This was my first time at Harbor House, I heard so many great things about it and was excited to try it out. I came here for a date night and the view was fantastic. My date had requested during the reservation to be seated by a window but they had us seated at a rounder and bigger table that felt a little goofy for two people to be seated in. But we asked our server, Aracely, if we would be able to move to the window seating and they helped arrange that for us. We decided to order the Crispy Fried Berkshire Pork Belly as our starter and the Grilled Whole Mediterranean Branzino and the Seafood Pappardelle as our main entrees. For drinks, we decided to get the cranberry kiss. Surprisingly, both of our dishes were pretty filling! The seafood Pappardelle, had lobster, scallops, shrimp, and octopus. It was on the heavier side, but the noodles that they paired with it, was absolutely amazing. The Branzino was nicely grilled, but wasn't dry on the inside. I was indifferent with the chimichurri sauce that was paired with it but the smashed potatoes and grilled asparagus was delicious. Overall, very delicious entrees. read more

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Amazing location and ambiance, beautiful view! The food is pricey but high quality. The calamari and pork belly are both worth ordering as appetizers. The brazino is solid! The service is amazing, their two people approach ensures nothing is missed. The deserts looked and sounded amazing unfortunately our group decided to over indulge on the amazing apps and entrees. If we lived in the area we would definitely visit for special occasions or a date night. read more

Harbor House by Bartolotta - Brazino Grilled Whole Mediterranean Branzino - Seafood Near Me - Milwaukee, Wisconsin

OK.... this may be a bit picky but for the price paid it should be viewed with a critical eye. That being sad: We had the earliest (5:00) seating to celebrate our anniversary, and we had asked for a more quiet part of the restaurant. We arrived early and were told seating begins ad 5:00 if you would like to go to the bar.... Went to the bar and had a martini and a glass of wine. Well we knew it was not going to be cheap but I was a bit floored by the tab of $45 with tip and a charge for using a credit card. We were taken to our table which was at the back of the restaurant with a beautiful view and relatively quiet... perfect. Put our orders in with a very nice waitress: Me: 3 Oysters, Caesar salad, Lobster Tails Glass of wine Wife: Chopped Salad, LobsterTails, wine BTW. I love to have wine with a meal and enjoy it by the bottle. However in looking at their Wine Book they essentially triple the cost of a bottle. So to have a bottle of champagne was going to put us out over $150 .... for a cheap one. It was offered by the glass for $28. Bread was very good but with cold butter. Hate that. Chopped salad got a very high mark from a salad critic (wife) and my Caesar not so much. Get the one at Cooper's Hawk. for a comparison. The Lobster was great. $74 seems a lot until you go out and but anything comparable. The serving was generous and well prepared. A complimentary desert was offered and it was Chocolate and Hazelnut. VERY highly recommended. My mind had been set on Key Lime Pie so we had that too. Bottom line: $45 bar + $264 dinner+ $61 tip +$10 parking = $380 Would we do it again. Maybe but it was expensive. Oh I forgot there was a $5 charge for using my credit card. Good Grief!! read more

This is my 3rd review ever for Harbor House so I'm going to keep it short. We were at Harbor House last night and Nessa and Jessica were our servers. I've had Nessa before on another visit and she was fantastic and professional as usual. Jessica who appeared new was also on point. I want those two servers every time we come to the Harbor House. I know that's not possible, but a guy can wish. We were celebrating my wife's birthday, she ordered the Vegetarian Couscous dish with added shrimp. She said it was delicious and she would order it again. I got my usual boneless ribeye, fingerling potatoes and asparagus. That steak was the best one I ever had at Harbor House. We has a Boston Cream Pie, which is actually a cake and that was good also. Our food took a little longer to get to us than normal, but that just gave my wife and I more time to talk and reminisce. One last thing , I'm begging Harbor House to consider bringing back the cheesecake back, it was really good. So apparently I have lied about keeping this review short, sorry. read more

