La Colombe Coffee

La Colombe is a chic, modern coffee shop tucked away under the Damen Blue Line tracks.
Pastries are supplied by Café Floriole, so you may find some deliciously familiar tortes, morning buns, and croissants. The décor has a rustic-​modern vibe and the mugs give a charming vintage vibe. While the café is directly under the train tracks, it noticed that La Colombe did an excellent job of somehow insulating the walls to minimize the potentially loud noise.
Be advised that wifi is not available, which may be a huge con for some, but a pro for others. To be honest, it does not seem to stop people from coming in to work or read – I even saw someone doing a watercolor painting!
The coffee is delicious! I have tried two types of espresso which both had bold characters. They have an option for an unsweetened mocha, which I have never encountered elsewhere. It turns out to have a strong taste of bitter dark chocolate, which I really liked! I have also tried there totally unique draft latte – which actually kind of tastes like a stout beer crossed with a coffee milkshake. It’s definitely not your normal latte, that’s for sure!
The staff is super friendly and polite. Once, after sitting in the shop with a friend sipping espressos for an hour or so, I got up to leave and buy another drink on my way out. The barista was very generous, and gave me the drink for free. I initially thought there was some mistake, and told him that he forgot to charge me, but he said it was to thank us for our business! Of course it was not necessary and totally unexpected – but I have never seen anyone else do that anywhere! That’s definitely a way to make an impression on the customers, make them feel valued, and keep them coming back!
I recommend La Colombe for its delicious drinks, quality snacks, and friendly staff!

This coffee is fucking magical.

I go to La Colombe at least once a week, if not twice. The drinks are as good as coffee drinks can get (amazing) and the staff is always friendly!

We were looking for a change of scenery last weekend as we both had tons of work to get through. I will say — first, their coffee is really good! It’s rich, strong, and flavorful!
They don’t provide wifi but we were tethered to our phones and enjoyed the people-​watching as well as diversity of audience.

Awesome coffee and love the draft latte. No Wifi zone.
Hop off the blue line at Damen and after a spicy ramen at Furious, was looking for a cold coffee and a place to relax. Like a troll with 3 riddles Le Colombe sits right under the train. Not a huge place and for a lazy late afternoon the seats were at a premium. If you like hipster beards and seeing people talk about art, reading books about the rise of scientific philosophy and doing creative writing come here. With that aside there was no wait and after a minute looking over the menu we ordered our drinks, cold pressed iced coffee and a draft latte, as both required not much prep the drinks were ready right away, after waiting about a minute we got a seat in a corner and we’re excited to get on wifi and try to do some productive things and/​or get lost in the interwebs. I went back up to order a chocolate croissant and ask for the WIFI and to my surprise they did not offer WIFI. There goes my dreams of looking at endless Reddit threads and eventually landing on a page on how to build paper mache unicorn. Overall coffee was yummy and if you drink it there and not Togo, you tend to get a bit more. I will use this as a sign to look up from my phone and laptop and try to have a meaningful conversation.

Conveniently located next to the Damen Blue stop, this place is a great place to have some coffee here and study. I’m not a coffee connoisseur but the latte was very good. The shop interior is gorgeous! Unfortunately, the employees are not very friendly (more like apathetic) and they don’t offer wi-​fi either. Wouldn’t come here again unless I needed a caffeine fix.

Loved it. Interior was really cool, great natural lighting. The guy working was very friendly and helpful and didn’t mind our questions. He let us sample their new latte on draft before we decided on it. It was GREAT! I definitely recommend it. The drinks come out fast and tasted great. It’s a must stop for anyone going through wicker park.

I went back and forth on whether the Wicker Park location of La Colombe was going to get 3 stars or 4. Here’s my dilemma: their coffee is really great. When I last stopped in I ordered a Cortado, and it was truly outstanding. However, I was really frustrated to learn that they don’t offer wifi. That’s pretty much a necessity for any coffee shop in 2015. I would have stayed longer during my visit and enjoyed at least one more delicious espresso drink, but I had work that I needed to do which required an internet connection.
If you’re just swinging through and looking for a good cup of coffee, you should definitely hit up La Columbe. But if you want to spend some time surfing the web or checking emails while you drink, you’re better off going elsewhere.

If you are reading this and you are on the blue line, get off on the Damen stop right now and go to La Colombe.
The draft latte was probably the best thing I consumed my whole Chicago trip. Lived in Wicker Park for 5 years prior to moving to LA, and it seems like a bit of a travesty that this place came around after I left. I’ve had my share of draft coffee in LA, but this latte is something else entirely.
The draft latte comes in 1 size only. It’s a little frothy, already a little sweet, almost milk shake-​like and just so delicious. Went there 4 out of the 7 days of my trip. Fiancé got the Black and Tan bc he prefers things a little less sweet. Oh, AND they’re incredibly fast bc the drink doesn’t have to brew.
A must-​try

I love this place, not just for the fabulous coffee, but for its interesting location — situated right next to the Blue Line elevated train. I love looking out the café windows and seeing the tracks running overhead. It makes me feel like I’m traveling somewhere, just stopping for a moment to have a quick cortado and a chocolate croissant while I wait for the next train.
I had my first flat white here. While I couldn’t possibly rehash the barista’s excellent description, it was exactly what I was wanting at the moment — something smaller and dryer than your average cappuccino. I’d never heard of a flat white before and appreciated the non-​patronizing way he explained it to me — like a good friend who is excited to make you a treat you’ve never had and he’s sure you will like. What further elevated the experience is that my drink was served in an elegant Deruta Raffaellesco cup. Huge points for that alone.
For exceptionally crafted, beautifully presented coffee, La Colombe is definitely the place.

