Hooligan’s

Exceptional service with Tess and Jess. Food is the best on North Ave. Brilliant service with car /​snow pile extraction. Always the first choice for an afternoon on the east side.

Whatever their formula is for hiring staff, I wish all places adopted it. Once again, absolutely phenomenal service. Even on a crazy busy day, amazing and pleasant service. Not to mention, probably one of the best chicken sandwiches I have ever had. I love this place.

I’ve purposely been holding off on writing a review on Hooligans, mainly because I feel my experiences there are so inconsistent. I live on the east side about two blocks away, so hooligans is often an easy go-​to option when I’m looking for a casual sit down type of place. Everything about this place seems inconsistent to me. I’ve had awesome service and also service that was quite inattentive. Lately I’ve been noticing that the staff really seems to want to get you out of there as fast as they can. Normally I would understand this if there are people waiting and such. But when there is barely anyone even on the second floor why do they feel the need to push us out? The food is mostly pretty good. I like them burgers and some of the plate specials I’ve had have been very tasty. I most recently had their «traditional Mac and cheese» which on the menu is made to sound really good, but in reality the taste was so bland I felt like I was eating left over Kraft macaroni and cheese. They have a pretty expansive drink menu. I’d recommend sticking to beer or very simple easy to make mixed drinks. The drinks have average prices. Not a bad place, but I wouldn’t drive far out of my way to eat here. Love the patio area out front during the summer months!

Awesome bar food and beer. Don’t miss the bison burger. So many beers on tap… The good ones.

I am giving Hooligans only 1 star for a number of recent occurrences. When it was owned by John, I would have given it 4 or maybe even 5 stars.
For the past year or so, the service from the bartenders and servers (most of all) has plummeted. I speak about the servers plummeting the most because we will almost always sit at a table. The past ten times I have been served at Hooligans, the servers ID me (which is fine, I get it), but there is always an attitude that goes along with it. When I go to a restaurant, I o to enjoy myself. This means having a drink or two and engaging in conversation with whomever I am with. This is hard to do at Hooligans now because the servers are constantly trying to flip tables. The last time I was there, our server asked us three times in three minutes if we were ready to order. The restaurant was not busy and our menus were not even open. After getting asked another couples times within 5 more minutes, we ordered in a rush to pretty much get this girl off our backs. After this, my mother asked for a water when she brought out our food because we had never received any. The server did not verbally acknowledge the request. Instead, she rolled her eyes, turned around, and bolted to the bar. She came back with the water, clunked it on the table, turned around, and bolted away. The whole time, she was aggressive, dismissive, and just someone that should not be working in the service industry. I understand that everyone has other things going on in their personal lives, but that is when you suck it the fuck up and put on your fake smile just like everyone else that is having a shitty day but do not show it. This is just one example of a server I have had here give terrible service. I still tipped her the bare minimum of 18%, but I only did so out of respect for John (the amazing founder of this establishment). I have been in the service industry since I could legally work, so I’m not writing this as some shmuck that doesn’t know his thumb from his ass. I think that ever since John sold it to the GM (or whoever it was that worked there), it has lost most of its structure and class when it comes to good service. It feels like I am more of a burden to the servers that anything. On a different note, the food still rules, and that is the only reason I will continue to go there. My hat is off to the cooks that continue to kick major ass. The servers (most of them at least), however, need major attitude adjustments.

We came in for happy hour. By far one of the best happy hours for food I’ve experienced. Our server was great. We didn’t catch her name but she was tall with blonde hair. We will be coming back!

I didn’t expect to like this place at all. I avoid this whole general area like the plague as much as possible because I find it generally cramped and filled with the most annoying kinds of people.
That said, this place was alright. It’s a step above regular bar food and that’s good enough for me.
The Irish dip perhaps shouldn’t work, but it does. Corned beef, swiss, giardiniera, and a Guiness au jus. The mac and cheese my partner had was alright, but a little bizarre – it had an almost floral undertone that I couldn’t quite reconcile with the dish.
Service is reasonably friendly and quick, despite being busy running in and out of the bar to get orders and do payments and stuff.

I had a really great veggie burger that completely satisfied my burger craving since not eating meat for the past 3 years. Absolutely wonderful. Unfortunately my significant other ordered a brisket sandwich that was very dry and tasteless. Still 4 stars for my veggie burger.

Stopped in for a drink on the patio. Took a really long time to get the drinks (later realized that the girls working were also their own bartender– tsk, tsk– management would know better than this on one of the first warm days of the season). I ordered a Tequilla breeze– Tequilla, grapefruit & club soda. It wasn’t good. Very watered down tasting and no bubbles, soda must have been flat. Then we waited so long for the waitress (who to be fair– was running her a** off) to run our payment that we finally took the bill in. After standing there for a few minutes, someone finally told us that the computer system was down and the card couldn’t be run. So we paid in cash and left, but the whole process to pay for two drinks honestly took 30 minutes. I think I popped in on a bad day, so I am planning to give it another try.

