Ward’s House of Prime

Wards is my absolute favorite steak place in the city. Any time it’s a special event or people are in from out of town I try to secure dinner here.
The filet is drop dead awesome (well everything is actually). I’m not a guy that likes fat on his steaks so I normally opt for a filet but I tried the 24 oz prime rib one night. I was shocked at how there was absolutely no fat on it! Just melts in your mouth.

My folks and I went here on New year’s Eve and it was a very pleasant experience. I disagree with some of the people on here complaining it’s too crowded. We had plenty of space. Not only was the steak delicious, the crab cakes and twice baked potatoes were great, plus for the price and the service was just right, not underwelming, but not overwelming. I would definitely go here again.

The food food overall was good, I ordered the 6 oz filet w/​3 scallops and the scallops were perfection. The filet lacked a tiny bit in flavor but was cooked just right. My parents ordered the prime rib and both agreed they were delicious. Ambience lacked majorly. Our server forgot to ask all 3 of us how we wanted our steak. Ironic. Thankfully I wasn’t on a date, I would have felt embarrassed.

Please .just don’t order the lobster raviolli. It was very bland. no real sauce at all. One person at our table had an aged New York strip ordered medium, it came out well. Another had prime rib. he said he was happy with it.

Went here last night for New Year’s dinner and the food was fabulous. This was our first time here and we highly recommend it!

5 Stars for the prime rib. 3 stars for the steak. Come here if you’re in the mood for prime rib as It is amazing. Do not come here and order steak as there are better choices within a block or two. I have had both and the strip steak was… meh. The prime rib I ordered several times now melts in your mouth. No one does prime rib better than Wards. But I can not stress this enough: do not bother with anything else on the menu!

Went to Ward’s Milwaukee for a birthday dinner and would not return.
The dining room is neither cozy nor comfortable – the booths are almost like banquettes, where you sit side by side with your dinner companion. Who wants to sit staring out at strangers dining? I expect a chophouse to have an intimate, conversation-​friendly booth.
Our waiter was brand new and being trained. When he brought our drinks to the table, he struggled a bit and ended up spilling half my drink all over the tablecloth. The woman who was training him handled this situation by unfolding a napkin and laying it out over the giant wet spot in front of me, then setting my cocktail on top of the napkin! The place was empty – why were we not moved to a new table with a dry tablecloth? On top of that, I was charged for the drink despite the fact that the waiter had spilled half of it.
As others here have said, the bread brought to the table was stale and dry. It was either under a heat lamp for hours or warmed in a microwave. The small cheese rolls were solid rocks and completely inedible. The scallops we ordered did not have a good sear on them and were mushy, the salad was wet and tasteless, the Brussel’s sprouts were so salty they were inedible, and the twice-​baked potato was somewhat dry and kind of gross. I ordered prime rib and it was well cooked and perfectly OK (although pretty fatty). The meat was the only good part of the meal, but it was still no better than, say, the prime rib at a chain like Outback Steakhouse.
For the two of us, this meal came to something like $ 220 (including tip). Ugh.

Awesome atmosphere, food and service. It has become my go to place of out of town friends and clients.

This was our first time at Ward’s for dinner. We have been there several times for special events. When we arrived they seated us almost immediately. The service was great. There also wasn’t a restaurant full of people either. So maybe the ideal day to go is Monday’s. I had their 10oz Filet, cooked to a perfect medium. It came with soup or side salad and choice of potato. A bit pricey for a 10oz at $ 42, but made up for price with tenderness and flavor. If you are looking for Prime Rib, this is your source. If you eat the new record cut of meat. Not only is your meal on them, but you get to name the record Prime Rib to be added to the menu. A new record was just set a few weeks ago at a knee wobbling 176oz. Yes, I said 11lbs of Prime Rib! We will be back that is for sure.

Having been to Ward’s a few times for holiday parties, my husband and I decided to come here during their normal operating hours for dinner. We are so glad that we did! Ward’s House of Prime has a very good reputation, and they certainly lived up to it during our visit.
When we arrived, we were able to be seated immediately. The staff is very welcoming and friendly. Our server, Tim, was excellent. He did a great job explaining the menu and the specials to us. Each dinner comes with soup of the day or salad and choice of potato. On this visit, we were given the option to upgrade to the lobster bisque for $ 2 more. I was all over that! The bisque was amazing.
For my dinner, I had the lobster ravioli with creamy alfredo sauce. Mmm! The ravioli was full of cheese and lobster, and very flavorful. My husband was kind enough to let me sample some of his 10oz filet. The steak was cooked medium, and was tender and juicy.
If you are looking for a good, quality place for a good, quality dining experience, then this is a place you should check out. It is worth every penny. We are already discussing a day to go back to Ward’s again.

This place is alright.. Went here on a Wednesday night and sat in the lounge area. It was pretty dead at 8p on a Wednesday. Seemed pretty causal. Service was excellent, prime rib (24oz) was pretty good ordered medium rare but was more on the medium side. They use that real leafy spring mix for the side salad which i don’t like but didn’t go here for a salad,. The lobster bisque was decent ($ 2 up charge for side). I was drinking Hendricks and tonic they were rather on the weak side but whatever. I would definately stick to prime rib here and possibly stay away from mixed drinks and get beer next time. Overall bill was $ 77 before tip. i ll be back again

I really wish I could say this was one of the most awesome meals that we’ve ever had as we went to Ward’s for a birthday celebration. After spending close to $ 200 on a dinner for two, one doesn’t want to hear «my steak was okay.»
The crab cakes and lobster bisque were awesome! The prime rib was overly fatty and the New York Strip was very dry.
Lovely restaurant, very attentive service though!

