Patio enjoyment
Room for lounging, views from up high, bars, fire pits and more at these dining spots
See what’s new in patio dining and drinking this year in Milwaukee and beyond.
Some go fancy, some go rustic. Bigger ones have lounge seating — a cushy spot to hang out with a drink; some even have their own bars. Many are in plain view, others are hidden from sight. See what’s new in patio dining and drinking this year in Milwaukee and beyond (just bear in mind that patio hours ultimately depend on the weather):
View MKE
1818 N. Hubbard St.; (414) 763-0003 viewmke.com
The view of the downtown skyline from the upper and lower patios here (the former Wolf Peach and Roots site) has always been stunning. But this is the first full summer for View MKE’s vastly expanded lower patio, dubbed the Backyard.
Besides tables for dining at the edge of the patio, the Backyard has clusters of cushy lounge furniture that are ideal for drinks and chatting around fire pits (heaters scattered around the patio throw off even more warmth on chilly nights). In all, it seats about 100. (The upper patio seats about 30.)
Another spot for drinks: the outdoor bar, complete with a TV. (A counter near the bar has a view of the screen, too.)
A clear plastic half wall at the perimeter blocks the wind (but reflections at night might monkey with the view). A shed-like side room offers some protection from sun and light drizzle, thanks to a transparent roof, and it can be used for private gatherings once the barn doors slide shut.
Shareable plates with a creative side are served here, among them curried cauliflower with creme fraiche, pepitas and sweet-hot pickled peppers, honey and dried cranberries ($11), or espressorubbed pork shoulder, with fingerling potato, apple and onion, plus pickled mustard seeds and plum barbecue sauce ($18). Milwaukee-style thin crust pizzas, too. The food on a recent visit was on an uptick from last year.
Smoking: No. Dogs: Yes, on the lower patio. Hours: 4 to 10 p.m. Tuesday to Thursday, 4 to 11 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday. Dinner starts at 5 p.m.; happy hour starts at 4 p.m. Tuesday to Friday.
The Rooftop
1130 N. Ninth St.; (414) 988-1551 therooftopmke.com
Why use a roof just to keep out the rain and snow when it makes a great perch for a patio? It’s easier to catch breezes up high at places like the Rooftop, on the building housing Glass + Griddle restaurant and Milwaukee Brewing Co.
And there’s a view. Beyond a peaked skylight is the downtown skyline. Past a gravel expanse, the roof of the fire-damaged Trinity Lutheran Church (now under repair) is at eye level. To the north, just across the street, it’s easy to see the architectural details of the Cream City brick building now housing apartments and a mini food hall.
Though the patio doesn’t take up the entire rooftop — which spans more than half a city block — there’s plenty of room for you and your entourage (120 seated, or 250 mingling). Lots of lounge seating encourages visitors to stay awhile; the metal structure over the bar has heaters built in, to extend the patio’s season.
The bar on the Rooftop has a few featured cocktails, such as a bourbon Old Fashioned and an Aperol spritz, and several Milwaukee Brewing beers on tap. More beer, wine and cocktails are in cans.
For bites, the Rooftop serves an abbreviated menu of Glass + Griddle offerings, like its double smashed-patty burger ($10) and a salad of beets and greens in avocado dressing ($12). And snacks to share, like cheese curds fried in thick crushed-pretzel breading ($11).
If drinking, eating and shooting the breeze aren’t enough, the Rooftop has a DJ or live music on some Fridays and Saturdays (check the website or Facebook to see if music is scheduled).
Smoking: No (allowed in the beer garden on the ground). Dogs: No (allowed in the beer garden on the ground).
Hours: 4 p.m. to close (usually midnight or so) Thursday and Friday; 10 a.m. to close Saturday and Sunday
Morel
430 S. Second St. (414) 897-0747 morelmke.com
While diners are relaxing, the patio below their tables at Morel in Walker’s Point is hard at work.
With a grant from the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District, Morel installed an underground tank that helps prevent overflows of the city’s combined sanitary and storm sewers. A valve shuts when rain is detected, storing up to 10,500 gallons of stormwater. That eases the pressure on the district’s water treatment facility during a deluge and aids in preventing the dumping of untreated wastewater into Lake Michigan. When the plant is able to process the stormwater, the valve is opened.
That’s what diners can’t see at the new patio; what they can see includes a bioswale along the fence on the eastern side of the patio and native plantings. In boxes on the fence that encloses the patio are more flowers, colorful annuals such as impatiens. At the patio’s southern end, the restaurant has an herb garden, plus blueberry and currant bushes and a crabapple tree.
The eight tables for four have no need for umbrellas; the surrounding buildings shade the patio by 6 p.m. And when it’s dark enough, low lighting comes on at the patio’s edge.
It’s a private spot to enjoy Morel’s excellent cocktails, well-chosen wines and beers, and its menu spotlighting seasonal produce and excellent meats, such as lamb chops with house-made lamb sausage ($32).
