Finks

Visiting town, walked up from downtown for the pinball. Well worth it. Pinball machines are in good shape, cocktails are solid, prices are good, music is good, far enough off the beaten path that you skip most of the amateurs, I’d definitely come back or become a regular if I lived here.

Great bar. Great Service. Look for Gregg he’s the best bartender: good conversation, good times head down to Fink’s!

O.k. forewarning this is a bit of a bi-​polar review. And might even be a bit (a lot) of a vent. So don’t say you haven’t been warned.
Ok, so, I like Finks, I really like Finks. Always have, always will. They have awesome cocktails and I love that it’s never packed or deushy like some other places around the Brady St. areas at times. Their old fashioned is one of the best I’ve ever had. And the dark atmosphere is cool and a mix between divey and hip. All around good things.
But…BUT. What the fuck is with this new giant sign on the side of their building???
«COUPLES ARE BORING AND EVERYONE KNOWS IT»
My first reaction was to laugh. It took me off guard, and maybe sometimes there’s some truth to it. It’s not like you call up some couple friends when you want to get weird and show your tits around. You call your single friends for that kind of good nonsense.
But I can’t help but think «Ew, What a fucking hater.»
Are they trying to insult a large part of their potential/​current population?
Yea, full disclosure– I’m currently in a relationship. Sorry, I like, like love. Feels good to share happiness with another.
Maybe I’m taking it too seriously. But it just sounds like a jaded, hater vibe. What lil Philly broke your heart, bro? Don’t hate on love or people who have found it. Go out there and getchu some darlin!
Ok that’s all. I hope they paint over it. But if not, I’ll keep going there, with my boyfriend, and getting weird and loud. Cuz that’s how he likes me.

Finks has a cozy hip feel without being pretentious. Finks has some great pinball machines and Ms. Pacman which is a favorite among the homies. Finks has wonderful cocktails but they are a bit pricey and a bit small but they taste delightful. For a small place there is a lot of seating. I wish they had more cider and wine to choose from. Great neighborhood bar.

Went back the other night and was disappointed. Perhaps it was just the bartender who half-​assed my drink. He threw the cherry and orange on top of my old fashioned… So I muddled it myself (MacGyver style) and made do.
Despite how much I love an OF, I wasn’t impressed, so I looked at the menu of fancy drinks trying to decide what to try, all were in the $ 10 range but it was happy hour (not a very good one). Anyway, I asked the bartender about a few ingredients and as it would turn out all those fancy pricey drinks were mostly fancy nonalcoholic ingredients… Call me a lush but no thank you!
I ended up just ordering another brand OF this time I specifically asked him to muddle my fruit. You shouldn’t have to special request for your drink to be made properly, especially at an OF bar.

This place is all chilled out, a nice vibe. It has five pinball machines and some video games, it’s not huge which makes it comfortable, good drinks, ceramic tiles on the bar

The bar atmosphere is hit or miss but the cocktails make up for it. Solid beer selection. Another gripe is sometimes this place has some very strange Netflix movies on the 2 tvs at the bar.

«I haven’t been here since it was redroom»
me, walking into Finks for the first time.
Tucked in across from Bel Air, Redroom was one of those places I often found myself at, so I’m glad to check out its newly reincarnated self as Finks (well, its actually been Finks for a while and I’m just kind of late).
So thankfully they kept the odd white circular bar top that I loved. (kind of describing this wrong), replaced the uncomfortable seating, added a craft cocktail list and some pin ball machines. it’s obviously still housed in the same building as redroom, so not a ton of space but ots thoughtfully laid out.
They had a $ 5 cocktail happy hour special and although I’m not a huge whiskey drinker (contained in the night’s feature drink) it was pretty good and strong. although not on special that night our bartender also whipped up a perfect imo dirty martini. I think there was also a beer on happy hour special, and if you have «bike benefits» sticker on your helmet you get buy one get one drafts from 7 pm-​?
There’s lots of bike parking on the side, too.
use those Bar and Lounge City Tins and stop by!

