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Ground Up

4.5 (174 reviews)
Closed 6:00 am - 6:00 pm
Updated over 3 months ago

Order Ground Up Takeout or Delivery

Ground Up Photos

Business Info

GROUND UP ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Moderate noise
Good for working

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Recommended Reviews - Ground Up

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Reviews With Photos

Exterior
Sean Y.

Neither the best nor the worst, it's a good coffee shop serving the area and a ton of UIC students. Strengths of Ground Up are its expansive menu and abundant seating and free WiFi, but no item on the menu is particularly standout in my opinion. The paper cups are flimsy to the point I had to drink half my coffee in store before being confident to bring the rest home. Staff are friendly and the loft look is very cute.

This is some type of matcha drink. It was a bit sweet but quality matcha.
Michelle R.

This place was so welcoming. I had to leave a $2 tip only because the guy taking our order was absolutely welcoming and let me tell you... an awesome sense of humor. I would come again just to get some positive energy.

Runzer W.

I ordered a medium hot latte and stayed there for about an hour. Friendly staff. Nice vibe, while the light inside might make you sleepy lol.

Justine C.

Great coffee shop in West Loop! Their raspberry muffins are to die for! You have to request it heated for 100/10 flavor. Their specials are always a hit and are all so unique. I usually opt for my vanilla iced latte and they get it done right. Prices are fair and there are plenty of seats to do work or hang with a friend.

Cashmere caramel
Kenna G.

The Cashmere caramel latte was insanely good, I've never had a latte that tasted like it!!! The pastry case here looked delicious, I am dying to come back and try one of them! Decent sized cafe, kind staff. Provided good recommendations. Only complaint is my medium latte WITHOUT upgrading milk was over $8 which is a bit painful.

Turtle turtle mocha  Matcha latte  Cinnamon Latte
Maitri S.

They have seasonal items and I loved the verdure latte! It was a creamy pistachio drink which fresh pistachio. So comforting

Fresas Con Crema
Rathvon M.

This is what every neighborhood needs. A solid, independent and comfortable coffee shop. You can easily spend a morning at Ground Up, surrounded by fresh baked goods, interesting espresso drinks and my favorite...hot, black, coffee. It's a darn good cup of coffee. Freshly brewed, hot and delicious. My daughter enjoyed the Fresas Con Crema. I'm not exactly sure what it was, but she definitely enjoyed the fact that I was buying. She really enjoyed her drink. If you are in the neighborhood, stop by for an excellent cup of Joe in a very comfortables store. Support your local coffee shops and make sure you tip your barista well!!

Baklava latte though once it's in a togo cup it can be anything lol  It's really good though, so definitely try it!

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9 years ago

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The absolute best coffee in the city! They have incredible food and to-go grocery items too!

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7 years ago

Go to coffee shop in the west loop. The staff is very friendly and knowledgeable. Kind of pricey but trendy and delicious

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7 years ago

UPDATE: give us the frequent buyer card we all crave and deserve! Xoxo

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6 years ago

Nice employees but they charge you for a splash of oat milk in your black coffee. A splash. That's absurd.

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8 years ago

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5 years ago

i sincerely love this place. i live pretty far away but whenever im in the area i always stop by.

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Page 4 of 5

Ask the Community - Ground Up

Do they offer milk alternatives and if so, do they charge extra for it?

Yes they have milk alternatives for an extra charge when you order in person. They have oat milk and probably soy/almond milk too. They may have coconut milk depending on the seasonal drinks available. For some reason however there's no option to… Read more

Are there outlets by the tables?

Not all tables do. The bar-style tables do not but most of the small ones have two outlets by them.

Don’t See Your Question? Ask Away!

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4.3(40 reviews)
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Buttercup in the South Loop is an absolute gem, especially if you're even remotely into amaro. The…read moreselection is unreal, like the kind of list that makes you pause and realize you're about to learn something whether you wanted to or not. It's curated in a way that feels intentional, not just "we stocked a bunch of bottles." You can tell whoever built it actually cares. And shoutout to Axel behind the bar, because she is amazing. Friendly, dialed in, and genuinely knowledgeable without doing the annoying bartender thing where they make you feel dumb for asking questions. You can tell she really enjoys working here. She makes a fantastic Negroni. Great vibe, great drinks, and the kind of place you immediately want to make "your spot."

