Zócalo Food Park — Restaurant in Milwaukee

I booked my rehearsal dinner at Zocalo for November of 2023. I was aware that it was off-season, however, I was assured that we would have a full bar and full availability of trucks (with a few exceptions due to season). I have never had an issue with this establishment before, when I was visiting as a regular guest, and thoroughly enjoyed all of the food offered, so I was excited to have our rehearsal dinner in such a unique business. Day of, we arrived a half hour before our event, and our space was beautifully set up -- despite not being informed of the indoor renovations happening until the week before and finding out one of the trucks was not available the day before (this closure was admittedly, out of their hands, but we were still not informed of it at all until we asked after seeing an online article, by chance). To make matters worse, we were informed 15 - 20 minutes before our guests arrived that there were only 4 types of beer/seltzers and a margarita mix available (the complete opposite of the specialty drink I specifically asked for prior to booking the event). They also asked me to name "a couple" of liquors we would like outside because they could no longer accommodate a full bar due to these renovations. When we started listing drinks we would like, they told us they may not have all the mixers we were asking for (club soda, sprite and cranberry juice). In fact, they had NO water or soda available with the bar for guests who do not drink, so my husband had to go to Target himself, and purchase water and soda for our guests -- completely missing everyone's arrival and the opportunity to greet everyone. Finally, some kind of miscommunication happened with the tab, and we ended up having to go to each individual truck, in the rain, and pay the tabs for our guests, instead of having it all on one tab. This would have been fine, except we were not informed until we were there and ready to pay the tab that some of the trucks did not take cash, which is what we had brought to pay the entirety of our dues. All of these things added up to make our day very chaotic and stressful. I just wish the communication was better and that we had received what was promised -- or simply informed prior to the event of the changes to our agreement. The bartender we had that night was super helpful and supported our case with the manager to get some of our money back, so I am grateful for that. I regrettably do not remember his name but a huge thank you to him. I would love to give them the benefit of the doubt and say that this was a fluke due to the off-season timing, but I would be VERY hesitant booking an important event here...

Zocalo, based on the Mexican word translated into "public square," invokes the feeling and ambiance of a really hip biergarten with room for 8 unique food trucks and a full service bar. Currently, Zocalo offers an eclectic array of food from Venezuelan from Anytime Arepa (the Arepas and empanadas are excellent!) to Modern Maki, a take on sushi from classic rolls to "sushi" style burritos, and ramen (the sushi rolls from here were excellent and I highly recommend!). I would also recommend any of the tacos from Mazorca. They are delicious mini tacos packed full of warm, delicious spices and flavor! Meat & Co. offers a range of chicken and beef sandwiches, including smashburgers. There is also Ruby's Bagels (unfortunately, it was closed when we were there) and Hot Box Pizza. Our evening was warm and sunny, and we reserved one of the huts for ordering online via the cash app. Our main complaint with this is that it was a busy evening, and using the app allowed us to order and have food delivered to our table, but two things happened to us... the app will only deliver if you push the correct (drop-off) button and put your table number in the notes and we were waiting a long time between when we got messages the order was ready to when it was delivered. Food ended up being cold and greasy in some instances from sitting too long... so just be aware. You also face the same issue of ordering to pick up... you have to wait at some og the same lines you get to the window as everyone else... but still not a complaint as more of a watch out for it and be aware! Otherwise... go for the vibe, sit outside, order food from more than one...

It's a nice spot, great outdoorsy setting. The food is.... Well it depends. My first experience wasn't that great, "anytime arepa" was kinda unpleasant. They just come off as unfriendly. The food was decent but too expensive. My second experience was hot box pizza, I really enjoyed them a lot. Staff was friendly and helpful. I'm definitely going back to them next time. REALLY good pizza. There's this... Very pleasant after taste to it. Since I shared my pizza I also went with SANDU and they were probably my favorite of the day. They were also very friendly, even funny at times and the staff knows their menu so if you have any questions or concerns (because it was all new to me) they can guide you to the right sandwich. The bar was nice, couldn't really enjoy it it was pretty packed and the bartenders looked pretty occupied so we just got our drinks and let them do their thing. All in all it's a nice place, going back to try the other places, you just gotta scope out what other ppl are eating and assess what you think is best. We saw how tiny the tacos were at those prices so we didn't even bother. They also opened up a burger joint that I'm...