I stopped here for new restaurant of the week twice since the first time, the kitchen was closed on my first visit and my review had to wait until I had some food. The place does a good job with the decor of an Irish bar with the woods, stone fireplace, windows and light fixtures etc. I ordered a spicy Bloody Mary to start and I looked over the menu but I remembered from my first visit that they have a burger of what ever so I asked what it currently was and it's a Swiss patty melt on marbled rye with choice of side, onion straws is a personal favorite of mine so yes please. My food came quickly before I could even make a dent into my decent spicy Bloody Mary which had two olives as a garnish, weak presentation at best. The place wasn't busy at all and my server/bartender didn't do a great job at taking care of me and I waited 10 minutes at least for a box and a check after I was clearly done with my meal. The Swiss patty melt looked delicious with a cold pickle, onion straws and what looked like 1000 island dressing on the side. The pickle was a nice size with decent crunch wise. The onion straws were perfect with a light breading, tasty/thin cooked in relatively fresh oil. The Swiss patty melt was cooked perfectly rare with a char grill flavor, melty Swiss cheese, translucent onions with some crunch on perfectly toasted marble rye bread. Overall the service could have been better and yah I could have ordered an Irish staple but I was thoroughly satisfied with with the Bloody and burger of the month. read more

See all

We've come here a few times for trivia in the last several months, it's a somewhat central location for the members of our team and there is plentiful off-street parking available, which is nice. Service can be a bit spotty at times, though it's les for a lack of trying and more of a lack of enough staff that tends to drive any issues. Everyone that is here, though, is friendly, to both newbies and regulars alike. This is definitely a "townie bar," so it's not uncommon to see the same faces whenever you come. One highlight on the menu to consider is the Artichoke and Chicken pizza. Baked on a crust so thin it's almost invisible, it's a great size and value and heats up well the next day too! Or get the nachos and have food for five! read more

It's a beautiful building. They have a nice website that is very promising. The hydroponic garden sounds fantastic. One would think there would be food make fresh. The reality is the bar menu is limited and nothing is fresh. The drinks tasted good but are very weak for the price and the Guinness wasn't fresh... or very cold. We probably would have been better off with a bottle of beer. Some of the staff were very sarcastic, but apparently that's okay since they had a smile. Some people might like that. A nearly empty bar on a Saturday should have been an indication that O'Briens is missing the mark and not reaching its potential. read more

Great bar, great service. Order the burger for a great meal. Play dice and ask for Joe.

I've never eaten any food here, so I can't speak to that, but O'Briens is a very nice & friendly bar. Located across the street from softball fields and the HQ for MPS (coincidence?) this place draws a mixed crowd of jocks, teachers, neighbors and the Weekend Irish (you know who you are!) They have fun drink specials geared to crazy "holidays" as in, its pet day, show the bartender a pet photo and get a free drink! Regular drinks are well priced and there is free popcorn. Ladies, the bathrooms are clean. Very important! read more

Definitely some of the best bar food in Milwaukee! They have an inhouse farm so veggies are always fresh and meat is brought in daily from a local shop. read more

O'Brien's Pub - Pubs Near Me - Milwaukee, Wisconsin

This place is super fun and super chill and has an Irish vibe. Really great new food menu with lots of fresh ingredients including apparently vegetables that are growing right next-door. Good cold beer a really chill wait to have a Sunday fun day or any other day of the week. read more

