Milwaukee Public Market and 3rd Street Market Hall: a guide

Milwaukee has two main places to eat under one roof. The Milwaukee Public Market, at 400 N. Water Street in the Third Ward, lists itself as open Monday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The 3rd Street Market Hall is at 275 W. Wisconsin Avenue, inside The Avenue shopping district, and guides disagree on its hours, so check its website. One is a market of local merchants, the other a food hall.

What is the Milwaukee Public Market?

A covered market in the Third Ward, the former warehouse district beside the Milwaukee River. Its own site describes artisan and ethnic products and prepared foods, and one guide counts 19 independently owned merchants. Some sell flowers, gifts or clothing as well as food. Expect seafood, cheese, produce, bread, pastries, ice cream and a few places to sit down for lunch.

What is the 3rd Street Market Hall?

A food hall in the downtown shopping district on Wisconsin Avenue, with a group of kitchens and a bar under one roof. Its vendors change over time, so look at its website before you go. Guides conflict on its hours, with weekday opening times between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. and later weekend closes.

How are the two different?

The Public Market is a market, closer to a place to shop and snack, with a local-merchant feel. The 3rd Street Market Hall is a food hall, closer to a place to sit down with a group. Many visitors do the Third Ward market in the afternoon, then walk or ride the streetcar to the hall in the evening.

What should you eat in Milwaukee?

Wisconsin is known for cheese and cheese curds, bratwurst, fish fry on Fridays, custard (frozen custard is a local favorite), kringle pastry and cream puffs at the State Fair. Ask a market merchant about local cheese and sausage, and look for fresh curds that squeak. A Friday fish fry is a tradition, so many places to eat offer one, though that is a sit-down habit rather than a hall habit.

How do you get there?

The Third Ward is walkable from downtown, and the Milwaukee Streetcar runs between the Public Market area and downtown stops, with a stop near Wisconsin Avenue. Check the streetcar's current route and schedule. Parking is available in the Third Ward but fills on event nights.

When is the market busiest?

Weekend lunch and event days in the Third Ward. A weekday morning is calmer. The market posts holiday hours and, for example, has closed early on New Year's Eve and closed on New Year's Day, so check its holiday page.

What about children and dietary needs?

A market is easy with children because you can wander and graze. For allergies, speak to each merchant, since many make food from shared kitchens. Seafood and dairy are common.

What else is nearby?

The Third Ward has galleries, the Henry Maier Festival Park grounds a short distance away, the Lakefront and the Milwaukee Art Museum. The Riverwalk is a good place to eat a market lunch on a nice day.

A sample day in the Third Ward

Start with coffee and a pastry at the Public Market, then walk the Riverwalk and see the lakefront. Come back for lunch at a market counter, perhaps seafood or a sandwich, and stroll the Third Ward's galleries and shops. In the evening, take the streetcar or walk to the 3rd Street Market Hall for dinner with a group, or choose a Friday fish fry at a place to eat if you are here on the right day.

Tips for buying cheese and sausage

If you want to take food home, ask merchants about packaging. Cheese travels well if it is sealed and kept cool; fresh curds are best eaten within a day or two. Labels usually say the type and age of a cheese. Ask for a taste before you buy, which is a normal request at a cheese counter.

Timing and seasons

The Third Ward is busiest in summer, when festivals fill the lakefront and the Riverwalk, and quieter in January and February, when the market is a warm place to be. If a big event is on, such as a festival weekend, the market and the nearby streets will be busy from late morning, and parking will be harder. Check the market's events page, and go on a weekday if you want space to browse.

Accessibility and families

Both buildings are indoors and on one or a few levels, which makes them easier than an outdoor market for strollers and wheelchairs, but check each venue's accessibility page for entrances, lifts and restrooms. A quiet hour on a weekday morning is the easiest time for visitors who need space. Many merchants will box food to go, which helps if a child needs a break from the crowd.

How do you remember what you ate?

Mosey is a food-first app where diners find places by dish, mood and neighborhood and rate what they actually ate. A market page can list its traders, a rating of a dish stays with the stall that cooked it, and following a market is how you can ask for a reminder on its market days.

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