Brü Chicago

I’ll start my making it clear that I do come here here a lot and will continue to come here.
The juices are pretty good, the place has a cool vibe and the staff is very friendly.
My only complaint is that the wait time takes FOREVER! It is clear that they are severely understaffed as it’s typically one person working the register and one person responsible for making all the food, drinks, etc. plus doing everything else.
This seems like a pretty simple fix —- hire more people! Have at least one more person working at a time. It should not take 30 minutes to wait for a simple juice when the line really wasn’t that long.
This place could easily by 5 stars, but due to the above, I can only give it 3.

My boyfriend and I went in to get protein shakes and lattes before work. There was one customer getting a drink made, and the barista was taking her time, having a conversation with him. The guy making sandwiches greeted us and took our order, and told me the vanilla protein powder was Vegan. Thirty dollars and twenty minutes later, we finally receive our two lattes and two shakes, and I was then informed by the barista that the shake I had ordered was made with Whey protein. Granted, everything else tastes delicious, but now I’m late to work — sans shake. I didn’t have another 20 minutes to spare for her to make another.

Bru Chicago is awesome! It is perfect for students who want to get studying done or for anyone who would like a good place to grab a drink with friends. This place has many different seating layouts, it is quiet and it is open later than most coffee shops in Chicago. The staff is also very friendly. I just wish I found this place sooner.
P. S. Try the Purpleline protein shake, it’s amazing!

The coffee is rich and tasty. Food and drinks are yummy and staff friendly.
The only thing that irked me, and yes I am type A, was the lack of cleanliness. As I sat in the coffee shop after ordering a smoothie, sat down, plugged in I noticed a ton of flying insects. Hmm, not the most appetizing. The light on the wooden long table with nice picnic benches clearly needed a wipe down of the months of accumulated dust.
The bathroom needs the walls, waste basket, and door scrubbed down with soap and water. Easy fix. I find that the bathroom says a lot about the kitchen cleanliness which really turned me off of finishing my smoothie. The hand soap is a pump that is the one that comes with ordering hand soap in bulk. Won’t take much to get a nice dispenser and put the liquid soap in that. They hand dryer barely blows air. The bathroom needs some paint and some upgrades. I dreaded having to have to go in there again so stopped drinking liquids.
The ambiance is relaxed and laid back. It reminds a bit of a late 90’s coffee shop with mismatching furniture that is very comfortable. Although once again the floors badly needed sweeping, tables wiped down, and a good scrub on the floor boards, cases of food, garbage containers.
I would come back if the bathroom had a new upgrade, just paint and some cleaning of the walls and floor (like a good scrubbing) and the place just looked clean. It was a really turn off.
It’s a shame since I really enjoy this laid back atmosphere and hate writing a negative review on non starbucks spots.

Delicious! Best black hot coffee hands down, zero bitterness. Greek town sandwich melts in your mouth. Relaxed atmosphere for studying. Keeps me coming back.

All around good experience; 8am Sunday in Wicker Park. I took the suggestion of an almond milk latte from other reviews and I’m glad I did. I concur, it is the smoothest latte I have ever had. They serve Bow Truss beans (a local Chicago roaster) which I like too.

I’m a venture-​er of sorts and love to randomly walk into shops that look cool.
That being said, this is a cool looking place. It’s not an over-​extravagant place like others in Wicker Park, but it has it’s own vibe, which I like. It’s a very chill place to read a book or write, or whatever you do.
However, the service wasn’t all there. I like to be welcomed with at least a «Hey! How are you today?», but I wasn’t getting that here. I got a coffee and one of the pastries they had. Both were good and I would definitely go again for them.
I’ll be going back to get a sandwich, but not soon.

This spot is steps from the Damen Stop and their smoothies are delicious! Their menu is a bit pricey, but the quality definitely makes up for it. I like the variety of the menu and seating options. A couple of recommendations I would suggest to the owners is to add more outlets and the scent of the food prep tends to linger and stick to us.

