Thirsty Duck

I stop on occasion as I have been a patron and worker at this address for decades thru different owners. Its a nice crowed, a mix of young and old. The normal menu is speckled with the not so normal and can be a lot of fun to try out. The drinks are price pointed decent and everybody loves Billy K, have followed his Mixology practice for awhile. Its a great place to stop on any night, be sure to venture and try the mini bowling and some food.

This was my first time to Thirsty Duck with 19 co-​workers. We reserved 3 lanes a couple of weeks prior for a Wednesday evening.
Upon arrival, we were greeted by Emily, who would be our waitress for the night. She was awesome. With 20 women, all ordering drinks, she kept her cool, drinks full, and tabs separate! Awesome employee! The bar also bought the bride we were celebrating a shot which was great!
We started a little late (25 min) as people got stuck at work but we weren’t rushed at all and since they only had 2 lanes reserved after us, the clock didn’t start until we started. The iPad’s that are mounted to the tables in front of the lanes are easy to use and do all scoring for you!
The young men that set the pins worked really hard to keep us moving. Make sure to tip these Guys! There are tennis balls with slits in them under the «bowling balls» which you can put a couple of bucks into and toss it down to them.
A couple of the girls ordered the «nachos for 4». These nachos were HUGE and came on a pizza pan for $ 15. I think we all ate some of them and absolutely loved them. They should skip the wax paper on the bottom as people were getting paper in their nachos.
The place itself was super cute! We had a little bit of a challenge parking as there was also another large group bowling at the same time but then we were told we could park in the small structure across the street. The bathrooms could use a little sprucing up.
Loved how accommodating this place was to a group our size and how much fun we had!
We will definitely be planning more group outings here!

Onion rings super salty tonight — could not eat them. Good draft beers. Hamburger cooked med-​rare as requested. Not a whole lotta duck in the duck empanadas but they were tasty. Tasty pizza. Very loud — not a place to go if you want to talk to each other. Lots of kids on a Fri. Nite but they were definitely having fun bowling. We will return but will do take away next time. One more thing– we arrived at 5:30 and they were out of French onion soup.

I surprised my girlfriend with a trip to the Thirsty Duck on a Sunday afternoon. I reserved a lane ahead of time so we wouldn’t have to wait for mini bowling. The experience was awesome — definitely a must do in Milwaukee. We played two games with enjoying cheese curds as an app. After our games we tipped the guys behind the lanes who set up the pins (they did a great job — very attentive). We then went to enjoy «The Granch,» a pizza we ordered while bowling. It was done before we finished our games so it was perfect (we chose to finish our games and eat, but you can eat while playing). The pizza was amazing — it tasted exactly like how it was described on the menu. That is, everything your taste buds could ever want. The crust was perfectly crisped and garlicy, basically bread sticks on the outside of your pizza. We will definitely be back!

If you are looking for duck pin bowling, then this is A great place. If you want to eat, think twice. I had the turkey sandwich. The garlic mash potatoes was good. The sandwich not so much. My wife had the burger. Over cooked and dry. Sodas are off brand. And are not tasty. Stick with water

Had a 6pm reservation for two lanes. Pricey but great family entertainment. Unfortunately your start time is only an estimate. They tried to blame us for not having enough pinsetters. When setting a reservation, ask if the start time is definite. Garbage!

First visit to the thirsty duck in Wauwatosa. They just opened about two months ago. I have experience with «duckpin» bowling at another establishment. It’s a lot of fun, regardless of your ability. The small pins and short lanes allow you to get a strike on most every time
This place is different from its Southside Milwaukee equivalent in that it is family-​friendly, cleaner, and has really delicious food.
Kirsten was our bartender. She put up with a couple of immature almost 50-​year-​old guys in a very professional and friendly manner. It was my first visit to the thirsty duck, we were scheduled to do some duckpin bowling around 530. We ended up getting there an hour early and really enjoyed the time spent with the bar staff.
Clean, friendly, Pleasant staff, a nice place to spend a cold afternoon with friends or with kids.

Had a great late lunch today after going to the zoo. It was Sunday during the Packer game. They have a great setup and the bowling option is awesome.
We enjoyed our meals, including my 3 year old’s chicken and fruit. Give this place a chance. You won’t be disappointed!

