Oud Is the Coffee Shop River North Didn't Know It Needed

River North has a coffee shop problem. It's a dense, busy neighborhood full of people who need somewhere good to sit, and the independent options are thin enough that when a place like Oud opens, it fills up and stays that way.

Oud takes its name from the traditional pear-shaped string instrument central to Middle Eastern music, and the identity runs deeper than the name. The cafe is built around Middle Eastern hospitality and coffee traditions, and it's the only Palestinian coffee shop in the downtown area however you want to draw that boundary. That alone makes it worth knowing about.

The Turkish coffee is good if that's your thing, and at a place rooted in this tradition it should be your first order if you haven't had it before. The specialty coffee drinks are more variable, depending on which barista you get. The beans are solid and the potential is there, but the execution is inconsistent enough that you might have a great cappuccino or a merely fine one and both outcomes are possible on the same day. It is one of the few drags on this fine establishment.

What pushes Oud firmly into Solid territory is the pastry program. Some of the best baklava I've had in the city. The knafeh is excellent, and the chocolate knafeh specifically is the thing to get. Grab a spoon and someone to share it with and do not feel bad about ordering it at ten in the morning.

The space fills up at all hours, which tells you everything you need to know about how the neighborhood has received it. Oud is doing something genuinely valuable here, both as a cultural anchor and as the rare independent spot in a part of the city that badly needed one.