I only come to Finks when I’m waiting for my table at BelAir, but I wait for a table at BelAir very frequently.
The bar itself is really cute (see pictures uploaded by others). There’s some pinball machines further back. They’ll have a movie playing on the tv by the bar. The crowd varies, since its a random assortment of people waiting for cheap tacos, and is sometimes full of bros. The vibe here is weird and not really cohesive, but I’m down with it.
I have always had great service here, and it’s easily my favorite part about Finks. The bartenders are attentive and I’ve never waited too long to get a drink (and because of it’s size and proximity to BelAir, you better believe it gets busy). Everyone working here is really nice, which sounds like a weird thing to say but I get the «good people» feel. If the service wasn’t outstanding, I would be giving this place 3 stars.
There isn’t anything that really stands out about the drinks here, besides the fact that they actually carry Boxer which isn’t necessarily a plus (yet somehow I usually end up drinking one).

Place makes the best old fashioneds, a really neat amnions, and awesome service. This is a great place to start or end your night.

One of the things I love about where I live in Riverwest is the easy walk to multiple happenin’ neighborhoods (isn’t that what they’re always looking for on House Hunters?). In the winter, the only problem is the cold walk home so my boyfriend suggested we bar hop our way home, which serves as a great way to stay warm and get a sneak peak of neighborhood bars we haven’t been to yet. Forgive the long intro, the point of which being that it would have taken me a while to select Finks as a destination if we hadn’t been walking by on our way home from dinner on Brady. However, I’m glad we stopped in! Finks is just the right size with a decent beer selection and FIVE pinball machines. I also appreciated the moderate lighting and volume as I get a little sleepy in dim, noisy bars, #seniorstatus. I will be back to Finks with my pinball quarter stash soon!

Here’s the thing. We only went here because Bel Air always has a wait and they’ll text you if you’re next door grabbing a drink at Finks, so that’s what we did.
I was super excited to see they are featuring a Woodchuck tap takeover because I’m a hard cider fanatic, but when it took my friend and I about 3 attempts per drink EACH to get service, we started to wonder what we weren’t doing right. We ordered from three separate bar tenders, no one better than the other. The place wasn’t even busy.
Typically two attractive, twenty-​something young ladies get service easily in Milwaukee, but the bar tenders were to into their own conversations and sampling the beer to pay much attention to us. Just sayin’.
I give it ³⁄₅ for the variety and freshness of beer, and the cleanliness of the facility, but had to take away 2 stars for how long it took and how difficult it was to order drinks directly from the bar.

Cocktails? Great. Beer list? Best I’ve seen in the city thus far.

Fink’s is a great place to stop for a drink or two while you’re waiting for a table Bel-​Air or even to start a night out with friends. They have a long bar with stools, a few tables in the front and bigger tables & booths in the back. They’ve got big TVs for sports or Netflix movies when nothing else is on, and a pretty impressive collection of pinball machines and a few other video games. Along the side of the building there’s also a small outdoor seating area.
I’m a big fan of their old-​fashioned (brandy, sweet, with cherry is my go-​to) for $ 6, which is pretty reasonable. They have a few beers on tap that rotate and a respectable selection of bottles, organized on their menu by type of beer — which is always a nice touch. They also have cans of Hamm’s for $ 2 if you’re not looking for any frills.
Whether it’s the old-​fashioned or the chill ambiance, something keeps coming me back!

Descriptive phrase: hip, unpretentious and young bar.
Don’t call Finks a hipster bar, because it doesn’t deserve the bad connotations associated with that word, even if it could easily be considered one. This corner pub across from Bel Air Cantina is everything that’s ironic with the youth culture, without being ironic.
They honor «bring your own vinyl,» but don’t shove obscure ukulele bands down your throat. They have three different crappy beers for $ 2 a piece because they’re crappy and should be cheap, and I love that (HAMM’S). They can make a real drink too, though. The décor is like a talented college artist got halfway through decorating their campus house. They’ve got fun old bar games.
I don’t know where Finks came from, or why no one seems to know it’s here. I could stay here all night, especially when they’re sidewalk area opens up. I’ll be spreading the word.

