Amilinda

This has been my favorite place here in MKE for dinner
I’m a fan of the flat iron steak. One thought. The greens on the plate were really bitter the second time and it was over powering
The real treasure here is a savvy bartender. She’s always made us feel welcome. She makes great drinks.
I give this place 5 stars. 4 for the food and 5 for the service!

Most amazing meal I’ve had in a very long time! Make sure you try everything on the menu. Exceptional service. Beautiful restaurant. I’ll definitely be back!

It’s certain that this restaurant is entirely centralized around the food – some of the best I’ve tasted. The building is unassuming from the outside – in fact, I would go so far to say I was slightly dissuaded by it. The interior is much nicer, if not somewhat noisy (granted, this was on a Friday night), and the wait was long, but so incredibly worth it. It turns out that the chef owns the restaurant (something that is no doubt common elsewhere but not necessarily around these parts), and the only viable way to describe him would be as a culinary artist. The wait was long because it’s simply him and the sous chef crafting everything from scratch. Truly a delight, and I can’t recommend it enough (even to those like myself – a generally unadventurous eater).

My wife and I were here so I could run a Half Marathon. We’re from San Francisco. Not to use a provincial baseline, but Amilinda was as good as, even better than, comparable places in the Bay Area — except it was half the price. Highly, highly recommended. According to the mainstream media, this was a popup originally, and it only recently became an established restaurant.
The food was great. We had the asparagus «pâté» and the grilled cheese starters. The ingredients were as fresh as possible — the carrots on the former were the best raw carrots I’ve ever had. The preparation was excellent. For a main course, we split the chicken. It was very good. It wasn’t quite as good as the starters, but that is only because they were superlative. It was on a bed of greens and mushrooms.
This is an observation, not a criticism, for the benefit of others. I happen to prefer strong flavors. This kitchen delivers. So for those who would rather have more subtlety, they might be slightly overpowered.
The wine list was extensive and reasonably priced.
Service was courteous and professional.
When the bill came, my wife was astonished. At least by the standards to which we have become accustomed, this was a bargain.
This was a flawless little place.

Wow! From the first bite every dish was perfect! Went with a group of friends and decided to try 5 starters and 5 dishes to share, every dish was amazing! Great Job Chef!

For my boyfriend’s birthday, I booked reservations for the two of us at this restaurant. I know they have a limited menu, but they did offer a vegetarian dish, so I figured, like most nice restaurants, if I gave them a heads up about my dining restrictions early, they would be able to accommodate me. So, when I made the reservation, I made a note that I am a vegan and that we were also celebrating a birthday. We arrived at the restaurant, checked in with the hostess using our reservation, and we’re seating directly in front of the door. When the menu came, I asked my server if anything on the menu could be made vegan. He informed me that he didn’t believe so, but that he would ask the chef. He came back and told me that the meat dishes could be made without dairy. I explained again to him that I did not eat dairy OR meat, for which he apologized, stating that there was not anything for me. I instead settled on a cocktail for dinner, aiming to grab a bite somewhere else afterwards. When my boyfriend’s dinner wrapped up (which, i am happy to say he did enjoy), the server presented us with our check and told me that the chef had specially prepared a vegan dish for me because of my reservation, though no one told him we were that particular reservation. I don’t know where the breakdown of communication happened (likely in a few spots) but it was very disappointing that my boyfriend and I could not enjoy a meal together, and that his birthday wasn’t even acknowledged (I don’t expect free anything, but even saying it, or writing it on the check would have been nice). Also, at that point in the night it was just kind of salt on the wound, to tell me that there was a dish waiting for me that I would not get to enjoy.