O'Brien's Pub - Pubs Near Me - Milwaukee, Wisconsin

I'm torn about whether to give 3 or 4 stars here. Let me explain. The pros: AWESOME fish fry. Seriously. This fish fry is amazing. Beer battered cod, choice of side, cole slaw, rye bread. The batter is light and delicious, the choices of side include potato pancakes and onion strings, wonderful. The portion size is perfect--it is not all you can eat but the serving is generous. Not so much that you are taking half home, but definitely enough to fill you up and even share a bite or two. You can get it baked as well, but I haven't tried that. Team Trivia on Wednesdays. Very fun format where you kind of wager on how well you know the answer by assigning a point value to your response. We have a standing trivia date weekly with friends, it's a lot of fun. Nice decor & lots of space. Old school wood bars, tables well spaced out, the place is huge! Skee ball & shuffleboard--need I say more? The cons: Haphazard service. Every time I've eaten there I seem to get ignored by everyone but one guy who appears to be doing all the work. Don't get me wrong, he's great, but when you make eye contact with 3 or 4 other staffers and no one brings a menu or anything, it gets old. LOUD LOUD LOUD. I don't want to have to shout across the table at my dinner companions. I get that it's a bar, but come on. Turn the music down a notch. Let people have conversation. I've never seen anyone dancing there so why does the music need to be SO LOUD ALL THE TIME. Except during trivia. Sound levels are tolerable during trivia. This place would be 5 stars in my book if not for the loudness. That's the biggest reason I only like to go for trivia. I'll take the fish fry to go please and keep my hearing. read more

If you have a hankering for a Buffalo Chicken Salad, don't come here. While it has a prominent place on the menu, they no longer serve this dish. Really? what is so hard about buffalo chicken salad that you had to take it off the menu? Honestly, lettuce, chicken, franks hot sauce, and then hit it with a few crumbles of blue cheese. done. Anyway, i guess i'm over now, thanks for letting me talk about it. A great place to watch some sports at, and how much do I love the fireplace on a cold cold wintry night? a lot. I ended up having the Cajun Chicken Wrap (which, actually...is basically a buffalo chicken salad only with cajun seasoning and wrapped in a tortilla...ok so i'm not over it). It was nothing special. I did enjoy the clam chowda though. We all know how busy this little stretch of heaven gets when it is softball/kickball season, so do yourself a favor and come here in the winter: ample parking. just don't come craving buffalo chicken salad. read more

The wings are quite small The Jameson and Coke sauce Is pretty good though 3/5 (Meh) read more

If you likes to drinks, you might likes to drinks here. There is lots of beer, and friendly people serving it. They also have food. Bar food, mostly, and bar food quality. It does the job putting a base in the belly. They do also offer a basket of straight bacon. Just bacon. They may be on to something. There is a ton of space here and often you'll find the back bar closed simply because there is enough room for everyone at the front bar. I will say that before I came here the first time I was all skeptical about any address on Vliet. Also, on my way here I discovered that it's basically across the street from the cop shop. This has the potential to be an intimidating and/or ruining combination, but once you're inside, you forget these trivialities. Also, for the record, this stretch of Vliet appears to be a friendly neighborhood. A pretty good watering hole! read more

Good bar Good people Good brew deals Clean place Lots of standing/ seating room Bathroom was dirty... Neighborhood always questionable but the people inside are thumbs up. read more

Been here a few times, usually before a brewer game or if out on a Sunday bike ride. Have always enjoyed the service, friendliness of the staff and absolutely one of the best burgers in the city. The onion strings are to die for and have stopped in the past on the way home just pick up an order to go. Truth be known, by the time i get home their half gone! They have a funny bartender on Sundays named Jules. Mixes one of the meanest Bloody Mary's ever! This is a must stop if you i the mood for a great burger, good company and an excellent selection of beers! read more

What can I say about this local, divey, cougar bar. It's got an interesting vibe on game and non-game days. I can't complain as the people watching is always great, the music is always up and they have popcorn. If they are even remotely busy don't expect to roll any dice. Hey if you tell me you're too busy to roll dice (not once, not twice, but three times on three different occasions) well you'll probably only get three stars from me. It's Wisconsin, so the quality of your bar will likely be defined by the quality of your bar staff, the pour, the atmosphere and the ability to multi-task while maintaining interaction with your regulars. Don't worry I'll continue to give you redemption chances as your a block away from me. read more

