Juniper 61

Juniper 61 is always a solid go to spot for delicious food and cocktails!
Having frequented this establishment for a few years now, I figured it was time to get of my arse and write a review. Mainly, because each time I have dined/​drank here, I have never been less than impressed by both the quality of the food and the outstanding service. So here it goes…
Located on the edge of Tosa, 61^st and North (hence Juniper 61), it has it’s own private parking lot, so parking is always a breeze. The ambiance is casual and chill, but upscale and hip (withOUT being hipster). The hostesses are always welcoming, and I have never had to make reservations. I usually go right after work during the week, so that probably has a lot to do with it. On various occasions I have sat at the bar because the dinning room was full, and ended up staying there to eat. I actually like eating at the bar, and the excellent service provided by Pattie is a main reason! She’s an awesome bartender who makes fantastic drinks. She’s friendly without being too «in your face». She knows the menu, knows her cocktails and sends out a positive vibe. Always appreciated.
On my most recent visit, my friend and I chose to do just that; sit at the bar and have Pattie serve us. if you get there before 6:00, it’s happy hour, so that means $ 1:00 off all small plates and also beer and wine. throughout the week there are various drink specials, like «Tini Tuesdays» ($ 1.00 off all martinis). We decided to split some small plates and started with the Tempura Green Beans. They are so delicious, with an incredible chile sauce, and if you get there for happy hour, only $ 5.00 for a huge portion! From there we moved onto the beet and goat cheese tart, also delicious. For dinner I can heartily recommend the Sesame Tuna salad and my friend raved about the Saffron Scallops.
I have never been disappointed by anything I have ordered here at Juniper 61, only disappointed in myself for taking so long to write a review.
Excellent service, great food and drinks and a budget friendly happy hour.
Go. Now.

Not impressed. Short rib fritters had tiny piece of fatty, overcooked meat. Fritter part was undercooked. Chips and bleu were OK. My pork sandwich was super salty, as were the truffle fries. Brownie sundae was topped with icey ice cream. Also our waiter, while friendly enough, didn’t seem very excited to be there. Not sure why this place gets so much hype.

Consistently solid fare, lovely atmosphere, and genuinely good souls staffing this establishment. See you all again the next time I’m home! :)

Juniper 61 is one of those places in Tosa that I always seem to forget is there and yet NEVER regret going to.
— The cocktails are wonderful and the food is fantastic. The flatbreads have never done me wrong (they’re actually pretty huge!) and they have some unique options for small plates as well.
— Have always had consistently nice and knowledgeable servers. Occasionally have had food take a little longer than maybe I’d have liked, but the awesome drink menu kept me well distracted.
— They have a parking lot. Done. Sold. Love. If it happens to be full, there is street parking as well. It can be hit or miss in the winter, but you have a full residential neighborhood to pick from, so I’ve never had parking issues.
— The vibe is, well, «cool.» Love the décor. Very trendy and yet homey. Juniper is a nice place for anything from date night (it’s just a half mile down from the Rosebud cinema!) to taking your mum out for dinner. Have never tried going with a bigger group, but not sure that it’d be a very good space for a big gathering. Have only visited for dinner, but hope to venture into their weekend brunch soon.
Overall, Juniper make a very nice addition to the Tosa restaurant scene. I keep it at the top of my recommend list.

This is a favorite of mine. The food is consistent. The service is professional and the bar is top notch. I have entertained many friends and colleagues here. Dinner, dates, working lunch. Always reliable.

Since moving closer to Wauwatosa I’ve been on the hunt for some neat places and Juniper 61 is now becoming a «go to».
The atmosphere is pretty simple but warm enough and I like the artwork. The waitstaff have always been very friendly although when things get busy it’s hard to get the attention of the waiter/​waitress. They should ask if you want water at the beginning of the meal cause they don’t bring water out. Or at least not the times I’ve gone (about 5 now).
I like that they offer a decent amount of vegetarian options (some vegan and gluten free as well).
So far I’ve had the tempura green beans which I like although I request less salt now. It’s a good sized portion that you can share with your company. I loved the gnocchi, but now they have replaced it with butternut squash ravioli which aren’t nearly as good… mostly just too dense. Pasta made in house is commendable however.
I’ve also ordered the grilled veggie pita which is also served at their sister restaurant Café Lulu in Bayview. That’s been favorite for years. Although I am getting a bit tired of the asian slaw or chips option as a side.
The truffle oil mushroom pizza/​flatbread was very tasty. But my 3 scallops were all very rubbery and burnt. Chef Gordan Ramsey would have not served those. 90 seconds on each side at the most!
BUT THE BAR!!!
Okay, so the food here is decent (probably like 3 stars). The bar service and drinks are exceptional (5 stars). These bartenders know what they are doing. Patti is super cool and friendly and if you describe what you are looking for, she pretty much nails it. The first time I went there I had the special, a jalepeno infused Margarita. And they are usually infusing something to create a specialty drink. I haven’t met the other bartender Michael. But, while eating dinner I asked for a whiskey Manhattan served up and it was perfect.

