Terrible Ownership, atmosphere, experience...see below. An Absolute Joke - Duke's Is a Waste of Space and Time. THIS BAR IS NOT WHAT IT USED TO BE. If you're considering going to Duke's, don't bother. This place has completely hit rock bottom, and it's clear no one, especially the owner, gives a damn. The owner is unbelievably rude and has flat-out made it known in a conversation "I don't care whether you come here or not." The former owner could never. Why? Because the new owner's got other locations that funnel money into his pockets. So, your business means absolutely nothing to him. The atmosphere is nothing short of depressing. Whatever decorations once gave the place some semblance of life have been stripped away, leaving the bar looking like a rundown and that's given up on trying. No vibe, no energy, no crowd--seriously, there's hardly anyone there anymore, and who could blame them? It's painfully obvious that Duke's is circling the drain. The owner's apathy is contagious, and it shows in every detail. Even the bartenders hint that this place just isn't it anymore...ouch. The place is soulless, and it's a miracle the doors are still open at this point. There's zero excitement, no reason to ever set foot inside, and if you do, you'll regret wasting your time and money. Save yourself the disappointment and go anywhere else there are plenty of better options around the corner, or across the street. read more

Very bad service , first time being here and the lady with the long red nails was so rude. She only talked to her regulars, didn't pay any attention to my group Of our friends. Then we asked her to turn the music up and she refused too. We will never be back here , maybe get better bartenders. read more

Duke's On Water - two women sitting at a bar - Sports Bars Near Me - Milwaukee, Wisconsin

I'd like just like to advise other girls going here to make sure you have a safe ride home with you, my friend & I bought a shot then left Duke's as it wasn't very busy on a Mon. Night & came back later to ask if we could wait inside for our Uber. People were still inside at the bar drinking so I'm not sure why they turned us away but because of this, we had to wait outside & were vulnerable to be harassed. Please consider this when/ if you go here. read more

Place was nice. Bartender was nice. Not many customers but it was afternoon. I would go back.

Dive bar in A cool location near the River that features 1 dollar Miller lite drafts for happy hour. Their other drink specials seemed good as well. There were several people coming in with food that they got close by to eat while they were drinking. We talked to several strangers and made friends easily in here. Would happily come again for the cheep beer. #bhamfoodguy read more

It's ok. Divey little place. Service was good. A sausage-fest. Not much draw except for the $1 domestic drafts. Might be a good place to pre-load before a big night out. Parking sucks read more

This one is aite. We stopped by this on last Sunday during our stumble through the streets of Milwaukee. Dive bar for sure... grungy, cheap beer, beer pong tables, random mix of peeps (young to old), but wasn't really feeling the ambiance. I know I've passed by this one at night and it definitely gets over run with college kids if that's your thing, but being several years out of undergrad not really my sort of scene anymore. Anyways, domestic beers are only $1 here and served in those fancy 12oz plastic cups. Craft beers will run ya $6. TVs through out to watch sports. Some slot machines if you wanna gamble. NBA showtime in the back for $0.25 and even an actual basketball arcade hoop if you and a friend wanna throw it down (when ball is lyfe). Like I said wasn't feeling the day time ambiance here. Kind of a weird mix of older peeps enjoying cheap beer while judging the young gunz were hitting fireball shots at the other end of bar. What a sight. 'Til next time! 146/365 read more

Can somebody please teach the bars on Water how to ID. they're 16 yr olds in here every night but they take 5 minutes to figure out if we are over 21, pls. read more

LOVE dukes! I go to dukes usually a couple times a week. Yes, its a dive bar, and it smells like a dive bar. But you can't beat the drink specials-even after their $1 happy hour, there are still cheap drink specials. Always a great mix of people there, and someone is always willing to join you in a game of bar dice. The bartenders are awesome- super friendly and they has have a new shot recipe up their sleeves. I originally starting going there for the inexpensive drinks- now I go cause I love it! read more

Duke's On Water - breakfast of champions - Sports Bars Near Me - Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Angel was amazing. I was having a bad day but she brought my spirits up! Best bartender in MKE for sure!

Angel was the best bartender! She had excellent suggestions and kept the vibes going all night. I will come back because of her.

