High Stakes by Bartolotta opens in Milwaukee
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High Stakes’ design is inspired by London lounges and private social clubs.Brett Wood
Chef Paul Bartolotta opened his first Milwaukee-area restaurant in 1993. More than thirty years later, he and the Bartolotta Restaurants group is still going strong, with nearly 20 restaurants and catering facilities across the greater Milwaukee region.
The latest is High Stakes by Bartolotta, a European-inspired steakhouse in downtown Milwaukee. It opens September 17, and reservations are live now.
High Stakes replaces Rumpus Room, a Bartolotta restaurant that closed in 2020 during the pandemic. The Water Street space had been empty ever since.
“Milwaukee has supported the Bartolotta Restaurants for more than 30 years, and we continue to believe deeply in the future of this city and downtown,” Paul Bartolotta said. “High Stakes by Bartolotta gives us the opportunity to bring new life to a space on Water Street that has been part of our company for many years while creating something unlike anything we have done before.”
The restaurant interiors were designed by Jay Franke. | Brett Wood
Bartolotta added that he sees tremendous opportunity downtown and is committed to being part of Water Street’s resurgence.
The restaurant interiors come from Jay Franke Design, who also worked on Bartolotta’s The Commodore, and draw inspiration from classic London lounges and private social clubs.
The menu builds on the corn-fed Black Angus beef served in many of the Bartolotta Restaurants, and adds an internationally inspired steak program, with wagyu and high-end cuts. These are complemented by luxury ingredients like caviar, langoustines, and Bering Sea red king crab.
The menu features steak, as well as seafood, with high-end touches like wagyu and caviar. | The Bartolotta Restaurants
There’s a blue lobster en croûte for two, made with Mediterranean lobster and lobster-herb mousse baked in puff pastry.
Bartolotta’s signature filet mignon is served with a porcini mushroom-bone marrow crust, Barolo wine sauce, potato mousseline, and wilted spinach.
A separate “High Steaks” menu features American, Australian, and Japanese wagyu, and there’s a wagyu tasting that compares all three side-by-side.
High Stakes is joined next door by the Peacock Lounge, an Art Deco-inspired bar that’s open for pre- and post-dinner drinks and also serves as a destination on its own. It serves classic and signature cocktails and features tableside presentations for select drinks.
Select dishes like the lobster en croute are prepared tableside. | The Bartolotta Restaurants
The Peacock Lounge also serves food, like freshly baked gougères with cheese fondue and wagyu, a wagyu burger with fries, and a crab and shrimp toast.
Bartolotta explained that the two concepts bring together the various experiences that have shaped his career, from his time in Milwaukee and Chicago to past work in Europe and Las Vegas.
The group has more projects in the works, but Bartolotta said that right now they are focused on the High Stakes opening and continuing to invest in their current portfolio.
“We are always looking ahead and thinking about how the Bartolotta Restaurants can continue to evolve,” he said. “We remain incredibly bullish on Milwaukee and committed to investing in the community that has supported us for more than 30 years.”