Visited because I was craving some seafood during their lunch hours but was left a bit disappointed. I felt like service was less than great, while it was not packed like usual, it was a lot of waiting to get the attention, mind you we were sitting at the bar too! It was clear they were more willing to speak w regulars than stay on top of checking in with others. As far as food, everything was pretty tasty. I did get a set of crab legs that didn't look right in color and definitely didn't taste right. Not sure if this is my go-to for seafood anymore! read more

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I ate dinner at Harbor House Saturday evening and it was absolutely outstanding!! I can't say enough good things! The view is spectacular, the food amazing, and the service impeccable. We didn't have a reservation but got a great spot at a high-top by the window. read more

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Didn't have a reservation on a Sunday in June, but got an amazing seat by the window to look out at the beautiful Lake Michigan. My "meal" was the fabulous Bloody Mary!!! And the sweet pastry basket my hubby got the classic Eggs Benedict ... he said delish! We both give this place a 10/10 for the whole wonderful experience. read more

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Made another stop in Milwaukee recently and decided to check out Harbor House. I don't usually like to sit outside but decided to this time and had a great experience. It was nice out and we got to enjoy the weather and the view. You get a great view of the city skyline, even with a few trees in the way, but it was still very nice. The food overall was very good. Everything was well prepared and tasted very fresh. We especially enjoyed the seafood tower. Be prepared to spend some money. Drinks and seafood add up pretty fast. Will definitely check it out again in the future. read more

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Haven't been here in ten years. Visiting for summer fest. Thought let's get dinner on the waterfront. It a beautiful location and scenery. Ambiance was great. Servers did well. The food for the price was moderate at best. Ordered copper river salmon. The best salmon in the world to eat. They cooked to medium and it was dried out and flavorless. Should have been done to medium rare as it continues to cook afterwards. We also ordered mussels. Again unfortunately for the price it was ok. The coconut milk sauce didn't accentuate the natural mussel flavor. The pork belly starter was ok. For the price I expected it to have intense flavors. They did make an exceptional mold fashioned. Maybe if I go back I would give it another try but questionable. read more

View excellent, inside is clean and attractive, food was great, the roasted beet salad was the best I have ever had. Steak was great! Apparently the shrimp and lobster and scallops were great but i dont eat those so i take that review from my dinner partner. Key lime pie was great! Service was excellent! read more

Harbor House by Bartolotta - Big shrimp - Seafood Near Me - Milwaukee, Wisconsin

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Amazing!!! We went during happy hour and the views are spectacular plus the food was delicious. We had lobster rolls, snow crab and garlic fries and cocktails...great price and excellent service. read more

Harbor House by Bartolotta - View from the restaurant - Seafood Near Me - Milwaukee, Wisconsin

When it comes time to celebrating a birthday, this is the place to go! Wonderful ambience, atmosphere, and great waitstaff. I started with a delicious winter white Cosmo. Then I had the sea scallops which were prepared well and so tasty. My dining companion, whose birthday it was, had the branzino, which she said was tender and delicious. I love eating st Harbor House to experience a real fine dining experience. read more

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Was here for my mother in laws birthday party: she purposely made a reservation for a window seat by the water on an early Wednesday evening; they refused to honor this when we came. It was a big disappointment for her, the food was standard , definitely not worth it from her point of view. The view /ambiance was the main reason she wanted this restaurant she was upset and almost left. We were surprised about the lack of accommodation. They couldn't really justify it -wasn't busy and we never got an apology. Ended up staying because we were on a time crunch but no one left happy . read more

A delicious meal at Harbor House with a view of Lake Michigan!! Our waiters were appropriately attentive and recommended some of their favorite dishes. I would recommend the seafood tower, arancini, and filet - but honestly you cannot go wrong! To note, you do have to valet park. read more

Red was our server and he was very personable and made great recommendations. Highly recommend visiting for the fantastic food and outstanding service!! I will definitely visit again and will ask for Red. read more

Ambiance is great. Front reception staff friendly. Food very good. Service was terrible! Waitress was almost non-existent. Not overly busy - it was a Thursday night - and there was a lot of staff, but ours was nowhere to be found. Group of 6, and they brought out 5 dinners while we waited and waited for the 6th. One of them was wrong. Water never refilled, never asked for additonal drinks - had to ask the busboy to get waitress to get them, sommerlier brought out the wine one glass short, used a previously used champagne glass instead, and never came back to pour more wine or ask if we wanted more - we did. And on and on. Just terrible service. At these prices what a shame. read more

