The last couple years have been a whirlwind for Milwaukee restaurants. The pandemic forced many businesses to unexpectedly close dine-in services, pivot to take-out options, and weigh their ability to reopen as various waves of the pandemic have come and gone.
However, simultaneously, it’s presented a lot of opportunities for innovation and new trends to take hold. With about 25 restaurants closing and over 65 opening, dining editor for On Milwaukee, Lori Fredrich has kept her eye on what’s happening in Milwaukee’s food scene highlighting notable places Milwaukeeans will miss and some places they might want to try — here is what she found.
Notable restaurants lost
Among the places that Milwaukeeans might miss the most, Fredrich mentioned community cornerstones like Soup House Downtown, Los Paisa, Simple Cafe and William Ho’s in Shorewood, which called it quits after 40 years.
“The Soup House was open for two decades and they became a hub for people looking for downtown lunches, I think especially in the winter months,” says Fredrich. “I think the pandemic was really tough on certain businesses and as we have seen across industries people take a moment and reevaluate what they want to do and the owners decided something else was maybe better.”
The emergence of plant-based fare
One trend that Fredrich did identify was the influx of plant-based restaurants seen in the Milwaukee area — something she says has really grown in recent years.
“Plant-based fare has really gotten some traction, I would even go back as far as the last decade, but we have seen quite a number of places open on the East Side, which seems to be a place where a lot of people are choosing to open,” says Fredrich.
Among the places that stood out to her were restaurants like The Lafayette Place — a breakfast, brunch, and lunch spot. As well as Nice Times, a small coffee and eatery, and Drunken Cobra.
Comfort food is trending
Another style of restaurant that has seen gains this year is comfort food which Fredrich says has seemed to thrive during the pandemic.
Some of the openings she was sure to point out are Heavens Table BBQ, which opened at the end of 2021 and is in line with what seems to be Milwaukee’s growing interest in barbecue. Another is Fool's Errand in the Third Ward which Friedrich described as a haven for comfort food.
“(Fool’s Errand) probably has one of the best monte cristo sandwiches in the city, they have a great brunch menu that’s filled with all sorts of things, but they also do things like chicken-fried chicken,” says Friedrich.
Other notable restaurants
In 2021, Milwaukee saw a lot of mobile restaurants turn into brick & mortar operations and some of the ones that stick out to Friedrich are Dairyland, a burger and custard joint, and Flour Girl & Flame which has brought wood-fired pies to West Allis.
Friedrich also says that 2022 will bring the return of Comet Cafe which closed in 2020 and will be reopening under new ownership this year. Another trend she mentions is Milwaukee's seafood boom which has seen restaurants like The King Crab Shack and Crab It Your Way gain popularity.
