Coffee Lab

Great coffee place. Cappuccinos are my favorite. Never tried the baked stuff but the green tea is served on a chopping board and small bowl for putting your used tea bag. A great detail. Frequented mostly by Northwestern students and has a great location.

Positive: Popular. Negative: Popular.
Popular for a reason!
— Packed on a Saturday afternoon with a line and 4 busy staff behind the counter.
— The standard coffee order here doesn’t come from a pot – it’s an Intelligensia pour-​over. They’ve got a staff person just sitting on the pour-​over line impressively doing 5 cups at a time. My diablo dark came in a mug with the overflow in pyrex glass, and it was aromatic and the right strength.
— Seating is well arranged to make max use of the space. Lots of Northwestern students studying.
— Light wood panels even around center poles, and un-​shaded windows in the back of the kitchen are a great choice to keep a storefront style place bright.
— Great location right under the Purple Line Noyes stop.
Negative: Popular.
— In the scurry of a long line, this place lost my food order and didn’t realize it until I asked again after 18 mins. They grabbed it but were nearly too busy to say «sorry.»
— Watched one couple walk out because they simply couldn’t find a seat.
— Wifi had constant trouble connecting. Everyone always think its them, but «Network cannot be joined» error over and over is common for indie places with internet routers that are too small to handle the number of connections. Eventually got on, but then was kicked off later.
Not fitting the popular issue, but the food I ordered was quiche and re-​heat in microwave made it soggy and the eggs over chewy. Wouldn’t do it again.
But the overall vibe and coffee quality is right, so I’ll be back to try again – and maybe hope a less busy time will mean a better experience.

The renovated space makes it easy to find a table and do work. It’s a great location for anyone looking for a relaxed vibe with plenty of space. The coffee and tea is delicious and reasonably priced. Would definitely recommend to anyone!

The white chocolate mochas are so good! So is the turkey melt sandwich. Plenty of space for working. Definitely my favorite coffee shop in Evanston.

Great coffee shop close to Northwestern’s campus in Evanston. The vibe here is of the university type, and if you come here to study or work remotely you will be among friends. They even have a printer for all to use.
I had their light roast coffee one chilly morning, and a sandwich. It was good and there were other items on the menu I’m excited to go back for. They have cinnamon honey bread that I can’t wait to try…
I like the bench seating along the wall with cushions to keep you comfy. I also like the huge repurposed wooden tables. Plenty of outlets, plenty of interesting conversation to overhear…
Love it here and will be back when needing to work in Evanston. My one gripe is that the shop can easily turn into an icebox on cold days when there is a lot of traffic in and out. I wish they had a double entry to help deal with that, or crank up the heat. This is an issue that, if chronic, will definitely force me to migrate elsewhere for the winter.

Great coffee, and a cool atmosphere. Smaller place, didn’t have any food but the white mocha was definitely well made.

This new, renovated space is amazing — tons of new space, more tables, and great natural lighting. I used to only take my coffee to-​go, for fear that I’d never be able to find an open table to study at, but now that they’ve added plenty more work space, Coffee Lab is a very fitting environment for all the busy Northwestern students.
The coffee here is smooth and strong (I believe they use Intelligentsia beans) and the people who work here have been helpful and friendly during each of my visits. Their coffee menu is extensive, and they also have a few types of sandwiches, as well as honey toast, which I’m very keen on trying during my next visit.

This is a first-​rate coffee spot. The owner is super nice as well, and it’s just the type of place that you love to see succeed. They’ve now upgraded to a larger spot (the former location of Rollin’ to Go), so there’s plenty of room to sit and work. Positive vibes all around.

A great place to work, study, or relax, Coffee Lab is my go-​to coffee shop. You could say we have a lot of chemistry.
The interior has great lighting and a relaxing atmosphere with just the right amount of background noise and music.
The baristas are always very friendly and helpful. I love their cappuccinos and white mochas, and I highly recommend the cinnamon honey bread!

Coffee Lab has a comfortable interior, good service, a menu with sufficient selection (coffee, tea, and some food/​pastries/​snacks), free wifi, and plenty of seats. For all these reasons, it’s a popular place to hang out for a few hours to study/​work/​read.

