Bow Truss Coffee Roasters

Bow Truss Coffee Roasters’ Pilsen location is located among a line of small businesses on 18^th Ave. This location has a few tables, including a high top table featuring an arcade game, and is dimly lit. I wouldn’t recommend coming here to read, but perhaps to stop in and have an expertly crafted coffee drink.
On this particular visit, I had a new drink called the Lena. The Lena is a latte with ginger snap and cardamom syrups, and I appreciated the latte with its robust espresso, energetic ginger, and floral cardamom notes. Shoutout to the barista for explaining the new latte options, and what it means to order an «alternative» drink (using single origin espresso instead).
In addition to coffee drinks, Bow Truss offers an assortment of donuts that seemed like an excellent complement to a single cup brew. In the past, I’ve brought pastries from Nuevo León in and enjoyed a coffee break.

Came here on my way out of Chicago after that little snow ensemble we had. I was hungover and wearing salmon shorts with snow on the ground. The guy who was buying ahead of me (as well as his daughter) looked at me like I was a damn unicorn but we talked and he was nice, despite his handlebar mustache.
This place was tiny. Very tiny. They had a little arcade game which was cool. I got a Colombian in a v60 (which is unusual for me since I typically get Ethiopian or some kind of African. This was also despite the fact that the barista raved about their Ethiopian beans. Coulda-​shoulda-​woulda, whatever) and it was fine. V60s are typically volatile little shits (as compared to a Chemex, Kalita Wave or Beehouse) but this coffee was fine. Nothing to write home about, which is typically how I find most v60 brews to go. Maybe I just need to have a really good one.
I bought a bag of beans (El Salvador) and I enjoy them. Not the best I’ve had but definitely not the worst. In the upper quartile I would say. I’m definitely going to try this place again at some point.

Just what this are needs. Casual, yet classy. Just the right kind of atmosphere to relax or study or get some work done. Much better than corporate outlets.

Pretty good coffee, small shop though. It’s close to the L which is nice and there is even an old school arcade game to check out here.

Very Pro: Solid yummy beans. Classic arcade game table.
Pro: Above average latte and espresso. Cute space. Amusing barista until I asked about the bathroom.
Con: No public bathroom. Even when my contact lens fell out and all I needed was a mirror and a sink to wash my hands. Note to the quickly turning un-​amusing barista of the day: Damn homie, I would have left the door open if you were so paranoid I was lying about not needing to pee! I didn’t even have contact solution or my handy dandy pirate patch to make my one-​eyed state semi-​fashionable. Totally unprepared.
Very Con: You did not just tell me to go to Dunkin Donuts to use their bathroom instead. No you di-​int.
I try not to hold grudges when yummy beans are in the vicinity, but still. Do not tell me to go to Dunkin’. That’s just rough.

Sunny, wonderful space. The pourover I had was so-​so – they only had one option for V-​60, and I’ve found that some of Bowtruss’s beans are way better than others. But overall a lovely spot to sit and caffeinate.
FYI: They are currently closing at 5. Apparently it might change to 6, but definitely not 7.

Good coffee! Friendly staff. Very multicultural.

The coffee here is excellent. However, it’s not the most welcoming place for doing work or studying. There is no restroom and the WiFi does not work half of the time. It is a good place for coffee to go.

We go here almost every morning. True caffeine pros. Thanks for the great addition to the neighborhood!

It was okay. I guess… It was a little bit pricey but it’s whatever. The staff was okay. I guess… About the only thing that would make me come back would be the atmosphere it is pretty chill. Feels like a cool place to get some work done while close to home.

Though I can only make it on weekends, I love having this in Pilsen! The coffee is great and the staff is friendly. I love the ever changing artwork. Also, the iced V-​60 is QUALITY and will be my choice summer brew.

This is a review for Bowtruss coffee, not the actual space in Pilsen.
Bowtruss coffee is the best coffee in Chicago. This stuff is brewed at my school, and I drink it religiously. This isn’t your Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts cup of joe, this is perfectly blended & brewed artisan coffee. It’s truly the best when it comes to flavor.

