Weekend Trip Ideas for 2021: Chicago - Starbucks Reserve Roastery! (Day 2)

by - 7:38 AM

 

Starbucks has only 6 Reserve Roasteries in the entire world located in Seattle, New York, Shanghai, Tokyo, Milano, & Chicago. After finding this out, we had to visit the Chicago location during our weekend. As for our level of Starbucks fandom, I like to treat myself to a little Starbucks here and there and Drew was the type of person who would have it every day (until he got his Nespresso and started making his favorite coffee drinks at home). The Chicago location has 4 floors of coffee and pastry goodness. 

What is a Starbucks Reserve Roastery? 

Starbucks Reserve is a selection of extra special coffees that Starbucks has to offer and the Roastery is where they roast, develop, and create many of these special roasts. While most of their Starbucks locations sell the Starbucks Reserve coffee, there are only a few places that actually roast them fresh. These roasteries are where you can get the freshest coffees in a setting that defies conventional coffee shop design. 

What makes the Starbucks Reserve Roastery different from all the other locations?

Each Starbucks Roastery has its own menu filled with one-of-a-kind coffees, cocktails, pastries and food items only found at the specific roastery locations. The Reserve Roastery in Tokyo will have drinks and teas designed around Japanese culture including floral tea flavors like sakura or matcha along with drink creations like the Melrose-Tokyo, made with Demerara syrup with cherry bitters. So not only do the roasteries offer a different drink and food menu than their normal Starbucks locations, each roastery itself offers a unique menu exclusive to that location only. 



What's it like visiting the Starbucks Reserve Roastery in Chicago?

When we visited the Chicago location, it was packed beyond belief. We went at around 1pm thinking the lunch rush would be settling down but it was still crowded. It's definitely tough to find a table or a seat, we got really lucky with our timing and found two chairs in a corner on the third floor. 

Each floor has its own menu and offerings. We went from the ground floor all the way up to the top floor, visiting each floor in between and seeing the layout, what was happening, what it looked like before deciding on the third floor. It was neat. The escalators 



Is it worth going to a Starbucks Reserve Roastery?

Even if you're not really into Starbucks as a brand, if you're into coffee or creative cocktails - it's worth a visit. The Chicago location has coffee flights, cold brew flights, flight and chocolate pairings as well as multiple brew methods like the classic French Press, Siphon System, Chemex, and Pour Over methods. 






We also highly enjoyed the array of pastries, the aesthetics of the entire place, and the people watching. It's definitely a unique experience. 






We tried the cold brew flight, a chocolate profiterole, and a raspberry croissant. I also got an iced latte. Seating was a bit hard to find, especially if you need a table with enough room for your order. We didn't have to wait long for a table to become available but you do have to keep your eyes peeled, as they get scooped up quickly on a first come basis. 

After visiting the Starbucks Roastery, we headed out onto Michigan Avenue for some shopping. And after a few hours of shopping, we had an amazing lunch at Avli River North, an updated Greek restaurant with a trendy outdoor patio and great cocktails. 



The Saganaki is a must, it's pan fried cheese topped with a dried fig, seasoning and honey. We LOVED this appetizer. Drew got the Lamb Burger with Greek fries and I got the Lobster Spaghetti. Both entrees would normally be considered too heavy for lunch but we had a long drive back home so we decided to fill up. The Lobster Spaghetti is unlike any other pasta or seafood dish I've had before, very fresh, light and elegant. For dessert, there was a Caramel Baklava Ice Cream on the menu. As fans of baklava, we had to go for it. It was a work of art on a plate and definitely lived up to the name as far as flavors.






Overall, this anniversary trip was one for the books. We splurged, we indulged and we experienced many new things. Chicago never disappoints.


xo Vick


____________________

SAVE THIS TO YOUR PINTEREST BOARD!



You May Also Like

6 Comments

  1. All these pics are so amazing and awesome trip ideas. Lovely Post dear! xoxo
    Allurerage 
    Thetrendybride 

    ReplyDelete
  2. My goodness, that Starbucks roastery looks amazing! I'd be so keen to check one of those out. Will have to lookup if we have one in Melbourne :) xx

    mia // https://beautiful-inspiring-creative-life.com/

    ReplyDelete
  3. Sounds like a fab trip! These pictures are incredible!
    xoxo
    Lovely
    www.mynameislovely.com

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh wow the Starbuck roastery sounds amazing.
    It also looks like an amazing place to just visit. I'm not into coffee at all but I love to go at Starbucks. I mostly go for drinks with no coffee in.
    And this restaurants sounds great too.
    xx
    Margot
    https://troughthepasturesofthesky.com

    ReplyDelete

Comment here!


*Disclosure: This blog and its posts contains links that are affiliate links. If you make a purchase through these links, our blog earns a small commission. At no cost to you! Our blog features these products because we actually use them and not just because of the commission, however the commission does help us pay for our blog hosting fees. We know you trust us and that's why we want to be transparent. Whether or not you decide to buy something is completely up to you. If you choose to do so, we definitely appreciate it!