This image was taken at the Bombobar.

Recently my husband and I took a trip to Chicago with some friends of ours. We had three days to find the absolute best coffee and dessert locations within the city. I should preface this post with a disclaimer that I am what you might call a “coffee junkie,” not so much a coffee connoisseur. While I was a barista for a few years during my college days, I left the “nutty, bitter, and pairs well with ____,” coffee descriptions in the past. Nowadays, I like trying all of the cutest, trendiest places out there. As long as they have caffeine and a fun atmosphere, they are a winner in my book! So with that said, here are a few of the most fun coffee, donut, and ice cream shops we discovered during our trip to the windy city Chicago, IL:

BOMBOBAR

Bombobar
I would like to present this establishment with the “Brittney’s Favorite Dessert” award. They had fantastic donut and ice cream combinations and a variety of unique flavors to choose from. Also, just to give you a little secret tip- ask for the birthday donut. It’s not on the menu, but a staff member told us that it was a unique item they formerly served for special occasions. Now, only the locals and regulars know to order it. My husband, being the brave food patron that he is, decided to give it a try and absolutely loved it! It was a flavorful donut topped with creamy cherry icing (pictured on the left in the featured image at the very top of this post). I didn’t try the coffee or hot chocolate options, but they were several listed on the menu. Given how amazing their dessert options were, I’m sure their coffee is fantastic.

FIRECAKES

Firecakes
After looking at that beautiful picture, do we even need to talk about why this place is a “must-see?” That, my friend, is a donut ice cream sandwich. Wow. It was very filling and I definitely couldn’t eat the whole thing. (Don’t worry, none of it went to waste- I have a husband.) This adorable tiny street sweets shop also serves various coffee options. I tried the cold brew and it was everything a coffee lover would want in an iced cold brew coffee. Here are a couple of other images to fully convince you of how much we loved this tasty Chicago stop:

 

INTELLIGENTSIA

Intelligentsia
The couple we were traveling with highly suggested this trendy cafe. It had all of the vibes of East Nashville (Chicago style of course), but had a flare of an old-school city cafe at the same time. These vest and tie baristas were trained in some of the fancier coffee-making techniques. They might not have served donuts, but they had a few pastries and croissants available. While it was very busy during our Sunday stop, it had a clean, quiet atmosphere as everyone waited for their handcrafted beverage. I ordered a regular latte with no flavoring except the acidic bite of natural espresso, which was delicious.

Hero Coffee Roasters

Hero Coffee Roasters
While we were prepping for the trip, I saw this adorable alley-like coffee shop on Pinterest. But with all of the excitement of the city, I had completely forgotten about it. While walking down the city street, my husband suddenly stopped and said “Woah- look!” If there was ever a moment for their to be spontaneous choir “ahhh’s” in the background during a real-life moment, this was it. We definitely headed into the alley and ordered drinks from this extremely tiny coffee shop. It was probably one of the best decisions we made on this trip because their chai tea latte was the absolutely BEST one I have ever had. They mixed it with cinnamon so it had plenty of flavor and smoothness in one drink. Seriously. No other chai can compare to this must-have tea latte. While we indulged in our iced cinnamon goodness, we enjoyed the atmosphere of brick walls and tall buildings:

   

DOLLOP COFFEE CO.

**Unfortunately I don’t have a personal photo… but here is a shot from their website**

The Dollop Coffee Co.
I actually preferred the taste of the latte I ordered at this small corner cafe more than the one from Intelligentsia. Remember when I said I don’t usually describe coffee in depth anymore? Well I’ll break my rule on this one because this regular latte had a naturally sweeter flavor to it. For all I know it could have been the milk, but when a Chicago barista is very busy, you don’t stop them to ask any questions. Order the drink and move on. No matter what this rich sweetness was, it was pretty great.

 

WILDBERRY PANCAKES AND CAFE

Wild berry Pancakes and Cafe
This place is a full blown restaurant, but you may be able to order coffee beverages to go as well. Clearly, it was very popular, because it was crowded even on a Monday morning. The staff were very quick and thorough and the coffee was great. Their breakfast food was on point and the atmosphere was bright and fun.

 

Chicago is a city full of flavor and excitement. There were many cafes and dessert dives that we didn’t get to visit but these are just a few of our favorites from the trip. If you have a favorite stop that isn’t mentioned above, feel free to add it to the comments below. If we didn’t get to it this time, we can add it to our list of must-see coffee and dessert shops in Chicago, IL.