There’s more than one way to ring in the new year, whether it’s a family-friendly outing or a wine-paired dinner. Some of the best restaurants and venues in the Milwaukee area will serve a special menu or offer a unique activity.
Here’s where to go and what to do on New Year’s Eve.
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WHERE TO EAT
Amilinda
315 E. WISCONSIN AVE.
A special à la carte menu inspired by the staff’s recent trip to Portugal will be served on New Year’s Eve, featuring a mix of nine starters and entrées, such as Galician-style octopus and smoked duck breast, followed by Iberian black pork secreto, roasted cod and a vegetable rice dish.
Book a table through OpenTable.
Agency Cocktail Lounge
817 N. MARSHALL ST.
Bridging cocktails with a murder mystery, Dubbel Dutch – the boutique hotel that’s home to this lounge – is transformed into Ashford Legacy on New Year’s Eve. Tickets for this immersive experience, in which participants are given a specific role and tasked with solving a mystery concerning the Ashford family, cost $155 per person. Bites paired with a cocktail menu are included. There are two seatings: 6 p.m.-8:30 p.m. and 9 p.m. to 11:30 p.m.
Reserve a ticket through Tock.
Bacchus – A Bartolotta Restaurant
925 E. WELLS ST.
Paired with wines, the three-course dinner menu ($130) will be served from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m., with the option to add caviar service, too. Included on the menu are choices such as crepes with mushrooms, Virginia ham and truffle bechamel; Faroe Island salmon and Champagne mousse with fresh fruit.
Book a table through OpenTable.
Bartolotta’s Lake Park Bistro
3133 E. NEWBERRY BLVD.
Staying true to its French roots, this bistro’s customizable three-course menu ($125+) on New Year’s Eve will include New York strip steak, pan-roasted salmon filet and profiteroles served with Caribbean chocolate. The meal is served between 4 p.m. and 10 p.m.
Book a table through OpenTable.
Café Benelux
346 N. BROADWAY
In celebration of New Year’s Eve, this Third Ward Café is offering a special dinner item: char-grilled steak and brie baguette, along with house frites and arugula.
Book a table through Toast.
Café Hollander
LOCATIONS IN BROOKFIELD, MEQUON, MILWAUKEE AND WAUWATOSA
On New Year’s Eve, this restaurant will be serving up a special not normally found on the menu: lobster mac and cheese. The dish features rotini pasta, a five-cheese sauce, lobster meat, wild mushrooms and leeks.
Book a table through Toast.
Centraal Grand Café & Tappery
2306 S. KINNICKINNIC AVE.
Shrimp fettuccini in Champagne cream is a festive addition to the menu on New Year’s Eve, with shrimp, roasted tomato and Champagne-infused cream sauce tossed with fettuccini pasta.
Book a table through Toast.
Charles E. Fromage
5811 W. VLIET ST.
Between 4 p.m. and midnight, this wine bar will make a toast to the New Year as it turns midnight in spots around the world. This is also the last night of the bar’s Parisian-themed pop-up experience that aims to transport guests back to Paris’ Montmarte neighborhood during the 1950s.
No reservations are needed.
Engine Company No. 3
217 W. NATIONAL AVE.
Hosted by La Merenda at their off-site event space, there are two experiences: “New Year’s Celebration” ($90, at 9 p.m.) and “New Year’s Dinner” ($80, at 5 p.m.). For the celebration, tickets include all-you-can-drink beverages (including sangria), plus a Champagne toast at midnight, tapas, dancing and music by DJs all night long. Enjoy Osso Buco, other dishes and Italian wines at the dinner. If you purchase a dinner, the party is reduced to $70.
Book a ticket or a table through OpenTable.
Harbor House
550 N. HARBOR DR.
Both surf and turf options are on the special New Year’s Eve three-course menu ($130+) at this restaurant along Lake Michigan’s shoreline, such as oysters and caviar, or filet mignon, as well as espresso crème brûlée for dessert. The dinner is served between 4 p.m. and 10 p.m.
Book a table through OpenTable.
Joey Gerard’s – A Bartolotta Supper Club
56701 BROAD ST., GREENDALE
Items on the à la carte menu at this supper-club concept on New Year’s Eve – served between 4 p.m. and 10 p.m. – include oysters Rockefeller, Wagyu carpaccio, New York strip (for two) and stuffed crab.
Book a table through OpenTable.
Honeypie Café
2569 S. KINNICKINNIC AVE.
Offering a family-friendly New Year’s Eve, this Bay View diner will continue its “kids eat free” promotion between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m., where a kids meal is free with each purchase of an adult meal. Beginning at 3 p.m., the chefs will introduce special New Year’s Eve dishes that are not normally available on the regular menu.
Lakefront Brewery
1872 N. COMMERCE ST.
At this family-friendly event ($55 per adult, $20 per child 12 and under) at the East Side craft brewery and taproom, you can celebrate the second annual Swedish New Year, with the countdown to the New Year beginning at 5 p.m. However, the event runs from 3:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. The event honors Wisconsin’s first Swedish community (established in 1841 at Pine Lake near Waukesha), and activities include munching on Swedish-inspired eats while dancing to music as well as participating in the “build a shelf” project ($20 per team) as an ode to “everyone’s favorite Swedish furniture store.” Adult tickets include a Champagne toast, either a non-alcoholic or alcoholic drink, plus – for all ages – a charcuterie display, food buffet and dessert table.
Reserve a ticket through Tock.
