SafeHouse – Milwaukee, Wisconsin - Gastro Obscura

SafeHouse

A place to eat for on-the-run agents and espionage enthusiasts. 

1446
1109

Tucked away in a lackluster Milwaukee alleyway you will find “International Exports, Ltd.” Enter through the nondescript door, only to find yourself at yet another door where (depending on what day and what time you visit) you will be asked a password.

Should you fail to know the password (as do most people) then you are asked to perform a ridiculous dance, which only after being let in through the secret bookcase door do you realize is being broadcast live to all the patrons of the restaurant.

SafeHouse, opened in 1966, has long been an institution in Milwaukee and while is undoubtedly something of a tourist trap, and serves fairly average food, it is also a delightful way to spend a silly spy themed evening which may or may not include a magic show, a poker tournament, and old Milwaukeean drunks.

Among the spy themed features of the bar are blackjack games where winners get free drinks, two way mirrors, faux bathroom doors, a peep hole with a surprise, a secret passageway and a series of tubes running throughout the building which will mix your martini for you, and even a place where for a small fee one can rise up from the floor in a “Hail to the Chief” throne well the presidential song plays.

Know Before You Go

SafeHouse is located near the intersection of North Water and East Wells streets, in the shadow of downtown Milwaukee's City Hall and behind the stately office of International Exports, Ltd.

Community Contributors

May 22, 2010

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