Dorsia
Dorsia things to do, attractions, restaurants, events info and trip planning
Description
Reimagined Italian pasta & pizza, plus wine & cocktails, in a contemporary, relaxed bistro setting.
attractions: The Knickerbocker on the Lake, Adventure Rock MKE, Swing Park, Kadish Park, Jewish Museum Milwaukee, Burns Commons, Dapper & Co. Barbershop, INVIVO Wellness, McKinley Park, Milwaukee Power Yoga, restaurants: Colectivo Coffee Lakefront, Up-Down MKE, Lakefront Brewery, Pizza Shuttle, Comet Cafe, La Masa Empanada Bar, Points East Pub, Zaffiro's Pizza The Original, Thai-namite on Brady Street, BelAir Cantina
Ratings
Description
Reimagined Italian pasta & pizza, plus wine & cocktails, in a contemporary, relaxed bistro setting.
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A very solid experience all around. Went with a friend at the suggestion of a few coworkers and we really enjoyed the meal. The evening started with a friendly greeting at the front stand. We were promptly shown to our table and were greeted by our friendly waitress. For appetizers, we started with fried brussel sprouts and the fried calamari. I'm not much of a vegetable person so my friend ended up eating most of the brussel sprouts. So I cannot fairly judge that dish. The calamari was decent but not top tier. The basil sauce that it came with was quite good. However. I just thought that the calamari was not very meaty. I also thought the peppers it came with were not very flavorful. They have a lot of awesome sounding appetizers on the menu and I would try something else next time. For dinner, we both ordered a pasta flight. Got the spaghetti and meatball and the spicy vodka. My friend got the spicy vodka and the carbonara. Everything was very delicious. I thought the portions were very appropriate. I was surprised that they do not have cannoli for dessert. There were two factors that made this a four-star experience versus a five-star experience. The first was that the service was pretty slow after the meal came. I have finished my pasta flight before any refills on the drinks came. The spicy vodka was fairly spicy and I definitely needed some water or a beverage to clear my palate. Once our waitress did come, she was very nice and personable once again. The second thing was that there was very fast and upbeat music that was almost like techno playing the whole time. I thought it took away from the whole vibe. The restaurant itself is very nice and I thought the music did not fit the ambiance. Overall, I will absolutely be coming back here for another great meal. My friend also said he would like to return on his next visit.
Matt AlfieriMatt Alfieri
10
Came here with my mom since she came to visit us in the midwest and heard Dorsia made good homemade pastas. Service was friendly, but food is subpar and is definitely not worth the hype or the ridiculous price point. We got a calamari, 2 pasta flights with 6 different pastas, and two drinks, but essentially, it was 1 type of pasta with 6 different sauces like one might get at some kind of low-budget cafeteria and then the toppings thrown on top to make them "different." The only redeeming feature was that the pasta was al dente. We got the pomodoro, piccante, saint brady speziata, pesto, duck carbonara and lobster mac. As for the pasta, after a few bites, it felt like we were eating the same pasta. Different shaped pasta holds sauce differently, and the whole mouth feel can be a different experience, but unfortunately this was not the case. It just felt like the kitchen took shortcuts to produce food quickly, but did not care about quality so much. As you can see in the photo, all the pastas were bucatini even though the menu said the pastas we chose would be bucatini, radiatori and treccie pastas. The Lobster mac was...not a radiatori at all and it had 1 small mangled lobster claw with tomatoes in it. The pomodoro was supposed to come with a choice of meatballs or breaded chicken, but our server told us they ran out of meatballs so we ended up with the chicken—which wasn't breaded but grilled instead and was super dry. We added shrimp to the Saint Brady Speziata and the shrimp did come out well--large, juicy, and had some crisp from the grill. The calamari was crispy but the portion for a $14 appetizer came on a small tapas plate whereas most italian restaurants we've had calamari were much more substantial (it honestly looked like a plate of someone's leftover calamari that they reheated.) While it was a filling meal because of all the carbs and the servers and staff were nice, the meal itself cost $165 for 2 after tip and I couldn't help but feel ripped off for a subpar food experience where the food prep felt lazy and uninspired. Would not recommend if you are someone who loves pasta and takes food seriously.
Jenny YipJenny Yip
20