The fried chicken dinner was awesome! The crunchy batter was super crunchy, just like we like it. The staff are very friendly and they have actual people setting the pins for the duck bowling. We will have to come back when we have more time. $ 30 for an hour of bowling with up to 6 people or $ 4 a person per game.
So why the 3 star rating? The jukebox was playing some really inappropriate rap songs on a Sunday afternoon. You know the Bitches and Hos songs. They are kids are in here! I mentioned it to the two bartenders and a waitress. No one cared! Ridiculous! I am not a prude and I get it it’s a bar like atmosphere but they must have an reject button for such occasions.

We swung into Thirsty Duck last Friday, and were happy to see several tables full out on the patio. Inside, a lot of the space is occupied by the duckpin lanes, so we were thankful to be able to enjoy our dinner outside where it was a little quieter.
We started our meal with drinks — they don’t have a beverage menu yet, which I hope to see coming soon. It’s hard to try new things when the server doesn’t know what they have and there is no list, but I digress. The menu is full of apps like nachos and curds, sandwiches, burgers and their gourmet pizza. We were a table of four and wanted to try a little of everything, so we got two 12″ pizzas, a chicken sandwich and a burger. Service was good, the server kept checking back for beverage refills and to be sure we liked our food. They were very accommodating when it came to altering the menu options as well.
I thought the creamy garlic chicken pizza sounded fabuluous, but Joe thought it sounded too «oniony», well no problem — they were able to take them all off. Personally I think the fresh green onion on top and the caramelized onion underneath would have added a whole other layer of richness and freshness, but it was REALLY good the way it was. I was so happy that I enjoyed the crust! I hate when everything but the crust is good, and this was a great pizza. The toppings were fresh and the 12″ was a good size for us. The other pizza was their ‘house creation’ including duck meat and duck fat and other awesome duckness.
For sandwiches we opted for the chicken breast sandwich, and the BBQ burger done medium. The chicken was a huge sandwich and the onion strings were the perfect amount of salty and crunchy, not overwhelmingly oily. The burger was a little overdone, but the toppings were on point. It was truly a great burger! They offered shoestring french fries (cut super thin) and they were topped with parmesan… drool.
Our server mentioned the bowling inside and said that if we’d like to bowl after dinner, she’d be happy to add it to our meal bill. There was a birthday party that had booked all the lanes at 9:00pm, so we only had about 40 minutes when we were done eating to play. The rates are either $ 4 per person, per game… or a flat $ 30 for an hour. Since we didn’t have a full hour to play, we paid the $ 4 a person. They give you an ipad, which is really easy to navigate and enter names/​scores. The balls seemed to be different weights, but all the same size and color. I think there were about 5 lanes, and the lanes were very clean. I think more cupholders would have been nice since there are only 2 allotted holders per lane, but that would be my only complaint. The Human Pinsetters were prompt and engaging, and when the game was over there were cut-​open tennis balls to slip your tip into, and roll back down the ball exchange to the guys.
This is seriously an updated and friendlier version of Koz’s. I like that it’s closer, in a better area and much more updated. Not to mention the food… we all really enjoyed our meals. They book the place out (obviously), so I’m looking into bringing some friends for a birthday party next month. I doubt we’ll wait until then to come back, and that’s coming from someone who typically doesn’t even like bowling! What a welcome addition to this part of town.

So much fun! Went here for the first time and had a blast «Duckpin Bowling» with my friends. It is short lane bowling with smaller pins/​balls and human pin setters. We ordered pizza and it was great. Will be back for more bowling.

This was my first attempt at the duckpin bowling thing. Sadly, I sucked at first. Three open frames in this game is like a guaranteed loss in my group. It’s a lot of fun and the games go pretty fast. I’d suggest saving the snacks til after, as Mike says, because you’ll either grease up the ball or make a mess. I definitely like this as a late night stop because it’s semi-​active and lets you throw things without breaking any rules.
The food, just as it is with the Jackson’s Blue Ribbon Pub locations (same ownership), is quick and easy bar food. The wings are always standouts, and they’ve got a pretty solid mix of beers on tap. Except for my wish to see High Life on a handle over Schlitz…
Tip your pinsetters and don’t aim for their ankles…

What a fun and different thing to do west of 13^th street – duckpin bowling! Throw ‘em hard; knock’ em down. Remember your high school physics: V = P (Velocity equals Pins). Just kidding. Be respectful to your pinsetters, let them know when it’s the 10^th frame, and tip them well.
And when you’re done, eat some wings. ’cause eating wings while duckpin bowling is just wrong. (Tip: you can request the wings extra crispy if you’d prefer.)