Looking for a fun excuse to dine Downtown? Milwaukee’s 20th Downtown Dining Week, organized by Milwaukee Downtown, BID #21, just might be it. For the annual celebration of Milwaukee’s Downtown restaurant scene, restaurants will offer special deals from Thursday, May 28 through Thursday, June 4. During this eight-day stretch, special lunch menus will be priced between $15-$25 per person and dinner menus will be $35, $45 or $55 per person. Spanning two or three courses with limited selections – including appetizers, main courses and desserts – each Downtown Dining Week menu highlights selections from the restaurant’s regular menu. Each menu includes a “retail meal value,” so you know exactly how much you’re saving. The participating restaurants aren’t solely in Downtown proper: you’ll also find a few in the Third Ward and on the Lower East Side. Of the 34 restaurants, nearly all are independently owned and operated, while a few – such as The Capital Grille and Tupelo Honey – are chains. You can find each restaurant’s full Downtown Dining Week menu online. It’s time to pick your Milwaukee favorites for the year! This year’s Downtown Dining Week restaurants are:
- Avli
- Bacchus
- Blue Bat Kitchen & Tequilaria
- The Café at the Pfister
- The Capital Grille
- Carson’s
- The Conroy Modern Supper Club
- Central Standard Crafthouse & Kitchen
- Doc’s Smokehouse
- The Edison
- Electric Lime
- Elsa’s on the Park
- The Explorium Brewpub
- Flourchild
- Il Cervo
- JoSa on the River
- The Knick
- Mader’s
- Merriment Social
- Milwaukee ChopHouse
- Milwaukee Sail Loft
- Oak Barrel Public House
- Onesto
- Rodizio Grill
- Smoke Shack
- The Social American Tavern
- The Studio Kitchen & Cocktails
- Third Coast Provisions
- Tre Rivali
- Tupelo Honey Southern Kitchen & Bar
- Vagabond
- Ward’s House of Prime
- Who’s on Third
- The Yard at the Iron Horse Hotel Nine of these restaurants will offer a $15 lunch menu: Café at the Pfister, Doc’s Smokehouse, Elsa’s on the Park, The Explorium Brewpub, The Knick, The Social American Tavern, Tupelo Honey Southern Kitchen & Bar, Vagabond and Who’s on Third. The Café at the Pfister will feature a smashburger slider, deviled eggs or gazpacho as the starter; followed by buttermilk fried chicken, Mediterranean chicken salad or a turkey avocado wrap; then a choice of either chocolate cake or carrot cake for dessert. Another longtime Milwaukee restaurant, Elsa’s at the Park, will let you choose from four lunch entrees (a half-pound pork chop on a roll, double-smashed burger, spicy meat-loaded pizza or half-pound cheeseburger) followed by either an ice-cream sundae or chocolate mousse.
Dinner menus are also in abundance, including places that would normally cost much more than $35-$55, such as at Bacchus. The Bartolotta Restaurant will offer three selections in each of its three courses, including pork bolognese, soy-glazed salmon and molten chocolate cake. Similarly, Milwaukee ChopHouse’s Downtown Dining Week dinner menu is a surf-and-turf delight – choose from six-ounce filet, sea bass or shrimp gnocchi for the main course.
For meat-free diners, there are plenty of vegetarian options. The same is true for gluten-free options, which are noted on menus.