ORDAirport Guide

Coffee at O'Hare: local roasters and chains by terminal

Coffee at O'Hare by gate: Metropolis, Veteran Roasters and Fulton Street Cafe, plus every Starbucks and Dunkin' with hours and 24-hour counters.

Looking up at O'Hare's Terminal 1 concourse vault: white steel ribs with rows of round holes arching between glass skylight panels.
Perforated steel ribs and skylights over a Terminal 1 concourse, O'Hare

Terminal 3 has the most coffee at O’Hare: five Starbucks, a Dunkin’, and Veteran Roasters at Gate K15. Terminal 5 doesn’t have a Starbucks, so after security its coffee comes from Metropolis Coffee Company, Publican Quality Bread, a Dunkin’ and The Dearborn. Five counters stay open 24 hours after security, and the tables below give each one’s gate.

The airport’s directory gives each place’s terminal, nearest gate and hours. The descriptions in quotation marks are from the airport’s map.

Roasters and bakery cafes beyond the chains

Five of these are after security. The two Café Descartes counters are at baggage claim, before security, in Terminals 1 and 3.

Place Where Hours What the airport’s map says
Metropolis Coffee Company Terminal 5, Gate M30 4 a.m. to 10 p.m. Calls it “an award winning coffee brand from Chicago”
Veteran Roasters/Brown Sugar Bakery Terminal 3, Gate K15 5 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Offers “Chicago’s favorite home-roasted coffee” alongside a bakery’s sweet treats
Fulton Street Cafe Terminal 3, Gate H14 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. Says it’s “featuring Intelligentsia Coffee” and lists pastries
Cafe Zoot! Terminal 1, Gate C19 5 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Lists “Intelligentsia fresh roasted coffees” and oven-baked sandwiches
Publican Quality Bread Terminal 5, Gate M5 4:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Lists cappuccino, chai latte and bakery bites
Café Descartes Terminal 1 baggage claim, before security 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Calls it a “Chicago favorite coffee and pastry café”
Café Descartes Terminal 3 baggage claim, before security 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Calls it a “Chicago favorite coffee and pastry café”

Terminal 2 gets its coffee from Starbucks, a Dunkin’ and a Brioche Dorée instead.

Starbucks and Dunkin’ by terminal and gate

Everything here is after security. The airport’s directory prints “Open 24 hours” for the counters marked that way.

Terminal Place Near gate Hours
Terminal 1 Starbucks B5 Open 24 hours
Terminal 1 Starbucks B9 Open 24 hours
Terminal 1 Dunkin’ Express B14 4 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Terminal 1 Starbucks C17 4:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Terminal 2 Starbucks E2 Open 24 hours
Terminal 2 Starbucks E11 4:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Terminal 2 Dunkin’ F9 4 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Terminal 3 Starbucks H1 4 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Terminal 3 Dunkin’ H5 Open 24 hours
Terminal 3 Starbucks H6 4:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Terminal 3 Starbucks K4 Open 24 hours
Terminal 3 Starbucks L1 4 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Terminal 3 Starbucks L20 4:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Terminal 5 Dunkin’ M16 12 p.m. to 12 p.m., as printed

The airport prints the Terminal 5 Dunkin’ hours as 12 p.m. to 12 p.m., a range that doesn’t set an opening or closing time. Check before you walk over, or head to Metropolis at Gate M30 or Publican Quality Bread at Gate M5 instead, since both print set hours. The Dearborn at Gate M17 is also listed under coffee, open 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Where is coffee before security?

Before security, Terminal 2 has only the Starbucks machine near Door 2C described below, and no coffee counter. The other terminals have the counters below, besides the Café Descartes counters above.

Terminal Place Where Hours What the airport’s map says
Terminal 1 Brioche Dorée Departures / Check-In level 5:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Lists “rich espresso” and pastries
Terminal 5 Baskin Robbins & Dunkin’ Baggage claim Open 24 hours Brewed coffee, espresso drinks and donuts
Terminal 5 The Goddess and Grocer Departures level 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. Lists “freshly brewed coffee, espresso, lattes, cappuccino or tea”
Terminal 5 McDonald’s Baggage claim 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. Calls it a quick-service restaurant for burgers, fries and breakfast favorites, and the map lists coffee
Hilton Caffe Mercato Lobby level 6 a.m. to midnight Starbucks coffee and breakfast pastries

More Brioche Dorée and bagel counters

All of these are after security.

Terminal Place Near gate Hours
Terminal 1 Brioche Dorée C21 4 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Terminal 1 Great American Bagel Company B14 6 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Terminal 2 Brioche Dorée F19 5 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Terminal 3 Brioche Dorée G1, at the Rotunda 5 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Terminal 3 Brioche Dorée Near K15 5 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Terminal 3 Great American Bagel Company G1, at the Rotunda 6 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Terminal 3 Great American Bagel Company K1 6 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Terminal 3 Great American Bagel Company H10 6 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.

The Coffee, snacks & bakeries group in our food directory lists every other gate and hour.

The airport’s directory also lists Starbucks vending machines as open 24 hours:

  • Terminal 1: near Gate C19, after security
  • Terminal 2: near Gate F1, after security, and near Door 2C, before security
  • Terminal 3: near Door 3G, before security

The airport’s map describes them as coffee drinks, snacks and to-go items. Our late-night food guide covers the all-night places, and our before 6 a.m. guide covers the early ones.

Sources