Underground Cocktail Lounge Opening Downtown
The Loon Room, opening Saturday, is located on the lower level of Third Coast Provisions.
Third Coast Provisions, 724 N. Milwaukee St. Photo taken Sept. 20, 2024 by Sophie Bolich.
To access Milwaukee’s newest cocktail lounge, patrons must simply channel the common loon.
Equipped with solid bones and the ability to conserve oxygen, the aquatic bird is known for diving deep underwater to catch fish. A visit to The Loon Room, however, only requires a trip downstairs.
The Northwoods-themed drinking parlor is located on the lower level of Third Coast Provisions, 724 N. Milwaukee St. Visitors enter the restaurant at street level, check in with the hostess and head down a flight of red-lit stairs into the speakeasy-style lounge.
Owners Andrew Miller, Cameron Whyte and Samuel Emery, who also operate Third Coast Provisions and Merriment Social, have been teasing the new venture on social media since late August.
The trio hosted a soft launch on Thursday and will officially open The Loon Room on Saturday, Sept. 21.
Guests can expect a slate of on-theme cocktails including Loonie’s Bowl, a high-brow riff on the Swedish Fish-studded fishbowl. The shareable drink is served in a ceramic mug and garnished with two straws, a sprig of mint and a red-eyed toy loon.
Sour, Sweet … Gone, inspired by Sour Patch Kids candy, combines gin, lemon, lime, orange, cherry, pineapple, and pinot noir, all punched up with a sugar-citric acid rim.
Another option, It Happened One Night, features dark rum, sour cherry, Ramazzotti amaro, brown sugar, lemon and chipotle cacao bitters.
The Loon Room also serves a menu of small bites such as potato chip-crusted fish sticks, smoked whitefish deviled eggs and a selection of fondues including chili crisp gruyere, milk chocolate and salted caramel varieties.
The space itself is dimly list and intimate, featuring a marble-topped bar and a woodsy mural from painter Jenny Mathews, along with other northwoods-inspired touches.
Starting this weekend, The Loon Room will be open Saturday from 5 p.m. to midnight, Sunday from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., Thursday from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. and Friday from 4 p.m. to midnight.
The blocks surrounding The Loon Room have a history of quasi-clandestine nightlife.
Electric Lime Taqueria operated a not-so-secret nightclub on the second and third floors at 730 N. Milwaukee St. before vacating the building in September 2022.
The taqueria’s predecessor, a pizza restaurant called Dick’s Pizza & Pleasure, also doubled as a nightclub.
The Loon Room space has been unused for several years, but was previously the happy-hour-focused Oak + Oyster bar.
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