Bremen Café

Bremen– I love you for everything you are and everything you’re not. I love that you support small local music. I love that you feel like my friends house instead of a bar. I love that you gave me a free $ 7 shot of tequila on my birthday. I love that you’re filled with fun loving, diverse and interesting patrons. I love that you feel like a part of the community. I love that people hang outside your doors all seasons of the year.
I love that you’re not putting up fronts. I love it all and would never change a thing. Bremen, for as long as I live, I will look forward to the next perfect Milwaukee evening with you.
This is my love song to you.

All in all a really awesome neighborhood bar that has a stellar drink selection, great bartenders, pinball machines, trivia nights, and free live music in the back room! SOLD!
I had a lovely night seeing friends from Milwaukee including fellow Unilocal CM Rachel F.
She is so lucky she lives in such a fun rocking town, and it was so fun to hang in her zone!
As for the Bremen it’s kinda divey, but kinda perfect too! Bands have the run of the place when they play there, you run your own sound and all! The bar and band rooms are separated so you can just go to hang out or go to see the show!
Met Britta, Dave, and Jason behind the bar all were wonderful and the prices of the drinks were great! They pay bands well and I loved the experience!

I came here to see a friend’s band play. It’s not a horrible place to see smalltime bands, but it is not my scene. Maybe if you are in your early twenties, have an unkempt neck-​beard, and go around dressing and smelling like a homeless person, you might dig it.
Sitting at the bar, I thought all right they have food here, maybe I will get something. I then watched the bartender counting money on the same cutting board they were using to prepare food. HELL. NO. That is fucking disgusting by any standards.

I’ve been to Bremen Café twice and both were very different experiences. The first time, I went with my girlfriend just to have a few drinks before we went out for dinner. It was great. They have $ 1 off beers from 4 – 9 everyday. We each had a couple beers and watched/​played Jeopardy with the bartender and a few other customers.
The second time, I stumbled in late one Saturday night with a few friends, hoping to see some music. Unfortunately, it was later than we thought and the music had stopped. We decided to play pinball until they closed and the bartender politely asked us to leave. We then stumbled the two blocks back home.
I love that a place like this is so close.

I love this place. It is «my» bar. I know the bartenders and they know me. I can typically be found here at least once a week, and this is the only bar I can say that about.
I really only drink beer, so I can’t speak to any other options, but they have a pretty good selection. Their bottles change pretty frequently so I’m always able to try something new. You can drink cheap beer for cheap or spend a couple bucks more and get something with more flavor and a higher alcohol content. The best deals are happy hour (4 – 9) on the liters ($ 6 for a LITER of Riverwest Stein). They had at least 5 different ciders the last time I was there too.
Other fun things:
I love the bartenders. I have never had a bad experience with the bartenders here. If anyone tells me they’ve had a bad experience, I assume it is their fault and not any employees.
Open mic is on Mondays, comedy earlier and music sign up starts at 10.
My band plays here once a month and I recommend it for out of town bands. Bands used to play up front by the bar, but they’ve relocated that to the backroom where there is waaaay more space.
It is a bit divey, but that’s part of the fun. There are some occasional smells associated with this place, but you’ll get over it.
They have 2 – 4 pinball machines at any given time.
Card minimum is $ 5.
They no longer serve food (and haven’t for a while). Sometimes for sporting events, they’ll fire up the grill and have brats or chicken for free. You can order a freezer pizza at the bar.

yo bremen, the fuck?
i only come to you because my friend/​acquaintance «R» («R», are we friends yet?) works at you. When she’s not there, you totally suck Carl Winslow’s nads. For instance:
Tonight, I came in for a beer
«I’ll take a 2-​hearted»
«I“m outta 2– hearted.»
«Ok, I’ll have a Guiness…»
«blah blah blah i’m not listening i’m just going to haphazardly list your alternatives to the original order»
«Hey, I’ll have a Guiness.»
…pour…
«4 bux»
… lay down a 5-​er… get badly poured Guiness. No change. Totally was gonna tip the buck anyway, but YEEESH. cheezy fuck.
Dude overpours the shit like crazy, then proceeds to whip out a bar rag from his pocket and wipe the glass methodically, bottom to top, all the way around. Including the part i mean to drink from. the fuck? THE FUCK? Really???
Then he declared a smoke break to another employee, came back and sat on the food counter at the bar for a bit (though they don’t sell food anymore), and then planted his ass in a stool. YOU’RE A SHIT BARTENDER, BRAH.
I could tell you the guy’s name, but I won’t. He’s no «R». and «R» (Fuck it, Rachel) is the only reason I would come back. GET IT TOGETHER, BREMEN. 5 for Rachel, 0 for the bar. Unilocal average = 2. No halvsies, none deserved.