Overall very good food the Butternut squash was a bit toothy for my liking but the salmon tacos were very good my orange — basil tuna was cooked perfectly with a very tasty aioli I would definitely be back for more.

Absolutely love it. Great food from small plates to entrees. Love the bar tenders, best Moscow Mules in town.

A couple of questions on Juniper 61:
1. Why did it take me so long to enter your doors? Especially since I love Café Lulu so much.
2. Can I really define eating nothing but small plates a «meal?»
Answers:
1. I don’t know. Revoke my license to Unilocal.
2. Yes. Yes I can.
My better half and I decided to check out J61 for our anniversary recently and boy, were we delighted. I was a bit worried about not having reservations on a Saturday night, but we were seated quickly at one of the high-​tops near the door and our night of deliciousness began soon after.
Service (4 stars): on point; friendly if not a bit rushed; provided great recommendations for the drinks. I couldn’t help but feel she was a bit impatient with us, as we did take a bit to decide on our small plates vs. individual meals… but with so many good options on the menu, can you blame us?
Drinks: (5 stars): absolutely stellar. I enjoyed the Southie (vodka+green tea+assorted juice), sampled the Templeton cream soda (rye whiskey from Iowa, Sprecher cream soda), and finished the night off drinking a Handsome Gentleman (Death’s Door gin, orange & lemon, bitters).
Atmosphere (4.5 stars): did not get to see much of the place, but what we did observe was pretty nice… the bar looks stellar… local artwork for sale hanging on many of the walls
Small Plates (4 stars): Yum City! Props for the lemon gnocchi, which was delightfully exquisite and incredibly flavorful. The Moroccan lamb kebobs were my personal favorite — just the smallest amount of spice, though. The ceviche lime micro tacos — I wanted more… say 50? Clearly they were delicious. The chile sweet potato fries were simply OK; nothing to write home about. I was disappointed in the lobster rangoon… for the price, the portion was ridiculously small.
I’m sorry it took so long to finally get in here — will definitely return, and really want to check out their brunch menu as well!

We originally had a table inside, but asked to be seated outdoors and the staff was more than accommodating. Big mistake, freaking mosquitos were out and put a big damper on the start of our meal. Ordered a glass of cabernet and had to return it.
Ordered two starters, the tempura green beans with soy-​chile dipping sauce. Excellent, plenty to share. And we ordered the Nosh, specialty cheeses — cured meats — assorted fruits, nuts, and crackers. Instead of the Nosh, I would definitely try the Asian slaw and other starter items the next time.
My main dish was the honeyed Amish-​raised half chicken — honey and cardamom brine — turnip and mushroom hash — quinoa stuffing with house-​made andouille sausage — dragon carrots — demi-​glacé. This dish was recommended by the waiter and he was spot on with the recommendation.
I definitely will come back to try the other dishes, but probably will dine indoors.

Ordered some of the pizzas, the truffles mushroom, Thai shrimp and the pear and Gorgonzola pizza– I have to say, I was expecting better. The Asian slaw and chile sweet potato frites were good. Wouldn’t go back again.

Went here for brunch today. I ordered the J-​61 Benedict. I love eggs Benedict so I like to order it all the time at different breakfast spots. My Benedict came out and the hollandaise sauce looked like someone had scooped a pile of mayo and butter and slabbed it onto my eggs. I immediately before tasting scraped as much as I could off the top of my eggs. Took a bite and it was horrible. As hungry as I was I was totally disgusted by it.

