When I was growing up, there was a certain cachet to the Talbots stores. They outfitted women in classic, timeless looks built to last – the antithesis of trendy fast fashion. Today, I think of The Bartolotta Restaurants as the Talbots of dining – purveyors of sturdy, fine-tailored food built to withstand shifting trends. This is no less the case at their new The Commodore, an impressive redevelopment of the former Weissgerber’s Seven Seas on Nagawicka Lake in Hartland.
Restaurateur Paul Bartolotta says the sprawling property came on his radar years ago when his late brother and group co-founder Joe asked him to drive out there and look at it. Over the years, the 1902 structure had been a resort, disco, school, girls camp. What stuck in Paul’s memory was the lake view, the parking lot (!) and especially, he says, the “mammoth undertaking” of it all. “The opportunity was there, the location was amazing, and the vision in alignment,” he says now.
It’s time to pick your Milwaukee favorites for the year!
Seven Seas closed in 2020, after 39 years. Bartolotta’s partners in The Commodore, David Herro and Jay Franke of HF Hospitality Group, had completed an elegant renovation of The George event space in Walker’s Point. And they brought a similar polish and stateliness to The Commodore.
The 17,000-square-foot building has suites, a ballroom and lounge, and other private indoor and outdoor spaces beyond the restaurant, which itself includes connected dining rooms and a bar – all meticulously decorated, from the elegant crown molding to the Italian linens to the English bone china.
The service, which has long been Bartolotta’s bailiwick and is never subtle, is also on overdrive. And to some, the eagerness to please can come off as overbearing. One night, a server called me “Mrs. —,” because, I gathered, the friend who joined me was male and the reservation was in his name. He and I winced a bit but let it go. Also, each table is waited on by three servers – one more than Bartolotta’s typical staffing. On the one hand, we were never neglected. On the other, it sometimes felt like the server team was hovering.
My meals were good – very applying to the second of them. With a range of steaks, chops, fish and other plates, it feels like a classic Bartolotta menu, with some dishes that tie it to the past.
They are nostalgic here; at a quieter moment, I note Elvis Presley and Nina Simone on the dining room playlist. Nostalgia is broadly defined to include seafood bisque from a Bartolotta family recipe; the iconic beef Wellington; and wiener schnitzel, a breaded veal homage to the late Seven Seas owner Jack Weissgerber.
The lens, however, is modern, and has some unexpected additions like the fried squash blossoms ($17), offered as a starter. Four of these delicate edible flowers from the squash plant were stuffed with creamy honeyed sheep’s milk cheese, battered and fried – so light, airy yet rich.
Ahead of the late July opening, Bartolotta promised to celebrate Wisconsin creameries and cheesemongers. That’s evident in the delectable bowl of Pleasant Ridge Reserve cheese pudding ($21) topped with chanterelle mushrooms and sliced pear, into which I eagerly dipped my spoon to access the pudding’s slipper-soft earthiness and nutty bite.
The pudding was wonderful scooped on bread – when I wasn’t slathering on salted Vermont butter. Another starter star was the Georges Bank sea scallops ($26), two mollusks paired with meaty little chanterelles, beads of smoked salmon caviar and a silky champagne butter sauce.
The two salads I’ve eaten here – Waldorf ($15) and crab Louie ($28) – were both lovely. I appreciated that the former – historically, a fruit-nut salad dressed in mayo – was essentially a leafy greens salad studded with judicious amounts of red grapes, dried cherries, apple, candied walnuts and Hook’s blue cheese. The crab Louie was a vehicle for the sweet, meaty Dungeness crab, along with avocado, crisp-tender asparagus, hard-boiled egg and green goddess dressing.
Of the mains, I’d order the halibut ($45) again in a heartbeat – firm, flaky fish, veg (carrot, zucchini, butternut squash) and a veritable pond of beurre blanc – but would skip the salmon ($45), if the treatment hasn’t changed. Butter-poached, with a mustard sauce, fennel and potato mousseline, the fish seemed lost, overshadowed by mustard. The double-cut lamb chops ($58), topped with herb gremolata, are revelational – tender and so meaty, served with tiny pieces of roasted turnip and fingerling potato.
And I have no memory of Seven Seas’ schnitzel, but the Bartolotta one ($42) is a dream – maybe a quarter-inch thin and wide, tender and golden, topped with plenty of butter sauce and peppery fresh arugula. Dessert ($12) is a necessity here, my favorite a profiterole (cream puff) with poached peaches, peach-bourbon caramel sauce and buttermilk ice cream. Elegant and luscious.
The Commodore is the most intricate Bartolotta creation (or co-creation) since Harbor House. And it sounds like it won’t be the company’s last. “We have more things on the horizon,” Paul says. “Literally, I’m just getting started.”
The Commodore – A Bartolotta Restaurant
Address: 1807 Nagawicka Rd., Hartland, 262-563-8070
Hours: Tues-Sun 5-9 p.m.
Prices: Starters $17-$26; soups and salad $12-$28; mains $28-$76; desserts $12. Separate bar menu includes apps, small bites and a burger.
Service: Some pomp and circumstance – eager, friendly and deferential
Reservations:Very recommended and at times difficult to secure
