The Social Bar & Grill

I just read in the paper that this restaurant closed up for good.

After spending the entire day in Milwaukee handing out media kits for The Kingfish, we were happily diverted to this little place which was entirely off our map. The Social totally wins points for style and look, as this place looks snazzy… and I don’t ever use the word «snazzy». Very jazzy, very funky… it really has a small, cool feel to it… good for small dinner parties, happy hours, and the semi-​fancy dinner/​martini crowd. it also offers live music and dj’s…from hip hop, funk, rock, cover bands… you name it. The place looks a little small for a huge band following, then again I’m not exactly traveling with Van Halen. You kids do know who Van Halen is, right? It definitely offers a perfect location off the river, with a cool bar and outdoor patio to lounge at. Plus the staff was more than helpful. They have a really cool bar set up along with an open kitchen so you can actually see the chef get busy… whichI liked. Plus it has the perfect set up for dj’s…and for someone who likes to plan little events and bar parties… yeah that’s cool. My hip hop dj friends would definitely approve! I definitely look forward to our next visit there.

I’d give it 3.5 if I could.
I love the vibe of this place… very mod, laid back, dare I say «groovy» place. Love the 60’s vibe and green bathroom! Wish I had a paint pen to graffiti on the stall!
Service was great, our waitress was very nice and went out of her way for us. When we arrived though we were the only one there, which was sad for a Saturday night. When we left it was starting to pick up which was good.
My drink was good, I had Sangria (white, which is good. most places don’t have both red & white) but I was disappointed because the Peach Pesto drink I wanted was unavailable. They ran out of peach vodka!
I’d heard good things about the mac n cheese so I asked if I could get it w/​out chicken. She told me it was made w/​chicken stock so it’s not for me since I’m vegetarian. I was glad she told me and remembered that I told her that when she went down the specials (the special that gave it away was the stingray and my husband said he couldn’t eat it and I said I would not eat a cute stingray).
So instead I asked about the risotto and she confirmed it was vegetarian so I went with that. It was really good, light mushroom broth flavor w/​sun dried tomatoes in it and sweet potatoes and mushrooms on top. My husband did go with the chicken mac n cheese and it was very heavy goat cheese flavored. He took most of it home.
Oh, and first my husband ordered the special potato leek soup and the waitress was nice enough to go in the back and check to see what broth it was made from in case I wanted to try it (even w/​out me asking, I thought that was great…). It was made w/​bacon which my husband said was very good.
Dessert also made me sad. I wanted the ice cream w/​cherries and they were all out. The waitress recommend the s’more which my husband had and liked. It was a very cool tower presentation, the top a huge toasted marshmallow, the middle a fudge ganache and bottom a graham cracker crust.
I went with the crème brûlée even though she let me know it was a cardamon flavor. I’m not a huge fan of cardamon but I’d give it a shot. It was not for me. I guess I prefer more traditional vanilla bean, but I did enjoy the creativity.
I’d go back again and try the ravoli, it sounds great. Hopefully they will get more peach vodka & the ice cream dessert.

Oh The Social…
Great Mac and Cheese
Terrible for a group happy hour.
Until my friends decided to have happy hour at The Social, I always had a positive opinion of the place. The Mac and Cheese is AMAZING. Normally I am not a fan of goat cheese mac and cheese, but here it is really, really good. But… it gets better… there is CHICKEN in there too. AND, for a wow factor… Rosemary. It’s surprising and fun!
However, the deliciousness of the Mac and Cheese can’t make up for the AWFUL service we had during a recent happy hour visit. We were the only people there… and were drinking a lot. That translates to an easy tip. But, I guess tips mean nothing to these people. They ignored us the entire time and when a few of us went inside to buy a drink they told us NO! I get turning people down if they were drunk, but in all but one instance, this was their FIRST DRINK. We were pissed. Then they overcharged us multiple times on the bill.
MOST… FRUSTRATING… HAPPY… HOUR… EVER!

ok, I will admit a couple of things: My girlfriend and I went here last night because of Erika B’s recommendation (and she was there); and we only went for dessert.
I got the s’more and she got something else. I really have no idea what was under the strawberry on the s’more, but it was positively addicting. Great atmosphere, and really great music, but I realized on the way out that the wait staff, while nice was a little thin for as many people were in there. We didn’t have a problem, it was perhaps a touch slow. I never mind waiting for good food though.

