Kegel’s Inn has reached a milestone almost unheard of for restaurants – in 2024, it turned 100 years old. While dining trends cycle in and out, the historic West Allis spot marches on inside a relic-filled tribute to German cuisine.
But in this age of technique-driven cooking with global influences, it hasn’t been easy to lure crowds in for sauerbraten and hasenpfeffer, owner Julian Kegel says.
“We’re floating alone in left field here,” says the great-grandson of founders John and Anna Kegel. “Just like every other German restaurant, as soon as you fade from the public eye, you’re gone.”
It’s time to pick your Milwaukee favorites for the year!
But the centennial is a chance to get their story out, and the festivities continue into May.
German cuisine – and beer! – is in our collective DNA, though the authentic food part has grown elusive. When Kegel took over the restaurant in 2014, his focus on “reinforcing the brand” included righting a wrong that was happening in the kitchen. The gravies – part of the backbone of German cuisine – were being made from powders, he says. Now, he says, they’re made from scratch.
I’ve visited twice recently and, both times, left happy. The first meal starred a trio of German delicacies – hasenpfeffer, jaegerschnitzel and beef rouladen.
All were delicious. A thick and well-flavored (lots of thyme) rabbit stew, hasenpfeffer ($35) came with good firm-chewy spaetzle dumplings – a huge portion. Kegel’s serves several schnitzel creations, from which I had the jaegerschnitzel ($32), a breaded veal cutlet in a creamy mushroom-onion gravy.
The crisp, lightly seasoned breading held its own next to the rich, earthy sauce. The beef rouladen ($37) – thin sliced top round wrapped around a filling of onion, pickles and bacon – was tender, tangy and comforting, with a thick, silky gravy.
The lunchtime Friday fish fry was good, too. This place offers fish variety, and I went for a mix of them: walleye, cod, bluegill and lake perch, all breaded and fried ($18-$25). The only disappointment was the fishy-tasting perch. The best were the plump and mild cod and meaty, tender, flavorful walleye.
The sides held strong, too: crisp french fries; coleslaw thick, with crunchy and creamy meeting in the middle. There’s an upcharge for some sides, including potato pancakes ($2 for two) – oniony, a little oily, decent but not exceptional. But the German potato salad ($2) was so good – warm, tangy-sweet, with perfectly cooked potatoes – I remembered why I came here: for a not-easily-found experience I need to have more often.
In 1924, when John Kegel opened a “soft drink parlor,” the Austrian immigrant concealed the business’ true purpose – as a speakeasy serving homemade beer. Next door, a local entrepreneur opened the Grape Juice Products Co. in the Babich Building. Julian Kegel suspects it, too, was a front for selling alcohol.
“So Kegel’s is next door, bootlegging beer,” he says. “In the basement of the Babich Building, they’re providing the wine. Also, in our dining room at Kegel’s was actually a small candy shop, so I can only imagine that they used that to get their wholesale malt and barley for bootlegging and that all three of these businesses were in cahoots.”
Kegel’s now owns the Babich Building and rents it out to Great Lakes Distillery, which recently opened a bar (serving cocktails, beer and wine) called Still & Oak.
Kegel’s Inn
Address: 5901 W. National Ave., 414-257-9999
Hours: Tues-Thurs, Sat 4-8 p.m.; Fri 11.m.-9 p.m.
Prices: Entrées $19-$46
Service: Expeditious and plenty of Gemütlichkeit!
Reservations: Recommended on Fri-Sat nights