Beginning w/​the asparagus pâté and onto the buffalo mozzarella cheese/​peppers salad and the octopus/​bacon and greens salad; then the scrumptious scallops for 2 of us, the flank steak entrée that my husband LOVED-​best ever he said, the pork chop and the 5^th entrée-​the lamb t-​bone omg is all I can say! Love to Chef Greg; and the 3 desserts Chef Julia prepared and served to us: coffee crème brûlée, polenta cake berries ice cream and whipped cream, and the fruit tart-​more whipped cream and ice cream, and divine wines chosen by Leslie, and a taste of port. PHEW! Go to Amilinda. Sit at the bar and enjoy Chefs Julia and Greg. Allow Leslie and Alyssa to assist in choices of dishes and wines. ENJOY time w/​family and friends. Orry, Ben and Jonathan are present and working hard, as are Brendon and Ian. LOVE Amilinda

Outstanding meal and great ambiance. Always impressed by Chef Greg Leon. Don’t skip dessert!

I’m a fan of everything except the prices. Our service was excellent. The food was close to excellent with the exception of being a little too salty. The atmosphere was excellent but it didn’t merit the overall prices of the food. I sat on a wood bench for dinner… for $ 30 per plate? I don’t think so. Anyway, just a few little things that could easily be fixed. I will come back.

Very solid meal. The place is located downtown in between millioke and an Ethiopian restaurant. Wasn’t quite sure what to expect (tapas…) but it’s just a really solid restaurant. Great use of spices! The cooks are right behind you in a small kitchen, there is a nice size bar too. Waitstaff are friendly and helpful.
Started off with trumpet mushrooms. Good but not fantastic. I had the lamb meatballs and they were very good. My wifey had the skirt steak and it was off the chain good. Wow I’d go back for that. Keeping in mind the menu is constantly changing so what you liked may not be available on follow up visits. Pros and cons there.
Overall I would definitely come back and as a bonus they are also in small shops rewards program. I think they offer 3% back. Still gotta love free money.

We had a reservation for 8:45 but came a little early, around 8:15. We were told our table wasn’t ready yet (no surprise) so we elected to eat at the bar. The restaurant itself was nice, once you got past the curtain that blocked it from the street outside. It’s a small restaurant, and you definitely should have a reservation to get a table.
They brought us bread with a sauce that was very tasty, but I don’t know what it was. I ordered the grilled hanger steak, and it wasn’t too bad. I enjoyed it, but loved the cauliflower purée that came with it. There was a little too much arugula on there. My boyfriend ordered the braised pork shoulder and was very disappointed by it. It was very watery, and seemed as if there was a can on tomato/​tomato sauce put in there. There also wasn’t a lot of pork in the dish.
That being said, the bartender was awesome and went out of her way to take good care of us and the people around us and make recommendations despite it being pretty busy on a Friday night. It’s a little expensive, but would make for a nice place to grab a drink in downtown Milwaukee.

I can’t possibly explain the joy I felt with every bite I took in this meal. We had the chicken… I mean who gets chicken in a restaurant like this? Um we did and didn’t regret it. We also had the rabbit legs, halibut cheeks and lamb meatballs… To. Die. for. Highly recommend trying all of the appetizers… especially the linguisa crepinette… heaven. Also try the São Paulo Sour. best drink on the menu. The staff tops it all and chef Greg never ceases to amaze me.

Such a classy, understated atmosphere — think I’ve found my go-​to Spanish place in MKE. Chef Greg clearly takes pride in his place. When I’m raving about carrots (the ones that came with the vegetarian dish were seasoned and cooked to absolute perfection), you can imagine how good the rest was. The white bean chorizo appetizer was rich and distinctive. Try the staff favorite Cava — ask Leslie if you’re not sure. Spendy but well worth it.

Couldn’t get into Braise? Just come here!!! Smaller menu, yet more cost effective; has lately had plenty of seats available unlike when a popup; and there is beyond plenty of parking available downtown after 6.
Holy heck do they know how to make Cream of _​_​_​_​veggie soups. My one knock post-​move will be imparting too much additional flavor to some of their great entrees. Maybe the new smoker has them trying additional things that aren’t perfected yet. It won’t stop you from enjoying them at all, just takes longer to interpret what all your taste buds are getting. On the better side, the awesome desserts are even more amazing now. Pictures can not show the surprising textures encountered.

