I loveee this place and totally dig the rustic vibe! I come for the cocktails, which are always so yummy the service can definitely be on the slower side sometimes but it hasn't stopped me! read more

I'm sorry this happened to one of my all time favorites. -apparently, it's not a "cocktail bar" and is now a beer bar (not very good selection) I miss HI Hat of my youth. read more

Pat G. and I did not want to stay at home while visiting his parents in Milwaukee one New Year's eve, so we decided to check out the Hi Hat Lounge. Located in a warehouse area (CORRECTION: East Side/Brady Street according to Laura F, thank you!), but the street it was on was a pretty happening place. The dimmed-lounge, which reminds me of a garage, was filled with people in their 20's and 30's, good mix of guys and gals who were very friendly, maybe because they were drunk. The dance floor was tiny, but we were lucky enough to find a table by the window. The drinks were good, enjoyed Kamikazes all night while my boyfriend drank scotch. I would like to come back here again and possibly not for New Year's eve, maybe on a Friday or Saturday night to see what kind of crowd it draws in. read more

+ .ambiance/space layout + design .specialty cocktails .patio - .overpriced (i usually don't note this, but this place is) .wayyy crowded on the weekends .parking .clientele sometimes consists of douchers meh .food is hit or miss... i've had awesome and also, not-so-awesome read more

This place is like nothing we had ever been to in Milwaukee. Truly possibly a one-of-a-kind! Walking in the front door is somewhat confusing, as you can see the lower-level bar but not how to get there as the stairwell is actually already behind you. That said the signage is plenty and we worked our way downstairs. The bar is somewhat small but done so in a way that doesn't make it feel small. The music is decent and not overly loud. And the overall vibe is Irish Pub meets Basement Hangout (in a good way). The mixed drinks are somewhat expensive, but absolutely worth it. They are true custom mastercrafted mixes that are all uniquely delicious. Live-fire smoked glasses, roasted marshmallows, muddled blueberries, and top shelf ingredients are all amazing ingredients in their drinks. The beer selection is top notch as well if that's your preference. The food is very very good. We had the cheese-curds (some of the best in the state) and the buffalo chicken won-tons (hot, spicy, and delicious). Both expertly prepared and presented perfectly. You could tell the kitchen staff really cared about what they made. What made our night was the bartenders. There was a pretty-capable-but-still-learning young lady behind the bar, and a veteran-yet-still-young manager that would step in to help her when she got stuck. The result was a dynamic duo that was fun and attentive and just all around awesome. The manager could have made the situation very awkward for the newer bartender, but it was clear that was not her intent at all. It was just refreshing and light and wonderful all around. If you have a couple or small group and looking for a great stop in your evening, definitely add Hi Hat to your list!! read more

3.5 stars Nice lounge for a drink, but took a very long time to get drinks. Also, they had a DJ - which for a lounge doesnt seem too necessary and the music was very loud. Atmosphere was nice and crowd was good. read more

HiHat Lounge - a view of a building through a window - Lounges Near Me - Milwaukee, Wisconsin

We came. We saw. We drank . . . .and drank some more! Hi Hat serves up some pretty nice craft cocktails and on the night we were there- we also got to taste one of their "punches". This one tasted like those atomic fire jawbreakers from when I was a kid . . . .not my favorite but interesting nonetheless! You enter and go downstairs to where the bar is. Great bartenders who keep it all moving with a smile on their faces creating some very interesting mixtures. The menu looks good too but given we had just come from dinner- it was only drinks on this fun night! Um . . . .now bartender . . .what else have you got that I might like? read more

We stopped in relatively recently to have a few beers. I was a little disappointed by the beer selection -- mostly domestic taps. The atmosphere is definitely cute but I had a hard time finding a beer I would want to drink (but that is my personal taste, I settled on a Modelo). They do have PBR and Miller products. The staff was really nice and friendly. read more

What a cool find! I had the Just Call Me Diablo on the Beach which was a delicious tequila cocktail. My man had a Kolsch beer which made him very happy! We also split the buffalo won ton appetizer which was delish! Would definitely recommend this place for really good cocktails in an unpretentious cool setting! read more

HiHat Lounge - Just Call Me Diablo on the Beach - Lounges Near Me - Milwaukee, Wisconsin

This place is FUN if you're coming here for late night drinks. They have nice lighting and it was pretty easy to get drinks. It's a relatively big bar since it's attached to The Garage. We met some cool people from Chicago here too! I liked this place so much that I wanted to come back the next time I was in town. read more

