Restaurants in Wauwatosa

Recognized as one of Milwaukee's best Mexican eateries by WISN’s A-List, The Azteca Restaurant upholds its title by simmering meats and seafood in homemade chili sauces and blanketing tender tortillas in melted cheese. Most of the menu's bean- and rice-heaped platters come with sides of from-scratch guacamole, which chefs perk up with tomatoes, cilantro, and a single cactus tear. Within the restaurant’s vibrant adobe-colored exterior, desert murals span the walls and stimulate diners’ thirsts, which can be quenched by seven flavors of fruity margaritas, Mexican beers, and creamy homemade horchata.

Named after the early-morning first shift for crew aboard seafaring vessels, First Watch ensures chefs arrive at work with the rising sun, chopping fresh produce, baking muffins, and mixing french toast batter each day. As guests arrive, perky servers greet them with an entire pot of Sunrise Select coffee, as well as the morning paper and free WiFi. Since 1983, First Watch’s carpe-diem philosophy has spread to more than 100 locations across 13 states, pleasing crowds with thin, sweet crepes and fluffy whipped eggs, hash brown skillets, and enormous multigrain pancakes. Recently placed at the top of a Consumer Reports list of best family restaurants, First Watch takes the customer experience seriously. Chefs focus entirely on crafting nourishing sunrise feasts and midday meals, shunning afterthoughts of steaks and burgers for edible masterpieces of omelets, belgian waffles, homemade biscuits, and wholesome lunch salads and sandwiches.

Casa Di Giorgio's elegant dining halls have more than enough space to accommodate the abundance of diners seeking the kitchen's renowned gnocchi and pasta dishes. Glimmering chandeliers shower visitors in soft light, and vibrant Italian oil paintings hang on walls that are red and ornate, like the Arizona Cardinals' antique-furniture room. In the kitchen, chefs labor over veal, steak, and seafood, whipping up authentic northern and southern Italian dishes that have been lauded by reporters from Express Milwaukee. Servers deliver plates to the dining room along with bottles of fine wines, which they expertly coax open by whistling a few bars of Italian opera.

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.

Each night at Tokyo Sushi & Grill Japanese Steakhouse, chefs fire up six hibachi grills and flip shrimp, scallops, and swordfish atop the sizzling iron griddles and directly in front of guests. In addition to the hibachi chefs' flashy knife work, the casual eatery showcases more subtle Japanese culinary traditions. At the sushi bar, experts gingerly roll up fresh seafood, and in the kitchen, chefs swathe shrimp in crispy tempura batter with the same level of care a NASA scientist takes when coating the Space Shuttle’s flameproof resin on the base of his cigar.

Since 1981, the ovens of Michaelangelo's Pizza have produced piping-hot pizzas piled with a variety of toppings. Sausage, pepperoni, olives, and pineapple arrive on delectable thin crusts. Meanwhile, pasta sauces coat lasagna, spaghetti, and ravioli. Steak sandwiches, hamburgers, and meatball sandwiches pair well with beers such as Peroni, Heineken, and Miller.