Stonefly Brewery

Stonefly is completely hit or miss. I’ve had an amazing brunch and about three terrible ones. Had one or two great burgers and two almost raw, inedible ones. On one occasion I had to send the burger back two times because it was still mooing. Twice? C’mon. I love a rare burger, but who has to send something back twice because it’s practically raw? Oy. Service is meh – usually disaffected looking young hipsters who, once, huddled by the bar and complained that their paychecks had bounced. Sorry to air dirty laundry, but then again, don’t chat about your business’s business in front of customers. Bright side? The beer is always good. Advice: skip it and walk down the street to Centro – I’ve yet to find a good burger in Riverwest anyway.

No thanks! I went for brunch a couple weeks ago, and while the restaurant was nearly empty and servers were plentiful, the food took over half an hour (seriously, I was watching the clock) to get to the table, our server came over TWICE, and the prices were NOT worth the insanely small portion sizes. I’ll say that everything certainly tasted good, and there were a lot of vegetarian and vegan options, which is always nice, but I’d rather go elsewhere.

Overpriced, long wait in mostly empty restaurant, small portions, loud music at brunch time. Food was good otherwise, but I will not be back.

I came here because of another unofficial Unilocal event that was open to the public as well. Thx Danielle I. We saw D’amato GFTI greetings from the imposter and Evil Twin along with a variety of DJs.
It is a great venue for music and drinks. The food wasn’t very impressive at all. But this may just be a fluke. Had onion ring appetizer. Looks like the fry oil wasn’t hot enough to create the crust. So it looked like it was boiled and saturated. Not too happy but ate the greasy mess anyway. The staff are quick friendly and attentive. Came here to see a few bands. They have a nice courtyard patio to view some art, eat and smoke. The beer selection was very tasty. I shall return.
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Greetings from the Imposter: the Live Experience and CD release party at Stonefly Brewery on 14 June was, in fact, an experience, and a memorable one at that, complete with party favors.
The six-​piece band filled the stage with energy and strong musicianship, playing an upbeat set with a freely-​woven, strong funk pulse fused with industrial and electro beats. Fronted by the charismatic, animated Saintpaul Brellis on vocals and keys, the band took the stage to a floor semi-​carpeted with balloons (many of which the audience batted amongst themselves in good fun through parts of the night). Their «Hello Milwaukee» bit (a take-​off of the 1970’s WISN TV jingle) introduced the band to the audience with pre-​recorded video flashing across the two television screens on either side of the stage with images and/​or video bits of iconic Americana throughout the rest of their show, including parts from «Sesame Street», vintage cartoons, ‘80s video games, and the like.
Performing their combination funk and synthpop (which is unconventional but turns out to be really engaging), founding members Saintpaul (keyboard and vocals) and technical production mastermind Dale Block (who also plays guitar) team with additional live performers Randal Rock on bass, John Barrett on drums, and Kim Poeppey (of the Shadowpeople) and Kiri Gami on backing vocals. Their tightly-​crafted songs are sparked with irony and innuendo and enhanced by catchy vocal hooks such as those in «Little Boy Ashamed». These tracks are built for sing-​along fun, aided in a live setting by lyrics flashing on video monitors as Poeppey and Gami prompted the audience to get into the act, too. All of this, plus distributing props, including glow sticks, confetti, inflatable musical instruments (I remember seeing a synthesizer and a guitar), and a beach ball, for the sake of audience participation, made this celebration of the band’s self-​released first album, «Impressive Debut Release», a party of somewhat epic proportions. Amid the chaos, they managed to play on without missing a beat through the set, which included their take on a couple of cover tunes, including The Cars’ classic «Drive» and «Pop Muzik», which slipped with a wink into the «Ghostbusters» theme before closing out their set. Saintpaul lead the crew and kept the audience engaged and even gave everyone in attendance a free copy of the new album just for showing up.
The Greetings from the Imposter experience in recorded form on «Impressive Debut Release» takes an alternate and clever tack as the first tracks are produced as a cheeky radio program on Wretched Rebel Renegade Radio, hosted by Gene Mohawk and Wonderbread, (who happen to sound suspiciously similar to Saintpaul and Dale). Greetings from the Imposter is an expansive band, not content just with a set of songs but continually stretching out for even more inventive and quirky modes of sensory experience.
Evil Twin and D’Amato joined Greetings from the Imposter on Saturday night, offering a triple-​bill of perhaps some of Milwaukee’s best party bands, each taking the stage with varying forms of character. Evil Twin kicked the evening off with a punchy set of electronic tunes in the mode of Daft Punk and LCD Soundsystem, performed by the trio in skintight shimmery pants and jumpsuits. D’Amato closed out the evening with a music set combining humor, charm, and his solo mode of modern soul.
«kumquat»:
«you scare me»:

Stonefly has the best brunch and pretty good bloodies! I recommend going here if you’re a veggie!

Great fish fry (smelt!) and very very tasty brews! Places like this make Milwaukee great!

