The Best Coffee in Madison, Wisconsin

Leopold’s Books Bar Caffe

Leopold's is a great little place in the Greenbush neighborhood, close to Camp Randall Stadium. They serve some special drinks you don’t usually find at usual American cafes, like Vietnamese iced coffee and café corretto.

Walking into the coffee shop, you will immediately be in the book store, which has a healthy selection of interesting tomes. Further in are couches, a bar, and seating with tables along a wall, providing plenty of places to read that book of cartoons about actual, more famous books.

The unique centerpiece of Leopold’s is the Elektra Riforma espresso maker. An impressive machine, this multi dose monster is a fun piece of coffee history, hailing from Italy and catching the eye with its large, brass body.

Madison Sourdough

No knead to look any further, Madison Sourdough is the best bakery in town. Featuring house made breads originating from the proprietary starter, which are delivered to businesses around the city, MS offers an array of fantastic oral delights. The coffee and espresso are top notch, and the café is located front of house at the bakery.

Being a bakery and a café, it’s only natural that Madison Sourdough also operates a patisserie! The pan au chocolat is to die for, let me tell you. There is seating inside and out, and though it is located near the capital it is not on a busy road, so its a nice place to hang out and enjoy that cup of joe.

Broken Board

Broken Board is an interesting coffee shop, in that it is located in a clothing and board shop. Neat to visit, and if you’re into skateboarding, a place you will really want to see.

Grace Coffee

Grace is one of the more popular cafes in Madison and is a local chain that exploded a few years ago. Although they may have grown too fast and had a few growing pains, including closing a location downtown, they still have several spread around the greater Madison area. They feature nice, modern locations and house made pastries as well as pretty darn good coffee and espresso.

True Coffee

True is a little different from the others on this list in that they roast their own beans. Even though we have moved away from Madison we still buy beans from True from time to time, which should tell you how good they are. Their location in Monona is great. Indoor tables, chairs, and bar style seating, a fireplace and outdoor seating make this a good spot for any activity you can imagine doing in a coffee shop.

Forward Craft and Coffee

In the up and coming, trendy Atwood neighborhood there is one watering hole we prefer above all others. Forward Craft and Coffee has several proprietary coffee drinks as well as some delicious beers. Several partitioned seating areas give a feeling of privacy in an otherwise normal sized coffee house.

Lakeside St. Coffee House

This shop is the last highly recommended spot on our list. Quality coffee and espresso, really good tea, and one of the coziest cafes with one of the best views, Lakeside rounds out our top 6 quite nicely. Situated next to Lake Monona, this café has plenty of seating on two floors as well as seating outside. There is a lawn that leads down to the lake and an area for children to play.

Like what you see? Want more coffee? Click here for a map of these and more great cafes in Madison!

Madison Chocolate Company

Madison Chocolate Company is on this list because they do indeed sell coffee, which is good, and they sell drinking chocolate which is utterly, mouthwateringly delectable. Combine the two into the richest mocha you've ever had and you have a darn good coffee shop. The solid chocolate is also pretty good and they have some interesting truffles flavors as well.

Java Cat

Java Cat, which has a great location, is a local favorite and personal favorite of ours. A good café, serving all the usual suspects, it also has the distinction of being one of the few establishments in Madison to serve up gelato. This is the café where we learned what affagato, javalato, and gelato shakes are, and they rival what we have had in Italy. For this, Java Cat has our eternal gratitude and continued patronage.

Finca Coffee

Finca Coffee is a little south of the isthmus, but if you’re headed toward the Verona or Middleton area or out of town on the beltway, make this place a priority. The coffee is to die for and the food from this place is out of this world good. Finca means “estate” or something similar in Spanish, and is a common enough word in Central and South America.

Finca Coffee has roots in El Salvador and their food and drink choices reflect that heritage. The pupusas in particular come with our highest recommendation.