Cuvée

UPDATE: I went to Cuvee a couple of weeks ago with some co-workers, one of which who claimed to love champagne as much as I. It was a Thursday about 10pm. Doors Locked. Should I be sad?! Angry?! I was both.I finally called to ask if the hours had changed.It's not that the hours have changed, per say, but the business has changed. The New business model is event space only and no longer open to the public.Whilst this makes me incredibly sad as that was my hidden spot and the only champagne bar in Milwaukee it's bittersweet because of course a great success for the business in that they have enough event reservations to sustain it alone. Will someone else please open a champagne bar?(with bigger glasses -- now I know I'm asking too much!)Cuvee was one of my places... my hidden places to take people for the first time because I always knew 9 times out of 10 no one knew about it. The access to the building from the street was a complete mystery and an adventure on it's own as people would ask: "Where are you taking me". Silence I would remain... for I didn't want to take away from the journey.Oh and also, I quite simply love, love, love champagne. My only issue with champagne is the tiny, skinny little glass that it comes in. Makes me sad just thinking about the littleness of a champagne glass... *tears up*

While I was visiting Milwaukee, a friend of mine invited me to Cuvee. I don't drink alcohol, so I'm usually hesitant to go to bars. They are usually smoky, noisy, sleazy, and overpriced (in addition to being filled with alcoholics). But, we live in a alcohol-centered culture, so I've always tried to suggest places that are nice and quiet, like a wine bar or piano bar. Cuvee is easily one of the best lounge I've ever patronized. Cuvee is located in the Historic Third Ward, in the midst of the burgeoning theater district. The space is hip and trendy, yet not pretentious; really spacious with a laid back vibe. The music is just loud enough, where you are not shouting at the person across the table. It's great for small groups because Cuvee has booths that allow everyone to be cozy and shielded a bit from other groups. All of the people in our party raved about the drinks. My only complaint was that on my first visit I asked for a Shirley Temple (a pretty common non-alcoholic drink) and I was brought something that looked like a Shirley Temple, but smelled of gin. Sad. But, they apologized profusely and brought me the real thing. All and all, this place is the perfect spot to take a small group of friends for a relaxing evening.

I got engaged recently and emailed back and forth with the event coordinator finally settling on a day and time for a showing. When I arrived, 10 min early, the elevator was locked to reach that floor. I called twice and went to voicemail and also emailed to let them know I was waiting. After waiting 15-20 min after our scheduled time we asked another vendor in the building if they had any access to that floor or another phone number for us and we were informed that when a floor is locked that means no one is present in the space. It's been hours and I still haven't heard back... Extremely frustrated with the lack of service and shocked that I was willing to spend so much money on a place with such poor regard for their guests.

The fiance and I stumbled upon Cuvee while searching for potential wedding venues. We decided to venture out there on a snowy weeknight to check it out. It is such a beautiful space - perfect for a night out with the gals, a romantic evening with the significant other, or just a quiet place to actually have a conversation along with a perfectly mixed cocktail! We were the only guests in the lounge for quite a bit so the bartender chatted us up, showed us around, and described past weddings he has worked. It was a really lovely evening! We will definitely be back many more times!The only reason why I gave the lounge (4) stars instead of (5) is because there is no signage to say when they are closed for private events. My mom was in town and I wanted to show the space to her. We went there at 4pm on a Saturday (when their website says that they are open) but the elevator was locked. We waited about fifteen minutes, tried again. Finally I called and they told me that they were closed for a private event. I just wish that they had posted something somewhere to let us (and other potential patrons) know!

I was at a friend's graduation party out here. It is a pretty cool joint. The bartenders are nice and quick to serve.When you have more than your fill of wine, champagne (and sparkling wine for you purists), or beer.... then you can grab a cheese plate or some chocolate strawberries. Also when I was there a pizza all of a sudden appeared. I'm not sure if that was from the menu or what.... but it was damn good.

Excellent, elegant but hip place. I came here with my girls after dinner on a Wednesday night, just before 9 pm. We were more or less the only people there, with the exception of two duos who came and went. The bartender was friendly, knowledgeable, and super quick! He was ready to take our drink orders whenever we needed another round.The champagne cocktails are very creative, and they had a great happy hour special as well (2 / $5 call drinks). We spent a few hours here on the comfortable, cozy, private couch-like benches with the beautiful silk (and clean!) pillows. There was eclectic music (an iTunes radio station, which was out of the ordinary apparently) but it was quiet. Very enjoyable. Definitely will be back!

I attended a wedding at Cuvee in October 2015. PROS:It is a great blank space for an event- old, historical and unique. You have the flexibility to decorate yourself. The Cuvee people seemed nice to guests.CONS:The elevator in the building is old and very slow. There are signs on the elevator giving instructions on how not to break it. The bathrooms on the 3rd floor are not enough to handle the volume of people in the hall (up to 200)- so guests were using bathrooms on other floors. Guests who smoke, caterers, DJ and other people working the event were using the same elevator, too, and at time the elevator wait-time was over 10 minutes. Catering for this event was "Zilli", one approved for this venue. The bride and groom had Chicken, Vegetarian & Vegan. The Vegan dish was a plate of fingerling potatoes- uninspired, and left hungry. Parking- arrive early as it can be a problem if the 3rd Ward is busy.

If there's ever I moment that I feel like I need a swift and potent injection of fanciness, I head straight to Cuvée. Kind of hidden away on the third floor of a building in the third ward, Cuvée manages to pull off landing on the right side of the fine line between pricey-elegant and extortionate-pretentious. If you're a champagne buff, I'm sure this place is for you. Personally, I'm partial to $6 bottles of sparkling wine from Trader Joes so the good stuff is foreign to me, but the slightly more affordable cocktails combined with great atmosphere and character gives me exactly what I need when I can't handle being around the rowdier weekend crowds.The champagne cocktails are inventive, flavorful and reasonably pricy without being a rip off. I would definitely recommend the Asian Persuasion. It's a champagne cocktail that tastes like Chinese food (I'm serious), and it's amazing (deathly serious). If you're not in the mood for champagne, they probably have the best Dark and Stormy I've had, so get on it.The crowd is laid back, the music is mellow and the ambience is chilled and friendly (first time there I got talking to a fellow "soccer" fan who was married to someone with my wife's exact name. It was cool/creepy/suspicious - haven't decided yet). The only downside to the place is that it seems to be a crapshoot to figure out when it's actually open. They're a popular venue for weddings so shut down to the public on many weekend nights. Boooo, cos it's awesome and I'm selfish.

What a great little champagne bar! We went here because it looked cool. The bar itself was empty but we didnt care. They have totally reasonable prices on champagne, if thats your thing. They also have some really great champagne cocktails. It reminds me of Pops for Champagne in Chicago...LOVEIt fulfilled our need for Saturday day drinks while walking around the Third Ward. Not to mention its on the 4th floor of a really cool building. The bar itself is a circle bar. There are a couple of small tables by the windows and there is a really large room connected...not really sure how that is normally set up because it was empty when we were there but I guess it was because Gallery night the night before.Check it out!

Attended a wedding here last night. The place is beautiful. The staff was friendly. Bartender was accommodating. Thank you !