I'm a fan! This stretch of Madison was in need of good coffee. I think their lattes are fantastic. I also enjoy their cappuccino, flat white, and peppermint mocha. I don't like their house coffee as much... it tastes a bit sour to me. I was a big fan of the pastries that they used to carry, but now they've gone all donuts. I've never had their paninis, but I always regret that when I watch them being made fresh. It's also just a nice space to sit and relax or do some work. Wi-fi is fast and since it's pretty small, doesn't get loud or distracting. read more

Great selection of sandwiches, coffee and sweets! The music level is just right, and they even accommodated for my dietary restriction of pork by adding avocado to my breakfast panini (which was so good btw). Great study spot! They also saved my phone from dying and one of the baristas let me use his charger, which was super helpful! I'll definitely be back. read more

First time at this coffee shop and had a great experience. I ordered the breakfast panini and a latte and both were very delicious. My order was ready in a matter of minutes. The staff was super friendly and attentive. This is also a great study spot! Would definitely recommend and will be coming back soon! read more

Groundswell - Coffee Roasteries Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Absolutely love groundswell! Cozy cafe with friendly staff. I always go for the chai tea which is delicious. Have never tried the food but it always looks when it comes out. read more

The latte was good - like really good. Lots of alternative milk choices which I appreciate and the vanilla was not overpowering. Now the panini - the panini was great. The pesto aioli was creamy and went surprising well with the shredded turkey. Love this chill work environment. read more

Nice, hipster-y coffee shop. Breakfast panini and coffee were great, as was the service! read more

Groundswell - Flat white and breakfast panini - Coffee Roasteries Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

My neighborhood spot. Previously, wrote a negative review due to one barista with attitude issues. Management addressed right away. Everyone else is super nice and I'm loving spending my retirement fund on oatmilk lattes. Yum. read more

This is a great spot in the west loop. Very good coffee, locally roasted. Knowledgeable baristas that really know how to throw down. Try a cortado! The only negative I see is, if your not within a walking distance and commute as I do from the burbs, parking is really scarce. Come with time or just uber. read more

Solid cold brew, really yummy paninis (I tried the turkey and the ham/cheese). Music is a great volume, seats are nice, good sunlight, there was even a surge protector (outlets!!!). Perfect to write essays or study. read more

Loved studying here, pretty comfortable and calm area with some really great coffee. Only issue was that on one of my visits they burned something in their oven or something and the entire restaurant was smoked out, but they didn't even keep the door open.... I smelled like burnt food for the entire day which was not really ideal.... read more

Not a fan of the coldest brew. It had an odd milky sour taste to it. The location and environment are nice though.

Love love love. SO happy this place opened up in the neighborhood. This stretch of Madison needed a place like this! The atmosphere- too cute. The staff- friendly and helpful! The coffee- delicious. The donuts... amazing, obviously. And from left field- the paninis are fantastic AND super inexpensive. We live on the block so we frequent Nohea for somewhat average sandwiches every once and a while, but I never would've thought that this tiny place that only offers a couple of sandwiches is MUCH better! The turkey and avocado ones amazing, as is the breakfast panini. Looking forward to becoming regulars here. Welcome to the neighborhood, Groundswell! read more

Best consistent cold brew in the area. Price of beans is on the expensive side. Good atmosphere.

There's nothing I love more than modern + rustic + industrial interior design and Groundswell does it perfectly. The menu spans from single origin pour over, to Rare Tea Cellar brewed tea, to delicious pastries, to a wide range of paninis. What more can you want from a coffee house? Groundswell is pretty much my coffee shop mecca. Foodwise, I've split a blueberry muffin with a friend and it was moist and sweet, without being too sweet. I will certainly be back for a panini - they smelled aaaaahhhhmmaazing. read more

Great neighborhood spot! They always have pastries from a local bakery- lately it has been seasonal sweets from Floriole. Service is always friendly and fast at any time of day. Prices are reasonable for the high-quality products you are getting. There is a good amount of seating, so you can almost always sit down and enjoy your coffee if you'd like to. They also have a cold case with some yogurts and drinks like bottled apple juice, which has been a hit with my son. Easy and fast to pay with your credit card using their tablet system. I've never ordered lunch there, but they do offer sandwiches as well. read more

Good Vibes. Good coffee. Enough seating for a small business to work remotely in. Plus they serve Panini's which are always delicious.

I love coffee the way my friends love beer or wine, and Groundswell ranks very high on my Chicago favorites list. Their pour-overs are always on point, and the breakfast panini and spicy beef panini are delicious. Bought a couple of bags of their Costa Rica single-origin beans recently to make at home, and every morning that I don't have time to make coffee turns out to be a blah day. read more

What a gem of a coffee shop in the West Loop! Plenty of tasty paninis and pasteries for breakfast (and I forgot to mention Glazed and Infused donuts!) and their coffee is delicious. I appreciate how friendly and welcoming the staff is - they are always willing to answer my questions as I am no coffee aficionado. The wifi is free however if you are looking to spend a few hours at this location, keep in mind that seating space is limited. read more

Delicious drink and food options. Their nutella panini was awesome. They make a great chai latte too. Staff is super friendly and they give great recommendations. read more

Great coffee and really cute little shop! The baristas are mostly very friendly, but every time I order a cappuccino, latte or flat white it isn't hot. I mentioned one time (to the barista with the shaved side of her head and different color hair) that I'd like it extra hot please because it's usually tepid. She snapped back at me that it burns the beans and if I want my coffee burnt then she can do it. I just want my coffee hot, not tepid. read more

Groundswell Coffee Roasters is my new go-to-place on the weekend for Chemex coffee. Simple menu, free wifi and good cozy crowd. They have donuts and unfortunately the demand for the donuts is far higher than the supply; thus, I never got a taste of the pastries. The servers are super friendly and quick as opposed to other coffee shops in the city. The only thing I'd want from this place is a better ventilation system. During winter times, the whole shop can smell like toasted bagel. read more

Really good coffee and incredibly friendly staff. Also can recommend blueberry muffin, it's something absolutely amazing!