Came here while in town for a baseball game. Stopped in for lunch and drinks before the game. The people, employees and customers alike, were amazing. Very welcoming of visitors rooting for the other team. Had a cheeseburger and fries and tried the reuben egg rolls. Delicious! Asked for a shot and the bartender, Portia, recommended something else she thought I might like better. She wasn't wrong! It came time to go to the game and they told me they had a shuttle bus that would take customers there and back. Saved me a few bucks on an Uber so I made sure to tip the driver each way. He was a really cool guy. When I came back after the game, I gave them the bobblehead that was given away. They bought me a drink in return, which wasn't expected, but I certainly won't say no. Had a few more shots and beers and left when they closed. Next time I'm in town, this is a place I will definitely be stopping at, and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a good place for food and drinks! read more

Haven't spent too much time in this area of Milwaukee until this spring, but I can easily see O'Brien's becoming a regular haunt for me after rec league sports. Seems like a great neighborhood watering hole, but it would probably take a few more visits to raise the star level from 3 to 4. -Good happy hour specials. -Lakefront beer on tap. -Friendly atmosphere, quick service, nice staff. -Beautiful interior with plenty of tables. -Lots of tvs with abundant sports. -Mozzarella sticks. -Oh, an the giant tacos. In the name of all that is yummy, YUM! read more

This place has become a St. Patrick's day tradition for me. I won't lie, that's pretty much the only time I've ever been here actually! This St. Pat's marked my 5th year in a row heading to O'Brien's for a St. Patrick's day fun with the Love Monkeys (a great local band if you don't know). While the neighborhood is a little (ok maybe a lot) sketchy, the inside is A-OK! They have 2 bars, perfect to cut your wait time down, and a really big area where they band plays so you don't feel too squished in! Prices are good too $8 for a pitcher, when we were spending $9.50 earlier in the day for 2 beers! High 5 O'Brien's Pub - High 5! read more

If you're looking for a good neighborhood pub to kick back and drink a pitcher of beer, this place works. If you just played ball across the street at Wick FIeld and want to hang out with your teammates, this place works. If you have an appetite like a horse and want to eat the motherload of onion strings, this place works. If you want to watch sports, play bar dice, shoot darts and pick your own tunes on the juke box, this place works. O'Brien's Pub is a sports pub that has a good beer selection & serves huge portions of typical bar food. Nothing fancy. My burger was huge (meaning I took half of it home in a box), had a nice fresh buttery bun, crisp lettuce & a good thick ripe tomato...just wish the meat would have been seasoned. Fries were awesome. And the motherload of onion strings were good, but seriously, how many deep fried battered onion strings should you eat? We used to live in the Washington Heights neighborhood and I remember the turnover from Bingo's to O'Brien's many years ago. They've always kept a good sports/ball player crowd and pretty much have continued to be a good neighborhood pub with a diverse variety of patrons. I am happy the smokers have to go outside now, as that was somewhat of a deterrent prior to the smoking ban. The place is spacious with wood floors, lots of windows, solid tables/chairs, a fireplace and two bars - one is the main bar and the other is for special groups or opens when they are busy. I'd like to go back in time and see what this place used to be, as it still has some of the old decor of what must have been a German Supper Club. Which, I think, is kind of cool. It gives the bar some character, along with the old Green Bay Packer photos and beer advertising signs. I'll go back...for a beer. read more

They sponsor my kickball team. They have cold beer. They have cheap and decent food. They lot dogs hang out if they're well behaved. Can you ask for more? Everyone is pretty low key and it's a great place to hang out before or after rec sports or during a game that you want to watch on tv. read more

Quick pub food served late. We stopped in at 10 one night after a long day on the river and just needed food... like immediately. They server was very attentive even though it was obvious that many in the party had been drinking and would have been fine with mediocre service. The food wasn't amazing by any stretch but it was solid. The winners were the nachos and the wraps. Beware of the fiery wings... they live up to their name! read more