It's nice to have another coffee shop in south loop and this place is very cute! Cozy vibes and the…read moreservice is nice and fast enough. My friends and I each tried their specialty drinks and i got an everything croissant. We had high expectations because everything looked so good on the menu. Unfortunately none of us particularly enjoyed anything we got. All of our drinks just tasted like milk (both iced and hot options) and my croissant was oddly sweet because of the filling and I didn't love that. The pastries are actually being shipped in from elsewhere (they have exactly the same one in coffee shops out in Naperville too lol). Which leaves nothing special here. It's also very small so it gets crowded and swamped pretty fast. You're really constantly stepping out of someone's way when you're just waiting for you order, so that's not ideal either. Likely won't return.

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Sawada Coffee - Military Latte

Sawada Coffee

4.5(1.2k reviews)
0.5 miWest Loop, Near West Side
$$

Welp, there's a reason this spot has fabulous Yelp reviews. I worked my way throughout the city for…read morea few days and I have to say the little window perch overlooking the sidewalk at Sawada was one of my favorites. It also didn't hurt that their military matcha packs a punch. The espresso matcha combination was much smoother than I anticipated. I'd be lying if i didn't admit that I was questioning that this was a trending drink in the reviews but I was wrong, dear reader. The combination somehow worked and it's pretty at the same time. This space is also home to a bbq restaurant so there's a lot of room to spread out, have meetings, etc. The location in Fulton Market also makes it a great jumping off point for the neighborhood.

DRINKS I opted for their black camo latte. The hojicha…read moreflavor was strong, and the drink itself was not too sweet. Their military latte is their iconic drink, so if I'm ever back in Chicago, it'll definitely be something I'll check out! FOOD They have a limited selection of pastries like donuts available for purchase. Selection was limited near the end of the day. SERVICE The staff are kind and friendly! It gets busy fast, but they are efficient in pumping out orders. AMBIANCE Ample seating is available inside the store that is shared with the BBQ place adjoining the coffee spot. I visited around 2:30pm and it was filled with people working/studying or meeting with friends/coworkers. Complimentary wi-fi is available (password on the menu board). Finding the entrance was a bit confusing despite all the signs, but it's the one with a lot of stickers! PARKING Paid street parking is available at a limited capacity. BATHROOMS Restrooms are available downstairs at the back of the establishment.

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TARY Coffee - Cottage Cheese Pancakes with Balkaimak Cream

TARY Coffee

4.4(203 reviews)
1.3 miRiver North, Near North Side
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What a place. This is so much more than just a coffee house. Tons of options, great ambience, and…read moregenuinely kind people. We started with a mocha, a solid, well-balanced drink that wasn't overly sweet and was just perfect. We didn't plan on eating here, but the menu was way too tempting. We ordered the cinnamon roll, and wow. This was insanely good. Most cinnamon rolls in the U.S. feel like sugar-heavy, cinnamon-flavored buns, but this one was light, flavorful, and beautifully made. The irimshik on top really elevated it, subtle, warm, and just sweet enough. Easy 10/10. Next was the cottage cheese pancake, which was also very good. It had a generous amount of cottage cheese stuffed inside, and paired with the sweet irimshik dip, the dish came together really well. 9/10. We then tried the qattama. It was good. flaky, crispy, and reminded me of a paratha. It came with a sour irimshik dip. While each component was good, I felt the qattama would shine more with a gravy-based dish. 7/10. Finally, we ordered the Nan Salma pasta. It's a tarry-based white sauce pasta with a unique flavor profile, and it was genuinely yum. Definitely something different and worth trying. Highly recommend it. 8/10. You have space to sit down and work as well. Service was good too. Some of the dishes might take 7-10mins to get prepared. It's not like your daily coffee shop who have stuff ready to go Overall, a great spot with unique food and a welcoming vibe. Definitely coming back. 9/10

we tried the blueberry matcha. their matcha tastes high quality and they say it's ceremonial grade…read morewhich i believe. i think some places say theirs is ceremonial grade when it isn't. so we really enjoyed the quality of the matcha and it was the perfect amount of sweet from the blueberry. we also tried baursaq which is the fried dough bites. it tastes like a light donut ball. it's not heavy or greasy at all. they give you a dipping sauce which tasted like strawberry to me. overall a really clean and simple lay out for the shop. very minimal and upscale. it's not super busy and loud so it's a nice place to sit in and enjoy your drinks and maybe do some homework/remote work. i only gave it 4/5 just because the drinks were a little pricey but i think that's the norm now as well. hard to find drinks under 8$ these days.

