Best Coffee Shops to Work in Chicago
The community of remote workers, freelancers, start-ups, etc., occupy a huge space in the world of professionals today. With the work-from-home model that is now a part of our present-day work culture, more and more people prefer to work from places that are not real offices. Coffeehouses, out of the many alternative work spaces, are a top favorite among digital nomads.
In a city like Chicago, where you’ll find plenty of coffeehouses, it takes much less effort to search for a nice place to sit and work. There are so many coffee places around the city that help you get through your day hard at work by making your food and coffee – basically all you need to survive – easy!
So, if you are a hippie roaming around with your laptop, looking for the right place to work from, you need not look further.
We have included some of the best cafes to work from in our list.
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Factors to Consider
Pro tips for choosing the work e café that suits you best to work from:
Location and Accessibility: Prioritize proximity to your workplace or a convenient commuting route. Easy access ensures minimal travel time and convenience.
Work-Friendly Atmosphere: Look for a coffee shop with ample seating, comfortable chairs, and tables suitable for working. Adequate lighting and a relaxed yet focused ambiance are beneficial
Affordability: Consider the prices of items on the menu, ensuring they fit within your budget for regular work sessions.
Reviews and Recommendations: Seek advice from locals or colleagues for insights into the coffee shop's atmosphere, services, and overall suitability for work.
Additional Amenities: Check for amenities such as outdoor seating, meeting rooms, or nearby parking options, enhancing convenience during your work hours
Top 10 Best Coffee Shops to Work in Chicago
1. Dark Matter Coffee – Osmium Coffee Bar
This is a quirky cafe with funky steampunk art on the walls that are lit up by the natural light coming in from the massive glass windows. They have a wide variety of teas and coffees to choose from. You can find the best cold brew here.
If you like your coffee spiced up then you must give their Mayan Mocha Latte a try. Everything here is fresh and made to order. The place has plenty of space and a strong internet connection facilitating ease of working.
The patio outside is colorful with graffiti art on them. This place will surely fill colors on a monotonous day of work. Dark Matter Coffee is a standout WIFI-friendly cafe in Chicago, providing a haven for those seeking connectivity and caffeine. With its industrial-chic decor, ample power outlets, and lightning-fast internet, it's the perfect place to settle in for work, study, or a cozy chat with friends.
Location: 1117 W Belmont Ave, Chicago, IL 60657
Timing:
Monday through Sunday AM – 9PM
Ratings / Reviews: 4.7 / 885
Amenities:
2. Hexe Coffee Co.
Hexe means “witch” in German, and that’s the theme of this café. its spooky and dark but artistic and welcoming. They roast and barrel-age their coffee in-house. That’s interesting!
If you have to have some munchies by your side while you work, ordering something from the coffeehouse’s selection of charcuterie and cheeses would be your best bet. They have ample space and a work-friendly environment. If it’s a pleasant day, the beautiful patio outside makes a great place to work from.
Hexe Coffee Co. is the perfect work cafe in Chicago, providing an atmosphere that strikes a harmonious balance between productivity and relaxation.
Location: 2000 W Diversey Pkwy, Chicago, IL 60614
Timing:
Monday 7:30 AM – 8 PM
Tuesday 7:30 AM – 8 PM
Wednesday 7:30 AM – 8 PM
Friday 7:30 AM – 8 PM
Saturday 7:30 AM – 8 PM
Sunday 7:30 AM – 8 PM
Thursday 7:30 AM – 9:30 PM
Ratings / Reviews: 4.8 / 614
Amenities:
3. The Wormhole Coffee
The interiors of this café will take you back in time. There is a DeLorean time machine (from the movie Back to the future) at the back side, looking at which you’ll think ‘damn I wish it could take me back to the carefree childhood days.”
If the time machine wasn’t enough, allow your tastebuds to travel back to the 80’s by ordering a bowl of cocoa puffs or fruity pebbles. Ironically, their coffee is crisp enough to nudge you back to reality. They have some experimental coffee on their menu, Cool But Rude (ginger + curry latte), Honey Bear Latte, to name a few.
