Great beer and people! Huge selection of beers to choose from including several tasty sours, which I always enjoy. The food is so-so, I didn't love the taste of the jam on the bacon jam burger so that might have been a poor choice from me but the fries are delicious. I got a side of garlic aioli which made them that much better. Definitely would come back for beer and vibes! read more

See all

Stopped for a random lunch while doing some shopping. My partner in crime ordered a cheeseburger and fries...She enjoyed them. I ordered the chicken, prosciutto and provolone special; it came with orzo and broccoli. The first chicken order (spoiler) was *very* pink. I asked if they could take it back and blast it with some heat - I didn't ask for a full redo, I get that mistakes happen. They offered to replace the whole meal. By this time we needed to get going, so had it put into a to-go container. I genuinely only ate a few bites before I got deep enough into the chicken to taste, feel and see that it was undercooked. This broke my appetite. Anywho, they charged us full price for the chicken - I wasn't looking for a free meal, but felt like they could have taken a drink off or something. Atmosphere was good, service was decent, but I will share my experience if someone asks and will likely go somewhere else if in the area if looking for food. read more

Where do I start? At first glance a "mall brewery" can make brewery purists apprehensive, but the way they setup the patio and indoor space really makes you feel as if you're not in a mall space. The outdoor patio has a bar, TVs, tables, hops and a gas fireplace. They have a wide variety of beer selections all brewed in house. They are all really well done. The owner comes from a family of brewery owners and they know what they're doing! The food has come a long way also. They have made some adjustments over time and it shows. I personally go there for apps and beer though. The ownership openly supports veterans, police, fire, EMS and first responders of all kinds. They are always raising money for a good cause in our community. The business is also veteran owned. 5 stars read more

We scheduled a birthday dinner at Explorium on St. Patrick's day, during lent and March Madness - crazy right?! Not at Explorium! We were able to make a reservation in advance and they had everything ready for our group. Our server was fantastic - she kept the drinks coming, food came quickly, and she was organized and able to split bills. Most importantly though, the food was delicious! The grilled cheese and truffle fries was sooo good! A few friends has the specials for St. Patrick's day and just the overall consensus was that everyone enjoyed their food and themselves! Would definitely go back! read more

Great idea. Poor execution. My son and I have been here twice. The environment is cool and it seems busy. That said, both times we've been there, we were rushed to our seat and the server tells us they're only using a couple sections on the menu. The second server we had was in such a rush, he kept taking my beers before they were finished. When I tried to tell him, he misheard me, said something irrelevant and kept moving. He also got my dinner wrong but at that point, I just ate what I got. It seemed futile trying to communicate with him. I dunno. Maybe it was just a couple bad nights but both times I left feeling like a burden. read more

I love the German beers especially the dunkel. They also rock at cocktails like Old Fashioneds and Manhattans. Super cool and attentive bartenders. Great food! read more

Immediately you hear this is in a mall and you judge a little bit on location; however, you end up going and have a fabulous time! Yes it's in Southridge mall but not your typical "mall restaurant". I stopped drinking beer years ago for dietary reasons but I made an exception and it was a great decision. I had a couple of the guava wheat beers and they were extremely refreshing. Guava wasn't overpowering at all - just the correct amount. Other friends rotated through the beers and praised them all! For the big group we got a bunch of appetizers: Blackened Shrimp Tostadas, Truffle Fries, Cheese Curds, Pint of Bacon, Reuben Rolls, and the Big A** Pretzel, Cheese & Ale Dip. Portion sizes were average - nothing too big or small. Our favorites were of course the bacon, cheese curds, pretzel and truffle fries. The cheese & ale dip wasn't that flavorful so we amped it up by crunching up our bacon and adding a little salt and then it was PERFECT! We sat outside and it was a little cooler that day but I appreciate that they adhere to social distancing. The whole group was vaccinated but the mask wearing and cleaning made me feel more comfortable. I will definitely be back and try out their 3rd Ward location which is closer to my house. Great group of restaurants that are definitely worth a try for upscale pub fare! read more

