People’s Park Roof Top Dining

People’s Park has been a staple in downtown Waukesha for over 7 years, and I really enjoy the atmosphere and quality of food. After a fire in February of 2011, the restaurant expanded to include a second floor bar and eating area and rooftop dining. I have been on the roof a few times and the views of downtown are really cool. In addition to tables with umbrellas, they have heaters for cooler summer nights and a full bar with stool seating.

Last week, my coworker and I decided to grab lunch outside because the temps would be in the high 70s. We knew that People’s was going to be a great destination because they have the rooftop tables, sidewalk tables and they open the windows throughout the restaurant for fresh air. It was a rather windy day, but as we walked to lunch, we saw customers already on the roof and hoped one table for two would be left for us.

We were in luck and got the last table on the roof in the corner. It was pretty windy but the temps were perfect for us to enjoy our lunch and get out of the office for an hour. There were two servers managing both the diners and the bar. One had a radio walkie-talkie to let the hostess know if tables were available or if they needed anything – very smart!

Our server was really friendly and brought our lemonades over to us right away. Lunchtime can always be a little hectic for restaurants because everyone comes at the same time and needs to get in and out quickly. My coworker and I just ordered salads so we know our food wouldn’t take too long.

We sat back and enjoyed the atmosphere while chatting about work and non-work things. Our salads arrived pretty quickly and they looked excellent. I ordered Frankie’s Garden because of the goat cheese that I love so much. My coworker ordered the Caesar salad and it looked amazing. The only problem I was having was that the wind was launching my lettuce at the patrons at the table next to us. Whoops! They didn’t notice luckily.

I did my best to tame the salad and block it from the wind but a few did still manage to take flight. The breeze felt amazing and the sun was out our entire lunch. I got a little tan (OK more like a burn as I barely ever tan) on the back of my neck — my first color of the season! It was absolutely gorgeous and I didn’t want to go back to work.

We really enjoyed our quick lunch break from the office and definitely will make this a regular stop with the warmer weather. (Hey Wisconsin, bring back that warmer weather please!). The salads were nice and refreshing and just the perfect size. We were both able to finish them and didn’t feel overly full.

My coworker told me she was recently at People’s for brunch and it was really good. I told her of a few other spots to check out for brunch but I too agree that People’s is really good.