I then asked my server to take it off the bill and explained the reason why. She said «thank you for the feedback, I’ll tell the chef». Ok any restaurant I have been to and me or someone else doesn’t like what they have they would be asked if there is something else on the menu that looks good. She said none of that, just «oh I’ll let them know thanks for the feedback»
That is not ok. And in addition to never apologizing, when we left after paying our bill, she says «THANKS AGAIN FOR THE FEEDBACK». Wow.
Also just to add one more thing that really topped my morning and helped in making the desicion to never come back is… My boyfriend ordered the pancakes and asked if toast comes with it. Our servers response was «obviously not, your pancakes are your starch». Llike really? It’s a yes or no question and you had to have a smart response.
NOT GOING BACK HERE!
I’ll wait at Teds down the block!

Juniper 61 is quickly becoming one of my favorite Wauwatosa restaurants. Their menu is seasonal, the atmosphere is comfortable and classy, and their mixed drinks are always perfect.
Friday and Saturday evenings are busy; Sundays are more relaxed and usually don’t require reservations.
Their weekly specials are consistently interesting and delicious, and their regular menu items have never disappointed me. Some recommendations: the steak and frites (order it medium-​rare; you won’t be disappointed), any of their burgers, the sweet potato fries (soooooo good!), the lobster rangoon, Moroccan lamb kebobs, or Asian chicken wings. Another of my favorite entrees isn’t on the menu right now: their version of fried chicken. While I’m not certain if it’s a seasonal (winter/​fall) menu item or something that was a one-​time offering, it’s worth remembering if it ever does come back!

Excited that I finally got to try Juniper 61 after being referred here by co-​workers during a slower night shift (ended up spending an hour or so over the course of the night drooling over the brunch menu). Sat at the bar waiting for the rest of the party to show up and the bar tender was relatively helpful in ordering a cocktail that wasn’t necessarily on the menu (I was looking for a Mezcal, as I noticed the bar had a pretty top-​shelf selection of liquors and spirits, but was disappointed to find out they didn’t have my request). It ended up being a sangria of sorts, a bit on the sweeter side for me, but I’d suck on a lemon if I had to! (sour is my preference). After being seated, we shared simple appetizers including the hummus and pita – delicious – and the house made chips and blue cheese dressing. The dip was incredibly mild in terms of «blueness», so it would have been totally doable for those non-​blue cheese people. I had one of the specials that day: essentially a turkey sandwich on a ciabatta roll. Not a typical order for me, but this was absolutely scrumptious! The ciabatta roll must have been made there that day because it was fluffy and chewy – almost reminded me of a less airy croissant, rather than hard and dense. My side was an Asian slaw, similar to the one my family makes for large gatherings (crispy Ramen noodles mixed with a tangy Asian dressing and crunchy cabbage coleslaw), and I was not disappointed!
Only reason they received four instead of five stars was that service was a bit slow in the dining area – we think our waitress had the entire room, which made things slow for a relatively busy Friday night. Will be back for breakfast!

Great little bar and restaurant residing in the Wawautosa area of WI. Great vibe and helpful staff. We had a large group to feed and typically that’s a sure sign that there’ll be hell to pay but with just one server, our food was delivered promptly and piping hot.
We ordered apps for the table: flash fried green beans with sesame sauce, truffle fries, sweet potato fries with chipotle crema, a cheese and charcuterie plate, a veggie flatbread pizza and my favorite, a walnut and blue cheese pizza with balsamic vinaigrette. Only order if you actually like blue cheese. It’s prominent.
The truffle fries were awful. I almost assumed they were reheated. They were «tough.» Literally they were very hard to chew. Literally they were awful. Everything else was good to great. I wasn’t wild about the prosciutto on the cheese plate. The fat that ran through the meat wasn’t juicy and marbleized. It was also tough. Sad times.
After stuffing all that down, we ordered a hamburger melt on rye. Heavy. It was perfectly cooked though but I would suggest just one slice of smoked Gouda. It overtakes the beef with two. I took it off and it was made that much better with the toasted rye bread and carmelized onions. I also liked the home chips, but I’d like just a bit more salt.
I would def eat here again. $ 5 Sangria and drink specials all week work well for me.