I’ve only been to Hooligans once but I am thrilled to see they have food! I never knew that until about a week ago, thanks Unilocal!Anyways I will definitely be going to Hooligans at some point to do the boot challage! Aka a huge boot shaped stein filled with your choice of beer. I will also be checking out their menu here sometime soon:]

Had fun drinking here. Didn’t get food so not sure how it is. Lots of tvs to watch a game. Big beer menu. Good service! Overall good experience!

I’ve only been here a handful of times over the past 7 years. It’s okay. The food is okay but priced higher than it should be. Beer selections are decent and the prices are on par with other places in the area. I’ve never really understood the appeal of Hooligan’s.

Hooligan’s calls itself a «Super Bar».
How do they justify that claim? Here’s how I justify it.
I used to be a cool East-​sider in the early 90’s. I graduated from UWM in 1993 and spent the next year «living my dream.» I was in a cool band and we spent many Saturday nights and Sunday mornings here. I became addicted to the Hooli Burger and have never been the same since. I gained 50 pounds and my cholesterol number resembles Robin Yount’s lifetime batting average. Hooli’s introduced me to micro-​brews. In the early 90’s, Sam Adams was about as exotic as things got on North Avenue. I had my first Anchor Steam here, and most likely my first Guinness. Back then, Hooligan’s was barely a step above being a dive bar. There was the cook who used to dress like a boy scout, and there was always that guy at the end of the bar who looked like Keith Richards. At some point a few years later, that changed. A complete remodel removed most of the dank, and a stretch of the bar counter that used to double as a stage for the occasional live music night. My first gig with one of my bands, «Daddy Needs A Drink», was on that makeshift stage. About the only thing left are the tables along the wall and the tap handle collections. That, and a great bar food menu. Hooli burger, baked potato soup, rouben rolls. You can still wash it down with an Anchor Steam.
I loved Hooligan’s 20 years ago when I was a broke-​as-​a-​joke Eastside musician and Hooligan’s was a danky-​dive bar. I still love it today now that it caters to a «less grungy crowd» and has an upstairs dining room.
The more things change, the more they stay the same.

I’ve been craving a burger just about all week. By Friday, I had gone long enough, it was time to give in to my desires. I tired to trusty old Unilocal to find a burger joint within distance which oddly enough led me to Hooligans.
I chose it:
1. Because of the name, classic
2. Because I could walk to it
3. Someone at work had been raving about their burgers.
So me and the boo thang sauntered down and were immediately told we could sit outside. Score! That was what I was hoping for after being cooped up all day in the office. The boo ordered the beelzaburger which he asked the waitress to pronounce and she immediately said, I’m new I don’t know. Not the best customer service answer but we pushed through. I got the German burger, which was topped with onion and cheese. A little bland for me but my boo loved his burger because it was spicy and full of flavor.
This is just an ok place to me because
1. The waitress didn’t know her stuff and didn’t attempt to get to know her stuff
2. The burger seemed like it was probably frozen at some point
Since it was my first time, I’ll give it another go. Not a fantastic place but somewhere I could see myself going from time to time.

I’ve been here several times since I moved here as the patio is one of our favorite places to relax. This past time the service was the worst. We ordered food and my burger came out completely wrong. The waitress looked at me and said «Well, what would you like me to do?». I was completely stupefied as I have never in my life been asked such an insulting question. I posted my fiasco on FB @Hooligan’s page but I do not really believe they care. Unbelievable that a paying customer who tips well would have to deal with such horrid service. Not sure when I’ll be back and that sucks because normally this place is not so bad.

Descriptive phrase: hangout-​bar on North.
North Ave features plenty of great and unique places to go to if you want to hit the town. But Hooligan’s fills the niche of a less-​crazy hangout bar still within the heart of the bustle nearby.
I’ve only hung out upstairs, but the first floor features a respectable amount of draught options. The second floor has a smaller bar with limited choices, but always has featured an amicable bartender who would bring our drinks to our table. Pitchers weren’t overpriced, even for craft, and there are plenty of board games to get lost in. The lights, the not-​too-​loud music, the seating all lend themselves to keeping you around for a while. Hooligan’s is a bar you may go to start your night off but end up staying the whole time.

I read a review saying this was the East Side’s best burger… I beg to differ. Seems like every other frozen burger pulled out of a box and thrown on a grill. The bun was decent, but the burger wasn’t anything special at all. Fries were boring too. Service was good… but I rarely choose a restaurant based on service.
If I’m paying $ 10 for a burger… I expect a little bit of work to go into it… and that didn’t happen here.

