Mischief’s Brewing

Coffee shop in downtown Libertyville. Formerly a Caribou, this place has a very homey feel to it especially with couches and a fireplace. Owners are very nice and helpful.

I was not impressed with this place. I had never been before so when I walked up to the counter I took a little time looking at the menu. The middle aged man behind the counter looked like he hadn’t showered in a few days, and asked me what I wanted. I told him I had never been to this coffee shop before and I asked what was good. I always hope that cute coffee shops have a fun speciality! His response? «Everything???» I was so taken aback that I just ordered a latte, and when it was ready I went an sat down. As I was sitting I noticed that the place smelled pretty bad, it was pretty uncleanly, and there was this you 7 – 10 year old boy running around the coffee shop making a ton of noise and no one seemed to care. Meanwhile the dirty man who made my latte started coughing so much and so often I was sure his lungs would disintegrate… It did not make for a pleasant experience, and I highly doubt that I will be back. Also… The coffee was terrible.

I was so excited to find a place in Libertyville that had italian sodas… but not after I tasted them. Im giving three stars because I’m sure that their coffee is good but the strawberry italian soda I ordered was lacking in the strawberry department. :(sad day oh well hopefully next time someone orders one they put more flavoring in it…

Solid coffee shop for a good price. The service is impeccable. They never flinch when I ask them to specialize my drink. Though the coffee is good it is the atmosphere that I really appreciate. They are locals and it shows through their community support. Plus who doesn’t want to sit by the fireplace on a cold day sipping hot coffee and read magazines.

I loveeeeee supporting small business, but they really gotta invest in advertising. I came here for an event and I thought it was bar until literally I walked in. This place is the storefront facing the street! I drive past here all the time; I wish I knew.
Lots of space and the staff was generally nice.

As a local yokel and daily metra rider i really want this place to succeed, however i am left wondering how exactly do they stay in business? i am not terribly picky when it comes to my coffee or coffee shops — just something casual w decent coffee at a fair price. the space is great, the decore is ok. my 3 experiences have gotten worse to the point where on saturday our latte was undrinkable. we threw it out. with almost 3 years under its belt it is time to step it up.

Great place. Very comfortable and friendly. Good for families. There is live music tonight. Support your local coffee shop they are a great addition to the neighborhood. This is what makes United States of America great with genuine and hardworking people running the place. Keep up the good work guys. See you again.

Honestly, this place isn’t the best BUT if you want a quiet place to study and/​or spend time with yourself, I think it offers a good ambience and decent food. Other places that are buzzing with people can be difficult to concentrate in but this place was satisfactory for me and what I needed today.
10% discount for students
Free refill of coffee on the house
Free Wi-​Fi
Not complaining.

Some very comfortable seats and a lovely fireplace. Seems like a real community focused spot — however, I ordered a cookie and a mocha and they were both pretty Terrible.

Yeah this place is just awful.
I hadn’t been in Libertyville for about 8 years and work brought me back to the area for a day. I stopped in what was formerly a Caribou coffee shop that I had spent a lot of time in years earlier and was disappointed to find that Mischief had taken its place. The interior space is great, it’s pretty much identical to what Caribou had, but I think this is more the owner being lazy than a praise worthy comment.
When I walked in the café was completely empty minus one woman putting together a cross word on a large table. There was nobody behind the counter and I stood there looking at the menu, waiting for someone to greet me, for a solid minute or two. Then, the woman doing the cross word said «hi» and walked behind the counter. I ordered an ice coffee and she served it in a cheap Styrofoam Dixie cup that you would buy at the grocery store. I kind of gave her a look and she could tell that the cup annoyed me a bit. I go to the counter and realize that a straw cannot fit into the lid, she assured me that it could then pinched the straw through a slot that was designed for a small coffee stirrer.
IMO really lazy, really unprofessional, and a really clueless owner who doesn’t appear to understand the basics of perception.

This is an okay place, drinks aren’t bad they have a lot of variety of snacks to choose from and drinks and the owners seem nice too. This wouldn’t be my go to place for a coffee house but it’s convenient being next to the train station if you need a quick bite to eat or coffee before you go to work or start your day. The only thing stopping me from giving it 4 stars is that it just seems all over the place in terms of the atmosphere.

Just a weird place to go. I loved this location when it was a Caribou Coffee, but Mischief’s Brewing is ALL over the place. I appreciate a shop that does ONE THING really well. Mischief’s Brewing looks like it offers a nice variety, but I’d say most of their menu is sub-​par.
First time I went was just for a cup of coffee and a pastry. Not terrible, but not great.
Second time I was in, I ordered a donut and a smoothie. The smoothie was AWFUL. Donut was good.
From my experience, it’s very hit or miss. Now that I’ve found Hansa Coffee right next door, I probably won’t be visiting MB anymore.

Returned my favorite coffee shop, Caribou, and to an end friendly place. I made three visits. First time I asked for ice coffee and hot coffee was poured over ice in a cup. The second time all the people working there were hovering around the cash register and not friendly at all. Third time, the people seemed indifferent to the fact that I was even there as a customer.
It’s such a fantastic physical location. So much to be done. They need to hire a consultant to improve the business.
There’s plenty of room in Libertyville for several coffee shops, even in the same area. It requires quality service and the quality product and people who are passionate about their work.

