07/21/09

Rude

by spider96

After buying dinner for my family at Elsa's for several years, my son was home from college and decided to take two friends to Elsa's for wings for the first time own his own......NOT SO....He was told to leave because you have to be 21 to eat after 5:30. This the first I have heard of this....could it be something else? Of course, he was disappointed.

07/18/09

A big disappointment

by Christina123

My boyfriend and I decided to go out for lunch in the city, we had seen Elsa's menu online and thought it would be a place like the Wicked Hop. When we arrived, it was filled with business men and women - which is expected of the area and day (it was a Monday afternoon). The environment was a bit upscale compared to the Wicked Hop but the menu's are virtually the same. It was odd to serve burgers and sandwiches in a place that looked to be serving steaks and lobster.

We waited a few seconds before being told that we could have a seat at any table that was open. The staff seemed pretty nice at first, but the waitress we received barely gave us a greeting. While we were ordering our food or asked her questions, she just stared and answered in a bored tone. She didn't look pleased or happy. We were EXTREMELY polite to her but it our "please" and "thank you's" were not returned. I noticed during our meal that she had asked every single table near us multiple times how the food was or if she could get the other guests anything else. Not ONCE did she stop by our table to give us the same service.

We also had to wait for quite a while to get our check and when she finally came, she apathetically placed the bill on the table. We felt like we were wasting her time. She was probably thinking in her head that we weren't going to give her a good tip because we weren't as well dressed as the other patrons in the restaurant.

The way we were treated made me incredibly angry. In all honesty, I shouldn't have given her a tip and should have told her why. I'm a manager at a fast-casual restaurant and I make sure I treat my guests with utmost respect no matter what. If our casual attire was such a problem for the restaurant staff, then they should have politely asked us to leave. I find it very ironic that I receive much better service at a Denny's or George Webbs than a place such as Elsa's. I will never go there again and I make sure all of my friends and family know how pretentious the servers are regardless of their homely menu.

It was probably the worst dining experience I've ever had.

• Pros: Ha.
• Cons: Server NOT pleasant, unecessarily pretentious

07/10/09

Won't be patronizing Elsa's again.

by MiddleAgedWhiteGuy

I just got back from having lunch (sort of) at Elsa's. I can say without any reservation that it was quite a disappointment. I walked in and noticed that there weren’t any employees near the door to direct you to a table. Not being comfortable with just sitting anywhere, I had to walk all the way to the back of the restaurant, to speak to a waitress in a closet where the wait-staff got menus, etc. I explained that I wasn’t sure where to sit. She was polite and gave me a choice of a few places to sit. When the waiter came to take my order I knew exactly what I wanted. I made a pretty simple request; a burger medium, with bacon, cheddar, lettuce and raw onions. When I received my food, the waiter asked me if everything looked ok and I said yes. When I picked up the burger, I noticed that bun was soaked in red bloody juice (not even close to a medium burger). Not too big of a deal, because I can enjoy a rare burger, as well. Then I popped the top off the burger and noticed that there was no lettuce either. After a few minutes I was able to get the attention of another member of the staff. I explained that my order was missing the lettuce. She acted like, “Are you serious? You want me to get you lettuce?”, but after a few minutes, she produced a plate with some lettuce. I put the lettuce on and took a bite out of the burger and realized that there was no bacon on it. I had noticed that the cheese was added to the bottom of the burger, so I assumed that’s where the bacon was. I waited several more minutes to get the attention of my waiter to get some bacon, but by the time he came over I decided that I didn’t want to wait for the bacon, as the burger was already getting cold. He asked me if I wanted him to wrap it up for me. I explained to him that I didn’t want it and that my order had been missing lettuce and bacon and that I just wanted the check. When I explained this to him, he got defensive and said, “No, you didn’t”. You ordered lettuce, but not bacon. All this time I had been very patient and polite. I wasn’t about to get into an argument there because he got my order wrong. He gave me the check (fourteen bucks) for a burger that I didn’t even eat and told me to have a nice weekend.

Bottom line? Even though I work two blocks away at one of the large employers downtown, I’ll never set foot in Elsa’s again. Elsa’s is a perfect example of what is wrong with many businesses these days, diminished quality at inflated prices.

• Pros: Close to work.
• Cons: Not worth the walk.

01/09/09

elegant bar food and great martinis

by jayoldenburg

Social environment. It is hip bar dining. The burgers and dessert are great. Best Martinis in Milwaukee. If I have to take someone in their 20's or 30's for a trendy, unpretentious burger meal with alcohol, I would choose this establishment. Service is above average. I have taken many people who are unfamiliar with downtown Milwaukee and everyone loved this place.

• Pros: Trendy burger bar with great drinks
• Cons: None

01/08/09

Hats off to Big E

by yadig

Hats off to Elsa's. This spot is one of my wife and I favorite spots to hang at. The service and food are fabulous. Don't even get us started on the drinks. We have yet to find drinks as potent as Elsa's. The entertainment can be fun to sometimes. What entertainment? Well, we're talking about the circus clowns that come from time to time, known as the wanna be Divas. Or as my wife and I call them the coach girls. These clowns are so lost and think because they have a coach bag and can go to Elsa's that they have made it. Little do they know that the real people who have made it can see right through them and laugh as they watch them turn their nose up while walking to their 10 year or older car that they still have a note on. We're just saying, boys and girls stay in your league and be your self. Whew! Just had to get that off.

