Intelligentsia Coffee Broadway Coffeebar — Restaurant in Lake View Township

Far cry from what it used to be

Been going here since they opened in '95. All my friends knew where to find me, at Inteli, it was my second living room. Everything was perfect, the space, the coffee, the people, the prices. Then slowly, things started to change. Corporate governance started to take over. People that were there from the beginning, that rose with the company from barista positions to managers started to leave, and not on good terms. I remember when they decided to remove 20oz drinks from the menu and this created a big local uproar, people attacking and labeling Intelligentsia as snobby, overpriced and all sorts of bad stuff. Well at the time all of the attacks were baseless BS. But then something strange happened. As if the top management took all these crazy, negative attributes and turned them into a business model. It all went downhill, the prices went ridiculously high, the coffee to me just wasn't as good anymore, they started with 12oz bags of beans BS (I wonder if they were the industry originals to do this, drives me nuts, just like a 4 pack craft beer) which initially were adjusted for price down from 1lb prices but then the price started creeping up and now you pay the equivalent of mid $20's and up for a pound of coffee. I love the idea of rewarding the farmer but these markups are insane. And the quality of beans actually went down. It used to be that you open a bag of beans from inteli and the uniformity of roast and shape of beans was perfect. Not so much today, not bad but far from justifying those prices. Another thing that kept pushing me away was that they kept adjusting the menu in small ways, just when I find something that works me, be it the way to make coffee or the size or the price they would take it away. And all, all of that would be a wash, if the cup of coffee still tasted good. But to me it doesn't. I still come for espresso and espresso drinks once in a while, that's still good. But in most other ways Inteli lost it's soul. I'm happy it's doing well, it's good to have them around to inspire other startups in specialty coffee. That was my lament about...

Wonderful space and delicious coffee. If you’re walking in I’d highly recommend this cafe. In person, 5 stars! Coffee, food, and atmosphere is great.

Now, my one star rating is exclusive to their online experience. I was trying to order a coffee ahead the first time today - the initial experience seemed easy. I added the coffee to my cart, went to checkout, entered my name, credit card, tip etc. when I clicked order I was met with my first point of friction - I needed to create an account (you should be allowing guest check out, I didn’t want an account). I decided to go ahead and sign up, adding my email and password. Thinking I was finally done, I tried to check out again only to realize the website is forcing me to verify my email and enter my email and password. Not ideal, but I’m basically committed at this point so fine. I do all of this, then scroll to the bottom of the page to check out again… only to realize my name and credit card info needs to be entered again. At this point I gave up, I’m ordering from Starbucks for pickup because it’s SIGNIFICANTLY easier.

I hope someone reads this review and realizes how insane your online ordering process is, especially for people who haven’t ordered online before.

My suggestion: allow guest check out, and add Apple or Google pay so I don’t have to whip out my credit card to type in...

Great coffee and tea at Intelligentsia is no surprise. The brand is known in the market and used commercially. The location in Lakeview is a full-scale coffee shop with experienced baristas who know their coffee with passionate intensity. This is a first-rate place that smells right from the first time you enter. The board in front lists some of the choices, which are served accurately and speedily. The best part of patronizing Intelligentsia's shop is getting the great coffees at their freshest, ground to perfection and brewed as they should be. It's hard to miss with even a simple cup of the regular coffee, but try a latte or cappucino here. The atmosphere is good, with other, like-minded people who share a similar passion for coffee. It's also good to add some treats to the order, and the well-designed, light-filled shopped is a fine setting for enjoying coffee with friends or alone. Teas are quite good, too, and while it is not always the first choice, for those wishing a good tea, give Intelligentsia a try. With coffee for home, you can get it whole bean or ground and, again, shopping here directly gets you the freshest of Intelligentsia's best. (Sometimes they are out of stock, but that's a good thing, because you know they do not have a lot of premade beans aging and losing...