This Is It

I was visiting from Fort Lauderdale at the beginning of February, and I have to say this place was awesome! Great atmosphere and music, along with reasonably priced (and stiff!) drinks. The hospitality and smaller atmosphere really makes me miss the Midwest. To put the icing on the cake, I figured out that I left my debit card here… after I got back to Fort Lauderdale! They were so great as to not only not overcharge me for my naivety (rare in South Florida) but they mailed it to me after verifying some info! That act alone ensures that I will be back to visit next time I’m in the Great White North :)

Thomas is the best thing that’s ever happened to me. Hands Down. George is sweet too. Xo.

What a pleasant surprise! The former wrinkle room is now the most well-​integrated, all-​ages, all-​genders, gay bar I’ve been to in ages. Great drink specials, friendly competent staff, and a warm, fun interactive crowd that ranged from 20s to 60s. Decent jukebox, and people were actually dancing later in the evening! Chicago, you could learn a lot from this place…
If the Closet and Minibar had a baby, and that baby snuck into Little Jims, this is what it might look and feel like. 4 boozy thumbs up :-D

After speaking with the manager, it turns out I was in the wrong and I apologize. I never want to throw a successful business under the bus unless I know for sure I’m being treated unfairly. This is a great bar and I recommend it to anyone gay, straight, no or whatever you are to come and hang out at TITS.

The best gay bar in Milwaukee! I loved this place — the staff were always fun and friendly, and it felt great to walk into a bar and the bartender say hello and know what I like to drink. Great music, great drink specials, and fun events throughout the week. One of my favorite places in MKE, hands down.

Love the bar. Love the staff. Love how they support the community. But when I go out for a smoke and someone asks me if I support blow. And I tell the bartender and he just rolls his eyes. I have a problem. I want to go to a safe place to have fun. I don’t do drugs and just cause I step outside in front no less do I want to be approached by a drug dealer. And to go back in and tell the bartender and be blown off. They get a star taken away.

Where do I start? TITS is perfect. It’s home to me.
The bartenders are legitimately the best in the business. Why is that? Because they actually converse with you, all while keeping your drink full. Seriously, I’m pretty sure they’re allergic to empty glasses.
The drink specials. OH! The drink specials! There’s one every evening, on top of the famous disco ball 2.4.1. Friday nights feature 3.4.1 on rail mixers and tap beer, which makes it possible to drink all night on $ 10. Drink pours are strong, just as they should be. So beautiful that I could cry.
The crowd is wonderful. Often times I find myself hating gay bars because the crowd is too much to deal with. Not the case with TITS. There’s a huge crowd of regulars here, which is one of the best signs to see when checking out a bar. This really is the gay Cheers. Word to the wise however, this place can get crowded on Friday/​Saturday nights.
The décor closely mimics your grandmother’s basement, circa 1984, with a wonderful gay touch. There is a raging debate as to whether this place is a dive bar or not. I would say it doesn’t really fit entirely into the dive bar category. It is a dive bar in the sense that the drinks are cheap, the pours are strong and it’s dark and somewhat homey. On the other hand, its really clean, the bartenders are amazingly friendly and, I don’t feel like I’m going to catch the Clap from a visit to the bathroom. So, is it a dive bar? Nope. Does it have somewhat of a divey feel to it? If you must.
Hands-​down, TITS is my favorite bar in Milwaukee. I’m not really sure what I would do if it were to ever go away. Until then, I’ll keep going as often as possible!

TITS. What to say, what to say.
This is actually one of the best bars in all the land. Wonderful owner and bartenders, STIFF drinks — weirdly, they jigger everything, but generously, and specials that make me question how they turn a profit.
A typical night at TITS involves getting some sort of token special, where you are eventually getting double-​tall super premiums for free. For several hours. Then you slur that you want to pay your tab, and you owe the house ~$ 7.
It’s probably been mentioned before, but this is basically gay Cheers. Set in a basement. In Rhinelander. In 1982.
Don’t miss the Christmas Carols and the bathroom soundtrack piped into the john!

Great bar! Prices are good, get the long island gor 6.75, f you up! Such a fun place to go when you visit Milwaukee, only you have to get used to the scent. I believe the scent is from all the drinks that have spilled on the carpet. Whatever! It’s fun!!!

I’ve been going to this bar for over 40 years is the best gay bar around. They also have great drink specials. The bartenders and customers in there are very friendly.

I was back in Wisconsin for a week early this month and was able to spend one night in Milwaukee before heading up to Door County. My partner and I were staying at the Intercontinental downtown and wanted a drink with our fellow brethren and looked up the nearest gay bar. This Is It was the only bar walkable, so we decided to go.
The jukebox was fun, the crowd was amazing and super nice. The atmosphere was friendly. The prices are right, we had a blast, and the company was great. I will always pop in for a drink everytime I go back for family vacation!
P. S. The owner of the bar, George, was bartending and he is literally the best ever!

