Our Favorite Spot: Inside Robust Coffee Lounge

Since we met at the beginning of our first year in autumn 2021, we have visited a different coffee shop near campus several times a week. This year, we chose Robust Coffee Lounge, located at the corner of East 63rd Street and South Woodlawn Avenue. At first glance, Robust may not capture your attention, but to us, it’s so much more than just a coffee shop. Our trips to Robust, which occur almost daily, have become a core part of our friendship and have greatly helped us through our final year at the University of Chicago.

The menu is one of the primary reasons we were always excited to return to Robust. One of our favorite menu items at Robust is their Elvis smoothie, made with banana, peanut butter, dried oats, and almond milk. Robust’s coffee is among the best near campus, and their food is just as good. They offer a variety of breakfast and lunch options—some of our personal favorites include their Everything Bagel with chive and onion cream cheese, Avocado Toast, Bagel and Lox, and egg sandwiches. Their lunch menu is just as extensive, where we often opt for one of their salads, Marquette Clubs, or Veggie Bagels. Robust offers numerous vegetarian and vegan options, which can be hard to find elsewhere. Robust’s large menu emphasizes both variety and quality. 

Perhaps even more enjoyable than their menu, the atmosphere and overall vibe of Robust are by far the best of any coffee shop near campus. During our first trip to Robust, we found their ambience to be far superior to that of our previously visited spots on campus. Some of the best ambient aspects of Robust include its dim lighting, its mix of both students and Hyde Park residents, and its music, which often features bands like The Smiths and Depeche Mode. Robust features two main rooms with seating inside the coffee shop. The front room, filled with smaller tables, is a perfect place to sit for some quiet studying or a nice coffee date, while their back room is filled with larger tables and several booths for group study or larger coffee trips. Whether you choose to sit in the front or back room, Robust’s friendly and helpful staff will bring your food to you.

Other aspects of Robust explain its success since its opening in the summer of 2009. Robust offers a Robust Coffee Lounge Stars rewards program, which allows customers to earn stars every visit (when using the same payment method) and even receive free menu items with enough stars. Additionally, customers can order delivery from Robust using Uber Eats, as well as for pickup using Uber Eats pickup if the line is too long (as we often did). These seemingly small conveniences ensured that we frequented Robust anytime during their business hours (7:00 am – 3:00 pm), regardless of how crowded it might be.

More than anything, Robust became part of our daily routine as a place to study, catch up, or simply unwind from our busy schedules. Now that we have graduated and there are no more coffee spots left to explore in Hyde Park, we can confidently say that Robust is one of the places we miss the most, and it will always remain a meaningful place to us and our friendship.