Monday, June 25, 2012

Milwaukee Speakeasy: Safe House

The drinks I order always seem to be the same color.

Some friends and I recently invaded Milwaukee for the famed Bead & Button Show, where crafty people who make jewelry buy and sell their wares to other crafty people who mostly make jewlery.  We had a great time at the show, but that's another story.

Because women can't live by beads alone, we ventured to a speakeasy bar and restaurant called The Safe House. This joint is more spy safe house than traditional speakeasy, and the decor - signs with bullet holes, gun table clothes, secret exits - match the spy theme. 

First of all, you need a password to get in. I can't tell you what it is here, but I will tell say that you must get the words exactly right, or it won't count and you will have to rely on your wits to get past the gatekeepers. There are hints on the Safe House website, which may or may not help.

The drinks are fabulous and so is the decor. On Friday and Saturday nights the dancing starts at ten, and while diners will want to clear out by then, the dance floor was very crowded the night we went and the line to get in was very, very long.

You are wise to make reservations in advance, especially for large parties.



The inconspicuous doorway. The hallmark of any good speakeasy.

You should go to the Safe House when in Milwaukee if you:
  • Are in a good mood
  • Like spy movies, TV shows, books or people who do
  • Think a quarter mile plastic tube that run through the restaurant to mixes shake martinis rather than stir them is fun

You should not go the Safe House if you:
  • Are cranky
  • Want a gourmet meal
  • Don't like sitting in dimly lit rooms with beaded doors and red furniture 



A little safe house within the Safe House. They sell the plastic gun tablecloths for $35. We declined this purchase opportunity.

The door to nowhere





How to get to the Safe House:
The address is 779 Front Street and it's located in downtown Milwaukee around the corner from a recently installed bronze statue of the Fonz. (We were told that Henry Winkler actually had been to the Safe House the night the statue was installed, but we don't have proof of this -- photographic or otherwise. If Henry wants to volunteer this information, he should go ahead and do so in the comments below -- this same person told me he was an avid reader of this blog.) Safe House is just a few blocks away from a fabulous book store and you can read about that here.

Thanks to the fabulous Kim, Paula and Jennifer for taking me there.








1 comment:

  1. This is one of the coolest places I've been. It was so much fun, as was the world famous Bead & Button show!

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