Leopold’s Books Bar Caffé is one of the coolest and quirkiest shops I’ve visited. I loved it! It is such an original space and felt instantly comfortable and browsable. As soon as you walk in you have a choice of walking ahead to the full bar spanning the back wall or turning right and face a living room sized area wonderfully filled with books! Leopold’s Books Bar Caffé sells new books only, but they are so smartly organized… by country… and all of the fiction and non-fiction are mixed together. Blasphemy you say! Wait it gets better…

So you there you are staring at a small sign declaring the shelf to be Argentina. Spine out you can see fiction about Argentina or non-fiction about Argentina or books authored by Argentinians. Then on the shelf next to it are bottles of wine and spirits from Argentina. It’s brilliant!

Look at Japan or Greece and you’ll find the same set up and pairings. The curation and title selection is so well done. It is fun to browse (you actually feel like you are exploring) and it attracts a fun crowd, being near a university. Anyway, here are a few photos from my visit. Parking can be tough, but it’s a fun spot to check out if you have a sliver of time to kill.

Leopold’s Books Bar Caffé
(608) 256-7709
1301 REGENT ST MADISON WI, 53715
Bookstore Hours are different from the bar hours:
Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday: 10AM-MIDNIGHT
Tuesday: 3PM-MIDNIGHT
Saturday, Sunday: 10AM-MIDNIGHT