Restaurants in Milwaukee

Molly Cool’s Seafood Tavern overlooks the Milwaukee River, allowing guests to gaze out upon the water as they enjoy its flavorful bounty. The menu reaches far beyond freshwater fish, however. It’s chock-full of treats harvested from the oceans, including north atlantic salmon, served grilled, blackened, or broiled; champagne mussels culled from around Prince Edward Island; and potato-crusted calamari plucked from potato farms in the rainy region of Illinois.

In addition to serving an extensive dinner menu that offers everything from king-crab legs to new york strip steak, Molly Cool’s invites boaters to tie up to its dock for rounds of oysters at the raw bar or salmon BLTs for lunch on weekdays or weekends. The beverage menu offers something for everyone to accidentally spill, from black-cherry mojitos to more than a dozen beers on tap.

Even with the ambitious goal of trying a new variety every night, it would take months to sample every single beer at Stubby’s Gastrogrub & Beer Bar. Not only are there 53 different drafts and an array of cellar reserve bottles, but the selection is constantly updated with new craft brews from Wisconsin and around the world. Beer-savvy bartenders make their own recommendations behind the circular center bar as servers deliver trays of imaginative gastropub dishes—crab-stuffed jalapeños, freshwater bluegill sliders, and the hefty burger lauded by reporters from A.V. Club Milwaukee as “drool-inducing.” When not toppling giant Jenga blocks or throwing darts, guests can gaze up at the flat-screen televisions and cheer when a hardened banker learns to love in a Lifetime movie. The massive wooden deck gives al fresco enthusiasts space to linger over bites of cod tacos and barbecue pork nachos.

The chefs at Ginza Japanese Restaurant line their sushi rolls and bento boxes with both traditional Japanese and Western-inspired ingredients. Classic flavors can be found in shrimp-filled shumai dumplings or lightly battered vegetable tempura. Futo maki rolls combine cucumber and avocado with egg custard, pickled radish, pickled squash, and burdock, and the Funky Monkey roll takes a more experimental approach by pairing eel with banana. Teriyaki beef or ginger pork sizzles in bento boxes, surrounded by sides of rice, salad, and dumplings as neatly portioned as a librarian's potato-chip collection.

Joey Buona’s Pizzeria & Restaurant's motto implores diners to laugh, love, and eat "with a vengeance," whether they're chowing down on a gourmet sandwich made with rustic italian bread, or sharing a multi-course family feast of pasta and steaks with loved ones. The restaurant also hosts "all you can eat" family-style appetizers, salads, pastas, entrees, and desserts on big platters. Chandeliers cast a warm glow over crimson carpets and brick walls while guests bite into slices of thin-crust style cooked pies, then debate which came first, the city or the pizza. The downtown restaurant's catering packages and banquets ring in weddings, anniversaries, and corporate events with hot and cold smorgasbords of sandwiches, sausage ravioli, chicken marsala, and tiramisu.

Kiku Japanese Cuisine nabbed numerous accolades in Express Milkwaukee ’s Best of Milwaukee 2010 for lavishing guests with both a friendly staff that jots orders until 3 a.m. on weekends, and a vast menu of seafood-centric cuisine. Sushi chefs roll up more than 40 fillings into artfully plated sushi rolls, crowning their creations with creative flourishes such as fresh mango. Fish and vegetables can also transform from raw to sizzling with a dunk into tempura batter, which imparts a crispy golden sheen and keeps chopsticks too busy to assist with walrus impersonations.

Owner Carl Anderson conceived Between Boutique Cafe & Lounge as an homage to his wife Lu Lu, a strong believer in the communion of tapas-style dining. Executive chef Jose Victorio draws from his Peruvian roots and lures culinary elements from the Amazon and Asia into a distinct menu of Peruvian small plates. Amid magenta booths and feathered light fixtures, morsels of shrimp, tilapia, and prawn complement stir-fried noodles, and trademark pisco cocktails elevate conversation without the faux pas of inviting an auctioneer to dinner. Ideal for late-night lounging, the eatery invites patrons to enjoy a wide array of wines and martinis with expertly prepared tamales or savory lamb dishes.