Find places to work in Chicago that are open late.
Big Shoulders Coffee
Small coffee shop in a busy part of town. Cozy enough to escape the hustle and bustle of the neighborhood if you can snag a table.
Ambassador Hotel Lobby
Hotel in Gold Coast with a large lobby and high ceilings. Hang out by the cozy fireplace on cooler days.
Colectivo
Pro tip: order one of the breakfast burritos. Plenty of seating indoors and outdoors and good coffee.
Gaslight Coffee Roasters
Cozy cafe with high quality brews and brick walls in a triangle-shaped building. Good natural lighting throughout the day.
Dark Matter Coffee - Osmium Coffee Bar
Funky coffee bar in Belmont with strong cold brew. And guess what – they’re open late. Perfect spot for an evening sesh. Otherwise, ample indoor and outdoor seating at any hour of the day.
Good Ambler
Huge cafe in West Loop with brick walls, timber ceilings, and excellent pastries. Don’t sleep on the quiche either. Gets busy on weekends.
Expression by Lavazza and the Drake Hotel
Come for some of the darkest Italian-style espresso in the city. Explore the nooks and crannies of the Drake Hotel’s public areas when looking for a place to set up camp.
Bocadillo Market
Spanish-inspired cafe with great cortados and creative pastries. Hang out on the back patio on sunny summer days.
Dark Matter Coffee - Star Lounge Coffee Bar
There's nowhere better in West Town on a sunny morning. Beautiful outdoor patio that captures the essence of summer in Chicago. Great coffee (try a barrel-aged cortado) and ample indoor seating as well.
Olor Coffee Bar
Swedish-inspired coffee bar with sleek wooden tables and a modern, minimalistic ambiance. Particularly cozy on a rainy day.
Pini Pico Brazilian Cafe
You’ll smell the empanadas as soon as you approach this Brazilian-inspired cafe in Gold Coast. Ample seating, good coffee, and plenty of fun products imported from Brazil.
The Understudy Coffee and Books
Cafe and bookstore under one roof. Ample cafe-style as well as library-style seating (think sofas and cozy armchairs).
Fairgrounds Coffee & Tea
Fills a cafe gap in West Loop's quickly developing west side. Ample seating and great coffee from several Chicago-based roasters.
Drawing Room
Huge dimly lit, old-school-cozy, second-floor lobby of the Chicago Athletic Club. Large fireplaces and big leather chairs. It's a gem in the middle of the loop. Visit year-round.
Aster Hall
Huge lounge with open seating on the sixth floor of a shopping center. Access to Sawada coffee and matcha on-site. Come here to settle in and get cozy any time of year while enjoying views of Michigan Avenue and Oak Street Beach.
Blue Bottle Coffee – Wolf Point
High ceilings, light wood with modern finishes, and excellent river views abound in this downtown staple. Lots of seating with varying levels of privacy. Try the super strong Oji Slow Drip cold brew for a real jolt.
Dollop Coffee – Gold Coast
Tucked away on a quiet corner, this spot offers good cortados, cozy lobby-style seating with bookshelves, and an incredible outdoor patio under the canopy of large trees. Perfect for a quiet escape close to Michigan Ave.
Outdoor Cafe
Quiet spot with an outdoor patio theme (think real patio furniture) and Korean-influenced food and drinks.
Estereo FM
Cafe by day, cocktail bar by night with beautiful window seating and a disco ball overhead. Coffee is supplied by Four Letter Word and is high quality. Perfect for an all-day hang.
Sawada Coffee
A cafe where matcha gets (almost) equal representation with coffee. Try a Matcha Cortado or a Military Latte. Don't sleep on the Black Camo Latte which features nutty, toasty Hojicha tea. Can get loud, but nothing that noise-canceling headphones can't fix.
Groundswell
Neighborhood cafe with friendly staff and a generally quiet, cozy environment. Come for some of the best beans in town and don't forget to try a Kolache for a memorable bite.
Intelligentsia Coffee Millennium Park Coffeebar
Tucked away steps from Millennium Park, this spot offers a fair amount of seating with great coffee. They're usually selling art from local artists which makes interesting wall decor that is an attraction in itself.
Wormhole Coffee
Cozy spot (dimly lit, which adds to the ambiance) filled with loads of throwback gadgets, gizmos, and artwork. Try the Ghostly Trio latte with white miso, caramel, and black sesame.
Intelligentsia Coffee Broadway Coffeebar
Concrete floors and low ceilings with chic wire-hanging lightbulb fixtures providing a tungsten glow. Nice escape from the sun for those in need of a change in mood.
Prequel Cafe
Upscale spot with a colorful contemporary look. Lots of lighting and homemade culinary pastries (like a frosted grape pop tart!). Great coffee program.
First Slice Pie Cafe Manor
Cozy wedge-shaped cafe, steps from the Brown Line, with hardwood flooring and mint green walls. Try some quiche and stay for a while.
Backlot Coffee
Airy, modern cafe with some of the best espresso drinks around, as well as a host of more inventive options like Blueberry Matcha and Horchata Latte. Well-lit spot with lots of seating.
La Malinche Coffee & Tea House
Colorful coffee shop named after a celebrated Aztec woman. Try a Horchata Latte and enjoy this cozy spot with lots of artwork, good music, and high ceilings.
Big Shoulders Coffee
Cozy spot overlooking a busy intersection near the gateway to West Town. Serving burritos and breakfast sandwiches alongside an extensive cafe menu.
Dayglow
Creative coffee shop (Studio Ghibli-inspired coffee cocktails, as well as some excellent roasts from all over the world) in an industrial / art-focused space with concrete walls and flooring. Steps off the 606.
Plein Air Cafe
Busy spot on campus, but unique and cozy if you can snag a spot. The outdoor patio offers plenty of additional seating in the warmer months, with close-up views of Frank Lloyd Wright's Robie House.
Soloway Coffee
Wedge shaped cafe serving high quality beans roasted in Ukraine. 30 minute screen limit as most indoor tables, but still a good spot to get a quick task done or settle in for longer with a book. Ample outdoor seating as well.
Four Letter Word
One might say this is the coolest spot to hang in the city. The caveat is that seating is limited to one large round table, and a couple of bar seats. Worth the effort though. So much atmosphere in one room, and excellent coffee.
Bridgeport Coffeehouse
Great coffee inside an interesting space with decorative ceilings and a floor-to-ceiling, room-filling map of the world as the centerpiece. Good spot to spend several hours with several nooks and crannies.