13 restaurant recommendations for new Milwaukee Brewer Mark Canha — and other foodies
Welcome to Milwaukee, Mark! We’re so glad you’re here! I’ve read that you’re excited, too, though it’s a pretty big change coming from New York. I get it. You’re a foodie — a major foodie — used to living in one of the greatest culinary cities in the world, and you’re not sure how Milwaukee stacks up.
Mark, I know your food tastes vary. I’ve scoped out your Instagram (@BigLeagueFoodie) and have made myself ravenous in the process. Like me, you love food all over the board: massive breakfast sandos, stunning sushi rolls, steamy soup dumplings, classic French cuisine, super-fresh seafood and even molecular gastronomy a la Atelier Crenn. We have a lot of what you love right here in Milwaukee, you just have to know where to look. Look here!
I want to tell you to go to Goodkind on Tuesday Burger Night to try their weekly twists on the handheld fave. I want you to pop into Sciortino’s to pick up a crusty Italian loaf and add a dozen little cookies on your way out. I really want you to head just south of American Family Field to Burnham Park and hit up every single one of taco trucks parked down there. And I desperately want you to go to almost any area deli or bakery on Sunday morning to pick up what may be my favorite Milwaukee food tradition: hot ham and rolls.
OK, I’ve told you these things, but not in the detail I’ve wanted to, and I’m already leaving out, oh, about 200 other places around town I’d love to recommend you visit.
But for now, I’ll give you this list of restaurants I think you should try based on studying your Instagram photos and reading interviews. It’s broken down into Milwaukee institutions (places that have been around for years or serve distinctly Milwaukee cuisine), finer-dining restaurants (because I know you have refined taste) and places near the ballpark (for when you’re strapped for time, don’t want to drive or want to take your teammates out for a taste of the city).
And, just saying, if you need any more recommendations or a dining sherpa to show you around, I’m right here.
Milwaukee dining institutions
Five O’Clock Steakhouse
2416 W. State St.
Mark, you absolutely need to set aside a night for the full Wisconsin supper club experience, and Five O’Clock is one of the best in the area. It’s been open since 1946, and its decor is firmly rooted in that era. Step up to the bar and place your order from there. In a little while (just enough time to take your first sips of a classic Wisconsin brandy old fashioned — sweet, if you’re keeping it real), you’ll be whisked to your table, full relish tray and bread service waiting. The experience is a time capsule, but the food is done right. Classic steakhouse fare like prime rib, pork chops and lobster tail nestle up to baked potatoes, green beans almondine and asparagus. All classics, all good bets. And while I don’t want to derail your training, Mark, if you have room for a Brandy Alexander or a Pink Squirrel after dinner, indulge yourself.
Calderone Club
842 N. King Drive
There are long-running arguments about whether “Milwaukee-style pizza” is a thing. It absolutely is a thing, and it consists of a super crispy, cracker-thin crust cut into squares, with toppings that go all the way to the edges. Sausage, mushroom and onion — or the SMO — is the classic topping combo ’round here, but I know your family is partial to pepperoni, and I promise you won’t be scoffed at is you add the “p” for a SMOP. There are others who do Milwaukee-style ‘za great, too (Zaffiro’s on the East Side and Balistreri’s on Blue Mound Road are two of them), but Calderone Club says they have the original recipe from Caradero Club, which is said to have invented the Milwaukee style of pizza in 1945.
Kegel’s Inn
5901 W. National Ave., West Allis
Here’s a twofer for ya: This charming stone restaurant doubles as one of the most authentic German restaurants in the area which also happens to host one of the area’s best Friday fish fries. That’s two classic Milwaukee dining experiences in one historic setting. Open since 1924, the restaurant is a little quaint, a little kitsch, but just so cozy with its wood-paneled walls dressed up with hand-painted murals depicting the German countryside and beer gardens. Kegel’s has fantastic currywurst and kuegel wurst (potato pancake-wrapped brat bites); German classics like rouladen, rabbit hasenpfeffer, homemade spaetzle and multiple schnitzels; but please make a trip on a Friday. Are you aware of how big Friday fish fries are here in Milwaukee? They’re huge, with dozens of restaurants offering a Friday-only special of fried fish (cod, perch, walleye and bluegill are Wisco favorites), potato pancakes or french fries, applesauce, coleslaw and maybe a slice of rye bread on the side. Kegel's is top-notch, and the quaint setting makes it feel oh-so-Wisconsin in the best way.