U can't beat the drink specials. It's something different every day til 9. Lots of $1-2 beers and mixers. If it gets really busy its sometimes a lil hard to get a bartenders attention, but all the staff here is super friendly. I was going to get a dragonberry w/sprite once and the bartender asked me if I knew they had the vodka on special in raspberry and I could get that instead with sprite for $1! Nice, since usually suggestions from servers aren't going to save u cash. It's a good place to watch a game, free shots during touchdowns, not too dive-y, and gets a lot less college students dry-humping ....errr, I mean dancing than that bar next door. read more

Duke's serves a purpose for me, when I want to play beer pong, I know they have a table for me to play on. Other than that, I don't typically stop in for long. The bar is crowded a lot, they have some really good drink specials. Plus, the specials for the week hang from the ceiling by day so you can plan your return visit (such as $10 all you can drink). The atmosphere is more of a dive bar though, and it gets pretty loud. It is connected to Scooter's so if you want to see what's happening over there, you just walk in without going outside or getting carded a second time. Bartenders are nice for the most part, but the bar can get chaotic and you can get lost in the crowd, waiting several minutes to order and receive your drinks. Buy a pitcher, play some beer pong and have some fun. read more

Duke's on Water is in half of the location that once housed Mel's on Water. Duke's has the smaller section of the old Mel's location (Scooters Pub has the larger western section) and since it's a smaller physical footprint the crowd never gets too large and avoids most of the meat market feel that can plague the larger Water St. bars. Duke's normally has very aggressive happy hour specials with at least a few items for $1 daily. read more

Duke's On Water - Sports Bars Near Me - Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Came in for a quick beer after work. Ended up having a few more cause the bartender was so funny and hospitable. Quick behind the bar and super friendly to everyone. Killer vibes, I'll be back for more. Shout out to Haley (aka employee of the month) read more

One word comes to mind: ClusterF - but in a good way. Unsurprisingly, a weird mix of men in their 40-50's and young 20 year old men and women. Domestic beers are dirt cheap, the crafts will run you $6 for a 12 oz plastic cup pour. Basketball hoops in the back room, connected bar on the other side with slots and NBA jam. Not a bad idea to kill an afternoon here. read more

Duke's smells like feet, and the bathroom could be a replica of a Sudanese refugee camp latrine. When it's nice outside, it's dark and musty indoors. Overall, the place seems like the kind of place you make life mistakes at. But they have $1 beer. Again. $1 for a pint of Miller Lite, High Life or Schlitz. So I forgive them. And I can be a generous mofo when a round costs a fiver. So I overlook possible health code violations. Enough dollar beers and I won't even remember where I am. read more

Dukes may be he greatest place on Earth, at the very least they have the best happy hour. Dirt cheap drinks and cute friendly bartenders. Be careful though, you may never leave. Came to Milwaukee from Philly for a bachelor party / baseball roadtrip. Wandering down Water St we see a sign advertising a $1 happy hour. We decide to stop in for a beer, they were just opening a 4pm on a Friday. Sure enough it was $1 domestic pints and $1 wells until 9pm. That one beer turned into five hours really fast. Kaite and Jody were our bartenders and they were great, very welcoming and told us what to do and see around town. The bar was a mix of college age kids, bikers, construction workers and young professionals. Saturday we were going to head to Buffalo Wild Wings in the morning to watch college football. We were almost there when we saw Dukes was just opening and the happy hour was from 11am-9pm. Laura was bartending and our group loved her. Four of the ten of us were seriously considering selling our Phillies v Brewers tickets for that night and just staying at Dukes. When we thought it couldn't get any better, Laura puts out baskets of popcorn. Awesome. We went back at night and it was a younger crowd and pretty crowded. Drinks were still cheap even off of happy hour. It's a bit of a dive, but that adds to the ambiance. They had a pool table, a dice game, some video machines, darts and megatouch. We all have been joking that next year we are just going on vacation to Dukes. Not Milwaukee, just Dukes. read more

