I have been to Motor a few times now, and I have had a great experience every time. The restaurant is located on the Harley Davidson Museum grounds. However, you do not have to go to the museum in order to eat at the restaurant. Motor is a large, open concept style restaurant, with large windows and a view of the river. They have a round style bar that seats many people. The staff is very nice and welcoming. Our server was excellent (I just wish I could remember his name). He did a great job of explaining the menu when we had questions and always made sure that we were good on drinks and food. The food is slightly pricier than the average burger restaurant. It is very good, though. In addition to burgers, they have salads, sandwiches, BBQ, and other entrees. You can sign up for their burger club (buy 5 burgers, get the 6th one free) and their mug club. You purchase the HD Museum mug in the gift shop and then get a $3.50 draft beer of your choice when you bring in the mug. read more

We just stopped in here for a drink and didn't eat any food. The menu looked about standard for a place attached to a museum: lots of stuff all over the place. Not surprisingly it is not terribly vegetarian friendly but there are a few salads and pasta and a sandwich or two for those of us who don't do the meat thing. As far as drinks went, the Bloody Mary is outstanding. Absolutely. They will make it as spicy as you like and it comes with a small glass of beer on the side and a cornucopia of meat, vegetables, and fruit garnish it. It is damn near a meal in itself. I also had a drink called something like "Grown-up Cherry Coke" that was pretty good, with whiskey soaked cherries, cherry syrup, whiskey, and coke in it. For $10 it was kind of small. They had some interesting looking beers on tap, including some local brews, but they were kind of heavily geared to the Bud/Bud Lite/Miller crowd. In general, this place is a bit pricey for what you get. It's basically DC prices, which was kind of a sticker shock moment in Milwaukee. For instance, they were selling Sprecher sodas for $4.50 a pop and we'd just spent half that on them at the place we had lunch at. I guess you pay for the privilege of hanging with Harley. :) So, yes, this place is kind of expensive and I'm not sure I'd recommend planning a big meal and lots of drinking here, but how can you not visit Harley Davidson when you are in Milwaukee? read more

Went this past Friday for the Fish Fry. I thought it was decent, but not spectacular. read more

I think expecting great food from a place that serves mostly Harley Branded items is kind of a mismatch. Food was OK.. Prices are like most Harley products- too pricy and poorly though out. If you are in there for the decor and the "harley experience" then it might be a nice diversion. We went at lunch mid-week. I had the Turkey burger special and fries- pretty savory with gogonzola cheese, red slaw and a peach slice on top -not too bad. Also tasted the regular cheese burger and served ok. My son had the make your own MAC AND CHEESE. - coulda been cheesier- this in a state KNOWN FOR IT'S CHEESE!=== go figure. It was OK nonetheless. Other dishes that paraded out of the kitchen looked OK. The flatbread looked good and according to locals there was good. TIP: Stick to the basics and you won't be disappointed. read more

Food is uniquely Milwaukee. German potato pancakes, bratwurst, and an all-American breakfast of pancakes & eggs. Was a big fan of the mac & cheese with bratwurst chopped up inside. The setting is very cool as well, with floor to ceiling walls providing great views of the city skyline and river. read more

We ate here because we were visiting the Harley-Davidson Museum. I ordered the brisket and bbq chicken plate. The food was great. Service was good. I'll be back soon!! read more

Shenandoah was our server. She was not friendly, seemed annoyed when we would ask for anything. Restaurant was closing early for a private party and we were not informed until we were placing our orders, therefore we had to eat quickly. Food was good, not great. read more

