Riverwest Co-op & Cafe
Restaurant, Coffee/Tea/Juice, Grocery/Bakery/Deli, Caterer, General Store
Hours
Profile
$ - inexpensive
American, Deli
Organic grocery store, bakery & vegetarian deli.
The Cafe has made-to-order sandwiches, soups, and smoothies, using organic and locally grown produce whenever possible. Fresh all-vegan baked goods -- cookies, chocolates, breads -- made daily. Catering is also available, and brunch is served on Saturdays and Sundays.
The store has all organic produce, wide selection of vegetarian and vegan groceries, sizable bulk section. Pet food, child care, and health & beauty supplies. Locally produced soaps, crafts & candles.
Both the store and cafe are staffed almost entirely by volunteers.
1 block south of Center (#22 bus), 3 blocks west of Humboldt (#10 bus), 3 blocks east of Holton (#14 bus).
Located on the corner of Fratney & Clarke.
- (Mostly) Organic
- Brunch
- Outdoor Seating
- Quiet
Added by excessively on Feb 16 05 (updated Oct 23 08)
Reviews
My girlfriend and I used to love this place (the food is pretty awesome), but we recently stopped going after finding hair in our food three times (yuck!!). We should have stopped after the first time we found hair in my BBQ tofu sandwich, but thought it was just a fluke. After the second time of finding it in the same sandwich I no longer ordered the BBQ tofu. The third time was the last time I will EVER go to the Coop. We found hair in our mac and trees (used to be my favorite dish there). I am absolutely disgusted by the cleanliness of the cafe!
The service really depends on who is working, but it can be slow and unfriendly if you don't "fit" in.
This is the spot! I LOVE THE CO-OP!!!! They have high ethical standards (I hope the co-op goes all veg soon), and the service is friendly.
The cafe is all vegetarian and has tons of vegan options. The smoothies are vegan and are always amazing, as is the seitan sandwich. They do pizza nights on Saturdays which offer tons of vegan options (including BBQ chicken pizza, roasted veggie pizza, and more), along w/ other themed nights like "Whole Grain Mondays" and "Taco Tuesdays".
They offer brunch on the weekends, which is always delicious. Some options are breakfast burritos, vegan pancakes and French toast, tofu scramble, vegan biscuits and gravy, and more. I think the biscuits are a little hard, but the gravy is good. I also had the special chocolate and mint French toast, which was divine.
The Co-op is nice, although small. The diner is extremely small with just a few tables. Eating in I've always felt uncomfortable - I don't look "alternative" and have definitely been snubbed a time or two while there.
The Riverwest Co-op Cafe is hands down the best place for vegans to eat in Milwaukee. The food is spectacular (my favorite is the Seitan Philly) and the staff and volunteers are awesome.
I also like that the deli case items are constantly rotating and always exhibit the creativity of the workers.
Saturday night pizza is a must!
Love Riverwest and the fact it's a co-op like Outpost, only smaller - it hasn't been around as long. Don't miss their breakfast ... that's where they really excel. Hooray for co-ops!!
The food is excellent, but make sure you stress dairy or soy cheese (the cooks usually look a little stoned), cause twice, I got dairy (i'm vegan) and didn't realize it until after a couple bites. The breakfast, however, is the best vegan breakfast in the city! Chocolate chip pancakes, vanilla french toast, biscuits and gravy, oh my!
Delicious food! I'm from out of town and I made it a point to eat here 2x before I left the area. I love the VLT, and the two different kinds of soup I had were awesome (curry lentil and minestrone). I also recommend that you satisfy your vegan sweet tooth with their chocolate chip cookies :)
This is a great establishment. On one side a great cafe, that boasts a wide selection of vegan breakfast and lunch eats. The vegan "Philly Cheese Steak" was great (with homemade seitan)! The co-op itself also has a nice variety of vegan foods, despite the small store. They also seem to be animal rights friendly, as I saw literature available and some info from Farm Sanctuary hanging up.
This place has a lot of charm. It's not the best food (although I do really like it), but what it lacks in taste it makes up for in being the only work run and operated food co-op in the city.
Whole foods and the outpost pale in ethical comparison. If we want alternatives to corporate monoculture and work environments that we can actually justify supporting then it becomes really important to support places like this.
Really good vegan food, clearly marked on the menu and soy lattes are really good here too. They also offer soy milk creamer for coffee in the dining area, along with free refills of coffee. Very mom and pop and only about 4 tables inside (small place) but they have a patio in the summer too. Good vegan breakfast and you'll find all the hard to find vegan grocery items in the store attached to the diner.