The Tonic Tavern

Tonic Tavern is a tiny, hidden gem near KK and Lincoln. All I’ve got to say is this patio is prime. If you’re in Bay View looking for lots of craft beers, go to Sugar Maple. But if you’re in Bay View looking for a drink and a patio, go to Tonic Tavern.

Cocktails were okay, nothing special, atmosphere were nice, good music playing. Bartender has very rude, did not seem like she wanted to be there, not friendly at all. Will not return!

Best neighborhood bar for Packer games! Jumbo TV. They play a fun old timey Packer song (& give out free shots) every time the Packers score! During halftime, they offer amazing free yummy buffet.
On Tuesday nights, there’s live (join in!) music. All around friendly place in hipster Bayview.
Bonus points: eco-​friendly TP and good smelling soap in the Women’s Room.

Went there for a Monday night Packer’s game and had a great time. Not the first bar I would have thought of for watching the game. But with pull down screens, free food, and TD shots, it was a pleasant surprise.

Tonic has a great patio. Tucked in between other Bay View businesses on KK, it’s like a little hideaway.
3 stars only — because, well — I’ve just never been all that comfortable. You know — that feeling that you feel welcome, safe, warm and cozy. Yea — well — I haven’t had that here. Not sure if it’s the service? Maybe I’ve just come in on off nights? Maybe it was my mood?
Peeps here on Unilocal LOVE Tonic as you can see in the other reviews… so I’m not sure what I’m missing. Maybe it’s that I haven’t gone with them?!
Anyway — I think my review can definitely improve, but just AOK for now.

Yeah Tonic!
Your patio rules.
You’re right in the heart of the «gateway to Bay View.»
You’re a cool, laid-​back dive-​ish-​ish but not dive bar.
You have a fireplace for wintertime hangs.
Your bartenders are nice.
Your patio rules.

The atmosphere is cool, the drink selection is average for bay view, the service is slow and the bartenders are rude and/​or have no knowledge of their drinks. Last time I was there, they gave me a glass for my beer and just left it there for me to pour. This is bad service and needs to stop.

Not my favorite, although my friends love it. I find it awkward to sit anywhere. Drink prices are high. The bartenders and clientele seem a bit snotty. (I will say that the patio on a summers day and night is perfection.)

Decent tavern in my experience. The service was friendly and the selection was average. It’s pretty casual by virtue of being a little offbeat and mismatched. I’d definitely dip back in for a beer.

Yays!
I liked this place a lot! The bartender was extremely helpful and really friendly.
I loved the fireplace – in the winter it is really nice to keep warm.
Music – good mix of all types and it wasn’t too loud. Good talking volume.
Great selection of drinks.
Nays:
I felt the place was a bit cold on the inside. Lots of concrete and dark toned paint.
The chairs literally sound like air-​horns.
A bit disjointed between the two rooms – fireplace room is nicer.

Tonic is a cool and hip bar located in the Bay View area of Milwaukee. I have been here a few times now and have had a great experience every time. The bartenders are very nice. In the winter months, they have a lovely fireplace that keeps the place nice and warm. In the spring and summer months, they have a very nice patio area outside to enjoy your drinks at.
If you are a beer connoisseur, then this is a great place for you. Tonic has an awesome selection of beer to choose from. They also have a nice selection of wines and cocktails, as well as drinks that are made with Tonic Tavern’s custom tonic.
On occasion, they have live music here. Mondays are trivia nights, for those who are trivia buffs. I learned an interesting fact about this place at my last visit. The building that houses the bar uses to be a stable a long time ago.

What are this?
I don’t know what Tonic is trying to be. The music, décor, crowd, drinks, tv, even its name all gave me a different vibe. I didn’t NOT like it, I just wasn’t sure where I was. My hubs and I were out having cocktails on KK so went here (because…tonic) and its a beer bar? I was fairly underwhelmed with the beer selection. While pretty big, it wasn’t leaving me wanting more.
All that said… I’ll likely find myself here again. But when I describe it to friends… I’ll have to just say it’s a placey place.

Great outdoor patio + B1G1 drinks during happy hour + Milwaukee Summer = 4 stars. They could do a little more to promote their live music. I guess they get some semi-​large acts that fly under the radar — but unless you’re a regular — I think you’d miss them.
Only other criticism: Drinks are a little pricey after happy hour for an empty room on a Wednesday.

Awesome outdoor seating. Cool staff and atmosphere. Good blues and classic rock mix. Tuesday wine night was awesome!

