Winston’s Cafe

Sigh, yet another pleasant late night coffee spot in Chicago bit the dust. This city must be allergic to serious coffee houses, I swear: P.
When I was in Seattle, every other spot was a Coffee house and a fair number of them were open late. They also had way more variety than Metropolis coffee.
When I was in New York City there were also tons of late night coffee spots, though I guess this is a city that never sleeps.
There were even a few late night coffee spots with a good variety of blends in unlikely places like Madison Wisconsin, Columbus Ohio, and yes Cincinnati where there are like 4 of them and all of them also serve alcohol too.
Yet as proven by this, Chicago can’t do a loungey coffee house right, the kind of thing one thinks should be a fixture in any large city.

This place is great. I wish it were still open 24 hours.
The space is open, but still cozy. There’s plenty of table space to get work done, as well as couches surrounding a coffee table for people who want to relax a bit more. Nice art on the walls from a nearby gallery. The typical crowd is quiet and pleasant.
This is an awesome example of how cool a local coffee place can be. They have a creative menu (I recently ordered a cheese and eggplant sandwich, which hit the spot) and good brands of tea and coffee.

I love this place!
Our game group gets together here on Thursday nights and the owner sets aside the room for our board gaming pleasure each week. We had such a hard time finding such a place that would just leave us be and let us play games in peace.
I’ve only spent time in the side room for games, but from afar the rest of the place is super spacious, clean, and has a great atmosphere.
The owner and other workers are always very accommodating and personable and don’t even seem to mind making ten sandwiches and pizzas in a row for our large group each week. For some reason, those little pizzas they make always hit the spot and at a reasonable price. They also offer a variety of pastries, coffee, and tea.
Can’t go wrong with Winstons!

So, some things have changed since I wrote my first review, and I thought I should do my interweb-​ly duty to keep the Unilocal community up to speed with it. My original review is below, but with some glaring changes, noted parenthetically for your amusement… maybe.
Its a 24 hour coffee shop with WiFi and great* coffee. What more do you need? (Unfortunately, the hours have been cut back from 8a-​1a daily. Its a huge blow to the late-​night coffee shop scene in the city, especially in this area. As a grad student, I only utilized this place after 1am once or twice, but it was a phenomenal place to hide out in, especially in the back room for some peace and quiet)
Atmosphere is friendly, lots of seating, with a 1:1 power outlet-​seat ratio (it seems). Two free computers (with purchase) with unregulated per-​minute internet usage. Looks like this place was once a bar… its great! (You now have to pay to use the cafes’ computers… something like 30 cents a minute. Suffice to say, my motivation to update this review and update this review with really awesome information is mutually exclusive. Wi-​Fi for paying customers is still free, however, and has been so much more stable in the recent future than it was over the summer. Huge bonus)
Coffee, Sandwiches and other snacks/​desserts available for under $ 5 bucks, unless you get a 12″ pizza, that’ll break the bank at $ 7 or so; you’re paying for what you get… and its worth it! Board games available from staff upon request.
Staff is prompt and kind. Over 15 different types of loose-​leaf tea available. Definitely has one of the better press pot coffees in the city too. This coffee shop is your answer to the starbucks and dunkin donut culture that [is] gripping the average coffee drinkers in Chicago.
An additional side note: if you plan to become a regular here, bring some headphones. Sirius-XM’s coffee shop radio is playing nonstop here, and to knock on the radio station, there’s not a lot of diversity during the day. You’ll expect to hear the same music in here often. Bring some headphones, unless you like Tracy Chapman.

I have passed by numerous times looking at the dark windows wondering if this place is even open, and finally ventured out yesterday to take a look. I saw the neon coffee shop sign lit, but the 24 hours light wasn’t. The sign on the door had new business hours, and I happen to be fall in during the open time. I saw the chalk board sign to my left of the specials as I walked in, and I felt welcome in the open space of the café. It felt unpretentious, and like I could walk in with my sweat pants, be comfortable, and not be judged. I saw a pretty diverse group of people there in the morning. The barista was very helpful and patient as I was flip flopping between a scone and a sandwich, and finally decided on the cranberry apricot scone. It was actually pretty well made. It tasted fresh as the texture of it was soft and moist, where some others I have had have a harder crispy edge. I saw that they serve Metropolis coffee, but opted for my standard cappuccino. It was pretty good, except that I like mine pretty dry so I do look for lots of foam and there really wasn’t too much of it. I definitely wouldn’t mind coming back.

