Jinachandran H J2 months ago
Amazing atmosphere and top-tier drinks!
We stopped by Sawada Coffee in the Fulton Market District on a Wednesday morning, and the place was already lively and buzzing with great energy. The rustic, industrial interior—with its unique string lights and sticker-covered pillars—gives the entire space a fantastic, distinct vibe. It’s quite spacious and a wonderful spot to hang out and relax.
We ordered three different drinks, and all of them tasted excellent:
Black Camo Latte (Hojicha): A beautiful, rich, roasted flavor with incredible, dark latte art. A must-try!
Matcha Latte: Smooth, perfectly balanced, and expertly prepared.
Vanilla Latte: Creamy, delicious, and comforting.
The presentation across all of our drinks was top-notch. It is a wonderful place to visit when you are exploring the neighborhood and looking for a refreshing, high-quality coffee experience. Highly recommended!
We're visiting Chicago and heard about this coffee place. The area is just outside the downtown area making this a very busy area. The surrounding area is very hip with many new buildings mostly residential with some businesses. It feels quite safe during the early morning with many young people walking and jogging around. To our surprise, the shop is actually quite big inside. The corridor and stairs leading to the counter are very tight and congested with customers. This is definitely a bottle neck for the business. The decor is rustic yet tastefully done. It feels and looks contemporary. Looking at the menu, there's not a lot of choices. We tried one of each coffee from each category; hot Military Latta, cold brewed Coffee, etc... Prices are reasonable, each costing around $7-8. After tasting the Military Matcha Latta, I still do not know what the flavor is. There's a strong creamy Matcha taste but not much coffee. Also, it's not too sweet, just enough without overpowering the Matcha flavor. Give this place a try if you're in the area. In the meantime, I will go find other coffee shops to try.
A beautiful, eclectic coffee shop with great ambiance and service. The coffee quality was decent but not amazing. I am a snob for high-quality plain coffee, but my family, who enjoys creative coffee mocktails, loved the matcha flavors.
I had an amazing experience here, easy 5 star spot for me.
The drinks were on another level, super well-crafted, balanced, and clearly made with a lot of attention to detail. I ordered the military latte, black camo latte, and the matcha. They were all rich, smooth, and memorable rather than just the standard coffee.
The vibe of the place also play a big part of the experience. It has a really cool modern feel with a bit of an industrial edge and it manages to feel both energetic and comfortable at the same time. It's the kind of spot you can sit and hang out in but you also know they take their coffee seriously.
Service was friendly and efficient, it wasn't too busy and everything came out quickly without feeling rushed.
I would absolutely come back anytime I'm in the area.
I have mixed feelings about the drinks, but I can say overall that this place is great for one reason: the espresso tastes amazing.
I first ordered what everyone and their mama tells you to order: the Military Matcha Latte, and was very underwhelmed. but to fair, I've never had a dirty matcha that I've enjoyed, and this didn't change my mind. if you love dirty matchas, you might love this, but I guess it's not for me. but, really enjoying the taste of the espresso, I ordered a flat white, and it was DIVINE. one of the best flat whites I've had, as the flavor the espresso is just so so good and perfect to my liking.
the espresso is so good that I think adding it to matcha or Hojicha or whatever just takes away from it, but hey if you're into that, you gotta try this place (but also, try a standard espresso coffee drink too!)
