Meet The Norbert of West Bend

The Norbert has its pulse on fine dining while keeping its small-town appeal.

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Let’s Eat!

As we all know, the Milwaukee restaurant scene is booming with new spots and classic jaunts. It can be easy to forget about some surrounding areas with equally good places, like West Bend. I’d heard about The Norbert from a friend who went years ago, and I’ve had it on my list to cover. Admittedly, the drive was what was deterring me, but I decided to make a Saturday night dedicated to hanging out in West Bend with my mom.

As I said in recent articles, I’m slowly becoming an early bird special kind of gal, and I have no shame about it. We had a reservation for two people at the chef’s counter at 5 p.m., an hour after it opened. We walked around Main Street a bit before noticing something was playing at the West Bend Theatre, which was why The Norbert had a decent crowd when we arrived.

We were greeted by the handsome owner, Tony Koebel, who also has The Orville down the street. Both restaurants are named after his grandparents, a family deeply rooted in the community. When I asked him about the story behind the concept, he said, “We’re progressive world cuisine and shareable plates was a far-fetched idea in West Bend at the Norbert’s inception a little over 10 years ago. However, we found tremendous support in our beautiful little community and a genuine desire for our product from or neighbors.” Good enough for me!

Shareable Plates and More

So, he graciously walked us to our chef’s counter seats, where we met executive Chef Collin Reigle and his staff. We were right up in front of all the action, just like watching and episode of “The Bear” (just not from our living rooms). Once again, I entrusted the kitchen to send me their highlights. The menu consists of many shareable plates, entrees, desserts and a bar menu that includes beers you know, reasonably priced wines, and thoughtful cocktails. Little did I know how much food was coming our way, so I apologize if this sounds more like me reading the menu to you!

For snacks, we had the Deviled Eggs (furikake, pickled peppers, scallion) and the housemade Focaccia (maple whipped ricotta, almond, za’atar). I’ll admit I want a deviled egg whenever I see it on a menu—it’s something I never make for myself. The focaccia was perfectly toasted to complement the creamy whipped ricotta on its side.

Next, we had a very long series of small and large plates: Brussels Sprouts (ginger and soy glaze, palm sugar, lime, cashew, Korean mint, pickled peppers), Pear Toast (caramelized milk bread, poached pears, Rush Creek Reserve custard), Fried Chicken (salsa macha, achiote, pepita, pickled cucumber, scallion buttermilk dressing), Mushroom Pasta (cremini duxelles, mafalde, cream, lardons, togarashi), Salmon Crudo (Meyer lemon ponzu, mandarin, gochujang vinaigrette, sesame cracker, Korean mint), Shrimp Dashi (charred onion dashi, spaghetti squash, oyster mushrooms, scallion, bok choy, pickled fennel), Black Angus Burger (double patty, aged cheddar, bacon, pickles, onion, fancy sauce, fries), Pork Ragu (conchiglie pasta, pork sausage, jus, mustard, collard greens), Red Trout (buttermilk squash romesco, roasted delicata, pear gastrique, pancetta, pistachio).

Great Burgers Too

I don’t even know where to start because each thing was better and different than the next! My mom is a person who sticks to what she knows and likes and almost always wants to try the burger when we’re out. The Norbert burger is excellent, and I noticed a lot of other people were ordering it or their steak sandwich. While there’s nothing wrong with either, I implore people reading this to go outside their comfort zone and try some things on this menu you might not usually choose. The standouts for me personally were the Salmon Crudo, Pork Ragu and Shrimp Dashi. Even my mom, who doesn’t like raw fish, loved the salmon crudo, which was perfectly dressed with Korean mint and vinaigrette. The Pork Ragu had so much flavor in a dish that might look simple at first glance. And, the Shrimp Dashi was unlike anything I’ve had before, and I’ve eaten a lot of things in my life. I’d be willing to drive 45 minutes just for that! Chef Colin explained all the work that goes into the dashi broth, but I don’t think I can do it justice here. The perfectly cooked shrimp and spaghetti squash noodles made for a spoonful of greatness in every bite.

Just when you thought, “How could there possibly be any more to this story?” is when the desserts started coming out. We tasted the Bread Puddin’ (whiskey butter caramel, vanilla ice cream), Chocolate & Pistachio Cake (pistachio praline, whipped grenache, orange), Mille-Fueille (puff pastry, hojicha custard, ginger gel, miso chantilly cream), and the Citrus Pavlova (blood orange marmalade, yuzu ice cream). Honestly, it was a dream lineup of sweet treats. If I had to choose one, the Bread Puddin’ was beyond delicious but that’s always my thing on a dessert menu.

I think it’s safe to say that we were truly spoiled.

My mom left the restaurant totally wowed, saying it was one of the best meals she’s ever had. She said, “It’s all so beautiful I don’t want to eat it!” But we sure did eat it all. Chef Colin said they like throwing different flavors at dishes to see what sticks, and they’ve found their groove. The Norbert has its pulse on fine dining while keeping its small-town appeal. I’m very much looking forward to what’s next from the team and plan to make the trek out to West Bend again soon.