Avenue Club and The Bubble Up Bar
| Address: | 1128 E Washington Ave, Madison, WI 53703, USA |
| Phone: | +1 608-257-6877 |
| Site: | avenueclubmadison.com |
| Rating: | 3.4 |
| Working: | 9AM–3PM 11AM–10PM 11AM–10PM 11AM–12AM 11AM–12AM 9AM–12AM 9AM–10PM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 5
KA
Kathleen Martin
What is it with this place that we cant seem to get decent service? It is the Saturday before Christmas, the students are done with exams, and so Madison is a quieter place now. I have to be at work by 9 am and we saw that the Avenue Club, now part of the Food Fight Group opens at 8 am for Saturday Brunch. We happen to have a Food Fight Gift Card to use, so this should workout nicely. We are a party of 3, we arrive promptly at 8 am to open doors, and we are the only patrons at this time. Let me cut to the chase, we were first given empty menu holders-no menus inside, the shrimp for my shrimp and grits were overcooked, as was the poached egg, moms thick cut French toast had 1/3 amount of the syrup she prefers and there is nothing on the table so she can add more syrup, my husbands Chicken and Biscuit Benedicts poached egg was also overcooked, and he would have liked some tobacco for the dish. After our food runner delivered our food, we never got a chance to let anyone know any of these concerns because the entire front of the house was devoid of any employees for 15 to 20 minutes. Other than one other table, where a regular patron sat down after we had ordered our food (he was greeted by name, and was told to smile) we were the only other customers in the place. One would think, incorrectly, that a basic level of service would be available. Once our waitress did make an appearance, here was our exchange: Waitress: How are the first few bites? Me: Mom needs a box for her French toast, and we are ready for the check It is exactly due to this "level of service" that when we do decide to go to "The Avenue", it is under the pretense of, "Well, maybe things have changed? Lets give them another chance." And once again, "The Avenue" has allowed me to share my experience on social media. Maybe we will see you in another 10 years, but, probably not. I will give 2 stars because I like the new décor.
A
A Private User
The Avenue used to be great. Now, its still cool on the bar side but food has slipped. Saturday I ordered a ribeye and we also ordered some potato skins and two salads. The waitress brought out a salad with incorrect dressing and a bowl of soup. She noticed her mistake by our confusion. Got the salads, they were okay. 45 minutes later she came up and said the cooks thought you wanted your potato skins with your steaks so everything will be out in a minute. Obviously covering her butt that she had forgot to put the skins order in. When I got my steak, she placed it in front of me and said heres your new york, I mean ribeye. I said " it sure looks like a strip steak" but she reassured me it was a ribeye. It had a big line of fat down the entire length of it and it was long and not the usual roundish appearance that ribeyes have. It was hard to cut and tough so I called her back, she said she had checked with the cook and it was a ribeye in fact. I said this is not a ribeye, end of story. She too it back and to my surprise came jotting back to our table with the same steak adding that they had changed the type of ribeyes they served and that this was indeed a ribeye off the but section. What? I told her that all this covering up was unacceptable and that I was not eating that piece of leather. No real resolution except I didnt have to pay for the steak I didnt eat, big deal. Poor customer service, a lot of blaming the cooks and a lot of not accepting responsibility for screwing up the order. Wont go back unfortunately because they have always had great steaks and atmosphere.
JO
Jon Nichols II
Much of what was very good about the old Avenue Bar has been preserved in its new version, the Avenue Club and The Bubble Up Bar. The styling has been severely updated to a fantasy mid-century modern-chic, which has disappointed many traditionalists, but seems quite an improvement to me. They kept the big TVs for game day, however, and still sling basically the same Reuben (which I get here most of the time... Im a sucker for corned beef). The chicken-fried pickles are amazing, and the cheese curds are beautiful things, to be eaten when still hot if possible. The roasted half-chicken is superb, but generally too much food for me! They also keep the core of their meaty supper club menu, but better prepared. Before the restaurants purchase by the local Food Fight group, service had become quite bad, and the food really wasnt very good, while still costing quite a lot. Now, service is professional and polite, and the food is extremely consistent. Their cocktail selection is veering towards craft without being too finicky, and there are plenty of very good beers on tap, many of which happen to be local. They also offer a neat selection of Tiki cocktails on tap, which is really cute. A great place for brunch, too, as I can attest from previous visits. Food Fight has brought new life to a Madison standby that Id all but given up on.
MI
Mick Dutcher
This diner restaurant is a nice, historical establishment not far from the State capitol. I have heard that it is popular State senators and representatives and that it is not uncommon to run into them dining here while they are in session. I have eaten here multiple times for lunch, but never for dinner. The lunch menu is very good. They have remodeled since my previous visit and the restaurant has a much more open, airy feel to it now. It feels much more open and welcoming. The staff are always very friendly and courteous and the lunch menu is excellent. The restaurant definitely has a supper club feel to it and, on college game days, I understand they offer a shuttle too and from the football games. I am sure it can be quite busy at times during lunch, but I have never had to wait to get a table. There is a small parking lot on site which is honestly easier to access from the street which runs behind the restaurant (Curtis Ct). The entrance and restaurant are handicap accessible. While I cant speak to their dinners since Ive only been there for lunch, I would highly recommend them for their menu and for the atmosphere. Cheers!
TA
Tacoma SanJuan
For us, this place was over the top. We celebrated a bday amongst us and have previously enjoyed visiting many Wisconsin "Supper Club" establishments over the years. Unique to this is their retro flair to the design of the interior without taking away from the quality of supper club traditions and entrées. In fact all 6 of us truly enjoyed what wed ordered with much sharing tastes around our table. Old Fashions were excellent in the traditional way. Badger appetizer coming on a lazy susan for us all to share was a nice touch. Free ice cream drink from the bar for our of-age birthday girl. Service was excellent. We made reservations and went 5pm to avoid any rush. Saturday is prime rib night. It was medium as I like and excellent. Food Fight Restaurant Group owns this supper club. They revamped some management and menu items here in the past 6 months and have done very well. Weve visited at least one of their other eateries and picked this one because the last was so good & this current location fit our east side Madison visit. In future returning to Madison, I hope we can someday visit here again.
