The wait is almost over. High Stakes, the new Downtown steakhouse from the Bartolotta Restaurants, has announced its opening date: Thursday, Sept. 17. High Stakes is in the space formerly occupied by Bartolotta’s Rumpus Room (1030 N. Water St.), which closed in 2020.
Company owner/co-founder Paul Bartolotta has been vocal about his objective of reinvesting in Milwaukee’s Downtown, saying via press release, that the enterprise combines “experiences that have shaped my career while reflecting my continued belief in my city.”
As it did with The Commodore on Nagawicka Lake in Hartland, the restaurant group worked with Jay Franke Design, whose inspiration came from classic London lounges, and also the professional experiences Bartolotta alludes to in his quote. That includes his tenure in Las Vegas operating the Italian seafood joint, Bartolotta Ristorante di Mare, at the Wynn Hotel. Its 11-year run ended in 2016.
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To create High Stakes, Bartolotta has been working alongside both the company’s culinary director, Aaron Bickham, and High Stakes’ chef de cuisine, Ian Jones. The restaurant will have a separate beef program (called “High Steaks”) that features cuts sourced from around the world, including super-premium USDA prime, American Wagyu crossbreed, Australian and Japanese purebred Wagyu, and aged, grass-fed, heritage beef. Diners will be able to order the HS Wagyu Tasting Experience, a tasting of American, Australian and Japanese Wagyu all presented side by side.
The High Steaks menu will also offer the very rare A5 Asaki Beef, a red Japanese Wagyu from Miyazaki Prefecture with a beef marbling rating of 12. (For those unfamiliar with the lingo, that’s as high as that metric goes.) Other examples of high-end beef the restaurant will offer: a 45-day, dry-aged, bone-in rib eye; and Stone Axe Wagyu (sourced from New South Wales in Australia), known for its marbling and buttery mouthfeel.
The menu, though, isn’t all turf. Other items shared in advance include Oscietre caviar, a luxury caviar from Paris-based Kaviari; one of the preparations features potato “coins” and chive blossoms served with this caviar. Among the menu’s shellfish and crustacean selections will be langoustines (sourced from an “undisclosed location”) and red king crab from the Bering Sea off the Aleutian Islands.
Another item is the 7-ounce filet mignon topped with a porcini mushroom bone marrow and herb crust, potato mousseline and a Barolo wine sauce. And a dish made for two: the Perfect Split, Mediterranean lobster and lobster-herb mouse in a puff pastry with seafood-based sauce Americaine.
High Stakes’ hours-to-be are Tues-Thurs 5-9 p.m.; Fri-Sat 5-10 p.m. Reservations are available here.
Opening concurrently is the Peacock Lounge, located next door to High Stakes. The cocktail lounge influenced by classic art deco design. Some of the details released about it are a lacquered bar with gold trim, along fringe-accented seating, antique mirrors, warm lighting and the use of the color peacock blue. The lounge also has its own food menu. It includes gougere pastries with Wagyu beef, Balik-smoked salmon loin served with toasted buttery brioche, the High Stakes Wagyu burger, and shrimp toasts topped with Dungeness crab and Aurora sauce (a classic French tomato cream sauce).
The Peacock Lounge’s hours will be Tues-Thurs 4 p.m.-midnight; Fri-Sat 4 p.m.-1 a.m.
