Espresso Thy Art

CLOSED as of 10÷29÷11

This is a great little coffee place. It’s a great mom and pop coffee shop

They are closed again, this time looks like for good.

After shuttering the doors, Espresso Thy Art is now back open and operating 6 days a week. I’m hopeful they will be able to survive.
If you are a Starbucks regular please try this local business. I’m sure you won’t be disappointed.

Love this place! Great service by three Filipina women and their families. They are all so nice. They have a frequent buyers card where you get your 10^th beverage for free. If you are Filipino and are craving ensaymada, they always have it as one of their baked goods and they are light and airy and masarap (delicious)! They sometimes have Food for the Gods as well (another tasty Filipino treat).
Love that they sell all sorts of artwork, some of which are created by one of the sisters.
Would love if they stayed opened a bit later (they close at 5:30 during the weekdays).

The nicest people in the world run this cute little coffee shop! Perfect for a mid morning or afternoon break. Take your time, don’t hurry, browse the artwork and beautiful handmade jewelry, or enjoy the sun on the quiet back patio. I wish they served loose leaf tea, but appreciate that of all the bagged tea brands they could choose, the chose Mighty Leaf, one of the better options. Also wish they were open later on the day, but I will be back!

Very Friendly Staff!!!
Free Wifi. Pastries baked in-​house. Quality crêpe action. Nice natural light. AC works. Great place for a temporary office. Check it out… and enjoy!

Locally owned. Great service. Very friendly people. Breakfast crepes are really good. Can’t afford the art but it’s nice to look at.

This place definitely needs to workout some of its growing pains, but I think there’s great potential. I came here to grab a quick bite to eat and a coffee before I headed down to the south side. I ordered the spinach crepes and a latte– the latte was served quickly, but it was about 20 minutes later when someone noticed that they had given my crepes to someone else on accident.
Normally I wouldn’t be too annoyed, but I was definitely in a hurry and knew that I wouldn’t have another opportunity to eat for the majority of the day. They quickly made me another order of spinach crepes and also brought me a free lunch to-​go for waiting. I thought that was really thoughtful, as I don’t think most other places would have cared.
The Pros:
Friendly staff
Good espresso
Great crepes
The Cons:
Limited menu for vegetarians
They charge extra for soy
Whatever radio station was on
While Delicious (down Lincoln) is my #1 neighborhood coffee shop, I would definitely come to Espresso Thy Art again!

I love this place. I’m starting to turn away from Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts in an effort to support smaller cafes throughout the city. I stumbled upon this place, which is located right by a Starbucks, while meeting a friend for some coffee. They have a fenced in outdoor seating area with a section for kids to play in. Plenty of seating both inside and out. Inside they have artwork for sale (canvas paintings, pendants, coaster, calendars, etc)
Better quality coffee with better prices than the leading competitors. And have a frequent buyers club.
I also love the workers there. It’s family owned by 3 sisters who all work the front of the café. They are friendly but not overbearing. I will be back!

One of my favorite weekend past-​times is exploring new cafes throughout the city, primarily with the intention of trying to beat out my past discoveries with a better one. In a city like Chicago, there is just so many wonderful cafes with high competition… for example, Espresso Thy Art Café, which sets the bar high. This family-​owned café opened in May of ’09 and already has what a café should be like down pat.
First, you can’t help but notice all the fun, creative Chicago art along the northern wall. This is the perfect place to buy those friend’s that are difficult to buy gifts a little local art for their pad. My favorite Thy quirk! It doesn’t stop there: Free WiFi, Mighty Leaf teas, exposed brick, bright lighting, a fabulous outdoor back patio (perfect for those few Chicago spring/​summer days) and best of all, super FRIENDLY service. Oh and just to satisfy my lamp fetish, they have a neat circular lamp with birch trees above the coffee bar.
Beyond café exploring, my partner and I were on the hunt for somewhere with free WiFi and breakfast food… and here we are. As a tea drinker, I absolutely love Thy’s Chai Tea (second best only to Cafeneo). My partner had to have Thy’s renowned «Real» Cappuccino which is [quote] «espresso with hot, mostly foamy milk» with an artistic pattern, served in a ceramic cup and left to you to sweeten to your liking. He loved it! For returners, they have a Frequent Coffee Buyer Program (buy 9 cups, get one on the house).
When it comes to breakfast café food, I could not turn away from the Banana Nutella crêpe which took up ¾s of a large plate with plenty of hazelnut chocolate, fresh bananas slices, whipped cream and chocolate syrup! My partner felt more in the brunch mood and got the Pesto Chicken sandwich which was the first I’d seen with shredded chicken, pesto cream and cheese all tossed together harmoniously. Gosh, being a true Unilocaler I was looking for something to critique and couldn’t find even one thing to improve here! I can’t wait to return for this Cocoa Tea that Unilocaler Michelle B. speaks of and enjoy their outdoor space.

