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Critical Grind

4.8 (23 reviews)
Open • 9:00 am - 9:00 pm

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CRITICAL GRIND ATMOSPHERE

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Joshua D.

Roll for Vibe Check. That's a Nat 20! Driving back home after a wedding up in the Chicago area, Emily and I were needing some caffeine to stay awake after a night of partying with the newlyweds and wedding party. We pulled up local coffee places relative to where we were and randomly decided on Critical Grind since it wasn't far from our location on the interstate. As we pulled up and parked, I knew we picked a good place due to being a Board Game Cafe. The barista was really friendly as we spent time looking at the menu and I spent time looking at all the Magic the Gathering product and all the various other little things they sold up at the counter. I got my usual iced americano and Emily got her a chai tea latte. We also snagged some stickers and I got myself a pin and a little Dragon Ball Z mystery tin. As we ordered, the barista gave us a rundown of the place and said there were either 400 or 1400+ board games available around the corner. Emily and I went to scope it out while our drinks were being made. We spent a solid 10 minutes looking over the selection of board games they offered to let you play. As we headed back front, our coffees were done. We spent a few more minutes checking out the other side of the cafe/store as it was another large area to play Magic, Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh, and whatever else you need large tables for. I told my friends about this place after the fact. It would've been perfect for our needs when we used to crash a Panera to play some games of Commander. Sure, there are places to play Magic proper in the Peoria area but this place had the vibe for my group of friends. I think it's cause they serve coffee, too, but I could be bias towards caffeine. After I made my separate purchase of little trinkets, we took our coffees and got back on the road as we were anxious to be home. I noticed my americano was light on color so I knew it would be light on bitter. It definitely left ya wanting that punch to the tastebuds but was otherwise had a nice flavor profile. Emily really loved her chai tea latte and said it was closer to what she wanted versus the one she got at the hotel coffeeshop (which I didn't review but was really cool). Emily and I both really liked the vibe of this place and during the drive home said it would be worth it drive back up to Shorewood to hang out here on some random day off and explore the city. So, I totally expect to be back up here before too long for some 1v1 games with Emily and coffee coursing through our veins. Stay nerdy, everyone! It's a fun time!

So many games to play!
Shannon M.

This is a coffee shop, but oh so much more! They have many board games that you can play in-house (& they sell games too), as well as gaming events like DnD and Trivia Night. The menu consists of a variety of coffee drinks as well as smoothies and refreshers for us philistines who don't partake. I had the strawberry açai refresher, which lived up to its name and was neither too sweet nor too tart, and my companion had a dark chocolate mocha with hazelnut syrup. The food options consist mostly of various iterations of toast (good idea as it's handheld, not too messy and you can eat while playing a game!) He got toast with avocado, tomato and balsamic (the tomato is in chunky slices; maybe smaller pieces would work better?), and I "rolled for toast" and made a version of the Dracarys: hummus, buffalo sauce, everything bagel seasoning. For dessert we got the Chocolate Delight toast topped with Nutella and strawberries. Staff were friendly and made sure everyone was aware of the game that would be happening that evening. This was a great place for a first date because you have the automatic ice breaker in the games. (Plus you can learn more about your companion: do you collaborate well together? Are they a sore loser? Do they read the instructions or just try to jump in? Etc.) Would definitely return and bring all my friends!

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2 months ago

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3 months ago

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1 year ago

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1 year ago

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6 months ago

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11 months ago

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3 years ago

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Dana B.

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4 years ago

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Dana B.

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10 months ago

Amazing ambience and top tier service. Owner always makes us feel at home! Definitely my go to board game cafe.

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2 years ago

This place is a 10/10 amazing. Large selection of games and their coffee is so good. Staff is so friendly.

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1 year ago

coffee tasted strange almost like green tea. when i mentioned this i was basically told thats how its tastes

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3 years ago

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Dana B.

Thank you for coming. I hope to see you again soon! :)

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4 years ago

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Dana B.

Thank you so much Candice! We'll see y'all again soon. :)

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2 years ago

A great place with friendly staff there is always something going on and games to play.

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3 years ago

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Dana B.

Thank you Jen! Can't wait to see you again soon.

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3 years ago

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Dana B.

