Looking for a new Milwaukee dining experience? Here are 7 must-try spots
Consider these seven new Milwaukee-area restaurants to round out your list of favorites.
A new spot serving Mexican fare and cocktails from breakfast to bar close could be coming to Milwaukee’s Bay View neighborhood this fall.
Catrina’s Cafe and Cantina, 2352 S. Kinnickinnic Ave., could be open as soon as November, according to a license application filed with the city of Milwaukee.
The all-day restaurant would serve breakfast, lunch and dinner, with late-night hours extending to bar-close time daily.
Rosa Marquez, who will run the restaurant with Luis Aquino Rodriguez, confirmed it will be the second location of Catrina’s Cafe. Its first location opened in July 2024 at 606 S. Fifth St. in Walker’s Point.
The full-service restaurant and cocktail lounge will be open from 7 a.m. to 2 a.m. Sunday to Thursday and 7 a.m. to 2:30 a.m. Friday and Saturday.
Most recently, the space was home to Tulum Latin Gastropub. Prior to that, it was the original location for Odd Duck, which moved to its current Walker’s Point location in 2022.
The restaurant has a capacity to seat 80, with an enclosed patio in the back.
All-day Mexican fare from breakfast to dinner, plus unique cocktails at the bar
Marquez said customers can expect a similar menu to the one offered at the Walker’s Point location. Breakfast offerings include dishes like chilaquiles, breakfast tacos and burritos, huevos rancheros, enfrijoladas and more. Catrina’s has an extensive lineup of sandwiches and burgers, too, plus salads and entrees like molcajete, carne asada, enchiladas suizas and fajitas.
Marquez, who created the recipes, said she’ll bring Catrina’s popular tacos to the Bay View location, as well. Those include Vegas tacos (cilantro lime grilled chicken, sweet corn and queso), Tijuana tacos (grilled steak with portobello mushrooms, sweet corn and onion with cilantro salsa), Michoacan tacos (carnitas with pico de gallo, onions and cilantro) and Jalisco quesabirria (crispy corn tortillas stuffed with birria shredded beef, melted queso, onions and cilantro, served with a side of consomé for dipping).
Snacks like street corn, nachos, carne asada fries, guacamole with grilled pineapple, wings and flautas could be on the menu, too.
At the bar, Catrina’s has an expansive cocktail menu, serving things like mimosa and margarita flights, micheladas, martinis and mangonadas. It will also serve signature drinks that Marquez said you can’t find “anywhere else in Milwaukee,” like the cazuela, a Mexican cocktail made with tequila, grapefruit soda and fresh citrus fruit, served in a traditional cazuela clay pot.
Nonalcoholic options like aguas frescas in flavors like pineapple, mango, cucumber lime, watermelon, tamarind and horchata will be available, too.
Marquez said the restaurant could host live music and DJs on weekends.
Catrina’s Cafe and Cantina could be open as soon as late October or early November, pending liquor license approval.
Follow @catrinacafemke on Instagram or facebook.com/CatrinaCafeMKE/ for updates.
Dining and Cooking