Battle of the Happy Hours: Monarch Lounge inside the Hilton Milwaukee City Center
This week, I’m exploring Happy Hours at The Marcus Corporation’s three distinct and lovely hotels in Milwaukee: The Hilton Milwaukee City Center, The Intercontinental and The Pfister.
See what I thought of Happy Hour at CLEAR Bar in The Intercontinental here.
Where: Monarch Lounge inside The Hilton Milwaukee City Center (509 W Wisconsin Ave)
Happy Hours: Monday-Friday 5-7 pm
Specials: 1/2 off ALL drinks and appetizers! Most venues in the city have just a few Happy Hour specials, but to have half off of the whole (delicious) menu was such an amazing deal. As you’ll see in the menu below, many of the food items were substantial enough to make a meal of them, and I couldn’t believe that EVERY craft cocktail, champagne, beer and wine was included in the half off promotion.
Who I Brought: My husband Sam, who eats enough that he’s the perfect date for 1/2 off Happy Hour
Did you know the Hilton has a “Canine Concierge”? Millie, a mini golden-doodle charged with making Hilton guests’ days better, was greeting everyone in the Monarch Lounge while we ate. As you can see, she was ridiculously adorable. As I was getting out my phone to immediately follow her on Instagram, our bartender told us that looking forward to seeing Millie’s sweet face makes everyone who works at the Hilton excited to come into work everyday. She belongs to the human concierge, Rusty, and ever since I met him, I’ve been swooning over what a wonderful idea he had to bring Millie to the Hilton.
What We Tried:
High West Sazarec. Sam said it was as good as the one he had in New Orleans, but at this Hilton Happy Hour it was much less expensive!
Lavender Basil Collins. It was snowing outside but this is April and I was longing for springtime. This cocktail tasted of it, very refreshing and just faintly floral.
Tomato & Fresh Mozzerella Salad. The grilled artichokes were tangy, salty and so tasty that I had a hard time sharing and ate both of them myself.
Monarch Burger. Unbelievable deal for $5.50 during Happy Hour!
Artisan Cheese & Olives. Generous proportions, and could definitely go far with an after-work crowd. I can never resist a good cheese board, and the marinated olives and cave-aged blue cheese on this one were delicious.
Our Favorites: Sam loved the burger and especially enjoyed the seasoned potato wedge fries that came with it. My favorites were the olives and the grilled artichoke. Both cocktails were wonderful.
This Spot’s Perfect Crowd:
– Those who love food with their Happy Hour drinks
– Anyone! The Monarch Lounge is beautiful and spacious, little touches like Millie make it fun, and half off such delicious food and upscale drinks is unbeatable.
We now plan to put Happy Hour at the Monarch Lounge in heavy rotation on our list of perfect “quick date” spots!
Tomorrow, let’s try Blu!