First visited them when they opened. Very, very bad impression. From staff to food, to coffee, to atmosphere. BUT I hate to judge (bad) only in one visit. Visited twice more — any change. Sorry.

I’m sorry but I won’t be returning. I have stopped by a few times on my way to work… the coffee is mediocre and something is always wrong: the cream is empty, the coffee is just now starting to brew or the service is disappointing. More times than not, the person working the counter was lounging in the front and hears the door… slowly making their way to the counter just to tell me they haven’t started a new pot of coffee yet. Its 7am, It’s not like I’m coming in at 5:31am.
I will walk out of my way to get better service at the new coffee place across the tracks.

Adorable coffee shop. Went on a Friday morning at 7:30 and it was very quiet, but perfect to catch up with a girlfriend. Love the cute décor and my frappé was able to be made Sugar-​Free (I am a diabetic, this is important.)
Price was expected and the drink was delicious.
Definitely will be back, easy to get to right off Milwaukee. Plenty of parking.

On the way to church, I stopped in here to grab a couple of eye-​opening brews and to see what the place was like.
At 9am on a Sunday the place was dead — I thought it was closed.
2 medium-​sized black coffees set me back $ 4 or so.
Not bad at all and the coffee was good too.
There were a lot of offerings within the store — from donuts, to varying coffee drinks and even a Popsicle cooler. The people working there seemed shy and not the most people-​friendly, which is odd considering you’re running a coffee shop.
On any note, I’ll go back just to see if the weirdness was a one-​time thing and to have more coffee.

I’ll be honest… I ended up here when I’d set out to go to nearby Hansa. It was a day I wanted to sit and sip my coffee outdoors with pleasant patio seating, and it turned out that that was not an option at my initial destination. Fortunately, this place was right across the tracks, and had a cozy little alcove of outdoor seating.
Plan B ended up being a pleasant surprise. Reading through some reviews, I’m wondering if my experience was much better than some because I showed up on a leisurely Sunday afternoon to read and relax, versus being a Metra commuter cursing the line for not moving faster. The place is cozy, eclectic (there was a group of people with easels set up, painting, and a table where somebody was putting a jigsaw puzzle together, among other things). It’s definitely more grandma’s house than hip, austere, modern, or industrial vibe, which also probably accounts for some critical reviews… but truth be known, I’m kind of over the artsy, minimalist, dudes-​with-​facial-​hair– in– skullcaps-​and-​lean-​cut– plaid-​button-​ups– taking-​coffee– ULTRA– seriously vibe, anyway. Cozy, homey, and not– really– bothering– to– be– that– cool is an aesthetic that I can appreciate, since its little seen of late in this business.
The service was ultra– friendly, so perhaps they’ve taken recent reviews to heart. The woman at the counter was chatty, and upon noticing my husband’s logo T– shirt, asked if we were Navy, from nearby Great Lakes. My husband said that, yes, he was an instructor there, and she said her father had been one there, too, years ago, same rate as my husband… they talked shop, and she gave us a military discount and gave him a genuine thank you for his service. Giving a Navy Chief discounted coffee is an especially noteworthy kindness, IMO :). No complaints about service, she was really sweet. The atmosphere was just relaxed and very nice.
The coffee was tasty, not burnt tasting. I got the house «mischievous» blend with half and half, and a homemade, moist carrot cake muffin. Solid and fairly priced. I would definitely go back. It was a nice change of pace from Sbux and too cool for school independents.

I think these owners are carrying the burden of former Caribou patrons’ disappointment at its closure and the onus of a few early reviews with too few stars.
Hopefully, it’s time to give the folks a little bit of credit for what’s right: that’s the coffee. It’s good and prepared well. Four stars for that.
I spent a couple of hours this past weekend sitting in a comfortable chair, chatting with a good friend, my son. It was a relaxed setting. Spacing of comfortable seating and tables. The servers greeted everyone and were relaxed and friendly in attitude.
The only specific request I’d make is to put a silencer on the frappé machine – it’s very loud, reverberating through the space.
People have pointed out the change in décor – the wall’s have a different color and pictures are not of the outdoors or of moose.
Now, there are ‘cute’ mugs and teacups (I remember cats) with pictures like that. I can see soccer moms coming in for coffee or teens out of school getting their caffeine from an independent shop.
If the über stylista wants a place to hang out and be cool, come here and sip your order while wearing black – an interesting contrast between cat pics and black artist style – sort of a John Travolta/​Get Shorty/​Leonard Elmore schtick (the van thing). Shortly, we’ll see a 4 star place in reviews.

Mischief’s Brewing opened today in the former home of Caribou Coffee. I was eager to give it a try, as there is a serious lack of local coffee in the area.
They have some service issues to work out, but I think that’s to be semi-​expected on their first day in business. They were busy, which is good, but unprepared for that busyness. There are some notable and obvious communication issues between the register and the barista. The barista relies on receipts to make orders and if the receipts are out of order or not entirely accurate, the wheels start coming off. My Americano was ordered iced, but that wasn’t relayed to the barista.
The menu boards are a little hard to read, both because of size and penmanship (I told my husband I would volunteer to re-​write them for the owners and he told me not to, but I’m happy to do it — seriously). And the menu itself is all over the place — hot dogs and a salad bar? I’m sure things will sort themselves out as Mischief’s finds its niche.
Both my Americano and the husband’s cappuccino were good — good enough that we’ll go back in a month and see how things are going for this family-​run operation.