Descriptive phrase: simple, local micro-​brewery.
Four of us came by Stonefly Brewery on a Saturday night for a drink while we waited for our seats at Centro Café down the block. The large brick building on the corner looks pretty hip from the outside, but a bit rougher once you’re in. It feels like they were going for the industrial feel but ran out of money, so filled the space with what they had. But it’s not off-​putting, and in fact the simple wood and open concept made it an airy setting.
We sat at an elevated booth near the front door, but there’s plenty of seating spread on the main floor near a long bar and elevated stage. I guess they serve food here, but we stayed with beers. Beware that it’s cash-​only, but our taps topped out at $ 4.50 per.
They were out of a few of their own brews, which makes me wonder just how small the operation really is. I was also surprised that they still had Oktoberfest left, but I found it to still taste fresh and malty. All four of the beers were different but looked almost identical, which was odd. No complaints on taste, though.
Service was slow, and at one point completely non-​existent, but friendly. On my first trip, I can’t say Stonefly stacks up against the hometown big-​boys, but it’s a nice neighborhood brew.

I have to report that Stonefly is a total crap shoot of an experience.
I’ve had some great meals here, including a chicken sandwich that was out of this world and that’s kind of rare to say. Usually the staff are charming and down-​to-​earth folk that make you feel like family. But… more than once I’ve been left woefully unattended, or served the wrong food. There’s a distinct lack of management, it’s like an ongoing experiment in dining rather than an established restaurant. And there’s never been any length of time that’s consistently bad or good, so it’s like dining roulette.
As for offerings, it is centered on pub food with options. Vegan options, vegetarian options, euro-​style cheese options, and decadent bacon options. So it’s still a useful place to have in your repertoire when you’re craving battered-​and-​deep-​fried bacon but your pals want sloppy jofu-​tofu and vegetarian reubens. Everyone wins.
Also worth noting: they have tater tots. Which often is enough to get me to roll the dice and keep coming back.

Bad Beer, Bad Burgers and Bad Service — (cash only for all this bad stuff BTW)
Their home brew is awful well at least the two we tried were. The burgers tasted freezerburned and were also awful. The service was unbelievably bad. The only redeeming thing was they had a decent sausage gravy poutine. Also no air conditioning so be prepared for a hot muggy meal.

This place was large and… empty… There were less than ten of us there, including staff, for dinner. My beer was exactly what I wanted, but the Cajun chicken sandwich I ordered didn’t have much in the way of Cajun to it. It was delicious, though.
They only accept cash, which strikes me as shady and inconvenient in this day and age.
I wouldn’t mind going back. I’m just not racing for the door.

The good news: You can be instantly seated for Sunday Brunch at 11 a.m. The bad news: There is a reason why.
Came here for the start of a Sunday Funday with mah peeps. It’s true that we all parked right out front and then we were immediately seated. Things started to take a downward turn from there. The menu had a decent variety of offerings, but it took quite some time for our order to be taken. Then, strangely, our food came out in various intervals, across a span of at least 10 minutes. One order was taken incorrectly, but by a strange twist of fate by a follow up question, corrected before it came out. Many did not finish their meal fully and there were no rave reviews from our table. On top of all of this — cash only. Who does that anymore? Anyway, the company was fun, the food mediocre, and the plans to return non-​existent.

Two words: Fried bacon.
Obviously I did not order this, as I don’t eat bacon (blasphemy, I know). But Husband did, and he loved it. Of course. I mean, who doesn’t love fried things, and bacony things? Besides me that is.
I had the buffalo tofu bites which were great. I was glad to see something on the menu that tasted good and was made of tofu. Good job.
This place is in a cool, older neighborhood, and looks like it hasn’t been remodeled possibly ever (which is always fine with me).
There was a political rally going on while we were there, and it was a little distracting but fun to see the neighbors come out to support their local politics. I guess it would be a good place to have an event!

Something has happened to Stonefly, and not in a good way. Something with the management must have changed, because it’s just not the same place anymore.
I think we can all agree that the service was never a strong suit. The food, however, was what kept me coming back. Their great fish fry and their fresh ingredients and their tots… yay tots! But my last couple trips here have been underwhelming.
First off the biggest thing that they’ve changed is that they are now cash-​only. Now, I get it if a place opens and it’s cash-​only. I can dig that. But Stonefly accepted cards for years and all of a sudden they just decide one day to be a cash-​only establishment. They have an ATM on site with a $ 1.50 service fee and that’s cool. But when an establishment makes this type of change, it’s generally a sign that business ain’t doin’ so well.
And maybe they aren’t. The food certainly has taken a step down. The tofu Rueben, which used to be awesome, now comes out as a seared, unseasoned piece of tofu with some weird sauce on it. Oh, and they were out of rye so, they were like, ‘you can have wheat!‘
The menu has been trimmed a little as well, but the staples are still there. Even the portions are smaller. And to boot, the beer I had wasn’t remotely cold. It was never served frigid to begin with, but this was room temperature. Both of them.
So I guess I will wait a little while to see if things pick up or if this will be just another fading establishment that will eventually be gone.