Believable: I have friends.
Less believable: I have friends that want to meet up at Bremen, sometimes.
Surprise: I like it there, sort of.
There’s something endearing about Bremen.
I can’t quite put my finger on it.
It’s not the cruddy bathrooms, the décor or the oft-​shady portion of the clientele.
Those are all things I do not like about the Bremen.
I’m going to focus on the things I do like.
They have an awesome staff. The bartenders are all friendly, attentive and willing to go out of their way to make you happy. No joke.
They have food, now, I’ll be honest, I haven’t eaten their food. But you know what I like about Bremen having food? I like that I have young friends, who may, time to time, imbibe a little more than their fair share, and if we’re at Bremen, they can stuff their faces.
Bremen has shuffleboard. If you know me you know I like shuffleboard. Sure, it’s not free, but it is functional and isn’t anywhere near the stage… or the bathroom.
What else do I like about Bremen?
Ample bike parking, outdoor seating, and it’s never so packed that you can’t find a place to sit down. Oh, hey– they have a huge stack of board games, too.
One thing I don’t like about Bremen– a brief warning… Don’t let your bag/​coat out of your eye-​line. Srsly. C’mon.

I really like this place.
I was looking for a laid back dive bar that reminded me of Cole’s or the Empty Bottle in Chicago and the Bremen Café fit the bill. Unpretentious, laid back, and friendly with a fairly good but limited beer list. I have noticed that Milwaukee is not about having 40 beers on tap, but having just a few good ones from Milwaukee Brewing, Lakefront, and all the beers your gram-​pa drank in the 1950s.
I got a call from an old friend who was part of the Riverwest scene back in the early 1990s when we were all having bands play our living rooms or trying to open galleries in old appliance stores and vacant buildings in Riverwest and he said he was playing a show, and that I would love the Bremen Café so I headed up to my old neighborhood.
So, what’s it like in this place? First, my friend Peter H played a great set, and the bartenders here were great. We goofed off, talked philosophy, politics, and everything else with an interesting collection of people and drank a lot of PBR. If you can’t drink PBR and not feel silly in Milwaukee where can you… right?
The main act — a touring act — blew off the venue and a local band that sounded like a young Bob Dylan played instead and were downright awesome. Our bartender — a little punker who said she was bad with names — and I am bad with names too — was awesome.
What to know: Café during the daytime/​Bar during the night time
Great place.

I want to start my review by saying that I have not spent much time in Riverwest, until recently. I have found many great bars and restaurants, that I am looking forward to going back to.
But, after my experience at Bremen Café last night, there are some lessons I learned.
1. Before agreeing to go to a bar (anywhere) that you have never heard of, do a quick scan of the Unilocal reviews. If someone you trust, says that the place smells like an armpit, reconsider saying Yes to the invitation.
Last night (Friday about 1120pm) it had more of a homeless man who urinated on him self for the last 6 months smell.
2. If you decide to ignore the fact that the review you read says it smells like an armpit, at least make sure you have a BAC of at least .35. Because, most likely everyone else will be. Including the musicians scheduled for that night. A guitar/​bango/​kazoo duo does not get better the more beer they drink.
3. If you are not interested in a BAC of .35, you are more than welcome to partake in whatever the man standing out front is selling. Just pull up out front and he will be happy to deliver it to your car.
4. If you were never really sure what to drink as a chaser with your $ 1 shot of Tequila, pickle juice is the obvious answer.
The one good thing about the whole place is that the bathroom stall (yep just a teeny tiny room with a toilet, and a sink outside the door) was actually pretty clean. Not at all what I expected.
Like I said at the beginning, I have found some great businesses in Riverwest, and every single one of them had friendly staff. If I had not been mean-​mugged (Yes, I said it Mean-​Mugged) by the bartender across the bar the entire night (OK, maybe I only made it 1 ½ hours), I may have had a much better experience at Bremen last night. But, apparently the fact that I was there spending $ 4 on a drink that I could have spent at a classier joint up the street, was not good enough for them.
Unfortunately, there is no way I am accepting an offer to go there again.