It's a typical neighborhood bar. Good place to grab drinks with friends. Not a ton of seating around the bar. But, they have lots of high-tops and tables. It's dark on the inside, obviously a typical "Irish Pub" feel. Wait staff was friendly. Have not tried the food. read more

I've been coming here since it was Bingos, this was the first time I was disappointed. The food was good and the guy and the blond were fantastic, the brunette with a bob on the other hand, was rude and stuck up! I don't think I'll stay if she's there the next time I come in. read more

A year after first reviewing O'Brien's, I figured it was time for an update. Still a great beer selection with a variety of standard and craft brews. The bar staff continue to be friendly and efficient, managing crowds well. The menu has a good variety of bar food, sandwiches, wraps, and burgers -- but you gotta get the giant tacos on Wednesday nights. Giant indeed, delicious, and cheap - just the way a taco should be. O'Brien's is great for groups with its widespread layout and movable tables. The number of TVs make it a good place to catch sporting events, too. I like this place, and I'll happily recommend it. read more

Stopped in to grab some food and a couple drinks. I've been here a few times before and always had great service and food. Unfortunately for me i was met with some sub-par service this time. I ordered a few drinks for me and my friends and my server Angela gave us attitude right off the bat and slammed our beers on the table. I felt like we were an inconvenience to her by making her have to do her job. And if that wasn't bad enough i overheard her complaining about us to somebody at the bar. We decided to finish our drinks and grab food from somewhere else that appreciated our business. Again, i enjoy O'Briens and will probably go back. but i hope to avoid this server. read more

Last 2 times my husband went there he ordered me boneless wings (because I love them). Now I know he should have checked after the last time they messed up... but they did again tonight after they insisted. We play ball rifht there so it is not like we don't spend money there weekly. That will stop. Oh and to the "attentive guaranteeing" waitress, Nina, thanks for nothing read more

We've been stopping in here consistently for the past 3 years for the Thursday wing special and the service has been getting worse and worse. Tonight was our last time that we will put up with the lackadaisical attitude of the staff, especially the blonde female bartender who is always there and we actually avoid having to talk to her because of her terribly negative attitude and her apparent lack of knowledge on the common courtesies of working in the hospitality industry. We sat at a table and watched tv for 15 minutes and were never acknowledged by any of 4 bartenders working. One of them even stopped over twice to the table next to ours and didn't even look in our direction. The wings are good, and were the only reason we went, but they are not worth the horrendous service anymore. We won't be going back. read more

Worst mac & cheese I ever had. It had no flavor and was heated in a microwave. Gross. When I let the waitress know she apologized but did not remove it from the bill. I only had one bite. I will tell you that they do have some killer wings! read more

I've had my share of very fun nights here and used to be a big fan of O'Brien's. Usedta. But lately, I'm just not feeling it. This last visit kind of did me in. First and foremost, all of the decent weather months of year make O'Brien's a mecca for Douchebaggery. Honestly. The softball field is just across the way, so yeah. Ack. Historically, I've thought the place had decent bar food. Love, love, love the pretzel bites. And they are still delicious, but the alleged "cheese" sauce that came with it was some kind of soupy non-cheesy mess. The wings? Well, they were okay, but there was literally no distinction whatsoever between the mild wings and the parmesan garlic wings. And so, O'Brien's, you are moving down on the list for my posse and me. It's been real, but I just don't think we can hang anymore. read more

a pretty typical Irish bar with some awesome amenities and this is another great bar in the city. The seating is abundant and there are two bars as this bar stretches out and is much bigger than it looks on the outside. the service was qualoity and the food good with decent price drinks in the house. read more

The drinks are reasonable, and its a nice clean bar! We had your standard bar fair, a d it was all good. They seem to have some really good deals. I think the crowd here is great! Its right by the baseball/kickball fields so it gets a fun mix of people. read more

I was the only female in the entire bar each time I came here. The bartenders are friendly, the beer is moderately priced. It is extremely clean. They play terrible music when there is no money in the jukebox. read more

