Showboat Saloon

We walked by this place but did not go in. We only parked in the adjacent lot. We were on our way to other things. Had a great look on the outside and a band was playing inside. Sounded like country rock. Maybe my wife and I will check it out next time we make the trip to the Dells.

Old time saloon and grill in the main strip of The Dells. Lots of great beer in tap, a very good menu and always seemingly lively with Bachelorette parties. The walleye, wings and Caprese flat bread were all delicious. The deep fried meat balls in spicy chili sauce were different and absolutely delish.

Historic bar, terrific service and great food. We had the handmade onion rings and flatbread pizza; Both were top notch. Bartender was very helpful with questions about unique tap selections and about the buildings history. Will definitely return when next in the area.

Such a great vibe here! Amazing food, amazing beer selections, great staff, and live music.

Really nice place. Took a little while for them to notice we got there when they were busy but the service was still pretty good. The pretzel sticks were really good tasting with the honey mustard sauce. They have a half off special on wings on Thursdays so we took full advantage of that and ordered some wings. The wings were really good. Would visit again when in the Dells 😎

This is a gem of a music venue. Showboat brings great acts to the area constantly. They have great drink prices and the facilities are top notch. There was plenty of staff for a sold out show, it’s clean and well maintained. Ellis Bullard was my first show at this venue and I can’t wait to go back for more shows. We did have a few appetizers before the show, nachos and spicy pickles. Both were served quickly and hot. There is also ample parking right next to the venue.

I don't give a lot of 5 star reviews. To really earn 5 stars, a place has to do it all well. It doesn't have to be a wall of 50 taps, and a menu that runs on for pages, or a bar that's made out of polished unobtanium. Any sports bar can do that. What it really takes is good food, reasonable prices, and better than average staff. And some special _something_ that makes it stand out. The Showboat hits it on all marks. The layout is [more than] a little odd, the floor has lots of transitions to keep you on your toes, and the sight lines to the stage are a little funky. But - it's got a really good stage, lighting and sound system, and just a great vibe overall. Beer list - more than adequate. I think there were 20+ beers on tap, covering a variety of styles and brewers, plus they had more in the cooler. Prices were more than reasonable as well. Food - Really good, and reasonably priced. They use fresh ingredients - real lettuce, thick cut bacon, properly toasted whole grain bread, and crispy onion rings (french fries looked equally good). Service - The staff can make or break a place like this (and they made it). Attentive to everyone at tables, at the bar, or queued up in the floor order line. Everyone hustled, everyone behind the bar was friendly, and there was plenty of staff to cover a band night. So - 100+ year old bar, live music, good beer, good food, good staff. Yep, 5 stars and I now have a reason to visit The Dells.

“I have been coming to the Dells for years and we never go there” I said as we decided to try Showboat Saloon, lured in by breaded, fried meatballs - when in Rome, right? The beer was the best thing, meatballs were tasty, thin crust pizza definitely has some frozen component (crust?) - it was not good. Stop in for cute atmosphere and a drink. Admittedly if I was super drunk I probably wouldn’t have known the difference, and I think that’s the draw. Cheers!

Stopped in late Sunday while passing though town for food and beer. Good beer selection! The pizza that was available late night was solid. Very loud. 90db. But they were open later which was what we needed.

Went here for half price pizza on Saturday! We got cheese curds and a large pepperoni pizza. John (my man) described the cheese curds as "fascinating" and "a good call." He also said something about them being squeaky which is apparently a good thing but I don't know, I'm not fluent in Wisconsin dork language. Good pizza too. However, I do NOT recommend the lemonade. It walked like a duck and quacked like a duck but I'm pretty sure it was half water. Also, the layout and atmosphere seem fun and ideal for bar hopping with friends. Unfortunately, I've already spent an embarrassing amount of money on alcohol this month, but I'd come back another time.

If you want a night out dancing and affordable drinks this is the place to go. So be careful Dells bars in general tend to over pour.... They don't have Bombay which was a negative personally. We had a great time here dancing and hanging out

Beautiful, historic building, lots of local tap options Great fish fry, check it out!

It was really cool. Cool stage and money on the pillars. The half priced drinks were a great deal this is what I would recommend.

Pretty cool place, from the design of the building outside to the decor inside. Really nice selection of beers but it would have been nicer to see a few lower percentage beers on the draft menu - we had some 14 and 10 percent options that were tasty but they made the day more of a sprint than a marathon. The place was getting packed but the bartender still did a great job of juggling everything and it never felt like we were being ignored or not being helped. Whoever helped us out deserves an employee of the month award, I wish i got their name. Also the food is probably pretty good. We got the fries and they were amazing. Those fries were perfect bar food, great compliment to the beer.

