Bourbon & Tunns Tavern

Closed on Sunday at 2:00pm despite their sign and website saying they are open from 10 – 4 on Sundays. Frustrating to make the trek.

I had a business lunch here recently and loved it! I had the crab cake salad. Best crab cake I have ever had and deliciously marinated mushrooms! The gigantic cornbread croutons made it even more delicious! The service was terrific! The atmosphere is just beautiful! Can’t wait to come back for dinner and try one of their craft cocktails!

Okay, I followed through on my previous review and returned for another visit — and I loved it. Stopped by close to midnight on Saturday night and noticed they were open with a few groups scattered throughout the bar and at bar tables. We snagged a cozy table easily and were greeted by the bartender. Compared to my last visit, the music seemed more fitting — eclectic but fun and at totally reasonable volume for an intimate bar dotted with groups having conversations.
We each opted to try the Golden Man“honey“ttan, which is a deliciously smooth, sweet-​but-​not-​too-​sweet cocktail. Perhaps the highlight though was the cocktail that followed. My date wanted something similar to an Old Fashioned and liked the Golden Man“honey“ttan but wanted something with maple. The result was an amazing craft cocktail with Crown Royal Maple, Jamaican bitters, and orange. I wish it had a name I could recommend to you, but that’s as close as it gets. The bartender was great about checking in with us and his manager about flavor pairings, and the result was a heavenly drink that tasted like sophisticated pancakes.
So kudos to Bourbon & Tunns for officially winning us over and special kudos to the bartender for making our experience a great one!

Came in for dinner a few days ago, and I think they’re headed in the right direction. I had a catfish po-​boy with sweet potato fries, and everything tasted great. The only complaints I would have is that the actual fish was super hot, and it could have used some more sauce. Other than that, the sandwich was pretty good, and the sweet potato fries were the best that I can remember right now.
Food aside, the beer selection is good, but I’d still like to see limited release firkins sometime. The smell from the fire damage seems to be going away, which is nice, but it still lingers once in a while. While they’re probably not going anywhere, I still think the giant «Krombacher» signs on the taps are super ugly, but that’s more of a minor detail. I’d give them a 3.5 if I could, as I still think there are some improvements to be made.

I only make it to Milwaukee a few times a year. Had been to the Palms a few times and enjoyed the food, staff and drinks. So I had the same expectations for Bourbon and Tunns.
Went on a Saturday Night and tried to order a well reviewed Manhattan cocktail I saw on another post. Was surprised to hear they were out of vermouth… Really…in a Bourbon Bar! Ended up with an Whiskey Old Fashioned in a small glass. Was tasty but small. Pot Roast Nachos were only mediocre. The process cheese was brown and tasteless. Bartender was very nice and personable but the glass shelves behind the bar were extremely dusty. Not a great experience.

Extremely disappointed with the meal we received. I went with my father and we ordered a mixed sausage platter, I had the Chang Mai Duck, and he ordered the Walleye.
The sausage was okay– very small portion for the price. The duck was pretty tasty. But the «walleye» was another story.
My dad has eaten a lot of walleye and whatever they served us was NOT walleye. It was a pleasant whitefish, but it wasn’t walleye.
When we asked the server to inquire about this, he came back telling us the chef was on the on the phone with the distributor, and kind of shrugged his shoulders when we again expressed our confusion with the Not-​Walleye.
So, I’m pretty disappointed in Bourbon and Tunns. I don’t plan on returning, ever. And I can’t say I will be recommending it to anyone.

Shameful that I couldn’t hit the cocktail menu as this was a lunch stop and I had my customer with me. Bummer!
Aiming for healthy, or perhaps it was just that we were sitting out front under an umbrella in the shade, I went with the Oaxacan Corn salad adding a blackened chicken breast. It arrived on time and was simply delish. Nice mix of greens and corn and black beans in a salad dressing that defies description. The chicken was nice and spicy and thankfully, grilled not fried. Sliced up perfectly.
Nice spot, I’d love to come back in the evenings and try one of them fancy drinks. Or maybe a Sunday brunch!

Update to let you know that the manager contacted me after Unilocal review. This place cares what people think. Very cool.

You owe it to yourself to try everything on their cocktail menu. B&T’s cocktails are expertly crafted and meticulously designed. I know it sounds like I’m shilling, but there’s no better place in the Third Ward to get cocktails, and I stop here regularly after work.
My favorites are their Man-«honey”-tan, made with honey whiskey (the only honey whiskey drink that isn’t an abomination to whiskey everywhere), their Old Fashioned, and the Sazerac (NOLA would be proud).
Ladies do your thing, but if you don’t know what you might like, the Clover Club and the The Merengue are going to be your best friend.

