Barnacle Bud's — Restaurant in Milwaukee

Had a good experience last night at Barnacle Bud’s in Milwaukee for their inaugural “supper club pop-up.” Normally closed this time of year (January, as of this review), Barnacle Bud’s is trying their hand at creating a Wisconsin supper club experience for a time-limited engagement this winter - and they’ve done a very respectable job for their first effort. Space is very limited - the restaurant has maybe 10 small tables - and all visits must be reserved in advance via their website. Situated on the Kinnikinnic River near E Becher Street and tucked behind a maze of industrial buildings, it’s not the easiest restaurant to find for the first time. Your navigational persistence is paid off with an unassuming waterfront spot decorated inside and out with festive holiday lighting. When we walked in the door (which was a bit of a challenge to find), we were greeted immediately by our server Al P, who showed us to our table and got things started immediately. We both ordered a Brandy Old Fashioned to drink. My wife ordered the tomato bisque soup starter and the walleye entree. I opted for a salad and the salmon entree. We split a Brandy Alexander for dessert. The meal included a relish tray and a basket of two hard rolls with butter. The restaurant itself was cozy and the noise level was average. We would give the service 5 stars. Al was very polite and attentive to our needs. Another server helped by rounding on the tables to remove dishes, etc. so we never felt that we were waiting for anything. Very much a team effort. We would give the food 4 stars overall. The relish tray was very nice, although the presentation could be dressed up a bit - no biggie there. The rolls were crusty and flavorful but also quite dry. Tomato bisque, salad and my salmon entree (nicely seasoned) were all excellent. The walleye filet itself was well sized but could benefit from some seasoning. My wife had garlic roasted potatoes and zucchini as sides - both good. I had a baked potato and a side of asparagus, which was outstanding - robust spears that were grilled and seasoned to perfection. Our Brandy Alexander was good - but not as thick as we’re accustomed to. Overall, we’re so glad we gave Barnacle Bud’s a try - and for their first whack at creating a supper club experience from scratch, it’s a very worthy effort. We would do it again. We asked Al how the overall response has been and he said they’ve been very busy and people have loved it. They intend to offer it again next winter. If you’re in the area and want to try a different and new supper club experience, give Barnacle...

I can see why the locals enjoy this space for seasonal summer fair. It's just a hop away on the north side of Bayview and tucked back behind both siipperbuds and Santinos Little Italy (with their high ratings Will need a night of exploring all of it's own). Barnacles is seasonally quiet and outdoors for this part of town. Unique to Barnacles is that as a seasonal Summer destination, it's mostly outdoors and by the lower kinnickinnic as it flows early south from the lake Michigan joint that also goes north up the Milwaukee river. It's more on the quiet side with many bar food offerings and a few surprises. I enjoyed the lobster roll which was really an enjoyable seafood salad with seafood flavors but no pronounced lobster central-not an expected "lobster roll" .... Great coleslaw and many excellent beer but in cans. (If draft was available on other days, it wasn't on this mid August visit. Be careful to park....... once on East Stewart in order to line up with only Barnacles angled parking slots (tow zones are heavily marked around Barnacle's parking area designated for Skipper Bud's and adjacent property warehouse businesses....) continue straight on East Stewart to Santinos Little Italy--4way stop. Then, continue straight on East Stewart till turning onSouth Marina Drive. Before the chain link fence, turn left and you'll see Barnacles only parking on the right. You'll notice that after-hours the distribution centers on the left from B's parking also allows certain other areas also for parking.

Service-excellent. Glasses and service was always full and available during our visit. On the water and enjoyable but until they build something across the river-not much vista. Truly though for an outdoor seasonal eatery north of the upcoming Bayview neighborhood, we did enjoy our week day mid...

This was our FIRST time giving Barnacle Buds a visit. First off, the location of this place is HORRIBLE. It's tucked away on an off-beat path behind a tow company and old manufacturing buildings. Took me 15min trying to find parking and this alone built up so much frustration for me. And BEWARE that you will get towed if you aren't parked in a valid parking area and there aren't too many spaces. As we were leaving, a tow truck was coming in. Almost feels like a scam to make money as this tow company knows that they'll be towing a few cars away while you're enjoying your meal. We went on a Friday evening around 6pm. As for the food...meh. I feel it's more of a little burger and fry joint. I wasn't really impressed. The buffalo shrimp were good. My friend had the salmon and rice and wasn't a fan at all. Said it was some of the nastiest food she's ever eaten. Rice had no taste. My heart was set on having cod but the waitress told us that they ran out. Like really!? On a fish fry Friday?? They also ran out of jambalaya (but another friend said it wasn't that good anyway). The drinks were ok. They are served in mason jars. Margarita was fairly decent. I had the Dumpster cocktail which was ok but so much ice waters down a drink. We only had a party of 5 and we were reminded that there was a 2hr dining limit so that put a sour taste in our mouth. The guy just came off a bit rude about it. We're just not use to being kicked out at a certain time. Overall, I'm not one to bash a place BUT I will be honest with my feelings. If you don't mind fighting for parking, sitting on the river fighting flies and mosquitos and having ok food and drinks, this will be for you. I myself will NOT be going back. Unfortunately I didn't enjoy much about the place. Pretty...