We treated Mom today (and Dad too) to Mother’s Day brunch at Juniper 61. I would say I had THE BEST EGGS BENEDICT ever in my life. They offered Lobster Benedict today with big chunks of lobster, perfectly poached eggs and a creamy hollandaise sauce that was to die for– there may have been fresh thyme in the sauce too. Mom loved her roasted veggie omelette and Dad heartily enjoyed his eggs Benedict called Benedict 61 with capicola ham. We all had the white sangria and it was so tasty. Could have used more fruit but it went well with out brunch items, not too sweet.
I have been to Juniper 61 before and have enjoyed everything I tried. The service is great and they have a lot of gluten free and veg options.

Really our go to place to eat and have drinks on the weekend. Food is always good and the menu is always changing. The staff is friendly and prompt.
I would have given it five stars but two weeks ago it seemed th at something changed. We first sat at the bar and after 15 minutes without acknowledgement we moved to a table, 10 minutes later we finally ordered and 40 minutes later still no food. So unfortunately we left and went elsewhere. Not sure what is going on there???

I’m dead serious when I say we ate brunch on Saturday and we were one of two tables the entire morning. We had a reservation for 11 and were there until 1pm.
It is a cute little place in ‘Tosa that I thought would be good for brunch. I walked in and immediately felt awkward since there were absolutely zero other patrons. I waited for my brunch-​mate in a corner table and browsed the menu. When she arrived, we chatted a bit and were catching up. A few times the server stopped by while we were talking and I had kind of wished we weren’t interrupted as much, but part of that is just because we weren’t ready. More or less I felt like she could have tried to read us a little bit better.
Our server was very nice though and she was competent. There were a couple of menu items she explained to us and was prompt and reliable with the coffee and water refills. Speaking of coffee, I really wish they would serve actual fresh cream. I feel like those individual creamer cups really cheapen a cup of coffee as well as a restaurant’s ambiance.
As for food we ended up ordering blueberry pancakes and the almond french toast. I’ll tell you right now where they fell short. The blueberry pancakes were supposed to have candied pecans on them, I kid you not, that was the reason why this item was chosen. When we received said pancakes, there was ONE single candied pecan on the plate and the rest of the pecans were possibly buried in the pancakes. It was a little disappointing because I think we expected there to be pecans on the pancakes. It was hard to taste them.
The french toast was okay too. It wasn’t anything stellar, but it was french toast and it came with turkey sausage that was cooked just a smidge too much… to the point where I was really sawing away at it to cut it up.
All in all I think this is one of those places that’s trying to jump on the ‘farm to table’ bandwagon and while it’s not bad, I wasn’t super impressed. Would we go there again? Maybe if we were nearby, but I would definitely rather wake up at sunrise to go to Blue’s Egg over Juniper 61.

Similar to Café Lulu, the food is excellent here, and it looks like a great place for drinks too.
The thing I like most about Juniper 61 is that you can just go for drinks, you could get your own individual dinner, or you can get a bunch of small plates to share! I love sharing small plates because, c’mon, you get to try so much more food.
A staple of this place is the asian slaw (also found at café lulu) which truly is delicious. I actually loathe cole slaw — it’s disgusting. But not the asian slaw! It’s dressed with an asian-​vinegar based dressing instead of mayo. Tossed in with peanuts and crunchy ramen bits, you definitely have to try it.
If you want to go and order some small plates, be warned — they’re larger than you think. We ordered 3 small plates and a sandwich to share between the 2 of us and couldn’t finish it all. The best items that stood out for me (besides the asian slaw) were the maple kale salad, which, in my opinion, is their most delicious appetizer, and the fried green beans — you get a pretty large quantity of these.
I left the rating at 4 stars instead of 5 because I wasn’t overly impressed with my sandwich choice, the thai pita. It was definitely good, not great though. I did eyeball someone’s seared beef and swiss that may lure me back to try. I also have only been here for dinner, so I can’t speak for the breakfast/​brunch menu yet.

Met a friend for brunch last week. There were a lot of great items on the menu, but I decided to try the bacon, brie and apple omelet ($ 9.95).
The brie was inserted in the fold as a thick slice cut in half and most of it melted from the heat of the egg. They use Granny Smith apples and dice them to mix with the diced bacon.
The flavors and textures were pretty good. I had a side of rosemary potatoes with my omelet, which were also solid, but the cheddar scallion potato cake that came with my friend’s brunch was probably my favorite item!
I do plan to go back to try more of the great looking items on the brunch menu like the breakfast poutine, served with a lamb gravy and melted cheese curds over house cut fries!