Service was excellent in the back bar and the ambiance /music was lit Staff was friendly and helpful Bathrooms were clean and well stocked Next time in the Dells, I will definitely hangout here again.

Stopped in here to watch a Packer game. Good local bar with lots of space and tvs, good drink selection and some rarer beer on tap. Dog friendly, prompt service with little frills. I believe they do some basic food such as pizza but didn't try anything.

Good food, I love the layout and atmosphere of the bar buttttt. They have a lot of pricks working here. Not everyone there are some really sweet and polite bartenders. Some of the bouncers though need to get a new job. One heavier set fellow was a complete jerk, he started as a bouncer and seemed to get put behind the bar. I had a $20 tip laying there up until somebody in my group asked for a water he just laughed at her and said go to a different bar if you want water. Instantly took my $20 tip back. Guess what, they set out a jug of water in the floor below. So he chose to be rude instead of inform us on that. This wasn't the only time that night he was a rude little shit. After the experiences I had with some of the staff I would rather spend my night trying to get high on huffing gasoline. Says a lot about that bar. Went from the best spot around to absolute worst spot.

We tried to eat here but couldn't figure out how to even get into the restaurant. We followed the signs which led to more signs and we eventually gave up. On to the next one.

Great beers, good service, and good food. Prices were better than the mexican place next door. Dont get that dark beer, almost got sick. Stick to the Octoberfest.

Amazing so and an absolute stops in the Dells! Great characters and kids loved the show.

Finally made it to Steak Night (Wednesday) at the Showboat. I was a tad skeptical of ordering a steak here, I've only ever ordered wings, curds, pizza, etc., but I had heard so many friends tell me how good it is so I wanted to give it a try. They have a choice of sirloin or ribeye, I went with the ribeye done medium-rare. It came out perfectly. I am one of those people who has to interview the order taker to find out before ordering what med-rare means to the chef. Big enough potion to take almost half home. Also comes with choice of potato, broccolini, bun and butter. After the steak, we stayed for Horseshoes & Hand Grenades, an excellent bluegrass band - banjo, fiddle, standup fiddle, guitar. Definitely will be back for both the steak and the band!

Okay, just to be clear, it's not a dive bar. It's a tourist bar claiming to be a dive bar. It's a nice space, lots of room, lots of natural light (also a sign it's not a dive bar). Plenty of tvs, decent bathrooms. Good tap selection, although it's weird to drive all the way to Dells just to get the same Eagle Park tappers you can get around town. We only ate some cheesy bread sticks and they were good--gooey, what you want in a bread stick. If I'm ever in the Dells again, I'd definitely go back.

This place has been such a blast every time I go there. Last weekend they had three dollar Toppling Goliath seltzers, delish!

The show boat salon was our stop on Saturday around lunch time. Great dive bar on the Wisconsin dells downtown. We all got drinks and were served in a timely fashion. We wanted just a little snack to hold us off for awhile, so we ordered a few apps. We ordered pretzel bits, spicy pickle fries, and spinach and artichoke dip. The cheese that came with the pretzels was the biggest hit! It tasted so good I could put it on almost anything. The pickles were my second favorite looking identical to regular fries, something I haven't seen before. I didn't try the spin dip but was assured by the others that it was a good choice as well!

Great food!! Love the Mama's Garage around corner as well!! They serve the Showboat Saloon's menu until 9:00 pm!! Was a great little bar find on a short trip from FL.

Their tap was AMAAZING. The perfect spot to munch and have a good beer. The bartenders were friendly and attentive. We tried their wings and pizza and both are very recommended. I'll be coming back.

CAUTION We've been here a few times and have always enjoyed it. This weekend we had a server actually pull some sketchy moves with our payment. We arrived and grabbed a beer. The server asked for a credit card to hold the tab, which is standard. We had two beer and asked for the bill. She brought the bill and we put down two $20s to pay (we needed change). After waiting a long while, we flagged her and let her know we were waiting for change. She sheepishly came back and said she had already run the card and thought the $40 was tip. On an $18 bill. She then returned our $40, and gave us the credit card slip to fill out and sign. I want to give some room for this to be an honest mistake, but I'm having trouble convincing myself. Fun place, but keep your guard up.