I'll start with the Harley museum grounds which Motor Bar and Restaurant is located on is very nice. They really didn't take any shortcuts with the design of the buildings including the restaurant. It has a really cool motor/industrial design which just makes you feel "cool" being there. The service at Motor is great, very friendly wait staff and quick service. The menu has a great selection of unique twists added to the basic foods. They also have really good specialty drinks. Parking and access to the restaurant is great, you basically park on any of the ground's streets and take a short stroll to the restaurant. The restaurant is located on the river which makes for a great after diner walk. Expect above average food prices for this type of food. Also be aware the drinks are overly priced and very small. I usually don't mind paying a little more for a good cocktail but expect to pay $ 8.00 ++ for a half sized drink. Despite the size and cost of the drinks they are very good. Getting into the food, no one in my party was overly impressed. I had BBQ ribs and chicken with seafood soup as the pre. The soup was very good but the BBQ I can honestly say is one of the worst I've had. The menu claims the meats are smoked for 12 hours, I have my doubts unless they smoked it a week prior and kept it in the cooler to be heated later. They also came with way too much BBQ sauce, I think they were trying to mask the taste of the meat. The chicken was dry, although it did have the texture of smoked meat, I again question if it is really smoked as the flavor was just awful. Another person had the fish fry which was also above average priced but was satisfied with the meal. The fish had a tasty breading and was cooked perfect. I would go back but I would stick with tap beers and maybe try a burger. Alot of places try BBQ and just can't get it, this would be one of them. The place is very neat but I would recommend being selective on your menu choice. read more

MOTOR Restaurant - Friday night fish fry at Harley's Motor restaurant. - Barbeque Near Me - Milwaukee, Wisconsin

For Thursday bike nites, the beer, specialty drinks, & starters/appetizers are all 1/2 price. The weather was great enough to sit outside. We tried the shovelhead mixed drink ($3), cheese curds with ranch ($4.50) which are similar to mozzarella sticks only stubbier & with ranch sauce. The tomato & cheese flatbread pizza (($6.50) was outstanding as was the on tap Miller lite beer ($2). A huge peach cobbler came in a cast iron pan fit for 2 a la mode ($8.95). Our server Jeff, was super attentive despite every table being full even at 530 for this fun event. It's a 3.5. Could be a 4 but didn't have a great view of the bikes & did feel a little rushed to get up & go. read more

Stopped in for dinner before a show on a Friday night. Eaten here before and it was excellent. But this time, not so much. Service was excellent, and very clean. But the food quality really took a dip. Two of us had the brisket and pork loaded potatoes. Both meats were extremely dry and the potato as a whole was dry to the point of asking for extra butter and sour creme to make it tolerable. Another member had the brisket sandwich and ended up eating about half due to how dry the meat was, even though more sauce was added. The 'medium' burger arrive just shy of 'very well' done, and the fries everyone had were very salty. The specialty lemonade with cranberry and strawberry puree tasted nothing like the description other than a splash of grenadine added to cheap lemonade overloaded with ice to water it down. We passed on dessert. read more

This is a tourist trap. Food is mediocre. The burnt ends were mostly fat. They have a 2 drink maximum unless you drink beer. They don't understand equivalents. The music was nice. Closes at 8:30. Take your money and eat elsewhere. read more

Yep, need to agree with Stephen on this one. The flatbreads are served on a paddle that's about 2 feet long. First of all, we went on a Thursday night not aware that it was Bike Night, which is sort of a bike show where everyone rides in and shows off their goods. For my 19 month old son who LOVES motorcycles, well, this drove him absolutely nuts. But the thing that most people may not know about is the food inside the Motor restaurant. WOW. We started off with the assorted bratwurst platter and the cheese curds. Once we got the arteries slamming shut with those, we had some BBQ pulled pork, mac & cheese, and meatloaf. We finished off desert with a giant warm skillet chocolate chip cookie topped with ice cream. Food was fabulous, server was EXCELLENT and the atmosphere is just wonderful. Even if you're not a Harley Owner and don't dress in leathers and boots, it doesn't matter. Really a great experience and restaurant! read more

Just had a drink at the bar to experience the place. My Giant and I were served right away and the staff was very attentive. The menu looked great...just didn't have time to try anything. Decor is fitting and goes with the Harley experience. read more

MOTOR Restaurant - Barbeque Near Me - Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Great ambiance! --5 star nice staff and people. Not expensive. -- 5 star The menu is your typical American menu burgers, fries and salmon Free parking plus next door you have the museum The only suggestion would be to add more varieties of food to the menu Depending on the occasion I would recommend for group of friends, co-workers, or friends or also if you are hosting visitors would be good to take them read more