Their cold brew is much talked about. Just when work is making you sleepy, power-up with some video games they have here. The place has limited tables making it a favorable spot for people who don’t like too much noise when they work.
If your parents didn’t allow you too much outing when you were a teen, then it is finally time to make your teen-self happy. The only difference is that this time you don’t have to ask for pocket money from your parents to pay your coffee bills.
The Wormhole Coffee is the ideal cafe to sit and work in Chicago, offering a retro-inspired atmosphere that's both inviting and conducive to productivity.
Location: 1462 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago, IL 60622
Timing:
Monday to Friday 7 AM – 7 PM
Saturdays & Sundays 8 AM – 7 PM
Ratings / Reviews: 4.6 / 1,728
Amenities:
4. Afro Joes Coffee & Tea
The thought behind this cafe goes beyond being just a coffee shop. The owners, husband and wife, Kendall and Aisha Griffin, envision this place as a center for the community to come together.
In an effort to promote their shared interest, they host a number of events that include First Fridays Open Mic Nights that encourages local rappers, poets and singers to come up and show their talent, Saturday Soul Sessions which is an avenue for local musicians to perform, and many more.
Their food menu boasts some amazing dishes including their afro food options. The staff here is friendly and make you feel at home. It is a happy place where you just want to reach early, find a comfortable spot, grab your morning cup of fresh coffee, pair it with some delicious breakfast, find a comfortable spot, work on your laptop and come back again the next day.
Afro Joes Coffee & Tea is the ultimate work-from cafe in Chicago, catering to the city's diverse community of professionals, artists, and students.
Location: 1818 W 99th St, Chicago, IL 60643, United States
Timing:
Monday to Friday 7 AM – 3 PM
Saturday 8 AM – 3 PM
Sunday 9 AM – 3 PM
Ratings / Reviews: 4.9 / 355
Amenities:
5. Heritage Bike & Coffee
If coffee and bikes are two of your favorite things then head straight to the Heritage coffeehouse where they serve coffee as well as repair bikes. The place has a vintage vibe to it and the fact that it’s a workshop makes the atmosphere pretty work oriented.
They have a large table where you can find fellow freelancers working on their projects or you can get a table by the window where you can sit alone for better concentration. Apart from being a great place to work, it’s a great place that serves outstanding coffee. A pat on their back for managing two very different things at the same place with such expertise.
So, if you were riding your bike, on the way to your workplace, and if you got a flat tire, you must drop in here. And while you are here, don’t be surprised if you changed your mind and ditched your office cubicle to work from this café instead. Afterall, working in a coffeehouse-cum-bicycle workshop is something new!
Location: 2959 N Lincoln Ave, Chicago, IL 60657
Timing:
Monday through Sunday 7AM-6PM
Ratings / Reviews: 4.7 / 329
Amenities:
6. Build Coffee
If literature was a beverage, what would it be? That’s right, Coffee! This café is a place where coffee and literature merge into poetry. The place looks like some great thinkers and philosophers like Søren Kierkegaard, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Voltaire, etc., who happened to be coffee lovers, would come to do some serious work with their beloved cup of coffee.
This explains why it is an ideal place to hunker down, open the doors of your mind and dive deep into your spreadsheet.The coffeehouse has shelves decked up with books, novels and magazines. The café also doubles as a venue for performances, workshops, gallery shows, book groups, night games, and much more.
So, if you were going to skip this place because literature is not for you, you have a reason not to. Lastly, coming down to “business,” the coffeeshop cum bookstore has Wi-Fi connection, delectable sandwiches, divine coffee and always a table for you.
Location: 6100 S Blackstone Ave, Chicago, IL 60637
Timing:
Tuesday to Friday 7:30 AM – 3 PM
Saturday 9 AM – 3 PM
Sundays & Mondays closed
Ratings / Reviews: 4.6 / 269
Amenities:
7. Vietfive Coffee
This is not your regular coffeehouse running regular coffee service. VietFive is a coffeehouse with a long history and a mission. They use Vietnamese Robusta coffee beans that come straight from Buon Ma Thuot, Vietnam. It is grown and harvested on the family farm of Tuan Huynh, the owner of VietFive.
