Hey folks. The Mrs and I are moving to the Racine area early in 2026 and were hoping to get a few recommendations from folks. I know Racine is pretty limited on breweries, but any bars/restaurants/pubs folks like? Any breweries in that general part of WI (Kenosha/Racine/southern Milwaukee) folks dig? And if you have a favorite dive bar, I’d love to hear it. Thanks in advance!
I lived in Racine (Caledonia) for 13 years but moved away about 5 years ago. In Racine, my favorite bar was an Irish pub called Ivanhoe. Beer selection is OK, just a good environment and vibe. Best beer menu in Racine is Pepi’s pub. They have a sandwich called the Bambino that’s pretty tasty. There used to be a brewery downtown Racine but the beer wasn’t great and I think it closed. The best beer store in town is Timers. Also, Woodmans (grocery) in Oak Creek or Kenosha have huge beer coolers (great selection and price but cash only). Food wise, Olde Madrid is a small plate place and their food is excellent. For pizza, Wells Brothers pizza is pretty well known and popular (sister restaurant Nonna Wells on the north side - same menu). Our favorite Chinese restaurant which we still haven’t found a replacement as good of a place in new home is Kings Wok on the north side. For nice steak dinner, Corner House is the place. I think they have a couple spots now in Racine. Most of the brewery scene is in Milwaukee which is only about 30 minutes away depending where you are in Racine. Eagle Park, Central Waters, Third Space are all solid options. Could be some new places. Burnhearts was always my favorite MKE beer bar, but I don’t frequent the area like I used to. In Kenosha, Pubic Brewing Company has decent beer and a cool outside space for warm weather. Chicago isn’t far away and there’s lots of great beer options there.
I'll put a mention in for Petrifying Springs' biergarten in the summertime. Just a nice atmosphere. Pretty much on the line of Racine and Kenosha. Plus one for Wells Brothers.
Also, Ron’s Place in Kenosha fits the dive bar agenda. Their burgers are excellent. For Racine, a tucked in little dive bar is Boiler Room. Downtown Racine is pretty safe but there are definitely parts of Racine that aren’t so just be careful on which ones you hit. That area where Wells Brothers is located is fine during day but it gets really rough at night.
They employ security for the parking lot -- or they used to. Another +1 for Ron's. I'd have mentioned it, but it's not Racine. Not sure where @sefus12 is locating in Racine. Also, Tenuta's is right across the side street from Ron's. Great deli and decent beer selection -- as long as you mind the date codes.
You can always go to near by Lake Geneva https://www.topsyturvybrewery.com/ https://mashtunbrewing.com/ ' or even closer Burlington https://www.runawayburlington.com/ For one of the best hamburgers you`ve ever had check out https://www.freds-burgers.com/
+1 on Woodman's grocery store for beer. And gas prices that are close to Costco's! The only credit card that Woodman's takes is Discover. Otherwise it's cash, debit card, or check. Out-of -state checks are accepted. For wood-fired pizza, Oakfire, https://www.oakfire.pizza/ in both Kenosha and Lake Geneva (due west of Kenosha) is really good. In West Allis, JUST west of Milwaukee, Double B's BBQ, https://www.doublebs.com/ is awesome. In Lake Geneva, Flat Iron Tap, https://www.flatirontaplg.com/ makes great burgers and always has a really good lineup of craft beers. Be forewarned, the place is SMALL. I've found it best to avoid it during prime dining hours. +1 for Topsy Turvy Brewing in Lake Geneva. Their building is a repurposed church, which still retains a lot of the old stained glass. Finally, in Lake Geneva, Simple Cafe, https://www.simplelakegeneva.com/ cannot be beat. It's one of those just-order-anything-it'll-be-good restaurants. One downside to Lake Geneva is that it's metered parking everywhere. Heading back to Milwaukee, Purple Door Ice Cream, https://purpledooricecream.com/ has ice cream that you'll happily eat in the middle of January, in Milwaukee. Lakefront Brewery, https://lakefrontbrewery.com/ makes solid beers. And their tour is fun. Explorium, https://www.exploriumbrew.com/ (multiple locations in the Milwaukee area) makes some really good beer. The one meal I've had there was really good. And their gluten-free pizza crust is phenomenal. Not the usual baked cardboard that a lot of places have.
Current resident of Caledonia here. I see mentions of the Kenosha and Oak Creek Woodman's but no mention of the fact Racine has its own Woodman's now on the old Regency Mall site. Agree on Timer's being the best retail bet for good beer beside that. In the past Timer's has done some collabs with local breweries having them age their beer in store pick bourbon barrels and bottling it under the "Old Timer" label. I know there was some decent BA Barleywines from Lakefront and stouts from other locals put out under that name in years past, but haven't been in a while and not sure if that's still going on. I've also found atypical self-distro'd stuff that isn't in the bigger stores there. In short they're really the only players in town getting the more boutique and limited type of stuff, but Milwaukee is not a long drive and there's obviously a TON more options there. If you need a change of pace or something in particular from south of the border, Gurnee, IL isn't too terribly far and has a Binny's with a great selection of what Chicagoland has to offer (plus legal weed in IL!). IMO we still don't have a local Pilsner here that touches the stuff IL breweries Goldfinger, Dovetail, and Art History put out (well we DID until 1840 closed and New Glarus decided to remove their Pilsner from year-round rotation. Yes I'm mad about it and no I don't want to talk about it).
Sounds like you'll be closer to the North Side Wells, Nonna's. Great pizza, but not the same WI tavern atmosphere as the old place.
I'm going to triple vouch for Wells. Only been to the original, but absolutely love it. Also, $1 Hamms cans all day every day? Can't go wrong
To be fair, Spotted Cow is on tap everywhere in Wisconsin. Sidebar - I have a bunch of friends who love it, but not so much for me. And I'll admit to a fair bit of nostalgia about Hamms, and my dad's beer fridge back in the day...
Generation gap -- I grew up when Hamms was on tap everywhere in Wisconsin (and Minnesota and the U.P.). My nostalgia is watered down, so to speak. And yeah, Spotted Cow is pretty ubiquitous in Wisconsin, but it's still what I'd choose over AAL. And IIRC, Wells carries other NG beers as well.
' In the early 1970`s I hung out in a corner tavern that only had one beer on tap. It was Hamm`s and it was 10cents for a 10oz glass! The owner/bartender always bought you one beer. Always So , if you a dollar bill on the bar, you were guaranteed to drink 11 - 10oz glasses of Hamm`s! ' ' Another bar that I would frequent back in the same time period had only Blatz on tap. You`d get a 12oz Mug of ice cold Blatz for 15cents, and he too was the owner/bartender and would always buy you one. So again, putting a dollar bill on the bar , you`d get approximately 8 - 12oz glasses of ice cold Blatz. Those were the days!
Yep. Sounds just like my college days if you substitute Old Style, Schlitz, and Old Milwaukee for Hamms and Blatz. But yeah, I remember Blatz being almost as prominent as Hamms on the route from southern WI to the U.P. in the days before I could "legally" drink beer.
I live in IL and travel to WI frequently - very suprised nobody mentioned the Brass Tap to the northwest in Greenfield?!? An incredible tap list of craft beer!! Eagle Park is terrific - you'll get out to to their huge facility in Muskego and fall in love. Head north to Oak Creek and enjoy Erv's Mug - decent food there too. Of course and Woodman's will have a HUGE selection, but head south to Kenosha and get to Tenuta's Deli/Grocery Store - we LOVE that place. Not only does it have a terrific craft beer selection, you can load up and all the Italian meats/cheeses/specialty foods and get lots of fresh sandwiches to go!