HiHat Lounge - Pretty Lights - Lounges Near Me - Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Debating 3 and 4 stars.. Hi hat is one of those places that's been around a long time. I often chose to come here when I was in my 20s and without fail would get a cell phone call around midnight from a galpal informing me that I'd lost her to the vortex across the street known as jocats. I **think** it was called the hi hat because it opened in the mid nineties during that very brief time when 'swing' music was in. Anyhow... I really usually like the hihat, especially the partially subterranean lounge (the garage not so much). It always exudes a certain atmosphere that's hard to duplicate. The music is pretty eclectic like the crowd. People dress up, dress down; you'll see people from the neighborhood, college kids, couples, biz types, etc. Their drinks evolved with the times and they went from makin a mean metropolitan to a chocolate martini to a flavored mojito, to the other night when they were making drinks from the 1920s and concoctions involving egg whites. Drinks are pricey but good. There food is really good too. Ive had their brunch, and especially in the summer when you can sit out on Brady, its very inviting. Where they *occasionally* lose me is the service. We had a great bartender the other night, and I've had other good servers, but I've had a lot of times when its crowded and hard to get served. And other times when it felt like the staff thought I wasn't good enough to be there. (Boo!) Buuuuut...I'm on a new years resolution to not be petty like that, so let's go with 4 stars. Side note: the giant statue of the woman holding a head on a plate (you'd have to have seen it) is gone. A large picture has replaced it and we were told the idea is to have rotating art there. read more

HiHat Lounge - New pic over the bar. No more head platter holding chick. - Lounges Near Me - Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Best fish tacos, ever! Can't rave about them enough! And their happy hour from 2-7 on Fridays is a Godsend! 1/2 off rails and tappers. They only lose a star because they sometimes aren't as quick at the bar. These fish tacos are fried perch, light and crispy, sweet and juicy! The slaw they use is peppery, creamy, and cooling. Seriously, I cannot rave enough about the fish tacos. All the other food I've had has been absolutely excellent. The food is always excellent. The service is usually very strong, they can sometimes ignore you for a group of young single chicks, but overall, this place is slamming! read more

We have came a couple times for Monday night trivia and $5 burgers. Can't speak much for the regular menu -- but the burgers are delicious and the drink specials make for a fun trivia night! read more

This place smells like chemically cleaned puke. Plus they were out of Pinot Noir. Bye Felicia. Not that I know what that means but it was printed above the bar. And we chose not be served in this dump. read more

Not really a review...more of a TIP...This morning you were featured on FOX NEWS Channel 6 showing off your in-house Bloody Mary mix. Neither of the two Hi Hat representatives had any signage, T-Shirt, Hat..etc, indicating where they were from. Remember guys you are advertising your business. If it wasn't for the brief banner running on the bottom of the screen I would not have know who these people were. BTW....the mix looked pretty tasty. read more

Rude service, ok food. I went here with a girlfriend and decided to sit outside. She was only wearing a tank, and when the sun went down, she was completely freezing. We asked our server, Laura, if we could move inside. As we got up, she made a face of complete distaste to the hostess, thinking that neither of us saw. I DID. DUDE. She was cold. Get over it. She was also completely rude when I asked if Bloody's were on their happy hour and acted like I was an idiot for asking. (I'm new in town and I come from a place where this question isn't a sin and is oft times even answered with a 'yes'.) The moral of the story: I will NEVER go back here. If I'm going to spend my hard-earned money at a restaurant, I don't want to have to risk having a server that makes my day worse and makes me feel unwelcome. Put on a happy face, and if you hate your customers, whine about it in the back of house. We're here to make you money. read more

We just pulled into Milwaukee and found this great little spot. The best garden burger I've had and the happy hour lemon drip martini was spot on! read more

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This is for the Hi Hat Lounge, mind you; the underground part that rarely seems to bring the spillover of drunks from the Garage side (which is considerably more loud and over the top...like a bar should be). The Hi Hat lounge is just that, a relaxed, low key lounge meant to enjoy great craft beers, specialty drinks, and hands down the best martini in the city. Alex, the best bartender there, has an uncanny ability to make the best dirty martini i've ever had in my life. Points for hand stuffing some bleu cheese olives to boot. If you frequent this place regularly (which I occasionally do), the employees will get to know you and banter with you while cutting a friendly pour on the drinks. The ambiance is nice; loungy, relaxed, and not uptight enough that I dont feel bad strolling in after a 10 hour shift at work with a backpack and a hoodie on. Its a good down honest place to grab a nice drink and not feel so pretentious about it. I also wouldn't feel guilty about getting dressed up here, either. As one review mentioned earlier, the food is hit or miss, but usually its on the upper end. It is a bit pricey, but you're paying for the assumed ambiance of the place. If someone ever says "It's tini time!" and I'm in the neighborhood, the Hi-Hat is the first place I'd go, without a doubt. Cheers, Hi-Hat, for your fabulous martinis! read more

