Starbucks Reserve

The time has come! Finally getting my butt to the world’s largest Starbucks Reserve! 

This time my coffee date companion is none other than my beautiful mother! We both had Martin Luther King day off and decided to take advantage of the day by exploring the newly opened Reserve! Since opening in late November the Reserve on Michigan Ave has had lines that will wrap around the building! (those crazy coffee fans!) Their opening time was so perfectly strategic with the approaching holiday season knowing they would get plenty of attention and traction with families all getting together and looking for fun things to do together. 

In planning our outing to the Starbucks Reserve I was a little worried there would still be lines and that we might get stuck in one,. Just with it being a holiday weekend I was not sure who would be off in the city and also having the same idea and us. 

It was our lucky day! There was no line outside at all! We both were able to walk right in! I was so happy, granted it was packed on the inside still, but just happy to not be standing in the cold just to get in the door. 

The Reserve is literally mind blowing, I really am not sure where to begin so I guess initially I’ll just give ya a lay of the land. The first floor is for grab and go coffee and treats. The second floor is the Princi Bakery and Cafe. Princi is the Starbucks Reserve bread bakery and can ONLY be found in Reserves. There is technically a mini Reserve out in the West Loop, so we have popped into a Princi Cafe before but never actually ate. What they specialize in are fresh baked breads, cafe sandwiches and pizza breads. Fun little light bites to accompany the coffee. They also have sweet treats as well. These options are a little more in line with what you would find in a French bakery. This floor smelled delicious as we walked through. 

The third floor is the Experiential Coffee Bar, this is the floor and reason for coming! They are roasting a million different beans and concocting them into so many different types of beverages. You can get flights of coffee, lattes, cold brew, literally anything. This floor smelled the most delicious to me, all the freshly roasted beans, oh I could sit here all day just watching the drinks get made and smelling the coffee. Up to the fourth floor to the cocktail bar, the real reason I was able to convince my mother into coming down. I mean of course beside being able to see me. But they are famed for making killer espresso martinis! Brace yourself now, I am obsessed with coffee and espresso but have never once in my life had an espresso martini let alone a martini in general. So I think my mom and I were both looking forward to giving this a try. 

The final floor is the rooftop which of course in January is not open, so a reason to return for sure! 

Now I have to give this a very honest review, the Reserve is still a bit new and busy of course so I think they are trying to still figure their own things out. It was very congested and hard to navigate all the floors. They have set up areas for retail but it’s almost impossible to browse and enjoy because of the narrow structure to the building and all the people. SO that was a little annoying. But I think by far the real kicker to all of this, that is NOT clear when you come in and start wondering all the floors, that if you have any desire of getting a seat and served at the cocktail bar you need to go right there and put your name in right away. It is not first come first serve like all the other floors, so a bit confusing. Lucky for us it was not that long of a wait and we only had to wait an additional 30 minutes, but I think that would have been nice to know upfront so that we could go and put our name in before wondering all the floors. 

The last bit that I think will get worked out in time is the serves. Everyone was extremely friendly and helpful, but it’s getting their attention that is the hard part. Also, when first sat we were never given or even offered a food menu which you can actually order food to be brought to you at the bar. We would have greatly appreciated this prior to our second beverage. Reason being once we finally go to the food menu and are able to place and order they were practically sold out of everything. 

• I have to say too the pizza bread is not worth ordering here at all, the flavor was lacking but like I mentioned there were very slim pickings. 

ESPRESSO MARTINI REVIEW: This is worth every sip! I was a little nervous knowing how strong martinis can be and I can’t totally fathom mixing alcohol with my beloved espresso, but this was the most amazing and smooth drink of all time. Yes, extremely strong, you taste the vodka, but when mixed with espresso and other fancy touches ti was fabulous and so much fun to sip on. 

I am now addicted! 

Any other great sports in Chicago to get an espresso martini?