Soft, mellow light glows overhead, gently radiating from hanging lamps suspended by brass chains. An old radio tuner, with silver knobs and levers, controls the rock music playing in the bar. Mardi Gras beads, purple, green and gold, dangle over a Green Bay Packers frame; a Marquette pom-pom is draped over the mirror, next to a television set playing "Wheel of Fortune."

The Shorewood Inn (4473 N. Oakland Ave.) has a little bit of everything, but its stock in trade is its cozy vibe. It's a comfortable place that feels more like the family basement than a Milwaukee institution.

Joel, the bartender, with a shaved head and a gold hoop earring is, much like the Shorewood Inn, comfortable with both younger and older crowds. Shorewood Inn's variety, he says, makes it a generational melting pot.

First a younger couple, both blond-haired and athletic, walk into the bar. And then an older couple, one donning a fishing hat. "I'd really have to say it's a wide mix," says Joel, referring to the generous swath of age between the bar's youngest and oldest patrons.

They've got plenty of food choices. "The ribs are really, really good," says Joel. And the chef at the end of the bar agrees, even though it's the Friday fish fry that distinguishes Shorewood Inn -- perch, breaded cod, broiled cod and salmon.

"We're family-based food," Joel says. "We run lasagna specials, meatloaf specials."

"We try to push local beers," says Joel, who admits that the Weiss beers are the fastest to go on a Friday night. Still, they keep their taps fresh, constantly rotating the kegs, making sure to give customers the variety they want. And the back of the bar proves it, lined as it is with various taps, in all different sizes, all types of materials, each with a different label. They're rotated over time.

The dining area trades the green trim for a deep, rich red. Dark green tablecloths, white placemats and purple flowers sit next to peppershakers and Samuel Adams advertisements. The smell of coffee drifting in from the kitchen adds to the place's warmth, and wreaths hang on the dining room walls, covered in red carnations, pink roses and white lilies.

The history of the Shorewood Inn goes back to the '30s, well before the Meinhardt family bought the space. Today, it reveals its age in the black and white pictures hanging on the spackled white walls. A single soft light glows above them, casting a warm glow, reminding diners of the bar's history.

It's a comfortable place. "When my mother was of drinking age, she knew of the Shorewood Inn," says Joel.