For the seventh straight year, October is Dining Month on OnMilwaukee.com, presented by the restaurants of Potawatomi. All month, we're stuffed with restaurant reviews, delectable features, chef profiles and unique articles on everything food, as well as the winners of our "Best of Dining 2013."

I always found it odd that Milwaukee’s Sprecher Brewery, 701 W. Glendale Ave., has restaurants in Wisconsin Dells, Madison and Lake Geneva, but not one locally. 

However, as of yesterday, Milwaukee – well, Glendale anyway – has a Sprecher’s Pub all of its own. (And yes, unlike the singular name on the beer and soda, it’s Sprecher’s with an apostrophe ‘s’.)

We stopped by a few hours after Sprecher’s opened yesterday to get a first look at the new bar and restaurant located at Bayshore Town Center in the former Bravo! space. 

It was fun to be on site just a few hours after it opened to the public for the first time. There was definitely a buzz of excitement in the air and the employees were eager to serve their first customers after weeks of training. 

Licensed by Sprecher, Sprecher’s serves a large selection of Sprecher beer including year ‘round, seasonal and limited edition brews by the glass or the growler-to-go. Miller and Bud Light are also available, along with a few cocktails and martinis. 

All of the Sprecher gourmet sodas are available including the cream soda, orange dream, grape and, of course, the classic root beer. 

The food menu goes beyond burgers and fries – although there’s plenty of those, too, including a tantalizing-looking "curd burger" topped with yellow and white cheese curds. There’s also mac ‘n’ cheese, jambalaya, schnitzel, lasagna, pot roast, sandwiches, salads, flatbreads and starters from nachos to mussels.

The prices are fair – $9-$11 for sandwiches and burgers and most entrees around $13-$15.

We ordered the grilled tilapia sandwich and the quinoa and spinach wrap with chicken. The tilapia was fair – the bun was fresh and delicious but the tilapia was a twinge too fishy tasting. The wrap was extremely flavorful and surprisingly very hearty. 

The side dish offerings include onion rings, fries, hash browns, coleslaw or a vegetable of the day.

The kids’ menu features a choice of all the usual suspects from grilled cheese to pizza and come with a side and a drink for $5.50. The experience overall is very kid friendly, with Sprecher hats available as well as crayons and fun placemats.

The space comfortably converted from Bravo! to Sprecher’s. It’s large but still warm and the addition of a massive skylight in the main dining room adds a lot of natural light. 

We will definitely return – perhaps to try out the patio next spring – or sooner if our Sprecher-loving kids have any say in the matter.