More: 7 fish fry restaurants to visit in greater Milwaukee in 2023
Milwaukee Public Market
400 N. Water St.
“There’s a food market I know I have to check out,” you’ve said. I’m not positive which one that may be, but I’m assuming it’s Milwaukee Public Market in the Third Ward. Yes, you should check it out, if only to cross it off your list. No, it’s not nearly as big as San Francisco's Ferry Building market or as diverse as the Chelsea Market in New York City, but it’s always bustling, and you’ll find an impressive variety of foodstuffs to choose from.
First, stop at the St. Paul Fish Company for the best lobster roll in the city. Served on a classic buttered-and-toasted roll, it’s jammed with fresh, cool lobster in the lightest mayo sauce that lets the fresh lobster shine through. (Phew, I just got hungry for it while writing about it.) From there, there are plenty of other winners. The plant-based menu at On the Bus is a vegan’s delight, and I’d love to see your eyes widen at the sight of the counter at the West Allis Cheese & Sausage Shoppe. You can pick up a gorgeous gourmet olive oil or vinegar at Oro di Oliva, too. And C. Adam’s Bakery has so much to satisfy your sweet tooth (those giant cookies live up to the hype).
Three Brothers
2414 S. St. Clair St.
I’m not going to lie to you: Milwaukee winters are about as cold as they say they are. Thankfully, the city is loaded with cozy spots that get even better when the temps are below freezing. This sweet little restaurant is one of them. Three Brothers has been family-run since 1956, serving homestyle Serbian classics like stuffed cabbage, raznjici, chicken paprikash, roast goose, roast suckling pig and musaka. You can’t go wrong with any of these, but Three Brothers is famous for their burek — beef, cheese, or spinach and cheese — and it’s pretty much mandatory you try it. Just make sure to call ahead and order it before you arrive; the burek takes about 40 minutes to bake. The teeny dining room is far from a fine-dining setting, but it has all the comfort of sitting down to a family supper. If snowflakes happen to be falling all the while, even better.
Fine dining restaurants in the Milwaukee area
Ardent
1751 N. Farwell Ave.
I know you love a true fine-dining experience, and this Lower East Side stalwart delivers. The 10-course tasting menu is ever-changing with seasonal ingredients prepared with exceptional creativity, plated simply, yet beautifully. You could expect a caviar course, tender beef tartare with deviled egg, dry-age duck breast and rhubarb sorbet over pavlova. Each course is served with a story, and you might learn that the morels were foraged near chef-owner (and James Beard nominee) Justin Carlisle’s family farm and the steak knives’ handles are made from retired aprons made by his mother (the napkins are, too).
Ca’Lucchenzo
6030 W. North Ave., Wauwatosa
From your Instagram, it seems like you have a soft spot for pasta (hey, me too!). This Wauwatosa Italian eatery serves house-rolled pasta that are the things of carb-lovers' dreams: girasole filled with roast duck and Bing cherries, casarecce with house Italian sausage, and spaghetti with Spanish octopus and Calabrian hot pepper. Starters like fried, ricotta-filled squash blossoms and olive oil-soaked focaccia are standouts, too. There’s a window in the restaurant where you can watch the pasta being rolled and shaped, each quickly yet delicately.
The Diplomat
815 E. Brady St.
I could tell you that chef Dane Baldwin won the 2022 James Beard Award for best chef in the Midwest and maybe that would be enough to get you to his Brady Street standout. But seeing — and eating — is believing, and one dinner here will make you a believer. The restaurant and its personality are a perfectly Midwestern blend of refined but not fancy, comforting but not classic. Roasted beet salad, salt cod hash browns, chicken leg confit and whey risotto are all recent home runs on the menu, but — hear me out — their Diplomac burger with bistro fries (those fries!) should not be overlooked. Nor should the peanut butter pie, which I’ve already rhapsodized about recently. And, Mark, I know you loved the food scene in San Francisco. Try The Diplomat’s sourdough and let me know how it stands up to the stuff out there.
