Espressamente illy

I was turned into their cappuccino while in a resort in Carlsbad California that had an Illy maker in the room… I was so happy to know they had one in Chicago. Wish they had more location since I love their coffee! Great price for something so good.

Not the same as Illy Espressamente in Las Vegas. Small drink selection. No for-​here cups for the traditional macchiato. No frozen chocolate espresso drinks.

I will not visit this café again. Unfortunately, it is right around the corner from my apartment so this hurts me far more than Illy. We visited this afternoon and had tied our pups leashes to the patio fencing (within full view of the counter so no risk to our dogs!) so we could go in and place our order. We were then going to sit at an outside table. The barista told us that we were not allowed to have our dogs anywhere near the property even leashed to the outside of the fencing. I really do not have a problem with the information communicated — that’s fine, no problem, we will move on. But, in this instance, it was the manner of delivery which was so offensive. This guy was smug, dismissive, and arrogant — we were really surprised that he would speak so angrily and seemingly pissed off to semi-​regular customers and about something really minor. We left and shall not return. I’ve noticed that this guy has been pretty unfriendly in the past so I guess we should not have been surprised. There are plenty of other spots (Dollop!) so we’ll take our business elsewhere.

Since I was spending a night at the Swissôtel, I felt that it was my duty as a responsible Unilocaler to check out the Illy installation across the street. A river separates the two establishments, but a strong Cubs outfielder could surely stand at one front door and throw a strike to the other.
Espressamente illy is beautifully appointed and has a great atmosphere. I can think of no better place to meet a friend for a chat over coffee or to tweak a few spreadsheets. This being said, I found my espresso (a doppio @ $ 3.08) to lack the burst of flavor that I associate with the new independent roasters. To be more straightforward about things: my drink was bitter. The problem, surely, is that you can’t win awards for freshness with beans that have traveled 4000 miles in a vacuum-​sealed container.
It’s a good thing that there’s an Intelligentsia Coffee in the neighborhood. And, just by the way, Intelligentsia is open seven days a week, whereas Illy is closed on weekends. To calibrate this review, I walked over to the neighborhood Intelligentsia the morning after my Illy espresso. I had an Intelligentsia macchiato ($ 3), and it was divine.

I am such a huge coffee fan and will go on a coffee tour if I could.
Let’s start off with décor — this place is SO cute. The accent pillows, the red table tops. Everything! I was in Chicago for a few days and came here twice on my short stay. I would’ve rated this place a 5 but there’s one person who works there that was rude… Not just once but both times. I’d come back for the coffee and the décor but as far as the attitude, some people just need to leave that at home. You really are a 5 but the rude service that was given to us by one person brought my rating to a 4. I will still likely come back here whenever I am in town.

Great coffee shop right off of Michigan Avenue, but you’d have no idea you were so close to all the downtown action. They do a great job at keeping this coffee shop quiet and clean. Staff members are extremely friendly. The entire café has a very modern vibe. Wireless Internet works extremely well and I don’t believe they have any sort of time-​limit.
I love the modern décor and feel of this coffee shop. It definitely feels upscale and would be a great place for a business meeting, or to do work for a few hours.
Great find!

When Rosa J. wants a cup of coffee, please don’t even mention «S*arbucks» or «D*nkin D*nuts.» She won’t give you a slap on your face, but her anger will be pretty much up there.
How about some Italian coffee in the afternoon? Away from the crowed Michigan Ave., this is located at the NBC Chicago building. The patrons are mostly professionals working in the building and I didn’t see many tourists because they wouldn’t know about this place. Haha, I’m in!
I’ve had some authentic Italian coffee from Caffe Pronto in Norridge, so I knew what I was expecting. I had the caffe latte. It was done correctly like the Italian coffee would, but it was slightly pricy for the amount of coffee I’ve gotten.
Hubby had the caffe macchiato. The concentrated kind of coffee, such as espresso, isn’t really my cup of tea. I personally wouldn’t order it unless you enjoy having a punch in your face early in the morning. I’ve never been desperate enough to want something that’s that concentrated. I will still stick with the latte or mocha.
I would still prefer Caffe Pronto (see my review on this establishment), for their portions, prices, and atmosphere, yet this is a great choice to have your coffee fix right in the smashing downtown Chicago.

