Taking advantage of the wonderful Milwaukee County Zoo, which has quite literally been labeled as one of the “gold standards” of zoological facilities, is a wise move just about any day. Add food from more than 20 area restaurants and a whole bunch of music, and it becomes a can’t-miss sort of thing.
That’s what A La Carte at the Zoo has grown into across its nearly four decades, a mark it will move one step closer to when the event returns Aug. 14-17. Besides the more than 2,220 animals you can visit, this year’s A La Carte will feature its usual wide selection of food and drink from more than 40 different vendors, including five newcomers for 2025:
- A la Crepes (vegetarian)
- BBQ Belle
- Bear Garden
- BelAir Cantina (vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free)
- Brew City Snowballs
- Bubble Waffle Shoppes (vegan)
- Caribou Beverage Bar
- Catalano Corn (vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free)
- Chillwaukee Pops (vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free)
- C-Viche (vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, sustainable seafood)
- Funnel Cake Factory
- Giraffe Beverage Bar
- Giraffe Wine Bar
- Ice Cream Parlor
- La Masa
- Leinie Lodge
- Lumpia City – NEW (vegetarian)
- Margaux Brasserie – NEW
- Milwaukee Pretzel Company (vegetarian)
- MIL-WOK-EE (vegan, vegetarian)
- Motor Restaurant – NEW
- Nothing Bundt Cakes (gluten-free)
- Nourish 414
- Penguin Beverage Bar
- Pie Craft Pizza
- Po’ Manz Food
- Saz’s
- Scrima’s Woodfired Pizza
- Shawarma House (vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free)
- Snack Barn
- Summer County Fare
- Taco Caja – NEW
- The Coop
- Thunder Bay Grille (vegetarian)
- Tiki Bubble – NEW
- Tots on the Street (vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free)
- Ultimate Confections Desserts featuring Suzy’s Cream Cheesecakes
- Watering Hole Root Beer Floats
- West End Snacks
- Wild Burger (vegan, gluten-free)
- Woody’s Custard
- Wok in the Zoo
Also coming back for 2025 are the national headliners appearing on the Miller Lite Caribou stage at 7 p.m. the first three days of the event. That lineup starts Aug. 14 with Phillip Phillips, continues Aug. 15 with Los Lonely Boys and wraps up Aug. 16 with country act LOCASH. Including those big names, the event will bring in more than 50 different artists to play across the zoo’s six stages…