A-OK Coffee

I love this place. I wrestled with a 4 or a 5, and settled on a 4 for two primary reasons. First, I don’t come here as often as I otherwise would (perhaps a health blessing in disguise :)) because it is so challenging to find parking. Second, I absolutely LOVE their breakfast but find it annoying that you can’t get breakfast when they open. I believe they start serving breakfast at 8am… which is super not convenient on a weekday when I have to go to work. Other than that, the vibe and décor is great and the staff is super friendly. Coffee and espresso drinks are good, beers on tap are good, and the food is quite wonderful! I do wish they had a website (I would’ve come here sooner in life if they did! Facebook doesn’t count in my book) but not the biggest of deals. Can’t complain too much about a one-​stop shop for coffee; good, cooked food; and beer! And the vault door is neat :)

They make the best biscuits and gravy that I’ve ever tasted. Get an egg (or two) on top. Their Bloody Mary is simple, yet delicious, served with a jalapeño popper and beer chaser.

Great coffee (same as Johnson Public House). Nice patio outside. Owners and staff are super nice too. Great place for coffee, and for breakfast too. Highly recommended.

Came to hang out in the Courtyard with some friends. Had a few beers and tried their BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwich. Cool décor. It’s new-​ish and clean. Not overly priced. The BBQ Pulled Pork was just ok, not bad by any stretch. I’d honestly would have rather had a homemade one or one from Dickie’s BBQ.
I did not have the coffee so I can’t speak to that. We ordered inside and had our food taken to us in the courtyard which only had 2 shade umbrellas which was unfortunate.
I recommended swinging by though just to see how it is, perhaps you’ll find something you like.

I would drop the «A» part from the name and just call this «OK Coffee»…for that’s exactly what my experience at the place was like today… just…OK.
In a city deluged with coffee shops, I think it’s important to have a friendly staff. I went for coffee and a sandwich with three friends today. The food was mediocre, the service atrocious and attitude-​laden. I won’t be going back anytime soon.

Aptly named A*OK Sunshine & Spirits, it is such a lovely, cheerful place with awesome KinKin coffee and some great baristas. This spot is equally good for studying/​working or meeting up for lunch or drinks. It has access to the whole Robinia Courtyard — gorgeous and perfect for sunny summer enjoyment. Love it.
P. S. $ 2.50 NessAlla kombucha happy hour and boozy slushies!

I love this space and the coffee is fantastic, however the tea prices are ludicrous.
I ordered a 16-​oz iced tea, which came in a 16-​oz mason jar. When I requested a little less ice I was informed that they would not be able to fill the jar all the way then. Are you kidding me?
If I order 16 oz of iced tea I technically have the right to say no ice at all.
Great ambiance and location, but they need to cool it on the stingy prices. Sheesh.

Good coffee from a local roastery, Kin Kin Coffee and great location. Like the atmosphere in the shop and the shared courtyard space. They also have some great beers on tap!

Biscuits and gravy with two eggs is a must. Drinks are good, but mocha no where near as solid as their sister mocha at JPH. Environment is great. Only negative is twice now two separate baristas have been completely disengaged and unenthusiastic. Smiling really makes the day better. No joke. You’re not too cool for your job.

Great coffee, easy to find a place to sit and the staff is always very friendly. We keep going back and waiting for that moment when everyone finds out about this little café and we can no longer find a seat, but so far it’s been our go to coffee shop in Madison.
The coffee comes from KinKin — Johnson Public House’s roasting arm, and it’s always very good. (I’m not sure if the espresso is from KinKin as well…). The baristas are always very friendly and they can pull a mean shot of espresso. Seating is currently pretty easy to get, and they’ve laid out the café to have a lot of small tables and a variety of seating areas.
The only challenge is parking. Only on street parking is available, and it seems like that block of East Washington gets congested with construction vehicles pretty regularly.

I liked but didn’t love A-​OK Coffee.
I was sad that they were out of Nashville Hot Chicken and didn’t mark it on the sign. I ordered the sausage and egg biscuit instead, and it tasted kind of funny. The biscuit itself was great.
I’m not a coffee drinker, so I loved that they offer fresh squeezed juice. It was pricy for the small cup, but that’s no different from anywhere else.
Average atmosphere. Nothing bad, nothing particularly comfortable.

