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Rock Bottom is a staple, casual bar in Milwaukee. It is never really outstanding and amazing, but is always a guaranteed decent destination.
Rock Bottom really shines during the summer when the patio is open. The restaurant is right along the river and basks in the afternoon sun. The beer is very well made and refreshing.
So, if you're looking for a casual hangout along the river and just want to drink... go to Rock Bottom. If you're going to a restaurant for a dinner with beer... I have 100 more recommendations...
It would be difficult to find a nicer view at these prices. The Milwaukee Riverwalk is a wonderful outdoor seating area. Yes, RB is a chain but it doesn't feel like one. The food is good quality, it doesn't seem like it came frozen from some factory like other chain food.
You have to try the beer sampler, it's a great way to check out all the micro brews. The bar is a nice place to hang if the weather doesn't allow you to sit out on the riverwalk.
The service is decent, the prices are reasonable and the food is good. I highly recommend the roasted chicken breast (in summer) or the chicken mac n' cheese (in winter).
i left happy and full. what more could you want from a restaurant... i had the jack daniels burger, soooo tasty and big, if you are into trying things with a bit of an alcohol flavor to it. I highly recommend this burger. I also had cheese curds here for the first time in my life. deep fried cheese curds to be more specific... I'm in love, dip them in ranch, narrowly dodge a heart attack, and just the right size. i will go back just to eat these again.
Love this place!!!! Love the sitting area next to the river!! It's awesome. Contrary to the Rock Bottom in Chicago, this one is nicer and somehow more relaxed. The attention was nice, prices were right and the beer was really, really good! (don't tell anyone I was driving that day, please!)
Looking forward to go back there someday soon!
According to the waiter, the veggie burger is "completely vegan." :-D I had one with guacamole and salsa. Now I do get tired of only having veggie burgers (if I'm lucky) or salad as my only choice at American-cuisine restaurants, but this one was goooood. The woman I spoke with on the phone before going also told me what entrees could be made vegan or vegetarian, She mentioned many dishes.
They let you try a free shot of beer, which I did not like (I tried the pale ale). The Sangria Blanca is divine! Fruity, girly deliciousness.
Overall, a good place if you're a Vegan and out dining with an omni friend who pretty much only eats American food.
I just had the most bland entree i've ever had in my life at the Rock Bottom. Macaroni and chicken was more like 3 small pieces of chicken over buttered noodled. totally terrible.
i paid 3.75 for a miller lite and their "specialty" brew (macro ingedients billed as micro because they "brew" it there) was 3.95. total rip.
i immediately regretted getting food. should have just stuck with my expensive ass miller lite.
Love It! On the Water, Outdoor Seating, Can Travel by BOAT! Great Firecracker Shrimp.... Maybe i need to make a run!
I love Milwaukee's Rock Bottom! Located right on the scenic river, Rock Bottom is a great place to have a beer on a hot summer day. We ended up sitting at Rock Bottom's outdoor bar twice last weekend. They have a great selection of beers (I liked every one I tried) and the bartender's were very friendly and attentive. We only ordered guac and chips, but it was awesome. The bartender had no problems giving us complimentary samples of all their beers and we were given a round on the house (hard to come by these days!). One more cool thing one of the bartenders did: We were going to leave but Tim still had beer in his glass. Mine was already gone. The bartender came up and gave me a small glass of the seasonal Raspberry Wheat (that's what I was previously drinking - good stuff) so I had something to drink while Tim finished his. Thought that was pretty cool!
Excellent food no matter what location you are in. Beer freaks will enjoy the variety too.
This location is nice and along the river. Perfect in warm weather.
A brewpub with a very good location. During the summer this place has a very nice stone front along the Milwaukee river, plenty of tables and seats. The beers can be good but it depends on the time you go and like most places check what you get to eat.
Without a doubt(and though I don't have familiarity w/Rock Bottom, as this was my 1st time at any RB), I would not be surprised if this perhaps was the nicest location of any Rock Bottom in any city, as it's along the river walk. Food portions were excellent, and the microbrewed beer was decent, though obviously not as good as Lakefront Brewery, my fav place on my recent Milwaukee trip where I had microbrewed beer.
