Three Brothers is a Culinary Classic

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Three Brothers, located on a lovely little Bay View corner at 2414 S. St. Clair Street, is an all-time great among Milwaukee restaurants. Generations can attest to the consistency of the incredible food, vintage décor and the cash or check-only policy. It’s been three generations of Three Brothers, and it’s a total five-star restaurant in my humble opinion.

Three Brothers has a fascinating story behind its origin—a tale of immigrants coming to America and pursuing the American dream still lived out by today’s generation. If you want to learn the full history of the family and the restaurant, you can read more on their website at threebrothersmke.com/our-history.

As a Milwaukee staple, it’s the ideal place to have dinner with friends. All tables were full and turning, which is typical of a night at the Serbian restaurant.

Well known for “Mama’s creation and pride,” the burek—filo dough pies filled with either meat or cheese—these can be ordered ahead of time as they tend to take 30-40 minutes to bake. Being that it was a holiday affair (we met there on New Year’s Eve), we were in no rush ordering the burek first but enjoying it last.

Before then, we opted for the two servings of the Serbian salad (good to order one serving per person), the chicken paprikash, and the half chevapchichi and half raznjici (sausages and pork skewers) combo plate. It’s really hard to go wrong with this menu and it’s more about self-control. While the restaurant is small, ordering is more fun with more people. But that’s my general belief at most restaurants for people who like to share. For those unsure if they enjoy Serbian food, there are some entrees like tilapia, wiener schnitzel, and a Serbian burger called pleskjavica to satiate the taste for a hot European-style meal.

While we ended with the burek because of kitchen timing, we couldn’t pass up a little sweet after all that savory. The dense chocolate cake topped with a dollop of homemade whipped cream. And, since it was New Year’s, a final aperitif, but of course. We did a great job of mixing textures and flavors, meat and veggies. Although, I would have loved to have about three other entrees on the table but that would have required a larger group. Next time!

It was nice to recognize a lot of people from the neighborhood on a holiday evening as we all had the same brilliant to bring in the New Year and an old favorite. We left full of delicious food, joy, and hope for the new year that was upon us. Cheers to many more generations of Three Brothers and to the future generations of patrons who love it.