Short Stack Eatery
| Address: | 301 W Johnson St, Madison, WI 53703, USA |
| Phone: | +1 608-709-5569 |
| Site: | shortstackeats.com |
| Rating: | 4.3 |
| Working: | Closed Closed 6AM–3PM 6AM–12AM 6AM–12AM 6AM–12AM 12AM–9PM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 10
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Christin Allessio
When I first moved to Madison earlier this year, Short Stack was quickly my favorite restaurant. Great for breakfast, brunch, and even late nights on the weekends. In the past few weeks, however, I feel the quality has gone down and is not really worth the price anymore. I think they may have gotten new chefs or staff, I see they have a hiring sign up in their window. Lately the food has been lower quality (I got served cold poached eggs, salad had no dressing on it, other small things). The pancakes are consistently good (chocolate chip and sweet potato), the breakfast burrito is amazing, breakfast sandwich is also on point. The biscuits have been dry the few times Ive tried, the blind special yesterday was TINY (but I guess thats what you get for half price). I would still recommend it, but unfortunately it will no longer be my go to spot. Instead of coming here regularly it seems more worth the risk to try new places for something better.
CD
cdirto
If you are into forced socialistic settings, having the person at the ATTACHED table next to you make phone calls, or doing a job interview, or selling something, and then eating burned pancakes for breakfast, then this place is for you! Seriously, a breakfast joint that cant cook pancakes, (their signature dish, by the name of the place) is not a place Ill eat at again. The line out the door is caused by the fact that you have to order your food at the counter, BEFORE you even get a seat. Then, while you are in the back of the place waiting, someone will leave, and someone just coming in grabs the table..... Oh, and if you order coffee and others with you order soda, you are given your mug, but they have to wait to have their drink brought to them, usually after you sit down, after waiting for a table........ Also, the place is SMALL! Too small for the setup they use. People are always in each others way. Wont visit this place again.
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Chien Saevang
Ive been here numerous times and I love this place. I tell all my family and friends about it. Its been going downhill though as of late. Ive been continuously disappointed. Tonight I ordered the blind special. For those of you who dont know, you order their special of the night without knowing for 50% off. So I get my food after 35 minutes of waiting. Only to receive 2 eggs and what I call maybe 2 bites of some pork. Youre telling me that someone paid $13 for this? The table behind me had one gentleman order it and I overheard his reaction to be the same as mine. It was so bad my party was laughing at me for ordering the pitiful meal. Short stack you used to be awesome, what happened? I wont be ever coming back.
DA
David Bream
I ordered the blind "special". I received 2 scrambled eggs and some toast. The food was fairly good, but nothing special. I also ordered a soft drink, and received a full glass of ice and some soda to fill the empty space in the cup. I was also charged $2.50 for that cup of ice; which is fine if you give refills like any other food establishment in the country. I asked for a refill and was told that they do not do refills on soft drinks. I showed the "waitress" the glass of ice and she looked at me blankly. Also, you can get unlimited refills on coffee if you care to get up and get it yourself. Its no wonder they ask for tips at the register, before they show off their lackluster "service".
HI
Hilary G
Waited out in the cold for a half hour before even getting inside (bad design for how ordering is set up). Food came out before the drinks and the waitress forgot what we ordered. I asked for my eggs medium and they were almost completely raw as in the yolks were clear in some spots. Did not feel safe eating them. Couldnt complain about it to the waitress because we were completely ignored after our drinks arrived. The Bloody Mary was underwhelming and had a strong vineager aftertaste. Paid $18 for an unsatisfying meal, half of which did not meet food safety standards. Not sure why people think this is worth the price. Ill stick to the many other better quality and priced places in Madison.
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Joseph Kardia
Odd hours, but being able to go and get the best breakfast in Madison anytime between 7am on Thursday and midnight on Sunday is the savior of every college student, from the inebriated to the starving night owl. The food is phenomenal, local, and reasonably priced for the quality. Good coffee and cocktails are a huge plus, not to mention a good rotating selection of beer. However the star of the show for us students is the blind special. 6.50 if you dont ask what it is, 11 if you simply must know, for the adventurous of us, its an incredible deal. You CAN however ask if its sweet or savory, which could be the turning point if youre not looking for something to satisfy a sweet tooth.
LA
Larry G. Irwin II
Food is awesome. Coffee is awesome. Love the "blind special" concept. But the clientele and lack of enforcement put this on my endangered list... The seating process needs improvement. Last few times we have made the drive over, there are people "cheating" the line process of sitting after you order. So when we are finished, there is a perfect table for my wife and child to sit at the back away from the cold door... but there is a coat and purse there. We sit near the door. That table stays empty until after our food arrives because someone came in and claimed a table and then got in line. At the sake of stating the obvious, this is not feasible here, and is very annoying.
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Theresa Marie
This place is ok if youre hungover and looking for breakfast on State or if it is 2am and you dont want Ians. Id walk a little further and check out Gotham, Bassett Street Brunch Club, and Old Fashioned before this place though. The coffee is medicore. Waffles were burnt. Greens were rotten and smelled weird. The price on the waffles was different on the menu vs. the chalk board yet the counter lady charged us the higher price which I thought was a weird customer service strategy. Its nice there is a place to get breakfast on State but there are better options just a few blocks away.
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Rich Severin
20min ticket time for breakfast only to have 2 hairs in my food. Disappointing to say the least. Additionally, the way their service is operated is interesting (all tables order at the counter, you get your own condiments, coffee and they just have expos/runners deliver food to wherever you are sat, no formal servers) but poorly executed and does not appear to have been thought out completely. May give them another shot as they do make an excellent chocolate malt and the bloody Mary appears decent. But if the cooks dont have hats or hairnets on again, forget about it.
JU
Justin Pugh
It doesnt make much sense how you order and pay before you can even sit down. It took 45 minutes for my food to arrive... And when it did, it was very good. But it was $20 for French toast, bacon, and coffee. I dont think the portion size justified the price. The atmosphere was loud and chaotic, and for the price... The wait was unforgivable - especially since no one apologized for it. I would go elsewhere. If I hadnt been forced to pay immediately when ordering, I would have paid for my coffee and walked out.
