The Palm Tavern

Mscarpen

Tennessee

4.6/5  rDev +6.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 4 | $$

Located in the hipster/bedroom community of Bay View, The Palm Tavern is a special find. From the outside, it appears a bit scary, with a door and a single window of construction glass. Only a small neon light, behind the glass, is any indication this is a bar. Actually, from the outside, it looks like someone's two story blue-collar home.

Although related to the more mainstream "Sugar Maple", the Palm keeps a low profile with no listings on Twitter or Facebook. Not even a website. I once told the bartender, you would never know this was this nice on the inside. I was told, "only people who want to be here, find their way here. No one walks in by accident and we like it that way."

The comparison is quite striking once you walk in. Small bar, polished brass, and a spectacle of liquor and fine beers from around the world. There's always something special there.. including some unannounced, unpublicized CBS just last week.

If you have a beer or two and chat up the barkeep, he/she is often willing to go into the cooler and find something special you might like. This place is all about relationships... so tip heavy and see if you can get access to some of the rarer treats in the back.

Great place all-around. Try to stop by if you are in the area.

10-13-2011 21:18:12 | More by Mscarpen

mobius387

Wisconsin

4.58/5  rDev +6%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 5 | $$$

One of the best places in milwaukee to grab some select craft brew. Their draft list and bottle list can rival some of the biggest bars and brew pubs in the city. And every once in awhile they get some rare stuff that no one else has (CBS on tap in Oct of this year).

Atmosphere is a little on the hip side. Not exactly a high energy bar, but I like the artsy touch to it.

NOT a place to grab a brew and watch a sports game. But who cares when you are drinking some of the best beer the city has to offer.

Definitely one of the hidden gems of the city.

11-01-2011 00:40:28 | More by mobius387

bound4er

Wisconsin

4.34/5  rDev +0.5%
vibe: 3 | quality: 5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | $$

This is a belly-up type tavern that does its main job very well and that is serve good beer (and spirits if you are into that). Move along if you you want chique and hip.

Their tap list isn't very long but it is of high quality. Had a glass of Founders CBS followed by a glass of FFF Dreadnaught. Doesn't get much better than that. Quality was top notch - fresh beer with nearly spotless glassware. Service was friendly and prompt. I also got to chat with the owner for awhile too, which was cool.

For kicking back in an unpretentious atmosphere while enjoying good beer, this place is hard to beat.

10-09-2011 01:17:39 | More by bound4er

northyorksammy

Ontario (Canada)

3.7/5  rDev -14.4%
vibe: 2.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 3 | selection: 4 | $$

Must stop for beer geeks, in word unique selection. Not many taps, but a few amazing ones such as two struisse IPAs. A great bottle list, with the expensive ones from the stores at decent prices/fair markups, and other expensive imports. Very dark, hard to see at all. Very knowledgeable bartender. Neighbourhood dive atmosphere. i wouldn't let my wife walk around the streets here. Smallish place and everyone more or less to themselves. Would check this place amnd the Sugar Maple regularly for your Belgium one-offs, double IPAs. They are near each other.

09-05-2011 13:23:42 | More by northyorksammy

sweemzander

Illinois

4.24/5  rDev -1.9%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | $$

Yet another stop on our bar hopping night. Not much to look at on the outside, but one you are in, it is a small but cozy looking bar with plenty to choose from on tap.
What was really cool is the wide selection of whiskies they have behind the bar; this would be a place I could see going to and have a cigar while sampling a few different spirits, though we were there for beer!
Really a solid tap selection of local, midwest, and imports to choose from. We grabbed a high table by the door and enjoyed sipping on our beverage of choice. A cool little place I would definitely go to again

05-09-2011 17:12:45 | More by sweemzander

dirtylou

Washington

4.36/5  rDev +0.9%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | $$

Oh Milwaukee. You tricked the world into thinking you were a rusty excuse for a city while all the while hiding this gem of a neighborhood, Bayview.

As you head south away from this bland city center on the abysmal Water Street, a whole new world opens up when you hit Kinnickinnic. By the time you hit the center of Bayview, you are surrounded by beer bars, coffee shops, and some of the finer neighborhood restaurants in the city.

my most recent visit (finally) brought me through The Palm. I've frequented Sugar Maple in the past, but actually much preferred its quiet sister-bar the Palm. The tap selection leans belgian and has a lot of great options.

The location is non-descript - i passed it by accident and the exterior bears no real advertisements.

The bar is very small, dark, and loaded with quality decor. The ambience is really conducive to conversation. I had the Cuvee Jacobins Flemish Sour and a Green Flash/Feullien collaboration. My lovely Milwaukee enthusiast enjoyed a Saison Dupont and Unibroue Terrible.

