I live in the Brady street area and have been to the Pasta Tree twice now. The first time was enjoyable, as I was seated in their small outside area and had a friendly waitress. My most recent experience lacked many of the things I would expect when eating at an upscale Italian restaurant.
My fiance and I arrived around 9:00pm for a late Friday evening dinner and were seated at one of the two nice window tables. Throughout the meal I wouldn't consider our server bad, but maybe tired and a little unwelcoming. The atmosphere is generally fine, however around 9:30 the staff had their meals (normally I wouldn't care) and started socializing. It wasn't obnoxious, but definitely negated any ""romantic atmosphere"" that might have otherwise been present. The hostess also sat while wishing people a good night, which seemed tacky/lazy.
We shared the caprese salad, which was interesting with pesto and balsamic, but nothing special. The bread seemed to lack some freshness. I ordered the smoked salmon with spinach noodles and would not order it again. In fact, the taste was moderately unappetizing and the sauce turned into a heavy mush about half way through. My fiance loved the shrimp with vegetable cream (5 very large shrimp) and says she would recommend it.
Overall, for $18 a plate (average) the Pasta Tree is mediocre in my opinion. There are probably worse Italian places to have a nice meal in Milwaukee, but with the combination of ok service, hit-or-miss food, and a so-so atmosphere, this place is by no means going to wow you into raving about your experience.
Pros: central location
Cons: food just ok, little pricy
more