The Nomad

May 15, 2008 [ Updated July 10, 2008 ]
This is just what a pub should beif you don’t mind smoke. Wonderful beer served up right in a surrounding with just the right level of kitsch on the walls. A bit smoky but then, it is a pub.

January 8, 2008
The best time to stop if is during a soccer match (if you’re into that sort of thing).. my most recent visit was during the World Cup, so the ambiance goes way up for that! The place was jam-packed, and they don’t offer food (but let you bring stuff in). The beer selection was very good, and service was surprisingly good considering the hoardes of people. It was mighty smoky in there, which took away from my enjoyment.

June 27, 2007
If you’re out on a Friday on Brady street and you know anything about the area, i’d be worried about your own intelligence and not the drunk guy’s next to you, or the bartender’s who is racing to get the next person’s drink. If you want a more casual drinking atmosphere to enjoy their 24 taps and 50+ other beers go during the week or in the day.

May 11, 2007
If there’s such a thing as a ratio of "beer intelligence" to "good beer selection," this place must have the lowest ratio I’ve ever seen. The physical atmosphere is great, a classic pub. I take the rugby and soccer on the TV’s with tongue firmly planted in cheek -- they’re going for that "wordly" feeling, and though no-one watches it, it’s at least different. The crowd is eclectic -- everything from local students and others just starting out, all the way to yuppies in love (I could have done without the two pretentious types making kissy faces at each other at the bar). The beer selection saves the place, although it’s hard to see how that line-up got into a place where so few employees or patrons seem to know anything about beer.

May 11, 2007
I don’t like this bar. It has some nice beers, a clientele that seems to mock the idea of better beers, and an air that is both snobby and inauthentic. The place has some nice beers on both tap and in bottle. Yet yesterday everyone was drinking either Stella Artois or PBR from cans. The first time I visited Nomad a few years ago, I asked for an American beer and was informed that "we’re a world bar; we don’t serve bad American beer." Since then, the Nomad’s selection has expanded to include American micros. However, I’ve never forgotten the beer ignorance I experienced during my first visit. Yesterday when a friend and I approached the bar to check out the taps, the guy whose shoulder we were looking over looked at us as if we were the biggest social rejects for being more interested in the beer than how cool we came off. There was rugby or Australian rules football on some TVs (LEIC was beating BRI 23-14 in the 7th phase), which no one was following and was there (I assume) to support the "world bar" vibe. If you want to hang out and see and be seen on the Brady St scene, then maybe this is a place for you. If you want to relax and have a relaxing good-beer experience, go down Farwell to Comet Cafe, or up Prospect to Cafe Brucke. Both offer a far better experience than Nomad.

August 14, 2006
Cool East Side location which is nice for peaople watching in the summer. Decent selection on tap.

December 18, 2005
Decent Brady Street dive. I like that it is not too trendy. As Joel mentions, good for the occaisional Lakefront special. Nice to sit on the patio on a sunny summer afternoon.

June 18, 2005
Stopped here for the sole purpose of having a Lakefront beer that only they have on tap. Turned out it wasn’t there anymore, but they had a new specialty Lakefront tap, so it was a bit of a win in the end. Only a couple of people were there when I walked in, and it was already too smoky. I chose to have my drink on the patio, which earned me a plastic cup. Don’t think I’ll come back here unless they have another exclusive beer that’s worthy.

April 23, 2005
Well... it’s not glamorous, but I came for beer, not a building. It’s definitely the "corner slightly dive-ish" pub, but damn does it have a variety. In addition to being the only place for Lakefront’s Nomad, they have an awesome selection of taps and bottles from Wisconsin and a fair number of others you wouldn’t expect in a bar. Watching a soccer game on the big screen is pretty sweet too.

February 10, 2005
Possibly my favorite bar in Milwaukee...great location on Milwaukee’s East Side, plent of friendly and interesting people. About 10 taps ranging from Lakefront Brewery (including Nomad Red and Trocadero White) to Bells to Samuel Smiths...plus about 50 different bottled beers. Great place to hang out with some friends, catch a local musician, or watch a soccer or rugby game on tv. Super friendly staff and great music. Tables set up on the sidewalk during the summer.