Oh Hi Hat, you killed my dreams... A friend and I visited the restaurant on a Thursday evening around 6pm. We were one of few patrons in the bar area, and the only ones to order food. I ordered a drink to start off and was excited to see Death's Door Gin behind the bar. I asked if they had any drinks on their menu made with the spirit. The "mixologist" said no, but said he could make something up, and asked what i liked. I said something similar to a Mint Julep, with lemon or lime and a basil or minty flavor. And so the nightmare began. Death's Door has a strong earthy, juniper flavor unlike a lot of gins on the market. The bartender was using all kind of funny tools and zests on other drinks, and shaking them like a mad man, so I assumed he knew his liquor. I was wrong. He brought out my drink and explained it to me. Death's Door, plum cinnamon tea simple syrup, Lemon, seltzer and other madness. It was really, really bad. I went back to the bar and explained what I was asking for. He suggested adding more lemon to the mix. Lemon, Cinnamon and Plum were a disastrous combination. The drink was so bad, and the bartender couldn't figure out how to fix it. He clocked out, and crossed the bar to start his evening drinking. I gave up and ended up paying $11 for a drink I couldn't stomach. After the drink disaster, I hoped dinner would help Hi Hat redeem itself. However, I was sadly mistaken. My dining partner had a chicken sandwich and I had the steak sandwich which was served medium rare with squishy tomatoes, squishy letttuce and squishy onions. It was a mouth full of squishy, and made me nauseous chewing it. DON"T do it. Order a side of fries, and realize it's not going to get any better than that. Sorry Hi Hat i tried.... read more

They for sure pour fireball into their jack fire bottle. Use to visit this place often and it use to be way better. I'm sure normal college kids won't notice but it's not my first rodeo. read more

The food is amazing and we would give them a 5 if their service wasn't so spotty. Best Old Fashioned in all of Milwaukee. Their tater tots are effing amazing as well as their wings. I'm always surprised this place isn't more packed. We love to come here any night of the week and it's a reliably delicious Wisconsin meal. read more

I'm usually here with a group of my close friends after work but recently I found it to be the perfect spot to spend a snow day. In the upstairs dining area, I like the simplicity of the mahogany wooden furniture lighted by 2 small candles on the dining table. Hi-Hat does a very nice job with separating the party scene in the lower level with the quieter ambience from the upstairs crowd. In the past, I've ordered their tomato soup, grilled cheese but I have to say that my fave dish would be the "Queso Fundito". It's a mix of cheese, green chili, sour creme,pulled pork & Tortilla chips; a perfect choice for a snow day :) The server was very courteous, polite and appeared to be in a pleasant mood. I definitely tipped my server for his awesome service and would recommend Hi-Hat in the future to others that have not dined here yet read more

Came here on a Saturday night and they played a whole bunch of good 90s music. There wasn't a line to get it in and there are many specials every day the week. I would definitely come back again. It did take a while to get our drinks but it was a busy night. read more

I would give this place 2.5 stars. The atmosphere/decor is swanky/cool. And you just gotta love some cute bartenders in vests. However, the service is soooo slow! Unless you're at the bar during a slow time of day, the servers/bartenders just seem like they don't really care if you're there or not. Last time I was there we tried several times to get our server's attention and she just chatted with the other servers without giving us a glance. I'm all for having fun while you're at work, but you still need to be able to take care of your guests. It does get crowded on the weekends and can be hard to walk around. They have some cool cocktails on their drink list, but I do find their drinks to be a tad over priced, especially compared to other bars in the immediate area. I usually only go here if my friends want to go, and even then we usually don't stay very long. read more

I'm torn between a 4 and 5 star! I really love the lounge portion of Hi Hat. There is something about the atmosphere I just love. The dainty chandelier, the exposed brick walls, the huge bar, and the 2 story look and feel of this place. It's really charming. Definitely a fun place to casually grab drinks. My last time in there, I tried their bruchetta. WOW! It was fantastic - I wasn't expecting that out of the Hi Hat. It was served with fresh garlic toast, a ton of fresh mozzarella and a tomato/green pepper mixture that was so unique and tasty! I'll post a picture shortly of the bruchetta. read more