«Oh, dear» was the first thing that crossed my mind upon walking into this dive bar.
I bought the groupon they had offered. As I do with all groupon purchases, I looked through the website and menu before I purchased, to make sure I would want to go to the place. Bremen Café has a great website. Very trendy. Even includes close up pictures.
We pulled up and stared at the outside of the building. Surely this was not what the website advertised. What is Bremen Café? An extraordinarily dingy corner bar.
But, I had the groupon, and so I had already spent some money on this place and we had to proceed. We walked in and sat down in the chair and table area (because we would be eating). After a few minutes the bar keeper came over and gave us menus.
Four or so older men sat at the bar. One in particular kept looking in our direction and talking very loudly about spoiled kids (meaning 20 somethings) and how they are good for nothing and how they shouldn’t come to Riverwest. This may have been a coincidence, but I was very uncomfortable.
We ordered two hot sandwiches. The server made & cooked the sandwiches at the bar. I hope it was clean, but couldn’t really see. She then took off and the bar tender finished the serving job (it wasn’t busy).
The food itself was okay. Very large hoagie sandwiches (maybe 12 inches?). I had the Hot and Arty, which was provolone, mushrooms, onions, and artichoke hearts on hoagie. Again, it was okay. It was stuffed full of the veggies. I didn’t detect much cheese at all. Something was missing in the flavors, just overall bland. The chips from El Rey were delicious and very spicy.
I would not go back here. The food just couldn’t even come near making this place worth it. The entire atmosphere literally reeks of old smoke. Nothing looks clean. The women’s restroom (which various men used) has a sink outside, right in the «dining» area. Luckily, the woman who made our food washed her hands thoroughly. Though the bar tender touched our food with his hands (I could see him taking the sandwiches off the griddle) and I have no sense of his cleanliness.
This is definitely a Riverwest place and I didn’t feel very welcome. The bar tender and server were nice enough, but the weird looks from the older man at the bar and his rude comments that felt directed at me (undue, too), and the filth made it a terrible dining experience.

I went to the Bremen Café for the first time on a Wednesday to see a mountain music band. The series of events leading up to the band actually taking the stage were like something out of a bizarre comedy.
I ordered a beer (flat and somehow dusty tasting), and my boyfriend ordered a coffee. The bartender handed the coffee over and said ‚“uh…it’s not really warm or anything. I guess I won’t charge you for it.” What?! Dude. At least make up a lofty excuse as to why you can taste the flavors better in room temperature coffee. Or better yet, don’t serve it.
Immediaty after the coffee episode (I’m still in shock about this), we watched as the bartender/​chef pulled a frozen pizza out of the pizza oven, put it on a piece of cardboard, and accidentally dropped it cardboard side down. As it was «still good», he proceeded to pick it up off the floor and serve it.
The band was just about set up, so the café closed and locked the front doors, leaving the side door as the only available exit and entrance. After that, it was banjo and fiddle heaven with a very talented trio. I just couldn’t honestly believe we walked out of there without Owen Wison crashing his car into the side of the building on a delirious drug binge.

Confession: I’ve lived in Riverwest for seven years now, and I had never been to Bremen Café before last week.
Confession: I’ve lived in Riverwest for seven years now, and I’ve known about Bremen Café for, well, seven years now. I’ve never gone. I just… I don’t know. No reason to, really. (No reason not to, either.)
I mean, it goes against everything I believe in. «Get to know your ‘hood inside and out. Then, get to know other ‘hoods inside and out. Eventually, you’ll get to know your whole entire city, inside and out. And then… THEN… you’ll know what you love, what you don’t, what’s going on, and who’s hanging out where. You’ll meet new people. You’ll meet business owners. You’ll learn about stuff, and also, things. You’ll support causes and go to rad events. You’ll be „the best around,“ to quote Joe Esposito.»
Okay… so Bremen Café. Small, situated on the corner of? You guessed it: Bremen and that one other street. (Clarke.) So what, pray tell, makes this spot stand out from any other corner bar in the city’s most liberal and eccentric neighborhood?
I like lists, so here are both pros and cons for you to ponder as you read further:
PROS:
–Live music (local + traveling artists/​bands)
–Intimate vibe/​neighborhood feel
–Food (It *is* a café, after all… though I’ve never eaten here, so let the record show that this pro is simply due to the fact that food is, in fact, available… but they do serve EL REY lemon chips with their sandwiches according to their menu, so there’s that.)
–Pretty stellar drink specials
–Shuffleboard/​board games
CONS:
–It smells of armpits, sort of (or maybe it was just that one creepy transient dude standing next to me and starting at everyone all creepy-​like. I think he was on a lot of drugs. Riverwest is great, but also, beware Riverwest from time to time for the crazies. They’re certainly around…)
–Strangely, I found my Rehorst Vodka + seltzer to be a bit ‘spensive, but maybe Rehorst is just priced a bit high here? Not sure what that was about…
–Strange juxtaposition of football game + live music when I went made for an interesting crowd, comprised of aforementioned creepy train hopping-​type/​staring dude, 55-​year old jocks in Badgers’ sweatshirts, and guys in sweater vests with trendy glasses. Not necessarily a con, but the simultaneity of the whole thing was a bit unsettling.
VERDICT:
I’ll go back, because I only stopped by for a bit, and the place intrigues me. Also, I should try to practice what I preach as much as possible, so why not?