Great coffee. Try the cold brew or iced latte on tap.
There’s no wifi, though, so this isn’t a great place if you want to get some work done.

This was on my list of coffee shops to try and I don’t think I’ll be back. I tried to order a latte with soy milk but La Colombe only serves almond milk which I didn’t have a problem with. When I actually tried my drink, it didn’t have much flavor. I couldn’t taste much espresso which you normally can since almond milk is pretty flavorless and it also had an odd aftertaste. The baristas weren’t your typical friendly hipsters nor were they rude, moreso indifferent about working there. I just wasn’t very impressed and I much prefer the coffee from Buzz which is down the street from here.

First impressions are everything. Overly bearded dude working the counter in there was a dick. «Too cool for school» my ass. Apologize for not having WiFi and at least be polite to people who are interested in spending their hard earned money at this place.
So much for it being a friendly «neighborhood joint». Note to management: hire friendly people.

Their coffee is always spot on, their baristas are nice, and the atmosphere is great. There is something about having a cup of coffee while sitting underneath the Damen Blue line stop looking out a huge window that reminds me why I love living in the heart of a big city.
La Colombe’s iced coffee definitely takes the cake. For $ 3.25 you get an iced coffee with a shot of espresso on the top to top it all off. Nothing better than that on a warm Chicago day on your way to work.
Only thing that keeps me from giving them ⁵⁄₅ stars is that they don’t have wifi and it’s not a study place… and being a student that’s an important mix for me at this time in my life. My husband’s now obsessed with the show Dangerous Grounds which I guess highlights La Colombe and the founder. I’m sure with each episdoe we’ll keep going back to La Colombe… which is fine by me.

Great little place right beneath the Blue line.
I like it because it’s clean, quiet and they make great coffee served in real cups.

Perfect little coffee shop right by the Damen stop on the Blue Line. Cute silverware, beautiful ambiance and great tasting coffee. If you need to get some work done or simply feel like doing some people-​watching next to the big windows in the front, La Colombe is definitely a spot to check out.

A huge fan of La Columbe coffee I was really excited to see that there was one so close to where I was staying in Chicago
This shop is nestled in the corner and at first glance might be missed however it is definitely one that should be stopped in at. There are various little wooden tables and one larger elevated wooden table with the cutest décor.
Additionally there is a beautiful painting on the back wall of the coffee shop it has vibrant blues and greens and looks to be some sort of coffee production mural. It deafly complements the wooden nature of the store itself.
I had no doubts of my coffee would be top notch. I had an iced coffee. I’m glad to see they had almond milk available. Sadly I was too quick to ask for skin before asking if they had that option. Nonetheless the coffee was great. I left with some inspiring words on a quote board from the shop saying «You can do it –Coffee»

Was meeting a friend in Wicker to do a little sunday window shopping and get sushi, and she suggested we meet at La Colombe since it’s right under the blue line stop. I’ve actually never noticed it before, but now that I’ve popped in, I definitely will be visiting again. There doesn’t seem to be a menu up anywhere, although they had a small sign by the registers with a couple brews they currently has and two different espressos. The staff seems friendly and unpretentious (which is great since coffee spots in Wicker tend to run the complete opposite). I got a cup of black and posted up by the bar to wait for my friend. They serve the coffee in really cute blue patterned china and refills are only 50 cents! I’m usually not a huge coffee drinker, but I can definitely see myself coming here on the weekend w a book and curling up at one of their corner tables. Will be back!

I’m not a big coffee drinker, but I’m a big sucker for the perfectly Instagrammable latte art. And trust me, La Colombe will give you some of the best in the city with it’s ornate, decorative china. My latte came with a beautiful blue cup and matching blue saucer. I paid around $ 4, which is typical for the area.
La Colombe is right next to the newly renovated (and finally open!) Damen stop and also the delicious Stan’s Donuts. Naturally, we grabbed a couple of doughnuts and camped out here midday on a Saturday. I was worried at first about bringing in outside food, but none of the baristas seemed to mind at all since we ordered drinks. Three of us sat at a beautiful wooden table near the window – prime people-​watching spot. We ran into two friends and enjoyed catching up over coffee for a few hours. La Colombe offered the perfect environment for this! Our friends both ordered red eyes said it was their favorite drink in the city.
So, we spent the afternoon sipping on coffee, catching up, and people watching. I’m not kidding about this being a great place to people watch. We saw a LOT during our few hours there. Plenty of characters to keep you entertained. :) My only caveat is that outlets were very scarce. I had originally come to La Colombe to do work, so it was a little disheartening that I wasn’t able to do that. Clearly other people had the same idea and they remained at their outlets on their laptops for the duration of our time there. That being said, there is NO WIFI here. This is a great place to come to chat with a friend over coffee or work on something that doesn’t require an outlet.

What a great location! Happy to know that there’s one right next to the blue line. I had their coffee for the first time a week ago at their Randolph street location, but I’m glad that I don’t have to make the trek over there to get one of the most amazing cups of coffee. This place runs neck and neck, to me, with SF’s Blue Bottle Coffee. The coffee has an incredibly smooth finish without any bitterness. A big plus, is that they carry desserts from Floriole! I had a most delicious Basque gâteau (a dense almond cake with some berries) with my coffee as my friend and I ended our Christmas Eve shopping. A nice treat before we headed home. Definitely coming back!