Wow. Just wow. Thank you to my fellow Unilocalers for your reviews on this amazing restaurant.
My wife and I stopped by Amilinda for dinner while we were in town for a concert at the UW Panther Arena. I made the reservation online using their website, which was very easy. I chose Amilinda after looking at their menu and seeing very few items. Most would see this as a negative, but I know that restaurants that have smaller menus typically make sure the dishes are executed to perfection. Not to mention with small menus, they are typically changed often based on what is in season and fresh. Huge pluses in my book.
When we arrived, the outside of the building wasn’t much to write home about, but that really didn’t matter to us. We stepped inside and were immediately greeted by the hostess and promptly seated with menus. Shortly after our server arrived with water and then bread with both butter and a vegetable spread. Both my wife and I ordered a glass of wine from their lengthy wine list and started to enjoy the bread. The bread was soft on the inside with a nice crust on the outside. The vegetable spread was good, however I felt that it was under seasoned.
For a starter, I ordered the curried cauliflower soup. When it arrived it was served with a crostini and it was drizzled with olive oil and freshly cracked black pepper. It was VERY good. It was a perfect consistency, texture and it was exactly the right amount of curry.
For an entrées I ordered the Lamb Meatballs and my wife ordered the Halibut.
The Lamb Meatballs were served with Escalivada, preserved lemons and Harissa Yogurt. The meatballs were perfectly cooked and all of the flavor combinations went amazingly well together. My only complaint was that the meatballs could have been either a little larger or there could have been a couple more of them.
My wife’s halibut was served with grits, ramp greens, a Taso ham and shrimp broth and sea beans. She raved about the dish and the bite that I tried was excellent.
For dessert we had the coconut custard. Which if you aren’t full by the time you get dessert, you will be afterwards. It was very rich, but amazing. Besides the food, we were extremely happy with the service and the décor/​ambiance of the restaurant in general. It was a small place with seating for probably only about 40. The old brick and tile floor were great additions to the interior décor.
If you are looking for a nice place to try some great seasonal food without a huge price tag, check out Amilinda.

Love love love… Don’t love that I live so close because I have found another new reason to not cook and literally walk down the street for something I could never dream of preparing.
Luckily we were a party of three and were able to grab a table on a Friday night. I am so happy I came with other people because I just couldn’t decide what I wanted. I am not as verbose as Rick so please see his review for actual food details. My mother ordered the halibut cheeks with a saffron rice. I ordered braised pork shoulder with little fingerling potatoes and the husband had a skirt steak with mashed potatoes. Ok so that sounds really plain PLEASE see my pictures because I cannot describe aside from seriously perfect. You absolutely cannot go wrong! They also offer a vegetarian selection. I needed to bring my friend Sammy O, so she could order this! Another reason to come back for sure! Not that I need one!!! I also had a parsnip soup that was much larger than I anticipated. Bread from rocket baby was also provided to start. Naturally I tried a gin cocktail. Suburb.
So finally we ended with dessert. These are made in house and like I said, there where three in my party and they offered three desserts. We decided to try all three. These where in my honest opinion the best, hands down desserts I have had in a long time. I order two dessert whenever we go out, I am that person so I feel qualified to say these are fantastic. Once again words cannot describe but one of them was a chocolate flourless cake. Usually these are heavy, dense. Oh no, not this amazing light and fluffy one. I just can’t even. The other, a ridiculously light fluffy orange pastry thing, the third was a coconut something … I don’t know, you just need to try them all. Literally the best in the city. Even if you are alone;)
Cost. We were pleasantly surprised at portion sizes and cost. Prices were lower, gosh I don’t want to tell them that, than say Braise, Odd Duck, movida (where I have been lately) with larger portions!!!
Important to note, they have a lot of bar seating. Why does that matter. The husband and I are usually too lazy to make reservations so perfect, hopefully there will be a spot for us at the bar!!!
Overall. I actually think this is the best food I have had in town in a long time and as you know competition is tough in MKE. This is defiantly a hidden gem for the foodie!

