"Bar Month" at OnMilwaukee.com is back for another round! The whole month of February, we're serving up intoxicatingly fun bars and club articles -- including guides, bartender profiles, drink recipes and even a little Brew City bar history. Cheers!
If you look hard enough, almost every bar has a theme. Some focus on a sport -- or one very special team from Green Bay in particular. Others align themselves with the drinks and traditions of a geographic region. (These days, it seems, everyone's banking on Irish pubs.)
But what about the random, unique and sometimes totally weird themes, like the former Flanigan's Call Box, 2599 S. Logan Ave. (Burnhearts is there now), whose UFO motif definitely set it apart from your average corner bar?
Themed bars might be something of a dying breed, but there are still a handful in Milwaukee that add to Brew City's distinctive nightlife charm.
Art bar
722 E Burleigh St., (414) 372-7880
artbar-riverwest.com
Theme: A canvas for creative expression
From its permanent bottle cap sculptures to its weekly Open Canvas (think open mic, but with paint brushes) every Sunday starting at 6 p.m., the name really says it all. It's a bar that doubles as an art gallery. And actually, since it started opening at 6 a.m. for coffee, bakery and Wi-Fi, it wears a third hat as a café, too.
But what never changes here is the art presence. Owner Don Krause rotates themed installations monthly and likes to show off the starving artist types -- the ones who might not otherwise have a venue to show their work. The annual Halloween "Fear" shows are always perfectly disturbing.
At Random
2501 S. Delaware Ave., (414) 481-8030
Theme: Classic lounge cocktails
Don't show up thinking you'll kick back with a bottle of beer; there aren't even any on the menu. The idea here is to go over the top for a night and order one of the fancy ice cream drinks or booze-heavy specialties like the infamous Tiki Love Bowl, which comes perfectly a-flame with rum 151.
When a server twice your vintage arrives with your fruity concoction, sip slowly. Don't mistake the drink's sweet taste for low alcohol content. Sit back, allow the lounge acts to mellow your mood and take in one of Milwaukee's unique treasures. The drinks aren't cheap, but this is a special occasion destination, so go ahead and splurge.
Cans Bar & Canteen
1815 E Kenilworth Pl., (414) 225-0421
cansbar.com
Theme: Old School fun in a can
If you know all the words to "Livin' on a Prayer," can recite a minimum of seven lines from "The Breakfast Club" and know why Ms. Pac-Man beats the pants off the original Pac-Man game, you are a prime candidate for the kind of nostalgia circulated at Cans Bar & Canteen.
Cans perpetually celebrates the ‘80s with scenes from the Brat Pack, music from hair bands and classic hip-hop and, most prominently, with more than 50 varieties of beer available in cans. The spacious bar knows how to rev up the retro, but doesn't push it over the borderline. DJs still remember what decade it is for the rest of the world and the slightly cushy décor rivals that of any modern establishment. But really, who doesn't love it when "Funky Cold Medina" comes on?
Foundation
2718 N. Bremen St., (414) 374-2587
foundationbar.com
Theme: Tiki every day of the week-y
Foundation is interesting in that it's always had a prevalent theme; only the owner completely changed what it is. After nine years as a smoky punk rock dive with skate decks and 45s lining the walls, the bar took a cue from its Tuesday tradition: Tiki Tuesday. In 2004 the Foundation got a facelift and transformed into full-on tiki bar. Now, the large, island-themed drinks like the "surfrider" and the "blue malahini' (known as "the blue one" among regulars) are available daily alongside your traditional bar fare.
The jukebox still plays punk, but the rest of the Riverwest bar is hip and Hawaiian, with fuzzy animal print walls, carved tikis and one of the best mai tais in town.
Have A Nice Day Café
1101 N. Old World 3rd St., (414) 270-9650
cafemilwaukee.com
Theme: Retro dance party
Some thought it would be a fleeting phase, but this retro-themed club has been going strong for over seven years. At times it's hard to decipher if it's going for the disco funk vibe of Studio 54, riding the ‘80s new wave or sapping it up with early '90s one hit wonders (The latter might be as far back as most of its clientele remembers). But one thing is certain, there is nothing modern about this place.
The walls are covered in ‘70s and ‘80s icons, and the tables are scarce, saving most of the space for the pulsing dance floor. Drinks here keep the theme -- the "fishbowl" is a sugary neon mixture of what looks like Kool-Aid and vodka housed in an actual fish bowl with oversized straws. If you can get through the night without hearing the "Y.M.C.A.," it's a great, silly spot to dance.
Monkey Bar
1619 S. 1st St., (414) 384-4663
Theme: Hippos. Just kidding. It's monkeys.
monkeybarmilwaukee.com
After five years of monkeying around at 1517 S. 2nd St., Diane Dowland and Timmy Beuth moving their Monkey Bar to a new, bigger location at 1619 S. 1st St. But don't worry; Dowland says the new bar will be "the same monkey" you remember: Monkey lamps, monkey themed drinks, monkeys on the walls and monkeys watching you while you pee.
The Bomb Shelter, a new bar with an old-school Milwaukee beer theme, is taking over the former Monkey space. The new Monkey location -- the open date is still T.B.D. at this point -- will keep the Walker's Point party going with live bands and DJs on the weekends.
The Safe House
779 N. Front St., (414) 271-2007
safe-house.com
Theme: Spying and sleuthing
It's hard enough to find the James Bond / spy-themed Safe House that's "hidden" in a building on tiny dark Front Street, but once you do, it's only the start of a clandestine evening. To get into the bar, you have to tell the password to "Miss Moneypenny," who decides whether or not to let you enter through a fake bookcase. If she obliges, the spy theme continues at the bar with drinks like the Top Secret, Goldeneye, Spies Demise and Code Beer.
There's also a phone booth with an escape door (might want to bring your jacket if it's winter), a back room with moving wall panels and more. The Safe House opened in 1966, and continues to draw Milwaukee visitors and large local crowds on the weekends when the place transforms into a nightclub.
