Chicago Coffee Guide: 8 Cafes We Love In 2026

Sprudge / by Liz Clayton / January 6, 2026

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. Read More Here.