Spent the evening up in this area for a movie at the Oriental. After the flick, we wandered looking for a place for a cocktail. Stuck our head in Divino, meh– a bit to hoity toity for me. Tried the place next door, (can’t remember the name) but it was too loud. Enter Hooligans– good draft selection for me, decent enough wine selection for the missus. And Buzztime trivia also?
Winner-​Winner Chicken Dinner.
Had a few cocktails, played some trivia and ordered some very meaty Reuben rolls.
Good times…

Hooligan’s has been around, and serving up above average bar food for a long, long time. Over the years I’ve grown up, and it seems like Hooligans has too. Examples:
*Back in the day, there was this REALLY intense cook who used to man the grill at lunch wearing a thrift store Boy Scouts uniform. Today, I saw cooks with gloves on handle food safely — never would’ve happened in the old days. (To be fair, today’s JT never would haven eaten a burger cooked by a guy in a sketchy Boy Scout uniform)
*Old Hooli’s didn’t have any décor that I can recollect. Today, we both seem to like vintage French advertising posters.
*Hooligans of yesteryear basically had burgers and sandwiches, but it was a bar and there were plenty of day drinkers and regulars — specifically The Guy Who Looked Like Keith Richards who appeared to be physically attached to the bar. Today I had handmade chorizo + pork empanadas surrounded by hipsters. Not a drunk in the place. (But the empanadas were delicious)
*They’ve always had a good beer list but gone are the days when you could throw your peanut shells on the floor on $ 2 import night.
*Back when I was first dating the Mister and the time came to introduce him to my dad, we met for lunch at Hooligans. Dad, being a gruffy biker type, introduced himself with «Hey, my name’s Bill but you can call me Renegade». The Mister wasn’t quite sure what to do with that, and I wanted to die of embarrassment. Now that my dad has passed, I can tell you I would give ANYTHING, anything at all, for one more lunch.
Even though it’s no longer a one-​notch-​above-​a-​dive kind of a place, I still enjoy a good burger here from time to time.

Nothing chaps my butt more than being treated rudely/​disrespectfully for no apparent reason whatsoever.
The mister lives a stone’s throw away, so we decided to grab a bite and a beer and the second half of that horrid Packers/​Giants game. We’ve done this at Hooligan’s before and plenty of times. As of previous, service had varied from spot on to spotty (depending upon your server/​bartender), though the food was always on point.
This past Sunday night ranks as one of the singular worst experiences I’ve had in a bar/​restaurant, tho. Ever.
This is a diatribe of epic, Odyssian proportion, I’ll keep it as factual and honest and (maybe) concise as I can, and then let you, dear reader, be the judge.
Enter, snag table, wait for server. Proceed to order a special not available ’til after 10pm. (Didn’t realize this was the case.) She informs us it’s not available. We ask if we can pay full price. She says no. All reasonable on paper, absolutely… but girl’s tone. Mad hostility. I thought she was actually going to try and fight L. Seriously. I’ve never, ever encountered that kind of vitrol for asking a pretty normal question.
Move to bar to escape insane server: Miraculously, two seats were available at the end of the bar, so we were able to avail ourselves of said server. She transfers our beer order to the male bartender, who seems nice enough. He gives me time to choose a beer and doesn’t rush me. Thx dude!
Order: I order a Nosferatu, and L’s already’s got his Downtown Brown. And bites… it’s pretty much the only reason we ever go to Hooligan’s, so… we order wings. To Jay S’ point: When we asked the male bartender about the wings (regular versus hot) he informed us that, in his opinion, regular was sort of bland/didn’t have much flavor + spice. Based on this assertion, we opted for the hot, since the former didn’t sound so appealing. Easy enough. Packers are still getting slaughtered. Booo.
Wings: Inedible. Insanely spicy. The quality of the meat was not good to boot, but that wasn’t even the issue. Inedibly spicy. Male bartender disappears and we’re left with the female bartender who seems new/​sort of inexperienced but nice enough. We both try to choke down one of the wings with little success, so the rest sit there as do we for a half hour without being checked on.
Now, when I was serving/​bartending, if I noticed the customer not eating the food they ordered, I’d generally ask ‘em if it was okay. «Oh, you ordered this thing and now you’re not eating it? Is there a problem, maybe?» It’s customary. Nope. I’m thinking that in this case I would either comp ‘em or ask if the folks would like something else, as obviously this isn’t working out for the wings — these chickens now died in vain — or the folks that ordered them. It’s not like we ate them, guys.
Nope. Nothing. She asks if we’re done, and dumps all of them out into the garbage, and presents us with a $ 22.50 bill.
That’s not to mention the fact super mad server who hates job/​life was slamming dishes down at the server station (next to my seat, which I understand just happened to happen) with an unmatched gusto.
Okay, so the lesson here: Don’t go back to Hooligan’s. I’d like to… we’d like to, as it’s convenient and the food is almost always on point, but after Sunday night? After being treated so very rudely for no reason and then to be shuffled in and out without being checked on/​treated as if our dollars and experience mattered one bit? No way, man.
(The only reason I’m not going one star is the positive I’ve experienced there before with other, gracious + attentive servers and solid bar eats.)