This café stands on the unbreakable foundation of the struggles of the Huynh family – war-stricken, being displaced from their homeland, traveling into uncertainty and starting life anew in a foreign country which they now call home. Their story will definitely give you the inspiration to work hard, believe in yourself and don’t let others decide your worth.
Coming down to facts, Robusta coffee beans contain double the amount of caffeine as compared to Arabica. Hence, a cup of Robusta coffee equals more energy equals more work done. Ube latte, Bahn mi empanadas and soft-serve Vietnamese coffee ice cream are some of the highlights on their menu. This place is a gem in Chicago.
Seats here are limited, so make sure to reach here on time to reserve a table and spice up a boring work day with flavors from Vietnam and some Asian pop music in the background.
Location: 1116 W Madison St, Chicago, IL 60607
Timing:
Monday through Sunday 8AM-2PM
Ratings / Reviews: 4.8 / 181
Amenities:
8. 3 Arts Club Café
We won’t be saying too much if we say that this is the most beautiful coffee place you will come across in the city. Formerly, this place was home to the Three Arts Club, a residence built in 1914 for young women studying music, drama and the visual arts. Situated inside a six-story furniture store, this coffee house is unlike any other.
The vibe here is all chic and classy. The place is apt if you want to have a business meeting with your prospect clients. With some exotic dishes and a glass of exquisite wine you will surely bag the deal.
Their menu boasts some really sophisticated dishes – Arugula fennel, grapes, sunflower seeds, Parmigiano-Reggiano and Citrus Vinaigrette; Lobster roll with Drawn butter, mayonnaise and old bay; truffle fries. To that, add a cup of coffee or tea, juices & sodas, beer or wine. The place is so huge that it easily accommodates trees, a fountain and a chandelier inside.
Working in this charming café is an experience in itself. Remember to reserve a table here prior to your visit as they book out really fast. However, if you forget to book, you won’t get bored. There is a furniture store upstairs displaying aesthetically-pleasing furniture for you to check out.
Location: 1300 N Dearborn St, Chicago, IL 60610
Timing:
Monday through Friday 10AM–9PM
Sunday 10 AM – 7 PM
Ratings / Reviews: 4.6 / 2,388
Amenities:
9. Sawada Coffee
This place is full with remote workers at all times of the day. They have ample space with some small tables, a huge community table accommodating at least 12 people and a shared seating area with the neighboring Green Street Smoked BBQ Restaurant.
Work in the day and barbeque in the night, sounds like a day well spent. You can easily find extension cord to plug in for easy charging.
The coffeehouse is popular for handcrafted lattés and matcha.
They have even won an award for their latté art. Try their Military latte which is a unique blend of green tea and coffee. The graffiti, the matcha, the string lights hanging from the ceiling, the ambiance, all gives you a little bit of Tokyo vibe here.
Location: 112 N Green St, Chicago, IL 60607
Timing:
Monday through Sunday 8AM-4PM
Ratings / Reviews: 4.7 / 1,479
Amenities:
10. Café Jumping Bean
The café has been here since 1994. It is a favorite in the neighborhood for fresh breakfast and extremely good coffee. The place looks like an artist’s color palette, so colorful and artsy. Their Mexican hot chocolate, Cuban sandwich, Mollete topped with your choice of toppings, are some favorites from their menu.
It is one of the best places if you like to stick to your chair the whole day and work like a nerd. It gets a little chatty here, keeping a voice cancellation headphone handy will be of great help in case you need to call your boss to explain why your work comes out looking better in this café than in the office.
Location: 1439 W 18th St, Chicago, IL 60608
Timing:
Monday through Sunday 7AM–7PM
Ratings / Reviews: 4.7 / 1,085
Amenities:
Final Overview
By now the worry of not having a dedicated work space should not bother you. These cafes are calling out to you to make them your makeshift office where they serve you coffee and don’t ever ask for office rent.
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