EsterEv
360 E. Erie St.
Here’s another dining experience I think you’ll love. EsterEv is located inside a modern American-Chinese restaurant also owned by EsterEv chefs Dan Jacobs and Dan Van Rite. The restaurant offers one seating only on Fridays and Saturdays, with guests gathered around two tables of 10 people each. It's exclusive, yes, but the atmosphere is light and bouncy, and the menu goes right along with it. An eight-course tasting menu is globally inspired and changes seasonally, but a recent menu included caviar tater tot, tender steak tartare, ricotta dumpling with ramp and asparagus, cod over turmeric coconut curry, and a rhubarb puff pastry with yogurt. I know you might be busy with games on Fridays and Saturdays, but make this one a post-season stop.
Bartolotta’s Lake Park Bistro
3133 E. Newberry Blvd.
You’ve said you love a good French bistro, and this one in a park pavilion atop a bluff overlooking Lake Michigan has been Milwaukee’s go-to since 1995. It’s white tablecloths and elevated service that’s the stuff of the special-occasion DNA. There's a four-course menu you can choose from, or go a la carte and choose from things like Burgundy escargot under puff pastry, signature French onion soup, seared Hudson Valley fois gras, poached European sea bass, classic coq au vin or whole Dover Sole, filleted table-side. Lake Park Bistro is also home to Milwaukee’s only all-French wine list.
Near the ballpark
Story Hill BKC
5100 W. Blue Mound Road
You could walk to this friendly neighborhood spot from American Family Field — it's just half a mile away. But aside from location, Story Hill BKC would be a brilliant way to introduce yourself to Upper Midwest-inspired food with exceptional execution in a casual setting. Go for dinner and get the Milwaukee beef tartar, cedar-planked trout or butter chicken thighs. Order the butter flake rolls, too — trust me on that one. The restaurant has been named one of the top brunch spots in the U.S., too, so stop by for a crepe monsieur or warm-spiced shakshouka. Heck, you can bring the whole family. Story Hill BKC has a separate kids menu.
Fourth Base
5117 W. National Ave., West Milwaukee
Mark, you might walk into this unassuming sports bar and immediately question everything I’ve recommended above, but stay with me. Beyond the floor-to-ceiling sports memorabilia, vinyl-padded stools and classic horseshoe bar is a restaurant in the back that serves beautifully made food way beyond standard pub fare. There’s no menu and no posted prices. Just look at what ingredients they have stocked behind their deli counter that day and the chef will cook up anything you want, just the way you want it cooked. From Porterhouse steaks to Alaskan king crab legs to U-10 scallops, the selection is impressive, and it’s an experience like no other in the city.
What’s more, the bar was a filming location for “Major League.” Pretty cool!
Vientiane Noodle Shop
3422 W. National Ave.
You’ve posted about your love of pho a couple times on your Instagram. “Pho just feels like such a wholesome, nutritious way to fuel up on game day,” you’ve said. So before one of those game days, head to this noodle shop in Silver City, less than two miles from the ballpark. It has some of the best pho in the city, including classic beef, seafood, duck, oxtail and chicken all swimming in a steamy, earthy broth. Beyond pho, try their Laotian larb salad, any of their stellar pan-fried noodle dishes, and finish with mango sticky rice — maybe not nutritious pre-game fare, but delicious all the same.
Rachel Bernhard joined the Journal Sentinel as dining critic in June 2023. She’s been busy exploring the Milwaukee-area food scene to share her favorite finds with readers along the way. Like all Journal Sentinel reporters, she buys all meals, accepts no gifts and is independent of all establishments she covers.
What should she cover next? Contact her at[email protected]. Follow her on Twitter at @rachelbernhard or on Instagram at @rach.eats.mke.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: 13 restaurant recommendations for new Milwaukee Brewer Mark Canha