Um. This happy hour special. THIS. Happy hour. Special. It's nuts. Now, let me preface this whole thing by noting that I am markedly not a Water Street-goer. I am an avid non Water Street-goer. I avoid it, actively. Except, I guess, sometimes it's good to get out of your bubble. So I go to eat a thing with my friend Amy, and we're dangerously close to Water Street and also, we're feeling very apathetic. So we go to Duke's and we laugh and laugh and laugh and can't believe we're actually going to Duke's. But then, we come to find... DOLLAR TAPS FROM 4-9pm, and every day? Even on a Saturday? WTH. Cray, I tell you. Cray. And $2 cans of Pabst, always! Now, the clientele left a bit to be desired, save for the super awesome old dudes at the bar watching baseball. (Tons of high fives with those dudes!) There are certainly worse options when it comes to Water Street. Duke's is sort of sports-bar-y and dive-y and generic-ish and ergo, adaptable folks could certainly see the value in that, so there's that. read more

I got kicked out of this bar because I made fun of a guy's sweater...... I kid you not.... I got bounced over a sweater. I was blacked out, but that's beside the point haha. Still a good bar, one of my go to spots for "Boozing on a Budget". read more

Great spot to grab a drink. Cheap drinks and great atmosphere to watch the Packers! Beware of their rail liquor...its like a hooker...cheap, deadly and bound to get you into a heap of trouble. read more

This place is ok...I did like the fact that they had plenty of tables/seating, but this place just wasn't my style. They play only certain types of music and the DJ does not take requests for any genres of music outside what they're supposed to play here. They also have a minimum to be able to use your card here so be aware of that...if you only want 1-2 drinks, make sure you bring cash read more

The Karaoke DJ is awful. Poor attitude and a poor selection of songs. Definitely kills the mood.

Great place to hang out with friends especially on the weekends. I love their happy hours when the beer is just $1 and shots are $2 each. The bar tenders are friendly, happening atmosphere, the only bad thing is that they don't sell anything to eat, so keep drinking on empty stomach or go somewhere out to eat and come back if you wish to. read more

See all

Happy Hour tap beer? Don't mind if I do! I agree with Graham C - a lot of life's mistakes could be made at Duke's with their HH specials! On a recent trip to Milwaukee, we stopped in at Duke's once on Friday night and once Saturday afternoon. It was crazy busy in there on Friday night! 1 tall Limon and Diet and 1 bottle of Miller Lite was $10.75. I'm pretty sure they were lite on the Diet. Whew! One strong drink. The place was hopping and very busy, but the service was quick. On Saturday afternoon, we had to go in the for the $1 taps for Happy Hour. Went in around 2:15, stayed for a couple and then left. Bartender was very nice and she knew all the customers in there. Popcorn was in a GIANT tub which grossed out my traveling companion, but if the bartender had put a boat in front of me, I would have eaten it. I thought it was kind of funny. I would go back for HH, but to hang out at night, it's crowded, hot, and really no place to stand. read more

On the annual trip up to Milwaukee this place is usually the first stop (and in some cases the last). Happy hours from 4-9pm on Saturday nights is really a deal worth traveling for! (of course not a deal you should consider driving home from afterward.... get a hotel!). Servers have always been very friendly, and if you ask they have a cool dice game you can play with your friends in order to stick someone with the bill. Again, at only $1 a beer that shouldn't break anyone. Pool tables and darts also a nice plus. Good time for all. read more

Nothing beats a $1 rail happy hour on a Monday evening!! I went there to grab a few drinks before a Bucks game and boy was I glad I did because the drink prices increase exponentially at the Bradley Center. Dukes on Water is your typical divey dive bar and I probably wouldn't go there for a night on the town, but it's a great place for happy hour or one last drink before closing time. read more

Umm who doesn't love $1 miller lite drafts, happy hours that are from 4-9 pm, and bottomless $10 dollar cups!!! Only faults were it was a bit smoky and their video gaming machine was miserable!! read more

The greatest bar in the history of all the world, the bartenders are GOATS and you can't beat the happy hour! Spend 1/4 of my life here, and wouldn't change it for anything or anyone! read more

It's a dive bar, but dive bars don't get a whole lot better than this. Inexpensive drinks? Check. Diverse group of people? Check. Ultra social? Check. Nice bartenders? Check. Beer pong? Check. Flip cup? Check. TVs? Check. Located on the street where Pabst & Blatz were once headquartered? Check. You've got to be in the right mood to go there, but when you are, it's a great time. read more

