Goodkind

I’ve visited Goodkind several times for dinner over the past 6 – 8 months, trying dishes such as the Monday Night Prime Rib special or the Tuesday Night Burger special (which changes weekly), and I even made a special trip in to try Goodkind’s take on Serbian Burek.
All of the dishes have ranged from good to great, and each visit seems to have been better than the prior. While I’ve loved the burgers I’ve had recently, including the Juicy Lucy last week, I need to get back and try more small plates and entrees that make up the heart of Goodkind’s menu, such as the Seaweed Chips that I was avoiding because I’m not a big fan of nori (seaweed).
Last week I decided to try them after reading about how they were one of the top food items in Milwaukee that foodies should try. While I don’t consider myself a foodie, but merely an aspiring foodie, I thought I’d give them a go. Guess what? They were freakin’ awesome!
Sheets of nori are coated with the same batter they use for their calamari. Then they are fried and seasoned perfectly. I might have to order them any time I see them on the menu. Seriously, they are a treat!
I have to do better to try more of the menu, which does change fairly often, but I owe it to myself to try.
BTW, the beer and cocktail list is still super solid if that is more important to you than the food.

Good kind tries too hard. It has the eclectic hipster vibe so common to Bay View, with creative menu items. Brunch options; breakfast poutine for me and polenta for him were much too rich for our liking, and my uncle’s pancake dish was the size of three small muffin tops. I swear the waitresses were speaking quietly on purpose, between the complex menu and noise level, it was not worth trying again.

Bartender was great! had the most Amazing burger I have ever had in my life, worth 20 stars. I’m a sucker for a burger otherwise I would have tried the crab pasta. The oysters were yummy, but I had to add hot sauce because I like zip with them.

Met up with some local friends for a late night catch up. The Milwaukee restaurant scene is pretty new to me, and this is a gem. The place was packed on a Thursday night, and we were lucky to get bar seats.
We split the champagne battered mushrooms, seaweed chips, and crispy brussels sprouts salad for appetizers — all of them were good, but the mushrooms were out of this world. I had the spicy crab pasta as my entrée, largely because of the great Unilocal reviews. It was pretty good, but I’d try something else on another visit. Also loved the drinks… we had a few different ones among the group, but the clear favorite was My Darling Amadeus. I can’t wait until I’m back in Wisco to try it out again.

I’ve eaten at Goodkind twice. The first visit was really nice while the second visit was just so-​so.
During my first visit, my friend and I sat at the beautiful center bar and ordered two drinks I can’t remember the name of, along with two lobster bisques. The bisque was delicious, light and flavorful with decent-​sized chunks of lobster. For my entrée, I had the currywurst. From what I recall, this dish was reasonably priced at $ 13 and very filling. Good flavors throughout as well. Currywurst had just the right amount of spice and was nicely complemented by the side of fried potatoes.
At my most recent visit last Friday night, my husband and I ordered drinks and a fried calamari appetizer. The appetizer was huge and consisted of not just fried calamari rings but also fried onion peels and slices of lemon. Deep fried lemons seemed weird at first but ended up being super refreshing and tasty.
For a main, I ordered the carbonara. This may seem absurd but it was almost a little too gourmet/​foodie for my taste. I wasn’t necessarily expecting a calorie-​bomb, chain restaurant rendering of carbonara but I was hoping for at least some cheese and cream. The dish was cooked nicely, and you could tell someone put a lot of heart into it, but it lacked the basic elements of carbonara that most people seek when ordering this dish, except for maybe the pepper and pancetta.
My husband ordered the scallops. They were perfectly cooked and looked beautiful. But they were just scallops over some lentils in the end.
I really want to love Goodkind since it’s so close to home, so I’ll probably give it another go or two or three. I hope in the future they churn out some more inventive things with price points and tastes to match expectations.