Well I'm not gonna lie but I've been to my fair share of bars and had more than my fair share of shots. But when my cousin suggested we come here to have a peanut butter jelly shot, I thought her buzz was already full on and it was just after 5PM. First off, I LOVE the neighborhood. Being from Chicago this was like Wicker Park north for me. Secondly, after being in this place for like 5 minutes, I was in love. I love the whole decor of the bar. I love the fact the bar is downstairs and you could still have cocktails upstairs. Way cool.. This place has top notch bartenders. And while I was hesitant after a day of beer and other concoctions peanut butter jelly shot was in front of me. Seconds later, I was ordering this as my drink. On the way home, I raved about how this was my new favorite bar in MKE. read more

We were in Milwaukee for a family event; it's my partner's home town. One thing we can't get at home is a decent fish fry (go figure; live in the Seattle area - you'd think with all the seafood places we have, we could, but we haven't found it yet!). So Friday night, we went on the hunt. There were a couple places downtown she wanted to get to, but between a concert & a huge graduation shindig, we couldn't get close or find parking, so back to the part of town we were staying. We came across Hi Hat. Super fish fry. Two humongous pieces of cod, delicately fried - not greasy at all. Cole slaw tasted like it was home made and came with fries (not uber wonderful, but more than adequate) and rye bread. Gonna post a picture once I download our vacation pics - you have to see this plate. Oh, and all this for $10. I couldn't believe it was just $10. Amazing. Service was impeccable. We went upstairs and sat at a table right at the window so we could see the activity outside (pretty happening neighborhood - lots of nightlife, I'd say). They also have an outside eating/drinking area that's pretty much on the sidewalk, so to the previous reviewer complaining about dogs in an eating area - go suck an egg. I saw a woman come with her pooch on a leash. She had a fish fry and a drink - her little canine companion got some of that fish. The waitress was so sweet; she brought a little bowl of water out for the dog. I was very impressed. Our drinks came very promptly. There wasn't a single thing that we found wrong. Will definitely hit this place again next time we're in town. read more

Wow, average rating? I must have been lucky. I came in here by fluke actually. Comet had stopped serving food and I was starving after drinking beer all day and hardly eating since noon. Did a Google search, called these guys, their kitchen is open until midnight, I was less than 4 blocks away...DONE. When I walked in I was greeted by live jazz , a dark romantic atmosphere, decent drink specials, and a friendly bartender. Perfect. To chow, I ordered the caprese with prosciutto and my date ordered the deluxe burger. Delicious. To drink? There was a special for dark and stormy cocktails. read more

Located on the corner of Brady and Arlington on Milwaukee's east side this is a wonderful place to begin or end an evening on Brady Street. If you are looking for a real cocktail crafted by an expert bartender this place is great. This is one of the best bars in Milwaukee because of its excellent location relative to other bars, the overall crowd, and its choice of reasonably priced drinks. It is never too busy, but always busy enough that you don't feel like you are at the bar alone. Check this out for more thoughts on the High Hat Lounge. http://sconniesteve.blogspot.com/2011/09/high-hat-lounge.html read more

Went here for their Sunday brunch and was overall unimpressed. Feels like they are just trying to make some extra money while filling the void of breakfast spots in the area. $3 for a small orange juice is just nuts! read more

This is an update on Hi Hat- just for their cocktails and service in the bar- The vibe here is very cool- retro lights, mood, great music, but what shines is their expertly prepared cocktails- the splitting of the ice by hand, retro cocktail glasses and most importantly what's put in them. One of the best Manhattans I've had ever- great place for drinks! read more

For the most part, the bartenders are experienced and awesome, the food is good, and the atmosphere reminds you of prohibition days, down a set a stairs, dimly lit, cave-like and warm. $5 sidecar special and it was definitely at least $7 good, averagely priced otherwise, seating up and downstairs, and outside. I usually go mid-week when it is quiet and it's comfortable. Don't ask me what it's like on the weekends, it might get crazy, but I stay inside where it's safe on those nights. People maybe don't like it because it is not quite Milwaukee-like. Get with it, Milwaukee. This is as close to a San Francisco or New York bar as you're going to get on Brady Street and so I go for a taste, albeit a bit off, of home. read more

My favorite bartender, Chad, no longer works here (sniff sniff) however Tina still holds down the fort. Very personal service...My favorite place for a dirty Grey Goose martini. The menu has changed quite a bit, so I can't really recommend the food. I steer clear of the upstairs dining area and head straight to the bar in the basement (although the deep stairwell can be tricky after a couple of drinks... at least for us clumsy people). This was my regular Monday night spot when I lived in Milwaukee, however the weekends are good too. read more