Restaurants in Milwaukee

Housed in the former Brown Bottle Guest Hall and Hospitality Center in the old Schlitz Brewery, Libiamo basks in the same old-fashioned elegance that made the venue a Milwaukee landmark. A gorgeous ceiling, elaborate woodwork, and chandeliers constructed from massive antlers set the classy yet casual ambience. Paintings of rustic Italy adorn the walls and the beautiful, familiar old bar welcomes patrons like a massive, wooden old friend. As befits the historic setting, you can get original-recipe Schlitz on tap, while ghosts of departed Schlitz cans occasionally roam the bathroom area. Libiamo also lives up to the building’s illustrious precedent with a menu of some of the best authentic Italian food in Milwaukee. Appetizers benefit from Libiamo’s delicious house red sauce. Try the tender spedini—Italian steak rolled with breadcrumbs and cheeses—or fried ravioli (both $7). For lunch, order up one of the delicious and crispy panini sandwiches, like the classic Italian beef ($7.95). Equally crispy are the thin-crust pizzas, including the sophisticated pesto chicken ($9 for small, $17.50 for large) or family-recipe linguine with meatballs ($8.50).

The sandwich chefs at The Philly Way cloak a meaty menu of hoagie-filling steak, chicken, and hot dogs in warm, generous ladles of Cheez Whiz. Diners can savor East Coast flavor with cheesesteaks named best Philly cheesesteak outside of Philly in 2005 by Philadelphia magazine. Hoagie-smiths top cheesesteaks with heaps of grilled onions and freshly shaved steak, and customers can upgrade to The Works, which spices up mouthfuls with sweet and hot peppers, mushrooms, and an extra helping of cheese. Diners unafraid of getting a bit messy can enjoy a Philly-style chili dog, two hot dogs sharing a bun against their parents' wishes beneath a barrage of onions, mustard, and heaps of chili. Feisty fingers can grab at schools of golden-brown fries swimming through cheese at the cheese-colored eatery’s high-top tables, retro counter, or outside patio. Guests may substitute white american, provolone, or monterey jack for the traditional Cheez Whiz on any sandwich without being silently judged by walls lined with Philly sports paraphernalia, including T-shirts, flags, and liberty bells wearing mesh shorts.

Offering Midwestern fare at its finest, Bistro 333 masters a delicate balance. It's where urban chic and casual comfort meet. Where flavor is uncompromised by generous helpings and where a cool atmosphere means incredible service and friendly people.

From their vantage point inside the InterContinental Milwaukee Hotel, diners at Kil@Wat can treat themselves to panoramic vistas of the city, including the bright lights of the neighboring Marcus Center for the Performing Arts. Inside the kitchen, chefs use locally sourced ingredients whenever possible to craft elegant meals fit for the awe-inspiring views. This focus on freshness and seasonality translates to a menu of upscale American comfort dishes such as pan-roasted whitefish from Lake Superior and braised short ribs with roasted garlic mash and wild mushroom jus. A staff pastry chef puts her own inventive twist on dessert, concocting delicacies such as peanut-butter-and-chocolate cheesecake with pretzel bark for an added crunch.

These gourmet morsels unite with the restaurant’s elegant décor to forge a luxurious, memorable dining experience. Vibrant chartreuse accents compliment orange suede chairs and crisp white tablecloths. Large light boxes cast a soft glow over people as they sip wine from the extensive list or pose as window washers to get in without a reservation.

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.