Showboat gets 2 stars for having plenty of space to dance. But their DJ was terrible, playing a Spotify or Pandora dance party station, or even my own iTunes account would have been dramatically better. The service was good, bartenders were busy but made sure they made their way down the bar. Unfortunately, the drinks were weak.

The server kicked us out because he said we were being bad parents , because we told our children to lower their voice . We went up to talk to them to explain why, and the server said "you're being a bitch" and you cannot talk to children this way. We told our kids to call down, we had a 4 day weekend of baseball, and these servers think they know how to raise 7 children , fuck these people. I will take them down.

Fun place it was beer crawl night so there were lots of fun people to interact with.. we didn't eat here so I can't rate the food.. sorry :( But on the fun scale it's about a 4 out of 10 for a bar..

Place may be known for its beer selection but it lost a lot of stars based on how they treated a customer who had been over served. Guy came up to our group in a friendly but drunk state. He was talkative but slurring. After a bit he got loud and somewhat aggressive. E settled down but couldn't tell me if he was with anyone at the bar. I felt he wasn't safe to leave the bar. I caught the attention of one of the bartenders and said I was worried about this customer, that he needed some help. The bartender came and talked to him and convinced him to step outside for some fresh air, at which point the closed the doors on him and locked him out. No attempt to find his group or to determine if he had a car and would get in it. I can't recommend visiting this bar.

Had a pretty good time here. I loved that they had plenty of room for the dart boards and the bartenders were super nice.

Great place for lunch with kids. We walked in here based on the reviews and worried that it wasn't kid friendly. It turned out the opposite. The staff was quick and friendly. Lots of space. The food was very tasty and great value.

Fun, fun, fun. Never eaten here but it's always a good time and the bands are great!

I haven't eaten enough here to know if it truly deserves five stars, but what I HAVE experienced was good enough for me. They claim that their wings are the pride and joy of the menu. I had boneless and traditional, two different flavors, both kinds fantastic. Besides great wings, they have a large selection of good beers, a nice happy hour alongside daily specials, and nice atmosphere. If you're young at heart and looking for a nice bar to have some cocktails and dance, this place will also scratch that itch if you plan on staying out late. In a town full of nice restaurants, this place is worth checking out.

I used to enjoy going to this bar in the dells. Last Friday (October 7th) I went in there with three of my friends. They orders makers and coke. Somehow got served jager and coke (personally I don't know anyone that would consume that willingly).We asked them to fix their mistake. The male bartender fixed one but refused the other and was the rudest customer service. Oh then he told the other bartender not to serve us. Don't waste your money at this racist bar. Have a swing a nigs. Better customer service and they aren't going to screw your drink up and not own there mistake. Both the male and female bartenders need to be fired. Dirty disgusting bar with poor customer service.

this place was wild, hard to play darts bc people gettin low everywhere, cool spot though

Sad day when a bartender offers you a "sample"of a dark beer (shot glass full) only to come back after you take a sip to tell you that will be $15. Not cool.. be upfront with the customers or you are just ripping them off.

My group of underage friends and I can't attest to the drink quality, but there's a reason we used to go here all the time! On random days off from school, all five of us would hit up Showboat as a lunch spot before enjoying the other games and shops. Service was fast, food was delicious, and it was outstandingly cheap! I would get chicken strips and cheese curds every time, and the server would split the curds among us without asking, so everyone's total came to below $10 for what would likely be $15 at any other place. I'll have to come back in a few years to give it the thorough review!

Great little bar. A/C was kicking in this place and was a great relief from the heat! While in the Dells for vacation we stopped in for a cold one and an appetizer and to get in out of the heat. Nice and cool inside. Food was good. We had the pretzel and added the beer cheese. Beers on tap are IPA's of which I'm not a fan but great for IPA lovers. I had a Montucky beer which was very good and very cold. We were in on a Monday around 11am and it was fairly empty at that time. All beers were half off at that time and the beer I had was $1 per can all day for a 16 oz can. Can't beat that!

Excellent craft beer selection and lots of drink specials. We're talking half off Toppling Goliath raps on Friday's... all day/night. Food is also good and reasonably priced. We downed a huge basket of fluffy onion rings for $4. Old time charm in this ancient building with I believe the original bar... and floor. Also Shake is the Day!

This place is amazing. It should be "Showboat Saloon, the happiest place on earth." Food is great, bartenders are fun and friendly. If you're ever in the area this is a must to visit!

