From the bluff above Lake Michigan to the Milwaukee River is only nine blocks, and the street between them packs in more history than most neighborhoods manage in a mile. By day, Brady Street in Milwaukee is an Italian bakery-and-deli street and one of the city's busiest bar strips by night, with vintage shops, cafés and a Polish church spire in between.
It sits in the Lower East Side, a ten-minute walk from Bradford Beach and a short ride from downtown. Here it is block by block, from the lake end to the river, with the side streets that belong to it.
A short history of Brady Street
Polish immigrants built Brady Street in the 1860s and 1870s, and by the late 1890s it was a busy commercial strip of bakeries, grocers, saloons and even a bowling alley, with St. Hedwig's Church and its copper-clad spire at its center.
As the Polish families moved to the south side, Italians took their place, and by the 1930s Brady was the heart of Italian Milwaukee. Two of those businesses are still here: Glorioso's, which arrived in 1946, and Sciortino's bakery, which opened in 1947.
In the late 1960s the street became Milwaukee's version of Haight-Ashbury, with head shops, underground newspapers and anti-war organizing. Its street party, Brady Street Days, ran through the 1970s before closing in 1981, and the modern Brady Street Festival carries on the tradition every summer.
Most of the buildings you walk past went up between 1875 and 1931, which is why the street still looks the way it does. The Roman Coin, a tavern Joe Regano opened in 1966, sits in an 1890 building designed by Otto Strack, the architect of the Pabst Theater downtown.
Bakeries and coffee
Brady's Italian bakeries and its coffee houses are the best reason to arrive in the morning, and most of them sit within two blocks of each other.
Around the corner from the Italian classics, Peace & Love Sourdough bakes artisanal sourdough loaves, baguettes and cinnamon rolls, baked with a newer generation of bread people in mind.
A few blocks south on Van Buren Street, Haven Café serves coffee and tea in the morning and switches to cocktails, wine and spirit-free drinks in the evening.
Brady's cafés are part of a coffee culture that runs all over the city, and Milwaukee's cafés and coffee shops include several roasters worth crossing town for.
Glorioso's and the Italian end
Glorioso's Italian Market at 1011 E Brady St is the Italian grocery that anchors the street, a deli, market and lunch counter in one.
Where to eat on Brady Street
Brady Street's restaurants run from Italian and Middle Eastern to Chinese, Mexican and a chef's tasting menu a block away, all within a short walk. From west to east, these are the ones worth knowing.
Toward the river end at 728 E Brady St, Middle Eastern food has been the specialty at Casablanca since 1988, first on the south side and on Brady since 2005. Its two floors of dining room and a balcony over the street fill on weekends, with hookah and belly dancing on set nights.
A block east, The Diplomat at 815 E Brady St serves American food with a modern edge and inventive cocktails, and it is one of the most talked-about dining rooms on the East Side.
Across from Glorioso's at 1010 E Brady St, Emperor of China is the easy choice for a group that cannot agree, with a menu that runs across several regional Chinese cuisines.
Mexican tacos and larger plates for sharing are the order at Kompali, 1205 E Brady St, which also runs a busy happy hour.
Reimagined Italian pasta and pizza come out of the kitchen at Dorsia, 1307 E Brady St, a modern bistro that keeps the street's Italian thread going.
A block north of Brady at 1547 N Jackson St, Sanford is one of Milwaukee's finest restaurants, founded by James Beard Award-winning chef Sanford D'Amato and now run by another Beard winner, Justin Aprahamian. It serves a chef's tasting menu, so book well ahead.
On Farwell Avenue, Temple Goddess Café serves a fully plant-based menu with Mediterranean influences.
For dessert on Farwell, Yo Factory sells self-serve frozen yogurt and açaí bowls.
Vintage and shops
Brady Street and the blocks around it hold some of the best vintage shopping in Milwaukee, most of it independent and all of it walkable.
South of Brady on Ogden Avenue, Refresh Vintage stocks clothing from the 1960s through the 2000s, arranged well enough to browse in a few minutes.
On Humboldt Avenue, Sole Salvation is the place for sparkly things, fun shoes and statement pieces.
Near Juneau Park, St. Paul's Church Thrift Shop on Marshall Street sells clothing, books, jewelry and housewares at church-sale prices.
The East Side is one of the two best areas in the city for secondhand shopping, and Milwaukee's thrift and vintage stores reach from here down to Bay View.
Bars on and off Brady
After dark, Brady Street becomes one of Milwaukee's main bar strips, with taverns, a soccer pub, a live-music bar and cocktail lounges on the side streets.
Soccer fans know Nomad World Pub at 1401 E Brady St, a tin-ceilinged tavern with dozens of beers, trivia and crowds that spill onto the street for big international matches.
At 1311 E Brady St, Jo-Cat's Pub is a sports-and-1980s-music bar that gets loud late on weekends.
Live music, DJs and karaoke are the draw at Nashville North, 1216 E Brady St, which leans into the city's music scene.
On Franklin Place, the cocktail list at The Standard Tavern is one of the best near Brady, both classic and new.
A short walk northwest on Arlington Place, HiHat Lounge is a split-level cocktail lounge with food and live music.
At the north end of the East Side on North Avenue, Hooligans is an old-school pub with hearty food and daily specials.
The Irish pub at the County Clare Irish Inn on Astor Street, south of Brady, has live traditional music, and it doubles as a small hotel.
Its Friday dinner is one of the East Side's traditions, and the Friday fish fry is worth planning an evening around anywhere in the city.
Down by the river on Water Street, the Red Lion Pub serves Celtic pub food, weekend brunch and late-night meals.
The East Side is only one part of the city's drinking life, and the city's bars run from 1930s cocktail lounges to corner taverns all over town.
Music a few blocks north
Two of Milwaukee's best-loved venues sit on Farwell Avenue, a few minutes' walk north of Brady.
At 1434 N Farwell Ave, the small rock club Shank Hall opened in 1989 and remains the kind of room where touring bands play to a few hundred people.
Farther up at 2230 N Farwell Ave, the Oriental Theatre is a 1927 movie palace with ornate East Indian decor, still showing films and hosting concerts.
Those two rooms are part of a wider circuit, and Milwaukee's concert venues run from the 1895 Pabst Theater to basement clubs.
Down to the lake
Brady's east end is about ten minutes on foot from the lakefront. Walk east to Prospect Avenue, cross the bluff through the park paths, and you come out above Bradford Beach and the lakefront trail.
A morning on Brady and an afternoon on the sand is one of the best summer days in the city, and the city's beaches are closest to Brady at Bradford.
Brady Street Festival and when to go
The Brady Street Festival fills the street every summer with several stages of local music, food and drink vendors, a drag show and crowds from all over the city. In 2026 it ran on Saturday, July 25.
The street also holds a spring art walk, a pet parade, a Halloween crawl and a Festivus party in December, so there is usually something on.
On a first visit, arrive late in the morning for coffee and pastries, shop the vintage stores, eat lunch from Glorioso's, then walk to the lake. Come back for dinner and stay for a drink.
Street parking fills on weekend nights, so walk, cycle or take a rideshare from downtown. Brady fits easily into a wider trip, and the city's other sights include the lakefront and the Third Ward, both close by.
Frequently asked questions
Published June 29, 2026
