Oakcrest Tavern

Not a good place to go for brunch. The food was horrible. I had a huge black hair in my food, gross!!! My hair is blonde so it wasn’t mine. I sent the food back and it came back cold. It was horrible. I decided to try again. And again the food was horrible. I love bacon! The bacon had some funky taste, yucky! I would rather go to a fast food restaurant then back there.

Give me lager or give me death?
Wut? I’ll get a lager.
I stopped in for a few after work. The dark tint exterior makes it looked closed but a sign out front drew me in. Since I was in the area doing some banking across the street and shopping at HD. The bartender was friendly, but not too friendly. James K. Would approve of this place too if you know what I mean, Wink. Wink nudge.
They have a few outdoor tables that were available on the sidewalk. They recently celebrated 5 year anniversary 2 weeks ago so I guess they are doing well.
Parking can be scarce on the street most people use the structure a few doors north on the west side of the street. Service was friendly
Food 4 hamburger and wings was good. They are known for a good fish fry so that will be next.
Ambiance 3
Service 4
Location 3
Value 3
³⁵⁄₂₀₁₅

I have been to the Oakcrest Tavern twice. The first time the food was good, this last time the food was terrible. I got a turkey club and the meat tasted odd. I wouldn’t say it was spoiled, but it was for sure less then fresh tasting. The staff is always very friendly, which is why they are getting 3 stars. Now, I did not mention to the staff that my food was bad (I normally would have, but I was on a bad date and I wanted the night to end quickly. I didn’t have time for the staff to rectify the situation). I’ll probably give the Oakcrest Tavern one more shot, but more because it is so close to my house.

One of the worst lunches we ever had dining out. I missed the tell-​tale sign of seeing only one waitress for lunch in a popular area. My (adult) son had a Philly cheese steak. Two slices of deli roast beef on a hoagie roll, topped with one slice of cheese (not sure what kind) and sautéed green pepper and onion. The meat was heated until it was very dry (and dark brown), the cheese sat right in the middle of the meat as did the pepper/​onions. I am embarrassed for Philadelphia that something like this is served with their name on it. It was the driest and most bland Philly cheese steak sandwich ever. And way overpriced at over $ 9 (with fries or slaw). Hubby had the Grilled Cheese Deluxe ($ 9.99 with fries or slaw). Grilled cheese with burger and avocado. Again bland. I had the buffalo chicken wing appetizer; received 8 wings ($ 8.95). The flats were okay but the drummies were dry and hard — seems like they were fried a few times. We all shared an order of onion rings which were good. For the few tables occupied, service could have been better.
This place is so overpriced — with North Star American Bistro just down the street with excellent lunch food, why would ANYBODY want to stop at this place. Big mistake and big waste of $ 47.00!

The food is mediocre at best. I think there are better places for the price in the Shorewood area.
The wait staff is slow and they provide poor service.

I consistently went to this establishment for Trivia almost every week from 2008 – 2011 in addition to coming in a handful of other times between then. Over this time, I came to find that the food was good enough but not great (with the exception of the grilled cheese — amazing!). They never had any great deals on drinks. Trivia is quite fun here because there is ample seating space unlike some other Team Trivia locations.
During this time, I came to know several of the waiters/​waitresses, and I was good friends with a waitress that worked there for a while. I came to find out that the lack of drink specials was intended to keep out «certain clientele» (a.k.a., ethnic minorities and other «riff raff»). The food was sometimes overpriced for the quality you got.
The reason I stopped going here was because the food and drinks are mediocre at best (especially relative to other local establishments) and, more importantly, I refuse to support the owner of this establishment who treats both employees and patrons poorly. I have seen him very intoxicated on numerous occasions at the establishment acting quite rudely to staff and patrons.

Good wrap. Had good bar food. Wasn’t spectacular but was a good quick meal while watching the game and had good service as well. Definitely a good spot for a beer and quick bite.

Again, another okay joint in MKE.
It is close by and my kid wanted to eat out as a treat.
We were excited for the artichoke dip but were disappointed with the clumpy greasy version that arrived.
It was cold so I ordered a hot chocolate. The waitress legit, delivered a glass of hot water with a generic hot cocoa packet. If you want to show your customers that you are ripping them off, this is the way to do it. Jeez, create a little mystery and mix the dang packet in the back and serve what looks like your freshly homemade just for me hot chocolate. Otherwise I will bring my own packet and just order hot water.
The rest was your average burgers and fries. It was not too crowded so we took our time eating. Service other than stated above was nothing special. The manager did his rounds to the tables. We made it out just before the trivia night, which we were not up for.
We will go again because it is only blocks away but our expectations will be at the average level.