THE place to play Pinball in Milwaukee. Mitchell Novelty has 5 awesome Bally, Sega and Williams titles in perfect working order. Playfields are glossy, rubbers are bouncy, and flippers are strong!
Current titles: Theater of Magic (Bally)-Rollergames (Williams) — Whirlwind (Williams) — South Park (Sega) No Good Golfers (Williams)

Finks has the good fortune to be located a few blocks from Brady, but across the street from one of the most popular dining spots (Bel-​Air), which keeps a steady stream of people flowing in while they’re waiting for their tables, and also keeps them from getting completely swamped by Brady Bar Traffic™
I come here usually around once a week, and unless it’s a Tuesday or Thursday (Bel-Air’s $ 2 taco night), it’s usually busy, but not crowded, meaning you can get service quickly, and the bartenders are extremely friendly and knowledgeable.
There are two main draws for this place, the first of which is their mixed drinks. While their beer selection is pretty decent, every mixed drink I’ve had here has been PERFECT. I refuse to get an old fashioned anywhere else. If you watch the staff make the drinks, you can tell that nine out of ten times, it’s second hand nature, pure muscle memory.
The music is good, the atmosphere is friendly, and they’re always down for a round of bar dice (my weakness). If you’re looking for a new spot to go on a date, have a chill night with friends, or even just waiting for your table at Bel-​Air, Finks is definitely a spot to check out.
Oh, yeah, the second draw… They serve kettle chips instead of stale popcorn.

Finks gives you a northern Wisconsin bar feeling with a modern twist. It’s the perfect place to have cocktails and conversation at a reasonable price.
They have spectacular happy hour deals that includes $ 4 classic cocktails. The cocktails are original and tasty, and Finks provides a wide variety of choices. I wanted all of them. My boyfriend ordered the Kentucky Coffee and loved it, while I enjoyed the Apple Bourbon Sidecar (HIGHLY recommend).
The beer prices are competitive at $ 3 for taps during happy hour, and it wasn’t overly crowded at 7pm on Friday while we waited for our table at Belair Cantina. I will definitely return.

Yup, I’ve heard it said that this is the first time that Riverwest has crossed over the Humboldt Ave Bridge!
I’ve been here twice now, once for Monday Night Football and their free brat with purchase of a drink special, and another time for some beers with my brother.
Their tap list is small, but unique. A bunch of the brews you can’t find on tap anywhere else in the city. Prices are reasonable and they have drink specials during the week. The atmosphere is chill and it’s more of a cozy place to have a good conversation.

The new old Redroom, almost exactly. Almost.
I was surprised at how much I dug this place post re-​vamp. I suspect it’s because they really didn’t change anything too drastically.
Finks: owned by the same folks that own Bel-​Air (across the street), Balzac, Hi-​Hat, Palomino, you know…
I love that they’re not trying to be something more than a corner bar at Finks. This spot’s got a few select craft taps, but beyond that, most of the by the bottle barley pop offerings are pretty standard. They do two versions of the (in)famous Old-​Fashioned and a Sidecar and another classic cocktail that I forgot what it was and at six bucks a pop, they won’t break the bank.
Let’s talk CANS (& not the now-​defunct hellhole on Kenilworth):
Hamms and Old Style in cans at two dollaz (make you holla)!
I do think two bucks for a tiny Rhinie — no matter how adorable — is a bit much, however.
But! Now, with new, comfier bar stools. Huzzah!
With homey and hip yet not over the top décor, a laid-​back vibe, and old school Cheers on the tube, Finks makes room for itself by virtue of its chilled-​out cool in a city already replete with corner bars.
Four stars, Finks!