Where do I even start? We joined the waitlist online last Saturday. Even though the wait was an hour and half, I checked in with the host immediately to ensure we were on the waitlist. She said sometimes the online waitlist doesn’t show up in the restaurant so I was glad I confirmed I was on it. An hour and a half later I get a notification I was removed from the waitlist, so I called and asked what happened. They said it would be just a little longer. They called back 20 or so minutes later asking if we would mind sitting outside, it was a nice evening so I said that was fine. We show up, they took us outside, and sat us at a very sad looking setup. It looked is if they had thrown tables together in an area specifically to accommodate us, which sounds like a nice gesture but I assure you it was not. No other patrons were outside and it didn’t look like there had been in a very long time. The worst part is there were plenty of tables inside that could have accommodated our party of 6 (and they remained vacant the entire time - we could see through the windows and made trips to the restroom). The outside tables were falling apart, flimsy, and tilted on the pavement. We have eaten here many times and decided to stick through this very bizarre situation because we know we like the food, but we have never had an experience this poor and we shouldn’t have ignored the warning signs. While sitting outside, we were a complete after thought. Forgotten about for long periods of time. We had to ask for EVERYTHING including silverware, plates for our appetizer, serving spoons for the pasta, more drinks, the bill. You name it, we had to ask for it. Not only were we shoved outside in a deserted and disgustingly maintained no man’s land, but not a single person saw an issue with the situation. What appeared to be the manager came by at one point, not to ask how everything was, but to drop something off and left. We got an appetizer, tons of pasta, multiple rounds of alcoholic beverages and we ate it in the gutters by piles of garbage.
Jamie BauerJamie Bauer
00
Dorsia serves “Italian” cuisine in the most American way possible. None of the food is bad, it just tastes stunningly average. My friend and I had to wait around 20 minutes to get a table which is fine. We ordered 2 drinks costing $24. They were fine. The pasta and pizza is expensive. The bill was over $80 in total. Being this much, I assumed the pasta would be amazing. It was not. It was so hokey and Americanized. There was so, so, so much cheese and dairy in the pasta, it made it just taste somewhat bland. There were a lot of random spices in the pasta sauce as well. There was no thought or design in the flavor profile. I ordered the cajun chicken and the lobster mac and a supreme pizza without olives. Again, everything was good, of course, it just was like wow, ok, super heavy and a pretty singular flavor. Some people like pasta like that. It’s good, it’s just not what I’m looking for. The pizza was greasy and the meats weren’t that good and the crust wasn’t good either. I don’t think I could even taste any sauce. I wouldn’t get the pizza here. Pretty average bar pie. Service was kind of slow as well. Overall, disappointing, but I can see how some people may enjoy it.
simeon fyksensimeon fyksen
40
My friend and I visited on a Tuesday night with reservations for 6:30–we were sat right away, but were placed at a far back table right up against a band that was playing that night. Maybe we missed this on the website, but it made for tough conversation at times along with feeling cramped. Thankfully they took breaks over the two hour period we were there. We ordered drinks and pasta flights—plenty of leftovers! My flight of 3: Piccante, Duck Carbonara, Pesto. Her flight of 2: Lobster Mac and Piccante. I love pesto, and that dish was my favorite. Next time I would order this alone and just add grilled chicken (an extra $5), it was that good. Got the Duck Carbonara upon rave review, but this one fell flat for me—had no taste, and dry slivers of duck. I can’t recommend it. Piccante was flavorful and had a bite to it with well cooked and seasoned chicken. Can confirm from other reviews that the temperature of food was warm, not hot. Service was great, however. Overall, the experience could have been better but it was fun to experience the pasta flights that make Dorsia such a draw, and will enjoy my leftovers for the next few days.
Lauren MarieLauren Marie
00
We decided to come here from a recommendation and boy did they deliver! We had a 6pm reservation for a party of four last Saturday night and we were seated right away the only negative about that would be that we were seated right next to the hostess stand and a high traffic area. My wife ordered a hot mamacita drink and it was delicious, spicy, and strong, it was a great drink! We ordered the spinach & artichoke dip appetizer and it was so good and a great portion! The pasta flight option pricing was a bit confusing but our server, Sophie B, was the best and explained the menu to us and went over the pricing of the pasta flight, she also made our experience great and was very attentive! My sister got the pasta flight and could barely make a dent in it but we all tried her pastas and everything was so good! I ordered the pomodoro with a meatball and it was so delicious! I ordered the small portion and I ate about 1/4th of the entree and had to take the rest home, the portions are a great amount! The pricing is great for the portions and none of our food disappointed! Will definitely be back next time we are in town!
Ivette EIvette E
10
Nearby Attractions Of Dorsia
The Knickerbocker on the Lake
Adventure Rock MKE
Swing Park
Kadish Park
Jewish Museum Milwaukee
Burns Commons
Dapper & Co. Barbershop
INVIVO Wellness
McKinley Park
Milwaukee Power Yoga

The Knickerbocker on the Lake
4.2
(378)Click for details

Adventure Rock MKE
4.8
(382)Click for details

Swing Park
4.5
(335)Click for details

Kadish Park
4.7
(148)Click for details
Nearby Restaurants Of Dorsia
Colectivo Coffee Lakefront
Up-Down MKE
Lakefront Brewery
Pizza Shuttle
Comet Cafe
La Masa Empanada Bar
Points East Pub
Zaffiro's Pizza The Original
Thai-namite on Brady Street
BelAir Cantina

Colectivo Coffee Lakefront
4.6
(1.6K)Click for details

Up-Down MKE
4.6
(1.3K)Click for details

Lakefront Brewery
4.6
(1.3K)Click for details

Pizza Shuttle
4.2
(1.5K)Click for details