BEWARE OUT OF STATERS: The owners of this place own scooters next door as well so be careful there as well. I want to warn people about my experience at dukes. We are from out of state and they thought our Cali ID's were fake, we tried to leave, they wouldn't give our ID's back. Long story short my boyfriend ended the night in an ambulance and their bouncer was cited for an assault and battery. The owners have done absolutely NOTHING said NOTHING and taken NO ACTION except to put the blame back onto us so avoid these places at all costs. read more

I'm 31 years old and had my valid drivers license taken from me by the bouncer/manager. I had to call the police to have them return my ID. They arrived and confirmed it was real. The whole process took about an hour of my night in Milwaukee. Do not go here if you want to be treated like a human being. read more

The happy hour can't be beat. $1 taps and single mixers, not fair. I have gone to happy hour before summerfest and concerts downtown, and every time has been great. read more

It's not that I had a bad time, it's just a dump where early 20s hang out. We stopped in here during a bachelor party for cheap beers and shots. Don't recommend, unless you're under 25. Then you'll probably love it read more

Duke's On Water - Dukes sells hats - Sports Bars Near Me - Milwaukee, Wisconsin

1 dollar taps and a good mixed crowd . Make sure you meet Uncle Bob. He's there everyday for happy hour.

This used to be one of my favorite bars on water (which isn't saying much) back in the day. But with the times this place has changed. The $1 Happy Hour Monday - Friday 4-9PM for rail drinks and crappy-domestic-high-volume-beers is a good deal, but the $1 beers always taste awful. Not sure if it's the lines or just that I'm used to drinking craft / microbrews that mass produced beer just is gross now. Either way I stepped in here Thursday night (which apparently is there best night) with some friends for a drink. From basically the whole time between 7 and 9 this bar is sketchy to be at. EXTREMELY loud Hard Rock music and pool sharks all over the place. People with their own pool sticks, all looking like a tough kind of crowd, one guy even had a black eye. The bartendress was very polite but almost awkwardly seductive. And I noticed It wasn't because I'm special (Darn) she was like that with everyone. Either way, she seemed to be cool with the crowd and was playing bar dice and playing (awful) music from her iPod. After 9 this place turns a new leaf and becomes ... awesome. A strange but funny Eddie Vedder looking guy brings in the Karaoke machine and a nicer crowd shuffles in. When the crowd wasn't courageous enough to start it up, the karaoke guy started the fun himself. Then people joined in. Everyone was having a great time! They even covered the pool table at this point for a beer pong game. All in all, Duke's can either be fun or sketch depending on the time you go. But Spolier alert. There's a JAWS-looking shark with a leg hanging out of the mouth on the wall. Visual bliss. Also - I'm so used to having a bouncer there on the right there's still a weird smell on your clothes after a night of Duke's despite the no-smoking law being in affect for years now and the tap beer still taste kinda funky. when you walk in I tried to hand my ID to this creepy statue. Apparently the bouncer doesn't come until later. Fail. Note: $10 minimum on credit card transactions read more

Best bar in America as far as I am concerned. Hottest bar tender I have ever seen is there on Saturday night. Pool, basketball game, bar dice, killer music and the cheapest booze I pay for at any bar. Happy hour starts at noon and ends at nine. Keep it up guys, I drive for Chicago just to pick up my brother and come drink there. You r my favorite bar read more

This is the most funniest bar I went to. The crowd was great, security was safe, great music, beautiful view. I brought my new years in there, great party, great drinks special. So make your next bar trip at Dukes if your ready to have a good time. Whooooa Dukes I love you guys party on. Ms. Savage read more

Great place for awesome Happy Hour. We happened to be walking by and stopped in. It can get loud and crowd seems young but was a great time. There's a pool table which at the time was being used for beer pong but hard to beat $1 domestic beers. It was a Sunday night but still had a full house. They even hooked us up with a beer coozie Thank you read more

Cheap drinks all night, great divide bar. It got a bit louder around 9 pm for karaoke night on thursday, but all draft beers are 2 bucks.