Meh. Stopped in for a caffeine fix. Had tried Bowtruss near Merch Mart and found ‘em to have decent lattes. However, decent lattes are a given if you’re running a good coffeeshop in Chicago.
Latte in Pilsen? Still good.
The bad? Sullen white hipster cashier neither helpful or friendly (this only furthers accusations of gentrification). No food (something? anything?). No bathroom. This is def a place to go if you want coffee and nothing more. I wonder if they’re hiring actual community members…

I haven’t been to other locations of Bow Truss, but if you think this one in Pilsen will impress you, don’t be that impressed. It is a lot smaller than it is pictured, and there is NO bathroom for a coffee drinker looking to stay a bit longer. There are a few limited seats by the wall, and only one picnic-​style table by the window area. The interior design is just as I would imagine of Bow Truss’ but besides their awesome quality coffee (which I think is just as pricey as Intelli’s) there isn’t much to appreciate if you wish to ‘hang out’ there.
This location is only good for a quick stop to see what’s like and/​or grab a coffee on the go.

Extremely satisfied.
Basically it’s what you expect — high end artisan coffee. Not a place for your dunkin donuts drinker.
The Asian young man is a veritable fount of coffee knowledge!
One criticism is the lack of food. They had one pie-​like item (properly referred to as a ‘tart’.)
Let me clarify on prices; a notch higher than Starbucks but not so high you’d need to stop by Title Auto Loans first!

I came in here when I was in the neighborhood visiting some family. I had a small chai latte. The chai latte tasted like powder watered down latte but the pastries were decent. I miss the old family owned grocery store that was here I would’ve rather had some fruit and an horchata. Gentrification at its finest I hope this place doesn’t last.

Excellent staff, excellent drinks, excellent location, and excellent product. So happy they’re nearby now.

Awesome place. Friendly staff. Delicious coffee. Tiny place so no restroom. Just coffee, no food. Sell bags of unique coffee if you want to take home. Definitely worth checking out, one of best cafes around here. Meter parking in front. Right by cta train stop. This place is fairly new but not first location.

I came here on a Saturday afternoon. We heard they were opening up a bowtruss near us and we had to try it.
They have been open for two weeks now. I’m surprised it has not been out on Unilocal yet. I went ahead and did that. YOURE WELCOMEZ! Anyway, I did not know what to expect when coming here. Ive been to their location up north and it was nice. Large, spacious, with nice deign.
This location is much smaller. It seems almost like its an express joint. There are about 14 seats max in here. A little disappointing. We luckily found seats. They seem a bit slow but I’ll just forgive that because they are new. Not a big deal. Plus good coffee takes time :-)
the only thing that is really weird and seem to bother me is… They. Have… No. Bathroom! WHAT?!? NO BATHROOM?! Do they even know they serve coffee??? And that it is a natural diuretic! And a natural laxative! I mean come onnnnnn. Have mercy on our front and rear ends. I am reminded of portlandia’s coffee manifesto sketch. Haha. Please watch if you have not. You’ll understand.
Solution: You can walk outside to the Dunkin donuts and use their bathroom. Even though Dunkin donuts has a «customers only» sign. Just sneak in :-)
They do have an arcade game. Which has multiple games in it. Which is kinda cool. So if you wanna kill some time.
16 oz V-​60 Iced coffee — Costa Rica — $ 4.25 /​/​pretty tasty. A little pricy but it’s made by the cup so understand why. It’s BETTER ha.
I hope they really plan on expanding a bit or adding a bathroom or at very least allow the customers to use their worker’s bathroom.

Yay! So glad bow truss is in pilsen. They opened yesterday, I went in the morning and got a latte. I got an 8 oz latte to stay, super strong and still nice and creamy at the same time (and beautiful of course). The boy got their costa rica, which our barista was raving about — it was really good too! Not really one to identify different notes in coffee, but it was a unique flavor that both of us enjoyed.
The staff were really friendly and helpful, the space is cute but super small, so once everyone figures out that they’ve opened up, don’t expect to be able to grab a seat. That being said, they do a good job with different seating arrangements to make the most of the space.
I’ll be back for sure, possibly later today!