Bear & Bottle

I've been here a few times but I'm reviewing them for their fish fry. The fish fry is one of the best I've had in Madison. It has a unique breading with a hint of rosemary. The fragrant and delicate spice really takes the fried batter to the next level. The coleslaw and fries are the perfect counterpart. The portions were so large I had to take half home, which I thoroughly enjoyed the next day. The inside is very modern and clean. The location of this restaurant is a little out of my normal path, but once you get to the strip mall there's a ton of cool local places to check out. Service was good. Nothing to write home about, but that's ok too. So long as it isn't poor and a bad experience, I consider it a success.

Another Sunday breakfast at the bear, two eggs sunny with hash browns, PBR and maker's mark! Notre dame womens basketball game on the tv and it's cloudy outside.

Really cute place-natural brick and lots of interesting photos and some watercolors. Will be even better in summer- nice patio and glass walls that open up. Which might be why it was so cold inside! Put my coat back on and noticed I wasn't alone. Went for Restaurant Week. Made it for Happy Hour-had emailed-said till 5 and $2 off. When tap brought bartender said till 9 that night. Overheard next bartender said all night and 1/2 off. So they need to communicate better-affects my order! Food: Started with chorizo fritters. 2 big ones-1/2 through first one they brought out my asada burrito! Felt rushed-asked me if I wanted to pack up my fritter?! (Which was good-would have liked it spicier). Beef in burrito chewy and tough. Again- some hot sauce would have been appreciated. The chips and salsa verde was best part. Again generous portion. Molten lava cake-good but bottom hard and half was cold and not melted. Ice cream fine. Was at bar and place was full-with one bartender. Amazing-but took a while to get bill and leave. Overall will try again-but maybe for a Happy Hour in summer-if they figure it out!

Legitimately couldn't find this place even in the parking lot without checking my phone. It's tucked in the corner without much signage.The place itself is modern warehouse garage windows and very clean. The light fixture is impressive. There's not a ton of brunch items, and many over $15. The cheese curds are decent. Most of us got the hangover burger. The let us know they may be out of the sausage patty's but the burgers came without them, or bacon, or spicy mayo. The brioche blt and other item someone got was okay. The server was fine with us splitting the bill.

After trying to figure out a place to make reservations, we gave a call to Bear and Bottle. The three other places were "no reservations" or didn't answer their phone at all. So when he answered and was all warm and friendly it started the experience of right - we really appreciated being appreciated. We consider this a neighborhood place in that it is the exact middle distance to our friends. We hadn't been there in awhile and we found it delightful and the food even more interesting. We sat outside and forgave the road noise which wasn't too terrible. The service was wonderful. The food was delicious and plentiful. We had two meals from the leftovers. We didn't land on a "favorite cocktail" yet. Appreciated the NA beer selections.I haven't written a review in awhile but was motivated to give a shout out to this relaxed and friendly restaurant that we will visit more often.

I stopped by while in town celebrating my birthday solo; I was feeling a bit lonely but thought it might be weird to ask for attention while out on my own, so I wasn't going to say anything. The extremely welcoming and kind server chatted with me and made recommendations; I had a huge, delicious sandwich and greens with the best strawberry vinaigrette I've ever had. I felt comfortable enough to mention why I was there, and he brought me a slice of heavenly lemon curd cheesecake as a birthday treat. I stopped feeling lame and just enjoyed being celebrated. I so appreciated the kind reception and will happily visit this spot again next time I'm in Madison!

Met a colleague for lunch today and I am impressed!The Kalua Pork Bowl was delicious and not to mention, huge. I will definitely be going back.

Went to bear and bottle a few weeks ago for a business meeting. I grabbed the Crab Rangoons & Birria tacos. Crab Rangoon's were amazing and perfectly crisp. The Birria meat in the tacos tasted so processed and over cooked it was mush and the Birria sauce was flavorless. The walleye was flavorful and the bacon broccoli salad was fresh and full of flavor. Burger was great too. This was the second time I've been here and both times My expectations haven't been fully met. It's a great atmosphere and location but the flavors aren't there for me.

I come here often for the massive bar and tv's. Pretty good food, good staff. This strip mall in the Northside is stacked.

Even though we live on the east side of town I had never heard of this place until my father-in-law and his brother told us how they stopped here and had a great meal (I don't want to give their ages because it might deter some from trying out this fun and vibrant place). They did say it was one of the biggest bars in town and I think they are right.We stopped on a Friday night soon after it was featured in the Madison Magazine - thankfully it wasn't jammed. The space is airy and nicely done. Given the cold weather in late April the garage doors were closed so we do want to return when the weather is nice because those doors being open would be great.The waitress was very friendly and warned us of a couple items not available including no dessert (odd). We ordered a couple of drinks but neither the Banana Mai Tai or Old Fashioned wowed us - they were OK. One reason we did come here was that the menu was not just your typical Madison cheese curd, burger & fish fry selection. Yes they have all three but they have a menu with a number of interesting items. I tried the Tenderoni- a pork tenderloin sandwich with avocado and tapenade - it was very good and tender(oni). Pork can be easily overcooked so I asked for it pink and it was! My wife order the Bahn Mi sliders and gave them a big thumbs up - we told this to the waitress and she said it was lucky she got this because they had run out - at 6pm? Boy I guess supply chain issues impact everything.Overall we had a very good meal and we will return to enjoy this space when the weather is better.