Three Brothers — Restaurant in Milwaukee

We love Three Brothers and have eaten there many times for over a decade when we could afford to eat out. We don't to waste our money on fast food or all-you-can-eat joints but pick the best home-style non-Hispanic ethnic restaurants we can afford. Plus we like East European food.

We can't wait for Three Brothers to reopen the dining room. We enjoyed sipping some Serb table red wine with the appetizer salad and listening to Serb music like in the old days. We remember too how back in the 70s / 80s the elderly owner (I think that's who it was) sat at table near the bar meticulously typing something on an old manual typewriter and when we went to use the bathroom and glanced in through the door to the kitchen we saw one or two middle-aged women with their black and gray hair piled up on their heads bearing big well-worn metal trays of mousaka to and from the oven. We loved it how if we spent a lot of money or had a birthday in our group the owner would sometimes come out with little glasses and a bottle of slivowitz (plum brandy) as a free treat for the group.

Our favorite dishes are burek, musaka, roast piglet, chicken paprikasz along with the more expensive lamb, duck, and goose. We find the Serbian appetizer salad to be a little skimpy than expected and wanted a bit more goatiness to the Serb butter and a bit more garlic and seasoning in the sliced sausage.

We like the Serb table wine but were surprised that the bread is not that crusty east European style but soft German rye. The current owner / manager informed us that this choice of bread is a tradition because when the grandfather started the place his customers were German and helped him get his start. They preferred rye bread so he began serving it. We wish the Serb butter had more of a feta taste.

The last time we ordered curbside I had the roast loin. I always enjoy Three Brothers home-made red cabbage, but the pork loin was quite salty. My wife agreed. I thought about calling to let them know about the saltiness (if two different people find a dish salty then it's not just a matter of one person's tastebuds!) but I knew they were busy and the phone was probably ringing off the hook.

I'm a fan of čevapcici -- Serb sausages made of ground beef and/or pork and/or veal (maybe lamb too?) -- which I myself make at home. 3 Brother's version doesn't excite me too much -- the meat is a bit grisly and bland for my taste. Maybe that's the way Serbs make them -- and maybe I go overboard with more expensive higher quality ground beef and pork and/or veal and/or lamb. And I probably use a lot more seasoning than the traditional recipe calls for. So I can't complain too much.

Last, I hope the management can find some young Serbs to wait on tables. We like to feel that we're in Serbia for a couple of hours. And having lived and worked in Poland and travelled around East Europe I like to hear English with a Slavic accent. Much prettier than English with French or Spanish or Italian accent! And so too are Serb women!

Despite my criticism we are still very very loyal customers and will encourage others to visit Three Brothers. Like I said, we can't wait for the dining room to reopen so that we and our friends and family can hang out for 2 or more hours laughing and talking, sipping red wine, eating, etc while Serbian music plays in...

We returned to Three Brothers for another fantastic meal. This is not bean sprout cooking, and now that I live on the west coast, the delicacies emerging from the Three Brothers kitchen would be considered politically incorrect and a faux pas. This health food contingent would be missing out on some amazing comfort foods, but comfort and warmth are not integral to the west coast, and I was happy to devour every morsel.

The Stuffed Grape Leaves, the Chicken Pilav, and the Wiener Schnitzel were our favorites, but everything was wonderful. Portions are huge, and I mean big. Pricing is very reasonable for such delicious and bountiful food. Service was like the food, comforting and welcoming. Three Brothers may be my favorite restaurant in Milwaukee.

Nostalgia reigns on this return to The Three Brothers. The last time I dined here was in the 1970s, and I was too young, and pretentiously hip to enjoy the authenticity of this iconically, great restaurant. If you are in Milwaukee, a visit the The Three Brothers is a must! This restaurant is quintessentially Milwaukee.

Ostensibly a gourmet Serbian restaurant, the Three Brothers represents an era, a bygone era, when immigrants from Eastern Europe escaped to the welcoming arms of our country, looking for freedom and a better life. The South Side of Milwaukee offered factory work at Allen Bradley, Bucyrus Erie, etc., supported by unions and a fair wage. Poles, Serbs, Croatians, came to live and work on the streets surrounding the Three Brothers. Milwaukee's Bayview neighborhood was a bastion of family, Catholic mass, beer and hard work; The Three Brothers was their evening refuge.

The restaurant hasn't changed. It serves up those delicious Bureks with smiles and good cheer. The menu offers more than just Burek, and I will be back to try other items on the menu. However, this night was for nostalgia, so I dove into my Burek with relish, served by the very attractive, helpful staff, willing to answer all my questions, patient with my inquisitive nature. It was a wonderful evening, and I left with a bit of a tear in my eye, knowing you can't...

The two of us had an early reservation on a Saturday night and we were some of the first to be seated. Since this was our first time at Three Brothers, we decided to try the burek, sarma, goulash, and stuffed peppers. Our server was very friendly and walked us through the menu. Orders do take some time to come out, but the wait wasn't unpleasant as we both had a drink and some warm rye bread while we waited. Since we were going to share each menu item, we got the chance to rate them and discuss their high points. I have to say that the sarma was outstanding. The pickled cabbage has a pleasant tang to it that doesn't overpower the dish but will sit on your tongue for a while. The goulash was rich and the meat was fork-tender. The stuffed peppers had a bright green pepper flavor, which was expected. I've had the pleasure of trying burek while traveling through the former Yugoslavia, and Three Brothers has brought authentic flavors and textures to Milwaukee, for sure. We finished the night with a slice of ten-layer cake. I expected something massive to come out, but it was light, bright, and perfect for two people to share. Our waitress was attentive, stopping at our table many times to check on us. She let us know that we could order ahead if we were pressed for time, or if we wanted an appetizer to come out soon after we arrived. Since we didn't feel rushed, the wait for our food flew by. To some, the venue might seem a bit loud once the tables are all filled, but the history of the tied bar comes through and that's the price you pay when you are enjoying something great coming out of a kitchen like that....