This is a a stunning restaurant in a stunning location. Right on the shores of Lake Michigan, Harbor House had beautiful views. We visited on a Saturday evening with reservations at 7:00 PM and the place was packed. The food was excellent. It was hard to decide, there were so many delicious offerings on the menu. Ultimately, I went with the roasted chicken with olive oil whipped potatoes and roasted asparagus. The chicken was exceptional, the skin was so crisp and the meat was juicy and flavorful. Our server was kind and suggested additional sauces and options to make sure it worked with my dietary needs. They have a great list of non-alcoholic drinks and mocktails. I wish they'd post the drink menu on their website so I could have perused that beforehand! We had a party of 6 people and were seated within about 10 minutes of our reservation. We later found out that they also had a wedding reception in the back room that they were coordinating in addition to the other tables. Our guess is that this is why service was slowed down so much. It was about a 2 hour dinner and took extended time to be greeted, get our drinks, and then get our dinners. In all of that, our servers were kind, knowledgeable, and celebratory. They surprised us at the end of the night with a champagne toast for the bride to be, which was a beautiful and very personal touch. read more

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My husband and I came for a date night right at open (5pm) on Sunday. It was already bustling when we got there. The views are amazing, as they claim. A great spot to bring visitors! We enjoyed soft shell crab, and tried both types of lobster rolls (which came with fries). We also split a bottle of wine. Service was attentive to our needs. Definitely on the pricier end, but everything was delicious and we'd definitely come back. read more

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I've been to Harbor House a few times and always have great experiences with dining and staff. The ambience of the restaurant and being on the lake is always lovely. I enjoy the versatility that their menu offers- a few of my favorites include the salmon dish, lobster bisque soup, and espresso martini. Most recently I tried the breaded seafood platter special, which was not my favorite as I tend to get a bit picky about thicker/plain breadings, but loved their french fries. At a previous visit, they were kind enough to provide a complementary dessert for my birthday . Definitely recommend dining at Harbor House if you're looking for a variety of seafood options and a classy dining experience. read more

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Where do I even start!! Ate dinner at one of the high tops in the bar area, surrounded by beautiful night views of the city and friendly chatter of others in the area. Sampled oysters from both east and west coast and paired it with a smooth red. Then on to a nice surf and turf pairing from the dinner menu, all of which was cooked and portioned perfect. Finishing it off with that sweet crunchy top crème brûlée. And above all, service was very kind and made me feel at home. read more

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Date night, great spot for a date night. Service was impeccable as at all Bartolottas establishments. Food outstanding as well, best salmon and crab cakes in the city. Also loved the salad and lobster bisque. Great meal! read more

Harbor House by Bartolotta - Salmon - delicious salmon - Seafood Near Me - Milwaukee, Wisconsin

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Harbor House has always been a favorite of mine. I used to go there for trivia, and most recently we came for a date night. While there's parking nearby available, the valet is very convenient and affordable. We were pleasantly surprised to see that there was a mime when we came in for dinner, dinner and a show! Our server was absolutely incredible, she even taught me how to fillet my Branzino, which I know they're not even supposed to do. All of the food was delicious, they gave us complementary champagne since we were celebrating our engagement and purchasing a new home, and we were so stuffed that we didn't even have room for dessert. Even the people sitting outside the window on the Adirondack chairs with the beautiful view of the Milwaukee skyline in the Milwaukee art museum added to the ambience of just absolute luxury and lake life. read more

Harbor House by Bartolotta - Bread and butter and wine to start - Seafood Near Me - Milwaukee, Wisconsin

