Highly-Lauded Ardent Expands, Celebrates 10th Anniversary
Tasting room moves next door, while previous space will become laid-back lounge.
Ardent’s tasting room (left) and future lounge (right) on N. Farwell Avenue. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.
Ask any Milwaukee foodie about Ardent and they’ll likely tell you it’s one of the city’s finest restaurants — that its prix fixe menu and accomplished team have earned a host of prestigious accolades and raised the bar for the city’s overall dining scene.
Ask Justin Carlisle, head chef and owner of the intimate East Side eatery, and he’ll tell you those are just the perks.
“We have always stayed true to what we believed hospitality was, no matter the financial situations or anything else,” he said. “It was just the thought process of how we wanted to be, and we’re extremely grateful that what we wanted to be ended up grabbing attention from our peers.”
Carlisle, whose restaurant, 1751 N. Farwell Ave., has received seven James Beard nominations (and five finalist slots), was named a top North American restaurant for three consecutive years and made the 2018 list of the top 100+ North American Restaurants, is sometimes taken aback at his own success.
“To see what Ardent has done within the world and the United States and in our area here — it’s always astonishing to me when I travel and find out that people respect the restaurant, that they know the restaurant, first off,” he said. “I always laugh. I’m like, ‘no way.'”
Since opening Ardent — his first solo venture — 10 years ago, Carlisle’s life has changed immensely. He married his high school sweetheart, Lucia Muñoz-Carlisle, opened two additional restaurants, Red Light Ramen and The Laughing Taco, expanded his ramen concept to include wholesale kits and brought his taco concept to Fiserv Forum.
Oh, and survived a global pandemic, which he called “the biggest hardship of our lives and the next 100 years.”
The past decade has also brought change for Ardent, which Carlisle said has been “reinvented over and over” since its inception. Russell Tinsley, the restaurant’s general manager, has worked in partnership with Carlisle through each new phase.
At its core, Ardent has always been a destination for Midwestern-style fine dining: upscale but still approachable, focused but not fussy. A current sample menu, which rotates seasonally, features 10 courses including an indulgent caviar starter with koji ice cream, brown rice and olive oil, as well as top-of-the-line strip steak, bronzini and briny, buttery uni. There’s also a dressed-up beer cheese pretzel and cranberry sorbet courses — elegant nods to Ardent’s home state.
Tasting Room Moves Next Door
A recent reinvention, possibly the most major change since the restaurant’s opening, was revealed Wednesday. Ardent’s tasting room, which offers guests a prix fixe menu, beverage pairings and curated hospitality experience, relocated to the adjacent space that previously housed Red Light Ramen.
The new tasting room contains just four tables, set simply and draped with crisp, white tablecloths. The elegance plays off of the wood floors and open kitchen, while works from local artist Tim Meyerring bring interest to the white walls.
“It’s kind of like we’re growing up,” said Carlisle, though he added that some personality will shine through via “funky” silver and glassware.
Compared to the previous tasting room, the new space feels more open while seating fewer guests, said Carlisle, who noted that the change is in response to a decreased volume of diners following the pandemic.
New Lounge Space Coming Nov. 17
Meanwhile, the previous tasting room will get new life as a slightly more casual counterpart to the fine-dining concept. The space, outfitted with mini banquettes and counter seating, will be open for walk-ins and will serve a laid-back “lounge menu” with offerings ranging from chicken liver mousse to a wagyu beef hot dog.
Diners can also expect beef tartare with deviled egg mousse and whipped bone marrow — an Ardent mainstay — plus focaccia with stracciatella and truffles, charred brussels sprouts and other small bites.
More casual options will include a burger with nutritional-yeasted onions, miso pickles, Boursin cheese and special sauce, as well as roasted chicken and a gnocchi dish.
From the bar, guests can expect cocktails and a wine list with offerings by the glass or bottle.
The lounge space, which was reimagined a few years back by Three Sixty, will open to the public on Nov. 17.
“It’s going to be more of a bistro setting,” Carlisle said, noting that the overall vibe will harken back to the relaxed and playful mood of Red Light Ramen, which closed in July. “Now we can have a casual, fun place to interact with people and get back into the community and get back into face-to-face discussions with everybody.”
The lounge space will be open Tuesday through Saturday from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Online reservations are now available for the tasting room.
Photos
If you think stories like this are important, become a member of Urban Milwaukee and help support real, independent journalism. Plus you get some cool added benefits.