By far one of the best new brunches in Milwaukee. Great patio without the wait, great service, fantastic pomegranate mimosas and arguably the best French toast in town!
The morning after my wedding a dozen of us decided upon brunch with all the usual places in mind… Benelux, Wicked Hop, Trocadero, etc… all of which had the usual 45−60min wait for Sunday Brunch around noon. Nonetheless I walked down the block to B&T and asked if I could have space for 12 on the patio and they said sure and there was no wait… they shuffled a few tables and quickly brought out the first round of drinks.
The food was AMAZING and no short of gut-​busting. Do yourself a favor and order your entrée and split the French toast with someone or you’ll regret it. We ended up having 4 French toast orders on top of the other 12 entrees we ordered and needless to say everyone was extremely satisfied. Note the Door Co. Cherry stuffed French toast was equally amazing!
Top three brunch choices:
1. French Toast
2. The Outdoorsman Poutine
3. Huevos Rancheros

My husband and I stumbled on this place while wandering around the Third Ward while in town for a wedding; the wide open windows and gorgeous interior caught our attention. Apparently brunch is new for the restaurant, but you wouldn’t know it from the meal that we had. We stuck with basics — an omelette (spinach, smoked gouda, and sausage) and huevos rancheros — but they were amazingly flavorful and clearly expertly done. I’m still dreaming about the potato gratin that came with the omelette (again, so simple, but so delicious), and the cheese curds on the bloody mary were a charming touch for us out-​of-​towners. Service was friendly and knowledgable. We’re adding this place to our list of reasons to move to Milwaukee!

Awesome feel inside. Feels like a historic cellar. Great cocktails. I appreciated the attention to detail making it!

We were in Milwaukee for a getaway weekend and found this place while walking around the Third Ward. Great open windows and outdoor sidewalk seating. Loved the brick walls and wood floors. We noticed a slight smokey smell and asked about it as it was making us hungry! Apparently they had a fire sometime ago, but they also smoke meat/​fish on the premises. We sat inside and had a great knowledgeable server that helped us with the extensive spirits list. Great bourbon list and creative cocktails. We’ll definitely go back the next time we’re in town.

Stopped by after work and it was a nice day, the sidewalk was set, the windows were open and it was a perfect place to unwind. The service was great, they were training a new bartender so I had double the attention. The beer choices are very good and made for a perfect afterwork beverage. The cocktail list and whiskeys were inviting, but it was a week night so I stuck to beer. I also ordered the pot roast nachos and the hot sauce on the side. They were amazing, the chips are thick cut house made potato chips and there was some cheesey cream sauce on top that was awesome. Next time I will bring a firend or two becasue the portion was huge, but I will be back, I like the new concept.

My drink was OK, but our waiter seemed really pretentious and I definitely got food poisoning from here. I don’t know exactly what from, though. I had a house salad and the Bourbon and Butternut soup and a cocktail.

I was here for a wedding, rehearsal dinner and I have to say it was a mixed bag. Food was good but cold and beef tips are not meant to be. Drinks were good but there were many times the staff simply had no one at the bar. I know they just reopened but I think they have a ways to go. I may try it again but I am going to give them a few months to work out the bugs. On the positive note they do the exposed brick, wood floor, third ward vibe relatively well. I won’t tell you not to go there but I’d say be wary. At least for a few months. I hope they get it together actually overall it seemed like a really, cool, nice vibe.

Noticed they had re-​opened and stopped in for lunch. Staff was accommodating but the place was totally empty other than one table. I don’t care much for the new booth seating. The menu seems to be the same as it was before the «remodeling» — a decent selection of options with some remnants of Palms.
I had the pulled pork wrap with pub chips. The chips were fantastic. The wrap had generous portion of pulled pork along with asian slaw (which is normally a side option instead of the chips) but it was a bit of wetness. Not sure if it was from the pork or the slaw, but half of my sandwich ended up sitting in a pool of liquid.
As another review noted, the place does have a little smoky smell still.
I don’t get the whole rebranding but hopefully business will pickup again and it will once again be a vibrant spot on Broadway.

This place is so good, I started this review on the fly as I sat at the bar. In fact, I’ve never done a review of anything on Unilocal because I’ve never been immediately motivated by an experience at a newfound establishment. Make no mistake, this place has excellent food and tremendous promise, provided it finds an audience that appreciates its offerings.
We walked over to check out the place after a disappointing experience at Club Charlie’s (not sure who the bartender with the shaved head is, but thanks for sullying my previously pristine view of the place). In an attempt to salve the wounds of our Marquette-​loving friend after the Elite Eight loss, we brought this whiskey and scotch-​lover to Bourbon & Tunns. The amiable bartender, who we could only assume was also the bar manager, said he was still waiting on a few options to arrive and bolster the brown-​liquor population, but we were suitably impressed. Lots of great choices, and a good beer selection on top of that.
Booze is only half the equation, though. We knocked off a couple share-​able items and enjoyed those just as much as the liquid offerings. The pot roast nachos (with homemade potato chips instead of the tortilla variety) were excellent. So much so that our friends who joined us later ordered another round after our hearty endorsement. The mac & cheese flight was just as good. Smokey, butternut and lobster mac, each one better than the last. The ingredients seemed to be of high quality, and everyone agreed that a trip back for an honest-​to-​goodness dinner was necessary.
I find it difficult to understand how anyone could miss Palms’ very average food after actually trying its replacement. Hopefully, diners will discover B&T so it doesn’t suffer the same fate as its predecessor.

Got to check out the remodeled Palms last night during a company work party and it looks great! Excited for the new menu offerings (less tropical fare, more duck!). And happy to report that the calamari is still bomb as ever. Seriously. Three little plates of it. I am gross.
Looking forward to going back for a regular meal. Excited by the new life at this Third Ward spot.