Smoothest lattes ever! It was love at first sip. I paired it with a slice of pear coffee cake with a drizzle of caramel. Can you say Yumm-​MEE!!!
I must bring mother-​dear here after «Mother Appreciation Day» on Sunday! She would love the latte with a chocolate chip coffee. ¡Muy sabrosa!

I’m rating this solely on the one smoothie I got. I think I got a Strawberry Banana or something along those lines. It was pretty pricey, but I saw that they used real fruit, so that was nice. However, the smoothie was lukewarm when I got it. I appreciate that they don’t want to use ice to dilute the smoothie, but yeah… lukewarm smoothie after running around at the park, not so great.
The layout of the place isn’t very intuitive… They had a counter at the front, but it wasn’t for ordering drinks. I think it was for ordering food? I would think that you’d want to have people order at the first counter for convenience.
There’s a printer here, so that’s good if you’re doing work and need to print stuff.
I didn’t feel incredibly welcomed by the employees here. They weren’t especially nice, but they weren’t mean either. They just spoke very monotone and were expressionless.

Bru, I love you. You are a true neighborhood joint — lots of room for fliers and postings about local events, display spaces for artists, a back event space for yoga, meetings, openings, great music. Food is terrific — especially the crepes. And I look forward to your coffee ice cubes all winter long.
Complaints about wait times, though, are fair. I’ve been here half a dozen times in the last two months on a Saturday and the two people working can’t handle the volume of customers they are getting. 20 minutes for a latte isn’t the norm, but that’s how long I had to wait today. Staff is so nice. They hustle and is apologetic, but they still need help — especially when they are also accommodating delivery services, too. No wants wants Bru to be a fast food joint but I think twice about coming now when I know it will take a good chunk of time to get even a coffee drink.
But this is a place that still deserves local patronage. They work to continually improve the space and the offerings. And the neighborhood discount is so sweet!

Decent coffee but this is a really nice place to sit or get together with friends. The ambiance is nice and the service is good as well.

Quiet coffee shop in wicker park, i had the pb mocha latte which was really good, and a choc chip cookie that was really soft and good, lotsa comfy chairs and games and book, nice place to relax and study/​work. I’d return if I was ever in the area

The coffee here is good but the service is very lousy. They seem very understaffed, often with only one or two people working. I ordered their croissant breakfast sandwich with cheddar and pesto and added turkey bacon. It took 20 minutes to receive my food and when I took a bite the croissant was ICE COLD. WTF!
The bathroom has very ugly graffiti.
In their kitchen I have noticed that when they are frying food there is NO over head ventilator and greasy smoke just wafts through the restaurant. They also have a very tiny sink that doesn’t look up to code. Seems like two big health violations to me.
This is Wicker Park people! You can find better food, coffee, and service at any other establishment in this neighborhood. Definitely will NOT be coming back!

Cute
Clean
PRICEY
$ 12 for a chai latte and a juice. Geez!!! And the juice was all celery too.

Neat new place to hang, get coffee/​tea, and a small bite to eat. I stopped in for a tea and was pleasantly surprised to see they offered a good assortment of loose leaf varieties. They also offer vegan options (there was a big sign on the counter that stated so, too); however, I had already eaten and haven’t tried them (yet). Hooray to another place offering good tea and vegan food options.

Not gonna lie. Wormhole is my coffee spot in the hood but I always end up here if Wormhole is too packed and I want somewhere to chill, jump onlline, drink a good cup ‘o joe and maybe have a baked treat .
Coffee and chai is always good, baked treats are delicious and seating is plentiful. Oh, and its also my go to spot if I have my baby in tow in her stroller. Wormhole is definitely NOT baby friendly but this place is for sure.