Took a large group of dealers to Motor for lunch and everything was done right, from service to food. Motor's menu is pretty basic but they do a great job of adding little extras to differentiate it from other bar/casual menus. I had the apple chicken salad which was HUGE and delicious. I loved the pecans and feta cheese. The apples added a perfect sweetness. Everyone else in our party also loved their meals. The staff did a great job of accommodating our large group on the patio and everything was delivered quickly & correctly. They even brought food out first for several members who had an earlier flight. All of this was done with no questions or hassle. They did a great job! I love when a restaurant has their act together and delivers a good meal to a large group seamlessly. Motor is firing on all cylinders! :) read more

Food was absolutely amazing! We had the full throttle grilled cheese, the jalapeno popper burger with the chili stuffed potato. Everything was cooked perfectly and it tastes delicious. Definitely a place to eat after the Harley-Davidson museum read more

Very nice compound here for Harley! The food however is nothing to be proud of - at least the two times we dined here. The late Saturday afternoons offered long waits at the hostess station - very long wait from drink order to any attention - like 15 minutes. Average bar food that is a tad lower quality than average. The prices are more than the average expectation too. Very geared to tourists, not locals in my opinion. We were disappointed read more

This is an excellent place to come after you visit the Harley Davidson Museum to rehash your fun and see some more bikes! I came here with my son on Milwaukee Day- 4/14! Put it in your calendar! It was free to get into the museum that day, and in the restaurant, a burger and fries was only $4.14 for that day only?!? What a deal! The waitress was super sweet and we were in and out of there pleasantly quickly since we had a toddler with us! Long, leisurely dining is not a thing I do when he is around! I would come back, especially for the bargains next year! read more

The food was just ok. I wouldn't come here to eat. Drinks and Saturday night Blues is what its all about.

I wasn't sure what to expect from Motor since it was part of the Harley-Davidson Museum complex. I was thinking it could be an overly-priced tourist trap, but I was wrong. My server was extremely nice and helped me decide on what to order. I ordered the Buffalo Chicken Mac n' Cheese and it was huge! I could not even begin to eat all of it, and it was delicious as well. Great fuel to power up for the museum. read more

MOTOR Restaurant - Buffalo Chicken Maccaroni and Cheese woth Blue Cheese Crumbled - Barbeque Near Me - Milwaukee, Wisconsin

One of my favorite fish fry's in town! Great happy hour. Good is affordable. The atmosphere is cool and different. Strongly recommend!

My friend must really know my heart, because she found this place when I was in town and said, "It's blues and BBQ night, want to go?" Um....yes. All of those things. I don't own a motorcycle, but I am fond of them. And this place, for obvious reasons, is the Mecca for the Harley lover, or a motorcycle lover in general. But even if you aren't a motorcycle lover, this is still a nice place to dine and enjoy some entertainment. They have a nice local craft brew list, a huge horseshoe bar, and plenty of seating. There is a nice view of the river and of the HD museum building itself (which I personally think is some nice architecture). Their menu is definitely not for someone who is watching their diet. They have mac and cheese, burgers, chili, BBQ, and a nice variety of other items. My friend and I enjoyed some beer, the cheese curds (half regular and half buffalo), and shared the biscuit mac and cheese. Yeah, we went all out. And I regret nothing. It was awesome. Our server was great, and we had a reservation but showed up early, and the hostess worked with us and seated us right away. So overall the service was a top-notch experience. The blues music was great, and everyone in the restaurant was enjoying the vibes. For being a touristy type place, I thought the prices were very good. I would definitely come back! read more

This was our second time visiting. The first time we ate in the can room and the food was great but the cans of beer were overpriced (8$ for a can). This time we ate in the restaurant and our food and service were great! I had the sailor jerry hurricane to drink...yum! And the chipotle chicken sandwich with mac and cheese. My fiance had the barbeque and said it was delicious. Nice views of the river and TVs to watch sports games near the bar. I would definitely recommend trying their mac and cheese either as a side or the meal! read more