Being a big fan of Johnson Public House, my expectations for this spot were really rather high. Thankfully, their high standards and attention to detail seem to have carried over.
My coffee has been hot, brewed perfectly, and served relatively quickly each time. And the prices, while a little high, are reasonable for the quality.
The service so far has been good, but not particularly friendly.
I really like the feel of the whole building, from the flow of the three spots (a-​ok, barolo, and julep) is super cool and feels really unique. I am an especially huge fan of the outdoor space. I can’t wait until it is warm enough to enjoy it. It feels like I could spend an entire evening moving from one slot to the next, and I probably will do just that sometime soon.
Oh! I can’t forget the food. On my last visit I ordered the diner burger and it was just that — a classic dinner burger. Cooked well, a little greasy, with an awesome bun and covered in pickles. Pretty tasty. The best part, however, was the fries. Those things were PERFECT. Seriously. Crispy, golden, and awesome. Some of the best I’ve had.
Overall, I would say this place is pretty darn… A-​OK. (Has that joke been made yet? I didn’t read the other reviews. I feel bad now. So bad.) and I shall be returning fairly often!

Definitely have the pulled pork bbq with house made pickles for breakfast. They are sloppy, spicy, sweet, and the combination with the dill-​ish pickles is so perfect that my mouth is watering just thinking about it. We stopped in a few days ago when my son got to town and he was starving, and they did not disappoint. We sat at the bar and service was fast. The preparation of the KinKin coffee is still oddly weak and not up to the high degree of perfection achieved at Johnson Public House, so I’m still waiting to give that a better review. But the food experience was much improved this time!

Madison’s coolest coffee bar! I drove by this spot on my way to Milwaukee one day and knew I needed to stop in sometime. Well, a few days later, I made sure to stop! They have a room that looks like it used to be a vault — it even has the vault door included! I heard that they may do karaōke in that room in the near future. Aside from that room, there is a diner feel to the bar that serves the coffee and a third cozy room with spots to sit. The overall coffee section is well lit with daylight (assuming it’s not another gray sky day in Madison).
They have many options painted on the side of the wall and a menu for those that like to browse. I ordered a large Americano to go and explored while they made it. In the back (which was closed), there appeared to be a bar (and restaurant?) that looked very inviting, I need to stop back at night! I feel like it has an entirely different personality.
The coffee was good! Definitely woke me up. Nothing special about the cup, but who cares what it looks like — it’s merely a vessel for that coffee goodness. The staff was also very friendly and looked like they could be (or are) friends outside of work too!

Stopped in for drinks. Great service! The bartender not only talked me into trying the berry kombucha on tap (I thought I hated kombucha), but she also convinced me to put it in my favorite cocktail instead of ginger ale. It was fabulous.
Looking forward to going back for food.

The biscuits and gravy are outstanding. I was told the chef won best biscuit in Chicago before moving to madison. Now they are the best biscuit in Madison.
Excellent coffee.
I came back a few days later for a Milkshake that was the best I’d had and my girlfriend got a very unique homemade soda that she just gushed about.
The outside patio is fantastic too.

