The 50 Best Cafés in Chicago
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The best cafés in Chicago, according to the experts: AAA, Punch, and Michelin Guide have all weighed in, and their honors are what rank this list. Daisies comes out on top.
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Afro Joe’s and Cafe Jumping Bean hold the next two places. The Infatuation shows up on more of this list than any other guide, with Eater next.
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Rank 1. Daisies
Italian
Pasta and vegetables carry most of the weight here, at this bright, sun-flooded Italian restaurant in Logan Square that holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand. The house-made pappardelle and rigatoni keep regulars coming back, but the onion dip with house-made ruffles has become a thing people talk about. A bakery tucked in the back means the pastry situation at the end of a meal is genuinely hard to navigate. The bar program turns heads too, a James Beard semifinalist for hospitality.
The awards
- AAA AAA: Three Diamonds
- Punch Punch: Best New Bartenders · Becca Petersen
- Michelin Guide Michelin Guide: Bib Gourmand
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The awards
- Eater Chicago’s Best Coffee Shops
- The Infatuation The Best Coffee Shops & Cafes In Chicago
- Time Out The 40 best coffee shops in Chicago
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Rank 2. Cafe Jumping Bean
Mexican Coffee Shop
The awards
- Eater Chicago’s Best Coffee Shops
- The Infatuation The Best Coffee Shops & Cafes In Chicago
- Time Out The 40 best coffee shops in Chicago
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The awards
- Eater Chicago’s Best Coffee Shops
- The Infatuation The Best Coffee Shops & Cafes In Chicago
- Time Out The 40 best coffee shops in Chicago
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The awards
- Eater Chicago’s Best Coffee Shops
- The Infatuation The Best Coffee Shops & Cafes In Chicago
- Time Out The 40 best coffee shops in Chicago
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Rank 2. Side Practice Coffee
Filipino Coffee Shop
A tiny Filipino coffee shop in Bowmanville where the menu leans on flavors you won't find at any other cafe in the city. Pandan, ube, and macadamia nuts show up where oat milk and brown sugar usually do. The room is small enough that regulars eventually stop ordering off the menu and let the baristas improvise. Its sibling spot, Drip Collective, handles the Fulton Market crowd if you need more elbow room.
The awards
- Eater Chicago’s Best Coffee Shops
- The Infatuation The Best Coffee Shops & Cafes In Chicago
- Time Out The 40 best coffee shops in Chicago
-
The awards
- Eater Chicago’s Best Coffee Shops
- Time Out The 40 best coffee shops in Chicago
- The Infatuation The Best Coffee Shops & Cafes In Chicago
-
The awards
- The Infatuation The Infatuation: The Best Coffee Shops & Cafes In Chicago
- Time Out Time Out: The 40 best coffee shops in Chicago
- The Infatuation The Best Coffee Shops & Cafes In Chicago
- Time Out The 40 best coffee shops in Chicago
-
The awards
- Time Out Time Out: The 40 best coffee shops in Chicago
- The Infatuation The Infatuation: The Best Coffee Shops & Cafes In Chicago
- Time Out The 40 best coffee shops in Chicago
- The Infatuation The Best Coffee Shops & Cafes In Chicago
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Rank 8. Cafe Yaya
Levantine Café
Cafe Yaya is an all-day neighborhood cafe in Lincoln Park from the team behind Galit, and it opens early enough to catch the weekday breakfast crowd. The menu blends Levantine, French, and Southern ideas, which sounds like a lot until you meet the smoked lamb bacon in a BLT. Order at the counter, stay for the lemon pound cake, and expect a casual, low-key morning that stays well under fine-dining money. Eater has it on its Chicago breakfast list.
The awards
- Eater Eater: Chicago’s Best Breakfast Spots
- The Infatuation The Infatuation: The 29 Best Bakeries In Chicago
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The awards
- The Infatuation The Infatuation: The Best Coffee Shops & Cafes In Chicago
- Time Out Time Out: The 40 best coffee shops in Chicago
- The Infatuation The Best Coffee Shops & Cafes In Chicago
- Time Out The 40 best coffee shops in Chicago
-
The awards
- Eater Eater: Chicago’s Best Coffee Shops
- The Infatuation The Infatuation: The Best Coffee Shops & Cafes In Chicago
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Floriole is a Lincoln Park bakery and cafe that started life at a farmers' market and never lost the habit of making everything from scratch. The morning crowd treats the place as a shared office with better pastry, laptops open beside the croissants and sticky buns. Come lunchtime, a ham-and-butter baguette shows up for anyone who has finished their emails or at least stopped looking at them.
