Tuvalu Coffehouse & Gallery

I like the homey feel of Tuvalu. The coffee is wonderful and the gallery is fantastic. The only negative thing about this location is that Moms seem to think its okay for their little ones to wander around and play.

I’ve frequented Tuvalu for over 2 years. The coffee and food, breakfast & lunch, are of consistently high quality and the staff is friendly (though one woman in the early morning is a bit grumpy. Maybe it’s too early for her to be up :).
I love the local/​Fair Trade art and often leave with something in addition to my coffee.
Their WIFI is solid and you can work there for a while.
Lastly, it’s a great place to meet my friend for coffee. She has 3 little girls and they are kept busy playing in the kid’s area. We actually get a chance to catch up!

The best latte I have had… spicy mocha (dark chocolate and cayenne pepper). Tingly!
Good price too

SO yummy. Ambiance is awesome. Food is a tad on the pricey end for small portion sizes, and the salad greens that come with the sandwiches need better dressing options… but if you get their house made chips its worth it. Smoothies are delicious, as is the basil lemonade. Great place to meet up with girlfriends, or even for a small group meetings.

Stupid new $ 5 minimum for credit cards. Never mind starbucks has built an empire charging people the same prices for coffee. I went down the street to quick trip and got the same thing for $ .50

awesome chai lattes and breakfast burritos. I love the local artwork as well. and great music! I definitely will be back! :-)

Really wanted to like this place… we stayed in Verona for the night before we drove further north. I knew from the reviews that this place had the vibe we were looking for– and would be cyclist friendly. I wasn’t wrong, they are biker friendly but the food was just so disappointing.
It’s a café with a knick knack shop and a toddler play area in it. Fine. We came for food and caffeine. The menu seemed to have some good stuff on it and there were definitely people coming in for drinks. We were hungry so we ordered two breakfast burritos. Not sure if they were short staffed, but once I saw the burrito and the microwave set up I got nervous.
We waited and waited and finally got breakfast. The burritos were terrible. I understand that they don’t have a full kitchen and that it wouldn’t exactly be fresh made but they were bad and I regret spending the money. The tea and coffee were fine. The wait was just odd. No thanks.

Their Basil Lemonade is the bomb. The. Bomb. Not too sweet, and it tastes freshly made. Delicious.
Their food wasn’t too shabby, either. I had the Asparagus Quiche, which was tasty but had a bit too much cheese for my taste. I also got an iced coffee, which was pretty good.
Two points: Tuvalu is a great place to bring young, toddler-​aged children. They have a wooden train set, chalk board, and other amenities that keep younger children occupied so that their parents are able to relax and enjoy a cup of coffee. However, I found the service there to be rather slow. We waited maybe ten minutes for our food, and I also had to wait what seemed like a long time for both of the drinks I ordered — iced coffee and lemonade! They only had two people working there: one who made the food, one who made the drinks.
I would definitely stop in again if I was a parent with young children, because Tuvalu is the ideal place to bring them. However, if I wanted to work remotely or stop in for a drink to go, I might go elsewhere.

I’ve been meeting my friends here once a month to chat over coffee. Each time I’ve visited, I’ve never wanted to leave! The atmosphere is relaxing and hip, and the coffee is super tasty. This past visit, I had a shot of regular and a shot of decaf expresso in my latte in one of their adorable mugs. Delicious! I would love to return and eat breakfast one of these visits. I know that Tuvalu has a fun play area for kids, so it would also be a great place for moms with little ones to visit.

For the record I hate giving negative reviews, and I want to support local businesses. Tuvalu has good coffee and food. Lucky for me there is a coffee shop across the street.
I’ve stopped in several times in the past few months and can’t say I’ve had a good experience with their staff. They are always stand offish, borderline rude. On top of which, the other day I watch as they deliberately made my order wrong since they had a certain type of milk out. I’ve been working in the coffee business for 10 years, I can tell if you if you made something I ordered or not.
I’m bummed but I don’t think I’ll be going back.