SERVICE: 3.5 Stars
The two gentlemen behind the counter were friendly, but the steady flow of traffic precluded anything more than just transactional interactions. They delivered our food with a smile and graciously brought over a tray of condiments but never were able to break away from the counter so check in on our food. They did a nice job of explaining all the coffee options, but it was hard to understand everything they said because of the noise level.
VENUE: 3 Stars
From a purely visual perspective, A-​OK would garner a 4.5 rating for its transformation of the old Savidusky’s Fur retail shop into a stylish space with a post-​industrial vibe. As mentioned in other reviews, the vault door from the fur repository is a show stopper. Also visually striking are the blue and gold geometric floor tiles and the shiny white subway tiles utilized around the coffee bar. But functionally, all those hard surfaces amplified the sounds of two very industrious baristas, caffeinated hipsters conversing and energetic preschoolers accompanying their mothers congregating for their morning coffee klatch. Mix in louder than normal background music (90s alt-​rock like Weezer, Green Day and REM) and you’ll find yourself reaching for your earbuds to filter out some of the din.
Another frustrating aspect of A-​OK is the lack of street parking during weekdays. I’ve aborted two attempts at grabbing a lunch at A-​OK simply because I could not locate street parking within three blocks of their facility.
Thumbs up for free Wi-​Fi with a strong signal throughout the morning.
FOOD /​DRINK: 3 stars
The breakfast food was a mixed bag. I enjoyed my corned beef hash breakfast, but felt it was pricey at $ 12 considering I could travel several blocks and get Madison Sourdough’s perfectly executed breakfast hash with a wonderfully dressed side salad for $ 2 less. My primary beef with my dish was the complete and utter lack of salt on my meal. While I appreciate that everyone has their personal salt preference, there should to be a base level of seasoning. In addition, there should be salt shakers on the all the tables if salting is to be a DIY affair at A-​OK.
My daughter’s country breakfast (eggs, hash browns, bacon /​sausage and a freshly made buttermilk biscuit) missed the mark. The primary offender was the severely undercooked and under-​seasoned hash browns with still crunchy onions, but the slightly dry scrambled eggs also disappointed. The star of her plate was the scrumptious buttermilk biscuit, perfectly crunchy on the exterior and pillowy soft in the center. The menu’s biscuits and gravy option may be the correct play for future visits.
While the chai tea latte did not supplant Graze for best in class, my daughter felt the A-OK’s rendition was easily in the top quartile for Madison. My Chemex coffee was A-​OK, but I needed to consume it rapidly to prevent the first world problem of lukewarm coffee as the contents of the glass carafe cooled quickly.
OVERALL RATING: 3 stars
Given its Johnson Public House bloodlines and its visually appealing venue, I admittedly had elevated expectations for this coffee shop. While there’s plenty to like, the lackluster food will keep me on the sidelines for a while. Unilocal defines a 3 star rating as «A-​OK», so who am I to disagree.

Excellent coffee! A nice space with room for babies. A cool shared outdoor area. The coffee is seriously one of the best in the city. So glad to see great coffee in Madtown.

I stopped at A-​OK yesterday, and have to admit, I’m impressed.
I loved that they have NessAlla kombucha on tap! It was delicious. I also enjoyed the scone I ordered, which was crispy crunchy on the outside and perfectly baked on the inside. My companion enjoyed the coffee. I was tempted to order the biscuits & gravy, and will try that on my next visit.
The staff members on hand were friendly and knowledgeable. The vibe was laid back, and I enjoyed the quirky yet modern design. The shared outside courtyard area is awesome, and definitely unique.
I look forward to visiting A-​OK Coffee again, and also checking out Julep and Barolo.

I, too, have been very much anticipating the opening of the trifecta on East Wash (A-​OK Coffee, Barolo, and Julep). On Day 2 of operations, I stopped in to check out A-​OK and was pleasantly surprised at how smoothly the business is running in it’s infancy. Granted, it is helpful for the owner (s) of this coffee shop to already have a success like Johnson Public House in the portfolio!
What we tasted: Double espresso, 24 oz Chemex of KinKin Burundi, and a Cherry Cola.
All three were exceptional, how can that be! The staff behind the bar meticulously weighed out the coffee and espresso — both pre-​grind and upon adding water. The double espresso was served with a glass of soda water to cleanse the palate — this was a welcome yet unexpected feature.
The Burundi is a Ugandan sourced coffee which is described on the Kin Kin website as having «cane sugar sweetness, crisp, citric acidity.» It was a pleasant, middle of the road coffee as far as roast goes — one that I could certainly drink cup after cup.
Last to taste, the Cherry Cola was a delicious non-​coffee drink straight from the bar’s soda fountain which is a fantastic option for those who want something other than coffee.
Also spotted behind the bar but not sampled: liquor drinks, craft beer taps, and milkshakes!
For atmosphere, A-​OK strikes me as a place that I would enjoy meeting up with friends though may not be the right place for an all-​day work session. There are a variety of high top and standard height tables to pick from for seating.
The coffee aficionado in my group had a worthy one sentence review which I will end on: «They’re trying hard without appearing to try too hard.»
Excellent work, A-​OK, cannot wait to return!