New Steakhouse Serves Up “Wordly and Chic” Vision

High Stakes’ Peacock Lounge bar. Photo credit: Melissa Miller.

High Stakes by Bartolotta, a highly anticipated European-inspired steakhouse led by chef Paul Bartolotta, opened its ruby-red and brass-embellished door to guests Thursday at 5 p.m.

“With High Stakes, we found that next level, that higher level of attention to detail, and when you go inside, you will see it, you will hear it, you will smell it,” Bartolotta told Urban Milwaukee.

The menu centers on an internationally sourced steak program, highlighting Australian, Japanese and American Wagyu alongside American Black Angus filet mignon, ribeye and New York strip. Mediterranean seafood — including sea bass, langoustine and blue lobster — and an elevated Paris-based caviar program also appear on the menu. Other standouts include a vegetarian risotto and crispy roasted guinea hen.

“It’s a sum total of life experiences,” said Bartolotta, citing his culinary experiences across Europe, Las Vegas, New York and Chicago.

Filtered through a 1930s Art Deco lens, designer Jay Franke described the space as “layered, glittering and theatrical.” The moody dining room features sophisticated, polished brass accents and rich, dramatic lighting, set against the backdrop of a “jewel-toned gold metallics and striking Grenache red” color palette.

The dining room’s walls are home to several pieces of art by Lucia Stern, a visual artist born in Milwaukee in 1895 who gained popularity in the 1940s and ’50s. Franke said some of Stern’s pieces that left Milwaukee in the ’50s “are now returning home where they belong.”

The Peacock Lounge, which Franke described as “a destination within the destination,” is an intimate London-inspired lounge within High Stakes serving classic and signature cocktails alongside lounge-exclusive small plates. Selections include Potato Coins & Caviar, Crab & Shrimp Toasts and Langoustines “en Papillote.”

Franke distinguished the lounge by anchoring it with a striking blue lacquer bar, fringe-accented seating and a life-size, hyper-realistic peacock perched with its shimmering multicolored tail feathers cascading down the edge of the bar. Franke concealed the floor-to-ceiling windows that previously opened the interior to Water Street, lending the space a romantic, secluded feel.

The Milwaukee Players Room, the restaurant’s private dining room, features more than 270 framed caricatures of people High Stakes recognizes as those “who have helped shape the city across business, community, culinary, environmental and social spheres.” Large playing cards adorned with the caricatures are served alongside drinks at the bar to use as coasters.

“The result is a collaboration with a very clear vision: worldly, chic and still completely home here [in Milwaukee],” said Franke.

Jae Evangelista, the restaurant’s general manager, told Urban Milwaukee that the High Stakes team of servers, bartenders and other staff members are “as approachable as they are knowledgeable.”

“When we talk about elevating the fabric of our social community, it’s not just about sheer skill set [of a team]; it’s about passion, and that’s where we really hit the lottery,” she said.

Evangelista noted that chef Bartolotta has been “boots-on-the-ground” in the training process and “the passion that he has passed down” to the team is going to be “very apparent” on opening night.

High Stakes by Bartolotta is located at 1030 N. Water St. The restaurant is open for dinner Tuesday through Thursday from 5 to 9 p.m., and Friday and Saturday from 5 to 10 p.m. Peacock Lounge opens at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, with extended hours until midnight Tuesday through Thursday and 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday.

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