Barriques

Finding a café like this one that serves good coffee AND has plenty of places to sit and study is a rarity. The first time I went there, the barista recommended I try their crab dip. I did, and it was arguably the best decision I’ve made in 2016– SO GOOD. I’m now verging on «regular» status there.

I used to enjoy Barriques, but service has gone way downhill. My wife was having some problems with her coffee-​of-​the-​month subscription. It was paid for but, for some reason, the coffee wasn’t being shipped to our house. I went to the West Washington location with my receipt to inquire about it. The first time I was told by the guy in charge that someone would get back to me that day. Nothing happened. About a week later, I went in again, and the same guy told me that he would get back to me that day. Nothing happened. I emailed the store’s general email account, and (you guessed it) nothing happened. Finally, about a week later, I went in again. Fortunately, I was able to talk to the guy’s boss, and she straightened things out in about fifteen minutes. But it took four contacts-​three in person-​before anything got done. Very aggravating and disappointing. I won’t be shopping there again.

I LOVE this coffee shop. I used to hang out here every weekend when I lived in Madison. Great location, nice baristas (except one or two now and then). Great food, great drinks, great coffee. hell, I don’t have any negative things to say about this place. Very nice place to sit and watch Washington Ave. Perfect to get a cuppa if you’re on the Capitol for the farmers market. My favorite drinks here are the daddy grasshopper and the Miel. Very good vegetarian options too. Great place to get work done — I wrote my PhD thesis in this coffee shop.

Holy cow, my cortado is sweet. I ordered a cortado because it is a good way to judge coffee quality, but I can’t even taste the coffee because of how sweet it is. The agave nectar combined with the natural bitterness of the drink creates a really bad aftertaste.
To empathize with the shop, I know Starbucks ruined most customers’ taste buds to expect sweetness with any drink but a black coffee. But seriously, don’t make a hybrid. Be like Starbucks and make all your drinks into sweetened lattes or keep it original.
Customer service was good. Overall great atmosphere. And free wifi is great. I would be willing to give this place another chance if I needed a place to work, but I would likely order a latte next time and expect a Starbucks taste.

In our effort to try out local favorites in any city we visit, we went out of our way to try this «local» café for breakfast and coffee. Upon entering, we loved the décor and the fragrances from the walls of coffee beans wafting through the air. We immdediately ordered a local brew and a cappuccino. We were also intrigued by the food menu and opted for the avocado jack which included avocado to make the gf happy and jack cheese to make the bf happy.
The full bore brew was delicious and tasty. The flavor was dark and did its job to wake me right up. The sandwich was tasty, light, hot, and complete. All the flavors tied together so well. There wasn’t any complaint from us.
As we travel throughout the city the rest of the weekend, we then noticed several other Barriques locations and realized this was not as small as we thought. Even though there were other locations, they all seemed to be local offerings which kept its small town feel that we loved.

I’m not sure if this is actually the largest Barriques (actually, that might be Middleton?) or if it just feels that way, but the double-​level coffee shop is great at not feeling as cramped as many of the other downtown spots.
I tend to gravitate here in the fall and winter for hot cider (with the optional caramel addition given into on occasion) and the Mexican hot chocolate — you definitely feel the kick in the back of your throat by the time you’ve reached the bottom.
Like other locations, they’ve got a healthy selection of wine, and I love that they’ve had some quirky small gifts/​candy near the counter for as long as I can remember. There’s also a food menu — I haven’t eaten at this particular Barriques but I’ve enjoyed several items at their other locations.
Service can be a bit slow, but it’s always been friendly and I’ve always gotten exactly what I’ve ordered, so I’ll take it.

I’m a professed iced black tea fanatic. Like, seriously. I will drink 3 – 4 glasses at every brunch place I go to. And, as that iced tea fanatic, I can confidently say that out of all the iced tea in Madison, Barriques is my favorite. Perfect balance of floral and nutty, not too strong not too weak, I can have 3 – 4 glasses without getting my weird iced tea headaches (okay, I might drink too much of it), and, best of all, it is CONSISTENT. Every single time I’ve been there the iced tea has been on point, no matter which Barriques I go to either. I never have to wonder if it’ll be a good day today. #winning. Also, it’s semi reasonably priced!
A couple of notes on the atmosphere: This particular location is way preferable to me over the one on Park or the one on Monroe. The two levels helps it feel open and not horribly crowded with the added benefit of a lot of tables as options! Fairly good access to outlets, lots of windows, and nice people. They don’t make you feel like a bad person for parking there for a couple of hours to plow through some work. Love. It.

Kind of like stepping into a Harry Potter book.
This location is dark, with a clubby type atmosphere, somewhat claustrophobic with seating on two floors. Lighting up high, and not to much. Lots of windows, but you don’t get much sun, with the floors, tables, ironwork railings and cabinets just seeming to suck the life out of what light comes in. I like it.
Coffee is excellent, food is better than Starbucks (low bar, I know). It’s different — which is a good thing.

