Fairgrounds Coffee & Tea - Oak Park, Illinois

Chrissy R.

I love Fairgrounds for coworking and reading. If you can get one of the arm chair seats by the F grab it! It’s the best seat for hours of deep work! I tried the turkey club today and it was soooo good all the flavors combined just hit so well and it was huge I could only eat half.

Rachael B.

This used to be our go-to breakfast spot, but it's unfortunately not what it was two years ago. Paid $9.50 for this breakfast bowl (I only moved the egg to show what was under it), which had incredibly burnt bacon, and this was after waiting 30 minutes for one sandwich and one breakfast bowl (didn't get drinks).

Jeff G.

I absolutely love Fairgrounds, their coffee is amazing and I love the brew methods they offer. Fairgrounds I believe is better than Starbucks. Olivia and Rodney are very friendly servers and are always accommodating to whatever you need and want. They always greet you with a smile on their face and are very attentive. Olivia abs Rodney are great at offering suggestions if you’re struggling from choosing what you want from the great selections Fairgrounds offers. Oak Park Fairgrounds is definitely my go to cafe and the two servers make it that much more enjoyable experience!

Hanna Z.

i made an online order for the breakfast bowl & when i showed up to pick up my food, they never had it up front where they put orders that are ready, so i waited for 20 mins past the time it said it would be ready on the app.. when i finally asked how much longer it'll take for my order to be ready, the girl at the front asked what was my name then proceeds to grab my food near the back that has been ready the entire time i was waiting. i dont understand why my order was never put up front or for one of the workers to atleast ask me what i ordered since they clearly saw i was waiting for so long. if i never asked, i bet i would have been sitting there for an hour.. now my food is cold. please do better with your service.

Kevin C.

Note: I'm so vigilant about my reviews here because I love the place and spend a lot of time here. Currently 5 stars!

2nd edit: Originally was 5 stars then changed to 3 stars because of high prices. However, I'm not sure if they changed the prices but the pourover is only $4.50! They're great beans too from places like Counter Culture and Passion House. Made well by the baristas. This is the best-priced pourover I've seen in the Chicagoland area. Usually they're about $6.00.

Edit: I love this place, but prices have gotten ridiculous. I paid 7 dollars for a SMALL cold brew the other day. I've been to about 50 coffeeshops in the chicago area and the average is usually $5 to 5.50. I am likely going to switch to a new regular spot in Oak Park. A guy came out of the shop yelling about the prices today as well.

Before edit: The largest selection of coffee beans for pourovers I've ever seen. Several options for cold brew as well. Lots of seating indoors and outdoors, excellent for meet ups or getting work done. Easily became my go-to coffee shop when working in Oak Park.

Alberto O.

We tried this place for the first time, we’ve walked by a few times and were curious. Service was ok, the person checking us out seemed new, which I wouldn’t fault inexperience. I had to remind them after ten minutes that we hadn’t received our toast, mistakes happen, ok no biggie.. then we received our avocado toast.

My main issue was the $12 Avocado toast. It had the thinnest layer of avocado on the most modest single slice of toast. It seems business these days are pushing prices to absurd levels.

Sam

Good place for a light meal and some hot drinks. Came here with my girlfriend at the tail end of a date. Vibes are top-notch. Very chill. I will be returning for an extended study session on a later date. Grilled cheese and tomato soup was great (very basily). The only small point of improvement is the lack of real dishes, though that could also just be preference.

B M.

The atmosphere is friendly. There's not enough seating inside & customers taking up more space than needed/reserving their seats with stuff while they wait in line. Staff is OK. I've been completely ignored at the counter when 3 staff members saw me and all chose not to ring up my one item until I left.