Weddingbee Blog

Like other blogger bees who have had destination weddings, we are going to have a hometown celebration for the people who can’t make it to celebrate with us in Vegas. The first question to ask, though, was which “hometown” was it going to be in? Mr. Mole grew up in the Chicago suburbs, and I grew up in southeastern Wisconsin. We eventually decided on Milwaukee because it is an easy drive for our friends in Chicago, it is convenient for my relatives throughout Wisconsin, and it is close to my mom. Milwaukee was also our home together for the ten months before moving to Los Angeles!

Plus Alice Cooper loves the city / Video via YouTube / Clip from Wayne’s World

So now that we had the general location, it was time to talk specifics. We are thinking of this event like a party, not necessarily like a second wedding reception. We aren’t going to be cutting a cake or dancing or throwing a bouquet or anything like that. We just want to gather all of our loved ones together for a fun celebration with fantastic food and drinks. Keeping this in mind, we quickly zeroed in on our favorite Milwaukee restaurants. In all, we contacted three of them.

Restaurant #1: Cafe Centraal/Cafe Hollander

Cafe Centraal in Bay View / Image via Planet 99

Inside view / Image via On Milwaukee

When we were in Milwaukee, we lived in Bay View. We loved this neighborhood, partly because we were within walking distance of one of our favorite restaurants: Cafe Centraal. Cafe Centraal is a Belgian-style restaurant and bar. Their beer list is awesome. They even had a juniper beer on tap that still makes my mouth water. We often met up with friends here for mussels and frites with Sriracha mayo and curry ketchup. Plus, Mr. Mole’s cyclocross team has been sponsored by them in the past.

After doing some initial research, we discovered that Cafe Centraal has a great patio space for private parties—but that wouldn’t really work for our February event. The manager directed us to its sister restaurant, Cafe Hollander in Wauwatosa. Cafe Hollander has a very similar menu and several additional perks: a private upstairs party area that can accommodate up to 134 people; lots of parking; specially tailored and flexible food and drink menus.

The only catch? A $6,000 food and drink minimum for a Saturday evening. With an estimated guest list of 45–60 people, that would make for a pretty pricey party. Moving on!

Restaurant #2: Hinterland

Hinterland in the Third Ward / Image via Go Time

Inside bar / Image via On Milwaukee

Hinterland is also one of our favorite restaurants in Milwaukee. It is a restaurant that specializes in contemporary American cuisine and focuses on their own line of craft beer. (The brewery itself is located in Green Bay.) It has been a special-occasion place for us. We first went to Hinterland to celebrate our first weeks of work; we later returned to celebrate our second anniversary. The menu focuses on locally grown and ranged food, and it changes every day and with each season.

Hinterland is a fairly small restaurant, so in order to accommodate the size of our party, we would have to buy the whole thing out. The manager told us that we could book on a Sunday afternoon—a day that the restaurant is normally closed—at a discount. That discount still ended up resulting in a food and drink minimum of $7,000. We talked about it for a couple of days before ruling this option out as well.

Restaurant #3: Roots Restaurant and Cellar

Roots Restaurant and Cellar in Brewer’s Hill / Image via Planet 99

Set-up in the cellar / Image via Roots

Roots Restaurant and Cellar is another restaurant that’s been special to us: we went there for (highly necessary) drinks with coworkers once we received news our school would be closing; we met my sister and her fiance there for a wedding-planning brunch; we celebrated our engagement there after returning from Mexico. (Prince Fielder is also a fan, according to the New York Times.) Like Hinterland, Roots specializes in locally sourced food with an emphasis on organic and sustainable farming. It is also incredibly vegetarian and vegan friendly; the chefs somehow turn parsnips into wonderful tasting “ribs.” Yum.

There are three options for private parties at Roots. You can rent the restaurant upstairs, which is a slightly larger and more formal space. Or you can rent the cellar downstairs, which is a little bit more casually decorated. Or, if your party is large enough, you can buy out the whole place. The food and drink minimums vary by the date and the month. For example, a Saturday in February is $5,000 for the restaurant and $4,000 for the cellar. What really swayed us, though, was the fact that Roots will issue you gift cards in the amount remaining on your minimum if you don’t quite reach it.

Luckily for us and our budget, we like the space of the cellar better. We booked it, and we are so excited to celebrate there. We are going back next month for a consultation and a tasting—which really underscores just how close we are getting to the day!

If you are ever in Milwaukee, I highly recommend checking out all three of these restaurants for dinner (or possibly even your wedding reception). Money aside, which one would you pick?