Some weeks ago, we uploaded a piece on Luckycat, the Lakeview East coffee shop that carries coffee harvested in China. China, while on the come-up, is not considered a major player in coffee production. If you’re looking for unusual origins, I would say Luckycat has you covered. But now I have to add a new category: most unusual roasting site. Because I have a few times now visited Soloway Coffee in Lincoln Park and can confirm that this coffee is roasted all the way in Ukraine.
Soloway got its start in Ukraine when owners Arthur and Iryna Yuzvik opened Soloway Coffee Roastery in 2016. This roastery exports to the couple’s shops in Chicago. My first thought when I heard this was, How on earth do these beans stay fresh? I imagine the time elapsed between roasting and brewing gets quite long when those two things happen on different sides of the world. But I can assure you that their product has suffered no loss of flavor.
The Interior
Although Soloway recently opened a new Bucktown shop as well as a bakery/bistro, my visits have all been to the company’s original Chicago location in Lincoln Park. The interior is small, with only 20-25 seats available at once. There is some decent space outside on the patio, but since Chicago still hadn’t fully cleared its wintry blues, I stayed inside for my visit. I quickly noticed the signs of Ukrainian pride next to the merch wall. No doubt the Yuzviks place a lot of importance on naming and celebrating their home. I appreciated this addition to the decor very much.
The setup inside is no-frills. A merch wall with beans, drinkware, brewers, and other small bits of decoration. A menu with prices. A small counter acting as point-of-service and pick-up. A small refrigerator on the right carrying juices and other bottled and canned beverages. There was at least one merch item I’d never seen before: the Dotyk dripper. This colorful ceramic dripper, I later discovered, is made in Slovyansk, Ukraine. Aside from being a marker of the owners’ Ukrainian origins, the dripper was also very pretty.
The Espresso
Soloway offers standard coffee drinks as well as their own in-house baked goods and a full breakfast and lunch menu. Many of the savory items looked tempting; I can’t remember the last time I visited a coffee shop that makes shakshuka. But for my visit I stuck to the classics. I started with an espresso.
The blend the baristas used, which I’m not positive was itself available for retail purchase, was very tasty. I detected notes of baked red apple, allspice, and dried fruit. It had a cozy sort of sweetness that hit just right when I tasted it. I was also pleased that they served the espresso on the full platter with a demitasse spoon and chaser of sparkling water.
Bonus Sample: The Drip
As a general rule, I don’t order drip coffee or batch brew at coffee shops. All of my home brewing devices make filter coffee of some variety, and I like to reserve my café visits for espresso drinks. But the barista was kind enough to offer a sample of their drip when I asked what they were brewing. This turned out to be their Ethiopia Aricha coffee.
I got strong notes of honey alongside a peach/nectarine flavor. The coffee also had a tea-like texture that I found delightful. I thought it unusually bright for a house drip, though I’d never complain about that. It was a delicious sample of coffee and a thoughtful gesture on the part of the barista.
The Pastry
Of the many delectable-looking pastries on the lineup, I was most drawn to the flavored croissants. There were several, including a strawberry one with a deep pink color. But I opted for the pistachio croissant, which I can honestly say I’d never tried before. With its half glaze-covered/half uncovered look, I thought it looked quite elegant. And very tantalizing.
The glaze-covered half was sumptuous. I was grateful that the glaze layer prevented too much of the pastry from flaking off onto the plate. But the uncovered half held a surprise: a pistachio cream filling artfully placed opposite from the glaze. The entire thing was a delight from start to finish. I highly recommend trying these flavored croissants if you get the chance.
The Signature
My second drink was the iced berry mocha. This looked to be a year-round menu item. Whatever the seasonal offering was it appeared to be out of stock. But I’m a sucker for a good mocha, especially when it’s paired with a little fruity flavor.
Sure enough, this mocha had a pleasant mix of raspberry and chocolate flavor. I usually order this sort of drink cold to offset the acidity of the berry/chocolate combo, and this one tasted very nice. If I had to nitpick, I generally prefer the chocolate flavor a bit more pronounced than what was present in this drink. But on the whole, I enjoyed it.
Conclusion
Soloway Café provides an excellent range of food and drinks. But more than that, it carries the spirit of the owners’ Ukrainian pride. Chicago is home to a sizable Ukrainian immigrant population, so much so that one of its neighborhoods is called Ukrainian Village. Now, the Yuzviks have added Ukrainian-roasted coffee and their cafés to Chicago’s already vibrant Ukrainian food and culture.
More information about Soloway can be found below. If you’d like to read more about Chicago’s coffee scene, read about out our visits to Drip Collective and Milli by Metric!
Plan Your Visit to Soloway
Address: 2275 N Lincoln Ave, Chicago, Illinois
Website: https://solowaycoffee.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/solowaycoffee