All the things I want from a brewpub: outdoor seating, good beer, and good food! Love that they have sampling pours available too. Of all we tried, I really enjoyed the coconut porter; it was light enough for summer heat! The shrimp tostadas were delish too. Great selections and affordable cost read more

See all

The Explorium Brewpub is a delightful restaurant/bar that has a menu with a little bit of everything (and it's all tasty) and an absolutely spectacular staff. We were up in the area with family and stopped in for an early lunch before continuing on with our journey. Arriving just after they opened could be one of the reasons for such great attention and service but it isn't the only reason. The staff was friendly overall and our waitress was top notch. Not only did she know the menu inside and outside, backwards and forwards, but she provided helpful suggestions for substitutions and was on point with her check-ins. We tipped her well because she deserved it! The menu took a bit of time to peruse because so many things sounded tasty. We finally settled on a few apps (the Buffalo Cauliflower Bites were AMAZING, as were the Cheese Curds, but the Chicarron was... not to my tastes) before moving to our main dishes. An assortment of burgers satisfied our appetites, they were all very good. Finally, in a rare occurrence, we had a Cast Iron Cookie (the BEST dessert, IMO) and it was phenomenal. Lunch at The Explorium was a great choice and I cannot recommend it enough. If in the area in the future I already have this bookmarked so I don't forget about it. read more

Went here for Puppy Patio Party, which raised money for the War Dogs organization. They had merch, dog supplies, and raffles. Beautiful day, and the food,, as usual, was outstanding. We both had salads and a few libations. Awesome microbrewery, and what a large variety of beer! I highly recommend trying Explorium pub if you're in the area. read more

See all

Set of the table for 20 minutes and the waitress didn't even stop by to say hi. I definitely do not recommend this restaurant for a quick lunch. How many more words do I need until y'all for acceptance review no one can tell, but I think I'll just keep writing texting to accept. read more

Nice place. Great restaurant to take the kids for a meal. Sat outside. Had the best waiter, Christopher. So friendly and efficient. We ordered the giant pretzel as an app. Along with a flight of beer. Kids loved their kiddie cocktails. Dinner was baked cod for me. Two different burgers for kids. Plus we had tacos and a bowl of cheese soup. Reasonable prices. And very Delish! I highly recommend this place if you're in the area. read more

I can't wait to get back to this place again! Explorium is truly a unique powerhouse of a brewpub! Came here on the Pub Pass tour as Explorium was the stand in for Like Minds, which is gone... Either way I was happy to make sure that all 25 spots were getting filled in. South Ridge mall is not really in my neck of the woods but close enough that making it to Explorium is definitely on the list of places that I need to go. Upon entry the place was fairly busy and I was ecstatic we found a spot at the bar. So far feeling great and enjoying the scene. The way Explorium is decorated is solid. Real cozy and it felt right. Almost forgot I was at a mall. Next up the brew! I had a couple solid stouts and looking at the menu they have a seriously solid selection to choose from for brews. That alone would make me come back. I was impressed. We also ordered food and again it was excellent! Pairing food and beer is so important and Explorium has a grasp on the things that go hand in hand. Beer, pretzels, burgers and wings. There is a lot more but those are the standouts. Them wings are the truth! On the menu, it says best in Milwaukee and they could be right. They make it in my top five list for sure! Brined and prepared to perfection. Them wings alone will bring me back! Explorium also has a very spacious and relaxing patio area that has a nice fire pit and a bar with some TV's outside. Also a stage... maybe live music in the summer. Again great adds and a fine attention to details that make this a win win selection! read more

