Awful latte! Just awful. Don't bother stopping if you're looking for a decent coffee.

The first review that I see on here is very similar to my thoughts. This is essentially an automated unit putting out a mediocre product, operated by very rude and dismissive employees. H espresso drinks are fully prepared by the machine, probably best considering the employees helping me were wearing dunkin donuts hats so they most likely have no barista training. The first employee looked at me and walked past three times, waiting for her work partner to help me. Their personal conversation was far more important that waiting on any customers. I had walked up a few minutes earlier and there was no staff behind the counter. I should have walked away to get any type of drink from anywhere rather than return. The quality of the iced latte? Pretty much 7-eleven vending machine level. read more

Located in a Hudson News bookstore as you make your way to Concourse A, Cafe Espresso makes the final stand between you and a sure Dunkin' death. However, do not get your hopes up. Yes, they apparently grind and brew Chicagos's Famous Intelligentia beans, but that does not mean they know how to properly brew it or even have the means to do so. The "Espresso" in the name is misleading since all they have is a push button, all-in-one machine that grinds, brews, steams milk and produces your beverage. The black coffee is severed in two large carafes in a "help you self" style. The employees (I wouldn't say Baristas) were very rude, short and unhelpful. They offered short, grimaced, curt responses, despite throwing down some smiles, charm and jokes of my own . They even started turning people away who just wanted black coffee saying it would be 10 minutes for their shift change! They had three employees back there and couldn't help anyone for 10 minutes? The only reason they are getting two stars instead of one is for serving me the worst cup of Intelligentia coffee I've ever had which is still better than the best cup of Dunkin' or Starbucks I've ever had. Please train your staff in customer service, take more care in how you brew and figure out how to do a shift change without shutting down the place for 10 minutes, creating plenty of angry non-customers. read more

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Very much looking forward to a travel treat of a cup of coffee and a brownie. The coffee smelled really good here. Fail. The coffee in the urn was barely warm, and I'm not the type that insistes on lava-hot brew. The brownie couldn't have been smaller. I took a picture so you can see what I mean. Not a treat. Strike 3: the staff thought I was invisible except for taking my cash; no acknowledgment whatsoever. Sheesh. read more

Cafe Espresso - Not even 2 small bites. - Cafes Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Just terrible coffee. Proof that when you start with good beans you can still produce undrinkable drip, no better than the gas station. You're better off waiting for the coffee on the plane. read more

Stopped here for a quick breakfast...wish I'd read the reviews first. A few highlights: they don't toast bagels so don't ask, and there's only one latte machine. If you get anything with foam, you'll wait. Go for the drip coffee if you're in a hurry. The place was sorely understaffed and you could tell the employees were feeling it. They were trying to manage the long lines and the drink orders. The drudgery was apparent. I felt bad for them. The cashier was especially dour. There aren't a ton of options for a quick coffee and pastry/oatmeal, but skip this one. read more

Cafe Espresso - Two angry staff members... - Cafes Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Ordered a $5 latte. This thing blows. Just brownish water. Please don't mess with me when I need coffee you cheap, low quality assholes. read more

I ordered a cappuccino; it tasted terrible. No taste, not sweet, just plain watered down "coffee". Not just disappointed with my beverage but the customer service was terrible! The lady in front of me ordered a drink and the cashier just stared at her and not to mention, she rolled her eyes at the poor lady. The lady was nice. I just stopped by to get something to drink while I waited for my next flight. Hope this place improves! read more

Grab your bag off the Conveyor belt at the end of security and make a sharp right into Cafe Espresso. The only reason I opted to stop in there was because I knew other coffee joints would be slammed busy. And there was only 1 person in line at this place. Big Shoulders beans make up their coffee. Now I am a fan of Big Shoulders and so my latte was good. In hindsight I should have gotten an extra shot. But hey, this place beats Starbucks any day. Down with chain coffee. read more

You just walked into MDW, finally got through the TSA lines and you REALLY need a coffee, preferably by a local roaster. You have 3 options: turn left to the Cafe Espresso for an undertrained barista to make you an Intelligentsia-based coffee drink, go straight into the food court to Gold Coast Dogs for Metropolis drip, or turn to the right and head to the right to the second Cafe Espresso for a Big Shoulders coffee. Each coffee will be substandard to the coffees you can get at the local independent coffee shops, bc duh, you're in MDW and since when do airport employees really care about your coffee feelings? If you want coffee that tastes like coffee your other main option is McDonald's. That way, you know your coffee is going to take like cigarette butts and it'll meet your expectations. So unlike most reviews on this shop, I'm giving an A-ok to Cafe Espresso. Not bc the coffee is very good (it is in the 2-3 star range) but bc the last time I was here, I turned right and the CE-Big Shoulders lady said she only had skim and soy milk, so I left bc soy and skim are not allowed and then went to CE-Intelligentsia where the airport lady told me the espresso machine was down, but she had whole milk. Then she gave me milk in a cup to walk down to CE-Big Shoulders to make me a drink that did not taste like cigarette butts. Neither airport worker was sullen, they just DGAF and gave me my damn whole milk for my damn overpriced espresso drink so I could get my damn caffeine that didn't taste like cigarettes. That's 5 star service. Plus, I'm a utilitarian realist that happens to be a tad addicted but not so addicted I'd pick McDonald's swill over other local options. Have some standards, people. And to the complainers, let's be real and not pretend you don't drink Keurig at your soul sucking cubicle job anyway. read more