A welcome addition to the neighborhood. I love this place. Line sometimes crawls, but its well worth every second. Best macchiato (by far) in the west loop. I hope they put Starbucks down the street out of business! read more

Awesome drinks and food. You can also buy freshly roasted coffee beans and they will grind them for you!

Alex is the shit. I have a very particular drink that's difficult to find in this city, and when shops do attempt it .. it's rarely done well. Came in this morning, chatted up the (very friendly) staff and learned they didn't have what was needed to make my drink BUT Alex attempted it anyway using his creativity and Jedi-level frothing skills. The result was far better than what I was searching for. Needless to say, I'm a new fan. Alex warmly introduced himself to me after I inhaled his creation, and from that moment on I knew I was hooked - my new place! I regularly hit up tastings at places like Ipsento and Counter Culture, and I can say that not only do the quality and variety at Groundswell rival such places .. in a way this shop surpasses them for being far more approachable and having a more welcoming, home-like atmosphere. The food's pretty great, too :) So glad to have found you guys! See ya in the morning. read more

Proper coffee! This side of West Loop needed this. A welcome addition to the neighborhood. Finely crafted coffee with friendly staff and service. I've had a chance to try out the cold brew, cappuccino, cortado, and flat white. All nicely made but the cortado has become my go-to. The cold brew also has a mild roast flavor with a subtle bitterness and a sweetness from honey. No sugar needed. For the food, the breakfast panini was a sizable serving that should fill you up. The pastries are also satisfying and fresh. They have an oji style drip coffee, you'll notice the Tesla looking contraption at the end of the bar, one of which I've only seen at San Francisco's Blue Bottle. Coffee brewed over a long period one drip at a time. I'm looking forward to trying that next along with the other paninis offered. The register can get a little busy during the morning hours but there's plenty of room to hangout on the side. -Smile when you order read more

So happy to see I have a new local coffee shop option near work! My standard test is the mocha. It took the barrista a while to prep, but they've only been open one week. It was smooth, not too sweet or bitter. Could be a touch chocolatey-er. With Intelligensia and my old Jones in Pasadena as 10s, I'd say it's an 8. Overall, nice, fun space. I'll be back! read more

super cute and calm coffee house. came here w my bestfriend for a quick sip, coffee was pretty strong too read more

Groundswell - Coffee Roasteries Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Fantastic relatively new addition to the West Loop. Atmosphere was warm and the latte was strong. Definitely recommend drinking it in the place. read more

Solid offering of coffee and espresso beverages in the West Loop. The service is great, but a little slow. Expect longer lines on the weekends. read more

We had an Ethiopian pour over, a decaf Colombian mocha and a flat white. All were delicious. Calm vibe. Small and quaint space. Barista well versed on their coffee beans. Check it out! read more

I really wanted to like this place, but I'm just meh. The coffee tastes sour to me, no matter what kind I get. When I went this morning, they had ran out of coffee and there was a wait for them to make more? The inside is decorated nice, and the location is good-literally almost right downstairs from my apartment, so I'll really only come here if I don't want to walk to the other coffee places in the area. For the price though, there's much better coffee in this area. *still not a fan of their regular coffee but added a star bc all their other drinks (lattes) and food are good! read more

Ordered the Amada Ethiopia brewed coffee. Great flavors. Cute natural wood feel coffee shop; will definitely have to come back to try the specialty drinks. Words of caution- the chocolate croissant is terrible, prob 1 to 2 stars tops. The croissant is soft, no crisp or flakiness, doesn't taste fresh. Also bought a small bag of the Miravaille El Salvador and smells so good! Can't wait to try more roasts and flavors. read more

The people working here are very friendly and knowledgeable. I had the drip coffee last week and it was pretty good. This week I tried their "Chemex" which is an alternating single source pour over. I'm new to pour overs and find I enjoy them due to the enhanced flavor subtleties and decrease of acididity. However the Chemex cup I had was a room temperature $5 cup of coffee. I couldn't even drink all of it. A tepid cup of coffee should be avoided, not paid for and definitely not at a premium. Perhaps this was an anomaly for Groundswell. read more

Delightful neighborhood gem. Serves DELICIOUS coffee and several quality food and pastry options. Perfect for breakfast, lunch, studying or just hanging out. read more

Groundswell - Turkey & provolone panini with avocado, tomato & pesto aioli on superfresh bread. Delish! - Coffee Roasteries Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Undrinkable flat white. It didn't taste like coffee, it didn't really taste like anything except hot milk. I guess the ambiance seemed nice. Maybe I got a bad barista, but this was a remarkably bad drink. read more

I love the earthy feel of the place, they clearly put a lot of effort into the atmosphere. The staff are very friendly, often see them greeting their dog-walking patrons at the door and showing much love for their furry friends. I've never ordered anything here that wasn't good. Highly recommend the paninis. Everything is made fresh. read more

fantastic coffee, really nice staff with excellent service, delicious scones. one of my new favorites. haven't tried the panini yet, but menu looks very promising. read more

Service is great . People friendly. Always go in when I walk the baby. Pumpkin latte is awesome

I think it's easy to say everyone in the West Loop is ecstatic that Groundswell opened this year. Everything from the coffee, paninis, and pastries are so delicious, definitely the best in the area. The ambiance inside is amazing, it's decorated beautifully, the music is always great, and Allen and his team always have the best energy. Love this place!! read more