See all

We went to the Explorium Brewpub because it was highly recommended. The restaurant has nice decor. The acoustics was not great. It was hard to hear over the families around us. The beer selection was meh. It was hard to find one I was interested in. I usually prefer red ale or hefeweizen. I thought St. Francis Brewery had better beer. I settled on Sutter's Secret Golden Ale and the red ale (forget the name). Both were pretty good. My husband got a flight. The guava Weiss was not good. It was soo sour and I had to rinse my mouth with water to get rid of the guava after taste. The food was good. The Phoenix wings were not too spicy. The calzone was huge and had the homemade sausage had good flavor. The fish and chips were your basic. The chicken and waffles was a large chicken breast on top of a thick waffle. I was afraid that the chicken would be dry, but my sister said it was actually moist. My Brewhouse chopped salad was also a good size and the steak had good flavor. The only issue was the salad was drenched with dressing. I forgot to ask for it on the side. Overall decent food and price was decent. Bill came to $120 not including a 20% tip. read more

See all

Seated quickly, quiet atmosphere, excellent beer cheese soup, pleasant server, nice drink and beer selection. Something for everyone. Overall a great experience. read more

Thinking I better write this review before I go into a food coma from the most delicious chicken and waffles from The Explorium. As we approached the restaurant, we could see that the patio was packed. What else would you expect on a 74-degree day in November! We checked in with the hostess station and she confirmed it would be about 30-40 minute wait, so we ate inside. This place is a Brew Pub and their claim to fame is their craft beer, but they do have a full bar available. We started off with a Bloody Mary and a Beer Flight. Bloody was OK, not great and the flight lets you choose 3 tap beers 4 ounces each. It's a great way to try new flavors. Our waitress also brought us a sample of a blueberry cheesecake flavored beer which was delicious, but for some reason, they could not give us a growler to go. We each had the Chicken and Waffles. The waffle was a nice brown color and very crisp. The chicken was a piece of boneless breast dipped in buttermilk. There is easily enough to share. Service was fantastic. Our server was very busy but took the time to enthusiastically go over both the beer and the food menu with us. Footnote: When we checked in on Yelp, a 25 percent off any appetizer coupon popped up. Our server took my phone over to the manager who adjusted the bill. She said he told her that he hasn't seen anyone use that coupon in over a year, so fellow Yelpers, get there. Our app choice was cheese curds. They are served with both ranch and marinara dip. Melted deliciousness. The order is enough for a table of four read more

See all

Was 5 stars until they changed their menu. Took off our top 3 appetizers. They can make a Medium Rare burger! Their other location cannot. I was at their grand opening and have driven from Bayview to eat regularly since then. Then, their brew master left to open his own brew house and now this. I'll find a place closer to home. read more

The Explorium Brewpub proved to be a solid choice to watch the Brewers with the large screen TV's, wide selection of drinks and food choices. Being an old-fashioned's fan, I opted for one of the four offered but was a tad too spiced for me (tasted like cinnamon?). Traded for another and was more like a soda so I guess I'm more of your classic old-fashioned kinda gal. We had a craving for wings so we tried the buffalo and the BeerBQ. They were good but not as wet or spicy as I typically prefer. These were more of a dry rub but still tasty. We also ordered the truffle fries, which were also good. I wasn't blown away by the food but the prices were reasonable. The decor in Explorium was great and so was our server. Very inviting and cool to see the brew tanks behind the glass, as they brew their own on site. The modern, warehouse feel made the visit relaxing. Stopping back for drinks is definitely an option in the future. read more

See all

My husband and I were going to be meeting some friends later in the evening and thought it would be nice to eat outside at a location close to the beer garden. I did a quick Yelp search and the Explorium Brewpup popped up! What a great tip, especially since they have outdoor seating. I called ahead around 6pm on a Friday to see what the wait might be like and found out that they don't take reservations for outdoor seating, but there should be tables open by the time we arrived. I was very happy to see as we were walking up that several tables with umbrellas were available outdoors. They have the QR coded menus right on the table which I thought was pretty cool. Our waitress was great and made sure we had everything we needed. They seemed to have a lot of waitstaff outside but I'm not sure how many people they have in the kitchen. It's been a long while since we have eaten at a restaurant, so we may be skewed at realizing how long it takes for food to come out. I don't think we waited a super long time, but there were a lot of people there so we did wait a little longer than we would have maybe liked to for our food to come out. My husband ordered the French dip with a side of mushrooms and the mushrooms didn't come out. I ordered the perch fry with their beer chips and was served French fries instead. A few kitchen mishaps, no big deal. They brought us out our side of mushrooms since we were paying extra for them. I didn't mention the chips/fries swap because the fries were pretty good. Our drinks were great and were in fact the only thing I remembered to take pictures of. Overall a great night out with good food and drinks. If you're in the area this is a great spot to stop for outdoor dining. read more