Service was great and the bar was very quiet between 6-7:30 on a nice Friday afternoon. The Palm is great, but I won't soon be spreading that news. I like it just the way it is.

04-30-2011 06:05:02 | More by dirtylou

MarcatGSB

Michigan

4.36/5  rDev +0.9%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | $$

I used to have a different perspective on Milwaukee. I had spent some time in the downtown area, but never the Bay View district. After a recent trip through the Bay View district, my view is totally changed. Our first stop was Romans Pub up the road, and that place is fantastic. Next we stopped here after a long conversation with my buddy about whiskey. They have whiskey. They have a vast selection of whiskey from every region of the world. Some really nice higher end stuff, but mostly just a broad range of middle of the road whiskey.

Their beer selection was right on par with the whiskey. Like mentioned before, about 25 taps ranging from Belgian to local favorites and Midwest hits.

It's a smaller bar. If you have a large group, you may want to call ahead, I'm not sure of their policy on this. It's a darker place (like alot of bars I've noticed in the Bayview District). The crowd is young and hip. Fun, discerning atmosphere.

03-11-2011 03:59:45 | More by MarcatGSB

crossovert

Wisconsin

4.56/5  rDev +5.6%
vibe: 5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 4 | $$

Nice hole in the wall that probably has the capacity for about 50 people max.

It has probably the coziest atmosphere of any restuarant/bar I've ever been to. It has 25 taps, mostly Belgian oriented with a few IPAs an stouts. They also offer samplers. I got Cuvee de Jacobins, Rouge, Broukot Vlaskapelle, Jolly Pumkin Maracaibo Especial, and Nebreaska IPA.

The taps were set at a great temperature, probably around 55 degrees which seemed just about perfect foe all the beers they had.

The bartender is super knowledgeable and friendly, by far the best I have come across. He knew everything about the beer including the rare Bockor and Cuvee des Jacobins, which happened to be his favorites on tap at the time, everything down to different brews each of the breweries produced and how they were produced and through which importing and distribution channels they came. He also was giddy about the Rodenbach Grand Cru that they were getting on tap the next weekend.

What a great stop in Milwaukee.

01-31-2011 18:09:43 | More by crossovert

beerwolf77

Wisconsin

4.24/5  rDev -1.9%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | $$

Spent an evening here with BeerFMAndy and realized I've never actually reviewed the place.

Ridiculously non descript from the outside. Thia place is next to impossible to spot from the road. I strongly suggest going with someone who's been there before if you've never been. Once inside you find a vampire dark rather small room. Wood bar and stools take up most of the entire space. It's almost too dark for my taste. Cool jazz was playing while we were there which is nice but I not a huge fan of music while I'm concentrating on craft beer.

The selection is pretty well displayed on the chalk board with a bottle list on the bar as well. Not that you can read it without using your cell phone for light. Lots of great taps along with some rare bottles make up a fantastic beer list.

The bartender although quiet got right to work when I asked for a couple beers. He even offered me a water while I waited for Andy to finish his beer. Points scored in my book.

Overall a nice place to grab some solid craft choices. Although a bit dark and low key for my taste.

09-20-2010 23:07:04 | More by beerwolf77

BeerFMAndy

Wisconsin

4.24/5  rDev -1.9%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | $$

If I wasn't following someone here, I would have never found it. Minimal signage to this bar is actually quite intriguing. Beerwolf77 and I made our way there the other night for the special tapping of Duvel Green so we could review it like the tickers we are.

We got inside this dive-like place. It was just as dark as the night we came in from, in fact probably darker because of the lit street. Lucky us there was a spot at the end of the bar for us both. Maybe the lack of light hides the imperfections of the dive, but either way, it had a sort of draw to it.

It was a small, small location with minimal room and I could see it being packed beyond belief on a Friday night. I immediately went to the bathroom which was a whole five feet (ish) away from the bar. No sink inside, rather, it was communal one outside between the bathrooms. In Todd's words, "they put your business out on the street so people can say, 'don't shake hands with that guy!' when he skips the last part of the process." Kind of awkward.

I didn't have a chance to really look over the list of things they had to offer since I was ordered for while relieving myself, but I saw their massive selection hiding in the fridge behind the bar and on the tap handles in front of me. Very, very nice selection of Belgian craft!

The service was nice and the bar tender clearly knew exactly what he was doing as he poured which is always nice to see! He wasn't all that friendly as I can't really recall talking to him at ALL but I'm ok with that when I've got a good beer in front of me and a good friend next to me. The beer was freshly tapped at 9 pm and absolutely delicious.

I'd definitely make my way back there again for a special tapping of something, but as a go-to bar, it's a little far out of the way for me and I appreciate Romans' atmosphere a lot more.

09-19-2010 23:12:57 | More by BeerFMAndy