I gave this establishment many opportunities to *wow* me before I decided to write a review, only because they were in my neighborhood and I really wanted to like O'Brien's. Nonetheless, the food always disappoints, the service misses the mark and the real reason you'd ever find yourself there is because there's no place else to go around there. The last time I was there, the music was loud and obnoxious. The woman bartender apologized for the rude and inattentive bartender's terrible music selection, but I'd wish she'd take it a step further and kill his iPod. At the next kickball game, I'll encourage the team to walk three blocks west to the Wonderbar! read more

This bar is within walking distance of my home and I often choose to drive elsewhere as I have never truly enjoyed myself at O'Brien's. It's an okay place to watch a game, but tv placement is average. I find the large (almost same size as the tv) electronic billboard with slides promoting the nachos to be distracting and they cheapen the atmosphere quite a bit. Today when I was in there the music was actually the classic rock radio station (commercials and all). The food is also mediocre. I've had the grilled cheese, comes on really thick white bread but isn't special or tasty. Can't keep drinking when hungry...kitchen shuts down too early, like 5pm on a Sunday (as I recall). This could be my neighborhood bar, but that won't happen until measures are taken to improve the overall experience. read more

O'Brien's has a lot going for it. The staff is awesome - they actually care about customer service, which is unique. The food is really good, priced well, and there are different food specials each night. Thursday night wing special is hard to pass up. There is lots of seating, with high and low tables throughout the large building. It's a refreshing change from bars where you end up standing the entire night. There is a fireplace and also areas with video games, darts, and a shuffleboard table. I'm not sure if you can call it a bar - it's more of a bar/restaurant hybrid. I've been there after work when it feels like I am at a bar, but I have been there Saturdays for lunch when it feels like a restaurant. It's just a damn enjoyable place. Definite don't misses are the burger and anything smothered in their hot buffalo sauce. read more

This is a good place to get drinks and that's it. The Food, On Sunday brunch I got eggs Benedict and the hollandaise sauce tasted like pure lemon juice. Yuck. And hardly anybody was in there during brunch. I wonder why? One time, a taco pizza was brought out to me with all the lettuce burnt. Yuck. During a Packer game there were maybe like 7 people in the bar. Seriously only 7. The TV's were smaller and the volume was so low I could barely hear it. The bartender was so hung over she did not care about a good Packer atmosphere. This bar could do so much better with it's local Irish feel but I guess they are content with with the business they get from the soft ballers from across the street. read more

Good prices on microbeers. A little smokey.

My boyfriend and I come here a lot when we want a casual meal or drinks. It's never busy when we come, which we love (unless it's trivia night). Service is pretty good, food is good pub food. We get their nachos a lot, and that usually fills us right up -- it's huge. Mainly, we go to just grab a bite/drink and relax. read more

I've got nothing but great things to say about this bar! First off, I've been going to O'briens for over 9 years. I've moved out of WI but everytime I'm home I always make a stop at here!! The staff is friendly and attentive. The drinks are stiff and priced reasonably. I typically didn't come to O'Briens for dinner- but every time I have eaten it was delicious. Wings are excellent. Great neighborhood bar - definitely miss it! read more

We come here every week after kickball and buy tons of beer and food.. Spend money EVERY WEEK.... It was the day before our friend's birthday so we asked to if he could take advantage of the birthday club promotion at midnight. The female bartender was going to do it after we explained that we all worked the following day. Then, out of nowhere a male bartender yelled that we would have to come back tomorrow. This type of rude behavior and negative attitude is turning into a common occurrence at O'Briens. I would not recommend this place to my worst enemy. read more

I live right down the road and it took me almost 8 months to finally try this place out and now I wonder why the heck it took me so long! This place is a lot bigger than it looks. Staff is cool and relaxed. Sunday night is BOGO for service industry, Score! Have some beers, shake dice, and play ski ball! read more