Eating Lunch At The Pfister Hotel

Lobby of the Pfister Hotel. Photo by Cari Taylor-Carlson.

When you come for lunch at the Pfister Hotel, you have two choices: the Café or the Lobby Lounge. Each has a different personality, each a prototype of a certain kind of dining experience.

Before you sit down to enjoy your meal, look around at the lobby in this historic hotel that’s been a landmark on Wisconsin Avenue since 1893. Guido Pfister and his son Charles wanted to build an elegant hotel in downtown Milwaukee that also connected to the local arts community. This explains why you see the extravagant architecture of Henry C. Koch plus many works from the Pfister’s extensive collection of Victorian art. Don’t forget to look up to see the gorgeous painted ceiling, the chandeliers, and the grillwork on the balcony. If elegance was the Pfister’s goal when they envisioned this grand old dame, the Pfister in 2023 has more than fulfilled father and son’s original vision of a magnificent hotel on the city’s prime stretch of real estate.

They might be puzzled by the 2023 menu. You wouldn’t see an Impossible Burger, Tuna Poke Tacos, or Caramel Macchiato on a menu at the turn of the 19th century. This is not a place where you come for fancy food in either the café or the lounge. It’s simple food with something to please everyone because after all, this is a hotel. If you are looking for a more upscale meal at the hotel, you have to wait until 4:00 p.m. when the Mason Street Grill opens.

The café has an extensive menu that’s organized into several categories: Pick Two Lunch Combo; Signature Dishes; Salads; Flatbreads and Wraps; Sandwiches; and All Beef Hot Dogs. There are several vegetarian options such as the Vegan Quinoa Bowl with dried apricots, mushrooms, kale and pecans, served in a basil vinaigrette, and Avocado Toast topped with a poached egg.

We ordered Tomato Soup, Chicken Caesar Salad, and the Asian Salad. Two cheddar crostinis accompanied the soup, an appropriate cheesy pairing with the soup that tasted healthy, creamy and tart from San Marzano tomatoes and fresh basil. The Caesar Salad was filled with many tender chunks of chicken, the dressing hinted of garlic, and the romaine lettuce was fresh. A generous layer of shaved parmesan finished the salad making it a delicious and classic Caesar.

For the Asian Salad, the chef used several kinds of lettuce including radicchio and red cabbage. It combined teriyaki marinated chicken with mandarin oranges, peanuts and sesame seeds, a tasty symphony of sweet, tart, crunchy, and bitter. The ginger dressing and crisp wontons made this a salad I would order again.

When I brought a friend for lunch a week later, the Lobby Lounge looked too inviting to pass and so we stayed. We sat at a table across from the fireplace where a young family had settled on the two couches with coffee and soda. We noted a couple at a table behind us make a toast with champagne, and at the bar, a solo man wearing a bow tie sipped a martini.

Until 2:00, the café menu is available in the lounge. After 2:00 there’s an abbreviated menu for the lounge that’s similar to the café menu with a few additions such as Zaffiro’s Pizza, an Olive and Cheese Board, Shrimp Cocktail, a Grilled Wisconsin Cheese Sandwich, and for a very special occasion, Grilled Bone In Filet with potato frites and tarragon mustard sauce for $57.00.

We ordered from the café menu, the Friday Fish Fry and the Signature Senator’s Tuna, a sandwich favored by a regular, Herb Kohl. The Spotted Cow Beer-Battered cod was classic, tender fish inside the light puffy batter and served with creamy slaw and a large pile of fries.

Senator Kohl knew what he was doing when he chose the tuna salad sandwich. It was fat with tuna and sliced tomatoes that had been peeled, an impressive detail added to an ordinary sandwich.

We finished with Carrot Cake. It was fruitcake-dense, rich with abundant raisins and nuts and coated with a thick, decadent layer of cream cheese frosting.

As we left the Lobby Lounge, we noticed a couple deep in cozy armchairs with coffee and books. Not a phone in sight. There was something about the Pfister that felt like a lost century, a genteel ambiance where you could find classic fare like tomato soup, an All-Beef Hot Dog or a retro tuna salad sandwich.

On The Menu

The Pfister Hotel

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The Rundown

• 424 E. Wisconsin Ave.
• 414-390-3878
• Café Hours: 6:00 a.m. to 2 p.m. Mon-Sun
• Lounge Hours: 12 p.m. to 12 a.m. Mon-Thu, 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. Fri, 9 a.m. to 1 a.m. Sat, 9 a.m. to 12 a.m. Sun
  • Lounge: Food service until 10 p.m.
• Website: thepfisterhotel.com