Valentine Coffee Roasters Vliet Street — Restaurant in Milwaukee

While visiting family in Milwaukee, we came across Valentine Coffee at the Mitchell conservatory farmer's market. The impressively bearded and friendly fellow manning the pour overs was more than happy to discuss coffee and give recommendations. I was interested in buying a couple of pounds of espresso (I do this in every city I visit), but didn't have cash on me. Fortunately, the cafe was just a few miles away.

The cafe/roastery is a small, modern space. With a relatively short counter equipped to handle your order, pull some espresso and fiddle with a few pour overs, the workspace for four people was compact. Add a half dozen tables and a merch wall, and you've squeezed (squozen? squeezeled?) as much efficiency out of a storefront as you can get.

The sea salt mochas we all had were outstanding, comparable to the best third wave shops I've been to across the U.S., and the staff were delightful. A weak point for many third wave shops is that hipsters tend to be aloof/paralyzed with social anxiety when confronted with the public. Not these guys! They even look you in the eyes when they talk to you.

Finally, the espresso blend I bought was run through my home setup this morning. Excellent: sweet, with a bit of a graham cracker aftertaste. Not as assertive as they bill it (it disappears in milk), but without a trace of bitterness.

All in all, a great place - great people, a lovely space, and excellent coffee....

This coffee experience was extremely disappointing and the worst I've ever had. Despite my support for local coffee shops and choosing to try Valentine Coffee instead of Starbucks, it turned out to be a regretful decision. When I asked the staff to make my drink sweeter, they seemed confused and had the audacity to even try to charge me for a pump of vanilla syrup. To add insult to injury, they pointed to the sugar packets, which I was fully aware of, when that wasn’t what I asked for in the first place and completely disregarding my initial request. Despite tipping them generously, the staff was unhelpful and unkind. I felt very uncomfortable for simply requesting for them to help me better my order. The staff seemed annoyed and as if my request was inconvenient to them when the shop itself was fully staffed and had only one customer sitting at a table. To make matters worse, the coffee itself tasted burnt and was ridiculously overpriced for such a small cup size. Additionally, the banana bread was downright horrendous, tasting as if it had expired. In hindsight, I should have demanded a refund. On a positive note, I later visited Stone Creek and had a much better experience with their kind, willing, and helpful staff. Valentine Coffee surely deserves zero stars if it...

This is a very nice coffee shop, unless you are looking for a quiet spot for a quiet conversation with two people, inside.

This location has a nice looking facade, red brick, with black awnings. Several healthy looking plants standing guard at the front vestibule. Inside there is a large center table, and some counter spots along the front window. Lots of items and merchandise to look at while you wait your turn.

Came with a friend, and it didn't take us long to get to the cashier. Lots of choices on both the food and drink menu. Cookies, muffins, biscottis, and power bars if you are looking for some bakery. Breakfast sandwiches, oatmeal and other breakfast items as well. Got my London Fog Tea Latte (little lavender, little vanilla and extra foam), in a nice 12oz mug. They told me it would be severals minutes to steep the Earl Grey Tea, which I always take as a good sign that they know what they are doing :)

Inside, there weren't any spots for 2 people to have a quiet/private conversation, so we had to go outside. Then there was the busy street, with traffic noise.

The drinks and service were all very good. Unfortunately the seating options are not a good fit for my coffee...