The awards
- Eater Eater: Lincoln Park’s Best Restaurants
- The Infatuation The Infatuation: The 29 Best Bakeries In Chicago
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The awards
- The Infatuation The Infatuation: The Best Coffee Shops & Cafes In Chicago
- Time Out Time Out: The 40 best coffee shops in Chicago
- The Infatuation The Best Coffee Shops & Cafes In Chicago
- Time Out The 40 best coffee shops in Chicago
-
The awards
- Time Out Time Out: The 40 best coffee shops in Chicago
- The Infatuation The Infatuation: The Best Coffee Shops & Cafes In Chicago
- Time Out The 40 best coffee shops in Chicago
- The Infatuation The Best Coffee Shops & Cafes In Chicago
-
The awards
- The Infatuation The Infatuation: The Best Coffee Shops & Cafes In Chicago
- Time Out Time Out: The 40 best coffee shops in Chicago
- The Infatuation The Best Coffee Shops & Cafes In Chicago
- Time Out The 40 best coffee shops in Chicago
-
The awards
- Time Out Time Out: The 40 best coffee shops in Chicago
- The Infatuation The Infatuation: The Best Coffee Shops & Cafes In Chicago
- Time Out The 40 best coffee shops in Chicago
- The Infatuation The Best Coffee Shops & Cafes In Chicago
-
The awards
- Eater Eater: Chicago’s Best Coffee Shops
- The Infatuation The Infatuation: The Best Coffee Shops & Cafes In Chicago
-
The awards
- Eater Eater: Chicago’s Best Coffee Shops
- The Infatuation The Infatuation: The Best Coffee Shops & Cafes In Chicago
-
The awards
- Eater Eater: Chicago’s Best Coffee Shops
- The Infatuation The Infatuation: The Best Coffee Shops & Cafes In Chicago
-
The awards
- Time Out Time Out: The 40 best coffee shops in Chicago
- The Infatuation The Infatuation: The Best Coffee Shops & Cafes In Chicago
- Time Out The 40 best coffee shops in Chicago
- The Infatuation The Best Coffee Shops & Cafes In Chicago
-
The awards
- The Infatuation The Infatuation: The Best Coffee Shops & Cafes In Chicago
- Time Out Time Out: The 40 best coffee shops in Chicago
- The Infatuation The Best Coffee Shops & Cafes In Chicago
- Time Out The 40 best coffee shops in Chicago
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Rank 8. VietFive Coffee
Vietnamese Coffee Shop
The awards
- Eater Eater: Chicago’s Best Coffee Shops
- The Infatuation The Infatuation: The Best Coffee Shops & Cafes In Chicago
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Rank 24. La Catedral Cafe & Restaurant
Mexican Café
La Catedral is a casual Mexican breakfast spot in Little Village where the decor runs to saints and religious imagery, a collection that keeps growing because customers keep gifting more of it. The menu covers eggs, omelets, pancakes, and licuados, but the chilaquiles are the sermon, with at least fifteen versions. The verdes and the smoky, very spicy A La Diabla draw the most devotees. It's Eater's list of Chicago's best Mexican restaurants.
The awards
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The awards
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Rank 26. Cadinho
Portuguese Bakery
Cadinho is a sunny Portuguese bakery and cafe in McKinley Park, and the tarts are the whole conversation. There's the pastel de nata, vanilla-scented custard in flaky pastry, sometimes wearing a little chocolate shell like a tiny hat. There are also palm-sized passionfruit pies with a crust that gives up immediately. The other baked goods are perfectly pleasant, but you'll see people leave carrying a box of tarts and nothing else.
The awards
- The Infatuation The Infatuation: The Best Coffee Shops & Cafes In Chicago
- The Infatuation The Infatuation: The 29 Best Bakeries In Chicago
- The Infatuation The Best Coffee Shops & Cafes In Chicago
- The Infatuation The 29 Best Bakeries In Chicago
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Good Ambler is a Fulton Market bakery tucked into the lobby of a snack-food conglomerate's headquarters, and the pastry case has the good manners not to mention it. Macarons, kouign-amann, petit gateau and handmade chocolates line up behind the glass, but the plain croissant is the one doing the heavy lifting. It's a counter-service stop, so nobody needs a reservation or a dress code.
The awards
- The Infatuation The Infatuation: The Best Coffee Shops & Cafes In Chicago
- The Infatuation The Infatuation: The 29 Best Bakeries In Chicago
- The Infatuation The Best Coffee Shops & Cafes In Chicago
- The Infatuation The 29 Best Bakeries In Chicago
-
The awards
- The Infatuation The Infatuation: The Best Coffee Shops & Cafes In Chicago
-
The awards
- The Infatuation The Infatuation: The Best Coffee Shops & Cafes In Chicago
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The awards
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The awards
- The Infatuation The Infatuation: The Best Coffee Shops & Cafes In Chicago
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The awards
- The Infatuation The Infatuation: The Best Coffee Shops & Cafes In Chicago
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The awards
- The Infatuation The Infatuation: The Best Coffee Shops & Cafes In Chicago
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The awards
- The Infatuation The Infatuation: The Best Coffee Shops & Cafes In Chicago
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Rank 28. Dove's Luncheonette
Southern-influenced Mexican Café
The awards
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The awards
- The Infatuation The Infatuation: The Best Coffee Shops & Cafes In Chicago
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Rank 28. Grano
Mexican Bakery
The awards
- The Infatuation The Infatuation: The Best Coffee Shops & Cafes In Chicago
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The awards
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The awards
- The Infatuation The Infatuation: The Best Coffee Shops & Cafes In Chicago
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The awards
- The Infatuation The Infatuation: The Best Coffee Shops & Cafes In Chicago
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Rank 28. La Malinche Coffee & Tea House
Mexican Coffee Shop
The awards
- The Infatuation The Infatuation: The Best Coffee Shops & Cafes In Chicago
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The awards
- The Infatuation The Infatuation: The Best Coffee Shops & Cafes In Chicago
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Rank 28. Sun Rey Cafe
Filipino Café
The awards
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Rank 28. Swadesi Cafe
Indian Coffee Shop
The awards
- The Infatuation The Infatuation: The Best Coffee Shops & Cafes In Chicago
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Rank 28. Sweet Bean
Taiwanese Coffee Shop
The awards
- The Infatuation The Infatuation: The Best Coffee Shops & Cafes In Chicago
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The awards
- The Infatuation The Infatuation: The Best Coffee Shops & Cafes In Chicago
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The awards
- The Infatuation The Infatuation: The Best Coffee Shops & Cafes In Chicago
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Rank 28. VIGO Coffee
Mexican Coffee Shop
The awards
- The Infatuation The Infatuation: The Best Coffee Shops & Cafes In Chicago
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Rank 49. Cà Phê Dá Vietnamese Café
Vietnamese Café
The awards
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The awards