Came here for brunch and had the Amazing Omelette and some beer samplers. The beers were fairly tasty but nothing world class. All were mostly true to their intended style. They had 10 on tap I think and the samplers were about 4 oz each. I stuck with 6 to try.
The omellete was decent at best. The artichoke hearts were a nice touch but it was drowned in bechamel. Don’t get me wrong, I love cream sauce but this was a little too much. It drowned out the prosciutto and spinach flavors completely.
My hashbrowns seemed like they had been on the grill for a while. Some bits were overly cooked and hard. Also, they were not super warm. Guess I was the last of the brunch crowd!

Love their brunch! Zucchini Chocolate Chip french toast! Seriously tastey business. I like the vibe on a Sunday afternoon. The staff is friendly, the pace is relaxed. After reading so many mixed reviews, I was surprised how much I enjoyed the brunch. Good selection, great vegetarian takes on classics.
I’ve contemplated trying their other food, however I don’t want to be disappointed. I feel that strongly about their brunch that I’m just gonna stop there.

While in Milwaukee we wanted to try a brewery we had not yet been to. Knowing that it had mediocre reviews, we decided to check out Stonefly.
When we first arrived is was a beautiful day, we were told we could sit wherever and we headed out to the beer garden. Seeing that it was an asphalt patch with some tables and little shade, we headed back in. We chose a table by the window which obviously not been cleaned. When the server arrived with the menus she set them on the dirty table and I actually had to ask for the table to be wiped off. Annoying. The whole place seemed clean enough, but yet somehow had the feeling of a place that wasn’t really clean.
We ordered two brunch entrees and three beers while we were there, and really it was all just average. The beers were ok, nothing exactly wrong with them, but not great either.
I ordered the Red Eye burrito. The tofu was allegedly smoked, but I could not detect a hit of smokey flavor, so maybe they forgot? The potatoes and eggs on the burrito didn’t have much flavor. The whole thing is then soaked in beer cheese, which at least gave it some flavor but makes it a fork and knife burrito as it is then too messy to eat.
The husband ordered the green chile polenta with pumpkin seed mole. It definitely had more flavor than mine and he was more satisfied with his meal.
Part of what makes me sad about giving them only 3 stars is that they offer a variety of interesting veggie options. I wanted to love it, and I wanted the «just ok» reviews to be wrong. So, I don’t know. If you’re in the area and want to try something new, give it a shot, but you probably shouldn’t go in expecting to be blown away.

Best brunch in Milwaukee.
Dinner — meh, but Brunch — delicious.
Great vegetarian options.

I don’t really know how to review Stonefly. I remember when it was Onopa!
I’ll try my best to make this make as much sense as I can.
Food? I’ve never eaten here. It’s pub fare type stuff, from what I understand. A quick peek at the menu made me think overpriced, but then again, I haven’t yet eaten here.
Drinks? They brew their own beer, which again, I have only maybe had a few times. Don’t get me wrong. I *want* to drink the beer, but sometimes I’m afraid of brewpub beer. Unfiltered or heavy or something’s off in the balance, and the next thing I know, I’m not feeling so good. That being said, I’ve heard the beer at Stonefly’s pretty fly. I can’t speak to it myself. Cocktails? They’re wayyy overpriced. Most certainly. Yup.
Venue? Pretty alright. I went last night for ExFabula, and it was a fantastic event. The sound’s not bad and the set-​up is neat and there are pool tables in the back and the whole vibe is open and stuff. Not bad, and it’s one of the only of it’s size around town.
Service? They were really busy, but I waited a loooong time. A guy who came up to the bar much after me directed the bartender to me, who had clearly seen me. I understand busy bars… I used to be behind one on the regular… but this was pretty bad.
They do have a STELLAR beer garden, though.
I don’t think to go to Stonefly first. I probably won’t go to Stonefly unless there’s a thing I want to see. But sometimes there are things I want to see, so sometimes I go to Stonefly.

Mmm… beer! Mmm… burger! Mmm… beer and a burger for $ 10 on a Thursday night. I had the BBQ Bacon Burger. The burger came on a soft ciabatta roll with a couple of slices of avocado and two slices of crispy bacon. I had it done medium and I could not stop eating it. I got the beer battered fries as my side, and they had a thin thin thin layer of batter that made the thin thin steak fries a bit crunchy.
My lovely wife was really excited about the Grilled Cheese with Gouda, Muenster, and Sharp Cheddar, tomato and basil on whole grain bread. She was hoping that some of the stronger cheese flavors would come through, but got mostly the basil and tomato.
With my burger, I got the Mustache Ride Pale Ale. It was good, but had a slight bitterness on the end that I didn’t find entirely pleasurable. The bitterness did seem to tone down a little as I ate, and it was really good with the burger, but I’m not positive that I would order it on its own in the future.
I also tried a couple of sample portions of the beers. The Simon Bagley Stout was nice with chocolate and coffee overtones. It was not nearly as heavy as the server described, which is not a bad thing.
The Four Wolves English Ale had flavors I recognized as not liking from beers I have tried in other places, but I don’t quite have the beer vocabulary (though I’m working on it) to adequately explain them or pinpoint what they are. It wasn’t bad beer, it just wasn’t quite to my taste.