Service on their outdoor patio was pretty good, and the food turned out to be excellent(chicken mac 'n cheese), and the highlight of going here for lunch. Won't disagree with Victor that the food menu feels very chain restaurant-y(and along w/the microbrewed beer, only gave it 3 *'s), but will also admit you do get a great variety to choose from. (not sure how many could be possibly made into vegetarian/vegan friendly) Also thought it was a nice bonus they had a bar area where you could smoke, and could tell it was well-ventilated. Just the right number of TVs inside, without there being too few or too many! Finally, it was funny how often I saw boaters hop off their boats to run to the patio to refill their to-go beer pitchers(aka growlers).
Would definitely consider returning here in the future, but I think I'd be inclined to instead check out one of the indie microbreweries in MIlwaukee(i.e. Milwaukee Ale House), next time in town. Do like how this location is open at least until 12:30am each night(and 2:30am Fri + Sat), though!
Rock Bottom Brewery - Milwaukee is average, but luckily they have an excellent location right on the Milwaukee River...which makes this a 3-star review.
When we initially showed up, every table in the outdoor patio was taken. It was such a beautiful day today in terms of the weather, we wanted to join in on the fun. We asked the host to seat us in the patio section, which turned out to be a short wait. Awesome. So we wound up waiting for a few minutes at the bar to order our first beer and talk to the locals. The bartender was very nice to us, giving his personal opinion on each micro brew. After listening to his "best options," it was clear that he must have had previous experience working at Applebees. He didn't like any of the micro brews except one of them, the red ale. "I don't like the wheat beer because the banana taste is too strong." OK, buddy. My gf and I ordered a few of their pale ale brews which were really good. We have been to the RB in Chicago, so the taste of the micro brews wasn't a surprise.
BLING A GING A GING!
Our buzzer went off, and we headed to our table. Absolutely wonderful: Sun shining, ducks quaking, people having a good time. Our waitress was pretty good, attentive and nice. We ordered the chicken chipotle quesidillas along with our micro brews. Again, they were OK at best. Nothing special about the whole experience...expect for their tremendous location right on the river. Absolutely fabulous!!
I have been to three Rock Bottom brewery locations (Milwaukee, Denver and Cleveland), and the one in Milwaukee is, without a doubt, in the prettiest setting of all three. Its Riverwalk patio is absolutely sublime on a warm summer night, as the boat traffic and city lights mingle on the water.
Unfortunately, none the Rock Bottom locations rises above average in terms of the food and drink. This is pretty straight-forward brewpup fare: burgers, inexpensive steaks, things like that. There's nothing about the food that jumps out at you. The beer is definately OK. Not horrible, but not particularly good, either.
Overall you could do a lot worse than Rock Bottom (like John Hawk's pub, right across the river). It's a good place to hang out before or after a show at the Riverside or Pabst. But I would take Water Street Brewery or Milwaukee Ale House over this place any day of the week.
We dined here during Harley Davidson's 105th Anniversary event. Outdoor seating is available during summer time. The food quality actually surprised me. The portion was pretty big. One of the items we ordered was Brewery Nachos with beef, chicken. guacamole and sour cream and this was excellent. One of my friends & I ordered roasted chicken... the chicken could not be any juicier! So tender and tasty, so glad we stopped by this place. I did not expect this much.
The Rock Bottom Brewery is a decent place with a pretty large assortment of burgers, chicken dishes, salads, and pizzas with of course their own 6 Brew Micro-Brew list. Pretty much a standard Wisconsin burger/microbrew house places Rock Bottom in a popular category. And while nothing here will blow you away food-wise a little bit extra can go a long way in creating a lasting impression.
Sitting outside on a nice summer day you can observe the other patrons as well as watching the river barges drop off passengers grasping their blue plastic miller mug exchanging their tickets for another glass of Milwaukee's finest.
Our server was also a nice guy, who in addition to making some funny comments seemed to realize he worked at a tourist stop and took the camp with a sense of humor. Willing to chat and make a little poke at some of the habitual events always happening around him.
The portions were LARGE, even for Wisconsin. No complaint though, since you can just take it home. We ordered a apple/walnut/chicken Caesar salad and a extremely meaty turkey sandwich. The salad was initially good but after clearing out most of the tasty goodies in the salad the remains were a somewhat wilted batch of mush lettuce. The turkey sandwich was yummy with rich turkey, and a juicy sauce oozing out and more fries than for two people.