Call themselves cafe espresso yet has no menu. Why is this place even here? Make your way over to Dunkin or Einstein

Does it matter if it's bad? There are no other options Midway!!!! Latte is as you would expect from a machine. Service- walk up to order, wait a minute while she sorts her receipts, no greeting, no eye contact. Mumbles something that's supposed to be a question. Saunters around to fill order. Pulls receipt and waves it in the air-no communication again. Asks why I snatched the receipt(I didn't). Here's the thing. You hate your job? You hate people? Find something different and don't blame the rest of us for your choice. read more

I've found it! the absolute WORST latte {and worst customer service} in all my years of enjoying espresso in Chicago. I ordered a large hazelnut latte, took a sip, and politely asked the girl working there if the coffee machine was working correctly. I meant it. I saw them making the coffee using the fully automated "push button" machine like the ones in nice gas stations, and wondered if they had a malfunction. I suspect they know they are selling a subpar product to unsuspecting travelers by her reaction. She rudely snatched my cup, hastily drained it in the sink, and made me another one. It was just as bad. No apology, no excuse. Just horrible service. This expensive coffee in Midway airport tasted like it was watery, slightly foamed milk with some coffee flavor added. There was zero aroma at all and the customer service was so bad that the three people behind me standing in line to order... left. They were the smart ones. My suggestion is to skip this clip joint and head to the Starbucks 100 yards away. read more

Turnaround. Walk out to your left, keep looking left, and you'll see the Dunkin Donuts Express. Got a Chai Latte for roughly $7. Tasted like watered down tea with a bit of milk in it. The only reason I didn't give it one star is because the woman working there made us some steamed milk to help make the drinks taste better. For that, we thank you lady behind the counter for salvaging our drinks :) read more

Don't let the Intelligentsia sign fool you. The espresso drink you order will come out of a machine and will be completely washed out by burnt milk and employees that genuinely DGAF. read more

TERRIBLE customer service. TERRIBLE watered down coffee. But there are no other options at Midway besides Dunkin so either go coffee-less or suffer. I can't have much sugar or dairy so when I order my lattes I always ask about sugar content. When I politely asked about their soy and almond milks' respective sugar content, the girl working looked at the labels and shrugged at me. I said okay, if you don't mind I can just look at the label myself.. she slooowwwly brought them over. Sorry I ruined your day. We the ordered two two lattes which were awful, it tasted like watered down soy milk. We kindly them to remake only one, maybe the shots were off, but keep the milk and espresso separate so we could see how strong their shots were. Shots were almost clear and looked like hot tea. When we asked for a refund the girl working the coffee machine laughed at us. Kudos to the staff here. read more

Literally the worst coffee I've ever had in my life- I asked for a vanilla latte with almond milk. I got warm spoiled milk. Zero taste of coffee. disgusting read more

Terrible service. Nobody smiled. They wouldn't take my coffee mug, they said their manager wouldn't allow them to use other containers. They gave me a disposable cup. I told them I was trying to recycle. They didn't care. The service ruined the taste of the coffee. read more

Without a Starbucks in the main Concourse food court, this looked like a good bet for a caffeine jolt! Well, we ordered a cappuccino and a chai latte and they were both fails. The employee making the cappuccino admitted she didn't know what she was doing and slopped the milk everywhere then told me she wasn't going to clean it up. She ended up only charging me for one of the drinks but in the end, I'd say if you hit up this establishment, expect intelligentsia coffee with unintelligentsia service. read more

Do they even serve anything? Went in and ordered a breakfast sandwich off the menu. Was told "Sorry we don't have any." Ok fine. I ordered an Iced Chai off the menu. "Sorry we don't have any." Read the other reviews after. Glad they wouldn't serve me if it was gonna be crap anyway. read more

If I could rate it zero I would. Coffee sucked so bad, I asked for a latte with soy milk and out came something that tasted like an awful chai tea latte. And the customer service sucked, the employee seemed so so annoyed. Never coming back, and if I had any advice to give anyone about this place it would be, don't go here. read more

Don't be drawn in by Intelligentsia sign or the word espresso. Staff appears to be trained to make customers feel loathed and just a nuisance. read more

Blech. Horrible coffee delivered with miserable attitude. Love Southwest Airlines, butMidway Airport and certainly this restaurant have got a long way to go. read more