Thank you, Levi. :)

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3 years ago

Delicious drinks and food, options for a variety of health choices, and great choice of games! Employees are always friendly and efficient.

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Dana B.

Thank you so much! :D

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3 years ago

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Dana B.

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4 years ago

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Dana B.

Thank you Mandy! See you again soon!

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3 years ago

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Dana B.

Thank you for your kind words! See you again soon!

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4 years ago

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Dana B.

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3 years ago

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Dana B.

THank you so much!! We hope to see you again soon.

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3 years ago

I have been a few times and had absolutely no complaints.The food and drinks were great and the owners are awesome people

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Dana B.

Thank you! :)

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Review Highlights - Critical Grind

“As we pulled up and parked, I knew we picked a good place due to being a Board Game Cafe.”

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Vibes Cafe - Cafe

Vibes Cafe

5.0(6 reviews)
25.7 mi

They don't just have a cafe ~ they also offer a unique quiet back room space designed for…read morerelaxation and wellness. It features red light therapy, a salt sauna, a quantum light bed, bio mats, green light and vibro beds. Reiki master by appointment. The space is also available for private events and regularly hosts gatherings, including sound baths and other wellness experiences. Definitely worth checking out.

While visiting friends in Illinois, I stumbled across this hidden gem in downtown La Grange. This…read morewas my first visit to a cafe that is centered around wellness and I think the concept is brilliant! Upon entering the establishment, I couldn't help but notice the ombre colored walls and combined with the chandeliers as well as the pink bistro tables the aesthetics were overall, very impressive. The owner Lauren, patiently explained all of the available treatments and due to the amount of stress I had been under, I was eager to relax and to quiet my mind. I was only in town for a short time, so she graciously worked me into a couple of sessions. I started with the vibroacoustic sensory lounge followed by the red light therapy and finally ended with the quantum crystal bed with biomat. For the first time in weeks, my mind, body and soul were totally relaxed. By the time I left, I was drunk on relaxation and it felt great! I slept like a baby for the next two nights! I really appreciated the unique variety of non alcoholic cocktails and adaptogen beverages available for purchase. If you have not stopped by, do your body a favor and treat yourself.

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Vibes Cafe
Vibes Cafe - Vibro beds

Vibro beds

Vibes Cafe - Red light

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Red light

The Wormhole Coffee - Lemon poppy and Boston cream each $3.67

The Wormhole Coffee

4.4(1.4k reviews)
37.3 mi•Wicker Park, West Town
•$

Wormhole is weird but in a good way. The line was long but a lot to look at. Great coffee, fun…read moreretro vibes, and a DeLorean casually hanging out inside because apparently normal coffee shops are boring. Definitely worth a stop even if you're not trying to get back to 1985.

Not sure how Matt managed to get hired here, so I assume being rude is part of their training…read more After hearing great things about their coffee and being in town for a trip, I payed Wormhole a visit. I ordered 5 coffees one morning, and all the register guy did was write a few names on some cups and placed it down. I understand tipping culture is a divided topic of discussion, but at the end of the day, it is OPTIONAL. After pressing the skip button from what I believe to be non-tip worthy service, he threw a fit and said "Wow you're serious? After I did all that?" Meanwhile all he did was write names on cups. Now I would understand if he was the barista working hard to pump out the coffees, but two lovely ladies were in the back doing that. He shooed me and my friend out of line as we were still processing what he just said. The next customer orders and he had the audacity to talk about us to them while we're 5 feet away. Delusional as he was, he had the nerve to say we were holding up the line and made him do "all that work", and I could promise you, we knew exactly what we wanted to order the second we got up, and took no longer than 45 seconds. We also witnessed he got into it with another customer, so it seems like he's the problem here. Most wild service I have ever received, all for some milky coffees. I ended up tipping the lovely ladies in the back though. Be warned. There are much better spots.

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The Wormhole Coffee - Matt ducking behind the counter

Matt ducking behind the counter

The Wormhole Coffee - Chocolate croissant

Chocolate croissant

The Wormhole Coffee - Vanilla Bean with whole milk.....one of the best coffees I've had in a long while.....

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Vanilla Bean with whole milk.....one of the best coffees I've had in a long while.....