Ugh! Such a bad experience, and I love divey or quirky neighborhood bars. I live in Brewer’s Hill and have really enjoyed finding cool, small bars and restaurants in nearby Riverwest.
My husband and I went there for sandwiches. I had read the Unilocal reviews, so I knew it was not «fast food», nor was I to expect waiter/​waitress service.
We ordered from the bartender and our sandwiches took over 30 minutes to arrive. We were the only people eating in the bar, and when we arrived there were only 2 – 3 other customers drinking.
We asked for the bill and never received it, so after another 20 minutes of waiting we put what we thought would cover it on the table and just left.
Why didn’t the bartender bring us the tab? Well, he was too busy hooking up his laptop to the big screen TV and then he began to play Youtube clips of animals humping for the patrons sitting at the bar. Sheesh.

Aw, baby, don’t be hatin’ on Bremen Café!
Yes, it is dirty. But, remember where you are. This is Riverwest in it’s purest form and we should be embracing the character of this place!
You can get your standard beer and cocktail here, and you might even be surprised by some of the tap options. Also good here is their Bloody Mary. I shit you not.
I actually, on purpose, come here for the food. A kitchen staff is not making your sandwiches here, my dear, ’tis merely the bartender! That’s right, the talented bartender prepares and cooks your food right at the bar. I’m partial to the roast beef panini… fucking mouthwatering deliciousness.
Another good reason to go to Bremen are the open mics. These are mostly locals, braving it enough to try their hand at performing in front of people, often for the first time. Mad fuckin props to that. One of the best nights is Bluegrass night. Seeing someone play the banjo live, and well, is pretty amazing.
Now it’s time to give an award! The award for Best Bathroom Graffiti in Milwaukee goes to the Bremen Café Mens Room! It is truly amazing… though I would not shit there. Yeah, it’s pretty foul.

This place is exactly what I want my west of the river dive bars to be. Ive been here a few times to check out friends bands and I’ve always managed to leave in a good mood…
Theyve got pretty decent drink specials (on the occasions ive been) and they also have a few beers worth drinking. I saw a Furthermore or 2 in bottle and then theyve got 2 Hearted and Fixed Gear on tap. I was pleased.
The thing that really made me want to write a review though was megan the bar tender. She let me eat half of her sandwich when I was hungry. I fell in love on the spot. This is really the only bit of food that I could speak for from this establishment, but it was heavenly.
They have a couple pool tables and dart boards near the back, but i say check them out on a friday or saturday night and support some local musicians.
(especially «Blessed Feathers» prior mentioned friends band.)

low key and laid back. the dude gave me $ 4 bloody marys with GG today, so that made me happy. pool table and games.

I’ve been here twice for sandwiches and both times I’ve been less than impressed. I guess I just have something against bartenders using dirty hands to make my food. :-/​I really wanted to like this place, but each time I’ve had a sandwich with really strange ingredient proportions (like majorly overwhelming sauces) and stale tortilla chips.

Nobody ever said «never judge a venue by its open mic night,» so that gives me liberty to do just that (their open mics are Monday and Thursday). Been here a few times, so the events of my most recent visit came as no suprise:
Substitute host for the night prefaced his set by warning us how awful he was. He was probably the best of the night, though he humbly limited himself to one song. I signed up as «Rob R.» just like I do on Unilocal.With his dry, pretend stoner sense of humor, he introduced me through the PA system as «Rob R Period,» repeating my full name «Rob R Period» several times for effect. Another guy, practicing his guitar in the corner while others were playing, then sprinkled in a few «find my CD on www…» when he finally reached the mike. A guy with a cowboy hat who gave himself a triple encore without any encouragement from the crowd. A religious dude with a warbly voice and frantic lead guitar stylings as dextrous as any and outside of any known scale. An older patron walked up to the stage– «I have question.» He got some attention. «How to get to sesame street?» before laughing heartily, slapping his knee for effect. He charged the stage again later: «I play Russian song!» I was hoping he would, but rules are rules, you wait your turn in the list.
Long story short: this place attracts characters. The vibe is friendly, so it’s all good times for everyone.
A room with a pool table and a jukebox opened up a year or so back, some New Glarus options, decent mini-​oven pizzas.

Oh why don’t I like this place more? It’s right almost next to my house, they have beer & whiskey, a big empty room with a loud, awesome jukebox & nice, inviting pool tables, and food!
Well, I’ll tell you. The bathrooms are gross to disgusting, the climate ranges from sweltering in the summer to bone-​chilling in January; the behind-​the-​bar personalities seem disoriented, bordering on volunteer, and the maybe-​enlightening promise of good food ordered from a grease-​stained yet interesting menu remains an enigma! Yes, this place deserves a thorough criticism, hopefully taken «constructively», because it has potential. Somebody help!