Must-see restaurants in Wisconsin

  • Birch + Butcher

    Milwaukee

    Birch + Butcher claims to have the city's only open-fire hearth for serious searing and grilling. However it does it, we love the results. Choose from a…

  • Old Fashioned

    Wisconsin

    With its dark, woodsy decor, the Old Fashioned evokes a supper club, a type of retro eatery common in Wisconsin. The menu is all local specialties,…

  • Harbor View Cafe

    Wisconsin

    The book-stuffed Harbor View is a Slow Food stalwart. Staff write the changing menu on a chalkboard twice daily – once for lunch, once for dinner. Cross…

  • Fat Radish

    Wisconsin

    The Radish uses quality, sustainable ingredients in its deli wares. It's located by the docks and handy for amassing snacks to take on boat tours. At…

  • Ardent

    Milwaukee

    Milwaukee's foodies get weak in the knees when they sniff the Beard-nominated chef's ever-changing, farm-to-table dishes. Dinner is a lingering affair in…

  • Natt Spil

    Wisconsin

    This eclectic bar-restaurant has a speakeasy feel and a menu with something for everyone. Choose from among delicious dim sum or wood-fired pizza or…

  • Stockholm Pie & General Store

    Wisconsin

    You may have to wait in line at this old-timey spot with wood plank floors and red-checkered tablecloths, but that allows you to study the blackboard and…

  • Cannery Public Market

    Wisconsin

    Every town should have a 'Cannery,' a farm-to-table restaurant serving popular regional foods with locally sourced ingredients. Green Bay's is situated in…

  • Grampa's Pizzeria

    Wisconsin

    The unassuming exterior hides what's, in fact, a snug but handsome dining room with a sleek bar at the center. But that's all beside the point. The thin…

  • Original

    Milwaukee

    Fine dining in a relaxed neighborhood setting. The Original puts the emphasis on local ingredients and upmarket comfort foods, such as grilled lamb loin,…

  • Heartland Pizza

    Wisconsin

    You'll need Google Maps to find this one, located amid the warren of chain hotels near I-41 and about 3 miles south of downtown Green Bay. The effort is…

  • Pitch's Lounge & Restaurant

    Milwaukee

    Steaks, chops, seafood, and the house ribs are on the menu here at this Milwaukee supper club that's been going strong since the 1940s. Walk into the…

  • Houligans

    Wisconsin

    Widely considered the best steakhouse and supper club in town, with a wide variety quality meats and a menu that also spans blackened pork loin, fresh…

  • Pearl Ice Cream Parlor

    Wisconsin

    Charming, old-school ice-cream parlor where you line up at the till, choose your flavor, and sit out along the sidewalk or at one of the few tables inside…

  • Informalist

    Wisconsin

    The house restaurant of the Lismore Hotel is an excellent option for any meal, but has an especially inventive lunch menu that includes scrumptious, wood…

  • Wonder Bar

    Wisconsin

    This iconic steakhouse looks back with pride to its 1920s-era speakeasy roots. Today it feels more like a cozy Rat Pack throwback, with thick steaks on…

  • Cow & Quince

    Wisconsin

    Excellent farm-to-table breakfast and lunch spot in central New Glarus. The owners pride themselves in sourcing nearly all the menu items within a 50-mile…

  • L'Etoile

    Wisconsin

    L'Etoile started doing the farm-to-table thing more than three decades ago. It's still the best in the biz, offering creative meat, fish and vegetable…

  • Norske Nook

    Wisconsin

    Norse Nook hangs a sign that says, 'Pie Fixes Everything.' Try the chocolate mint, blueberry crunch or cherry cream cheese varieties, and you'll believe…

  • La Merenda

    Milwaukee

    Don't mind the scruffy exterior here deep in Milwaukee's Fifth Ward. Inside you'll find a colorful spot specializing in inventive tapas combinations that…

  • Weary Traveler Free House

    Wisconsin

    Old-style speakeasy meets UK pub at the Weary Traveler. The low lighting, dark-wood decor, art-filled walls and myriad board games complement the menu of…

  • Breakfast Club & Pub

    Wisconsin

    The tagline of this retro-inspired downtown breakfast joint is 'we love breakfast, '80s music and John Hughes' movies,' and who are we to argue with that?…

  • Short Stack Eats

    Wisconsin

    It's breakfast all day and all night at Short Stack. Order at the counter, then hopefully find a free table amid the cutesy, mismatched decor. Staff use…

  • Wally’s Spot Supper Club

    Wisconsin

    Green Bay's entry into the supper-club sweepstakes has been going strong since 1948. All of the steaks, chops and seafood you'd expect, served in a…

  • Titletown Brewing Co

    Wisconsin

    Titletown is a charming restaurant and bar, with a comforting fireplace in winter, that occupies an old railway station. The menu has all the usual…

  • Stella's

    Wisconsin

    This place offers an eclectic range of starters and mains, with an emphasis on colorful presentation and locally sourced ingredients. Stella's is arguably…

  • O&H Danish Bakery

    Wisconsin

    Family-owned O&H has been around forever. The bakery's claim to fame is its kringle, an oval-shaped Nordic pastry with a sweet filling. O&H's kringles are…

  • Bavette La Boucherie

    Milwaukee

    This hip, industrial space in the Third Ward is a butcher shop with a cafe that serves lunch and dinner. It stacks a meaty sandwich, such as the roast…

  • Kroll's West

    Wisconsin

    This legendary Green Bay burger joint does its classic cheeseburgers served on a bun with a pat of butter slathered between (you read that right). The…

  • Comet Cafe

    Milwaukee

    Students, young families, older couples and bearded, tattooed types pile in to the rock-and-roll Comet for gravy-smothered meatloaf, mac 'n' cheese, vegan…

  • Ships Wheel Restaurant

    Wisconsin

    Casual, family-run place close to the marina and Washington Island ferry port. Expect the usual breakfast and lunch offerings, with homemade pizza served…

  • Willalby's Cafe

    Wisconsin

    Vegans and vegetarians will love this awesome diner on trendy Williamson St. In addition to the usual breakfast fare, this place serves vegan renditions…

  • Lakely

    Wisconsin

    Part of the Oxbow hotel next door, the Lakely carries over the hotel's boutique, detail-focused approach with a menu of classic cocktails, craft brews and…

  • Nelson Cheese Factory

    Wisconsin

    The name is a bit misleading: the refurbished building no longer produces cheese, but the shop carries a big stash of Wisconsin hunks, and the cozy wine…

  • Food Trucks

    Wisconsin

    Madison's fleet impresses. Trucks ladling out adventurous dishes – East African, Jamaican, Indonesian, vegan – huddle at the Library Mall (aka at the foot…

  • Union Hotel & Restaurant

    Wisconsin

    The Union Hotel & Restaurant dates from 1893, and simply walking into the main dining room takes you back in time at least a few decades. Dress up for…

  • Buzzard Billy's

    Wisconsin

    It's as if a little piece of New Orleans drifted up the Mississippi and beached itself in La Crosse's historic downtown. Cajun specialties, like blackened…

  • Maricque's Bar

    Wisconsin

    This is widely considered to be the city's best venue for that Wisconsin classic: fried fish. Choose from perch, cod, pike, whitefish or catfish and a…

  • Graze

    Wisconsin

    Set in a glassy building with floor-to-ceiling windows and Capitol views, this cool-cat gastropub dishes up comfort foods such as fried chicken and…

  • Glarner Stube

    Wisconsin

    The German name translates loosely as the 'living room' of New Glarus and the owners here take both hospitality and the town's Swiss heritage seriously…

More destinations you need to see