Bad Genie

Put on your dancin’ shoes! There is no cover and no strict dress code! Unlike some nightclubs, you can wear jeans and hats at Bad Genie, if you want. This nightclub has two floors of fun! The first floor has a stage for a band, and is a little more calm. The second floor is where the edm djs play. There is a patio balcony, which is great if it’s feeling a little too hot, heavy, and crammed! Sometimes, it gets a little too packed. The bartenders are always understanding and nice. Lastly, I dare you to do the Scorpion Shot.

They played a decent variety of EDM/​house music the night I went there which I’m assuming is not always the case. Regardless, there was a dance floor upstairs with a bar where we spent most of the night dancing. We went in August so we went out on the balcony periodically to escape the crowd that increased as the night went on. Overall, I had a pretty good time. I lived in Chicago for several years back and used to go out quite a bit to clubs and such, which unfortunately is something Milwaukee is lacking. This place is not a club by any means, but we still managed to have a great time the night we went here. I’d go again for sure.

My friends were turned away from the bar and were told it was closed when people were being let in. It was unfair and I hope the situation is rectified. I expected more from this establishment and this kind of racism is out of control. People who have their drinks taken from them and told no one is allowed in is unfair when people are turned away.

Been here once a year for the past couple of years, usually to celebrate my birthday, and to have some fun with my fiancé and friends. I’ve been living in the city for about 2 years, and smack dab in the middle of downtown and I always wondered about the clubs in the area, and decide, hell, let’s check them out. So fast forward to my birthday weekend, friends and I decided to hit this spot during a dreadfully cold winter night in February, Valentine’s day weekend, and of course, all of the clubs in the strip were PACKED.
We always arrive here early enough to catch some drinks before the spongebob sardine wave crowd arrived, LOL. No biggie, hey that’s how parties are. First floor, always has a mix of either hip hop, edm, techno, whatever going on and the second floor is typically reserved for the «main attraction» DJ and whatever they want to play.
Yes, the drinks are quite pricey here, so pre-​game all you’d like, you’d probably be doing yourself a favor.
Anywho, out of all the times I’ve been here, I haven’t had a bad experience whatsoever. Only thing I would advise for those not familiar with the area, i’d suggest looking for street parking nearby because anywhere near the club will probably be packed, and make sure not to bring valuables with you or heavy jackets because there’s little places to put any of that in the club.
Oh, also another redeeming factor is the view on the balcony on the second floor. And the scorpion shot. Now that is something you don’t see often.
Bad Genie for what is worth, is a pretty cool spot.

I desperately wish to give this place a better review: and for the music alone I would. However, the staff here is such a bunch of douche bags, I will positively never ever go back. Sorry to the djs, the music y’all play is actually really good. Every time I go here I’m made to feel like an inconvenience because I don’t order a round of shots for every one in the club, or that one of my party just wants water. Tonight was the final straw. I asked some asshole who worked there if there was another way to get to the lower level. We were guided to an exit upstairs, that went out back. After opening the door, we were outside on a back staircase that clearly was part of a fire escape. Once we realized this we tried to get back in, and some extremely rude employee informed us that we weren’t getting back in, even if our exit was an accident. And he proceeded to slam the door on us. This rude behavior was entirely too much. All we wanted to do was check out the lower level, but because someone steered us the wrong way, someone else thought getting an attitude was appropriate. Please believe, I will bad mouth the crap out of this place, and encourage everyone I know to skip it. Who wants to hang with «better than you» douche bags who have no time for customer service!!! I got your answer… NO ONE. BYE.

Horrible!
The Owner is a BULLY and horrible person. He bullied our entire group of friends and called us horrible names. He wasn’t friendly while we were just trying to get drinks at the bar.
He was sitting at a table with his friends who were then calling the women in our group horrible names.
Never going back. Terrible human and terrible bar. Who treats there customers like that?
They acted like they owned the place and didn’t care if we were there or not, down right very rude to us.

