Cafe Manna — Restaurant in Brookfield

I booked a reservation for 6:30 pm this past Saturday evening, for a date night. We decided to sit outside, and got sat at the exact same time as another 2 top outside. As we were walking out, I heard one of their servers ask if “they” had reservations (mind you there were 2 different couples: us, and the people who got there 30 seconds before us - the couple that arrived 30 seconds before us did not have reservations, and we did). Either way, the server told the other server an oversimplified “no” about “us” having reservations (we had reservations and the other couple did not). The server who asked then made an annoyed face. Truthfully I didn’t think too much about this interaction until 20 minutes later when we were sitting at our table without water, and without having been greeted… the table that arrived 30 seconds before us and was sat at the same time as us, had waters and the server came back with drinks for them without even having greeted us… y'all I am not high maintenance. I don’t like to leave bad reviews at restaurants… especially having been a server myself. But 20+ minutes without water, and without being greeted by a server, even to let us know they were busy and service might be a bit slow… left a bad taste in my mouth. That server could have easily set 2 extra waters on a tray and set them down at our table and let us know she was a bit busy tonight (we were sat at the exact same time as the other couple). I was a server for many years and this is exactly what I would have done. So yeah, never got to find out how the food was, because I asked my boyfriend to go inside to talk to someone to try to get us some water, and that took forever and still no one had come out to bring us water by the time he got back. I get they were busy, but given the situation, it made zero sense and I got bad vibes all around. I am not sure if the server who decided not to greet us, thought we were the ones who did not have reservations and therefore wanted to give us terrible service, but either way she was extremely unprofessional. I am so thankful we decided to leave to go to Vino Cappuccino instead (by the time we left, still no one had come outside with waters lol). We had an excellent time there, with outstanding service at...

I really wanted to take my son out for good vegetarian food when he was visiting recently as he is so good about eating at other non vegetarian restaurants. Several people recommended cafe manna. No one warned us to get reservations and I wasn’t sure of the time as we were getting him from the airport. When we arrived there were two empty tables and she asked if we had reservations and essentially looked at us like dirt had just walked into her restaurant. When we said no she didn’t offer to put us down for later or to wait. A nearby table offered their table and it was obvious that annoyed her as well. She said she needed their table as well. It was 5:05 and we asked what the wait would be. She said 20 minutes but that wasn’t really an option. So if she had two tables plus one leaving soon and the wait was 20 minutes it was pretty clear she was just determined not to seat us. I guess we had ‘not from Brookfield’ stamped on our foreheads. Went back to Wauwatosa to eat at one of their fine less judgmental restaurants. Taking this one off the list. In reference to the owners comment the problem wasn’t that we could not be seated right away. She didn’t say there were no reservation times open the rest of the night. She said the wait was 20 minutes but waiting was not an option for us. It was loud and rude and actually embarrassed the customer that offered their table. Most of the restaurant was aware of what was going on. For whatever reason we were not good enough to eat there so we won’t be making that...

To call this spot a gem would be an understatement. As a vegan or vegetarian, you get a true fine dining experience—without the fine dining prices. Everything on the menu is a 10/10, and their specials are always so on point that the hardest part of coming here is choosing what to order.

I've been coming to Café Mana for years and have introduced plenty of non-vegans and non-vegetarians to it—every single one has had amazing things to say. The food is always flavorful, our orders are always spot on, and even my dad—a self-proclaimed carnivore who usually wouldn't go near vegan food—really enjoyed his meal.

Even after moving out of the Milwaukee area, I still make the 1-hour-and-20-minute drive just to eat here. Every special occasion, big moment in my life, or birthday, I choose to celebrate at Café Mana.

They do get slammed at times, but the staff always does their best to keep things running smoothly, and the quality of service never takes a hit.

But what truly sets this place apart is the customer service. Theresa treats everyone like family, and I believe she’s the reason they have so many loyal regulars. She gives honest recommendations, makes every guest feel like an old friend, and goes above and beyond to meet the needs of each table she serves.

As a proud vegan, this is my absolute favorite restaurant in the world. Even if you're not vegan or vegetarian, it’s worth a visit especially for the...