Super Friendly with an amazing chilled out atmosphere. I moved to Chicago from Ireland for a semester to study and Bru has become my go to spot to do work, meet friends or just chill and read a book. My ‘Central Perk’ if you will.
Great coffee with good prices. Refills are only $ 1 so you can stay for hours without breaking the bank– LOVE LOVE LOVE

A teammate and I chose this spot to hunker down and get some work done. I had the cinnamon roll latte. It was excellent. We also stayed for lunch and tea. I had the breakfast crêpe for lunch. It was really good! The crêpe was perfectly cooked and I appreciated the layering of egg, avocado, and cheese. Delicious! I also got the lemon vanilla white tea. The tea pot was as lovely as the tea. We were there for a good portion of the day as other people came and went. The staff were friendly to us and the service was good. I liked the atmosphere and the different seating options– couch, high boy, table. The only drawback for me is that it’s a bit on the pricey side. And the draft from the door opening. Overall, a solid experience.

Cool spot in Wicker Park to come in and work from here or do homework. What I also liked about this place is that its not only a coffee shop but they also serve fresh juices and smoothies. Place is overall cozy and cool (similar to Wormhole) with multiple couches and tables. I will be back if I am in the are for a coffee/​juice or to do some work.

Atmosphere is nice but the coffee and service suck.
The barista was on his phone while making the drinks.
Ordered the chai latte, it was bland af. I told the barista that something was wrong with it. He looked at me weird, then tasted the stock mix, and then agreed with me. While he was staring at me, wondering what he should do, I suggested that I get something else. So he made me a really bland cappuccino, in the process he used his dirty hands to level out the coffee grounds.
Overall, the service was really weird and the drinks were terrible. There are better options for coffee shops in the area.

I love the atmosphere here. The décor is nice and it’s very mellow. A good study or relaxing spot. They also have some games and books that costumers can use. The coffee is good, but a little on the expensive side.

I love this place! i don’t usually like coffeeshops in Wicker Park, but I dig this one. So much space and great crepes and teas! I’m always able to be very productive for long work days here.

The owner or manager of this café was very kind and gave us free coffee because we were studying for finals.
The rest of the staff weren’t too nice or helpful, but it was later on a Saturday night so maybe they were just tired.
Overall, can’t wait to go back once the weather gets better.

Wandered into Bru after exploring Myopic.
Cute little coffee shop vibe — desks and couches, books to read/​look through and games too. I believe you can rent the room in the back for meetings.
Ordered a macchiato Del caramel and I was happily satisfied. Caramel flavor was definitely present but not too strong — just how I like it!
Wish I lived closer to Wicker Park so I could come back more often!
Simple vibes and yummy coffee. If only prices were a little cheaper, but that’s my wish for all coffee shops.

Came here because I’ve been wanting to explore new coffee shops now that I get to work from home.
Came here on a Tuesday morning and was the first here (yay for being a morning person), me and my gf got situated and got to pick our seating. I loved the options of seating here and did I mention the outlets, they have plenty!
My wifi wasn’t working so a worker came over and helped me out! It was awesome and definitely will come back, coffee was yummy as well!
Will come back to work, as the environment is very similar to Filter, down the street! Will try out the juice bar and food as well!

This place does not even have ventilation system when it makes sandwiches and crêpe in the middle of the coffee shop?! The smoke coming from cooking hurt my eyes and my throat. My clothes and hair all smell like greasy smoke! Will never come here again. Very disappointed!

Awesome atmosphere and great selection of drinks and food. Plenty of space for working and plenty of electrical outlets. Also, real coconut milk for those of us who avoid dairy!

Had a wonderful time meeting a friend here for coffee. She had coffee and I had a fresh smoothie –which you can customize to your liking! Since I don’t care for bananas that was a definite plus! Staff were very friendly and even brought our drinks to the table.
I downed it one star b/​c the bathroom has a lot to be desired. It needs some fixing up — soap dispenser, paper towel holder, candle, faucet… And give it a thorough cleaning that means the entire toilet even the sides and near the floor. Ew.