The he thing I like best about this place is EVERYTHING! the food, the cocktails, the décor, the staff, etc, etc, etc.
I have yet to be disappointed. This is one of our favorite places. If we could afford it, we’d be regulars for sure. Not to say that it’s overpriced, worth every penny. Do yourself a favor and stop on by. Drinks will lead to appetizers will lead to entrees will lead to desserts. Don’t say I didn’t warn you!

Goodkind is a decent restaurant. Food is flavorful, which I find many restaurants lacking these days. Some of the portion sizes are way off balance. Couple that with semi-​spotty service is why it gets a 3 star rating. For the money there are other establishments that have better food and views overall. Speciality cocktails were also rather expensive, especially for a «neighborhood» joint.
Appetizers:
Burrata Cheese —
Fried Green Tomatoes | Arugula | Mama lil’s Red Peppers | Herb Tomato Water
Blandest dish we had — 1 star
Crisp Monterey Bay Calamari
Sweet Onion | Basil | Lemon | Charred Scallion Re moulade
Great breading, everything in it was deep fried including the lemons, very rich, dipping sauce was prime time — 4 stars, best dish of the night
Main Course’s:
Spicy Crab Pasta —
Bucatini | San Marzano Tomato | Dungeness Crab | Rapino | Pepperoni | Basil Oil
Very flavorful, good amount of crab, great pasta
FYI — I ate the rest of this my wife had because my «large plate dish» was so freaking tiny.
Spaghetti Alla Carbonara —
Pancetta | Pecora Nocciolata Cheese | Egg | Pea Shoots
Pasta was great, lot’s of flavor — absolutely scrumptious
FYI again — Our guest ate his wife’s’ as his dish was oh so tiny
Wild Caught Fillet — Sauerkraut stew | black trumpet mushrooms | bacon | crème fraîche |dill pollen
One very, very small piece of fish. The sauce was excellent but could not even find a mushroom, we had to ask for bread — all in all a huge let down

Descriptive phrase: unique tasting experience.
Goodkind has been getting rave reviews from friends and family, so I came in on a Monday night to see what the fuss was about. Tucked away in a nice neighborhood in Bay View, the space is small and situated around a central, rectangular bar. We grabbed a side table.
My wife and I split a Fight or Flight special ($ 18) to start: this dish features 4 beer flights (Perennial on this night) paired with 4 different small tastings. Each beer went unbelievably well with the corresponding food, in complex ways. It’s meant to be more of a shared appetizer, though, as each sample was no more than one bite per person. You’re paying for originality, not quantity.
We ordered the Seitan Chorizo ($ 12) to share as well. This faux-​chorizo and potatoes was just the right amount of spicy, and was certainly not meat but definitely still delicious. The Chocolate Stout Cake ($ 9) to round out the meal was the right call. The beer prices were high even for Bay View. That should be remedied.
Goodkind’s chef is definitely trying new things, and it makes for a good and unique experience. Keep an open mind and you’ll enjoy it too.