Stopped in here as it was June of 2020, and we drove up from Chicago looking for something to do and some sanity. Place was a ghost town, and not just the Showboat, but the entire dells area. Anyways, we just stopped in for a few beers as obviously there were no shows, and definately no karoke...probably hard to do with 4 people in the whole place. Bartender was nice and friendly, there was another bartender who was a woman who told us our beer was from Texas when I asked...when she walked away; my boyfriend (A brewmaster) started laughing and told me the beer was not from Texas, and gave me the whole history of it...lol. If you don't know, just say you don't know...lol. Anyways, cute decor, and we appreciated them being open during such a tough time, that was long before the Great Resignation took place, and the service industry continues to take such a bad hit. We enjoyed our time, and our beers from Texas.

Myself and 9 girls were pushed out in the middle of the day because we weren't single and flirting. The manager sent over a drunk asshole to make us uncomfortable to get us to leave. Not to mention, the service before that was horrible. We sat for 10 mins before anyone even asked our drink order. I do not recommend.

It was beyond amazing to watch Patrick behind the bar and serving food. We have NEVER seen such a hard worker like him EVER. This guy was able to multitask with several different details. He was personable and efficient. You guys are lucky to have him, because a work ethic like that is worth a million bucks. We literally wanted to kidnap him and bring him back to Michigan to work with our family members that just opened a bar. You are very lucky to have him. Your happy hour is amazing, and your wings were delicious! There is no where in Michigan that we could get 18 delicious wings and 5 stellar craft beers for $30. What a great business strategy! We will drive back from Michigan just to visit your bar and witness Patrick's talent!

Better than it should be, all things considered. Reasonably priced drinks and enough room to cut a rug, this place is a good time on a Saturday night.

1/2 price beers from Toppling Goliath brewery on Thursday & 1/2 price flatbreads. Good beer drinking saloon. Excellent bartender service and attention.

Walked in on a Night in early October, the regulars at the bar were early 20's D-Bag types who don't bend the bills of their hats and use the words "swag" and "YOLO" Wasn't even greater by the bartenders as they were busy chatting it up with their fellow douche nozzle friends. Wound up going to another Bar with a better atmosphere.

Growing up, my parents would take my siblings and I on long road trips from Michigan to Florida. The drive down I-75 put us straight through "God's country." Which meant that almost all the radio stations would either be talking about God or playing country. Now I hated Top 40 music as a kid - except on these trips. There was something familiar and welcoming about hearing the "crap" music that would be played at home. For the most part, Wisconsin Dells is God's country. At least as far as bars are concerned. Except for this anomaly. It's the first thing you see when you cross over the bridge on 13 into town. And for a "Top 40" atmosphere, there's really no need to go any further. This is the bar that the tourist grownups hang out in once they've put the kids to bed. Going on a Friday night, there were bachelorette parties, guys straight off the Jersey Shore, and provocatively dressed whoo girls (both a positive and a negative) galore whooping it up on the dance floor while their boyfriends played darts. It felt like a scene straight out of Wrigleyville were I back in Chicago. But compared to getting bombarded by country music like in most of the other bars I had gone to in the area, it felt like a scene straight out of heaven. Either way, it's definitely a debaucherous, rollicking scene as the name would imply. Its greatest asset, however, is its diverse lineup of entertainment. There's a really nice stage that hosts everything from karaoke (make sure to check the schedule, it's not every night) to live music to (surprisingly good if the night I was there was any indication) DJs. The music might not have been super current, but gosh darn if I can get Mark Morrison's "Return of the Mack" out of my head on the other side of the weekend! The beer is what it is. It's mostly the Lite sort with some Leines mixed in for about average price (between $3 and $5). It's not a bad bar. It's actually pretty average for most cities. But in the Wisconsin Dells, it's about the best thing going. They'll probably even play some Madonna if a customer asked (you know, just for old time's sake).

How can you not love Showboat Saloon? Well if you have a severe peanut allergy, don't even attempt to come in here, unless you have 5 epi-pens. This is one of those great institutions where you can shell your own peanuts and throw them all over the place as if you were in the Wild West! It's fun to be messy, isn't it? + points for the lobster game. Yup, you can pay $2 for the chance to grab a lobster out of the tank by reaching into the water with a claw that you control using a joystick. Once I saw a guy pull a lobster out, that was holding onto.....THATS RIGHT! Another lobster! Lucky bastard. If you grab a lobster, the kitchen will cook that bad boy for you for FREE! Showboat also attracts bachelorette parties, which is fun because inevitably, the bride-to-be is usually the most prim and proper lady in the group, while her friends are all getting s*it-faced and sloppy time about it. Bridesmaid says to me, slurring her speech "What does a girl have to do around here to get a shot? Keith says, "You have to shoot some Jamo." Bridesmaid stares at me, mouth agape, then turns around to attack her next victim, slurringly, "What does a girl have to do around here........" A penny saved is a penny earned. Another great thing about Showboat is of course, the Jameson shot special. Me, my wife, and all our friends(with the exception of a few) love to drink the Jameson. Pre-drank at the campsite and walked here, and drank some more. The night ended badly....our female companions all stormed off into the night to go back to our site, the men stayed and continued to increase our blood alcohol content so that we could sit around the campfire and argue about whether one long sleeved shirt or 7 t-shirts would keep you warmer in the winter, and to have one handed egg cracking and flipping contests.....or was that a different day? PS: They show the fights here if you're into that. I am, it's okay for you to be into that too. Biter.

My favorite Dells bar. Cheap Drinks Good mix of tourists and locals Live cover bands (go ahead, shake it) PEANUTS Friendly Waitstaff Good bar food Darts OK, so it sounds like your average pub, but what more could you want from Wisco Dells nightlife? Satisfying but still true to its roots.

This is probably the largest bar in the Dells. It's got a great location and ample parking nearby. Plenty of restaurant choices within walking distance if you want to eat first. The business itself is aged. The tile floor is cracked. The floor was sticky by the time I walked in at 930pm on a Friday. It lacks any cohesion between the main bar, the stage, and back bar. The beer selection was surprising good. The male staff seemed knowledgable on the different offerings. Drinks were priced on the good side of moderate. The crowd was a mix of drunken guys and girls that looked overdressed for the location. Music was too loud to have any real conversation. Considering all the potential this bar has, it'd be nice for the management to invest some money into and make this truly the go-to place.

Place has potential to be good. They played decent music. They have shuffleboard. The main thing they lacked in was a good crowd.

Free Bacon...as a snack....after 9:00pm. That is all you need to know. Get there. First trip to the Dells. All the cousins out for a night without kids. We found this place to start the night and get some food. The food is actually pretty good - no joke - I was surprised! Everything was tasty. BTW - Pizza Fries: I had imagined them to be fries smothered in pizza fixins. they are not. It is a cheese pizza without sauce cut into small finger size pieces with a marinara sauce. That said, it was good. real good. The cheese curds: Best I have ever had. they are alomost tempura'd. a light batter that lets the cheese be the star. Seriously. So. Good. With a group as large as we were, there was bound to be someone who didn't like something they ordered, right? nope. nearly everything off the small menu was ordered and devoured. We learned the free bacon didn't start until later, so we went out and did nutty things and returned that night and sure enough - free bacon. and I mean, deep fried bacon. It was so, so good. Live music, and we were able to snag the pool table for a couple of games. The bartenders and staff are super nice and cool. The shuffleboard and pool table is fun but the weird "hit a nail into a tree trunk" game is a must. Note: we liked it so much we went for lunch the next day with the kids. Though they were able to eat in the Kitchen part of the place (there is even a kids menu), they weren't allowed up into the main bar part where the shuffleboard, pool table and weird tree trunk were. So..FYI. only partly good for the small ones. Awesome time.

We were there early on a Friday night (8:00 p.m.) so a few patrons milled in and out of the bar. Got our drinks quick. Did I just pay $8 for a vodka redbull? In WISCONSIN? Pretty sure I paid that in a club in Chicago. Saw peanut shells on the ground. Waited. Waited. My boyfriend finally asked, "got peanuts?" Got our peanuts. The other bartender was more friendly and stopped to chat. They need better drink specials. It gets livlier later on. The dive bars in the Dells are better. Monk's is comprable, and much better.

We were there on a Thursday night around 9pm. Band had just started up and they were decent for a cover band. Drinks were reasonably priced with a good selection (maybe a little high, but coming from Chicago, you get used to it!) Best part was .... We were there on a "Free Bacon Night" .... yep, you heard me FREE BACON NIGHT! And not just lousy flimsy bacon, but thick cut delicious bacon. Music - check Drinks - check Free Bacon -- woo hoo!

I tell you that when my husbande was aloud to sit in with the band and play some led zepplin so hard he accidently knocked the snare off its stand and the college kids cheered..we knew that we chose to end our night in the right place! We had alot of fun with the locals, the drinks were reasonable..you would have to be pretty drunk to stick your hand in the bowl of peanuts on the bar..consider all the people hands that have also been in there....Either way when they started to close..we wished they were open later. I must also add that as kids we had rootbeer here with our families and were so in awe of the shells on the floor..lol,,good times