Birch & Butcher

A contemporary Sunday brunch in downtown Milwaukee

Hip but humble, bright and spacious, smells of scrumptious smoked meat, coloring crayons for all — welcome to Birch & Butcher. A friend and I stopped in for brunch one Sunday mid-morning and fell a little bit in love with the place. The ambiance is relaxed and classy-cazh. For food, they aim to keep things as local as possible, noting that "the best we have to offer comes from not-so-far-away." 




With the great things I'd heard about this new-ish spot on Water and Pleasant, I fully expected a long wait — but there was none. Jackpot. We were seated at a cozy, outward-facing booth and immediately treated to paper menus and a jar full of crayons to keep us busy while we waited for coffee and mimosas. 

Sit-down brunch is only served on Sundays. All other days, Birch & Butcher offers casual counter service for breakfast and lunch starting at 7:30 in the morning. Daily offerings include the likes of freshly-baked bagels, avocado toast, and breakfast sandwiches. 




But Sundays are for treating yourself to something more decadent. We started with the Bread Plate of chocolate banana bread, fruit muffins, and waffle wedges. The banana bread and muffins were particular favorites. The waffles don't hold up to Press Waffles, but that's on me; you'd be hard pressed (pun intended) to find me a traditional Belgian waffle that does. The sweet selection is perfectly paired with cultured butter. Always cultured butter. 

For the main event, we opted for sharesies: Avocado toast and a naan & chorizo dish. The toast requires a knife and fork. It's thick and piled high with avocado, red beets, and herbs — very yummy. But my favorite was the naan, plated with chorizo, n'duja (a spicy & spreadable pork salumi), poached eggs, ricotta, and greens. 




Put it all together, and it was so satisfying and flavorful, this is easily one of the best and most unique brunch dishes I've had the pleasure of polishing off. Going back to Birch & Butcher for dinner sometime (and some morning for bagels) is only a matter of time.