Starbucks has only 6 Reserve Roasteries in the entire world located in Seattle, New York, Shanghai, Tokyo, Milano, & Chicago. After finding this out, we had to visit the Chicago location during our weekend. As for our level of Starbucks fandom, I like to treat myself to a little Starbucks here and there and Drew was the type of person who would have it every day (until he got his Nespresso and started making his favorite coffee drinks at home). The Chicago location has 4 floors of coffee and pastry goodness. 

What is a Starbucks Reserve Roastery? 

Starbucks Reserve is a selection of extra special coffees that Starbucks has to offer and the Roastery is where they roast, develop, and create many of these special roasts. While most of their Starbucks locations sell the Starbucks Reserve coffee, there are only a few places that actually roast them fresh. These roasteries are where you can get the freshest coffees in a setting that defies conventional coffee shop design. 

What makes the Starbucks Reserve Roastery different from all the other locations?

Each Starbucks Roastery has its own menu filled with one-of-a-kind coffees, cocktails, pastries and food items only found at the specific roastery locations. The Reserve Roastery in Tokyo will have drinks and teas designed around Japanese culture including floral tea flavors like sakura or matcha along with drink creations like the Melrose-Tokyo, made with Demerara syrup with cherry bitters. So not only do the roasteries offer a different drink and food menu than their normal Starbucks locations, each roastery itself offers a unique menu exclusive to that location only. 

We tried the cold brew flight, a chocolate profiterole, and a raspberry croissant. I also got an iced latte. Seating was a bit hard to find, especially if you need a table with enough room for your order. We didn't have to wait long for a table to become available but you do have to keep your eyes peeled, as they get scooped up quickly on a first come basis. 

After visiting the Starbucks Roastery, we headed out onto Michigan Avenue for some shopping. And after a few hours of shopping, we had an amazing lunch at Avli River North, an updated Greek restaurant with a trendy outdoor patio and great cocktails. 

The Saganaki is a must, it's pan fried cheese topped with a dried fig, seasoning and honey. We LOVED this appetizer. Drew got the Lamb Burger with Greek fries and I got the Lobster Spaghetti. Both entrees would normally be considered too heavy for lunch but we had a long drive back home so we decided to fill up. The Lobster Spaghetti is unlike any other pasta or seafood dish I've had before, very fresh, light and elegant. For dessert, there was a Caramel Baklava Ice Cream on the menu. As fans of baklava, we had to go for it. It was a work of art on a plate and definitely lived up to the name as far as flavors.

Overall, this anniversary trip was one for the books. We splurged, we indulged and we experienced many new things. Chicago never disappoints.

xo Vick