Crescendo Espresso Bar

This is a great cafe. Good coffee, friendly employees and a consistently chill atmosphere. It's got a modern design, very minimalist. They do a great job of keeping the place clean. I enjoy coming here a lot. Easily my favorite Cafe. I'm addicted to their scones.

The latte I got was good but I was charged $1.00 for an extra cup of water that I asked for for my dog. I’m not sure why I was charged a $1 when there’s water for everyone else. I also wasn’t told that I would be charged until I saw the charge in my email.

Great stop in the hilldale area. Their Monroe location is one of my favorite coffee shops in town, so it’s nice to get their lattes when I’m farther west, too!

Sweet little spot for working and sipping coffee drinks. Enjoyed the atmosphere and menu. Spacious for a meeting or just few hours of work off site.

"Toasted" bagels gets smashed and grilled in a panini press for some odd reason. Toasters are like 12 dollars, go buy one or stop offering to toast bagels. Coffee is decent and early morning staff is always nice. Get them a toaster.

Right in the middle of Hilldale mall, one of my favorite coffee shops offering seasonal drinks in addition to some stellar coffee. Definitely a good spot to take a shopping break.

Pretentious. Awful service. Bourgeoise coffee prices. Ordered a coffee that took almost ten minutes on a slow day. Expensive bakery. Cliche decor. SO many better places in Madison.

I am so glad we finally have a proper coffee shop in Hilldale. This place is great for both a quick coffee on the way to work, and hanging out for a while. There is a gorgeous fireplace to warm up beside. There is plenty of seating, and good power outlet locations. The employees are always so nice, even early in the morning. I stick to the lattes and they are delightful. Avocado toast is also a personal favorite. It may seem expensive to pay $5 for a single piece of avocado toast, but it is massive and hearty enough to fill me up. I also love that when you order for here, everything comes in a real mug or dish, no single use items if you don't need them. And they are happy to fill a cup if you bring your own. They also have real silverware. I'm looking forward to seeing how the walk up window works once the weather warms up.

Pretty nice place.

Avocado toast was good - I had mine 'spicy'. I didn't see it on the menu, but was offered cayenne and hot sauce on top, and highly recommend getting it that way - I think it would have been a little under-seasoned otherwise. Then again, they may add more salt and pepper if you don't get hot sauce...

Mocha was nice and smooth. I got 12oz with two shots and enjoyed it. Not sure what the default is for that size.

Almond scone was quite good. On the softer side, but in a good way (not crumby soft - chewy soft), and nice sugar grains on top.

All pastries other than muffins were gone by 5:30 on a Thursday.

I think if the toast had a bit more flavor, or if the coffee had been amazing instead of merely good it would be fine stars. Solid 4+ though.

Shout out to Paul & Cait for always offering an amazing experience to my team with their Mobile Bar. Would recommend them to anyone!