It's officially time to make room – in both your schedule and stomach – for Downtown Dining Week, which will take place starting today (Thursday, May 30) through Thursday, June 6.
The festival of feasting allows diners to chow down on a fixed selection of lunch and dinner options at special prices ($15 or $25 for lunch and $35, $45 or $55 for dinner) from a wide variety of restaurants. Discounted parking for diners will also be available. Participating lots and instructions for redeeming the discount can be found at downtowndiningmke.com
Among this year's palate-pleasing participants are:
- ARIA
- Avli
- Bacchus
- Benihana
- Blue Bat Kitchen & Tequilaria
- Café at the Pfister
- The Capital Grille
- Carbon Steak
- Carson’s Prime Steaks & Famous BBQ
- Central Standard Crafthouse & Kitchen
- DOC’s Commerce Smokehouse
- The Edison
- Experts Only
- Flourchild Pizza
- The Knick
- Lucky Clover Irish Pub
- Mader's
- Mason Street Grill
- Milwaukee ChopHouse
- MOTOR Bar & Restaurant
- Oak Barrel Public House
- On Tap
- Onesto
- Rodizio Grill
- Smoke Shack
- The Social American Tavern
- SportClub
- Third Coast Provisions
- Third Street Tavern
- Tre Rivali
- Ward’s House of Prime
- Who's on Third
Dining Week menus for all participating venues are available online. Be sure to make reservations whenever possible and tip generously.
Guests who support restaurants during the event are also eligible to win one of four $400 in dining gift certificates by filling out a survey about their dining experience(s) by Monday, June 10. Four winners will be randomly selected.
For more information, visit Downtown Dining Week.
As a passionate champion of the local dining scene, Lori has reimagined the restaurant critic's role into that of a trusted dining concierge, guiding food lovers to delightful culinary discoveries and memorable experiences.
Lori is an avid cook whose accrual of condiments and spices is rivaled only by her cookbook collection. Her passion for the culinary industry was birthed while balancing A&W root beer mugs as a teenage carhop, fed by insatiable curiosity and fueled by the people whose stories entwine with every dish. Lori is the author of two books: the "Wisconsin Field to Fork" cookbook and "Milwaukee Food". Her work has garnered journalism awards from entities including the Milwaukee Press Club. In 2024, Lori was honored with a "Top 20 Women in Hospitality to Watch" award by the Wisconsin Restaurant Association.
When she’s not eating, photographing food, writing or planning for TV and radio spots, you’ll find Lori seeking out adventures with her husband Paul, traveling, cooking, reading, learning, snuggling with her cats and looking for ways to make a difference.
