The yellow brick road may pave the way to the Emerald City, but in Milwaukee, it’s the orange glow you want to follow if you’re in the mood for some out-of-this-world dessert or a chill place to linger with your date or a group of friends over after-dinner drinks. Apparently, not many people are aware of the recently opened Café Luna and Lounge, the new after-dinner/dessert lounge located right on the waterfront offering a spectacular view of downtown and the Historic Third Ward. But they will be soon, because Luna’s blend of contemporary décor, live music, creative drink menu, and selection of sweets combine together to create a stunning setting for schmoozing.
Last night a couple of friends ventured downtown with me and Scott to check it out for ourselves. Due to all the construction going on, parking was a little confusing, but finally we found a spot around the corner and made our way past in-progress condos to the beckoning glow of warm orange light shining forth from Café Luna’s large glass windows. We were a little disappointed to find only a few people inside. Not because we wanted to party things up with a large crowd, but because the place is so cool that people should be there, hanging in the hip atmosphere, with hot dates in the dimly lit corners, or clinking cocktail glasses while draped on the low-slung black lounge chairs.
But for last night at least, it appeared that only a few other people besides our little party were taking advantage of the new hot spot. Since I have to shy away from the bar for a few more months, I went straight to the dessert menu. While the selection is small – Heath bar pie, chocolate pecan bourbon pie, carrot cake, and a few more – there are plans in the works to add cheesecake, cheese plate, and some pastries at a later date. I myself was immensely impressed with the rich, velvety slice of chocolate pecan bourbon pie, even though it was served up on a very humorous pink and brown colored rabbit-shaped paper plate. (According to our waitress, the real serving plates are supposed to be in later this week.)
The drink menu is loaded with a nice selection of champagne, port, and wine, as well as an excellent array of coffee drinks – think Café Cubano, basic espresso, Café au Lait, etc., which may appeal only to those in serious need of a stay-awake solution right now, but should Café Luna ever be open during daylight hours it could prove a popular place for condo-dwellers to get their morning caffeine fix.
Scott ordered one of their specialty drinks, a Cigar, which was a balanced blend of scotch, coffee, and tawny port, while one of our friends sipped on an amaretto based martini and the other stuck with an 18-year-old scotch that he says went down smooth after having instructed the bartender not to shake it over ice (!) before pouring as he’d done at first. Despite the few small gaffs, we enjoyed the sweets and the drinks and look forward to lingering in the warm orange glow again soon.
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Café Luna and Lounge
106 W. Seeboth Street
(414) 403-0686
Hello Audra,
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Posted by: Shannon | January 22, 2008 at 01:49 PM
Cafe luna
the music is too loud you can't have a conversation over the live band
the other night there was no toilet paper in the men's room
or a receptacle to throw soiled paper towels bags of garbage were in the hallway
when i brought this to ms. mccormick who is co owner of luna with her partner neera anand
she couldn't be bothered... my opinion is these girls are over there heads and when there lease runs out they will be gone..
Posted by: Dr. Michael A. Laska | May 08, 2008 at 09:34 AM
I was looking for a place to relax and enjoy some good music.I have found it right here in Milwaukee! I have been there several times,thoroughly enjoyed Cafe Luna and service was excellent. The pastries were sumptous! People seeking more quiet( a quiet band?), more staid venue should check out the Pfister I take my Grandma Shanti to Pfister whenever she comes to visit.I take the rest of family to spend the evening at Cafe Luna, and they all love it and that is top of the list when they are visiting.
Posted by: Shamu Singh | July 01, 2008 at 08:30 PM