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TARY Coffee - Interior

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TARY Coffee - American with oat (poured) and a Cinnamon Rollcinnamon

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Goddess and the Baker, 33 S Wabash-Millennium Park - Cinnamon Roll (~$7)

Goddess and the Baker, 33 S Wabash-Millennium Park

4.0(1.8k reviews)
1.3 miThe Loop
$$

Ordered: Turkey Bacon & Egg Croissant (~$11) w Avocado…read more(~$2): scrambled eggs, turkey bacon, smoked gouda and sambal aioli on a flaky croissant Cinnamon Roll (~$7) Iced Banana Cream Cloud Latte (~$6): creamy banana milk topped with light espresso cold foam sweetened with date syrup Iced Banana Fosters Latte (~$6): blend of espresso, creamy banana, and sweet caramel Aya's take: First stop on my recent Chicago trip and we decided to try a Chicago classic. This is a fast casual spot so service was pretty fast. There is a decent amount of seating, most of which was surprisingly taken around 11am on a Thursday. For starters, they no longer have their rainbow cake! I was surprised to hear that considering how popular it's supposed to be. We got both banana lattes which were extremely sweet. It's basically dessert with a hint or caffeine. I'm a big fan of banana, so I actually liked this but I would've preferred half the sweetness. The Turkey Bacon & Egg Croissant was so good! A solid breakfast sandwich - the eggs were cooked perfectly, the turkey bacon was insanely crispy, and that sambal aioli was just what this needed. I highly recommend adding Avocado like I did for some freshness & creaminess since it's a heavy sandwich as is. The Cinnamon Roll was soft, moist, and not overly sweet. Overall, I really enjoyed this breakfast!

Cute vibey breakfast place conveniently located in walking distance from my hotel. If you Iike…read morediabeetus for breakfast/brunch there are tons of pastries and specialty drinks to get your blood sugar spiking in AM. Avocado toast was great, definitely felt bougie and filling. The "matcha Americano" is just an iced matcha without the sugar or milk which was refreshing and what I wanted.

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Goddess and the Baker, 33 S Wabash-Millennium Park - Seats are hard to find .. busy spot!

Seats are hard to find .. busy spot!

Goddess and the Baker, 33 S Wabash-Millennium Park - Turkey Bacon & Egg Croissant (~$11) w Avocado (~$2)

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4.4(1.7k reviews)
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I had a really good experience at 3 Arts. I wasn't able to get a reservation for Sunday brunch, so…read morewe made sure to arrive before opening. There was already a small line of guests with the same idea, but we were able to get on the waitlist. While waiting, we checked out the small coffee shop inside the gallery and browsed the furniture, which helped pass the time. Our wait was about an hour before being escorted to our table in the courtyard. Initially, we were placed at a low coffee table with couch seating. It's a cool lounge style setup, especially for drinks, but not ideal for a meal. It would have been pretty awkward trying to eat comfortably. We asked to be moved and were told that table preferences should be requested when joining the waitlist. Since it was my first time visiting, I wasn't aware of that, and it also wasn't asked by the hostess. Thankfully, they were able to accommodate us and moved us to a table in the wine cellar. The wine cellar had a completely different vibe, dark and moody, compared to the bright, airy courtyard with its beautiful glass ceiling and natural light. We ordered the lobster roll and the RH Burger, both with fries. The food came out fairly quickly and was well-presented. The lobster roll was served on a buttery brioche with just the right amount of seasoning, and the burger was juicy and flavorful. Overall, I had a great experience and would definitely visit again.

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Ground Up - coffee - Updated May 2026

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