Side Practice Coffee

Stopped here by chance and enjoyed it. They have coffee, tea, gift items and bags of roasted coffee. They have minimal desserts. I got the rotating special- the holy ghost. It was amazing , take me back! Great ambience and cute furniture would love to come back and study.

One of my favorite coffee shops in the area! They have some amazing quality coffee AND tea. Their desserts are also delicious but quite limited. Nice selection of milk alternatives as well.

They rotate work from local artists that you can purchase in shop. I love discovering new artists here.

They’re a little pricier than some other coffee shops in the area but I think they’re worth the price.

The only real downside is the hours are pretty limited. I wish they would operate just a tiny bit longer on some days!

The only downside is that their hours are quite limited

Side Practice has the best specialty coffee I have tasted in the city, bar none. Everything they make tastes so dialed in, espresso, pour over, or even drip. I don't know how they do it.

Seating area is small but comfortable. Art / merch / popups are cute and varied. Bean selection is fresh and exceptionally varied, they're not just a Halfwit or Dollop passthough, they support a ton of interesting roasters I've not seen before.

Pastries are mostly ube, but don't let that scare you.

I love this place.

The fact that this place is within walking distance is a danger to my poor wallet. Hard to cry about that when you have an ube donut in one hand and a cold pandan drink in the other. Look forward to coming to this cute cafe throughout the summer for morning treats.

Side Practice is a small but delicious coffee shop. They have mugs for service in the shop, but you could take beverages to go in paper cups too if you need to. The space is comfortable and an independent artist was hustling in the corner with their prints when I came in today, so I picked up a gift for a friend as well! Great place to spend a couple of hours.

my favorite coffee shop on the north side hands down. They have their espresso dialed in every single time, the rotating micro-roasters that they host are always amazing and the creators they feature (food/art/etc.) are incredible. Keep doing what y’all are doing, I’ll miss visiting :(

This is hands down the best coffee shop in Chicago. I'll tell you why: The space is warm and inviting, the staff works hard to make your experience top-tier, the coffee is second to none, and they use part of their space to collaborate and support local artists and vendors.

Each time I go, I'm excited to see what third wave roasters they've brought in to feature on their shelf and as their daily brew. It is not an easy task to bring in fresh bags from international roasters (Manhattan, La Cabra, Friedhats, Morgon, etc.), but they do it without a high markup (probably because they simply love coffee).

The baristas always seem happy to talk about the coffee, and I have seen them regularly go out of their way to go above and beyond. Once, a barista went to the back to pull a fresh shipment of international roasts that had just arrived, and I had my pick of the bunch. That was a lot of fun!

Lastly, it's nice to experience the warm, welcoming, relaxing space that they've curated. There is no other space I can think of in the city that offers what Side Practice does. I hope they're around for a long time, as this is exactly what the Chicago coffee scene needs!

I stopped by here on a weekend, and it was great! Plenty of outlets, good seating, and quiet with enough people to motivate me to get my work done. Good decor, music, and friendly staff too; Madison was really helpful in finding the perfect drink. I tried the Ube Latte and it was great! Will be in again.

Just bad vibes all around. The cold brew tasted like lake water, the regular expresso was barely a tier above gas station, and they don’t have decaf. Add the steep prices onto that and it seems like the only thing of value they have is their manufactured “hip” atmosphere - which is just trying way too hard.
And concrete steps down with no place to wipe wet shoes up top? That’s a head injury waiting to happen.

I had the rotating special- Ube latte. Delicious! Not too sweet. This was my first time trying ube flavor & I liked it. The barista is very polite & helpful too.