Chicago’s best coffee shops and happy hours for out-of-office work

If you’re a local freelancer or out-of-towner attending a conference in Chicago, finding the right coffee shops and happy hour spots can be vital for work productivity and networking. We’ve culled some essential places for getting work done outside the office—whether your focus is dependable wifi or a professional connection. Pro tip: Keep tabs on expenses more efficiently by splitting the fare with colleagues and separating business and personal rides through the Uber app.

Filter Café

You’ll find reliable wifi, plenty of outlets, and a roomy, yet cozy space at Filter Café in Wicker Park. The café’s mix of vintage couches with traditional tables and chairs makes it a great workspace whether you’re solo or working with a group, and its kitchen can fuel projects from morning to late night since Filter Café is open until 10 p.m on weeknights. Heads up: It’s cash only, or you can use LevelUp (pay by credit card via smartphone).

Dollop Coffee & Tea

Lots of communal seating, tall floor-to-ceiling windows, and a top-notch menu headlined by Metropolis Coffee and Hoosier Mama Pie give Dollop Coffee & Tea‘s Streeterville and South Loop locations a leg up on other city coffee shops. Bright, airy spaces welcome collaboration and networking opportunities over delicious pastries, sandwiches, and salads, and the abundance of outlets can power you (and all your devices) through an all-day workathon.

Overflow Coffee Bar

The South Loop’s Overflow Coffee Bar might be a bit off the beaten path from more accessible java spots in the Loop, but it’s a stone’s throw away from Museum Campus, the Roosevelt “L” stop, and McCormick Place. You won’t have to fight for a table at this hassle-free community coffeehouse. Proceeds from your Nutella mocha and pastry purchases even benefit local non-profits, making each sip even more delectable (and addicting).

Uncommon Ground

Uncommon Ground‘s Lakeview and Edgewater locations—with respective patio and rooftop spaces serving as prime gathering spots in the warmer months—make stellar alternatives to the traditional coffee shop atmosphere. Start with your 9 a.m. chai tea latte and cap off the day’s work with drink specials in the evening. Happy hour lasts from 5 to 7 p.m. on weekdays at the bar, where you can get $4 Greenstar Brewing organic drafts and $5 well craft cocktails, in addition to $6 appetizers.

Chop Shop

Let the good times roll at Wicker Park’s Chop Shop, which has a rooftop patio and larger inside event space in addition to seating around the bar. Post-conference meetups can take advantage of various happy hour deals from 5-7 p.m. daily (or $5 slushies from 4-6 p.m. on Fridays) at this hybrid eatery/butcher shop/salumeria. Pair $1 oysters (and regular-priced assorted shared plates) with half-off wine bottles on Wednesdays for a refreshing al fresco dinner.

Barrelhouse Flat

Classic cocktail connoisseurs should head to Barrelhouse Flat for networking over drinks in the speak-easy style lounge upstairs. From 6 to 8 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, the Lincoln Park bar slings $5 highballs and $6 old fashion’s, Tom Collinses, and daiquiris, plus $4 Hadouken shots and $4 draft beers. Challenge coworkers to a game of pool to determine who’ll cover the next round of specials.

Henry’s

Grab your overworked colleagues mid-week to unwind at Henry’s in River North with $5 tallboys and $5 well drinks Tuesday through Thursday during happy hour. Or, kick off your weekend with $4 beer (bottles, cans, and drafts!), $4 well cocktails, and $4 wine & sparkling cocktails for Friday Power Hour from 4 to 5 p.m. Then soak up all the booze with some stand-out sliders before catching an Uber home.

Whirlyball

For some team-building action, Whirlyball‘s giant Bucktown complex is essentially a playground for adults with games, food, and alcoholic beverages—a trifecta that’ll abolish any unsavory perceptions you have of the IT department for blocking the office from ESPN. A friendly game of Whirlyball (a mix of lacrosse, basketball, and bumper cars) between 4 to 7 p.m., Sunday through Wednesday, will score you deals like half-price beer cans and wine, $3.50 draft beer specials, and half-price appetizers and sliders.