Smoking: No. Dogs: No policy. Hours:
5 to 9 p.m. Tuesday to Thursday, 5 to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
Brandywine
W61-N480 Washington Ave., Cedarburg; (262) 618-4683 brandywine cedarburg.com
Behind Brandywine in downtown Cedarburg is a brand-new patio that feels like a little refuge behind the wooden fence.
Some of the dining room’s clamor flows through the open patio doors, but it’s restful out there, with trees and historical buildings in sight beyond the fence. Inside the fence, an antique sewing machine gets its second act as part of the decor, as does a porcine statue supporting a pot of marigolds. Plantings soften the patio’s edges and the fence itself, where flower boxes are attached.
Four of the patio’s sturdy wooden tables seat four each, and two more tables seat up to eight. That should help cut the wait for tables on busy nights, when diners are ordering plates like panseared abalone mushrooms ($19) with caramelized onion, farro, roasted squash, blue cheese and pumpkin seed pesto.
Smoking: No. Dogs: No. Hours: 4:30 to 9 p.m. Tuesday to Thursday, 4:30 to 10 p.m. Friday, 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 4:30 to 10 p.m. Saturday
Ambassador Hotel
2308 W. Wisconsin Ave. (414) 3455015 thefitzmke.com/gin-rickey-menu
The new patio outside the Ambassador’s Gin Rickey bar has just about every amenity you can think of: canvas sails overhead for protection from the sun, heaters and fire pits for warmth, a lounge area, and a portable bar and tapper that are rolled out for busier nights.
Besides a long fire pit near the center of the patio, a couple of high-top tables for six have their own fire pits in the center of the tables. Standard tables for dining have umbrellas; in all, the Gin Rickey patio seats 32. (Another patio near the counter-service Deco Cafe seats 16.)
At night, the string lights come on, and mature plantings and colorful tiles give the Gin Rickey patio added charm. The patio is between busy Wisconsin Avenue and the hotel parking lot, so a screen softens the view.
Diners here can order lunch, dinner and brunch from the Gin Rickey menu, items like short rib flatbread with potato, mozzarella and fried rosemary ($13).
Smoking: Yes. Dogs: Yes. Patio hours: During Gin Rickey’s lunch, dinner, late-night and weekend brunch service, 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday to Friday, and 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday and Sunday; drink service until midnight Sunday to Thursday and until 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday.
The Deer District
The entertainment district around Fiserv Forum, the home of the Milwaukee Bucks, is booming with new patios.
Good City Brewing and Drink Wisconsinbly Pub both have outdoor seating, and then there are these: The Mecca
1134 N. Phillips Ave; (414) 908-0401 themeccamke.com
The centerpiece of this sports bar is its 42-foot high-definition TV screen — it’s so big, even some of the seats on the second-floor balcony patio have a view of it. But fear not; virtually every seat on the patios is within view of a screen, the principal amenity at the Mecca. TVs line the ceilings over the ground-floor and balcony patios, and both patios have couches as well as tables.
The Mecca makes a heck of a double smashed-patty burger ($13 or $14, depending on toppings), but the cheese curds were fatally flawed — hollow, somehow, instead of cheese-filled.
Smoking: No. Dogs: Allowed on downstairs patio. Hours: The upstairs patio usually opens at 3 p.m. (earlier for special events such as soccer games) and patios stay open until midnight Sunday to Thursday and 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday. (The restaurant opens at 11 a.m., and the kitchen closes at 11 p.m. Sunday to Thursday, midnight Friday and Saturday.) Punch Bowl Social
1122 N. Phillips Ave.; (414) 204-7544 punchbowlsocial.com/location/ milwaukee
It’s all fun and games inside (bowling, giant Jenga, foosball, billiards, karaoke, and on and on). And then there are patios on the ground floor and second floor, in view of Fiserv Forum. A solid Big Mac wanna-be burger ($14) is made here. For a shareable snack that packs a punch of flavor, try the Srirachapeanut fries ($11).
Smoking: No. Dogs: Yes, except on event nights at Fiserv Forum. Hours: 11 a.m. to midnight Monday to Wednesday, 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. Thursday, 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Friday, 9 a.m. to 2 a.m. Saturday, 9 a.m. to midnight Sunday; upstairs patio might close somewhat earlier. The Beer Garden
1133 N. Old World Third St.; thebeergardenmke.com
As at other beer gardens, order your beer at the counter and take it to communal tables under a towering transparent roof. But unlike other beer gardens, this one has a 28-foot TV screen for watching games (the Women’s World Cup was drawing soccer fans by the hundreds). Smoking: No. Dogs: Yes. Hours: Through Labor Day, 4 to 10 p.m. Sunday to Thursday, 4 p.m. to midnight Friday and noon to midnight Saturday. Hours may change for special events.
Twisted Fire
515 E. Wisconsin Ave., Oconomowoc; (262) 354-3150 twistedfirewi.com
An eye-catching black metal structure, looking much like an industrial pergola, marks the new patio at Twisted Fire in Oconomowoc.