The Explorium Brewpub Greendale - Beer flight - Pizza Near Me - Greendale, Wisconsin

See all

The Explorium Brewpub offers an array of exemplary brews in a modern atmosphere. Came here on a lazy Sunday afternoon for a beer. They have a lovely outdoor patio with its own bar, but it was a bit hot outside so we opted to sit at their inside bar. I was immediately and pleasantly surprised by their draft list. The Explorium is brewing a wide array of inventive beers. There's a style to suit every taste. Our bartender was incredibly accommodating and offered us several small samples before we settled on our order. Initially, we tried their coconut baltic porter, S'mores porter, and their 5-0 coffee & donut imperial stout. We both favored the 5-0, which was hands down one of the better brews I've had the pleasure of enjoying in Milwaukee. I knew that this spot was relatively new (opened in 2016) and was a little bowled over by how dialed in their brews are. I ended up trying several and there wasn't a stinker in the bunch. They truly know their stuff. Which, let's be honest, is a consistency level a little surprising for such a young brewery. I was so surprised, in fact, I ended up chatting with our bartender about it. She explained that brewing great beer ran in the family. That the owners were the second generation of brewers and that prior to opening up here in Wisconsin, they had spent time at their family's brewpub in Tampa learning and gaining experience. It definitely shows. The Explorium Brewpub, the very first and only brewery in Greendale by-the-way, is a shining example of a brewery done right. Get to it! read more

See all

The service and the staff were great! The food was not what I expected. My crispy salmon was cooked too dry like a jerky consistency. Crispy doesn't mean well done. Crispy on the outside, medium on the inside can be accompanied. Update: The business owner contacted me after my initial review. I appreciate his concern and I wasn't disappointed with this place. I did not tell my server about the overcooked salmon. I don't want a free meal, and food is something I rarely complain about. The owner is now aware, and he will address the kitchen for future customers to enjoy. No harm, no foul. read more

The service and atmosphere are always nice. Food is fine. We like the ability to reserve an area in the bar for small gatherings

This place has great gluten free options and all around good food. However, the service is awful. Server checked on us once, I had to go in and ask for the check and a to-go box (after waiting a half hour) while 5 of them were sitting behind the soda machine chatting. Do better read more

I was excited about the beer and food here but we didn't end up getting dinner. We just ordered about a dozen flights of everything you could think of and shared a Big Ass Pretzel. So YMMV but this experience was excellent as can be. Hubs was keen to try their Hefeweizen and was tickled pink at how good it was. I was interested to try their cheesecake sours and I loved all of them! Favorite by far was the Strawberry version. It reminded me of store-brand strawberry soda but how I remembered it tasting as a kid (delicious) and not now (disgusting). The pretzel was tasty and we wished we had more of that yummy beer cheese. We finished it before we got halfway through the pretzel. We also had an excellent server in Doug, who was gracious and laughed at our terrible jokes. All in all, great experience and it's super fun to walk it off around the mall. If I could tell 15 year old me that 38 year old me was tipsy and shopping at Hot Topic, she would probably explode. read more

This pub is doing a great job of providing social distancing along with great food and a relaxed environment. The staff was great and I highly recommend a visit if you are in the area and in the mood for a craft beer and some good munchies to pair it up with read more