My friends and I have been going to Oakcrest weekly for the past couple of months. Each time we have ordered food, and each time the food has been less than mediocre. Each time we go, we order something new in hopes that we just haven’t found the right thing. Instead, we find ourselves going home and making our own food. Not only is the food mediocre, don’t ever expect to get the number of wings you order. Whether we order 6 or 12, they have never once given us the correct number.
However, we continue going back, because overall, the atmosphere is really great and the waitresses are typically very friendly and personable. However, with our most recent experience, even the atmosphere will not be enough to bring us back. This most recent time we had the displeasure of sitting at the bar next to where the owner was hanging out. Within minutes of taking our seats, the things the owner had said to his waitresses was really weighing on me. These were such things as asking the waitresses to do things he knew they were not capable of and not allowing them to take bathroom breaks. Next, we watched him pour drinks (so if you order one, don’t expect to get more than ½ shot from him). The last straw came when he actually had the nerve to tell my friends and me that we had not spent enough and if we did not order more he would be forced to charge us for simply sitting there.
Though I feel bad for the waitresses, this man does not deserve to get my hard earned money with his behavior.

There are some pretty scathing reviews of this place, but my experience was pretty enjoyable. T comes here frequently for wings after work on Fridays when he has a break between work and coaching. This Friday he was off coaching duty so he dragged me along to Oakcrest. Overall, this place was really cozy and the staff was welcoming. Our server was very sweet and the person I assume was the manager came over to see how everything was.
The food was pretty decent for basically being a bar food-​esque menu. I had the Friday fish fry and while it wasn’t the best I’ve ever had, it was very satisfying and a pretty huge portion for a reasonable price. T claims that they have really amazing wings. I don’t eat wings so I don’t know for sure, but it’s something to keep in mind I guess.
One thing I can say for sure — their wine pours are very generous. Like pretty much the biggest pour I’ve ever had in a restaurant. I mean, who would ever complain about that? Certainly not me! Definitely a fan of that. So… to sum it up T had great wings and could watch sports TV from any angle while pretending to listen to me talk and I could get tipsy on a huge glass of wine so I didn’t really care that he was watching TV behind my head. Win/​Win I say!

Great food. The burgers are the best and not some frozen patty. Highly recommend stopping in. The waitress was pleasant and quick with our drinks and food.

Fantastic spot in Shorewood! This place has a friendly feel with a great menu. MANY great burger options! There seem to be a lot of regulars here and it has a great family atmosphere. While the bar is great, I highly recommend sitting on the patio and enjoying this great community!

I think Oakcrest Tavern is a nice hideaway at the busy intersection of Oakland and Capitol. I love that I live within a 2 minute walk of this resturant/​bar. They offer nightly food and drink specials, including wings on Monday and Thursday evenings and Taco Tuesday ($ 1/​taco or $ 5 for 3 tacos and rice+black beans). Every day after 4pm they have $ 3 Miller light taps, $ 9 Miller pitchers and $ 4 long island ice teas, along with a variety of other specials.
The food is pretty good, not amazing, but I feel it is of better quality than what others have reviewed. The wings are large and not super fatty (which I hate), the tuna melt is delicious, the taco are pretty on par with other non-​Mexican Taco Tuesday deals.
I love the atmosphere and all of the TVs, even if they are always tuned to various sporting events. The only time I have been to Oakcrest and it was fairly busy was during wing and triva night, on a Thursday evening. I did not have to wait for a table but it did take a little longer to get our food (maybe an extra 5 – 10 minutes). Otherwise the service is fast, efficent, and friendly.
I recommend Oakcrest if you are looking for some good bar food and drinks and want to enjoy a relaxing atmosphere.
Also — I forgot to mention — their Long Islands are better than Sobelman’s!

I went there Saturday night with my family because of the abundance of TV’s we could watch during the playoffs. I was a bit surprised that at the prime time of a Saturday night, there were several tables open.
As for the food, I really wanted the fish fry but was told that it wasn’t available. Fine, cool by me. I settled for one of the burgers which the waitress proclaimed was the «best burger» in town. The burger was decent but not the best in my opinion. I took issue with the fries they offered as they were no better than the frozen ones I buy from Pick N Save. I would expect better from how they present themselves.
Overall, we had an enjoyable experience. In hindsight, I would lower my expectations from decent food to bar food.