Returned to Amalinda with a group of three the other night and I wanted to revisit my original review and bump it up to 5 full stars. After this meal, I feel that this may very well be one of the top five restaurants in Milwaukee.
We started with Jamón Ibérico – Lemon Verbena – Extra Virgin Olive Oil – Radish Salad. Jamon is a mainstay of every Spanish and/​or tapas restaurant. It is a prosciutto-​like product, only better. The thing that made this one stand out was the preparation. Pure bliss and beautiful to boot.
Next up was the Caldo Verde — this was one of the most delicious things I’ve ever tasted in a soup. It’s a cream soup made with kale and linguisa, which is a slightly spicy Portuguese sausage. It was hearty and smokey and most of all roll-​your-​eyes-​back delicious. Simply amazing.
Next up, Carcamusa – Braised Pork Shoulder – Piquillo Pepper Confit – Fingerling Potatoes. It was not in the description, but also in this dish was a piece of what tasted like chorizo sausage. Once again, we were floored by this dish.
Another main was Roasted Za’atar Spanish Paprika Chicken – Parsnip Purée – Roasted Brussels Sprouts – Pickled Red Onions. This was also amazing. I did feel the chicken was just a tad dry, but overall a delicious dish.
We don’t normally order dessert but on this evening we ordered two. One was drop the mic on the floor and walk off fantastic. It was a carrot cake muffin with ice cream. I’ve never tasted its equal. Simply six-​star delicious. INSANE!
Once again we observed executive chef Gregory Leon working on each dish in the tiny kitchen. He stopped by our table and I was pleased to tell him just how good his work is. One at our table stated «you can taste the heart at the place.» Service was terrific.
This place deserves 5 full stars. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

First– I have to say that this place does not stand out on the street. I walk past this place everyday and never knew it was there until a friend suggested it. So if you’re looking for a hidden gem, this might be it!
Entrée prices seemed a little high to me, which was off putting up front. Also a limited selection, so if you’re a picky eater, you’ll want to check the menu before you go to make sure there’s something for you.
With that said, the food was delicious! I went with two of my girlfriends, so we taste tested everyone’s and let me tell you– each dish was better than the next. I went with the short rib, which was very tasty. But my friend got the rabbit and it was awesome. I would probably pick that next time. They also had a fun drink menu. I had a sangria cocktail followed by the red sangria and I wasn’t disappointed by either choice. Worth a stop for sure.

This restaurant gets a well deserved 5-​star from my fiancé and I! We were recommended to go to this restaurant by our Air BnB host and were incredibly happy we did!
EXPERIENCE:
We made the mistake of not making a reservation, but luckily when we arrived there was a spot for two at the chef’s counter. We were served promptly. I was really happy to see the menu with only 6 items in the appetizers and 6 in the entreès, it made it easier to pick a dish. It was also neat sitting at the Chefs counter to watch our food being prepared.
FOOD:
Our app was the Spanish Lomo Montadito and it was great. The butternut squash and red bell pepper marmalade was the perfect coupling to contrast the pork belly and monchego cheese. Sweet and salty, yum. Lots of flavor and texture! I had the boneless braised short ribs on top of Yukon gold potato and parsnip purée with pickled onions ($ 23) and Oh my goodness was it good. The short ribs melted in my mouth and the purée made the dish very comforting without the need to pass out afterwards. My fiancé had the Spicy Piri Piri Chicken and really enjoyed it. The chicken was a bit dry, but the spices were great. Happy Anniversary/​Valentines day dinner to me.
This restaurant was definitely worth every penny!