See all

So I had to go to to the mall (which I normally avoid) to get an adjustment to my glasses at Visionworks. Knowing it's Monday and after the lunch rush we understand the B team is at work and right now staffing shortages make it harder. That being said, we waited 15 minutes to be seated. Then it took another 10 minutes for someone to come by and take our order. We ordered the buffalo burger medium and the seasonal salmon burger. It was a long time before we got our food. The buffalo burger was well done to the point it was charred on the outside. And the salmon burger was also deeply over cooked and gross. Despite both of us being hungry, we couldn't finish our food. I gave two stars instead of one because the waitress was working by herself and had a knee brace on, so a single injured waitress taking care of the entire restaurant wasn't the staffs fault. I have heard the burgers are good on days where they're busy but it was not a good experience and for less money I could have gotten a better meal at the food court. read more

We have been to both locations several times and are always amazed at the quality of service, food & beverages. The vibe is urban, but welcoming and casual. If you live anywhere near the Hop line, it will drop you right across the street. Oh and we tried the Cincoro Anejo. Yikes!! Smoothest tequila we have ever tasted. read more

See all

TNT Burger was excellent along with the bourbon Bloody Mary. Service was excellent, also.

I've been here a couple of times now for drinks with friends but I have never eaten until now. So glad I did, they have a fantastic menu! We stopped in on a weeknight to grab some food and drinks. It's a super fun and comfortable atmosphere and they're doing a great job socially Distancing during Covid. If you are a beer lover or this is a great place to go. They offer beer flights which is fun when you want to try different beers. My boyfriend is a huge beer lover so this place he enjoys very much! I'm more of a craft cocktail girl and they offer many of those as well. I got wings for dinner that night and I can pick up the two choices of sauces which was amazing and they were excellent. My boyfriend wanted pizza so he ordered their roast mushroom pie which he thought was delicious. We will definitely continue to go back. This place is just so much fun, you can sit outside when the weather is nice and enjoy a delicious beverage and relax! read more

See all

Went here twice. The first time it was absolutely amazing. Drinks and food were top notch and the service was impressive. The second time, totally different experience. Food, service and atmosphere not at all what it was just two weeks prior. We waited to be seated for 5 minutes with the bartender just looking at us not even acknowledging us or helping us out to send a hostess our way. I'll give it one more try but at some point. read more

Little brew pub located in the mall near a main entrance and with a spacious patio. Parking will never be an issue with the mall lot and we had no wait the day we went in for lunch. The dining room is typical for this style of restaurant with dark wood, low lighting, visible brewing operations, and a couple of kegs here and there. The staff was friendly enough and attentive with well timed check-ins and unobtrusively keeping the water glasses full. Opted to have an appetizer while we were enjoying each other and got the cheese curds. I'm not normally a curds person, they are too bland, stringy and blobulous for me, but this pile of goo was different. Not sure what cheese they were (menu doesn't say), but it was white and the beer batter coating was light, reminiscent of tempura, and crispy. The curds were delicately flavored and proved to be exceptionally gooey. The side of homemade ranch dipping sauce was excellent, with a nice consistency, and pronounced herbed cream flavor. Overall the cheese curds are delectable and worth dropping by to have over a brew. As you can tell, I was impressed by the app and was anticipating a brew pub burger with the hopes that it would be, as expected, excellent. The menu is oddly lacking on burger choices unless you like buffalo, but in any case one of my companions and myself went for the BLAT Burger. They claim this is a half pound patty which looked more like four or five ounce, but despite ordering it medium rare, mine came out medium well and my partners was well. The bacon was obviously warmed up and not fresh and my partners was burn or old or so crunchy that half of one piece was inedible. The burger came with the typical lettuce and tomato and a chunk of sickly brown avocado all on what, from a texture standpoint, I believe was a stale brioche bun. Really not well executed cheap, small and bad. The other diner in our group went with the Jenny Burger. This is a third pound turkey patty topped with house made basil pesto and melted Provolone cheese. The pesto was super, super, super strong and overwhelmed the more delicate turkey. All three of us went for couple buck upsale and ordered the truffle fries. The fries were fresh and crisp. The golden brown and delicious potatoes were fluffy and nicely flavored with truffle oil and Parmesan cheese. Absolutely delicious, but thee serving size was extremely small, like small, small. These were excellent, but not a generous portion. The food seemed really hit or miss - potentially excellent, but poorly executed or even burnt in some cases and the portions were stingy at best. Normally, I would have had beer with lunch, but just wasn't feeling it the day we visited as it was fairly early and more in-line with brunch time, so I will have to get back for a brew to and possibly an updated review. If you are looking for a good appetizer and couple drinks, this would be a good place to try. read more

