Knight’s Bar At Maders

10 minutes and not even a hello, walked out, really looked forward to the experience I’ve heard so much about.

Ever since I was a young tyke of 8, I knew our family was German. I always had pride in this, and have lived the German bar experience in USA. We travelled to MKE for years, and would sometimes visit the Knights Bar because of the history. Once we moved to downtown MKE, I thought THIS would be our place, this was like our local Hofbrau where everyone knew everyone else. THIS would be our historic German bar with historic German people.
But soon it was clear that this was not the place. As everyone else has said, the prices for drinks are higher than anyone else on 3^rd. This is a problem when you go out most nights.
I love love love the architecture of Knights Bar, it is the perfect German Bar, in the most perfect neighborhood, in the best German City in the U.S.
But it just falls flat, and it makes me so very sad.

Stephanie R’s review pretty much says it all! Knights Bar isn’t generally a go-​to for me, but sometimes it’s a nice respite from the 3^rd Street madness. I’ve never seen the place crowded but I’m sure it can get busy. Every time I’ve ever been there it’s completely dead.
On the plus side, I can get a decent cocktail or glass of wine here — that can be hard to find on this block filled with mostly sports/​beer bars. It’s generally quiet and there aren’t packs of bachelorettes screeching or bro’s bro-​ing. The few times we’ve been here, we’ve had «just fine» service at the bar.
On the minus side, there do seem to be an inordinate number of kids in here (to be clear, I mean in the bar area proper not the restaurant) which is a little odd. As Stephanie mentions, prices are high even for 3^rd Street. If you’re thinking about food, you’ll be forced to order from the main Mader’s menu which sports some pretty astronomical prices. A bar-​only menu would really help.
The décor is nice, if a bit dated. There is a parking lot available for customers, which is a plus. In general, it’s a place for tourists or to bring your meemaw for a glass of wine after a long graduation ceremony at the nearby Arena.

Went here on a Monday night and had the German Sampler and a Boot of Brew. The Place was pretty much empty… was hoping for more of a crowd and better atmosphere to enjoy my German experience. Everyone was friendly who worked there. The sampler was good… not great. The best part of my meal was the pretzel type bread they served with my meal. I would go back if I visited the area again if Karl’s isn’t better. Hopefully making it over there before leaving this weekend.

This is the bar side of the lengendary Maders. It is German so they have excellent wheat offerings on tap. Great happy hour specials. The lunch prices on the food are much less than the dinner prices the bartender has been there for over 20 years and he is knowledgable and friendly. It is a darker atmosphere with a lot of character. I loved it here!

The bar at Mader’s Restaurant, home of the Giant Pretzel!
And mugs of beer, BOOTS of beer, Späten on tap!
Sausage platters, with Düsseldorf mustard, and a lot of cheese.
It’s a fine establishment.

We were in the mood for German food so we headed downtown aiming for either Karl’s or Old German Beer Hall. Well once we found a spot and started walking, Maders was the first one we crossed. Neither of us having been there before, we walked in.
We were both taken aback by the cloth tablecloths and empty dining room at 6:30, so we headed over to the bar side. A hostess sat us in a booth and our server was over soon. She was very friendly and knew the menu inside and out — which was very helpful to us newcomers. She explained some of the lingo and walked us through a couple of the popular food items.
We both opted for a beer ($ 7 each) while we decided. We just about fainted from the prices once we flipped the page to the entrée side. There was barely an entrée under $ 30!!! We couldn’t believe it. Yes I should have looked it up, yes I should have informed myself blah blah blah.
Well we decided to split the appetizer sampler ($ 39.95). I apologize for not knowing the names, but it came with three meats and a dumpling. Everything was fine, but nothing was awesome. We didn’t finish the meal since neither of us was really into it.
While nothing was terribly bad about this visit, the prices were absolutely insane for what you got. The meat was fatty and the gravy was pure sugar. I don’t think I’d be back with so many other German restaurants around here.

The Knight’s Bar can be hit or miss, in my experience.
Many times you can be ignored once you take a seat at the bar while the bar staff/​servers finish whatever extensive conversation they might be having. I’m OK with waiting a few, but please, at least acknowledge that you will be with us in a moment.
The beer prices are higher than probably any other place on Old World Third. The Reuben rolls are really good, and my parents both raved about their corned beef sandwiches they ate while in the Knight’s Bar.
The décor is appropriate, dark and has beautiful woodwork, stained glass and old world flair. If you’re coming for the atmosphere, German cuisine and beer, this stop should be quieter than the Old German Beer Hall, but you’ll pay more and service probably won’t compare.

Okay food, okay service, but the German beers are served in cool steins which make up for it.

I’ve been to the Knight’s Bar in the past, usually as a stop after having dinner at Maders. This German-​style bar is GREAT! Nice long bar in the center of the room with some seating available around the perimeter.
Not too loud, so you can actually have a conversation over a pint or two. This last time I was there we had the Rueben Rolls appetizer and a couple pints of the Octoberfest on tap. The rolls were very good. «Tasty bits of corned beef, cabbage and Swiss Cheese wrapped inside spring dough, served with fresh crispy fried spinach and German mustard sauce.»
The bartender was very knowledgeable about the beers on tap and offered up an explanation of each right after we sat down. He even offered samples of alternates after we had made our primary decision. One of the «must stop» pubs on Old World 3^rd Street.

This is a cozy but fairly big bar off on one side of Mader’s. You can drink beer out of beautiful steins and watch the game on their TVs. There’s plenty of room to crowd around the bar and the service is good. Some beers are a little spendy but you can get cheap domestic pilsners. A nice place to pop in for a drink or two.