Alderaan Coffee — Restaurant in Milwaukee

Attention Star Wars fans, this IS the coffee shop you have been looking for! The attention-to-detail the owners have put-in is unlike any-other themed establishment. So set your coordinates for planet Alderaan and jump to hyperspace - Chewie "HIT IT!"

From first glance, the only detail that screams Star Wars is the name; Alderaan. Known to fans as Princess Leia's home planet that was famously destroyed by the Death Star in Episode 4: A New Hope. When you walk-in and see the interior, you might be scratching your head and thinking, "why is this place called Alderaan?" While the layout of the shop is very clean, slick and modern, there are no other indications that this place has anything to do with Star Wars. But as a long-time customer, I am going to reveal all the secrets that make this place the number 1 destination in the galaxy for Star Wars fans.

The very first clue that secrets are-to-be-found is in the WiFi password. I won't explicitly list-it here, but it's the last name of the most famous Jedi family in the storyline. Once I learned this, I made it my prime-directive to uncover all the other Star Wars secrets hiding in Coffee Shop Alderaan. Here's what I have found so far:

If you visit in full-costume, your first cup-of-coffee is on the house. I learned this after stopping-in before Comic Con with a full-cosplay group. The barista took our photo (we were dressed up as rastafarian Storm Troopers) and put the polaroid in their huge costume photo-book behind the counter (you can ask to see it anytime - I'm in there like 30 times!).

If you can stump the barista with Star Wars trivia - you get a free refill on literally any drink they serve. Now, this is easier said than done, and some barista's are more knowledgeable than others. They might hate-it when I come-in because I bring the hard questions - but the short, fair-skinned barista-girl with dark hair is literally unstumpable. It might have something to do with all the Star Wars tattoos she has, her legs are covered with them! She even knows trivia from the Clone Wars cartoon and Dark Horse comic books.

All of the light switches make a lightsaber noise when you turn them off and then back-on again. I found this-out during a power-outage, so cool!

They have BLUE MILK! But you have to ask for it. It's actually called "Bantha Milk" and makes for the best, most interesting looking lattes. I even ask for-it on my cereal.

Every table and chair has a different planet name and it's printed in Star Wars font on the underside. The Dagobah chair, at the Dagobah System table is my spot!

Every-hour, on-the-hour, their sound-system plays a random Star Wars sound-effect, it's so quiet that you might even miss-it, but it's such a neat detail. I've heard Vader's breathing, Chewie talking and even a Wilhelm Scream.

If you flush their bathroom toilet 5-times in a row, really fast - all the lights turn-red in the bathroom and the Imperial March plays. NO JOKE, I was so surprised when this happened.

Help me out and let's look for more secrets at this place. I am there with my D&D crew almost every Saturday, they let us take-over two full tables for gaming and there is room for lots more. They encourage so-much gaming that the owner even keeps a stash of dice and D20s behind the counter. The whole left-hand side of the shop is just workstations with a big power outlet at every seat - perfect for LAN parties.

Be sure to make Alderaan coffee shop your final destination for your next cosplay/LARP meetup - gaming session - or whatever your geek heart desires. May the Force...

COVID-19 service --

The location: On a corner near Fresh Thyme. There's 3 hour free parking on the street behind the shop.

The drinks: I got a mocha with oat milk. I'm not exaggerating when I say it was one of the best mochas of my life. Dark, rich, just a little sweetness, and perfect drinking temperature.

The service: Easy online ordering via a link I got from their google maps listing. There are options to customize your drink as needed. You can order curbside delivery or pick-up. I ran in to pick-up and true to their word, my drink was ready in the five minutes predicted. Only 1 human at a time is permitted in the shop and pick-up location inside is easily labeled. On nicer days, they'll leave drinks on an outside table. The barista was cheerful and happy to help. I was in and out in under two minutes.

Next time: I might need a shot of caramel in my mocha for an...

Cute coffee shop, great location, best I can say about the place.....but the coffee was very average and service was strange.

The barista took our drink order, rudely, and then proceeded to make us stand there while he made all the drinks, as opposed to letting us pay then sit down to wait for our drinks.

We were a party of 3, so we pushed together two small tables that were sitting inches from each other. After reading and getting some work done, when it came time to leave, the barista took a second to look up from his phone that he'd been on the whole visit to ask us "could you put those tables back to where they were?". Keep in mind the place was dead and nobody needed those tables.

Bottom line is no need to go back considering the better coffee choices in the city (Colectivo, Anodyne, Stone...