Firefly

7754 Harwood Ave.
Wauwatosa, WI 
(414) 431-1444 
www.firefly-grill.com 
twitter.com/tosafirefly 

Parking: Free Adjacent Lot 
Days: Monday – Friday 
Times: 4:30pm – 6:30pm (Nightly Specials as well) 
Drink Deals: $3 Draft Beers; $5 Firefly Cocktails 
Food Deals: $5-8 Appetizers 

 

Oh, but a wintry evening - gazing upon Firefly from the adjacent parking lot...

If you’ve been following along The Happy Hour Tour, you’ll remember the days of my brother & sister-in-law (aka the Beer Maestros) leading me to many a non-LA Happy Hour. Since the time JG and I began the site, Bro & Sis-in-Law have moved from living the Orange County life to freezing their bums off and welcoming a beautiful sweetie-honey baby in Green Bay, to now being cool cosmopolitan parents in Milwaukee! 

We always have an excellent time visiting and inevitably find ourselves trying out new family friendly Happy Hours whenever I visit – baby in tow. She’s actually been a pretty good sport and Happy Hour is a slightly better time to take her out, less peeps at the bars & restaurants! Plus, she melts the hearts of her Aunt Bird (that’s me) and strangers alike with her cuteness! 

Restaurant Seating in the Front

Over the winter holidays, I had a great time visiting with all three of the Milwaukee Bursi’s – especially at our first Happy Hour stop, Firefly, in Wauwatosa, a charming city just west of Milwaukee. The restaurant is a great space – nice dining room in the front and then a bar/lounge in the back. With baby-in-tow, we sat in the less populated lounge area and man, oh man, were we impressed by the rad Happy Hour. 

 

Lounge in the Back 

The drink deals are a-ok, $3 draft beers and $5 cocktails, but it’s the food deals that are even better – a selection of $5-8 appetizers served in sharing dinner sizes! My fam kindly obliged my vegetarian diet and we shared delicious and filling orders of Fondue ($5) - Smoked Gouda & Cheddar, served with fresh apples and warm dipping bread; Garlic Fries ($5) -Hand Cut & Double-Fried with Fresh Garlic, Fresh Parsley & Parmesan Aioli; and the non-HH (but worth it) Mushroom Risotto "Lollipops" ($8) - Crimini Mushrooms & Parmesan Risotto with Dijon Aioli. 

  
For drinks, my bro ordered a couple $3 beers while Sis-in-Law and I went for several $5 Firefly cocktails – including the Firefly (a classic mojito), the Cranberry Basil Crush (Fresh muddled basil, cranberry & lime with fresh lime sour, vodka & seltzer), and the Cherry Drop (White Cherry Vodka & fresh squeezed lemon topped with seltzer). The drinks were great, but a little on the sweet side – so a wine or simple rail cocktail might be a welcome addition to the drink menu. 

 

The Firefly and the Cranberry Basil Crush (both $5)

 

The Cherry Drop ($5)

However, with themed nights like Martini Monday ($7 martinis and $3 rail drinks), Tapped Out Tuesdays ($3 featured beers and $3 draft beers), Wine Wednesdays ($10-off bottles of wine), Infused Thursdays ($5 House Infusions), and Endless Fish Fry Fridays – you’re more than covered with drink (and food on Friday) options all night. 

I wish the Happy Hour ran a little longer than 2 hours (4:30-7 anyone :)?) and offered a wine or 2, but overall Firefly’s Happy Hour is pretty great and I would totes recommend to anyone on Milwaukee’s west side! 

--JB 

Rating: 4.5 Martinis