This is truly a 3.5-star review. It’s a little more than «A-​ok» but a little less than «Yay! I’m a fan.» I’m not quite sure if I’m a fan yet, even after our second meeting.
On the outside, you wouldn’t even think of coming in here. It looked sketchy to me. And then tack that onto their «Internet café» name and the first thing I think of is, «…a computer place???» Ok, they offer free wifi, and the people inside definitely look like they’re busy working on papers and whatnot.
But Winston’s is so much more than that. They have a little private room in the back (not really that private, but it’s tucked away). They have a bookshelf of boardgames and books. Nice, nice. They also serve sandwiches in addition to their coffee and espresso.
It’s nice and private — probably due to their sketchy exterior, perfect for studying and getting work done. My friend and I sat at the bar because we wanted to talk and didn’t want to bother the other people working.

I heart Winston’s. Free wi-​fi, tasty goods and nice staff. Get there early and get a table seems to be the weekend mantra. My first visit was cut short by technology fail on my part but i went back a couple of days later to try using the shop again for peace and quiet.
My only gripe, and reason for one star off is during my last visit, a guy was there surfing hard core porn. Not on his own laptop, but on one of the coffee house stations. The barista finally got him to stop but really, letting someone surf big c*ck dot com in a public place?
Other than my accidentally porny day, I had a nice quiet spot to finish up my school work, surf the web and have a great apple cider and tasty muffin to keep me going.

Two stars for Winston’s café: one for being open 24 hours, one for the nice space, nice seats.
Aside from that, the unfriendly barista gave me a bad first impression, a distaste that lasted long enough for me to make the effort to log back into Unilocal to post this review, but maybe he has long hours so he’s fussy with everyone and I will acknowledge that – customer service can inspire this within you. Last night was my first time there, and when I heard that it was a café in Andersonville/​Uptown, I was surprised that I had never heard of it before since I regularly hang out in the area.
So my friend asked about wi-​fi access and he’s like, «You are limited to 20 or 30 minutes, so if you’re expecting to do your homework here for 6 hours – no.» A bad assumption/​implication to make about customers, I think. He said «no» with his lips reverse-​pursed, a gesture that was able to say ugh and no and unacceptable in a concise, unspoken way. That was off-​putting. My three-​cheese grilled panini was about $ 5 (bland) and my cocoa was $ 3 (so-​so) and it took a while to be ready. Unless you are looking for a super late-​night space, it would be better to skip Winston’s and go elsewhere.

Nice spacious space with big comfy chairs.
I went there yesterday afternoon after a nice walk to Andersonville.
They have a great selection of loose teas. I chose the peppermint with honey. 4 stars for being open 24 hours and the friendly barista.

Cute little addition to this side of the AV.
Stopped in for a much needed AM caffiene fix (aka «where did I put the coffee in the move»). The menu looks like a nice variety of the café type and there were a bunch of tasty looking treats on the counter. We stuck with the caffiene, though.
The space is clean with nice brick interior. There’s even a hide-​away extra space that’d surely corral a slew of *ahem* roudy Unilocalers at an office hours (*hint hint*) or private gathering.
This place has star potential. Our two drinks were served up ridiculously slow with no orders ahead of us. Not sure if it was due to a newbie, or just too darn early in the day for faster paced service. Plus, I ordered an extra shot and ended up with a dose of vanilla instead, just like my +1’s drink. Not what I ordered, but didn’t taste it until we were back at home. Drinkable, but sweeeeeeet.
I won’t give up yet. Winston’s, don’t fail me!

This is a long over due update.
I was so hopeful for this place and it had tons of potential.
However, I was disappointed by many things and none of the potential was lived up to.
I feel most of my reasons are more personal in nature, so I will keep them to myself.
The only person who could make a mocha no longer works there, and hasn’t for quite some time. That person was also the only one trying to make things happen (open mic, events, etc…) It’s a shame.

I created this account for the sole purpose of posting this review.
The place is open 24/​7, is clean, has good coffee, fast internet. Life is good. Parking nearby is easy and it’s a short walk from the Argyle stop on the Red line or the Clark bus. There are many plugs for laptop users.
I have one complaint.
For the LOVE OF GOD, please play better music. I cannot stress this enough. The Sirius radio station that you have on all the time has the WORST MUSIC. If I hear Nickleback again, I think I might lose it.

