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The National Cafe

★★★★½ 4.5/5 (100 reviews)
$$
839 W National Ave, Milwaukee, WI 53204 (414) 431-6551 Website
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Reviews (100)

Lucas Rutowski
Lucas Rutowski
★★★★★ Jan 20, 1970

The National is a brunch spot with great food & not too crazy of prices. They do have vegetarian friendly options. They had a decent drink menu too, complete with a bloody (though I didn't personally imbibe.) The only complaint I had was the service was a little confusing. You order from your seat on your phone or from the counter. Unfortunately for the couple neighboring us who went to the counter, their seats were taken by another group (though given back quickly after an apology for the misunderstanding) Also it looked like there was a refill station for water and coffee but it wasn't super clear if that was for anyone to use or for servers. A sign or someone letting us know that was up for anyone to use would be appreciated. Very minor snags overall to a great brunch spot

Daniel Delgado Marcelo
Daniel Delgado Marcelo
★★★★★ Jan 20, 1970

BLT w/ avocado was delicious. The garlic mayo gave it a nice taste.

Andrew Special
Andrew Special
★★★★★ Jan 20, 1970

Great food and coffee. Outside seating is A+ in the summer.

Alex Francis
Alex Francis
★★★★★ Jan 20, 1970

Love the National and their sister cafe The Lafayette place.

Stephanie Vienonen
Stephanie Vienonen
★★★★★ Jan 20, 1970

I need to come back a bunch more times to try all the other vegan menu options 😍

Jeremy Miller
Jeremy Miller
★★★★★ Jan 20, 1970

Super cute cafe in 5th ward. Great for a date, outing with friends, or just stopping for a coffee. May not be the best for working remote - not a lot of outlets and limited seating. The breakfast sandwich was good. I probably wouldn’t get it with spinach again though. It left a chalky feel on my teeth after eating it. The latte was SO good. The French toast was some of the best I’ve ever had. It wasn’t too sweet and the texture was right on. So tasty 😋

Adam York
Adam York
★★★★★ Jan 20, 1970

Great food and coffee, cozy atmosphere.

Shelby Williamson
Shelby Williamson
★★★★★ Jan 20, 1970

We frequent local coffee shops. This place is where I had my favorite latte ever! Such a cute atmosphere and great-tasting food! Go here for a fabulous time.

Micah Fritz
Micah Fritz
★★★☆☆ Jan 20, 1970

On my journey around local breakfast places, The National Cafe has been on my list of places to look forward to for a while. However, the experience and food falls short of its reputation. I had the American breakfast, which was incredibly average and bland. The ham seemed just like deli ham and was a bit briny. I was also disappointed with the nearly complete separation between staff and customers. You need to order and pay off your phone, and the only other interaction you have with staff is when they bring your food. There are plenty of breakfast places that get my repeat business, this one isn't worth it unfortunately.

Shalini khare
Shalini khare
★★★☆☆ Jan 20, 1970

The food was good and tasty but service was okay. We ordered house coffee but we didn't know we need pour that ourself so we were sitting and waiting that is fine but there were no mugs , we saw our neighbor table folks pouring coffee then we asked for mug. The thing which bothered us most was that they were preparing roasted potatoes for next day probably. They kept the whole tray on the counter and the staff keep coming and eating potatoes from the same tray from which they would be serving next day. Also the food takes good 30-40 minutes to come so prepare yourself accordingly.

Scott Tillema
Scott Tillema
★☆☆☆☆ Jan 20, 1970

We went to this restaurant because the menu in the website looked nicely labeled for allergies. However when we got to the restaurant, the menu was only available through QR code and you had to order from your seat. No human being engaged us or otherwise served us to this point. Yet for some reason the transaction asks for a tip! How are we supposed to rate your service when you haven’t provided it yet? The food was ok but cold, and so were the people who brought the food. Terrible to provide bad service AFTER we tipped.

Taylor Ihlenfeld
Taylor Ihlenfeld
★★★★★ Jan 20, 1970

The best breakfast sandwiches! Fast, kind service!

Paul Taylor
Paul Taylor
★★★★★ Jan 20, 1970

the food is great and the coffee is great too! they source their beans from anodyne coffee and everything they make on the menu tastes great

Royce Wyss
Royce Wyss
★★★★★ Jan 20, 1970

Pork chorizo burrito is delicious, coffee is top notch as well. Cozy little place!

G B
G B
★★★★★ Jan 20, 1970

It had been awhile since I'd been here, pre pandemic, and decided to give it another try. I love that they added so many vegan options to choose from. I went with the vegan breakfast sandwich, which came with a side of fruit and it was delicious! I will definitely be coming back again.

Adrienne Hartman
Adrienne Hartman
★★★★★ Jan 20, 1970

Great spot for breakfast, lunch or brunch. We've visited twice, tried a few dishes and everything has been awesome, and friendly service. They have lots of healthy and hearty options - many dishes are vegetarian and several are vegan. The chorizo burrito is shown here "regular" (with eggs) and "vegan" (no eggs, soy chorizo instead of meat). We both loved it. Son also enjoyed his vegetable "all American" (in background).

Kathleen Dever
Kathleen Dever
★★★☆☆ Jan 20, 1970

We were headed to Engine #3 and decided to try something different...not so impressed with the customer service here. Lots of staff just standing around chatting with each other. Not much contact with customers. The huevos rancheros was very tasty but barely warm. The coffee was cold. French toast was even cold and we were one of 2 tables. Rather disappointed.

Zachary Barber
Zachary Barber
★★★★★ Jan 20, 1970

Lovely spot with great breakfast and lunch menu,, wonderful atmosphere especially if you get the window seat and friendly staff. I always underappreciate this wonderful staple of the neighborhood.

Drew Mc
Drew Mc
★★★☆☆ Jan 20, 1970

This hipster Cafe would be alot better if they had actual menus and would speak to the people that come in. Also withhold be nice to see an American flag too

D. Z.
D. Z.
★★★☆☆ Jan 20, 1970

Cute lil cafe, everything tasted fine but wasn’t amazing & pricey considering the area and the smaller portion size.