6 Best Restaurants in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Try the veal Balistreri (veal topped with eggplant and spinach), pollo carciofi (chicken served on pasta with artichoke hearts and spinach), or insalat di pollo (crunchy chicken salad) at this casual restaurant on the west side of Milwaukee.

This restaurant looks like a traditional Irish pub, with deep-green walls adorned with Gaelic sayings and a long, ornate bar. You can chow down on hearty offerings like corned beef and cabbage, pub sandwiches, and homemade soups-of-the-day. On Sunday, traditional Irish music is played in the afternoon.

Impressionist paintings hang on the walls at this chic downtown restaurant. The kitchen serves up seafood delicacies like lobster, sushi, and crab—there's even an oyster bar. You can dine inside or outside on the patio overlooking popular Water Street. The well-stocked bar here is one of the largest in the state.

Across from Cathedral Square Park, this chic but casual restaurant has frequently changing art exhibits and serves big, juicy hamburgers and pork-chop sandwiches.

Subtitled "A Place For Steaks," this downtown eatery is all about meat. Diners get to choose their steaks from a platter of cuts. Side dishes and desserts are outstanding, too. Can't get enough Mo's? Try Mo's Cucina, Mo's Irish Pub, Moceans (A Place for Seafood), or Mocha, all in the same downtown neighborhood.

In an industrial area close to Miller Park and right off I-94, this burger joint makes good on its claim to be "Milwaukee's best burgers." Burgers are made from fresh-not-frozen certified Black Angus beef, served on a baked-locally butter roll. Owner Dave Sobelman plays up the rugged surroundings—and the building's history as one of the original Schlitz taverns—with touches like wooden Sprecher's beer barrels as tables in the cozy, flower-filled outdoor patio. Non-burger options make the grade too: grilled chicken cordon bleu, fried chicken, fish sandwiches and black bean burgers. Come in early for a bloody Mary.