The best part of this place is the art section. That makes it unique and fun. The employees are really nice, too.
However, I find the tables and seating area uncomfortable. I can’t put my finger on it, but I didn’t feel like hanging out there. I got the spinach/​mushroom crêpe, and it was fine, but not that great. A bit watery, but I still at the whole thing. I’d only come back if I were right at that corner. I didn’t try any drinks, so maybe I owe it another chance!

One of my favorites! I live closer to other coffee spots but I like this one. Why? Friendly people (the lady Virginia was so nice when I first came I thought it was fake, but she’s still extra nice after my 30^th visit — real), nice atmosphere, and great coffee (made-​to-​order). Hope nothing changes! Good food too…

this is most likely going to be my go-​to coffee shop before i head into work. the staff is really friendly, and the espresso is just what i need at 7:30 in the morning. they tend to make their flavored lattes a little sweeter than i like, but the staff are really accommodating. so i always tell them to go easy on the syrups. i haven’t had much time to sit down and relax at the shop, but there are plenty of tables and a lot of artwork scattered around. it’s a perfect neighborhood coffee shop.

I suppose the best way to review Espresso Thy Art is to compare it to other places I know in the area. I work from home, so for sanity I get out once or twice a week and do a few hours in a ‘neutral’ location.
So what I need is a little space, decent food and drink… good wireless (vital), good atmosphere.
I’ve tried CafeNeo, just found the atmosphere unfriendly, a lot of DONT signs, this table reserved for 4 people, no dogs etc… went three or four times, nice layout but never felt welcome.
The Grind looks great, but I can never get a seat, good for them, they must be doing a lot right.
Red Eye, love this place… would score well in every category but the wireless internet is terrible. Its a real pity, lovely friendly place, great food and drink but the wireless is so slow I’ve given up working there. Real Pity.
Book Cellar — Pretty impressive really… also able to have a beer if that’s what takes your fancy. i’ll go back.
Espresso Thy Art — First couple of visits have been great, it fills all the needs. Super friendly atmosphere, very comfortable, great patio. Wireless works a treat, I really wish them the very best. One thing it has over the others is a really interesting collection of local art to peruse, I could definitely see some gifts being bought here in the future. It’s pretty telling that the only suggestions I could make would be that if they could get some outlets in the patio it would be fantastic… but that’s probably a big ask. Second, take a chance on picking some music, anything would be better than the bland middle of the road 80s-​90s radio stuff thats playing now. (not taking a point off for this as I just put in my earphones and listen to what I want).
I understand the frustrations of the previous reviewer on opening times. Its never affected me, but lets give them a little time to figure out how the business evolves. Reviews like that will be a great help to them as they try to figure out the best strategy in the future. 5* reviews are great but they breed complacency (he said as he awards 5*)

Writing a much needed update since my last trip here.
Again, gotta emphasize this place isn’t your speedy money place. It’s all about stopping to smell the flowers (or the cocoa mulch!) No need for me to elaborate how welcoming the staff is. Rosanna, Virginia, Marissa & Alex are cool down to earth folks.
If there’s one drink you gotta try, you it’s gotta be MOCHACCINO. I’m hooked. If you’re more of a tea person, Cocoa Tea left me wordless too.
Step outside and appreciate the handcrafted drink and the unique fragrance of the patio.
Fan of the former Balingit Bakery?!? The Ensaymada’s are bizzack!