Went for the scorpion shots… they were out of scorpion shots –_​_​_​_​_​_​-​. Music down stairs was good, but empty. We went upstairs and it was PACKED and playing EDM music. We danced, but how long can you dance to one beat? Not about that life. Left dissapointed with the lack of scorpion shots, too much EDM and empty 1^st floor with good music. Womp womp. Still gave it a 3 because it was packed and could have been a good time.
Oh and the wait at the bar –_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​– ah no wayyyy to long.

This place is not what it used to be. It’s way too crowded now and the upstairs is way too small. I can’t dance in anywhere without being shoved or bumped into.

Horrible service. Had to wait 15 minutes for beers because the bartender proceeded to take shots and socialize with other costumes after taking our order right in front of us. Then ripped our beers out of our hand and threw money back in our face because we didn’t tip him.

The lower level is a rock bar and the upper level is a dance club. The crowd varies a bit, but overall not really my thing.
There is live music, so I enjoy going to see Joe Wray or Evan Christian or maybe a specific DJ upstairs.
One of the attractions here is the scorpion shot, which I haven’t done yet. Perhaps one day I will.

We were in town looking for something to do and Bad Genie popped up.
The atmosphere was cool and the bartenders were pleasant and attentive.
We will definitely be back on our next visit!

Be careful in this dump. Opened a tab downstairs, left debit card. Bought 4 drinks. Went upstairs for 20 minutes. Came back down to buy a drink and told bartender to close out tab because we were leaving. Claimed we didn’t have a tab and he didn’t have my debit card. He also immediately threatened to have bouncers toss us. I immediately cancelled card from bar. Bartenders and manager are sleezy. Much better places in the neighborhood.

The bad genie has an outdoor patio on the 2^nd floor overlooking the street. Which makes me feel like I’m in New Orleans, which I love! We need more of that in Milwaukee. When it’s nice out it’s great to see the activity on the street and in cathedral square instead of staring into an alley from a «beer garden» behind a bar.
On top of that, they have a good beer selection. I also like that if I want to get my groove thang on I can head upstairs or I can just chill out downstairs. Which, come to think of it, reminds me of the bars in Dublin. This place is a mishmash of the best things from around the world.

Guys. Do a scorpion shot. I’m serious. You have to.
Do you want to be a badass for ever?
Do you want to be able to tell people in a casual manner «Yeah, I did a shot with a whole scorpion in it, so?»
Do you want to laugh in the face of all other shots for the rest of your days?
I thought so. Now go get yourself a scorpion shot at Bad Genie, then go dance and stuff.

We came by here last weekend when we didn’t feel like waiting in line for 720. It was nice that they didn’t charge cover and downstairs had a pretty great dj and a clean quieter feel with better beer on tap. Upstairs, where the dance floor was pretty dirty and sleezy feeling. As soon as we walked up the stairs, there was a urine and stale beer odor emanating from the bathroom. The tvs were playing some odd tru tv police chase show. It was an odd choice for the dance floor and I found it pretty disturbing. The drinks were a little over priced considering the divey feel.

First off, music was PHENOMENAL upstairs — the DJ just knew how to spin what I love.
Secondly, get a scorpion shot if you come. Literally any kind of alcohol (we did patron which was probably no the right choice) and it came with a little scorpion in the shot glass which you just chew a little for added protein to your night! I named mine Julio and then I godfathered him to death in my mouth. That sounds wrong. Anyway, where else can you have a scorpion shot in Wisconsin?

Great sound system and usually great DJ music but this place is very hit or miss depending on the night. And it’s always too crowded and stinky in the upstairs. If you’re drunk those elements can be ignored and the balcony is awesome in the summer but I wouldn’t come here to casually drink. With that being said, it still maintains some level of a club in Milwaukee that’s not ghetto — which is hard to come by.