We came as a family to celebrate our daughter's college graduation. We gave her the option to choose any restaurant she wanted - and she chose Harbr House. From the initial sit down at 6pm, we were excited and happy to celebrate her special day. But things kept going wrong that resulted in a less than positive experience for us. Having two servers proved confusing and often lack of communication made the dinner proactive on our behalf. I ordered a glass of champagne and it was totally flat, one server did replace it for me. Then the various other things throughout the dinner. But the disappointment at dessert was that although her special day was acknowledged with a personalized dessert plate, it said "Happy birthday" instead of graduation :/ read more

The setting is gorgeous- you'll get nice water and art museum views. The cocktail menu was fun and delicious, and the wine menu was extensive. We had dual waitstaff which was lovely, they were very attentive and helpful. My steak was perfect- check out the photo - but my date's was more medium than medium-rare. I found more people casually dressed than I anticipated. read more

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Fantastic spot for happy hour! Beautiful views and great service, valet was a great touch as well. All the staff were very friendly. Looking forward to going back. read more

Harbor House by Bartolotta - Oysters and fried clams - Seafood Near Me - Milwaukee, Wisconsin

I am so glad I finally made my way to Harbor house!! I am a big fan of seafood, so it's been on my bucket list for a while. We got the calamari, a lobster roll, and a special seafood pasta. All of the food was wonderful, and the atmosphere of the restaurant was amazing. Gorgeous views, good food, and wonderful service. I will definitely return in the future! read more

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The restaurant is beautiful and the staff all are friendly and very helpful. The views from every area of the restaurant are breath taking. The lake is gorgeous. Our meal was spectacular and all their special touches make it even more special. read more

After being dropped off by an Uber and hearing the valet yell at our driver, the evening didn't start off on the best note. Luckily, we were seated right away for our reservation, which was a nice touch. Our server took our drink orders promptly, but after 15-20 minutes, we still hadn't received them. When the server returned to take our food order, I asked about the drinks, and he said they'd be out "shortly." It honestly felt like he had forgotten, as we didn't see him again for another 15-20 minutes. Once the food arrived, though, everything was absolutely delicious! Unfortunately, the service issues continued; we had to flag down our server, and it took another 15 minutes just to get the bill. read more

The view is fantastic. Great location with a wonderful environment. The food, however, was less than stellar. The crab claws as an appetizer good but two small claws for the price ridiculous. The oysters were just gross. The main course was ok but fell short considering the price. But for the view, one star. read more

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This was my first time at Horbor House. We went with two other couples to celebrate birthdays of myself and friend. The ambiance so cozy & warm. The views were beautiful. The staff was amazing! The food, spectacular! When we were seated, my friend ans myself were each given birthday cards. After our meal, we were all surprised with champagne. Without even asking, they made sure I was given NA champagne. Which, was so delicious I had to make sure it wasn't the actual champagne. We were then presented with a dessert. Needless to say, we were all very impressed with the entire experience. Thank you for a wonderful evening Harbor House read more

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Extraordinary prices for mediocre food. A group of 4 of us went for dinner. Two of us had the Trout. It was dry. One had the chicken which was also dry and one had the filet with Salmon. Both of those were dried out as well. We were very unhappy with the food. I don't have much better to say for the waiters. They seemed rushed and bothered. Order a cup of coffee; you won't get another one. Too many other good restaurants in Milwaukee to waste your money here. read more

Had an unbelievable experience with Nessa or waitress who also recommended linguine and clams which was off the charts delicious my Italian friend had a huge steak which he enjoyed. We also had a bottle of milk back, which was very nice calamari and split a Caesar salad with extra anchovies delicious highly recommended plus a beautiful ambience along the lake. read more

Harbor House by Bartolotta - Linguine and clams delicious - Seafood Near Me - Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Talk about a restaurant with everything 5 stars! The food, the service and the ambiance of this place was absolutely amazing! They had a very nice cocktail menu that had different liquor based drinks so those who like a good cocktail have some options. The food menu was a good size with many different options, but probably the hardest part of the whole night. I couldn't make a decision so I of course went with the fish special. The food was amazing and just watching the waves on Lake Michigan was a perfect night. We overlooked the dessert menu and my coworker saw that they offered chartreuse as a digestif. We ordered a glass for us all to try and ordered affogatos all around that were prepared table side. An amazing dinner with great company! read more

