Opened in the summer of 2016 in the heart of the trendy Historic Third Ward in Milwaukee, the Kimpton Journeyman Hotel is one of the best places to stay and/or visit in the city of Milwaukee.
The hotel is located close to many restaurants, bars, and attractions to see and visit, as well as super close to the Summerfest grounds and lakefront. Even better? The hotel also features an awesome restaurant, Tre Rivali, and an incredible rooftop bar, the Outsider.
Tre Rivali
Tre Rivali, located on the first floor of the Kimpton Hotel, offers breakfast, an expanded weekend brunch menu, lunch, dinner, and even afternoon snacks. The restaurant is a popular stop for guests and locals alike!
The restaurant is headed by a super talented chef, Heather Terhune, an industry veteran who has worked in some of the top restaurants in Washington D.C., Chicago, and San Francisco. She has developed a menu at Tre Rivali that spans the coasts of the Mediterranean with flavors inspired from Italy, Lebanon, Israel, Spain, and northern African countries, often with creative twists and mainly using locally sourced, fresh ingredients.
Given Tre Rivali’s location, it comes as no surprise that the restaurant’s setting matches the top-notch cuisine. The beautiful interior is pretty spacious, taking up about half of the first floor of the hotel. There is tons of seating, including a cafe-style area near the front entrance and large comfortable tables in partially cordoned off sections of an expansive and airy dining room.
There are also plenty of seats at the bar and outdoor seats in the summer. In the back part of the restaurant, tables overlook a really neat glass window with views into the kitchen, while most of the other seats are ideal for people-watching with large windows, illuminating the streets of the Third Ward.
Service is always top-notch at Tre Rivali, and reservations on the weekends are definitely recommended.
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Breakfast at Tre Rivali
A limited breakfast menu is available on weekdays with items like delicious buttermilk pancakes with cherry compote and fantastic omelets. Try the goat cheese and herb omelet served with breakfast potatoes for a light yet satisfying breakfast before heading out for the day. D
uring hours outside of breakfast, lunch, and dinner, Tre Rivali also transforms into a cafe perfect for grabbing a coffee or tea or snacking on one of the limited menu items.
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Brunch at Tre Rivali
On weekends, the breakfast menu expands to include even more delicious brunch kitchen items. Try the amazing monkey bread served with butterscotch sauce for something sweet, or grab something savory like the Spanish style tortilla with aioli. There are also numerous sandwiches available for brunch, like the lamb burger with tomato and yogurt sauce. During brunch, the bar also serves up exceptional bloody marys, mimosas, and other breakfast cocktails. It sounds like a perfect weekend brunch, doesn’t it?
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Lunch at Tre Rivali
Both on weekdays and weekends, Tre Rivali becomes a hip and happening spot to grab some lunch. Especially during summer, a Tre Rivali lunch enjoyed on the outdoor street seating area is a pretty idyllic way to spend time in the Third Ward.
They are numerous items to pick from for lunch, most of which are also available during dinner hours, including wood-fired pizzas, sandwiches, and really excellent salads like the Nicoise Salad with poached tuna, green beans, olives, and hard-cooked eggs.
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Dinner at Tre Rivali
For a truly memorable meal, consider making a reservation with Tre Rivali for dinner while in Milwaukee. The Mediterranean-inspired menu offers appetizers like warm mixed olives with orange zest and paella-inspired arancini with chorizo. There are also various small plate options on the menu perfect for sharing, like the charred octopus from the wood-fired oven, served with salsa verde.
For an entree, Tre Rivali features a generous selection of housemade pasta. Try the pappardelle with braised pork neck ragu with dollops of ricotta cheese. There are also several more substantial entree items often centered around larger cuts of meat or fish. One staple item is the Middle Eastern roasted half chicken served with an excellent golden raisin couscous and olives that are both healthy and packed with flavor.
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Desserts
If you can manage to save a little bit of your appetite, the dessert menu at Tre Rivali is definitely worth exploring. They have richly flavored sweets like the warm sticky toffee pudding cake served with some of the best vanilla ice cream around. The poached pear with Nutella pie and chocolate ice cream with hazelnuts is also at the top of our list!
- Address: 200 N Broadway, Milwaukee, WI 53202
- Phone: 414-291-3971
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Roof Top: The Outsider
Either before or after dinner or just for a late-night drink or two, consider hopping into the elevator at the Journeyman for a rooftop cocktail at the Outsider. Roughly half of the space is indoor while the other half is open, except for in winter when they effectively transform the outdoor section into a four-season room with portable heaters and blankets.
Located on the 9th floor, The Outsider serves up a menu of small appetizers perfect for sharing and snacking on with a beverage. Try the beef empanadas or the buffalo-style oyster mushrooms if you need a little snack!
Besides their standard cocktails and a really well-curated beer and wine list, the Outsider also serves up some awesome gourmet craft cocktails. Try the Violet Voodoo with gin, lavender syrup, rose liqueur, an absinthe rinse, and cardamom for a drink you aren’t soon to forget. Especially on weekends, expect a pretty sizable crowd gathering at the Outsider – it’s a popular place for locals and visitors alike!
- Address: 310 E. Chicago St. Milwaukee, WI 53202
- Phone: 414-291-3980