Le Reve Patisserie & Café
7610 HARWOOD AVE., WAUWATOSA
On New Year’s Eve, a special prix-fixe dinner menu (three courses, $90; four courses, $100 and wine pairings an additional $40) will be served, with two to three selections in each course. For the main course, those choices are barramundi, New York strip and vol au vent (a vegetable-filled puff pastry). Fruits de mer (oysters, lobster, shrimp and mussels) can be added for an extra fee ($65-$105).
Book a table through Resy.
Lupi & Iris
777 N. VAN BUREN ST.
This downtown fine-dining restaurant inspired by the French and Italian Rivieras will be open for lunch and dinner on New Year’s Eve, serving a three-course, prix-fixe lunch ($50+ per person) between 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., and then a four-course dinner ($155+ per person), starting at 5 p.m. until 9:45 p.m. Tack on caviar and flutes of Champagne for an additional charge.
Book a table through Tock.
Mason Street Grill
425 E. MASON ST.
From 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. on New Year’s Eve, this steakhouse inside The Pfister Hotel’s special meal is a prix-fixe menu ($84), featuring decadent items like twin lobster tails from South Africa or New Zealand Red Stag strip.
Book a table through OpenTable.
MOVIDA at Hotel Madrid
600 S. 6TH ST.
Priced at $55 per person, the unlimited-tapas experience at this Spanish-style restaurant includes tapas, tostas and other dishes from the menu, such as patatas bravas, croquetas and jamon serrano.
Book a table through OpenTable.
Mr. B’s A Bartolotta Steakhouse – Brookfield
18380 W. CAPITOL DR., BROOKFIELD
Between 4 p.m. and 10 p.m. on New Year’s Eve, the steakhouse’s Brookfield location plans to serve an à la carte menu with selections such as lobster tail thermidor, sea scallops and rigatoni pasta (a vegetarian option).
Book a table through OpenTable.
Mr. B’s A Bartolotta Steakhouse – Mequon
11120 N. CEDARBURG RD., MEQUON
For New Year’s Eve, serving between 4 p.m. and 10 p.m., the a la carte menu’s specials include Australian Wagyu tataki, wild striped bass and tuxedo cake.
Book a table through OpenTable.
Ristorante Bartolotta dal 1993
7616 W. STATE ST., WAUWATOSA
Each dish on the four-course menu served at this Italian restaurant on New Year’s Eve channels Italy, including spiced butternut-squash soup, pecorino-filled ravioli, wine-braised beef and espresso panna cotta. Alba white truffles can be tacked on to any savory dish for an additional charge.
Book a table through OpenTable.
Saint Kate – The Arts Hotel
139 E. KILBOURN AVE.
Live music by Evan Christian and Joe Jordan, plus party favors and a Champagne toast at midnight, are at the Bar between 3 p.m. and 1 p.m. on New Year’s Eve – or you can enjoy two different dining experiences. An intimate 20-course omakase menu ($175) that includes a sparkling-sake toast will be served in the Arc Theater at 7 p.m. At The Studio Kitchen & Cocktails, dinner is served between 5 p.m. and 11 p.m., with prime rib and double chocolate cake with raspberry sauce on the special menu.
Book a table for the omakase meal through Tock and The Studio through Tock.
The Commodore – A Bartolotta Restaurant
1807 NAGAWICKA RD., HARTLAND
On the three-course menu ($150+) served on New Year’s Eve between 4 p.m. and 10 p.m., you’ll find menu selections such as sea scallops, Wagyu ribeye and sticky toffee pudding. Special for the holiday, at an additional charge, are a seafood tower, caviar and burrata paired with prosciutto.
Book a table through OpenTable.
The INN
110 COTTONWOOD AVE. HARTLAND
To properly celebrate New Year’s Eve, this new restaurant, where many items are wood-fired, will offer caviar and seafood platters, along with bottles of sparkling wine to order. This will be available between 4 p.m. and through the last seating, at 8 p.m.
Book a table through Tock.
WHAT TO DO
The Outsider
310 E. CHICAGO ST.
This rooftop bar on the ninth floor at Kimpton Journeyman Hotel in the Third Ward is hosting Champagne Supernova New Year’s Eve ($134.40), starting at 8 p.m. and until 1 a.m. Complimentary sparkling wine is included with admission, as are live-DJ sets, themed photo ops, henna-tattoo stations, fortune tellers and an ice sculpture with tequila sampling. There will also be aerial bartenders. Suggested dress code is described as “formal wear with white, glitter and gold accents.”
Reserve a ticket through EventBrite.
Embassy Suites by Hilton Milwaukee Brookfield
1200 S. MOORLAND RD., BROOKFIELD
Epic Events by Holly is hosting a New Year’s Eve party ($75) that kicks off at 7 p.m. and is marketed toward adults 45 years or older. The evening includes dancing, live music by Soulercoaster, appetizers, late-night snacks and desserts, and a Champagne toast. The dress code is cocktail attire.
Reserve a ticket through Square.
Bradley Symphony Center
212 W. WISCONSIN AVE.
This performing-arts center, home to the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, is hosting “The NYE Experience” ($108.39) beginning at 9 p.m. and lasting until 2 a.m. This is a black-tie event featuring live music and entertainment by Myron “M-Town” Smith and The Ricketts Show.
Reserve a ticket through EventBrite.
The Lynq
530 N. WATER ST.
For an R&B-style New Year’s Eve, this downtown lounge opens at 10 p.m. with live R&B music, DJs, food, drinks and a complimentary Champagne toast at midnight. This event is for adults 30 years and older and a cocktail attire is required.
Reserve a ticket through EventBrite.
