I’m always on the hunt for a great coffee shop. I am one of those people willing to pay $4 for a great cup of specialty coffee, but I can also appreciate a fresh cup of gas station brew too — I’m an equal-opportunity coffee drinker. So in my travels, coffee stops are almost always included.
Things I look for in a coffee shop:
- Classic coffee options: Fresh brewed and cold brew options, plus mochas, lattes and chais
- Milk options: I’m recently a fan of oat milk (thanks for that Bryan — Oh Hey! If you like baseball, check out his website!)
- Snacks: Baked goods or packaged snacks are always appreciated as options
- WiFi: Free WiFi (so I can get some work done…obviously) is a must
- Seating: I like seating options (comfy chairs and tables) — outdoor and indoor
- Traffic: It’s always a plus when the coffee shop has other people there, but it’s not so busy that I feel like I have to hurry up and leave
Steamers Coffee Shop in Williams Bay checked a lot of the things on my list. Steamers is located in the main building of businesses you see when you’re driving through The Bay on Highway 67. It’s attached to the Green Grocer — they serve soup and sandwiches, and also have a small grocery, wine and beer selection. On the Steamers side, they have a couple baked goods available (from Simple Cafe in Lake Geneva).
The cafe side isn’t large, but there were plenty of seating options (including tables and comfy chairs) when we were there. It’s a pretty standard local coffee shops with cute decor, mismatched tables and chairs, and creeky wood floors — I loved it all!
They also had free WiFi — hint: the password is on a framed piece of paper hidden up (kinda high for this shortie) closer to the front door. And we were able to sit at one of the tables and get some work done without feeling rushed or in the way. There were definitley people in and out, but it wasn’t crazy busy.
Now to the coffee — I got an iced non-fat mocha. This mocha was probably one of the best specialty coffee drinks I’ve ever had. It was smooth, creamy and super chocolately but not too sweet. Most of the time with mochas you can’t get all of those things at the same time. Usually if it’s chocolately — it’s too sweet. Or if it’s smooth and creamy it’s not non-fat. Or if it’s not too sweet — then it’s kind of bitter. This basically tasted like high quality chocolate milk mixed with espresso — it was amazing!
And if you want to bundle up and enjoy a view of Williams Bay, or wait until spring, they have a nice little view from right in front of their shop!
Other coffee shops in the area I like:
- Boxed and Burlap (just up Highway 50 from Williams Bay)
- Avant (Lake Geneva)
- Lake Geneva Pie Company (they have amazing brewed coffee too!)
- Friends on the Square (Elkhorn)
TELL ME: I need to add more local coffee shops to my rotation. If you have a favorite coffee shop in Walworth or Rock counties…let me know!!
Small Town Tourist 