You know, it just isn’t for me. I see the appeal, I really do, but with so many other amazing options out there, I’m not sure I would return again.
The first time I came here was with a party of eight, which I had made reservations to accommodate a week prior. When we showed up, our table was not ready, and they split us between two booths. We wanted to sit as a group, and were moved to a larger table once one opened up. The food was fine this time. We got the fried chickpeas which were good. The fromage fort was a dish of cheese, fine. The calamari was good, but they fried lemons and others with it so that the calamari itself was lacking. I ordered the half chicken which was actually juicy and flavorful. 2 – 3 stars for that visit.
This time we were able to make a reservation for 2 at 6:30 the night of. We walked in a couple apologetic minutes late, and were greeted with a preset table and friendly waitstaff. We picked out a couple craft cocktails and went to work on the menu. The cocktails were good, and our server was phenomenal. We engaged in witty banter and she was helpful to suggest food that was allergy friendly.
We started with the shaved brussels sprout «salad» which had apples, pecans, blue cheese crumbles and a garlic dressing. The dressing was smeared fancy under the ‘shavings’ for lack of a better term, and I almost wished it would have been tossed with it. Uncooked sprouts have a pungent flavor and while the dressing muted it, there could have been more. Still a refreshing dish.
Next we had the rabbit loin. She described these next two dishes as full entrees, but we split all the plates. I’m glad, as there wasn’t one I would have enjoyed fully. The rabbit was served with salted turnips, turnip greens and something else, but the greens and veggies were extremely bitter. I would take a bit of rabbit and greens and veggies all in one bite, but then found the overwhelming bitterness would overtake the tender meat. The rabbit also was VERY pink in the middle, bordering on underdone. I found myself giving up most of my ‘sides’ to my partner as I found them to be ruining the dish.
After the rabbit we indulged in the tri-​tip steak. This was served with italian greens, peppers, mushrooms and a celery root purée. I am allergic to mushrooms, and they offered happily to replace the fungus with squash, which is richly in season. They took acorn squash and sliced it super thin, then blanched it. This preparation for the squash was great! It left the ‘meat’ a little al dente and delicious. The Tri Tip was served rare, when we had agreed on medium, but I let it be. The middle pieces looked completely uncooked, but again my partner liked that more than I did, so I stuck to the edge pieces. The celery root purée was delicious, and this dish was well composed. I would have liked it more had it been cooked properly.
Lastly, we tied the meal up with dessert. They were serving an apple tart with housemade rosemary ice cream. Again, not my favorite. The ice cream was delicate and refreshing, but the tart was heavy and thick.
All in all it was enjoyable. Our service was spectacular, but the food left me wanting more — especially for the price.

You guys. I’ve never been so impressed with a restaurant on the first try. My first experience at Goodkind was in the middle of a sheeting rainstorm. I was with a friend and we decided to go to the first restaurant where we could find close parking. We ran into Goodkind half soaked to find that it was absolutely packed. The hostess was more than accommodating and we were seated a reasonable amount of time later. I was also on a specific eating plan at the time and our server knew every ingredient in each item on the menu. I would highly recommend this restaurant if you have any allergies as the server was quickly able to locate several options that could be tweaked to my requirements.
The first time I had the rotisserie chicken with roasted potatoes.YUM. It was a massive portion (easily could be sharing between two people) and so freakin tasty.
I went back last night with some friends and we started with the beer/​food pairing. This is an awesome way to try new things that you normally wouldn’t order a whole portion of (sweetbreads!). My group then moved on to the cauliflower app & the calamari. Both super yum! Finally, my entrée was horseradish risotto with bacon, brussel sprouts & grapes. I would have never in a million years thought to put grapes on a risotto but it worked so well! This is what I look for when going out to try new places. Interesting & delicious twists on favorites.

Another five star, because I’ve had nothing but great experiences here. I live down the street and come in here at least twice a month. I sit at the bar because I prefer that particular atmosphere and the folks at the bar seem to always be the coolest.
Stopped by yesterday for their Sunday brunch, since it’s fairly new and we hadn’t been there in a few weeks and had never tried the brunch menu. Whatever it was that compelled us to do that, please let that force guide me there every Sunday!
Whatever. Mike ordered a ton of different things, but the plate that stood out to me most was the mushroom dumplings. It’s so rich in flavor and just. so. amazing.
I was very excited to bring friends over a few weekends back for Brunch. And they absolutely were wow’d by it. Glad I could introduce a few friends to the amazingness that is Goodkind!

For what it is worth to you, this business is LOUD inside. It makes eating an enjoyable meal quite difficult. I do like the food, and would suggest getting the calamari. I was quite fond of the deep fried lemon slices, and the super tender calamari. Drinks are always stupendous… recently had a Whiskey drink with something like a 1796 or other number in it. It was soooooo smooth that it seemed like had no booze in it. Marvelous flavors. Top notch beer selection always here too. Because it is always painful on the ears, I docked it 1 star. I would have said 4 otherwise.
Add some sound damping to kill the noise!!! I shouldn’t have to yell to my companions.

