On the Clock Bar & Grill — Restaurant in Milwaukee

Visited this establishment on Friday March 3rd. A recent review article had named their Friday Fish Fry as one of the top fish fries in the area. So I decided to give it a try. This is not a large establishment. I would have to guess there are about 2 dozen tables at the most, plus the bar. It is a beautiful place, lots of old charm. I called on Tuesday to make a reservation but was told that for 2 people they do not do that. I was told we would be able to get a drink and get a table relatively soon and their turn around is pretty quick. Upon arriving, it is unclear where you are suppose to go to let them know you are there to eat. Eventually (after about 10 to 15 minutes) one of the staff asked me if I was going to need a table. I said yes, a table for 2. She said it would be a few minutes but she would get us a table soon. I went to the bar to order drinks while we wait. I stood at the bar for another 10 minutes at least before the bar tender even acknowledged that I was there. She asked if I needed a drink. I said yes. For the next 5 or 6 minutes, she went ahead and took care of other people at the bar, stopping to chat with a couple at the other end, and eventually got to me. I ordered 2 whiskey old fashions. I took the drinks and gave one to my guest. We stood about another 20 minutes before getting a table. We sat down and I looked at my watch. It was 7:42 PM. It took another 10 minutes before someone came and took our order. At 8:53 PM we got our food. (There was a table of 4 that was very annoyed at how long the food was taking, and I know another table of 2 left without eating.) Now here's the thing. The fish, coleslaw, and tar tar sauce was actually very good, - but that was about it. The drinks we had gotten were incredibly weak. We weren't really sure if there was any whiskey in them. I had fries with my dinner. I think they were made right away and then sat while the rest was done because they were cold and limp. My guest said the potato pancakes had no real flavor. Overall not a...

UPDATE 6/13: Unfortunately I had to edit my original review. My boyfriend and I have since ordered On the Clock two more times and have been disappointed. Our order today was the last straw. I again ordered the grilled cheese and instead of the golden goodness I expected, I received a black sandwich. Even though the sandwich was severely burnt, it was also extremely mushy and chewy. I didn't realize it was possible to burn an undercooked sandwich, but they made it possible. Seems like they tossed it on the grill for 2 seconds on high heat and called it good. My boyfriend ordered the taco mac n cheese, and in turn he got mac n soup. The flavor wasn't awful but the consistency was nothing short of soup. We also split the nachos which lacked flavor. Overall we were disappointed. What I had hoped would become my local go-to restaurant turned into my last resort. Perhaps dine-in food would be slightly better, but based on my experience, I wouldn't take that chance.

I ordered takeout here and got the grilled cheese w/fries, spinach & artichoke dip w/pita chips, and the Irish nachos. My boyfriend & I LOVED it. The pita chips come with parmesan on top (delish), and the Irish nachos were really good. Not to mention the dish was HUGE, and covered in lots of good toppings. The grilled cheese was absolutely delicious. I'm always looking for a good grilled cheese, and while that may sound ridiculous, I am an avid fan. It was grilled to perfection on texas toast bread. I got it without the tomatoes and bacon and 20/10 would get again. The only thing that was 'ok' were the fries-- they could've used some seasoning, hence the four stars. Everything else was delicious and very...

Went there specifically for their Friday fish-fry because i heard it was good. The cod fish was 1/2-ways decent but nothin special by any means. The fries were average at best and got cold real fast because of the fans they had blowin around in addition 2 the air-conditioning cranked up (this was at night after a very hot day when it had already cooled down considerably after sunset; the system's thermostat should've bin properly adjusted for this change in outdoor temps). Anticipating these conditions would cool our food too fast when it arrived to the table, i asked our server to either turn off the floor fan near us or turn down the A/C; her response: "oh your food is going to be right up so quick that it won't matter". Wanting to believe she somehow misheard or misunderstood me (...which was a forced denial of reality on my part), i reiterated the request; and here came the affirmation to my unbelief of her reply, because she gave me the same response again.

what……..?!?!?!?! Really should've left the pace then. The only reason i stayed is because i was expecting at least a good fish fry, even with a ditz for a waitress.

The tarter sauce was weak with hardly any tang or pizazz to it at all; and finally, a really good cole slaw can help to make a good fish-fry. Unfortunately the slaw at this place truly is the worst i've ever tasted. it was so poor in taste that it was pathetically unpalatable to consume. it's not that it was just an unsavory flavored slaw, but mor than that it was the most Blasé all-creamy no-substance batch i've ever eaten. For the dissatisfying meal that it was, there would be no sense in returning to...