August 22, 2009
Visited RB while in Milwaukee and it was an okay place. It’s rather busy, loud, and full of sports-loving maniacs around dinner time, but I guess that’s not RB’s fault. The waitress was cute, attentive, friendly, and quick, but she didn’t know squat about the beers. The selection was fine - mainly their stuff, which is nothing special. The food was average to good, mostly typical bar food with a snazzy twist to make it seem more upscale. The food was a bit pricey for the place, but overall it was a nice experience that left me full and drinking beer.

April 29, 2008
I have only been here twice and it has been a few years. But the food was out this world and the Brews are among the best at any brew pub I have hit. Great crowd any time of the day. A must if you are in the down town area.

January 8, 2008
I’ve been here several times, and will try my best not to compare it to the Chicago location (which is most excellent). First of all, the location is ideal for most of the theatre and sporting events in the city, which is a contributing factor for me spending so much time there. The restaurant looks nice, has a fairly cool bar area, and can accomodate large groups.. also a good thing. The service is entirely hit or miss, though.. I’ve spent too much time trying to get a table when the restaurant was wide open and too much time waiting at a table after seating because no server was assigned to our table.. other times they can be friendly and attentive as can be. The beers are slightly below average, but every once in a while they hit something well (i.e. the Anniversary Bock). I’ve had good luck with the food. I’ll spent more time at R.B., but more for the convenience aspect.

February 20, 2007

I stopped in here before a basketball game to check it out. The upstairs was fairly busy but the downstairs bar area was not. The scarcity of tables surprised me but eventually I was able to locate one for our party of three.

The food servings are ginormous but that is not the main draw. I was hoping for more selection but they only had a handful of beers on tap - a hefeweizen, Racoon Red, Naughty Scot and a three others. I was expecting a little more diversity but it was acceptable. The two beers I tried were both average. Neither was outstanding.

This might be worth the stop if you are in the area. I think next time though I will walk the extra distance to the Milwaukee Ale House or Water Street Brewery

January 26, 2007
I met my wife here for lunch. There seemed to be nothing truly outstanding about the place from a BA perspective, but our food was pretty solid. It is January in Milwaukee, so I feel I’m likely short-changing this place on the "atmosphere" dimension, as it is right along the walk-way on the river, so I imagine its atmostphere is much cooler in the summertime. Interior is nice, although I found parking to be a hastle. Only later did I learn that the lot store has valet service to Rock Bottom, and after validation parking is only $0.50. The food was good. My wife and I both had pizza and we split a salad. The pizza crust was particularly good. Beers (IPA and a dubbel, reviewed separately) were OK, but not particularly outstanding. I’ve been to less nicely appointed brewpubs with worse food and much better beer. They have a pretty good selection of beer...maybe 8 brews, two of which rotate. Lunch was about $30 between the two of us...2 x pizzas, 1 x salad, 1 x iced tea, and 2 x beers, which is right on the edge of what I’d consider reasonable. Not bad, but I probably won’t be back. --

January 17, 2007
This place is all about the location. Nice outdoor area and a gameroom in the lower level. Some of the appetizers are decent, but beyond that, not much good to say. Extremely packed during peak hours and the service varies wildly. The beer itself also varies considerably. A couple years ago the beer was infamously bad, but now seems to have turned the corner a bit by offering cask selections and targeting beer-geeks a bit more. Still not great by any means, but worth a trip.

November 22, 2006
Chain brewpub, yes, but all of the Rock Bottoms I’ve been to have a nice pub atmosphere and serve pretty good beer. This location is no exception. They had 7 of their own beers on tap the day I visited. Two of them were also served from casks. Overall they were pretty good. As good or better than the Milwaukee Ale House and far superior to the Water Street Brewery. Didn’t eat here. Service was excellent and the downtown location on the riverwalk is nice.

June 24, 2006
Nice location with a fairly open and large inside with a chain feel. Only tried one beer, the saison which was good, the other offerings seemed fairly standard and uninspiring. No reason to go out of your way for this, with the outside location during the summer being the highlight.

December 18, 2005 [ Updated January 2, 2006 ]
Not the best Rock Bottom, at least as far as beer selection goes (though, 1/2/2006 had about five seasonals, which was nice). And of course, decently good food and good to hit if you are doing something in downtown. Revisited for a sampler 1/2/2006. Advised by bartender that its better to go to the bar for a sampler (they’ll give you everything). Noticed me taking notes, gave me the beer for free ("any press is good press"). Left a $5 tip. Friendly staff, overall.

December 1, 2005
You can’t beat the on the river location, I just wish the beer was worth while. The food is above average but pricey for the area.