The only reason I’ve given this place 2 stars is because they are open 24 hours and serve Metropolis.
I’ve been here a few times and I have yet to be wowed by their drinks– or to get friendly service. The baristas here are snobby and without the skills to back it up. The last time I went here was with my gf a few nights ago and we waited at the register for 10 mins before the two people right on the other side of it, FACING US and restocking, even acknowledged us– one of which, I believe, was the owner. Even then we got nothing but a grunt.
My lattes have been far too milky, the last time I got a cappuccino I was served a latte, I’ve never had decent foam, and the prices are ridiculous. Spend your money at the other dozens of cafes around the area and don’t come inside– just leech the wi-​fi from the bench in front of the tattoo parlor next door.

It was right before finals in March 2010 and three of my friends and I desperately needed a change of scenery for a long night of paper writing after having exhausted all of the libraries at UofC.
100 stars right away for being open ²⁴⁄₇! I am constantly frustrated by the lack of good ²⁴⁄₇ café spots around Chicago, and was excited to find this one. The space is awesome-​very open and spread out, comfy couches, small tables scattered everywhere, and best of all, tons of outlets! The lighting isn’t too bright but I found it adequate. There are also a few PCs which I assume you pay for by the hour and free wi-​fi which was pretty good-​I only got kicked off a few times over the course of maybe 5 hours.
It wasn’t as crowded as expected. When we first arrived there was a group of maybe 10 who had gathered for a board game night, but they never got too loud. There were other laptops out as the night continued, but by the time it got to be around 2−3a there were only a handful of us left. They do play pretty mainstream radio music in the background and people were coming and going, so don’t come expecting a silent study space.
I had an iced black coffee and some sort of cinnamon/​pecan pastry, both of which were good and relatively cheap. It did, however, take FOREVER for the drink and food to come out, which was surprising because they weren’t serving too many customers. The barista was extremely friendly and sweet, though, so I didn’t mind chatting with him while waiting.
A great find for a long night of studying! Chicago needs more ²⁴⁄₇ cafes like this one.

Every time I return here the crowd gets exponentially bigger. I view this as a positive and a negative.
Positive: It ensures that Winston’s will survive-​having been opened for about four months now it’s good to see a new, local business get its legs steady. I am glad the word of mouth is spreading.
Growing numbers are a testament to the friendliness of the staff-​one of the barista’s asked how much we liked the place and I had to say I liked the place, great for studying and meeting up… I think it might have been the owner-​whose name is NOT Winston, that’s the name of his dog.
Negative: Getting harder and harder to find a place to sit down and plug in my laptop-​still a lot easier than other late-​night coffee shops so it’s a minor grievance.
The ratio of crazies has gone up. Not surprising given the neighborhood and it’s only natural that with a larger number of people there’s going to be a higher percentage of unbalanced folks around but on a particular visit I was outside with my friend smoking one of his cigars. I look into the window to see how my other strict, non-​smoking friends were doing and lo and behold one of the guys using a house desktop is looking at porn. Save that for the house, tough guy, yikes.
I still love the place and I don’t want to dock the place a star for some bad eggs but still, pretty disturbing.

I am so pleased with this place. Judging from the outside, I wasn’t prepared for much. I was pleasantly surprised.
The staff was really nice. The atmosphere was fantastic with couches for lounging and plenty of tables to work from. The music was a little loud for me with distracting commercials, but I was able to drown in out with my headphones.
My chai was tasty, and there were a lot of yummy-​looking goodies to be had. Did I mention they’re open 24 hours?
I foresee Winston’s becoming my new go-​to place for studying or just hanging out with friends. Good stuff!

I have finally found a 24 hour café that i love. This place is great. The location is the only thing about it that i didn’t like. Granted i did go and venture out to find this place when Chicago was experiencing a weirdly thick fog one Monday night but i had 5 essays to write and a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do.
The place was not packed at all, actually, for a place that large a good 30 people can fit in there comfortable and there were probably 8 or 9 when i first got there around 11pm. The cashier was alone and was great when treating with her customers. All drinks and food was brought to your location with a smile. I was in the large room with two couches and the big windows. There are accessible outlets for your laptops everywhere and auto-​mans and side tables for all your coffee-​placing needs. The food selection was a little limited at the moment, my friend got a chicken sandwich that looked pretty good — he failed to share — while i got the Red Eye (I meant business).
Later in the night — around 2am i had to get a refreshing tea because my neighbor across the way had an interesting «kettle» that looked lke a lightbulb. I asked the new cashier what he recommended for a cafinated tea and he let me smell a variety before i settled on teh Green tea. I also got the Cranberry Nut Muffin. Both were great. The tea was only $ 2 and fill two tea cups and came with complimentary honey. The tea was delicious and just what i needed. Again served with a smile. The thing that peaked my interest the most is the home run inn advertisements around the café. One of my favorite pizzas. I’ll have to try it when i go next.
Which will probably be next week if not this week. Solid 4!