First time there — not sure how I haven’t been there soon, as I have been taking classes close by in Tech, for the past year.
I spent a 5 hour study session there, ordered a bunch of coffee and food over the course of my stay. There were pretty busy when I got there at noon, but I found a corner of a table to sit at, and as the night went on, people filtered out and it wasn’t as noisy and crowded.
Supposedly they have WiFi, but it was asking for a password and I was too lazy to figure out what it was. I wasn’t there for the internet, I used a text book the whole time.
When I first arrived I got a house coffee and a turkey melt sandwich. I was super happy about the coffee being served in a beaker — super cute and fitting, since I was studying chem. :D
Coffee was good, sandwich was super good.
After about two hours, I was jonesing for something sweet, so I got a mocha (half dark, half white mocha) — when I requested this of the barista taking orders, he was so confused and had absolutely no idea what I was requesting, when he reported it to the baristas currently making the orders, they were not nearly as confused… maybe he is new…
Anyway, the mocha was good, preparation was very pretty, gotta love late art…
A few more hours, and I was ready to move on to a new location to study (ugh, test next week), so I ordered another small house coffee and a ham and cheese bagel to go. This is where things got funky… there were two dudes working, and I’m not sure which one was more confused — one was the guy who didn’t understand using half white/​half dark mocha, and the other one… just seemed daft. After I put in my order, the confused guy poured my coffee and then started walking around picking up people’s dishes. Daft guy must have put my bagel on the toaster, with the ham and cheese on it. I watched a few minutes later, as it slid out of the toaster (they have one of those contraptions like you see at Potbelly’s). And it sat there. And sat there some more. Confused guy continued to walk around confused, daft guy continued to talk to people by the counter, not once checking the food — there was also someone’s sandwich just sitting there. Finally, I decided NOT to just walk back there myself and spoke up — was finally given my bagel. I took it with me, and ate it shortly after, only to find that it’s little sit out in the open on top of the toaster, resulted in it becoming as hard as a rock — nearly inedible.
So, it was fun at first, loved the beakers, decent coffee, yummy sandwich. Nice that it’s close to campus.
Knocked stars off for confused employees ruining my dinner. Now I have to study and try to live off of candy for a few more hours until I can go home and eat something real…

I was pleasantly surprised when I found out that they had moved to a bigger place. Their other place was nice but it was very small, so there was never any room to sit.
The new place is very well lit, spacious, clean, and minimal. The décor is very earthy and wooden. There isn’t too much décor where it clutters up the room. (which tends to bother me) There are a nice amount of table to sit at with outlets and a printer if you need to print! But there is also an area with red couches for the people that prefer to just lounge and read. If you’re coming to study, it’s a great place and is always filled with college students. But be aware that it does get pretty noisy at night. Just plug in your headphones and it’s not a problem.
I love getting the mocha here because I don’t really like strong coffee and it’s pretty so there’s a bonus. If you’re looking for a trendy place to study with lots of room, I highly recommend this place!

I love coffee lab. They know my name. The new space is much bigger, brighter, and better, with plenty of space to sit. Haven’t tried the sandwiches, but can vouch for the scones. Go to Coffee Lab; you won’t be disappointed.

It’s hard to find a place that will let you sit and work (with free wi-​fi, of course!) for a few hours, has enough space that you don’t feel like you’re preventing others from having a seat, and also has substantial food choices — and Coffee Lab does just that!
You definitely have to be willing to sit next to a stranger to snag a spot during the busier times, but the community style tables in the back and the window counter seats made that comfortable. (I’m much more likely to sit next to someone at a big table or counter than ask to share a two top.)
I really appreciated the opportunity to get a sandwich at this shop. A lot of places offer desserts, pastries and quiches, but not everyone offers a heartier option. Today I enjoyed a very tasty turkey melt sandwich, BBQ chips and an iced tea for a working lunch.
I’m an iced tea gal, not a coffee drinker, and coffee shops don’t often don’t put as much thought into their tea options. Coffee Lab had a few varieties to choose from, and their classic (which I tried on today’s visit) was excellent.

It’s a great new location that’s bigger and even more sassy than the prior space (a couple doors down)…but it’s still really tricky to snag a table. This is honestly one of the hippest spots in town to study, and if I could be a student again, I’d come here for sure. It’s a great vibe with the majority of people on laptops. That being said, my only suggestion for students, and especially non-​students, would be to have a back up study spot or meeting place. Today I was one of the lucky ones.
The scene is great, the layout is so much better, and the coffee is still fantastic. Today I opted for a cup of their house blend. Typically pour overs make me really jittery, but not this time around. I was extremely pleased and still able to concentrate in my meeting. Note: They have a Unilocal Check In offer here! I’ve got mine saved for the next time.
Would have liked to try a nosh, so I’ll just have to add that to the to-​do for next time.

They use intelligentsia beans here, which means that they produce high quality coffee drinks. They also have different brew methods available which is always exciting.
I wish their quiche has more variation in the texture of the fillings, and also different flavors. Besides that everything is good. The coffee shop itself feels modern and hipster. The seatings are comfortable.

Kind, familiar staff in a nice, open space. The new location is definitely an improvement and the seating is pretty inviting. Always good coffee, served well. It might not be the top shelf third wave experience some desire, but they serve consistent drinks with better beans than most else of what I’ve had in the north shore. Congrats on the new space!

Coffee Lab has the best coffee in town! If you like black and sumptuous or sweet and frothy, Coffee Lab is the place for you. You’ll walk away both happy and caffeinated! Or are those the same thing? This newer venue has now made Coffee Lab the perfect spot to study. The new location is bigger, better and classier. You have room to spread out and study or grab a larger communal table to catch up with friends. Basically, Coffee Lab has all of your coffee shop needs wrapped up in one brilliant shop!