The Hale House — Restaurant in Hales Corners

Edit. Back when 3 people could eat here for 60 bucks, it would be a 2 star due to inconsistent product. Now that same meal costs 100, 1 star. It's won't risk a mediocre product for that.

What star rating should I give? Can I give more than one. The Hale House does one thing very well - be hopelessly and haplessly inconsistent.

One day the French Onion soup will be wildly rich and the cheese perfect. The next day it will be thin and the cheese barely baked on. Some days the sweet potato fries will be tender and hot, the next day cold and dry. I have had Brussel sprouts to die for here, and I have had them were they were barely cooked. (Charring brussel sprouts is flavor - Ask Fork & Tap)

The burgers will be perfect one day, then a sloppy mess the next. Then too dry. The first few times it happened I ignored it, but now the thought of going fills me with dread. I went again last night, but I had to fight the fear that it would be a poor experience.

Aside from the side eye look from the hostesses (who were both looking at their phone instead of being alert for customers). I assume they were annoyed I was disturbing whatever they were doing.

I ordered the same side I always do (Sweet potato Fries) and French Onion Soup. Rolling the proverbial dice, the soup was thin and flavorless, but the fries were good. Tender but with a crispy exterior.

And they had one of the good ciders. That was nice.

I ordered the Prime Rib - a 30 dollar dish was tough. Super tough. This is a muscle that the cow barely uses. It is considered the second most tender piece. Maybe they hurried cooking it (It was later in the evening). It looked good, but it was incredibly chewy and difficult to cut. I had to saw through it as if I were a lumberjack.

Maybe I should have returned it. I honestly don't know the etiquette on that anymore. Plus I can probably salvage it with a low and slow warm in the oven. I was getting full anyway so I took it home.

The waitstaff were great. Lauren was as attentive as I needed her to be. Neither too doting nor absent. But The staff has always been the one constant. They are good (except perhaps the aforementioned hostess.)

Here's the problem. I want to like the HH. I want to recommend My first experience was amazing with a perfectly moist (not wet) wrap and those charred Brussel sprouts. And when made well the French onion soup demands ordering two! But, I never know if I am going to get that, and my bill last night was $60. With that kind of money I can go a lot of places where the food is consistently good. After all, HH is right off a huge food corridor on S 108th.

HH has the potential for a 5. It would get a 3 if the prime rib were tender, but the inconsistency makes me incredibly apprehensive...

I’ve been coming to the Hale House for years, and this past Wednesday (8/30/23) was a shockingly immature experience. I want to start by saying our waiter, Michael N., was FANTASTIC. Polite and professional. We got there around 9:30PM for dinner, and had a great experience until 10:25PM. Some of the TVs were being turned off and a brunette woman was sweeping loudly by the bar. I didn’t think anything of it at first until I heard something along the lines of “man, nothing, I thought that was pretty annoying”. Shortly after, she went around and swept past us even louder. After she got back to the bar, I looked over, and the bartender was just staring at me. I started to feel uneasy, so I checked their website and they did say they are open until 2AM. Mind you, we still haven’t gotten the bill. After quite a while still, our waiter politely came up and asked if we needed anything else. We asked if they were still open, and he said yes, so we ordered one more beer. After hearing that, the bartender let out a loud sigh that we could hear from our table across the room. We finished our beer, paid, and left. I understand it was a Wednesday night, but all they had to do was politely let us know they were closing early. The immaturity was unreal. Never have I felt so uncomfortable in a restaurant setting. I will never be back on a week night, if at all, super...

I have been to the Hale House several time before. It's a converted home that was previously a chinese restaurant, but completed remodeled after that. It's a small place with seating inside at the bar, or in the dining area. It has a small outside patio, along Forest Home Avenue. Inside there are TVs and video poker games next to the bar (not a fan of those, but they are a "sports" bar). We come here for the food, and not the ambiance.

We stopped on a Saturday night for a late dinner. Got a table right away, and the server got us settled in with drinks and waters. The Blackberry Smash was fresh and flavorful, the Riverwest Stein in on tap! We ordered the Cheese Curds to start with. These curds are unique and one of our favorites. It's simply queso cheese that has been deep fried. No batter or breading, just the cheese. We split the Whiskey Burger. They made it perfectly to order, medium rare. It was moist and flavorful. We got the side of Sweet Potato Fries, they were just okay. Either overcooked or reheated, which was a disappointment.

The service throughout the evening was exceptional. Always friendly, helpful and attentive. Just the right amount of attention, updating us on our order, checking our first bites, and any extra drinks....