Date Night in Downtown Milwaukee-Vault & Amilinda

Despite growing up in the Milwaukee area, I’ve never experienced the city as a full grown adult. While attending Marquette, I either had not enough money or not enough free time! So whenever I see cool places to eat and drink, usually from @mkeeeeeats, or my brother Ian aka @mketravelguy, I save them into an overflowing “Milwaukee” folder on Instagram.

Though the saving to savor rate is rather low, when scheduling a visit to my parents, I knew a much needed date night would take place and I had my ideas where.

Room Service in Bayview has looked incredible. It is fusion cuisine we so often crave, and appears to be a Chicago-like import placed on the trendy southern side of Milwaukee. Unfortunately we weren’t able to experience it since reservations for Saturday night were sold out 2 weeks in advance. We were on the wait-list for a table, with a couple openings becoming available for late night dining. But as new parents, 8:45 is bedtime, not dinnertime.

Alas, back to the Instagram drawing board, where I stumbled upon our date night adventure:

Vault

Service:

Slightly above average. Our server was very attentive, and our drinks and food were well paced. We were on a slight time crunch as we have a dinner reservation that we needed to walk to, but felt relaxed and not rushed.

Ambiance:

Billed as Milwaukee’s premier cocktail lounge, it is nestle into the corner of the cavernous Associated Bank building. With parking available beneath that building it was relatively easy to find despite the lack of signage if entering from the parking garage. I felt a little underwhelmed when we first arrived, as the lounge exuded hotel bar, but quickly change my mind as I took in the view of the Riverwalk, and the covered patio seating that would make a great summer backdrop.

Large Groups:

Yes(ish). It’s not a huge space even with the patio, but there was a large party that seemed to have reserved half of the bar, still leaving plenty of room for other guests.

Taste:

Pear Martini-Grey Goose pear, St. Germain Elderflower liquor, lemon juice, simple syrup

Delicious, I would have ordered another one but I’m a slow drinker and we were on a time crunch. Subtle and not too sweet.

Smokey Old Fashioned-Marker’s Mark, simple syrup, orange bitters, cherry

Solid, a second would have been ordered if there were more time.

Caviar Service-American paddlefish caviar, crème fraîche, malt vinegar kettle chips

The caviar tasted more watery and less salty than I would have liked. Cool experience, but we should have just ordered more oysters or tried the shrimp cocktail.

Oysters-Rotating Fresh Oyster Selection Served with Lemon, Horseradish, Mignonette

Very fresh, and Saturdays are $1 oysters to we got 15 so it was a win win.

Yeah, no:

Yes, definitely coming again. It’s also great option if you are heading to a show at the Milwaukee Rep or the Pabst.

Amilinda

Service:

Average. We felt very welcomed by the host and he checked in with us in lockstep with our server.

Ambiance:

Intimate, chic and perfect for date night. I liked that they added a curtain to block daylight from coming in the front to keep things kind of sultry.

Large Groups:

No. The vibe is very much small and intimate, a large group might be a little uncomfortable for everyone.

Taste:

Braised rabbit-Carrot puree, fennel, kumquats, pistachios, honey

It was an interesting dish, maybe too advanced for our palette. There was a sweetness from the citrus that was off putting with the gaminess of the meat. Not a very usually pairing for Ade.

Carcamusa-Braised pork shoulder, Spanish chorizo, sobrassada, potato purée

I really enjoyed the texture of the dish, I believe it was some fried onions or shallots that added a nigh crunch. I do with there was more heat.

Pistachio Bread Pudding

Hidden gem, delicious! I’m not a huge fan of bread pudding but love the pistachio flavor. My dessert stomach was very happy.

Sangria

It felt like a small serving and the stupid paper straw started dissolving before I could finish the drink, but it was so tasty Ade ordered himself one.

Yeah, no:

I don’t think we will return, but we wouldn’t be upset if someone wanted to eat there again with us. Not because the food was bad, we just expected more flavor. Additionally, we both had some gastro events later in the evening that caused us to avoid our leftover just in case.