I think Starbucks is okay and Peets is better. Espressamente is clearly better than both chains! I stopped by the CHI location, thanks to Unilocal.Same as the one in financial district of SF. Top notch coffee. Coffee lover? Come here. It’s that simple!

I love a good cup of coffee and this place is a great place to get coffee in Chicago — even if it’s a chain.
Design: Interior is clean, modern and chic while the outdoor patio is great when it’s nice out. There’s not too many electric plugs so bring your electronics charged. Plenty of seating indoors.
Service: Friendly baristas that are willing to take special requests eg. designs in your froth for lattes.
Food/​Drink: The vanilla latte I had was smooth and at a good temperature — ready to drink right away, not too hot. The amount they give you is on the smaller end but don’t let that deter you from drinking something here, it’s well proportioned. Didn’t try the food but those looked appetizing as well.
Overall, I will definitely go here for more coffee and next time the food. If you like Starbucks and want to try something new and a little more refined, yet don’t want to venture out into boutique coffee shops, try here.

I love Starbucks… but for real, authentic coffee, go to Illy.
I didn’t even know they had these in the US — but I was thrilled when I ran into it at my new office building. The café offers intense, rich lattes and fresh, perfectly flaky croissants. Beware, though, prices are comparable — or even higher — than that of Starbucks’s.
Service is always friendly and prompt. Aesthetics of the place are nice, with a bit of outdoor seating when the weather’s nice. They have a honey-​ginger latte that I’ve been meaning to try.

Stayin at the Sheraton, I didn’t have much choice if good coffee until I found this place. It’s a great lil café with a good vibe. I ordered two lattes cus one couldn’t cut it and I enjoyed them both! Will
Be back tomorrow:)

Quick, cute, pretty good tasting latte. No muss, no fuss. A step above a Starbucks in taste and appearance, and brownie points for the friendly staff, threw out a compliment on my scarf. :)

Coffee is fantastic, so much so that my co-​worker and I came back later in the afternoon for more! The pastries were also really great looking.
Staff were really friendly and remembered us from our first visit. They made the experience all tee better. We sent other co-​workers their way.

I have passed this coffee shops several dozen times walking between offices over the past year and finally got the chance to go in today and found it delightful. Brightly lit, unlike a lot of coffee shops, you can not go wrong with illy espresso beans and the baristas were very helpful. A big plus when they didn’t mind or make any ‘annoyed faces’ at me altering my order after I already paid — something I have a bad habit of doing at coffee shops because I tend to want everything… hehe. Will definitely pick this place over the starbucks I walk by next time I want some good coffee.

This is a nice alternative to the usual coffee places. There is plenty of seating so it is my go-​to spot for business meetings. Staff is always friendly. I especially like the rewards card and outdoor seating in the summer.

This is a nice spot with modern design and just about every permutation of seating. Coffee is very good, and prices are quite reasonable for a café right off Michigan. Nice place to work a bit in the morning.

Well done!
What a coffee shop should be.
Fantastically good coffee’s with cute, sweet designs.
Tasty treats!
A clean, bright environment with gracious architecture and interesting art.
Fun, cool, charming barista’s that welcome you into their coffee parlor.
Magnifique!

This will be last review for the next 8 – 12 days or so but here it goes
One sometimes has to suffer for their espresso… in this case you if you pay $ 3.25 to have 1 oz of milky substance. They make it good here.
The coffee is damn good here. The small coffee is like $ 2.25 or so.
I just had the iced latte Macchiato that comes in a bottle that is 9.5 fluid oz’s which comes to nearly $ 4.
This could be a good date place if opened late at night somewhere. it is on the expensive side. they have pastries but I don’t even want to ask how much they are.

Fantastic European quality espresso. Very nice and convenient location just steps from Michigan Avenue. If you are done with the city noise and looking for good java this is the place.