I went back last week with a friend for another outstanding dinner!
We ordered three small plates and an entrée and split everything. We decided on the Spanish Lomo Montadito and Chicken Empanadas, but one of the servers highly recommended the Black Trumpet Mushroom Salad, so we trusted her and added that to the list.
The Spanish Lomo Montadito ($ 10) was made with manchego cheese, rolls of Spanish Lomo (ham), a butternut squash purée and a red bell pepper marmalade served over crisp bread (think large crostini). All of the ingredients worked well together.
The Chicken Empanadas ($ 10) were perfectly cooked, but the garlic and saffron aioli is what really took the empanadas to another level and added the wow factor I was looking for.
The Black Trumpet Mushroom Salad ($ 10) may have been our favorite small plate that night. It was a great recommendation by Alyssa. the mushrooms are mixed with crisp turnip greens and served over a poached garlic purée for a combination of great textures and flavors!
We struggled between the Boneless Braised Beef Short Ribs ($ 24) and the Wild Stripe Bass ($ 24), but eventually went with the short ribs served over a parsnip purée with the texture of mashed potatoes. The beef was braised in beer and I could taste it. It was also VERY tender. The dish was rich and bold and made us really happy that we chose it to end out meal. We were too full for dessert, so maybe next time there.
The menu continues to change often, almost every couple of days based on what ingredients are available locally and fresh. If you walk by and see something you like posted on the menu in the window, you probably shouldn’t wait to get it another day.
I’m craving the lamb empanadas that I missed out on.

I went here on Halloween night!
There’s so much potential in Amilinda, I definitely see the restaurant growing and becoming more popular in the city. My fiancé and I both had skirt steaks, which were delicious. The presentation is absolutely wonderful (I was too embarrassed to snap a picture-​hahaha).
The skirt steak was laid over a bed of yummy potatoes that were seasoned to perfection. The only downside is that the food was kind of lukewarm. There’s one unisex bathroom for the entire restaurant, which I didn’t even try to use due to the line forming outside of it.
If you’re in Milwaukee looking for a fun date night place to try on whim, I do recommend Amilinda.

YES YES YES — a million times yes. I loved this place. LOVE? Yes, love. Amilinda should be ROCKING all the time, it’s that good. We arrived at 6:45p on a Friday night — the place was mostly empty but we were told we could sit at the bar because the tables were reserved. What luck! We took a seat with a direct view of the prep station which was absolutely fascinating. The prep chef was so meticulous and you could tell she loves what she does. If you get the chance, sit and watch her create. Simply lovely.
Since their menu changes, I don’t remember exactly what we ate; we started off with a salad which was fantastic, shared two entrees (lamb shoulder and pork cheek) both of which were phenomenal. We ended the night with a delicious flourless chocolate cake, expertly executed — it came with ice cream and caramel and maybe a little bit of heaven, right there in your mouth. Their wine list is great — lots of choices from both Spain and Portugal.
A glowing review… so why not 5 stars? Mainly one reason. It took a long time, like FOREVER. (Am I being dramatic?) I understand that good food can take a while. But it took a really long time. We weren’t originally in a hurry but by the end, we were feeling pressed for time. I’m not actually sure if it was the crafting of the food that took a long time or if it was our server. She wasn’t great about making sure our water was filled, it took a while for her to take our order and coming back to take our payment was painfully slow. The food was so good that I almost didn’t care and considered not even mentioning it… but it’s worth mentioning. Just go when you don’t have somewhere to be. It’s soooo worth it.

If I had a Portuguese grandmother, this is what she’d cook for me.
It’s bigger than it looks! Friendly and accommodating staff, great open kitchen and fun atmosphere. What else could you want for a late Friday evening dinner? AMAZING food! Braised Pork Cheeks and Beef Espetada are amazing. A California native I dined with said that the beef was the best meal he’s had in milwaukee. Everything was delicious and on point. I’ll definitely be back. Maybe even tonight! PS I did go back the next night and sat at the bar for a quick awesome bite.