This is my «I don’t want to cook/​The Game is on» Bar.
After waking up late to watch the First Packer Game of 2012. I ventured over to the Oakcrest in order to view it with some amazing people.
I was quickly seated in front of their 4 TV’s that they have mounted at the ceiling of the bar. Quickly, I ordered up some Chicken Tenders with Buffalo Sauce that was delivered pretty quickly.
Watching the Epic Win over the Lions in their clean and comfortable atmosphere was a real treat, even though the game had been entirely back-​and-​forth. When it was all said and done, I’ve ordered up a dish rightfully nicknamed «The Angry Chicken».
It’s always a real treat to walk in to this place since the waitstaff is composed of some of the friendliest people that you’ll ever me.

Have gone to Oakcrest, Shorewood WI pretty much since they opened for business.
In this time I have seen many favorite menu items fall off the menu.
I probably will no longer go back for the fish fry or anything else for that matter.
The portions are too small for most. Not a great value any more.
The owner seems really mean (beyond demanding) to his employees.
Probably best as a place to have a drink and watch a game.

I have a good friend that lives across the street from this tavern so I have been there a few times and it has never been stellar, or even good really, but this last time was horrible.
I went there with three other guys to sit out side and enjoy a scotch and a cigar. I waited at the bar for a long time as the bartender mulled around aimlessly until I politely got his attention. I ordered my drink, Glenfiddich neat, and watched as the barkeep starred at his back bar in bewilderment. At his urging I attempted to help him find the bottle by telling him where it was located, that didn’t compute, so I told him what was around it, didn’t help either, finally I walked over to the side of the bar and pointed to it. Ok so the guy is having a bad day whatever.
When I took my scotch outside my friend stopped me from drinking it because he could see buggs floating in it. I looked and sure enough two fruit flys in the glass. No big deal, fruit flies love booze, I work in this industry so I know that. I went in to get a new glass and instead of immediately pouring me a new scotch from a fresh bottle he starred at my glass like put the bugs in there. Then he starred at the bottle of scotch, then he poured some of the scotch into another glass, saw bugs, then did it again before getting his manager, who after doing the same things as the bartender came to talk to me. Mind you all in I have been waiting for 20 minutes now since I first came up to the bar upon arrival. The manager apologized, opened a new bottle of scotch and I went on my way.
Ok I can finally sit with the boys and enjoy myself. Oh but my glass is dirty, I have little black flecks floating around everywhere. Not worth going inside and chatting with Tweedledee and Tweedledum so I drank some and left the dregs. The alcohol killed anything living in there anyway ;)
All in all this last experience was the icing on a cake wrought with mediocre experiences.

A friend and I decided to venture up to Shorewood to find a place for dinner. We quickly stumbled upon Oakcrest Tavern and, neither having been there before, decided to give it a shot.
Because we sat outside, I can’t comment much on the interior. Service was great — we were seated immediately, our server was friendly and attentive, and everything was presented in a timely manner.
The food and beverages were also good. We each ordered the chicken enchiladas ($ 9.95), which are served with black beans and rice. Simple, but tasty. The sandwich menu looked pretty impressive, with a range of burgers and non-​beef items. The beverage menu was fairly impressive, with a good selection of beer and wine. Beers seem to be $ 3 – 5, which is fairly in line with Shorewood and Milwaukee prices.
Overall, A-​OK. Our primary reason to visit wasn’t to investigate the place; it was simply to catch up with one another over a meal, and Oakcrest Tavern perfectly suited this purpose.

This is one of our family favorites. The food is consistently good and there is something for everyone.
Another reviewer describes it as a sports bar. I wouldn’t. Yes, there are sports teams called out around the perimeter, but those are the local schools. This is a local restaurant with a bar that shows its local support. I wouldn’t go here to watch a sports event. I do go here for a great beer and excellent food.
I won’t highly recommend it because I want to keep this gem to myself. :)

Oakcrest is one of the classier sports bars in Our Fair City… but that’s like saying Sporty was the most talented Spice Girl.
It’s dim, roomy, and has a lot of large flat-​screen TV’s generally tuned in to ESPN. Based on this alone I personally stay far away from places like this.
If you can get past the clientele and the basketball games within every sight-​line, it’s otherwise above-​par. The cuban sandwich was a far cry from the ones I’ve had out East, but was tasty enough. The cheese curds use the now-​common mozzarella instead of the old-​school cheddar. It is well-​located in a big space right on Oakland by Capitol Drive, another bonus if you find yourself stuck in Shorewood or with a crowd.