Cafe Bethak

Cafe Bethak

4.7(20 reviews)
24.4 mi

I finally got a chance to come here. It's been listed as Chicago's first Pakistani-themed cafe. I…read morelike that they have long hours. There is a ton of parking available. I really like the look of the inside, it's very aesthetic and will likely appeal to these young American Tik Tok/IG girls. However, as Chicago's first Pakistani-themed cafe, I was hoping for a more authentic experience. I know their menu is half American and half Pakistani. I think 95% Pakistani would have been better. The pancakes, French toast, chicken cajun pasta, and chicken club sandwich, people can get that literally anywhere. The Pakistani food you can't. I ordered the paratha smash burger and honey cardamom matcha hot. The honey cardamom was great, not very sweet at all. The paratha was crispy and the smash burger was juicy. I really enjoyed the sauce on top of the burger. I would definitely come back here for that. Service was very friendly and helpful. I would give this place a 4. I would really love to see more Pakistani food on the menu as well as advertised on your social media. The Americanized food catering to Americans doesn't do the Pakistani culture justice.

Needed a quick snack in the way to the arboretum and ended up here. It was so cute and welcoming…read more There was an event going on when we arrived but they were happy explain things in the menu, take our order and seat us. We sat at the cute floor seating area and lounged with our snacks. We got the bun kabob, haleem and karak chai. The haleem has no business being this good at a cafe lol. The bun kabob's meat to bread to chutney ratio was perfect. The chai was really authentic and not too sweet. We went for snack, but ended waay more stuffed than intended. Happily so

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Cafe Bethak
Cafe Bethak
Cafe Bethak

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Paper or Plastic Sports and Games - Snacks, drinks, and many places to play when you visit our store!

Paper or Plastic Sports and Games

4.9(8 reviews)
0.1 mi
•$$

We may have came in this place a couple of years ago but this is far more recent visit. When I came…read moreto the store many of the people were playing magic the gathering of other card games. People here were very friendly. The vibe was positive and welcoming. The store was exceptionally clean, and all of the folks behind the counter wore masks. They have two bathrooms in here again the one I was in was spotlessly clean had plenty of soap and towels as well as hand sanitizer. There is also hand sanitizer on the counters as well. Prices were exceptionally fair and their selection of meds for the gathering single cards was awesome. In fact they had all but two of the cards that my son needed to finish his commander deck. They have so many games, board games role-playing games card games it's incredible. They have miniatures and paints and you name it anything related to gaming. Part of their stores also desk dedicated to discuss if you play that sort of thing you probably know about the store because they have tons of many different discs. I don't know I think about that but I do know that I have seen people in the store looking for just that it seems like at the place to go. Their cleanliness is second to none, possibly a Xbox in Frankfurt is on that same level but we're talking about paper and plastic here. Their card selection is second to none from the area and more about the people actually playing the games. While I was in the store one gentleman was finished playing cards and he was leaving and by count all of the patrons in the store even though sitting at different tables said goodbye to the gentleman a couple of them even wisdom well. I thought to myself this is the place where I want my son to play. The people here were very friendly, kind as well as respectful on another visit a couple of days later as folks were playing some Star Wars miniature game again the people here were friendly, respectful and everyone seem to be having a great time. The overall vibe in the place is very positive and again the cleanliness is there. For parents this is definitely a place you want to bring your kids to because it's clean, and it's very conductive to a positive family experience. If you're looking for a gift item for a child or young adult or even an adult if you're looking for a board game for the family to play if you're looking to get into disc golf or just browse around a really cool store I highly recommend you come check it out. They're right next-door to Maggiano's so you can get a delicious Italian meal while you're here.

The staff is always super helpful when I go in. Glad to say I've been a customer for years now.read more

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Paper or Plastic Sports and Games - Tons of board games!!!

Tons of board games!!!

Paper or Plastic Sports and Games - Store Interior. We sell disc, games, and provide a place to play as well!

Store Interior. We sell disc, games, and provide a place to play as well!

Paper or Plastic Sports and Games - Playing Magic the Gathering. Great place to play!

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Playing Magic the Gathering. Great place to play!

Critical Grind - coffee - Updated October 2026

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