A-​maz-​ing!
One of my pet peeves is the whole «small plates» trend, so I was a little dubious about the menu, but a-​ha! They also have large plates too. So we ordered small plates as apps and large plates as our main, and we were stuffed. The portion sizes (especially on the fried mushrooms and bucatini) were enormous for a restaurant like this with quality food.
I liked the décor and feel of the place. Sure, it’s kind of hipstery and Bohemian, but I don’t feel that it’s inauthentic here. I get the vibe, I like it. It’s different. Maybe it’s not your vibe, but that’s ok. I don’t think I could handle the vibe every week, but this is more of a special event kind of place for me anyway.
The food was pretty awesome, but the cocktails were even better. Get the In the Rain on Royal St., you won’t regret it. And one had me feeling good, even with all the pasta carbs. Nice.
The mushrooms, while delicious and a massive shareable portion, had a rather heavy batter for such delicate mushrooms, meaning that you barely knew there were mushrooms under there. Perhaps a lighter tempura-​type batter would be nicer, but hey, we still ate them.
The romaine wedge salad was fantastic. It’s kind of a re-​imagined Midwestern salad with all familiar ingredients, but done really well and composed nicely on the plate. Great start to a meal.
Bucatini with crab was fantastic, as others have said. Pepperoni is nice and spicy, and the pepperoni grease that coats the pasta in the tomato sauce is the bomb. It’s not like it’s a pool of grease, so don’t be put off. People need to embrace delicious pepperoni grease more often. The wilted rapini was a little hard to deal with and cut, but eh, minor gripe.
In short, go here. Go for cocktail happy hour weekdays 4 – 5 for $ 2 off all house cocktails. Yes, they are somewhat expensive, but they are genius and worth it, and you only need one or two anyway. I hope to make it back here for late night food since they serve until 1 am every day.

I’m a big, big, big fan of brunch here. We’d been for dinner once and while the food was good, I wasn’t sold on it being worth the total bill. I was skeptical about trying it again when there are just so many other places I’ve yet to eat in town, but when Daniela suggested brunch, it seemed like the perfect way to start my birthday week.
I was beyond impressed and excited by my brunch food. The pork belly piece must have been a foot long and perfectly cooked to have some char and crisp without being overdone. It was paired with a buttermilk maple cake that brought some awesome sweetness and acid to the pork belly. They worked so well together and I’ll be thinking about that plate for a long time to come.
I also had an breakfast risotto that was caramelized onions and cheese, I believe and came with a soft egg in the center. It was creamy and rich and I’d never thought of risotto for breakfast, but this convinced me.
I’m pretty sure my two plates together were $ 20 and I’m not sure anywhere in the city can provide a similar brunch taste for that price. It was that good.
There’s a great beer selection here and some awesome craft cocktails, but $ 8 for a standard mimosa was a bit steep.
So maybe I need to give dinner another chance. Because this was by far the best brunch I’ve had in this town.

I recently had a chance to try Goodkind for brunch and was very impressed. We had a group of eight and I was expecting this to take FOREVER. I’m happy to say that the timing of everything was perfect. I started with a drink at the bar. I believe what I had was called «Off to the races.» I saw bourbon and went for it. What I failed to notice was the raw egg. Since the tattooed bartender had already begun, I sucked it up. The drink was very «egg noggy»; great for winter, but not something that should be served in July. Anyway, for Brunch I ordered the rotissorie pork belly and the bacon risotto. OMG, that pork belly was awesome! It was about a eight inch long piece of very crisp pork. I really prefer porkbelly this way. When it’s not cooked enough, it tends to be a bit gelateneous. The risotto was perfect, nice and cheesy with just the right amount of bacon. I could have done without the egg on it, but that’s just me. Back to the service, our server was very professional, very knowledgable, and very attentive. She did however miss one thing for the whole table, but in the end it didn’t matter. We had plenty to go around. Two of our diners had the poutine which made a great sharing plate.
It was hard for me to believe that this used to be the old DiMarini’s. I can’t believe they managed to get the pizza stink out of this place. The décor is very «cute» and the bathrooms are great. I can see why this place in on everyone’s short list. I can’t wait to try Goodkind for diner.