A BYOB coffee shop! Can you believe it? Read on for more…
Finally! I’ve found the coffee shop I’ve been looking for in Chicago! Having moved to this great city (I can say that now that the weather is warm) from Seattle, I’ve managed to find a lot of nice cafes but nothing that compared with Canal Street Coffee (
)…until now.
Espresso Thy Art is cute and small inside, great Americano, incredibly friendly staff, and a fantastic outdoor patio. This last one is the real clincher for me. When the weather is nice, I like to sit outside and work and this is perfect. I’m actually surrounded by a flower garden as I write this.
There’s only two things missing. First, there’s no great view. But honestly, that’s alright, I’m just happy to be in the sun. Secondly, they don’t serve beer. That, along with the deck and view, was my favorite thing about Canal Street Coffee — I could start with a coffee in the early afternoon and then seamlessly transition to a beer later.
But not to fear! I asked the servers about it and they said I’m welcome to bring my own if I at least buy a coffee or some food. That’s right, a BYOB coffee shop. In fact, this is even better than Canal Street Coffee because I can bring a flask of Bailey’s, Peppermint Schnapps, or even Whiskey if I’m having a really bad day and mix it in with my coffee!
This place rocks!

Tasty/​affordable lattes, very clean, contemporary atmosphere, FREE wifi, VERY kid/​stroller friendly with back patio and kid playhouse and super pleasant landscaping, and beautiful artwork on display. Service — super friendly. Lovely owners and staff.
This will be our fave coffee stop — bypassing Starbucks for sure.

Well, somebody has to be the voice of dissent, right?
OK, I understand it’s a work-​in-​progress, but there are some things they’re already not doing right. But let’s start with the good. The place looks nice, the owners/​workers are very friendly and are trying very hard. They welcome you into the shop and take time to talk with you. Also, the prices are good (for now). My latte was OK, but they’ll get better with experience.
However — what kind of coffee shop does not have drip coffee? I understand the premise — espresso. Fine, but every good coffee shop needs drip coffee. It has more caffeine than espresso. And sometimes, that’s all people want. And to those who say drip coffee is not good, go to Intelligentsia or Metropolis or any of the places in this neighborhood who use those coffees. They are great coffees.
I’m not thrilled that they don’t seem to have little snacks like bagels or muffins.
Their hours are atrocious. 9 – 1 on Sundays? Only open till 6 on weekdays and 3 on Saturdays? Even the crappy Starbucks across the street is open til 10. I don’t like Starbucks and I will go to independent coffee shops. Because of this hours issue, I will continue to walk farther and go to The Grind or Perfect Cup.
I don’t generally get coffee to go in the morning and I don’t go to coffee shops during the day. I want somewhere to hang out in the evening.
Also, the person who put the five-​star review before the place even opened? That shouldn’t be allowed on Unilocal

I must be doing something right, because this place somehow recreated by favorite coffee bar patio — from back East when I when I was in college, near Boston. I used to hit this coffee/​tea sandwich place to study, and somehow Espresso Thy Art (unknowingly) has made a spot on replication of that outdoor patio café. This could be my newweekend place. The interior is immaculate, mainly featuring a huge selection of coffee and tea/​food. And decorated with art work (by the owner?) which is also available for sale. But upon stumbling upon this shop last week, I found myself spending several hours in their outdoor dining patio. They have play area for kids and several tables to eat/​drink at. The reason I like the layout is that it seems to get full sun throughout the day. But as tucked away as it is (from city noise/​traffic) it’s not claustrophobic. Its secured by a wrought iron fence and otherwise surrounded by flowers and a new garden. On a whim I tried a crêpe to go, as I was leaving, and possibly had the best crêpe I’ve ever had. The sandwiches looked good but I have yet to try them. Overall I like I couldn’t have asked for a better place to open up in this neighborhood — as me and my girl friend have been looking a placid place to grab a coffee and read the Sunday paper etc. I hope it continues to flourish and do as much business as they seemed to be doing last week.