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Went here to celebrate a friend's birthday. Beautiful view, wonderful interior, very upscale. The servers were great and so were the dishes. We ordered crab cakes, calamari, halibut, scallops, the SEAFOOD pasta (we ordered two); and their Lobster mac was the best I've had. Dessert were small portions but after considering all the food we ate, it was just the right size. And delicious Espresso Martini! read more

Nine years since my last review, so an update is in order. I've dined here a few times since, and I usually get their Lobster Roll, which is pretty solid and is now available two ways: cold lobster or warm lobster. On my most recent visit, I ordered the Soft Shell Crab because it's in season. They serve it tempura battered, and the seasoning in the batter was subtle enough to allow the flavor of the crab to stand out. My entree was King Crab Legs, that normally comes with red potatoes, but I substituted with lemon & asparagus risotto. I had to send the dish back because the risotto was clumpy (there was actually a ball of clumped up risotto on the plate). They quickly made me a fresh order of risotto and it was great! I'm a big fan of carrot cake, but I'm not a big fan of refrigerated bakery because it dries out. Since carrot cake has a cream cheese frosting, it has to be stored refrigerated. This slice was good. It was just a tad dry, but the thick layer of frosting made up for it. My server was Joe, and he was excellent! Plus, I sat at one of the high tops along the window to enjoy the great view of the lakefront skyline! I hope to get back soon for a lobster roll and some oysters. I wish their happy hour went until 6:00. I work until 5:00, so their literal one hour happy hour (4:00-5:00) doesn't work for me. :( read more

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Absolutely incredible experience! Our servers were very attentive and knowledgeable about the menu. Their pear martini is the best martini I've had, hands down! They use true pears to flavor it and I couldn't recommend it more. We ordered the chef's oysters and they were to die for. For dinner we ordered the fillet with lobstertail and the scallops. Everything was done perfectly to our liking. Harbor house is an upscale with dining experience with a bar area as well. The view of the water is stunning, I can't wait to go in the warmer season. read more

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Came here with family and was blown away by how beautiful this place is! The food was fresh and delicious, and the views were absolutely stunning. The service was top-notch, making for a fantastic dining experience. We always enjoy appetizers, dinner, and dessert when we visit. It's a bit pricey, but the overall experience, especially with the amazing views, is definitely worth it! Will be back! read more

Harbor House by Bartolotta - Seafood Near Me - Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Beautiful restaurant with windows all around overlooking Lake Michigan. The service was great from start to finish, including the hostess, all the waiters that walk past, the group servers... everyone. The calamari was a perfect batch, every piece was tender and slightly chewy, and the tartare was very fresh and delicious with a very fresh seaweed salad. The wedge salad had a lot of bacon and the blue cheese was a pinch less pungent (the way I like it), however the lobster you see is what's inside the roll. It was the smallest amount of lobster I've ever received on a lobster roll. I would have been more disappointed if I didn't have so many apps. It was a great experience and I would go back to try something new as my main course. read more

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Had a business dinner at one of coldest days in 2024, however this place is packed. BTW, valet parking is available for a fee. The view facing the harbor was great. Really enjoyed the oysters, fresh and tender. Crispy Pork belly was crispy for sure but a bit dry instead of moist inside. Order salmon for my entrée. Really liked the flavor and all the toppings. It was an awesome mixed texture with fired Brussel sprouts, cranberries, and mushrooms. I could take a more rare to medium salmon instead of medium to well done. Overall I liked it and might order next time too. Services were impeccable. read more

Went to Harbor House for my birthday. The experience overall was poor. The dining room was understaffed causing delays in service, second courses that never arrived, barely warm entrees, and being charged for a "complimentary"birthday desert. We have been going to Harbor House since it has opened and have noticed a precipitous decline/shift in the experience since Covid. It almost seems there has been a decision to deliver a less elevated experience with the expectation that people will come just for the location/view. We have had this experience in many other waterfront or "scenic" locations across America and in our international travels. Sad to see this happen to Harbor House. Glad there is still Lake Park Bistro. read more