I knew this bar would be kind of skeezy, but we went anyway. The bartenders downstairs were very friendly. That’s where the positives end.
Bartenders upstairs were openly hostile, sometimes just negligent. On a busy Saturday night why would you wave away a customer to text on your phone? As previous reviewers noted, the drinks are way overpriced, which is annoying since you’re clearly not paying for good service or ambiance. The heat was cranked to almost 80, so we were pouring sweat before we even started dancing. Oh, the dancing. While we did, this was the worst place I’ve ever danced. The DJ was TERRIBLE. And everyone at this bar was particularly rude. Girls shoved us when we danced too close to their guys (are you joking right now?), dude-​bros were everywhere sketching on girls, and someone shoved our coats on the floor to make room for theirs. This place is gross. I’m not returning.

Almost every time my friends and I visit Jefferson Ave, we end up at Bad Genie to dance and have fun. They usually have great DJs and doesn’t get too crowded.
Great spot…

Descriptive phrase: loud, crowded, dance barn.
Bad Genie is in a great location right off Cathedral Square, in a neat old building, with an awesome second-​floor balcony. It’s a fantastic bar… until you go inside.
Let’s start with the Second Floor: you get up the steep staircase and are immediately bombarded with the heat and sweat and sound of the crowd. I always think this floor looks like a barn. The high tables are pushed to the sides, which allows the mob of drunken 20-​somethings gyrate together (not to mention the bros on the side creeping). There’s usually a DJ in front. The bar up here is tucked into a little hallway by the bathrooms so you’re constantly getting hit by A) doors and B) smells while you order. Drinks are overpriced, even for Cathedral Square. Oh, and you might as well dance because you’ll never be able to hear a conversation.
First floor: some high-​top seating, a stage-​ish area, small bar. One Friday I came here and there were two guys playing piano and drums who were phenomenal, but they didn’t play much past 10. That’s when the music got turned up to the same level as upstairs and we left. The bartenders on this first floor are legitimately the worst bartenders I’ve ever encountered in Milwaukee. They didn’t know how to make drinks, and would rather flirt with some dude than serve the 15 other people waiting with money in hand.
I loathe being dragged here. Clueless girl voice: «But I just want to dance!»

I must admit… When I went to Bad Genie, I didn’t have a drink! It was after a wedding, and my friends wanted to swing by Bad Genie to have one of their scorpion shots! Though it was very busy, my friends got their drinks quickly and were thus able to enjoy their scorpion shots post haste. The shots were pretty impressive, as other reviewers have noted.
While I wasn’t able to have the whole BG experience (e.g., no scorpion shots), I enjoyed my time there and am looking forward to going back.

I love this place. Plain & simple, if we’re in the mood to get funky on a dance floor, this is always the 1^st option in Milwaukee. Not a try-​hard «dance club» with terrible clientele & even worse top-​40 music. This place is filled with good people just lookin to have a good time.
The music is of a caliber not found elsewhere in the Milwaukee market. Everything from underground Chicago style Deep House, to nu-​disco & breaks. Whatever they play, it gets the crowd ROWDY. One time we saw a guy hanging upside down from the ceiling like a monkey. It was AWESOME. And people actually dance here, not just grind on each other like a grade school sock hop.
The guys who run the place are great too. Always welcoming & lookin to make sure everyone’s enjoying themselves. The talent they book, from Green Velvet Faux Noir to Treasure Fingers to ZEBO, its enough to get any music head excited. 4 stars easy.

Probably the best bar that I’ve been to in Wisconsin. The variety of beers suits my tastes perfectly and the overall chill atmosphere, the fact that it has live music from unknown acts and two floors makes this place perfect to me. The bartenders are knowledgeable about all types of beer and you won’t find the average college kid tool or bar hag in here since it’s a little more expensive.
Not to mention the scorpion shots are tremendous. I pity anybody who can’t bring themselves to do it, it’s such a «do it cuz you said you did» type thing. I really like the top floor and how you can stand out on the little fire escape in the summer even though it looks over dumpsters. Sometimes you just want to get away from all the people in there since it does get a little crowded at times.
Overall this bar is pretty awesome and I haven’t been to one better yet. Just wish I could go more but I will when I have some more consistent money. I also love the location of the bar, away from water street and still not far away from the rest of downtown, go here if you haven’t.