Water Buffalo [edit] 249 N. Water St. Milwaukee, WI 53202 (414) 431-1133 waterbuffalomilwaukee.com/
Description [edit]
Located on the corner of Water and Buffalo, on the Riverfront in Milwaukee's Historic Third Ward. As for the food, chef Frank Ortleib, the current executive chef at Swig, is also over seeing the Water Buffalo team. Comfortable, casual food and a classy bar.

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Posted by CaptainMKE on May 19, 2008 at 2:59 p.m. (report)

Have always been pleased with Water Buffalo. Have been in for drinks and have been in for dinner. Yes it is a busy place but the staff seems to handle it well....cant wait to pull up in my boat!

Posted by tersk on May 13, 2008 at 1:57 a.m. (report)

the entres are wonderful, and well worth the money if you like good food and are looking for it. the appetizers are not worth the money you are charged for them, portion wise. The sandwiches are nothing special and definately not worth what they cost. The shrimp poh boy's shrimp didn't even taste like shrimp and was constructed poorly. The atmosphere is great, the view is wonderful, but the service. The service of the waiters the total three times i have dined here has been terrible. the management needs to do something about this, it was simply unacceptable. i expect more from a chain like chillis or something to that affect. water buffalo as an establishment has potential, and is not meeting it yet, or even coming close.

Posted by ej5986 on May 12, 2008 at 10:51 p.m. (report)

The food here is actually pretty good and for a good price. If you can put up with their terrible service, then you will be fine with the experience. I agree with the other reviewers, the staff is VERY inexperienced and disorganized. It took our waiter 25 minutes to "remember" to take our orders. This is unacceptable in my eyes. The food took another 45 minutes. I will probably only ever order take out from now on.

Posted by serversweetheart on Feb. 28, 2008 at 2:52 p.m. (report)

I go back and forth about Water Buffalo. I have dinned there about 4 or 5 times and my experience has varied. The important thing about going to this place, is ordering the right thing, and not going when its too busy. The restaurant needs to be taken for what it is. Young, inexperienced staff, and most of the food is something you could create from a box in your freezer. The drinks are amazing, and the wine list is so-so. Get a signature drink, the chicken rolls, the wedge salad, and a sandwich and you will be just fine. Don't go during the rush. Water buffalo is currently doing more volume than any other privately owned restaurant in the city, and they don't take reservations larger than parties of 8 or more. It can be a good experience if your smart about it.

Posted by islandfanatic on July 19, 2007 at 7:48 a.m. (report)

Our Water Buffalo experience was nothing to write home about! The bartender was a sullen man. He approached us and just stared......didn't say a word (verbally or facially)....stared at us with a blank look. Not a very nice way to start. After we were seated at a very nice table overlooking the river, it took about 10 minutes to be approached by our waitress (who also had no personality). I took about 10 minutes to get our bottle of wine and beer. (The beer drinker wisely ordered another one as she delivered the first. We then ordered three appetizers..........none of which were good. The lobster fritters from the recent review did not have any flavor of lobster or fennel ( the sauce was good, like eating a doughnut with nice syrup!) The ceviche had lots of shrimp (but they were the pre-cooked type....not marinated to take on the flavor of the lime and cilantro ceviche mixture). The crab cakes were just ok....the remoulade was the best part (also the source of the pepper flavor mentioned in the review) Then we ordered black bean burgers that had no trace of either the peppers or cilantro that they were supposed to be mixed with. Also the tortilla soup served with sandwiches was a thick looking cream soup. I have never seen tortilla soup as a cream soup. It is normally a tomato and broth base (cheese or sour cream is sometimes sprinkled on top) The roasted chicken with chipotle sauce had no flavor of chipotle, the waitress had to be reminded to bring a caesar salad and she did not bring me the side that I had ordered with my burger. None of these things would bother me on their own.... ( it is a new place after all), but all in all I have absolutely no desire to go back any time soon!