"Bar Month" at OnMilwaukee is brought to you by Miller Brewing Company, calling Milwaukee home since 1855. For the entire month of March, we're serving up fun articles on bars, clubs and beverages – including guides, the latest trends, bar reviews, the results of our Best of Bars poll and more. Grab a designated driver and dive in!
Balzac
Balzac, close enough to the action to be trendy but ever so slightly off the beaten bar-hop scene, is a made-to-order first-date spot – and OnMilwaukee readers have again voted the Brady Street-area wine bar and restaurant as the best bar for making a first impression.
Classy and casually elegant, with an extensive wine list sure to impress your love interest and an array of small plates that will make you appear to have a highly refined palate, Balzac offers a comfortably intimate atmosphere.
The OnMilwaukee staff, meanwhile, suggests you consider Riverwest's dimly lit Nessun Dorma for that all-important first date.
OnMilwaukee editors' pick: Nessun Dorma
Runners up:
2. Bryant's
3. Camp Bar
4. The Outsider
5. Sugar Maple
This year we also asked a variety of prominent Milwaukeeans to weigh in on their pick for specific categories. For this category, we consulted Tiffany Ogle of WTMJ-TV's "The Morning Blend."
Ogle's pick: Camp Bar
Hands dawn, Camp Bar Shorewood is the best bar for a first date. Energetic yet cozy with choices to belly up to the bar or find a table alone. For me, the key to a great date is good conversation. Growing up, we owned a Hamm's and Olympia Beer distributorship, so I'm partial to the rad Hamm's beer signs, but with all the stuffed squirrels, taxidermy, TVs and a new game room, there's never a lack of ambiance to stir up unique convos to get to know someone.
It's a local "Cheers," and for me, there's nothing better than seeing someone fit in at a place I love. My fiancé even had a surprise party for me there after he proposed, so first dates or last first dates – I vote for Camp!