// CHICAGO, LOS ANGELES, NEW YORK, DC, BOSTON, PHILADELPHIA //
la colombe
because apparently my life depends on oat milk draft lattes
I have to admit that when I first came across La Colombe, I didn’t realize it was a chain cafe. In my defense, the Andersonville location was a little too pretty to feel like a chain. then again, Intelligentsia is also a chain, so I guess I should have known better.
I also have to admit that it took over a year after I was first introduced to La Colombe for me to discover the world of draft lattes. Thankfully, they opened a location in Silver Lake (RIP Casbah), just a 10 minute walk from my apartment (and a 1 minute walk from Intelligentsia lol), for me to become happily addicted to this wonderful form of caffeine.
Fast forward another year and I’m moving into an apartment in Chicago, only to find that I am now literally across the street from a La Colombe. Like 3 minutes flat, from my bed to their draft latte tap, if I jaywalk. And of course this was the summer they introduced oat milk draft lattes. So there you go. I was done. I would swing by on my way to the bus in the mornings. I was sucked into the local routine of starting every Saturday in line and walking my coffee over to the farmers market down the street. I consumed about as much black and tans as I sweat in the unforgiving summer humidity. I should probably also mention that they have a kickass pastry case that also did me no favors.
the details
| Address | several locations around Chicago, New York, LA, DC, Boston, Philadelphia |
| Website | https://www.lacolombe.com/ |
| Yelp | Chicago | New York | Los Angeles | DC | Boston | Philadelphia |
| @lacolombecoffee | |
| Hours | Varies depending on location, but generally 6:30am-7pm on weekdays, 7am-7pm weekends |
| Price | $ – your typical café prices, with draft lattes coming in at $5 |
| Aesthetic | well curated 3rd wave aesthetic, heavy on the wood accents |
good to know
Go here for: your daily coffee fix
Order this: draft latte, black & tan, nitro cold brew really, however you take it as long as it’s coming out of a tap. go ahead and treat yourself to a beautifully flakey pastry while you’re at it too
Amount of time to spend: better to get things to go, La Colombe is well loved and tends to get pretty packed no matter where you are, though their service (esp for draft drinks) is fast. Although they do have wifi, I wouldn’t recommend working here. Go to one of the many empty cafes around the city to plug in.
When to come: avoid pre-work rush hour and weekends if you’re looking to sit down for a while, but again, their service is quite efficient, so any time is a good time
Getting Here / Parking:
- For my Angelenos:
- Silver Lake – street parking only, good luck grabbing a meter by Sunset Junction. Try grabbing something before the Santa Monica intersection.
- Beverly Hills – fairly easy to find a meter on Santa Monica or in a public lot nearby.
- Century City – limited free parking in the mall parking lot.
- For my Chicagoans
- All of the locations are within a block or two from the nearest “L” station, except for Andersonville, which is in the heart of Clark St. and therefore a solid 10-15 min walk from Berwyn or Argyle on the red line.
- For everyone else: I’m sorry I can’t help you…
Other things to note:
- Andersonville and West Loop locations have more seating than the other locations, which may be better for grabbing something to go.
- The Gold Coast location is tiny, but on a tolerable day you can bring it over to the park across the street, which has plenty of tables and chairs.
- In addition to Chicago, LA, New York, DC, Boston and Philadelphia, they also randomly have a location in La Jolla.
- For my Angelenos, they do not have wifi at the Silver Lake location.
Last visited: August 2019
Last updated: September 2019
