Back in February, Milwaukee learned the folks behind the wildly successful and downright delicious Riley’s Social House bar and sandwich joint in the Third Ward would be opening another restaurant at the edge of Bay View.
Riley’s Bar + Burger is the latest dog-friendly dining and drinking concept from owners Jessica and John Ludwig. Following months spent renovating the spacious location (100 E. Montana St.) and gussying up the sprawling side patio for both pooch and human enjoyment, Riley’s Bar + Burger officially opened for business on Tuesday, June 3. Well, mostly.
Due to issues outside the Ludwig’s control, they were left waiting for their kitchen’s hood to be completed and approved for commercial use, meaning this new business with a focus on burgers, fries, and onion rings couldn’t legally make any of that in its own kitchen. So they temporarily pivoted to grilling their burgers on a flat-top situated outside the building, offering potato chips instead of in-house fried fare, and outfitting its bar with spirits and beer galore to fill in the gastronomic gaps.
While I—both as something resembling a “journalist” and as a customer wanting the full experience—probably should have waited until Riley’s Bar + Burger opened entirely, I decided the combination of extensive social media praise, patio-suited weather conditions, and a persistent hankering to enjoy burgers and beer on the periphery of my neighborhood was just too much to take.
On Thursday afternoon, I finally caved and made my maiden stop at the new Riley’s. Around 1 p.m., I walked into the restaurant itself, which features a fully-stocked bar, a long line of pub tables along one wall, dart boards (for recreational and dart league play) on the back wall, and—because it’s a bar in Wisconsin—a pull-tab machine. Initially, I took a seat inside before remembering the business also had a 2,400-square-foot patio and the weather was actually nice for once.
“That’s more like it,” I thought as I navigated the QR code-sourced menu while seated at one of the establishment’s 12 patio picnic tables. Beyond those tables, the space hosts eight wooden lawn chairs, some bags sets, and ample room for dogs to run around. Food order placed on my phone, I walked to the window facing into the bar to place a drink order the old fashioned way. Currently, roughly half of the draft selection is made up of local beer. Between its pup-related name, my affinity for the brewery, and amber being an elite beer style to pair with burgers, I went with a pint of Ope! Brewing’s “Can I Pet Your Dog” Amber Ale, which set me back a respectable $6.50.
After a few sips of my newly-gotten brew and a couple yacht rock-adjacent songs played on the patio speakers as I soaked in the sun, the time had come. My burger arrived.
At this point, the burger selection is somewhat limited—three regular offerings (available in single and double patty variations) and a Burger Of The Week—and I opted for what I took to be the establishment’s signature burg, as it bears the Riley namesake. “The Riley – Double” features two wagyu beef smash patties that manage to be crispy along its edges and juicy inside.
The specialty burger also comes complete with American cheese, grilled onions, an abundance of thick bread and butter pickle medallions, and pickled jalapeno slices that are all slathered with the Big Mac-nodding “Riley Sauce.” Damn! That substantial amalgam of grilled meat, tasty toppings, and decadent sauce were all contained in an impossibly soft and sponge-y bun that held in all the juices and kept what could have been a messy experience (relatively) manageable. At the risk of sounding hyperbolic, the bun was a low-key highlight and what we’re thinking about most as we write this a day later.
Burgers contain multitudes and have a wide spectrum of styles. If you gravitate towards smash burgers, Riley’s has already earned a place in the conversation alongside some of the city’s best smashes. And they’re bound to only keep getting better once the staff gels and they can start making more menu items out of their actual kitchen…which, coincidentally, they started doing mere hours after my visit yesterday.
Did I jump the gun and review one item from a restaurant that wasn’t even fully open yet? Absolutely. Do I regret it? Not even a little. My first bites, sips, and patio perch at Riley’s Bar + Burger met the hype and exceeded my expectations. Now that they’re, like, really open, I’m excited to stop by again to see what else they can do. You can also stop by and try for yourself daily from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
