Cafe Cremerie

Espresso, macarons and a European counter

A cortado and two macarons is the shortest way to use this place well. Cafe Cremerie runs a European-style café in Chicago, with the River North room, known to the brand as CC River North, set inside the historic Tree Studios building, and its own summary of the concept is pâtisserie, gelato, sweets, sips, sandwiches and savories.

The coffee is Illy, and espresso drinks carry the everyday ordering: espresso, cortado, cappuccino, latte. The counter goes further than coffee, with afternoon tea service, a curated wine list and a cocktail hour later on, which gives the same room several registers without changing what it is. The sweet side runs from macarons and gelato through cakes, mini cakes and pastries. That breadth is the concept rather than a compromise: the same counter is expected to handle a pastry order, a scoop of gelato and a glass of wine.

A room that works across the day

Read it as an all-day café-patisserie rather than a morning counter. The same space handles a quick espresso and pastry, a dessert stop, a light lunch, an afternoon tea moment or a small gathering, and the menu is built wide enough to support all of them without any one mode taking over.

The River North room is modern and European in style, with high-end finishes, good natural light and a small solarium-like area at the back. Seating is limited, so it reads as intimate rather than as a workspace, though the Wi-Fi is free and people do settle in with laptops. Service moves at café pace, which suits the room more than it suits anyone in a hurry.

Order the cortado, then choose the sweet side

Start with the cortado if you want the coffee order compact, or a cappuccino or latte for something softer to drink beside pastry. Either way the espresso is the anchor and everything else gets chosen around it.

For something small, pair espresso with macarons. For a dessert-led visit, go to the gelato, cake or mini cakes. If the visit runs to lunch, the sandwiches and savories hold the middle of the menu, and later in the day the wine and cocktail side gives Cafe Cremerie a different rhythm while keeping it in the same casual café universe. Tea service covers the middle of the day for anyone who would rather not drink coffee at all.