Rotunda Cafe — Restaurant in Madison

Edit: 09/20/25: I gave this place another shot after a couple years away. It seems they have made some improvements, so I am increasing my rating back to 5 stars. They have added food back to the menu and had sugar free options now. So glad to have this place back in my rotation of coffee shops!

Edit 10/4/23: this place is under new ownership. Went there today, stood in line for a good 10 min as the couple ahead of me chatted with the barista. Nobody else working so she had to make their drinks before she could take my order. I was disappointed to see they do not have hot food anymore, only sugary snacks and boxed cereals for sale. When I asked, I was told they are still "working on their menu". Asked for a sugar-free latte to be told they don't have any sugar-free syrups. I left since they didn't have anything I wanted. Super bummed too because I loved this place before. I'll give them a try in a few months after they've (hopefully) gotten it together. 😕

I love working from this place! Such a neat building. The food and coffee...

They don't really have food anymore, although they do have snacks, like nuts, chips and oatmeal. But if you're looking for a place to get some work done and you want a nice coffee drink or two while you do it, this is a great spot.

They have big, wide tables, actually comfortable chairs for working, electrical outlets by the walls, clean, attractive rest rooms, smaller rooms off to the side that you can reserve (or, if nobody else has reserved, just hang out in if you need auditory privacy), and it's sunny and beautiful.

It's a big enough space that if you need to bring in your own food or sandwich, it's not awkward--I've done that, and for now while they're not serving food, the barista was fine with it. I wish they were open a little later, and on Sundays! You can generally stay in the space after the coffee shop closes, until the bank area in the back...

Great new space in Schenk-Atwood! I always loved the rotunda in the Monona Bank building and thought it was a shame that most people never saw it. They deftly converted the rotunda and a big section of the banking area into a beautiful coffee shop with plenty of seating, FREE meeting rooms you can reserve for conference calls or quiet work time, a standard coffee shop drinks menu made with locally roasted coffee, smoothies, and a great small menu of sandwiches and soup. The absolute best thing is that they also serve Paul's Pel'meni (Russian dumplings) which is going to be hell on my waistline now that they're available in my neighborhood. Staff is nice. They're still figuring things out a bit as they've only been open for a few weeks but overall the experience is terrific. Try the roast beef sandwich with horseradish sauce! Or the pel'meni if you've...