Milwaukee Nightlife

I have never been to any of the bars on the infamous college bar, water street.

they do have really great deals on Alcohol, beer and drinks are cheap.... BUT you have to fight the crowd of dirt poor college kids getting drunk, and rowdy.

the bars are jam packed, and often overflowing with many drunk, or nearly drunk rowdy young adults. college frat boys, and sorority sistas can be seen spilling out onto the side walks, and taxi cab lined streets, just to force their way into yet another rowdy, and drunken cramped bar next door.

when driving past water street, drive slowly, this provides you with TWO things:

1. it is fun to see all of the teeny tipsy college girls tottering out in their 5 inch pink high heels into traffic..

AND

2. it is against the law to run over someone..... on purpose

Dress Code: typical drunken college attire.

Husband's co-workers love to take advantage of the Comdey Cafe's deal..

if you submit a "large group party card" while at the Comedy Cafe you can get yourself and a large group of people to come with you, and get in free. only catch is there is a two drink minimum... but with (really good tasting drinks) ranging from 4-8 dollars it could be a cheap night out :)

everyone is piled into a small, cramped room. and when your full party has arrived you are lead back into a somewhat larger, yet still small area, there are little tables, and chairs strewn about in every which way.

you order your first batch of drinks, the lights dim, the MC introduces the first of 3 comedians, and everyone laughs.. the show can last a few hours, and when it is over there is a heavy line swarming for the exit where the first comedian, or two is sitting at a table and selling anything from bumper stickers, t-shirts, or CDs of his own material.

other than the cramped quarters, and the really big, and mean looking mobster guy whom I can only imagine is the owner, or the GM. It really can be a fun, and cheap night out :)

Dress Code: whatever you want..

I've seen jeans and T-shirts, guys in Cowboy hats, guys in suits, pretty much it is a mix-match sort of place :)

Deno's (I don't know if it is still there anymore) I went there a few years back for cocktails. it is a Greek inspired little lounge/bar.

not sure from the outside, but on the inside it seemed a little upscale.

you can either take a seat at the bar, or you can have a seat in the small well lit table seating area.

There are drink menus on the table that you can look at. I had an "Aphroditie's delight" it was a Chocolate martini with a cool Chocolate syrup swirl effect on the inside of the glass. cost was around 8 dollars.

I'd recommend Deno's to business men wanting a drink, but not wanting to wade through the endless amount of college bars in the downtown Milwaukee area. or I'd recommend it to sophisticated couples, or couples on a double date. I'd imagine that it would depend on the time you go, we went on a friday, or saturday night (I don't remember) it was around 9-10 O'clock but it was dead in there. my husband and I double dated with his friend. and we were the only couples in there. so if you want a nice quiet place go to Denos :P

Dress Code: slacks, (no jeans) and dress shirts.

I have been to the Hi Hat & the Garage only once. It is located on Brady Street in downtown Milwaukee. it is a bustling lounge/bar type of place. the "Hi Hat" is the top half of the club, my impression when first walking in was, subdued. quiet. dark, with deep red colored walls. little bistro style tables set in scattered places. "high maintainance" couples sat conversing, or often times bickering. my impression of the this portion was youthful, business type.

there is a small bar area in the Hi Hat (and I DO mean Small) where the more "rowdy" business youth go to talk loudly over each other while bumping shoulders, and sipping their drinks.

As for the OTHER section, the "Garage" there is a stair well, that looks like it might lead to bathrooms, or a kitchen area, I can't remember if there was a distinct sign for the "Garage" I was just following my friend that already knew where he was going.

When we got to the Garage portion It was a dramatic change. it was more of an open area, I think there was a big screen T.V. on one of the walls. a big dingy bar, bathrooms were clearly marked. seating was a little limited, so get there early if you don't want to stand. the atmoshpere was that of a typical college bar. rowdy, loud, laughter, shots, partying, etc.

Dress Code: the Hi Hat portion was a business casual, or black turtleneck snooty for the men..

Business casual with a twist of "night on the town" flare; Sophisticated fashion for women.

the Garage area was very much like a rowdy college bar. dress shirt and jeans for guys, flirty fun fashion for girls.

There seemed to be a nightlife -- especially on the waterfront. As I'm reaching old fogey status, I preferred walking around downtown.

Milwaukee does have this old waterfront city feel to it. (We even saw a bunch of rats at dusk in an open field).

A great little neighborhood place in the heart of Milwaukee's Italian village, Angelo's is the kind of place where you'd expect to run into Sinatra, Clooney, and Bennedetto. Great karaoke, with an older crowd that enjoys sing-alongs. Italian-Americans rock, IMHO!

This is not your average "piano bar." Lucille's
features non-stop rotating duel pianists/vocalists who sing all of the "feel good" songs and insist that the crowd gets and stays involved. They will pull members of the audience up to join the act, hilariously change the lyrics to trite songs and in general create a non-stop party. Ages when we visited ranged from college to 50 plus and all were made to feel at home. We simply "poked our heads in" and ended up staying until closing time because of the fun.
If you want a place that is loud, fun and rowdy
but still very safe, I'd really give this one high marks!

Dress Code: Most people were pretty casual, although a few were probably hitting other nightclubs
and were dressed up. Everyone blended together.

It is not especially easy to find this place. In fact, I would not have known to look for it without having read another TIP ON THIS SITE. It is worth a peek inside. 779 Front St
seems like a mere alleyway with a building that reads INTERNATIONAL EXPORTS. Open the door and you are greeted by a small room with no other doors.
If you know the password, you can enter
immediately. If not, you will have a fun time getting in as well. That's all I will say. Once inside, you can have a great meal or choose
to enjoy the 60's James Bond-style atmosphere. There are some intriguing
gadgets, but I don't want to spoil the fun for those who have not yet tried the place out. Perhaps sip one of their many different specialty martinis or other concoctions. They even have their own special beer, as well as souveniers. The place has operated under "TOP SECRET" status (wink) since 1966 at the height of the spy movie craze.
My wife and I loved it and will enjoy a return trip soon.