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Every day is a great day to go out to eat in and around Milwaukee. However, some days are decidedly better than others. Specifically, some days of the week tower over their calendar contemporaries when it comes to dining and drinking options, circumstances, prices, and various other factors. After giving this minutes of thought, I’m ready to give you my definitive rankings of days of the week to go out to eat in Milwaukee and its surrounding suburbs (and some reasons to support my findings).
7. Tuesday
Sorry, Tuesday fans. There has to be a lowest-ranked day, and that day is Tuesday. Yeah, you’ll stumble upon some truly great Taco Tuesday™ specials (and a lot of bad ones, too), but beyond a select few solid specials at a handful of places in the area, that’s really all there is to differentiate Tuesday from other weekdays in any sort of positive way. Also, a growing number of restaurants are closed on Tuesdays. Even if you miraculously find a good food or drink special, you probably can’t let loose because it’s the early-to-middle part of the work week for many people.
6. Wednesday
Honestly, Wednesday is a lot like Tuesday, except its alliterative connection to words like “wine” and “wings” leads to some respectable weekday specials around town. Additionally, you’re one day closer to the traditional weekend, and restaurants typically aren’t very crowded on Wednesdays. Still, it’s smack dab in the middle of the week, which has its downside.
5. Saturday
Are you surprised by this one? Think about it! Everywhere is crowded—especially during the summer months when people visit from out of town—on Saturdays. Parking is tougher to come by. Waits are longer. Both front-of-house and kitchen staff are busy and spread thin. The crowded factor makes restaurants and bars louder and less inviting than most other days. Finally, with Saturdays being the day/night most people venture out for food and drinks, there’s not really a reason for most places to bother offering a happy hour special or day-long deal.
4. Sunday
Saturday and Sunday dining experiences have a lot of similarities in terms of being packed, potentially very annoying, and light on savings. There are some benefits though, such as the rampant availability of hot ham, a bevy of brunch options if you’re into that sort of thing, and whatever drinking and dining revelry can fall under the—if you’ll excuse the term—”Sunday Funday” umbrella as you stare another work week in the face.
3. Monday
Yeah, yeah…a lot of local bars and restaurants aren’t open Mondays, but those that aren’t closed are prone to offer crazy good specials on both food and drinks out of sheer desperation to get folks to come in on the single worst day of the week (the worst day for existence, not dining). Moreover, Monday is widely regarded as a “Service Industry” day/night, meaning there’s a decent chance you’ll be seated next to someone who works in another bar or restaurant. At the risk of stereotyping, service industry folks are usually among the kindest, most courteous, and best-tipping customers.
2. Friday
Between the day’s connection to fish fry, it being the start of the weekend for many, and the fact a lot of people are waiting until Saturday or Sunday to go out, Friday is a very good day to dine out in Milwaukee. Especially if you go relatively early for quick seating and specials. Even if you don’t get out of work in time to catch a happy hour or lunch deal, it’s okay because you have a beer or old fashioned in hand, fish fry (or whatever you’re eating in this scenario) on the way, and the whole weekend ahead of you. Could it get any better than this?
1. Thursday
Yes! Yes it can get better than Friday—at least as long as there’s a day called Thursday. Being so late in the week, Thursday is pretty much an honorary weekend day. That being said, the fact it isn’t an official weekend day keeps nightly food specials and drink deals very much in play at a variety of bar and restaurant locations.
Also, very few Milwaukee-area establishments decide against being open on Thursdays. That’s because it’s a reliably good day in terms of sales. But since lots of people are waiting for the actual weekend before they flock to local watering holes and area eateries, places are generally less crowded, less loud, less pricey, and less annoying on Thursdays than they are on Saturdays and Sundays. And hey, if you eat or drink way too much on a Thursday, you can probably just phone it in on Friday as you inch you way towards the weekend.
Disagree with these rankings? That’s okay! We’re allowed to have different opinions and I stand behind mine. Really, no matter what day(s) you prefer to do it, please go out and support Milwaukee area bars and restaurants because it’s tough, thankless work, and it’s only getting more difficult by the day.