Not the cheapest lunch or dinner option but definitely worth the experience at least once. Lots of Harley Davidson decor and home movies playing; substantial portions and hearty flavors. My go-to is the buffalo chicken sandwich: it's made just right. But be adventurous and try the monthly special burger or wing flavors. You'll be happy you did. read more

We went on a Friday night, got there around 6PM, the place was pretty empty, and here is why. My wife and I each had the fish fry, one drink, and one appetizer, our bill came to $70!! The fish fry was "all you can eat" we asked for more, and it never came. My drink was a 7&7, apparently that's a $12 drink!?!? Although the food was decent, the overpriced menu is enough to keep me away. I'll go someplace else. read more

Food was good! Excellent options including vegetarian. Drinks were great and bartender will make u anything u want. Excellent service and great crowd. This is next to HD Museum so outside is like a bike affair! Highly recommend!!!!! read more

Surprisingly, the food was incredible! Normally you'd think a restaurant close to a museum would be average, but not here! I ordered a grilled cheese with tomato soup and it was amazing. My daughter ordered the macaroni and cheese and she was super happy. My son ordered the grilled cheese hamburger (which was a special when we went) and he said it was incredible. I definitely recommend!! read more

Good food great atmosphere while visiting town and the Museum. Learning a little about Milwaukee history too.

Audra was our waitress and she was awesome. Very pleasant, knowledgeable about the menu and drinks.

The HD kitsch appealed to my niece, whose birthday we were celebrating. But the food is not that great. Cheese curd appetizer was nice, light on the batter and hot. But the wings were quite bland, and the brisket entree that I'd been looking forward to was flavorless and dry. If you are going to highlight your menu as a BBQ joint and say the product has been cooked 14 hours, I'd have expected to see a reddish pink smoke ring on the outer edges. I'd expect to to to taste smoke with the rubbed seasonings. I'd be ecstatic if it were cooked with the fat on the brisket to baste the meat. You won't find any of those things here. If you are on an HD pilgrimage, I guess this may be part of the experience, but better food is a short ride away. Waitress was pleasant and service good. Prices what you'd expect for a theme restaurant. Nice beer and bourbon selection. read more

This is a nice piece of Amaericana in downtown Milwaukee. Service was good, and the food was as well. Their prices are a little high, but that is Harley Davidson in general, honestly. My wife had one of the stuffed potatoes, and those are really good. There is enough to make that a dinner. I had the Sloppy Motor Sandwich. Be very careful with that one. It is not clear on the menu, and I like up to a Medium or Medium-High heat on my food, but this is very hot and spicy. What I thought was going to taste like a pork and brisket BBQ, turned out to be more vinegar-ey, and more like a buffalo hot-wings kind of thing. It was a 2-coke thing, and I only ate about half. Nevertheless, it is a good place. I should have had the fish fry, but it is my-bad, or else the menu was not clear. I ate there once before that food was very good as well. read more

Just a so-so experience here for me, and not sure I'm intrigued enough to return. One plus - we were seated quickly with a large group (the restaurant was pretty dead at the time). Menu pricing didn't quite make sense - $5 for a Sprecher Root Beer?! I'll pass. - and, despite the place being slow, our food took quite some time to arrive. My turkey burger was just decent, and the side salad I ordered with it was essentially just some diced iceberg lettuce. As some other reviewers mentioned, this place seems to be just a side note to the (excellent!) museum. The patio looks like potential fun, however, with a large connect 4 game...so, perhaps this would be a decent spot for a drink after a trip to the museum in the summer. read more

The H-D Museum's bar is under renovation, and the wait for tables is odd, as there are tons of open tables. They have a little beer tub bar, hidden around the plastic, and if you don't ask, the hostess never mentions it. When you ask the bartender why there's a wait for tables, they say they're understaffed. Wow, it's just like a dealership! read more