Stopped in for a drink with a few lady friends and there were many things that I appreciated about the atmosphere. Most other reviewers have mentioned the huge patio, which would have been fantastic for a summer night but it was of course raining. I imagine that it would be an ideal place to hit up, weather permitting.
We sat at the high top tables and easily found a spot on a Tuesday night. The wine was on special for $ 5 a glass so a few of us indulged in our favorites. The name denotes that it may be a mixed drink specialty place but it really had a focus on beer and a short wine list. I’m not a huge drinker, so this did not bother me. The table next to us were drinking a lot of PBR tall boys so they were enjoying themselves, mostly because those were also on special.
This is going to seem really weird and maybe a little picky but the chairs in this place made me cringe. The chairs are typical for the bar scene. However the noise the chairs make when scrapping across the concrete floor is equitable to nails on a chalk board. There were multiple times someone across the room would move their chair and my whole table would squirm.
Aside from this, I enjoyed the atmosphere. Overall, it seems like an older crowd visits this establishment which means you can hear your whole table and avoid over served patrons. Beautiful.

I love that this way cool bar with awesome patio is in the heart of my neighborhood. It’s very eclectic spot in what I read was an old horse barn, way back in the day.
The farthest back room which houses the bar and the stage for live music has a low ceiling and is a bit more divey. From the article I read this was the actual stable for the horses.
The room towards the front /​cool setting. There’s vibrant large paintings, retro furniture and a gas fireplace. Perfect for chillin’ with groups. More knowledge from my reading — this was the garage where the buggies and wagons were stored.
And said garage door opens to a large and very orange in décor patio. Rustic natural fencing gives a cozy feel and landscaped flower beds are looking great. The people watching here cannot be beat as you are adjacent to the busy Bayview Street.
I’ve seen Streetza Pizza and other local food trucks pull right up to the curb and open shop, gotta love my neighborhood.
The wine and beer list is plentiful but I would not say extensive. They are fully stocked to make all the usual suspects and have a small menu of rockstar cocktails and a cool section of «ode to regulars» drinks.
Check them out and you’ll be hooked!

A-​OK might be generous for me… but I want you to try it for yourself. Tonic is tucked away, easy to miss if you are just passing by.
Tonic has a decent beer menu and reasonable-​ish prices.
The outdoor patio is nice for the summer, particularly at night because they do have nice lighting. I am not a huge fan of the bar area — especially when there is a band playing. The space is cramped and the acoustics are bad, so it makes for a loud and weird time. Last time I was there, the two female bartenders seemed to be hating their lives… they weren’t necessarily rude to me, but they were not friendly by any means. «Bothered» would be a good description.
The crowd at Tonic has always been mixed, but I do think it has a higher concentration of «cool kids» than other bars in the area. I prefer more laid back spots — but I will go back for the location and the patio.

As the queen of G&Ts, I had to check this place out solely based on the name.
On a Saturday night they had $ 2-​$ 3 PBRs (I don’t exactly remember, I paid for the cab so I wasn’t buying), which was disappointing to see they weren’t tallboys. Even so it must have been the force telling me I did NOT need another tallboy. Patio was awesome, even though I was shaking from the cold. IMPOSSIBLE to catch a cab around here, even when I called one it was quickly snatched up by someone else — not Tonic’s problem.
The staff was nice, but I did feel like a lot of smashed old people were around…

This place has a cool layout as others have mentioned. The sprawling patio is a real plus for the nearly half of the year you can use it, and the cozy inside of the place is pretty cool, hip, and modern looking — centered on a fireplace. It is a nice mix of people and as an oldster I feel that I can still have fun here and not feel that the kid in the Sonic Youth T-​shirt will be upset if I mention I saw them with Neil Young and Social D back in the, um, 1980s.
They have Jazz on Tuesday which is pretty darned cool for Milwaukee, and yet, when you look at the menu it is just beer, beer, and some shots.
What’s in a name? A lot! I think this place should be called Barley or Rye, or Malt, but not Tonic. I think this place is pretty much a beer bar. I don’t get the name at all really.
If a place is called Tonic, I want to order drinks that include «Azul Reposado Tequila, Strawberry Syrup, Lime, Aperol, Black Pepper, Mint» (make this at home — you’ll love it) and have a cool name — perhaps named after a pretty too-​young-​for-​you Mexican dancer with cool tattoos you met when on vacation in Barcelona and spent an amazing weekend with in Ibiza? Yeah… that’s about right… so, um, Tonic?
Well, no such luck here.
Cool place, great patio, good beer list, but head up the street to Boone & Crockett for mixed drinks.

Yeah… nice patio… nice fireplace…
I always think i’m gonna love it, but usually just a one-​drink place, then on to somwhere else. Just never does it for me.