I’ve been to Ward’s a few times. The last time I went I ordered the Ahi Tuna Steak. I know this place is known for prime rib/​steaks but I was in the mood for some good tuna steak. The Ahi Tuna Steak was just okay, no seasoning so it was kind of plain tasting. The soup that came with the entrée was good (Tomato Bisque). The twice baked potato was okay too. If the prices were a little less I might have gave an extra star but for the price of everything I would of thought more.
Parking can be tight so be prepared to do some driving if you don’t want to valet parking.

I’ve only been to Ward’s a couple of times for lunch, and both times I’ve had a prime rib sandwich. I think the price is pretty reasonable for what you get, and I do mean to go back in the evening one of these days, in which case I expect to order the prime rib for dinner. Frankly, it seems to me that when one goes to a place calling itself the «House of Prime,» one might as well have what they say they are good at.
The hostesses and wait staff have been excellent in my experience. I don’t really like entering restaurants via the bar area, but that’s true at a lot of places, and once one gets to the actual table the place is not too noisy.
Lunch is full of business people, so it feels a bit dressier than my usual East Side haunts, but the last time I was there one group was dressed like construction workers, so they won’t turn you away for wearing a wife-​beater.

It is a very nice place, not cheap and unfortunately for the cost I was not impressed, at least for lunch. I was surprised by how small the portion of potato salad was and it was ok. They filet was fine as well.
The Brussels sprouts were excellent, if you order an additional side, it is much larger and shareable, but then it’s also an additional cost.
To note, when it comes to food and the cost of the meal, you can see by my posts I am not cheap, quite the opposite. I am willing to spend, but I expected to see value either in the genius cuisine or portions, service and ambience anything.
Also, I was there for lunch, I suspect dinner is much more impressive. So I would recommend trying it for dinner.
Apparently, if you eat an insane amount of steak, they will name the portion size after you.

My experience at Wards was really disappointing. I was there for a business meeting/​sort of interview so I wasn’t paying which was a good thing.
First, the positive — the service was very good, hence the second star. Our server was attentive but conscious of not interrupting discussions. That’s an art and I always appreciate it when a server manages to do this. The interior is «pleasant» — clubby, but not overdone.
The food? Honestly, it was terrible. To some degree I blame myself, because it is a steakhouse and I ordered fish. But when the dish is running upwards of $ 30, I don’t expect to receive dry, overcooked salmon coated with a thick layer of that nasty gray stuff (the fishy gross part) underneath. My fish was served with an «Asian inspired glaze» which thankfully came on the side because it was vile. Another person had the same thing and described it as «KC Masterpiece and soy sauce».
Entrees come with soup or salad and a potato, which is nice as most steakhouses are totally alacarte. I asked to sub Brussels sprouts for a potato and was told there would be an up charge — if you’re going to charge me extra for a thing, that thing better be GOOD. These Brussels sprouts? Heinous. They were completely unseasoned and tossed in the fryer — for way too long. They were a sad, burnt, oily, inedible mess.
Had this not been a business dinner, I would have sent the entire lot back. But, you can’t really complain in that situation so my dinner remained largely uneaten. Maybe Wards is really great for steaks — i won’t be back to find out though. There are too many other steakhouses nearby that serve edible food.

the prime was pretty good and the price was excellent. They serve some monstrosity of a 150 oz prime rib which looks ginormous even though it’s served on a garbage can lid sized plate. two free sides which I can’t recall after eating myself into a meat coma. The lobster bisque was richer than the west coast iteration. I think they fed the lobsters butter before making them into soup. If you’re a vegan or a vegetarian, you might want to consider eating before coming to Milwaukee. The kitchen is open until 10:00 so it was a great late evening dinner after getting off a plane.

Called on Good Friday to see if they had a Fish Fry or at least a seafood special, as per the religion of every practicing catholic to not eat meat during lent. Hell, lets be honest — The entire city of Milwaukee doesn’t eat meat on ANY friday with the popularity of Fish Fry with our culture.
The woman who answered the phone put me on hold and came back with:
«No! We are having Prime Rib Friday Tonight!» Really — no seafood to offer?
I totally understand if you don’t want a $ 15 Fish Fry but at least tell me you have a $ 28 Seafood Special — nope, nothing.

The only reason I am not duchess here is because I come so frequently I don’t bother to check in. Prime rib, steak, pork chops, Reuben, steak sandwich, French dip — Say Meat! Say Milwaukee Brewing Happy Hour! Booyah! Ride to Brewers games, meet up with friends. There are a number of good steakhouses in Milwaukee, but my vote goes to Wards for quality, cook to order (rare, med, med rare), service, atmosphere, and Booyah!

The place: Dim, sort of romantic, except for the idea that someone across the table from you could order a 64 oz piece of meat. Decent service, overall a pleasant experience.
The taste: Not for the faint of heart. The carpaccio appetizer was huge. It almost could have been enough for a meal for one. It was cut a little thicker, but on a crostini with the salty tapenade… I didn’t really care. The caramelized Brussels sprouts were pretty succulent, especially when paired with a steak. The butternut squash ravioli was almost too sweet, but ultimately was creamy, tasty, and again, a sizeable portion. It was nice that for a $ 19 entrée, they were generous enough to give me 10 raviolis, instead of the more traditional 4. I ate them all. The banana cake was okay. I wanted it to be amazing, but it was a little too dense, with a really sticky frosting that seemed to be the result of a marriage between fondant and buttercream. We still took half of it home in a doggy bag, though.
My face: They include an 18% tip, which was definitely deserved, but I almost missed it and tipped what would have been an exorbitant amount. The damage for 2, with a $ 25 off coupon from
…~$ 100, with tip. All in a all, a lovely evening… until we had to run to the Riverside for a show, but that was mostly our fault.
Enjoy!