Palmer's Steakhouse

The story

Crafted with passion, served with love

A Family Story Built Around the Grill

Palmer's Steakhouse is, at its core, a family affair — and the Arenas family has the decades to prove it. Owner and cook Jerry Arenas started grilling steaks at Milwaukee's Famous Rafters Restaurant at just 14 years old, barely tall enough to see over the grill. That early start launched a career spanning four decades and hundreds of thousands of steaks. It was at the Rafters that Jerry met Marie, his future wife and the warm front-of-house presence who would become known as one of the best hostesses in the city.

Together, Jerry and Marie opened their first restaurant, followed by the Porterhouse in Milwaukee in 1992 — earning three out of four stars from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and building a serious reputation in the Wisconsin dining scene. Then in 2005, an anonymous tip about a restaurant for sale led them to Hartland. On a cold December day, they walked into the Cobblestone Inn and fell in love with both the building and the town. After more than six months of gutting and restoring the historic structure — frozen pipes, cracked boilers, and all — Palmer's Steakhouse opened in June 2006 to a crowd of local supporters. Within three months, it had earned 3½ out of 4 stars from the Journal Sentinel and a feature in USA Today.

The Steakhouse, the Wine, and the People Behind Both

The menu centers on char-broiled steaks alongside seafood, ribs, and chops — the kind of straightforward, well-executed cooking that comes from someone who has done it most of their life. Jerry is still in the kitchen most nights. Marie and son Tony — a Marquette graduate who joined the business and took charge of marketing and the wine program — are typically on the floor to greet guests.

Tony's passion for wine is evident in the list he curates: over 200 selections, with more than 40 available by the glass, updated regularly to keep things fresh. That list earned Wine Spectator's Award of Excellence consecutively for over a decade, a meaningful distinction for a steakhouse in a Wisconsin suburb. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel also recognized Palmer's for Milwaukee's Best Wine List, and WISN 12's A-List named it Milwaukee's Best Steakhouse multiple times between 2010 and 2016. Big 7 Travel placed it among the seven best steakhouses in the state.

Rooted in Hartland, Invested in the Community

Beyond the dining room, Palmer's has woven itself into the fabric of Hartland. The restaurant actively supports organ, tissue, and eye donation causes through partnerships with UW Health Transplant, Donate Life Wisconsin, and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, including an annual Tent Event fundraiser. For a family-owned steakhouse, that kind of long-term community commitment speaks to something genuine about how the Arenas family runs their business.

If you go, introduce yourself — that's a standing invitation from the family themselves.