Greenfield's Red Robin is one of handful of eateries in Brew City that truly falls into the "kid friendly" category. The restaurant offers free balloons, colorful décor and an extensive menu with munchables that will appeal to mama birds, papa birds and baby birds alike.
Red Robin is a chain with more than 300 restaurants in North America. (There are eight in Wisconsin, but only one in the Milwaukee area.) It began as a bar in the 1940s near the University of Washington. In the '70s, Red Robin became full-menu diners.
Red Robin specializes in gourmet, build-your-own burgers, and is known for serving "bottomless" heaps of thick-cut, steak fries.
On a recent visit, we indulged in the five-alarm burger ($8.29) that featured a thick and juicy burger, pepper-jack cheese, jalapenos, tangy salsa, sliced tomatoes, lettuce and chipolte mayo. It was sloppy, decadent and delicious. Luckily, it was served wrapped in a napkin.
We also tried the crispy chicken salad ($8.99) featuring a massive bed of crisp lettuce topped with lightly fried chicken breast slices (peppery and tender), tomatoes, cheddar cheese, bacon (we asked for ours without the bacon), and green onions. It's served with house bread and a choice of dressing. The salad wasn't anything unique, but it was very good.
Given the choice of six or so menu items, including spaghetti, pizza and mac 'n' cheese, our preschoolers chose "chick-chick chicken fingers" ($4.29) that were again, nothing special, but decent quality. However, the food didn't really matter much to them anyway, because they were obsessed with playing pinball -- yes, we had our first "pinball experience" at Red Robin -- and figuring out the mazes on the back of their menu. (They also received a pack of crayons.)
Red Robin has a full bar, but since it was a family adventure and before 2 p.m. on a Saturday, we decided to stick with the soft stuff.
All four of us ordered "freckled lemonade," which is Minute Maid lemonade with whole strawberries floating in it. The lemonades were indeed very delicious, but at $3.99 each, the bill quickly toppled over the $50 mark - which seems like a lot for lunch.
All in all, we liked Red Robin. The service was excellent, the vibe was upbeat, it was noisy enough to absorb our loud-talkers and the food was above average. Would we travel from Downtown Milwaukee to Greenfield, just to eat at Red Robin? Probably not. But we would definitely choose Red Robin over the other similar restaurants in the area, T.G.I. Friday's included.
Molly Snyder started writing and publishing her work at the age 10, when her community newspaper printed her poem, "The Unicorn.” Since then, she's expanded beyond the subject of mythical creatures and written in many different mediums but, nearest and dearest to her heart, thousands of articles for OnMilwaukee.
Molly is a regular contributor to FOX6 News and numerous radio stations as well as the co-host of "Dandelions: A Podcast For Women.” She's received five Milwaukee Press Club Awards, served as the Pfister Narrator and is the Wisconsin State Fair’s Celebrity Cream Puff Eating Champion of 2019.