I stop in to Tuvalu once a week for some hot coffee and a delicious bacon breakfast burrito. Served with a side of salsa, this little gem is a great way to start the day!
I usually enjoy my breakfast and drinking a bottomless cup of joe Friday mornings when I can read the newest addition of the Isthmus.

Best coffee shop anywhere. Fair trade coffee and local arts and crafts. Check out coffee bar soaps and lip balms while you’re there. Best best best.

Great coffee shop with great service! Always happy with the drink and food. Keep up the good work!

Loved the coffee! The food was pretty good. But the owner could use a better attitude. After all I just paid $ 20 for two small sandwiches.

I like Tuvalu. I’ve been to many MANY coffee houses (my husband and collect them like trading cards), and I’ve got a pretty set criteria of what I want them to be.
Tuvalu has a lot of neat things. I wouldn’t call it as «trendy» as the shops on the East side of Madison, but it is a comforting sort of place. It feels very homey from the moment you walk in. Tuvalu also includes a really cool little shop of handmade items ranging from artwork to jewelry to household items that serve as a fun gallery even if you’re not interested in buying. There are lots of fun things to look at, and the artwork within the shop (also for sale) seems to rotate fairly regularly as well.
On Fridays, Tuvalu also regularly offers various acts. We came for a father-​daughter team that offered a lot of current hits, often performed in a more soft-​rock style well-​suited to a coffee shop atmosphere.
Tuvalu also offers food, which is always something I appreciate in a coffee shop atmosphere. Some of their items are better than others, although I haven’t had much. Some tasty items I’ve tried have included a spiced muffin and an EXCELLENT chocolate peanut butter pie. I was somewhat more disappointed by the breakfast burrito, which was small and had what tasted like canned salsa inside it. I have yet to try any sandwiches or larger items in order to comment on those. Coffee drinks (lattes) were decent but not exceptional.
Overall, a very solid shop that most definitely has a great small-​town feel. It also seems like it is a great neighborhood gathering place – people coming into the shop are often familiar with the owners/​employees.

Tuvalu is a great little coffee shop that does good food and has good local live entertainment regularly. Love them.

Love it. Everything is delicious and everyone is friendly. Feels like the kind of coffee shop I would come across in a quaint vacation town and wish we had at home (if that makes sense?). Love the kids play area.

I have stopped in several times in the mornings and for lunch.
Last time in we tried their new breakfast burritos which were generously sized, eggs, potatoes and bacon. Friends had the oatmeal which came with extra toppings.
Lunch is always good, excellent sandwiches and soup. You won’t leave feeling hungry.
The coffee has never disappointed me.

Tuvalu is just ok.
The positive: cool vibe, small child’s play area, local artwork, live music.
The negative: Service is a bit off sometimes, food is good but not excellent.

Great vibe and atmosphere, locally owned/​operated, uses fair trade and (in most cases) organic ingredients — all wins.
However… as Julia noted, the service has dropped quite a bit as of late. I was in this morning to purchase a single cup of coffee to go. The person behind the counter didn’t acknowledge my entry (there were 2 people in the place), and I honestly waited more than 10 minutes for her to complete everything else she was doing before she asked what she could get for me…
10 minutes may not seem like a long time, but when you swing-​in while on your way to work, those ten minutes seem like an eternity. Especially when it’s for a $ 2 cup of to-​go coffee… she could’ve rang-​me-​up and handed me a cup in a minute or less.
And, the cookies have gone downhill big time — hard and crispy rather than soft and chewy… ick.
Not sure if I’ll be back — I can buy a whole pound of Just Coffee from Willy Street for $ 8, and if I have to wait 10 minutes for a single cup, I can spend that time brewing it at home just as easily…
Sorry, Tuvalu — it’s «toot-​a-​loo» for me. Best wishes.