Great selection of coffee, snacks, and wine. The atmosphere is a win as well, with plenty of places to sit (upstairs and down) and a lot of outlets for your phone and computer.
Cleanliness is Barriques’ only strike, as there are always a swarm of small flies near the bussing stations. It’s so bad upstairs that the flies find their way to your table, and don’t leave your food alone. Last time I visited, I killed at least 7 while trying to get my work done.

Food review: We tried the tuna melt and the bacon ranch wrap with pasta salad. Both the sammies and the pasta salad literally tasted like they were from a gas station. Very poor quality. I’m disappointed because a Barriques is going into our neighborhood on the East side. Bummer!

Overheard at Barriques: «Its really amazing. They do a fantastic chai latte.» I can’t speak to this, but I can say that the coffee is my idea of right and the avocado egg wrap makes me feel some type of way.
A great place to work with delicious food and a calm atmosphere. Good vibes even for those who aren’t here with work to do. Perfect for a weekday glass of wine and catchup with a friend.

The redesign is awful and very sad looking. This used to be such a neighborhood treasure and now it’s just… not.

LOVE this place. So sad I didn’t get over here more when I lived downtown. It kind of feels tucked away, and forgettable in that sense, which is a shame.
First of all, the outdoor seating is sublime. Aside from Colectivo’s open air patio, this takes the cake. The Barriques is in such a unique location compared to the other coffee shop locations, that it almost feels like you’re in a very different neighborhood — something that feels more Chicago than, «Hey, you’re either on the square or on State Street because you’re in Madison.» I like that.
The indoor seating is great as well. It feels small, but there are actually quite a few seats, whether it be the bar seating, the big tables, or the upstairs section (don’t miss this option if you’re looking for somewhere to sit inside!).
As far as drinks, I love Barriques because they have the most original selection. They have alcoholic options, which I never realized could or should be mixed with coffee — it’s like legal speedballing, if you think about it, which I do whenever I get the adult grasshopper (basically a mint mocha made with peppermint schnapps). However, I really come here for the Mexican mocha; I can’t believe this is the only place I can get one in town, and they pull no punches when it comes to loading it down with spice– LOVE.

My heavens, their truffles are good, too!
And another star for consistently courteous and calming staff.

This is a great place to warm up with a cup of hot tea, as Wisconsin is apparently freezing in both November and June. They have an excellent drink selection, and I especially recommend the ginger pu erh with a bit of whole milk. This seems like it would be a great place to study or meet up with friends as well.

Blown away. The coffee is so so so so good, the service is great! Half priced cookies after 8, plenty of seating, and of course– they sell wine! Veggie friendly too. A++

Nice place to idle time away or to work on your school papers for the whole afternoon.

I’ve frequented this Barriques location more than 100 times. The service is nearly always pleasant or better, even during busy times. The maple pecan scone and breakfast sandwich are my favorite menu items!

Neat little coffee shop by the Capitol. There’s so much VARIETY and choice (that’s what usually gets me). They have the usual coffee, then their interesting specialty drinks (Mexican mocha, German Chocolate Cake, etc). They have soups, salads, sandwiches. They even have alcoholic choices. They have upstairs and downstairs seating and an eclectic assortment of goodies– vintage looking gum, mugs, trinkets. The servers are really friendly. Overall, a cute little place (though they can definitely crank up the heat here in blizzardy Madison!).
EDIT– they REALLY need to do something about their fruit flies. They wouldn’t stop hovering around my food.

I was here for one purpose, and one purpose only: to buy two flavors of their bulk coffee. Unfortunately, they didn’t appear to have either flavor, so I journeyed west to a different Barriques location.
Seems like a nice spot; was quiet on an early Sunday morning. I’d sip a cup o’ Joe here some other time.

I really like Barriques as a business overall, but this isn’t one of my favorite locations. Being downtown, it’s usually fairly busy, which makes it noisier than the other locations. This wouldn’t always be bad things, but the service slows down, the espresso pulls and tea turn out bitter due to distraction, and their frustration becomes palpable.
Their wifi is free, but flaky, and while the have weekly wine/​liquor tastings at all of their locations, these make the place even busier than usual, and more chaotic, as the tastings seem primarily self-​led, though there’s a staffer there to answer questions… if they happen to know the answers (some know a lot about the items in the tastings, others have only basic knowledge.)
The seating can also get a bit interesting — the layout is a bit awkward, and there aren’t many tables larger than a 2-​top. The few that there are are constantly filled by solo students with their stuff strewn about who couldn’t be arsed to consider that their laptop and textbook could fit perfectly well on a 2-​top if they sat their backpack on the floor, so if you’re looking to get a drink with more than one other person, plan on getting it to go.
…or visiting one of their other locations instead.

Love it!
Wenn ich in Madison bin, kann ich nicht ohne deren Kaffee leben.
Das Personal ist immer freundlich, egal zu welcher Uhrzeit, und man bekommt jeden Morgen den perfekten Kaffee.
Tipp: zu Halloween gibt es einen Spezialkaffee mit Kürbisgeschmack! Unglaublich lecker!