Lakefront Cafe on Langdon

One of my favorite spots to study or relax. The view of Lake Mendota is fantastic. The fudge bottom pie is a classic item that has been served at the Union for many years. Various quick-​serve items such as tacos, burritos and pizza are also available.

It’s been too many years since I’ve eaten here to review the food, but I did recently spend an afternoon working in the space. But, for the record, I pretty much lived on their grilled turkey wrap when I was a WUD director. I don’t think that item exists on their menu anymore, but it does make me want to try some other items.
Anyway, back to the present. The Lakefront is a bright space with ample seating and a panoramic lakefront view. There are a fair number of plugs available if you need to hunker down with a laptop for an extended period of time, and the light blue décor is soothing. For the most part, the Lakefront is quiet, save for lunch time when it fills up a bit more and people are more prone to chit-​chat.
In the summer, the room offers a nice, air-​conditioned and wind-​free way to enjoy the lake when you’re working, and in the winter you can still gaze out while being toasty warm. My biggest gripe is that the chairs aren’t particularly comfortable for someone of my height — I couldn’t use the backrest and still reach my laptop on the table comfortably. Next time I may give the cushy chairs in the corner a go, but I don’t really foresee better results.
If you need a place to work for a day and also grab a bite to eat on campus, the Lakefront is a good choice.

LOL ((Lakefront on Langdon) I still find this joke funny) was my go-​to study place in college.
It doesn’t have as much socializing as a coffee shop, but not as stuffy as a library. You can watch the lake and the terrace out the window and pretend you have a life instead of a term paper due.
The food definitely leaves something to be desired, and the hours of the café are bizarre but it’s good to just grab a soda and a snack and sit while you study.
I love that they show the Superbowl and other such Wisconsin-​cultural events. Nice gathering place for group work.

Try $ 10 (yay, the price makes it tempting) «make your own pizza» if you want to taste undercooked flour. When hot, at least edible. After cooled, disgusting.

Love the Lakefront Café! There are certain times were it is definitely unintelligent to go, because it can get very crowded.
During the day, this is a pretty common place to meet people — especially for interviews or meetings.
The food can be pricey — but the breakfast is super reasonable and good tasting — simple and good!
There are a variety of types of seating, which is good for different purposes and different sized groups. There are also a lot of electrical sockets — which is key for any area used to study.
I come here every Friday morning, which apparently is when all of the elderly men come to gossip and talk about the old days — they pretty much have a party at 8am — but its really nice that people of all ages come here and take in the beautiful view of the terrace and the (less than clear) lake.

The food isn’t the best, but it is good and inexpensive, and there’s a decent variety in selection, from stir fry, pizza, soups, salads, and wraps. Basically, it’s a memorable part of the UW Union.

The terrace is a freaking amazing unique venue home to many killer live shows and days with your vice of choice (beer or ice cream) sitting in the sun. The only failing grace of the Memorial Union is the disgusting food served at the Lakefront Café. The Chinese place is inedible and will make you nauseated for at least 2 days. The pizza is bland and often undercooked. The salad bar is not readily maintained and usually a mess by 12:30… and if you want to wait 15 minutes go ahead and get a disappointing flavorless wrap.
The Lakefront Café does get an A for effort; the design and décor of the Lakefront Café is pleasant and perfectly climate controlled. Usually there is plenty of room to sit and tables in which to spread out your books for studying. Fortunately, you can get something edible elsewhere and bring it to eat here.

Good food, a little pricey, but I love it because I can pay with my Wiscard which is key. Better selection than the grungy Rathskellar… good soups, salads, chinese, wraps, pizza… yeah, all that stuff. You are definitely over-​paying though. 3 stars.

The Lakefront Café is another Union favorite. Back in my day, it was the type of low-​pro venue where you could sit and chat for a while or do some homework. There were funky booths and tables; the décor had obviously been last updated in the ’70’s. Distinct from the generally younger crowd that frequents the next door Rathskeller, this dining room hosts an older crowd, dominated by grad students, faculty, and staff, with a smattering of brave undergrads. Basically a cafeteria serving hospital-​style comfort food (which I happen to like), except for the awesome floor-​to-​ceiling windows spanning across the entire front of the terraced room offering a 180-​degree view of Lake Mendota and north to the distant Middleton hills. In my waining days in Madison, this old haunt was re-​vamped as a mini food court with accent lighting and disappointing results.