The Explorium Brewpub Greendale - Cheese Curds & Ranch - Pizza Near Me - Greendale, Wisconsin

I had a bit of a difficult time finding the place, but once I did it was a great space! Huge, and lots of big booths which was awesome. Very large menu for food as well. I was unimpressed with the rest mostly. Our server was attentive which was nice, and she kept checking back. I tried one beer, two sours, and a cider. Ended up switching to wine... at a brewery if that says anything. I just didn't love any of their brews. Plus the QR code stuff is annoying - I totally understand the point of utilizing these with ever-changing taps etc, just a personal annoyance. We started with reuben rolls and a giant pretzel. The pretzel was really doughy and super hot - honestly the best part of the visit, absolutely incredible. The reuben rolls were okay... For meals we ordered a burger, a calzone, and wings. The calzone was LOADED with cheese - yum! The burger was cooked rare, as asked. The wings were gross, chewy, minimal sauce, and one flat. I also ordered a quart of the beer cheese soup to go. It took FOREVER to come out. I ate it when I got home, well some of it. They used a whole grain mustard, and so much of it I was literally chewing on the soup. It wasn't very beer-y or cheese-y which was weird... I threw most of it away. read more

Drinks were great, food was subpar for what I expected to be more than you're typical bar food. Thoroughly enjoyed one of the drink flights, but as I said prior, the husband and I just weren't impressed with our appetizer or either meal read more

My first few experiences here were not great but I wanted to give them another try after they got the kinks worked out. I am glad I did (and continue to do so). The food has really come around and the beer selection and quality have greatly improved. The full bar makes it easy to have something other than beer if you so choose but let's be honest... if you are going to a brewpub you know what your getting yourself in to. If you are in the area make sure to stop by. I don't think you will be disappointed. Cheers! read more

Always a great time @Explorium! Beer is delish and the variety is awesome. Food was fresh and on point. Had the Sconnie cheese with grilled chicken and a buffalo wrap- very tasty! Canned beer to go is an added plus -will be back soon! read more

Been to both the Greendale and downtown locations and they have great food, good service and the beer is always

I mentioned that scanning a QR code was bullshit. That was enough to have him tell General manager that I was using offensive language and no no longer serve me. The manager was thicker skinned but I decided to just leave. read more

Explorium has my favorite food and beer! It is my home away from home. All of the staff are amazing. Mike (really, Joan) did a fabulous job of melding the perfect staff with the perfect family friendly environment. read more

The Explorium Brewpub Greendale - Pizza Near Me - Greendale, Wisconsin

Stopped in here on a whim having never been and just looking for something close by to grab some lunch. Definitely was not disappointed - actually quite impressed! We were greeted and seated right away. All of the wait staff we interacted with was friendly and attentive. The dining area was nice and the decor of this place is really fantastic. Everything looked great. The list of Explorium brews was impressive as well. I went with the ChocoMac Stout. It was rich and incredibly creamy. I really enjoyed it. The food menu offered lots of great sounding options. I went with a steak salad and the steak was excellent. Everything was great, really, and no one in my party had any complaints. Overall this was an excellent find! read more

See all

Explorium has the best food and the best beer in the area! If you are looking for a place for a great dinner and drinks, look no further than The Explorium Brewpub at Southridge Mall! We have dined for many dinners, and most recently tried them out for brunch. A couple times now we have also tried the Friday fish fry. Honestly you cannot go wrong with anything at Explorium! I have had amazing burgers, build-your-own mac and cheese dinners, meat loaf, fish fry, and my favorite Breakfast Burger ever! I don't even know where to start with the beer either?! It's all fantastic! Their selection is always changing which makes it that much more fun to try something new on each visit. And trust me, you are going to want to visit often! Highly recommended read more

See all