Michael Engel

Chef & Propietor

Our history begins in 2009, about the time when I’d grown tired of my job as Executive Chef for a group of private golf clubs. I asked my sons if they had any interest in opening a little restaurant with me and they all said yes. During that time I met Angela, and Frank, who also thought it might be fun to have our own place. I’d narrowed the location down to either Wauwatosa or Bay View, and we ended up in the latter, on the street where both of our fathers were born and raised, Rusk Avenue and Kinnickinnic Avenue. We spent our first five years there, but in 2015 were informed that our landlords weren’t interested in renewing our lease.I approached the owners of the Hotel Metro, feeling that Downtown was on the brink of developing a new and exciting dining scene building on the great restaurants that were already there. I was also approached by Jim Marks of the River Lane Inn in Brown Deer about buying him and his wife Claire out so they could retire. Through a serious of coincidences, we ended up opening a location in Brown Deer in 2016, and also moving the Bay View operation to the Metro later that year. The Downtown restaurant was a partnership with Rachael Karr (our Bay View Chef), and managed by Phil Gillespie. We were in the way of the owners of the Metro being able to sell the property to a larger corporation, so they bought our lease out in December 2019.Since then, Brown Deer has been our only focus. We’ve made numerous improvements over the last six years, including expanding the patio, painting, and replacing a great deal of the old equipment. We’re dedicated to bringing the North Shore a fine dining experience that will make them want to return again and again. We’ve become good friends with so many of our guests, and are meeting more every day. We look forward to meeting and serving you, too!

Angela Engel

 Pastry Chef & Hostess

Angela Engel was born and raised in Milwaukee, where she discovered her love of cooking spending afternoons in her Grandmothers’ kitchens. Friends of her family owned a small and well-regarded Italian restaurant when she was growing up, seeing how happy they were planted the seed that would grow into her passion for restaurant life.She went to school, where she developed her artistic talents and met a group of girls who would become lifelong best friends. She married and started a family, baking with her aunts and friends on the side, taking care of her boys, making sure they were getting to school, team practices, and extracurricular events. Eventually, she went to work in the cafeteria of the local high school, where she baked the breads and desserts. She divorced and began rebuilding her life with her 2 boys, one of whom passed away just before graduating high school. She met Michael Engel on an eHarmony date; they were married August 7th, 2016.Working together, they opened Pastiche Bistro & Wine Bar in Bay View, where she did dual duties as pastry chef and hostess. Her son Frank also came to work with them when he was old enough, bussing, doing dishes, learning how to take good care of people, and eventually becoming the restaurant manager. Thanks to her hard work and talents, Pastiche quickly gained a reputation for having the best desserts in the city.Upon moving the restaurant to the North Shore, she added to her already long list of responsibilities by taking over the planting and maintenance of the restaurant gardens.Instrumental in every aspect of the operation, Angela brings a skill set that perfectly complements every other element of the restaurant, and helps to create memorable experiences for her guests, many of whom have become good friends.Away from the restaurant, she spends time reading, golfing, taking care of the dogs, hanging out with her friends and their grandkids, and painting.