It and the transparent roofing provide some light cover from the elements for the restaurant’s diners, with enough room for 12 tables of four each. And music is piped to the patio, helping to counter the sound of traffic on Wisconsin Avenue.
Twisted Fire expects to keep its patio open into fall; the addition of a fire pit expected either this year or next would help keep it cozy.
The fire inside — the kitchen’s open hearth — is used to good effect here, for menu items ranging from appetizers to flatbreads to entrées, like smoked and charred molasses chicken with duck-fat potatoes ($16).
Smoking: No policy. Dogs: Yes. Hours: 4 to 10 p.m. Tuesday to Sunday (open for private parties and business meetings at lunch).
Boone and Crockett
818 S. Water St.; (414) 212-8115 boone milwaukee.com
The dimly lighted cocktail lounge with a rustic, retro vibe is embracing the open air: Boone added a covered patio with a 16-seat bar and three picnic tables.
And to take advantage of this waterfront property, picnic tables now stand right next to the harbor; they can be used by customers of all the businesses operating at this location, including the Pedal Tavern and several food trucks.
The trucks are Taco Moto, Bad English (serving Filipino-inspired items) and Hawthorne Coffee.
Unlike the fancy cocktails inside, the drinks outside are quick-serve, Boone owner John Revord said — drinks like a changing sangria, Margaritas and buckets of beer. “You’re drinking outside on a river,” he noted.
There’s more to come outdoors, Revord said. He’ll add some decor to the bar that will be in the vein of Boone but will reflect the location — think rivers, lake and boating culture — and planters.
Plans call for enclosing the bar in September or so and add an infrared heating system, so customers can sit on the patio even in winter, maybe with a hot toddy. “The idea is to create this cool, cozy space where you can look out on the Hoan” Bridge, Revord said.
And next year, more slips for boats are expected to be added, pending state approval, Revord said.
Smoking: Yes (but will become nonsmoking once enclosed). Dogs: Yes.
Patio hours: Opens at 11 a.m. except Mondays, when it’s closed (Boone’s main bar is open Mondays).
2Mesa Mexican Eatery
4110 W. Martin Drive; (414) 808-1594 2mesa.com
OK, so the patio was open last year — 2Mesa’s first year — but the plantings have matured and it’s now a lush, inviting nook in front of the restaurant.
Colorful flowers in planters supplement the ornamental grasses blowing in the breeze, and the patio is especially charming when the string lights come on at night. But in daylight, diners can catch glimpses of the nearby Harley-Davidson headquarters and the handsome Mediterranean-style apartment buildings of the Martin Drive neighborhood.
Nearby trees to the west provide shade late in the day, and tables are outfitted with umbrellas to screen from the sun any time. The patio seats 18 or so.
Bicycle-minded diners will find a rack for their rides, and customers who like to dine with their dogs will find a water bowl for the pup. Music drifts from inside the restaurant, where garage doors open up on nice days.
The food: The restaurant serves a well-made menu of Mexican-inspired dishes, including sandwiches and entrées. And it has a rarity, nachos (with short rib and cheese sauce, $5.95) that are sized for one instead of an army.
Smoking: At a table around the corner from the main patio. Dogs: Yes.
Hours: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday to Thursday and 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
Tosa Village Beer Garden
7700 Harwood Ave., Wauwatosa.
(414) 271-7700 tosabeergarden.com
What was part of Cafe Bavaria’s patio in Wauwatosa’s village district now is a beer garden, with communal tables and a counter with a dozen seats overlooking the Menomonee River.
The village is an altogether charming spot for sitting outside, with its Cream City brick and half-timber buildings, string lights overhead and abundant people-watching opportunities.
As at other beer gardens, customers order at the counter. There’s a grab-andgo menu of items like bratwurst ($6) kept in steam drawers, and another brief menu of items made to order in the Cafe Bavaria kitchen, like fried brickcheese curds ($10) and a charcuterie board ($17). On the weekends until 3 p.m., the beer garden also serves a brief brunch menu (like a Bloody Mary burger, $10) prepared in the Cafe Bavaria kitchen. Made-to-order items are delivered to tables.
Five beers are on tap and poured by the liter and half-liter, and the beer garden also serves wine, hard seltzer and cider in cans, nonalcoholic drinks and a couple of adult frozen drinks: strawberry frosé and passionfruit Margarita.
Smoking: No. Dogs: Yes. Patio hours:
11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday to Thursday, 11 a.m. to midnight Friday, 9 a.m. to midnight Saturday and 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday.
Carol Deptolla has been reviewing restaurants in Milwaukee and Wisconsin since 2008. She investigates the dining scene anonymously, to make sure she’s getting the same experience that the rest of us receive. When she reviews a restaurant, she visits at least three times. She usually brings along other diners to sample as many flavors as possible. Like all Journal Sentinel reporters, she buys all meals, accepts no gifts and is independent of all establishments she covers.
Contact her at carol.deptolla@jrn.com or (414) 224-2841, or through the Journal Sentinel Food & Home page on Facebook. Follow her on Twitter at @mkediner or Instagram at @mke_diner.