Amilinda restaurant in downtown Milwaukee to open for lunch service

It’s been a big year for Spanish-Portuguese restaurant Amilinda, 315 E. Wisconsin Ave.

Earlier this year, Chef Gregory León scored his third James Beard Award nomination, this time for Outstanding Chef, his first nomination in a national category.

And soon, after nearly nine years in business, his restaurant will offer a quick lunch option for diners in downtown Milwaukee.

Beginning April 11, Amilinda will serve a small menu of sandwiches and starters every Thursday and Friday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

“We’ve had a lot of people asking about lunch, so we figured we’d give it a try,” León said, adding that he’d planned to offer lunch just before the pandemic began in 2020.

“It will be a great option for people visiting. They can pick up their lunch then go sit by the lake and enjoy the view, or people can just come by and grab it on their lunch break from the office.”

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León said the lunch service is a passion project of Amilinda Sous Chef Trevor Carper, who helped develop the menu of four sandwiches.

The sandwiches include The S.L.T. (Serrano ham with lettuce, cultured butter and tomato jam), Fried Piri-Piri Chicken (piri-piri fried chicken breast with piri-piri sauce, cabbage and carrot slaw), Escalivada (grilled eggplant, peppers and onions with roasted fennel spread) and Albondiga (beef meatballs with Manchego cheese and romesco).

Amilinda will also offer two starters on its lunch menu, smaller versions of starters available on its dinner menu, which will rotate as the menu changes. Soda and water will also be available to order.

Orders can be made online through Amilinda’s Toast page, which opens at 10:30 a.m. Thursdays and Fridays and closes at 1:30 p.m.

Diners can pick up their order at Amilinda and take it to go, or they can eat inside the restaurant, though there will be no staffed table service while they’re there.

León said there is potential for expanded hours and a larger menu to come, but for now, the restaurant is just “dipping our toes in the water” of lunchtime service.