Keeping my review at 2-​stars. Because there is better. But the word I have is that they’ve brought in a new manager… HOPEFULLY she will turn the service issue around. I’ll check up on it and report back. For now… keep your fingers crossed if you venture in expecting quality service… it all depends on your server really.
Disappoints almost ²⁄₃ of the time.
Service is BIGGEST problem here. Slow, slow and slow. It’s a pattern here.
Brunch is even s-​l-​o-​w-​e-​r. When it takes 20 minutes to get a pitcher of mimosa and there’s only about a dozen customers at the place you KNOW there’s a problem. And it wasn’t just the mimosas that were slow. EVERYTHING was. And I’m OK with a slow-​paced brunch. But this was like waiting at the dentist’s office – NOT PLEASANT. I even had to go in (was seated on the patio) TWICE to see what was up with our drink orders!!!
Then there’s the food. Brunch food was below average. The ham on the benedict was blah and gross. The french toast was nothing special. The biscuits and gravy were bland. The breakfast potatoes are the size of tiny pebbles… nothing here is approaching good in my opinion (for brunch).
Lunch here can be pretty good so can dinner… but AGAIN… it’s almost always the service.
It’s just not worth it anymore. I’ve tried TRIED TRIED to love this place, even like it… but for the love of Pete… NO MORE!
If you’re looking for something in the area try The Hop or Palms… much better there. Service might be slow at these places too but at least it’s not glacier-​paced. And the food at each is TOTALLY worth the wait!

The trendy rock lithographs and hipster decorating style say it all. This place is superbly designed by mod folks that clearly love to eat and drink. The ladies-​only happy hour special of bottomless champagne may be worth a visit back.

The worst food I have ever had w/​prices that were outrageous… great bar and cozy décor initally, however when our «large» group of 6 were seated in the back room w/​bright lights and shitty oh-​u-​forgot-​about-​me-​service I quickly changed my mind… I must admit the apps were tasty: mushrooms in a creamy sauce, osyters, and calamari. however everyones entrees disgusted us… the waitress recommend the mac-​n-​cheese – apparently the house speciality… are you joking… goat cheese was near spoiled and this dish had surprise bones inside… oppss…where did they come from… and the butternut squash ravoli stayed w/​me for 24hours – in a musical sort of way, one that I wish my body would forgive me for and say it’s last goodbye. but there were so many trips to the flusher that I had to relive that over and over… and the risotto – too much truffle oil – as my buddy commented: this reminds me of horrible oatmeal consistancy… and my other friend was disappointed in the french onion soup… I won’t be going back for the food… but the bar and drink scene I would reconsider… I have heard that summer time outside drinking is fun…

Make up your mind… are you trying to be a 50’s diner joint or a hip eatery?
Food was ok — I know the calamari was nice but can’t remember the main. Oh well.
After my saphire-​tonic I ordered an ice-tea…which was the worst one I’ve ever had. I know, I know. you wondering why I point out the ice tea of all things… well cause how hard is it to screw it up?
Oh and forget about parking… you’re in 3^rd Ward… did you ever think you could park there?

I visited the Social a few months ago in its new location. I had never been to its older, smaller location, but it was reputed to be more of a bar with really good food. I immensely enjoyed my dinner at the new Social and will definitely return. They had an extensive drink list which included lots of wines and specialty martinis (I enjoyed pomegranate). The atmosphere is a bit loud and the whole place seems too trendy to be in Milwaukee, but the food was really amazing. I had a pasta dish that involved acorn squash (the exact name of the dish is lost to me now) but it was delicious. We also enjoyed some fabulous appetizers as well as a small dessert sampler, which was definitely worth the price to split between two or three people.