The Beautiful (And Delicious) Coffee Chain That's Almost Exclusively In Chicago

From deep dish pizza to the Italian beef sandwich, not to mention culinary icons like the Chicago-style dog and Chicago mix popcorn, a trip to the Windy City is no doubt on many a foodie's bucket list. However, when you're putting together your itinerary of drinking and dining destinations for your next day in Chicago, don't leave out Goddess and the Baker. Goddess and the Baker is a fast-casual cafe specializing in fresh, healthy breakfast and lunch options, decadent pastries, and an exciting drink menu.

If the name of the cafe sounds familiar, but you don't know why, you may be thinking of The Goddess and Grocer, the Australia-inspired deli, opened in 2005 by Debbie Sharpe. Sharpe partnered with Tamar Mizrahi-Stone to open Goddess and the Baker a cafe-inspired spin-off of the successful deli in 2015. Since then, Goddess and the Baker has grown into a flourishing business in its own right. As of August 2025, Goddess and the Baker has five locations around Chicago, one in Brookfield, Wisconsin, and another coming soon in Wilmette, Illinois, about 30 minutes from downtown Chicago. But with the success of the chain who knows where the charming cafe — with its calming mint green color scheme, white marble, art deco tile, and plenty of pretty pastel-hued baked goods and drinks — will pop up next. 

Breakfast is served all day at Goddess and the Baker, and the options are fresh and vibrant — particularly the tropical acai bowl topped with mango, dragonfruit, strawberries, granola, and toasted coconut. And while they do have several lighter options like a cereal bowl and oatmeal (both topped with fresh fruit), you don't have to worry about a lack of protein. There's even a protein bowl with quinoa, steak, black beans, an egg, and more. Moving on to lunch, you have your choice of several salads and bowls, as well as some standard sandwiches and wraps. The tuna croissant melt looks particularly tempting.

But let's talk pastries and drinks. Mouth-watering specialties include an iced bananas foster latte and a cherry berry mocha. One drink you may never have seen on a cafe menu before is the chagachino, which is flavored with cacao and wild foraged chaga — a type of mushroom. If you've been to a lot of coffee shops, it's always special to see something on the menu just begging for a Google search. But don't worry, they have all the basic drinks, too. Matcha fans will be happy to see the matcha section on the menu, and they serve some fresh juices as well. Pastries include croissants, muffins (we have our eye on the mango lassi cruffin), cookies, bars, and more. The most eye-catching item is the six-layer rainbow cake, which is purportedly "the most Instagrammed cake in Chicago," per Goldbelly.