) with a long menu (it’s simple and sweet). But what it does have is a set of eclectic touchpoints that feel both of community and of care about coffee. The room here—anchored by a hefty brick-and-brass bar, a dotting of art objects and a few standing tables, with a circular table in back for those who’ll stay longer—just works in a thoughtful, but not annoyingly “curated” sort of way. The staff is considerate and warm, the clientele diverse, and the retail push—art books and fashion items alongside 4LW-roasted coffees—is gentle. Espresso drinks, which lean towards the fruity notes of naturals and other processing tweaks, are pulled on a Kees can der Westen Duette Mirage, with batch brew, kombucha, and a simple tea menu to supplement. Pastries hail from Beacon Doughnuts and Publican Quality Bread. On weekends, stop by next-door neighbor Four Letter Books, which on nice days opens its front up to the street for expanded coffee and reading enjoyment. Of note, the company also has an outlet in Istanbul, though the intimate Chicago space seems perfect for its time and place.
Milli by Metric
Avondale
It seems like Chicago had to wait forever for Metric to open a “real cafe,” but their patience has been rewarded tenfold with the muted-but-dazzling Milli, opened in late 2025 near Kedzie and Belmont. The longstanding Chicago roaster has been anchored for years in Fulton Market, where a small counter (and a few sidewalk tables) fronted their spacious roastery, but this—this is something else altogether. The multi-room space (formerly an antique store) is long on detail: from the lighting to the carved-out brick archways to the way the windows cast geometric shafts of light throughout the rooms. Coffee here continues the established Metric vibe—a bit serious, but trying not to alienate—and is offered via ModBar espresso modules, a PourSteady PS2 pour-over machine, and more. Since the full Metric coffee menu is on hand, you’ll have a choice of several pour-over brews as well as SO espresso or blend, and a short list of spritzy signature drinks. House pastries include the Paradise Bun—a cherry-compote-updated take on a cardamom bun—seasonal eclairs, and the ubiquitous canele. Look for a menu that goes beyond daytime to evolve over the coming months. This type of cafe space is so welcome to this area (and Chicago in general), it’s wonderful to see such a good execution.
Necessary & Sufficient Coffee
Logan Square
It’s good vibes only at this women-owned wee walkup on West Wrightwood. You’ll feel like a regular even the first time as you stroll up to this friendly window-service-only shop serving coffee from acclaimed nowhere-near-Chicago roaster Olympia Coffee. Necessary & Sufficient operates a more full-fledged cafe space in Printer’s Row, but it’s this corner spot—appointed only with a few benches around the corner and a thoughtful shade umbrella for sunny lines, that feels most special. Grab an espresso drink and a pastry from Michele Millan Patisserie, or perhaps a breakfast sammie, and continue to stroll the streets of Chicago.
Prequel Cafe
West Town
Prequel is a fancy place for those of you looking for a little splash in your selfie. The aesthetic here is colorblock, pop art, twee stuff, cartoons, and Los Angeles all wrapped into a sunny shiny package. Coffee’s roasted by Four Letter Word, along with other rotating guests, and shots are pulled on a bright white Synesso 200, with both pour-over and batch brew available, plus a seasonal menu of fun drinks like the Hazelnut Latte or Lavender Rose Matcha. Pastries are housemade, but nothing too far-out (think spiced banana bread or lemon loaf) and they’ll do a breakfast bagel for you, too, no problem.
Side Practice
Ravenswood/Lincoln Square
What’s not to love about Side Practice? This semi-subterranean coffee nook breaks the mold of sterile nu-modern cafe design and brings you into the rad living room of cool cousins you didn’t know you had. The space’s raison d’etre goes deep into community commitment by billing itself foremost, really, as a space to showcase and boost folks’ “side projects”. Special events, artists’ residencies, pop-ups of every kind, and consigned artwork are not “…and also” elements of this cafe, but feel like the true focus. As such, the space’s feel—that rug-and-living-room vibe, the anime feature projected on the wall, the rack of fashion items commingled with coffee items—is an organism unto itself. The Filipino-owned cafe brings founder Francis Alameda’s touch to the signature drink menu (as well as the eclectic vibe here), from the Manila Matcha to a plethora of pandan. The bar is topped with a La Marzocco FB80 for espresso, and there’s also batch brew and a weekly pour-over. You’ll wish this were your local (and you’re lucky if it is!) while sit on a repurposed skate deck stool munching on a cardamom bun. This inclusive space has both a bathroom and a kids’ table with books and activities. Don’t sleep on the cafe’s related businesses like Kanin, a musubi place next door, or Drip Collective, Side Practice’s West Loop sister cafe with far-out drinks and weekend DJs.
Liz Clayton is the associate editor at Sprudge Media Network and was born and raised in Chicago. Read more Liz Clayton on Sprudge.