I’m here one a week in the evening for the past year (?). I’ve seen a lot of changes through this time and I finally feel I should make an assessment.
PROS: The owner and seasoned staff are great. They make fantastic drinks and are always friendly. The food is good (see below).
Always an event going on.
CONS: The seating situation is out of control at this point. Recently about 3 – 4 couches (that fit no décor style I can tell) were added to an already crowded room along with a curtain and additional table. There is literally no room to walk in here. Last week I was sitting on a couch that everybody had no choice but to bump into to get through the room. Please, get rid of some of this junk! It’s too crowded! It would look so much nicer if everything matched!
Food. Oh, I wish the kitchen was open just s little later! I go at 7 PM and it would be nice if I could eat there. The closed kitchen forces me to buy dinner down the street.
4 stars because it really has a lot going for it I just wish it was more comfortable.

More like a 2.5 but I rounded up. We came because my friend was sick of studying at Filter. Bru is a decent option though I still prefer Filter on off-​hours.
Food & Drink: Raspberry yogurt iced black tea — pretty good and refreshing. Macarons — got the lemon and pistachio. They were mediocre. I liked the tartness of the lemon but the pistachio flavor didn’t taste authentic. Both were not chewy enough and I didn’t like the texture of the macarons. Smoothies and fruit juices lean towards the expensive side.
Lights — holy crap. Please fix the lights! It’s so dim. There are so many lights above but they don’t work :(I understand they are trying to get this problem resolved though. For the time-​being, it’s nice that they allowed us to move one of the lamps right next to our table.
Music — too loud! If I’m blasting my own music through my headphones and can still hear the music, it’s way too irritating.
Large table right before the couches towards the back — it’s a very tall table and the seats are pretty low which made it uncomfortable but I loved the many outlets on the table sides.
Bathroom — needs A TON of work and also a larger trash can. It seems they are using it as a storage room at the moment. At least the basic toilet and sink functions are working. I could go on and on but I’ll leave it at that for now.
I liked the initial set-​up/​idea of having an art gallery and a little performing station in the backroom although it seems (again) that they still need a lot of work on the lay-​out and the arrangement back there. It’s a bit confusing really right now.
It’s nice that’s it’s fairly empty in comparison to Filter and Wormhole though!

Pretty sure this place just opened up a couple months ago. But it already has reason to be my new Wicker Park hangs. Coffee, great food selection (which isn’t limited to sweets or side orders), and excellent seating space. They even have a backroom setup for projector presentations or conferences. If you need to print something, they even have a printer here for you (for a little $).
They don’t have a bottomless cup of Joe option, which is unfortunate for the café caveman, but the clean vibes make up for it.
I just wish they’d invest in better quality seats, instead of the metal self-​assembly chairs they probably bought at ikea.
But overall, definitely a new favorite of mine to visit when I need to get stuff done in this neighborhood.

Holy crap, the apple cider.
While the wait here is longer than your average coffee shop, it’s only because the baristas make everything from scratch before your very eyes. We ducked in to warm up one night last week while Christmas shopping. After my first hot apple cider was gone, I got another for the road. It was delicious. The atmosphere was also very cute, warm, and welcoming. I’d be back if I lived here.

Sure, If you don’t have shit to do during the day other than drink java, play Super Mario Brothers, and argue with your friends about who’s Futurgarb gear is better, then Wormhole is an ok spot. For the majority of us who actually work during the day, right up Milwaukee is Brü, which I think is a better option.
Why? Well, they have food for starters. Pretty tasty stuff from crepes to sandwiches to sweets. There’s also a juice bar with freshly made fruit and veggie concoctions and of course coffee drinks. All the essentials of your basic café make Brü good, but it’s the extras that make it great.
The seating is far superior to down the street with much newer and comfier furniture. They’ve got really cool Chicago-​themed artwork for sale on the walls, and it’s actually realistic that a normal person would be able to afford some of it. They’ll print your shit for you, which if you’ve ever had to do so at a Fed Ex you’ll realize how much of a luxury this is, and it’s always pretty easy to find a post up spot.
To summarize… Brü is better than Wormhole.