Anyways! If you're a 1st time patron, you must try the wings, pork chop callabrese and strawberry shortcake. As far as drinks, go with the French Martini, French 75, Starburst Martini, Washington Apple Martini or Louis 13($275.00 a shot). You can't go wrong with either one. The whole menu is pretty much great and so are the prices.

So when you stop in enjoy and don't forget to laugh at the circus clowns.

• Pros: Ambience, Fast service, Great Food and Drinks
• Cons: Looking at Wanna be's

12/21/08

Good Food - Good Service - Good People Watching

by JamieShirling

Got a referral for this place from the staff at Blu in the Pfister. It was just the thing. City square across the street was lit up beautifully with holiday lights. Within walking distance of Pfister. Great atmosphere, menu is mostly sandwiches, all four in our party were happy with our selections. Hefty portion sizes and good service. Will definately go again.

• Pros: Location

11/24/08

Sad -- Could be Great, except...

by FarmerTomato

...for the smoking. Milwaukee persists is allowing smoking in restaurants. As a result, there is no reason to eat out anywhere, since you can't taste your food and you risk your health be going in the door. Elsa's is particularly dreary, which is sad because I ate there once many years ago when there were no smokers in the room and the food was excellent. But after my last visit, for which I should have taken a gas mask, I won't return--unless Wisconsin follows the path of the civilized world and outlaws smoking in public places. The quality of the kitchen had declined too--maybe they feel that nobody can taste anything anyway, so why bother? I'm amazed that people still fall for the myth that anti-smoking laws will hurt business. History has shown that the truth is the exact opposite.

11/26/07

Delicious, simple food; Trendy; great ambience!

by cpar518

This was our first time at Elsa's and we fell in love with the first glimpse of the restaurant. It is beautifully decorated, very trendy, and the crowd was a classy mix. We had a fairly big group of 10, and walked in at 12:50am. They courteously allowed us time to get our order together, since last call for food is 1am. Most of us ordered burgers, and I have to say, it was the best burger patty! The appetizer wing platter was delicious, but skip the "asian" flavored wing. I had a French Martini from the bar, and it was probably the best one aside from a bar I had it from in Miami.

Overall, it was a great place for a group of friends to meet up for a good time, good drinks and delicious, simple food. Whenever we're in Milwaukee again, we will definitely be back!

• Pros: Delicious burgers, great bar service
• Cons: Servers could be nicer

03/11/07

Elsa's a FLOP

by mistress80203

Up for a great burger, a good red wine and people watching, Elsa's was the logical choice last night, a Saturday. What a mistake! The youngish, all white, male staff bossed around patrons as they looked past a party of 6 African American women who had been there since 5pm (It was 6:30). They took other's names, finally sat us (and that party of 6)only when we reminded the stern-faced men.

Once seated, we wanted a nice red wine to go with the burgers. The prices were insane: $25 for a HALF bottle of Iron Horse, $100 for a bottle of nothing special, $11 for a 6 oz pour (THEY MEASURE).

Eleven dollars for a glass of wine to compliment an $8 burger??? Our waiter (another flustered, crabby white guy) had at least 3 other busy tables that he was trying to cash out and turn over as fast as possible.

As the noice level increased, the smell of greasey food and bar smoke dulled our appetites. Then it occured to us! We didn't have to take abuse from our restaurant! We had a choice! WE WALKED OUT.

After waiting for 50 minutes for a table and then another 10 minutes for water, we left and drove straight to THE KNICK where there was an attentive waiter, good wine, fresh salads and a melt-in-your-mouth burger stuffed with gorgonzola cheese. Now calmer and full, we made a clear decision not to go back to Elsa's on the Park.

Rather, next time we crave that special kind of Milwaukee delicacy, we will buy our Karl Kopps burgers AT KOPPS ($2.80), bring a great red wine and picinic to the lake front--far away from the angry white men.

--The reviewer is a 40ish, married woman with kids, who now lives in Mequon after grad school in Colorado. She lived in Wauwatosa and grew up walking to the original Kopps near 60th and Center.

• Pros: The UN of locations. All races mix well here.
• Cons: Rude staff, greasey food, expensive drinks, no parking.

12/21/06

A Class Act! Great food.

by sonyadiva

I left Milwaukee in 1999 and have lived in Atlanta and now Nashville. I have yet to find my favorite spot, one that would live up to Elsa's. My friends and I called Elsa's "our office". I miss it. Great food, the people...such beautiful people and such elegance. I can't wait to get back to Milwaukee on a visit so that I can enjoy my favorite burger...Burger Alfredo. To die for...If you want a classy night out and great food, Elsa's On The Park is THE PLACE. Supasses the hot spots in Miami, LA and Vegas any day.

• Pros: food, people watching, the staff
• Cons: parking is difficult