If you're stopping in the Mil and want to relax down by the Riverside for a familiar assortment of established classics the Rock Bottom is Rock Solid.
I've been here a couple of times at different times of the day; it seems to be a popular hang-out for my colleagues after work, and seems to allow for a larger collection of people comfortably than other spots. But it's really not a whole lot different from a lot of other pub-style spots in the area.
Over lunch, the meals are decent and filling, and sitting by the river is very nice. Service is also decent, with each of the ones I've experienced being willing to offer suggestions and advice, though it can be slow at popular times.
This place did make the news in November 2007 for having had some bone-headed driver back into one of the front windows... I'm not sure if that's a vote for how smart the clientele is... or if that was just an enthusiastic patron who left unsteady on his feet...
The food at RBB is merely passable. I had a very greasy pulled pork sandwich on a starting-to-turn-stale bun. The slaw on the side was tasty and not too heavy. A soda cost $2.59, which is ridiculous.
It may be an OK place to sit outside and have a beer, but their food tastes like it was made three weeks ago in a factory in Texas and shipped to Wisconsin.
This is the BEST place to eat in summer. Has the hottest patio/outdoor eating of any restaurant in Milwaukee because it sits right off the Milwaukee river. There beer is great (I usually go for the sampler before I order because they are all so good!) and you have the option of buying some on your way out. The food is also great, I have tried many appetizers and menu items and have never been disappointed with my food. I have been to three RB's (Minneapolis, Chicago and Milwaukee) and they are all amazing. If you're in Chicago hit up their rooftop bar, it's so amazing at night!
The beer here was pretty decent, the stout and the red being my favorites on the sampler. The others were fair to decent.
The service was pretty poor, but I think our waitress was just overworked. They were all very apologetic, good humored, and others helped pick up the slack a bit.
Since the beers were good, and the food was also good, I will give this place a decent rating.
The dinner salads are large and quite good, and I had the chicken mac+cheese which was very good as well.
The Rock Bottom Brewery is only worth 3-stars. It is very close to two other similar pubs (John Hawks and Mo's). I have never been a huge fan of Rock Bottom, but this wasn't bad.
I had a new item on the menu -- a BBQ Salmon with Sweet Potatoes and Asparagus. It was done very nicely. The service was solid. The wait staff was polite, attentive and seem to have a good rapport with the other patrons.
I was glad I chose Rock Bottom over Mo's for this evening. The Raccoon Red was nicely balanced and I enjoyed the two pints that I had with my dinner.
When people tell you that this place gives you a lot of food, they really give you a lot! Along the Milwaukee River within the tall buildings, it is sure to give you a great view of what Milwaukee really is about. If you're into being loud, and like to hang out with people while watching a game on T.V., this is definitely the place for you.
One thing I'm not fond of is the deep selection of Meat dishes that comprise of most of the menu, but their salads, mac n' cheese, and pizza is also a favorite with the younger crowd.
Although it may seem like a semi-rowdy place, it has a classy yet laid-back atmosphere.
I wouldn't suggest going during lunch, the lunch specials are somewhat small portions. The beer is pretty good though and fantastic location.
I have been to the Rock Bottom about five times, I luuvvv it. I love the location. I recommend the Nachos. It took us a while to get seated given we went on a Saturday night, once we got seated a service was pretty solid. Its good place to go for drinks and dessert. I don't drink so they have really cool nonalcoholic drinks on the menu and you get free refills.
The weather was beautiful so we decided to go somewhere with a nice patio. We sat right on the lake and it was really nice. We just ordered drinks and appetizers so we got a table right away. The beer was good and the food was delicious, that's enough to make me happy. And we got to meet some fun old guys, that always makes my night!
Good bar food, and micro brew thats about it. Good music some times. Not hard to find in Milwaukee. No longer unique.
The have really yummy food, especially the white cheddar mashed potatoes. I had the beef tips, so yummy. Everything I've had there in the past has been awesome.
After waiting at the door for ten min. with the place empty we finally got someone to sit us down. Once we were stuck way in the back our server never came to take our drink/ food order. To top it off the room we were seated in was swarming with fly's! Let's just say I never intend to go back. Although I can say their beer tastes good, I rather have a friendly waitstaff and not have to pour the beer myself.
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