{image1} Downtown's Mason Street will soon get a flavorful taste of Europe, mostly in liquid form. Euro Café Bar, 324 E. Mason St., specializes in coffee drinks and martinis, and offers about a dozen dessert varieties. General Manager George Maniotis says the café/bar plans to open its doors to the public on June 15 and will be open daily from 11 a.m. until bar time.
All the coffee drinks, from frappuccinos to espresso to regular coffee, are from Italy's respected Trieste-based Illy Caffe. "Illy is the premiere coffee of Europe," says Maniotis.
Martinis ($9) range from standard flavors to creative mixes involving brewed coffee and espresso.
Tony Anagnou and Spiro Asimakopoulos co-own the 2,200 sq. foot cafe. Anagnou served as the general designer for the interior, which includes a canopy by Flux Design, Italian-style soft lighting, skylights and a long bar with a glass top. The seating is ample, with bar seating and a couch area. Maniotis says that in the summer the large front windows facing Mason Street will be open, and outside seating will be available.
A house DJ will play music from behind the bar on weekends, and, staying true to the European motif, smoking is allowed.
Euro Café Bar's phone number is (414) 221-0222.
OnMilwaukee.com staff writer Julie Lawrence grew up in Wauwatosa and has lived her whole life in the Milwaukee area.
As any “word nerd” can attest, you never know when inspiration will strike, so from a very early age Julie has rarely been seen sans pen and little notebook. At the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee it seemed only natural that she major in journalism. When OnMilwaukee.com offered her an avenue to combine her writing and the city she knows and loves in late 2004, she knew it was meant to be. Around the office, she answers to a plethora of nicknames, including “Lar,” (short for “Larry,” which is short for “Lawrence”) as well as the mysteriously-sourced “Bill Murray.”
