One of Wisconsin’s most strongly held traditions originally came from the union of religious observance and the freshwater lakes and was given a final nudge by the availability (or lack thereof) of alcohol. Early Catholic immigrants who settled in Wisconsin from Poland and Germany refrained from eating meat on Fridays, in observance of the crucifixion. Luckily for them, the freshwater lakes teemed with tasty alternatives, including walleye, perch and bluegill. The superabundance of fish led to taverns offering fish to accompany their beers—sometimes even as a free extra. With the arrival of prohibition in 1920, those taverns leaned into the fish half of the beer-and-fish combo to keep their businesses alive while the beer part was illegal. In 1966, the Catholic restriction on meat on Fridays was limited to Lent, but by that time, the Friday fish fry had become a marker of regional identity more than of alignment with a specific religious belief.
For 2025, Shepherd Express readers named Lakefront Brewery as the host of the best Friday Fish Fry, a title the venue has won repeatedly over the last two decades—in the years it didn’t win, it was a finalist. Impressive in a city where you’d be hard pressed to find a restaurant that doesn’t offer a Friday Fish Fry, and where great choices are legion. The other strong finalists this year were Kegel’s Inn, Layman Brewing and The Packing House. Beyond restaurants, there are fish fries at schools, community halls and churches (shout out to the truly excellent offerings at St. Sebastian’s in Washington Heights). Everyone has their opinions on what makes a fish fry great—the type of fish, beer batter vs. breading, marble rye vs. pumpernickel, fries vs. potato pancakes—and debates rage ad infinitum. (Fair notice, I’m a bluegill aficionado.)
How does Lakefront maintain their Fish Fry supremacy in such a competitive landscape? It goes beyond the high quality of the food: Lakefront leans into the ritual of the thing. I visited with friends for the Lakefront experience. With high ceilings and cream city brick walls, Craftsman stained-glass hanging lights, an in-house polka band and the giant beer mug from the old Milwaukee Brewers Stadium, it was an occasion as much as a meal. As one member of the party put it, “It doesn’t get more Milwaukee than this.”
For the six of us, we ordered the Fish Fry Family Pack, a family dinner with all the sides that promises to feed 4-5 people, assured we could order add-ons if we needed to. It was clear as the food started to arrive that we wouldn’t need to. The bread board offered three different breads—marble rye, sourdough baguette, and a deliciously dense beer bread—with three kinds of butter—plain, a sweet honey butter and an herb butter. The cheese curds completely justified their reputation (Lakefront also won the Best Fried Cheese Curds title this year). The sides all delivered on quality—a traditional coleslaw that stuck with the “why mess with perfection” theory, potato pancakes and a mountain of nicely seasoned French fries. Tucked in among the platters were little cups of fresh tartar sauce and richly spiced cinnamon applesauce. For the fish, we’d opted for the walleye; it was fresh and flavorful with a crisp breaded crust and a tender flake. My one complaint about the menu is the lack of choice—fish options are either walleye or cod, with no combinations…