My sis and I were here last night. She needed to study, and I needed to catch up on Farmville (Yeahhhh! So What!).
Here are the reasons why I love it:
1. They serve Metropolis Coffee.
2. It’s closer to where I live than Pressure Café (Sorry Pressure Café)
3. OPEN 24 HOURS!
4. FREE WIFI!
5. Our Barista was very friendly and patient with us. They were also really cool when my sis spilled her drink and made a mess! LOL!
6. Lots of space!
7. Enough electrical outlets for Laptops!
8. Clean Bathroom. (Because I gotta go after drinking tons of coffee!)
As you can see, they have exceeded my expectations and have now become my new favorite place to hang out.
I look forward to many long nights of studying, playing farmville, and other personal work here.
Fat Girl has yet to try their baked goods!

Definite potential for good old Winston’s in an neighborhood fairly underserved in the «real» coffeeshop realm.
Yes, there is Kopi (a little too hippie for some), and The Coffee Studio and necomer Ch’ava (a little to yuppie for some), George’s (a little too ice creamy for some), and… like, Starbucks. That’s about it, in a super bustlin’ hood… you’d think we’d be able to get a little more caffeine up in here!
So, hi Winston’s. An ex-​bar, turned coffeehouse. Not a bad idea, not a bad one at all. Throw some sammies into the mix, and hells bells Aville, we’ve got something here.
Located at the corner of Argyle and Clark, this is just far enough south that one can snag some easy street parking. Head on in, nestle into a big comfy couch, room to sprawl, study, read, converse… the whole bit.
What is it missing? Well… for now, an identity. The décor is a bit… lacking in character. The garishness of an ex-​bar/​nightclub is not washed away by dousing the place in a few coats of eggplant paint. Or throwing in some chairs/​tables and an espresso machine. But, truly… it’ll get there.
The vibe isn’t entirely welcoming at this juncture… just felt a bit «off,» but judging by the number of people lounging about, perhaps this is a personal issue of mine. Perhaps, perhaps.
I’ll give it another whirl. Though my soy, sugar free vanilla latte took 15 minutes to arrive, it was tasty indeed.
Definite potential, and I’ll definitely be back. Great for lunch (gonna have to try some of those sandwiches) study/​work groups or just to grab a coffee and hang out. Glass mugs abound, it may just earn my loyalty…

In his movie «Never Give a Sucker an Even break,» W.C. Fields wanders into a soda shop and orders a root beer float. When the drink arrives, he blows off the head, then turns to the camera and says, «This place was supposed to a saloon, but the censor cut it out.»
Winston’s Café has a similar vibe. If you’ve read the article in TimeOut (link below), you know this was supposed to be the new home of The Eagle, but for various the owner couldn’t get a liquor license. So he decided to open a coffeehouse instead, with the plan of eventually being open 24 hours.
As a coffeehouse, it’s not bad. It just opened this week, so it’s definitely still getting its footing. The place is not fully stocked, the menu is in development, and the staff is working out the kinks. But things look good. There are a half dozen café tables along an exposed brick wall, and a couple of leather sofas face a spacious coffee table. There are plenty of low tables with comfortable seating, and plenty of room at the bar. The WiFi is free, and there are a couple of flat screen workstations available. Other services, such as printing, are still in the works. The music is softer alt-​rock (think REM), and the lighting is moody.
The clientele is like Fields — they still think it’s a saloon. When I stopped in, midafternoon, it was all gay men. After a while, a gaggle or gays I recognized from the old Eagle stopped by for a brew. This isn’t a surprise, since owner Jim Stephens was a longtime bartender at the Eagle. All in all, an interesting mix.
I’m hoping for the best. Stephens has done a great job of converting the interior into a pleasant space, and he’s obviously committed to making it work. I’ll be happy to have an alternative to Screenz, since the owner of that place is MIA, along with half the staff. And if he manages to stay open late night, even without booze, this joint will be jumpin’ after 2am.
FYI, here’s the article in TimeOut: