The Rumpus Room – A Bartolotta Gastropub

My husband had been here before with some friends and he really enjoyed himself, so we decided to go one night in Milwaukee. The place is huge, with lots of seating options and it was still packed! The place is pretty loud, but it’s a fun atmosphere! The wait was about 40 minutes since we didn’t have a reservation and we decided to get a drink and hang out at the bar. In less than 10 minutes, the hostess walked up to us and said she can give us a corner two seater because the people who had made a reservation hadn’t shown up. Their staff is very, very friendly and polite. We ordered for the Shiparski burger and the Scottish salmon. Great size portions and delicious food. We will definitely go back there for more!

Bartolotta equals good food and that’s what you get at this gastropub (Bar). Good place to go before a show across the street at the Marcus Center.

Dined with four business associates while in town for a meeting. Great selection of taps and liquor. I had the blackened shrimp Mac & cheese. Pretty darn good. Spicy enough but still let the delicious cheesiness come through. Everyone seemed pleased. The schnitzel and the mac & cheese were the table favorites.

Had pork schnitzel. Came with arugula, shaved cheese and mushrooms, and fried egg. Was a bit tough as pork loin is want to be. Overpriced at $ 23. My Victory draft beer tasted stale. Will not return.

There downtown dinning suck. We have to go out for something else to eat still hungry for more. The beer list was ok and two beers they had on there main board they did not even have.

How do you improve upon perfection? I don’t know, but clearly the chefs at Rumpus Room do.
We stopped by here after cutting our painting session at Splash Studios short the Thursday before Memorial Day weekend. Only having been here once before, I knew I had to take my friend, who was visiting from NYC, to try this gastropub!
The sous chef, Chuck, seemed pleased to see us return so soon, and sent out two new items he’d been working on for the menu.
The first were ‘pork belly lollipops’ that had been cooked in duck fat confit for hours. My husband fell in love. He literally couldn’t stop talking about them for a week! (They honestly were amazingly delicious, and you have to get them! «Run, don’t walk!»)
Next up, he sent out a succotash that, among a lot of the normal veggies, included farro, an awesome ancient grain cooked perfectly, and along the bottom of the dish, smoked tomato sauce. Holy cow! All the components of this dish complimented each other beautifully. It was fresh, vibrant, yet comforting, and surprising all at once.
Next up we had to try the Scotch egg again. This time it came out cooked ever so much more beautifully. The distinct taste of fennel added a nice zing to the richness of the yolk, the tartness of the fried exterior and the sausage wrapped around the egg. The salad beneath is not to be discounted.
We had to order the deviled eggs again as well, and again, they were delectable.
The mussels were also as great as last time, but by this point I was very full so could only eat a small portion. My friend Peter got the cheeseburger with a fried egg on top, which he loved, along with shoestring potatoes. (mmm, shoestring potatoes!) And my husband had the braised pork shoulder, another win.
Rumpus Room, we salute you, and — as I said last time — hope to return in the not so distant future!

The Bartolotta group does an amazing job. This restaurant is my least favorite. Food items are remind me of your typical bar food. If you’re in the mood for a good cheese and charcuterie plate this place would be great. There happy hour is decent. The service here has not been the greatest. Just an average restaurant /​bar.

I went here for dinner on a weeknight and there was no wait and it was super easy to use to park nearby. We started with an appetizer of bacon which was delicious. For dinner, I got the braised pork shoulder. It was very good and super flavorful. My boyfriend got the pub steak frites and he enjoyed it. For dessert we had the chocolate molten cake. It had raspberry sorbet with which made it even better.

Had an exceptional time on a weekend getaway. Great bourbon selection and the food was well prepared. Casual but intimate environment with a friendly crowd. Good for couples and groups. Didn’t care as much for the sangria. Overall, this is a fun place to hang out after work or on the weekend.

Still consistently good spot for hearty food, impressive beverages and cheery atmosphere in downtown Milwaukee. Beer selection is on point. Their cocktails are creative. Never can go wrong with charcuterie and the rims kid is a must do.
Really, everything on the menu is worth a shot.

Didn’t plan to go here, but glad we did. It looked a bit too fancy for us, but plenty of diners were in jeans. We didn’t have reservations (it was a Saturday night), but they still sat us right away (3 in our group). We loved the warm décor, too!
Annie, our server, was very nice and helpful. I wasn’t sure which beer I wanted, so she brought me samples of a few that I might like. Their Wisconsin Old Fashioneds are excellent, too.
We ordered WI cheese curds and Rumaki from their «Snacks» menu. You get 6 water chestnuts and a small skillet of curds with dipping sauce. Calling them snacks was appropriate, and they were delicious!
My sister and her fiancé both ordered the Shiparski burger with side salads. They enjoyed them. I had the beer cheese soup, with added bacon. It looked like they only put one slice of chopped bacon on top of the soup, and for $ 1.50 additional charge, I guess I expected more. But that would be my only complaint because the soup was delicious!
For downtown Milwaukee, the prices are reasonable. Next time, maybe we’ll go during happy hour!

What a great place. First of all if you eat in the bar area ask for Kevin, he was one of the best servers I’ve had in awhile.
The place has this warm atmosphere with lots of dark wood & feels very traditional but is modern at the same time.
They have a fantastic beer list with lots of excellent craft beers from around the Midwest. They have a nice wine & cocktail list as well.
The food was excellent, we started with a cheese plate with 3 WI cheeses. (When in Wisconsin, ya know) & they were very tasty.
I had the mussels in a beer & sausage broth, yum
We also had the Scottish Egg & it’s decadent!
There were a few more appetizers of bacon & deviled eggs, all were excellent.
The prices were very reasonable. All in all I’d highly recommend the Rumpus Room.

Very good food and great service. The beer menu is great, and the have a very stocked bar.
Only reason for 4 and not 5 stars was the price for the size/​quality of the entrees. The meals were all good, but not quite worth the price IMO.

We were traveling to Milwaukee and looking for something casual but comfortable with a great feel of Wisconsin. We started the night with a Wisconsin Old Fashioned which was done correctly.
Our appetizers were the following:
Brown sugar and black pepper bacon that I wanted to suck on
Wisconsin cheese curds with creamy garlic dressing. Did not like the dip as it was not necessary.
Cider glazed pork belly that was cooked in duck fat. Thanks for making it heart healthy. Amazing!
I went off the board and finished the meal with a grilled cheese. Now it was good but not my moms.
Overall good meal and good wait staff was helpful making decisions.
4 stars and a little bit of Wisconsin

After a debate of where to go in Milwaukee that had both awesome craft beer AND cocktails and also had healthier dinner entrees AND pub food/​small plates, we ended up at the Rumpus Room. I, naturally, was here for the beer and unhealthy food so that’s what I shall review.
When I first walked in I was a little weary since the place is much fancier than I expected (you know I was in there in my jeans, t shirt, and Chucks) and the hostess asked if we had reservations as soon as she saw us (we didn’t but ended up getting sat in the bar area right away {which I would’ve preferred anyway}) but it turned out to be the perfect restaurant for our mixed wants/​needs for dinner and drinks.
Yes, this place IS fancy. It’s an actual gastropub, and not a restaurant just claiming to be one, so you’re going to see some high end drinks and food on the menu. And with that comes a higher price. So there’s that. However, all the food and drinks we had were pretty amazing. I of course got a million small plates: the scotch egg (DELICIOUS, even though it uses ham instead of sausage.), the pretzel (pretty good though the beer sauce was just okay), cheese curds (HELL YES. And the dipping sauce is garlicky heaven), AND the bacon (YUM YUM YUM… brown sugary and peppery and perfect). Everyone else seemed to like their actual dinners too… though they seemed happier to steal some of my appetizers.
If you’re in Milwaukee and wouldn’t mind dropping some more serious cash on quality food and beer this is your place.

Excellent ambiance and service. We were actually recommended to The Rumpus Room by a bartender at a local brewery. I started the evening with an Old Fashioned and it was tasty yet strong. My colleague ordered a beer off of the extensive beer menu.
He got a phone call from our boss right before our server brought his dish. She took it back to keep it warm, but afraid at his long absence and the quality of the plate, she had his dish completely remade to ensure the utmost quality. Because of his phone call, we ended up being the last patrons in the restaurant, but didn’t even notice until we were leaving because we were never rushed. A+ service for sure.
We ordered the cheese curds ($ 5.50), because, when in Wisconsin, right? These were a bit salty. They were good but I’d hate to know what happened to my blood pressure. Maybe reduce the salt by half and they’d still be good. I also had the schnitzel ($ 22.95) and oh my was it good. And such a big portion. I only ate half. Their’s was a unique take on a traditional schnitzel with arugula and a fried egg on top. Very very good. There were so many other items on the menu that caught my eye. I would recommend this place to anyone for the uniqueness of the menu, the care that is so obviously put into the menu, and the top notch service. I would definitely come back if I ever found myself in Milwaukee again.

I have passed by this place numerous times and was somehow not captivated by the name of the restaurant but after tonight I can’t believe it took me so long to go inside. Don’t make this mistake.
The drink menu was the first to check out and I was not short of choices. Lots of cocktails, prestige wines and a page full of craft beers. I chose the Lakefront pumpkin ale which despite it being December I was reminded of fall spices.
Next was the Rumpus board — chef selections of meat and cheese. Excellency choices of 2 meats and 3 cheeses accompanied with olives, honey, dried cranberries, brown mustard, Marconi almonds and 2 bread types.
The came even more fun with deviled eggs sourced from Yuppie hill farm and Nueske’s bacon adorned with black pepper and brown sugar. One word — wow. Didn’t know that my favorite bacon could get even better.
Last but not least was the cider pork belly and the rumaki also known as water chestnuts wrapped in bacon (again !) in a sweet glaze.
And then our waitress asked us about dessert. With no room left in my tummy I had to decline but I’ll be back. That is a guarantee and I won’t be put off by this uniquely named gastropub.

The Rumpus Room does a lot of things right. Here are some of those things…
1. Beer list. A good amount of brews to choose from a good variety of styles and regions. Some can be pricey.
2. Wisconsin things. The Old Fashioned is spot on as are the cheese curds. I brought my friend here to experience his very first fried cheese curds and the look on his face was priceless. I’ve gotten the burger (fancy, ok), beer cheese soup (with popcorn!) and sampled a few other things off their menu during events and beer and food pairing dinners.
3. Beer dinners. I recently attended a beer dinner with the Barley’s Angels at Rumpus Room. The chefs did a nice job and the guy explaining the beer and food pairings was thoughtful and knowledgable. This one was more memorable than one they did a couple years back with our club.
I go here from time to time. It’s just not on my regular favs list.

This place has been hit or miss for me. Sometimes they knock it out of the park with excellent service, food, and beverage. Sometimes they leave the wax rind of the cheese on.
The place is good overall, and has a fantastic beer/wine/whisk[e]y selection. I think the best bet is to come here for drinks and bar snacks. The deviled eggs, popcorn, and charcuterie /​cheese platter pairs nicely with the drink menu and is priced appropriately. Sometimes beers are a bit overpriced, but it is downtown Milwaukee…
A great place to go before or after a theater, ballet, or other fine arts show. The only thing that annoys me is the lack of wall treatments to absorb the high and sharp noises that the patrons like to make. This is finer gastronomic grub/​pub, but the patrons can be overwhelmingly annoying.

Had a great cocktail hour in this impressive Milwaukee venue. Felt like I was being entertained in the board-​room of a Victorian bank, with wood paneled walls, leather chairs, and historic light fixtures. Yet the atmosphere was not stuffy at all. There were hip people among the suits and the general feel of the place is low key.
There is a cocktail list that includes some modern takes on the Old Fashioned, and I went with The Gringo – tequila, bitters, muddled lime and cherry. It was alcoholic and delish. This being Wisconsin and me being a virgin when it comes to cheese curds, I felt I ought to try them at least once. Not knowing what to expect, I was happy with the tasty result. Lightly breaded and fried, the cheese curds were served with a garlic cream dip that was just right. I found the dinner menu limited, although I was happy to see you could revert to childhood and order a grilled cheese sandwich for dinner if you wished. I didn’t, so I had dinner elsewhere, but I will definitely be back to the Rumpus Room when I am in the vicinity.

4 Stars for a hip atmosphere with great food to back it up!
To start we ordered the Mussels and Beer. This dish consists of mussels floating in a shallow bowl of yumminess. The mussels were great but the broth was the real hero of this dish– so much so that I ended up drinking it like soup! One thing I’d recommend is for them to add more crusty bread (the dish was served with only two small pieces and with the amount of broth a couple more slices would have been lovely.
We proceeded to share the fish fry and ordered the Rumaki (bacon-​wrapped water chestnuts) and Deviled eggs on the side. I’ll be honest and say the Rumaki was not my favorite dish. The texture was really surprising but the water chestnuts really don’t have enough flavor to add anything to the bacon. Some sweetness would have balanced well with the salty swine. The deviled eggs were good, but honestly pretty standard.
The fish fry was a winner though! I’ve never had fried fish that was this moist and the fries were delicious. I would absolutely recommend this dish (but think of sharing because it is huge!).
Overall, it was a lovely meal with great ambiance and friendly service.

4.2:) Have an event you’re going do downtown, come here first!
I curse Unilocal for losing my original prose, but it was full of superlatives for their mastery of small subsets of many diverse food/​drink areas.
While as time passes they more farther and farther away from the seafood supreme that was Eagan’s, their scallops are still properly prepared, the mussels are always fresh and tasty, and I’ve yet to hear a complaint about the trout.
BACON is a tasty as you would expect. Juicy burgers. Plenty of meats and cheeses.
Other quick high quality items are the excellently seasoned popcorn for just a buck (with tax!), and a couple items that come with a robust chunky ground mustard.
Great for splurging on beer too. While not a huge amount, a fine enough list of quality beer taps that rotate rather quickly. One of the special cocktails usually finds it’s way into my wife’s heart also.
Come back later for desert. Sticky toffee pudding and what seems to be a rotating gooey cake are perfect sweet warmers during a walk through brisk downtown winds.
So, other than the translation periods when its chefs get hired elsewhere (what margin do you need out of your offshoots Bartolotta?), and its entrees suffer for a bit, this place bangs out quality food for event patrons.
Hint: BACON is prepped ahead of time. So if you have want your tangy sweet salty greatness to be extra juicy plump, come at 4. Want ever more caramely crunch, at 9.

I’ve been here a few times over the past years, but always for an event, never for a meal…
The location is great, and the feel of the Rumpus Room is right up my alley! Lots of wood, soft lighting, a nice long bar… I could definitely see myself making this an afterwork stop!
Their menu is small, and seems to focus on the «offer a few things, but make them right» scope.
I had the Fazzo with eggplant and brussel sprouts, and it was spot on! I hardly ever finish a plate, and this time, no Fazzo was left behind.
The service was good, with our waiter being knowledgeable and accommodating, especially considering some allergies our party had.
The one issue we did have was with one of the staff refilling water almost aggressively, reaching over our food and right in front of our faces in the middle of a conversation, without asking if we would even like a refill. I could certainly understand this if we had our glasses by the side of the table, however, his shirt was literally a few inches from my face and plate as I was mid sentence.
The dining area was also very loud, where it made conversation difficult even across the table.
The drink’s were fine, nothing special to write about, but perfectly serviceable.
All in all, I think I’d pass on coming for a meal on a busy night, but for a few drinks after work? Why not!