Johnson Public House

I was a JPH weekend regular until about a month ago when I went in and had a really terrible customer service experience. I tried to order my usual drink in my usual personal cup and the barista, who I did not recognize as one of their usual weekend crew, told me that I was ordering the wrong thing. He proceeded to tell me all of the other things I should be ordering (none of which were the same). I had been going there every weekend and none of the other baristas had made this an issue. I myself am a barista and I have never spoken to a customer the way I was spoken to and the experience felt like the coffee snobbery that I don’t expect from a friendly neighborhood cafe. I emailed them as an individual to express my concern and never heard back.

Amazing ham sandwiches with this great rosemary dressing that I wish I could somehow recreate. Coffee is also absolutely delicious. Love the atmosphere and the owners are two of the best people I have ever met.

Best coffee roaster (Kin Kin) and top 2 coffee shop in Madison! Can’t go wrong with any coffee drink but I do prefer the single origins to the espresso blend.

The coffee is some of the best in the city, but prepare to wait (and wait, and wait) if you want to sit at a table during busy hours. The local art for sale is always enjoyable, and it's a great place to sit and work (hence the wait).

A staple in the E Johnson area. Wonderful coffee and delicious things to eat. Can be crowded, but so what. I don't take my coffee very seriously and feel like these guys and gals definitely do, which I guess is the reason my coffee is always so stinking good!

This'll be a place I'll go out of my way to visit again. The coffee was great and the food was great. JPH has flat whites on the menu, one of only two Madison coffee shops I've found that does, and it was very tasty. I had the chocolate sandwich, and it was fantastic.

Very cool little place with great atmosphere and, more importantly, great coffee. Just being a block away doesn't hurt either.

A Madison instution; it's long held it's place as the best coffee shop in town. For a while, the now-closed 5th Element put up a good fight for the title of best coffee shop in Madison, but it had to put out all the stops to match the incumbent JPH. They benefit from an authentic, quintessentially Madisonian location and vibe on quirky and charming (though loud) East Johnson Street, fit with bike parking on a major eastbound bike route and outdoor picnic table seating during the warm months. It gets a bit drafty during the winter, and they don't have A/C, but their coffee more than makes up for it, both serving their own house brand Kin Kin and hosting guest coffee roasters from around the country (Intelligentsia, Madcap, and Four Barrel seem to show up frequently). Cold brew coffee, espresso, and pour-overs are consistently of a high-quality. They also sell bottles of beer and wine from the fridge, and they usually have interesting beers on offer.

Really nice spot. Great ingredients and the coffee is fantastic. Big fan of this vibe, and very reasonable prices.

Johnson Public House and their sister brand KinKin are some of the most exciting things to happen to the Madison coffee scene in a long time--and Madison has a great coffee scene as it is. The best part is its run by a great family who sincerely just want to serve the highest quality coffee, beer, and food possible in a casual and friendly environment. This is a gem that will become a neighborhood legend.