Let me start off by saying the food was good. We split the barbecue special that they have on Saturday night. That was the best part. We went there for the music, the band started at 5:30 stopped at 6:10 and never went back on the whole time we were there. We got there at 6.Our waitress (jokingly I hope) when we ask for the bill said, " are you yelling at me?". Then when she handed us the bill she put in front of my husband and said," I'm assuming you are paying". None of this was funny to me. This should be a destination spot for people coming to our town. They need uniforms and to get their act together. I couldn't tell who was who and the hostess was not dressed properly for Saturday night receiving. The guy cleaning the tables was wearing pants below his butt. No wonder it was dead on a Saturday night. So basically what I'm saying the food was good but service and ambiance stunk. read more

Although I don't have a bike, and probably never will, I love this place. The decor is refined but edgy, casual but upscale and comfortable whether you are in chaps or a pencil skirt. The food is hearty and delicious. I have had the mac and cheese with chicken (rich and filling), the souped up grilled cheese (thick slices of bread with thick tomato soup- so good) and the buttermilk fried chicken sandwich served with bacon and Russian dressing (HUGE and also served on yummy thick bread). Service is always prompt, never had to wait to be seated and the manger comes over just to make sure we are satisfied. Most prices linger around $10-12 and its worth it. read more

Was really looking forward to coming here for the Blues & BBQ. Kinda sad I came now. The pulled pork was ok but there was some bone in there that I almost broke a tooth on. The brisket was dry and no discernable smoke in it. The chicken was tender due to being pounded but the rub was kinda off tasting. The sausage links were good moist and spicy. Best thing on the plate besides the fries. The corn muffin was so dry it literally sucked the moisture from my mouth eating it. Plus for allowing the dogs on the patio whom I'm glad we had with us to eat some of this dog food maquarading as bbq. May come back for drinks sometime but not to eat. read more

I've been here numerous times now. It's a creative menu which isn't for everyone, I must admit I shuttered at the special pumpkin pie filling topped burger..... But there are a lot of other options. I like the grilled cheese and the Caesar salad. The make your own burger is an option for everyone. It's priced a little higher for lunch but they are fast and the food is good quality. Unless there is a big event, parking is pretty good. In the summer the view of the river is nice and they have a nice patio setup. I love watching the big barges make the corner on the river. It's a good spot. read more

I ordered the pulled pork sandwich and substituted my fries with a house salad for $1. It was hardly a salad, it was chopped iceberg lettuce with shredded Parmesan cheese, no other toppings. The pulled pork sandwich was less than what I expected. The pork was tough and not shredded very well, it was hard to eat. The sauce comes on the side. I couldn't really taste any of the other ingredients described in the menu explanation. When eating I found a piece of raw potato that much have fallen into the meat, I wasn't mad or disgusted but it was odd and seemed careless. Considering the fair price, I'm fine giving the dinner a 3/5, if it cost anymore than it did, I would have given it a 2. Good environment, nice staff. read more

Unless I have an absolutely horrible experience upon the first visit, I like to give a place at least 3 visits b4 writing a review. This was my 2nd visit to motor, and I feel like I have to warn people. The barbeque is not bbq. Ordered chicken n rib combo. There was absolutely NO discernable smoke flavoring, and zero smoke ring on the ribs and chicken. In fact the chicken had an oven roasted flavor, and the ribs definitely tasted baked.. which is fine if your not advertising "from the smoker" on the menu. Very dissapointing. On My first visit with friends we all ordered sammies or burgers which, considering what this place charges, were all average. Atmosphere is cool, nice outdoor area on the river. But food average for the price, and dont expect real bbq. read more

Good friends of ours invited us out for fish fry the other night and this is where they wanted to go. I've wanted to try this place so I was excited. I had the fish fry and it was pretty good. It had a nice cornmeal crust on it and it was cooked well. The side of fries was pretty bland. I had a sidecar and it was decent. My guy said that his burger was alright but nothing mind blowing. Solid 3 stars. If you're at the Harley Museum, I'd definitely give it a try. read more