Recent updates increased seating capacities, new restrooms and removed the godawful vending machine. Same friendly atmosphere and heavy pours. And red carpet on the walls.

We’re from out of town, we wanted to try out a few gay/​lesbian bars. This was a predominately male bar which we were expecting and is fine w us! We sat down at a table and an employee soon after walked by us, made eye contact but couldn’t bother to smile or take our drink orders. He wiped off a few tables, walked by us again and back behind the bar. So I got up and ordered at the bar. The man that helped me was very friendly. Drinks were averagely priced. There was a shot special 2 Rumplemintz for $ 3.75 which was awesome. I probably wouldn’t go back if I were in town again but may feel differently if I were a male.

Not a dive bar. Maybe it was once, but who’s old enough to remember? I went here one night early when there was only the bartender and one other person, so I could see it. The place was spotless, well-​decorated, a long bar with non-​tatty stools, soft banquettes along the side, nice lights, cool jukebox. My cocktail, a martini, was well made and «stiff» (hehe). Pricey but they have 2−4−1 specials when the light flashes.
Can’t comment on the crowd that night, though I remember (vaguely) a previous occasion when the crowd seemed like a gay cross section, not down-​and-​out. Plus they play a video of their customers on the tv monitors and judging from that, they’re all cuties (well, who are they going to show?). So think lounge, not dive, and go if you can find the entrance.

Ah, time to review this place. Hopefully you all can find it because we walked by it like 4 times without noticing it, which makes the name of the bar that much more awesome.
It’s divey, fun, and cozy. Bartenders are nice and every time I’m in there everyone seems to be having a great time. I love their jukebox and there is always some super gay song on, which I love. Loop Janet and Britney all night, I don’t mind. Drinks are cheap and poured generously. Drink specials alllll the time, especially when that disco ball is all lit up! Check their website out for specials.
Random pet peeve of mine though: they use those super old school rotating cloth towel things in the bathroom. The germaphobe in me says no. Just nooo.
Still, a fun bar. I see myself here in the not-​so-​distant future. Many times!

It’s a shame we don’t live in the city, because this would become my after-​work watering hole and general «let’s get a drink» spot.
I don’t agree with other reviewers that this is a dive bar, however. It’s classier than that.
Unfortunately, each time we’ve gone the bar has been mostly empty, so I’ve not had a chance to experience the crowd. I’ll update once I make it out there during a busy time.

This bar was in our Wisconsin bar Book (Bottoms Up: A Toast to Wisconsin’s Historic Bars and Breweries) as a historic bar. Probably because it’s the oldest gay bar in Milwaukee, but we didn’t feel it was all that special. Bartender was very attentative and drink prices were very reasonable. Very dark inside, probably one of the darkest bars I’ve been in. It took at leat 15 minutes to have our eyes adjust. One oddity is there’s a vending machine with snacks and cigarettes right as you walk in that just doesn’t blend in with the surrounding décor.

3 words sum this joint up: gay dive bar.
I don’t think they need more explaining… dive bar for gays with a jukebox where you pay to choose your songs. When I say dive… I mean the textbook dive bar if there ever was one. Drink specials occasionally (when the light lights up). Nice bartenders… mixed crowd… more towards the older crowd though.
You either hate or love it.
If you like pretentious clubs w/​dance-​electro-​trance music… don’t come here.
If you like chill bars to chat with friends or meet locals… this is your place.
I tend to stand in the middle of the gay nightlife spectrum so this place was alright… but I’m also from the West Coast where gay bars are glitzy… so it’s a change for me.

Awesome old school gay bar. You might miss it if you were just walking by as it has a tiny sign on a nondescript door that says This Is It. And boy was it IT when my friend was in town and I needed to take him to a decent gay spot. We’ve been to many places in NY and Chicago, but I had no clue what Milw had to offer. I read an article which highlighted the cool aspects of this place.
Really classic — dark, no windows, stiff cocktails, very knowledgeable friendly bartender.

This is It, or TITS as its known by locals, is your classic old school gay bar. Throwback to the days without windows, the double doors to get through, and a seemingly hidden location (you’ll miss it if you’re not looking hard), this place has all the old world charm one could want.
The bartenders here are fabulous and make an effort to get to know many of the regulars. Many nights here definitely have a ‘Cheers’ atmosphere about them.
Drinks are stiff, always poured the same (2 shots, measured), and everything is accurately served in its correct vessel. Beer range isnt that great (think domestics), but Lakefront is on tap. Cocktails and booze take center stage here, and shots are 2−4−1 past 10 every night.
If you don’t feel comfortable at this bar, you should probably loosen up your girdle or take out whatever is jammed up your ass, because This is It is truly a classic, laid back cocktail lounge. Cheers!