I just recently tried goodkind a week ago and I have to tell you it is as good as people say it is. The food is awesome and the atmosphere is great. The staff is nice and friendly and will to help and explain any questions you might have.
One amazing thing that I was able to do was get a flight of beer, it’s not on the menu so you have to ask for it. I got 4 beers of my choice from their selection for $ 12 which is not that bad.
I would definitely come here again for lunch and or dinner.

Bayview has some really great options for dinner and cocktails and Goodkind is one of them. Stopped in for a delicious dinner of a few choice small plates. Sat at the bar, our server was delightful and helped us make 3 balanced options:
The soft cheese with olives– the olives were a mix and each one was dreamy, super glad that my dining partner wants nothing to do with them as I was able to devour each one! Cheese was great and I thought the portion was perfect. They also tell you at delivery that they will bring additional bread if necessary (which it was).
Lentil and walnut fritters– Yum! The texture of the fritter was so perfect! Crunchy on the outside and smooth on the inside. Served with a delicious/​fresh and surprising spicy side avocado.
Calamari– while I think this was cooked perfectly (calamari was perfect and crunchy) it was a tad salty and a little off balance– just a little over breaded.
I had a few drinks during the day, so just drank water. But watched the bartender prepare (with much care) a few beautiful cocktails that really interested me– adding them to the list of must try!

I was one of the first two customers to try their new Fight or Flight Prix Fixe, I came close to giving it four stars, and I will willingly go back for a brunch.
It may be sacrilege to say during Beer Week, yet their little Beer Bites ratio is too high on the beer side. It’s not pints and burgers, so the matching of sizes is important and the food is disappears too soon. Can’t lessen the beer sample size, or it wouldn’t give you a proper taste, so just raise the price and dole out a bit more food.
My fried cod did have oil starting to invade the fish, and since the surface area of the little guy is high, not for me. It even wiped out the peppercorn flavor of the paired beer.
Props for the red cabbage purée not being bitter like red cabbage. Bit cool, yet still succulent suckling pig.
The coffee stout by Sierra Nevada isn’t high on my beer list. It’s paired lamb sausage with tomato jam on a cocoa nib pancake is on my all time list! This better make it on the brunch menu from time to time.
And I’ll still be happy at said brunch having the brioche french toast. Beer Week version had fried shredded Grana and a piece of peach that tasted much better than a normal peach.
Friendly service and I think by far the highest natural light to seating ratio in Bay View. Maybe that’s why it’s back in that corner as it doesn’t really fit in with the rest of the town :)

If you are looking for unique food combinations, a trendy atmosphere, very helpful staff and a menu that changes by the week — Goodkind is your place.
Went within the first month of Goodkind’s opening and it was very busy — given the good reputation, I’d imagine that hasn’t slowed down. The place itself isn’t overly large, so if you’re planning on going there, try to time it slightly off the usual rush. Despite this, the staff was very attentive and offered thoughtful suggestions. They even tipped me off to the fact that the flower in my drink was edible (what?! amazing!) — spoiler alert, it tasted like flower.
This is definitely on my list of places to go back to. The only downside was that it was a bit pricey (especially the drinks), but given the quality we didn’t mind the cost as much.

My eating tour of Milwaukee continues and today’s contestant was Goodkind! Great little spot in the bayview area. The ambiance is quaint, a bit country/​rustic (is that considered hipster décor now?) with dim candle lighting.
I sat alone at the bar and ordered a mocktail. The bartender went to work and brought me a bright freshly mocktail with some different ginger undertones in it. Yum!
For dinner I had the split yellow pea soup which was a good solid soup though I wish I tasted more dill in it. The spicy crab bucatini pasta was da bomb! Ya, you read right… I typed da bomb! The crab was shredded on top. The only thing I would have changed was to have the crab in chunks vs. shredded but not a deal breaker for me.