The Social

They customized Veggie option for us which was not in the menu at all. Glad we got food that day. I appreciate the help of bar tender for the special customized food. They delivered to the lake side. Friendly service. Great Views. Tasty Food. Everything upto the mark.

Stopped to get sandwiches and fries. Menu was limited as an outside auto event was going on. We ordered 2 different sandwiches. Meat was minimal, barely warm, dried out. At $14 a sandwich, we expected more. I ate 2 bites and was done. We were told food was cooked by a chef which i highly doubted. We complained repeatedly, yet no one came to talk to us. We wanted to order a beer, and were told all of the beer taps were out of order. Waitress was great. She said she was unable to communicate with anyone in the kitchen as no one spoke english. Inside looks like it is in need of a good cleaning. Bathrooms were nasty. Will NEVER return or recommend.

Best burger and fries we have had. They call them truffle fries. Super attentive waiter and beautiful atmosphere! Best to make reservations.

Great place on the lake. Outdoor seating suggested. Everyone is is very friendly and helpful . Service is slow. Expect nearly 2 hours for dinner. But worth food is excellent. Take your time and enjoy..

We had an awesome dinner at The Cottonwood Social. The drinks, food, and dessert were all delicious - and the service was wonderful! One of the best dining views you can get in Wisconsin!

Very disappointed to have been treated so poorly. We have been coming for years and we’ll never go back. It was completely empty on a Friday night and horribly smokey from cooking the staff were doing for each other. We had drinks and were offered shots, which we did not ask for. When it was time to pay, the owner randomly plugged a bunch of drinks into the computer. The bill was gigantic and not accurate. When I tried to say we were overcharged he said he’d call the police on me. I had no problem with that and explained the police might but like that the bartender and his cook were wasted (cook/manager passed out in a chair nearby). I was just trying to make it right and was called the B word and told to leave and never come back. Rather than have a fair bill we paid nothing, hence the one star.

The food that we got (hummus plate and salad) was really good! I was disappointed, though, that the online menu didn’t match the menu in restaurant. As a vegetarian, I was really counting on the mushroom flatbread being available and it was not so we skipped entrees and stuck to appetizers. Good service, though, and they were running a 25 cent beer deal!

As a frequent Elkhart Lake visitor we were very disappointed by our recent experience here. The food was not warm enough and very over priced. The fish fry looked and tasted like frozen fish you'd buy. They have great cocktails but beware of the food!

If you can get a seat out on the patio, then do it. You'll be looking out onto Elkhart Lake while eating some tasty food. It doesn't really get better than that. Unfortunately, I didn't get a seat out on the patio because it was hella cold the day that I visited. Instead, I dined inside the warm and eclectically decorated dining room at The Social. There's a popcorn machine in one corner. Church glass and electronic slots machines in another corner. Leather couches and a bar that takes up one whole side of the room. To enter the joint, you need to walk down a flight of stairs and walk in as though you're entering a dungeon. It's kinda dark and cozy and relaxing in The Social. It's a nice vibe. They have a great lunch and dinner menu, as well as snacks and drinks at the bar. I was here one morning for a breakfast buffet, which I think is not typically served on most days, but you might want to check their menu. I also had a fabulous steak dinner one evening, with a pumpkin soup and double chocolate brownie for dessert. Every single thing I put in my mouth was divine, including the signature Old Fashioned.

I'd rate the food, but in an hour, it never showed up. We were the only people in the place. Never even received menus. We made dinner reservations elsewhere while waiting. Can't express enough to avoid this place at all costs!

My friend and I were kayaking on Elkhart Lake when a flash storm, with thunder and lightning. The local sheriffs were yelling at us to get out of the water, but we had no where to go. My friend and I sheltered under an awning at the back door of a business, to get out of the torrential rain. Two friendly young men opened the service entrance door of the storage room and invited us in to shelter. The manager saw us, and warmly welcomed us into the main dining area to get dry and wait out the storm. We could not have appreciated your staff more. Thank you for the warm hospitality. We look forward to patronizing your lovely establishment soon!!

Said they were open till 10... refused seating a table at 8:20 when the place was dead.

Avoid. Menu online is inaccurate and the one you receive has very few items. The place before this - Back Porch Bistro - was amazing. Unfortunately, cottonwood social is the pits. We had a larger party sitting outside. We were never served water. Our first round of drinks took 20+ minutes. The server forgot my drink. I ordered a new drink and never received that drink either when we sat there for close to an hour. Eventually we left and the server tried to charge us for both drinks that were never received, and an appetizer that was never received. Terrible service, 0 options on the menu.

We made reservations for my Mom's birthday and were promptly seated. At 6:00 not a single other person was there, which should have been our first warning sign. At 6:15 our drink orders were taken but messed up, and the cocktails were terrible. We were never served water and they ran out of menus. When we did see the menu, it was vastly different than the one online with only pizzas and a few odd shareable appetizers. The bathrooms were completely unkept and gross. About 20 minutes after we ordered a pretzel, we still hadn't received it and decided to leave. Sadly the service was terrible, the cocktails were worse, and we never had a chance to try the food. I would recommend trying any other place in Elkhart Lake than here.

Terrible service. Server was clueless. Set up tables for a party of 12; literally trapping me on the porch. I pointed it out before the party arrived and he had to help me out and move me to another table. Extremely limited menu. Pizza is not that great.

What a nice meal! Great service, delicious food! So glad we came here. Lake views were great.

We had a wonderful meal with our extended family while visiting Elkhart Lake. Food was delicious, views of the lake were great, and our server was outstanding. I'd highly recommend.

Food was delicious, the outdoor views were delightful- our server was excellent- honestly I don't know why they had poor reviews. I highly recommend this place!

I have no idea why this place had such bad reviews. Reading some of the past reviews it looks like they have fixed a lot of things. The food was great, especially the pizza and desserts. The vibe on the lake was great and made it an awesome night. I would highly recommend and return again!

We actually ate at the Cantina restaurant underneath. Wow was it terrible, everything served in paper boats, meals come with no sides, doesn't even serve rice ...again at a Mexican restaurant. Servers didn't bring waters or asked if we wanted drinks, had to go to the bar ourselves to get them. No managers around only 16 to 18 year old kids running the place from the kitchen to the service. The sign outside said there was a build your own taco bar from 2pm to 9pm staff knew nothing about it. Just poorly ran and embarrassing that we made the recommendation to come there w family. If your looking for an actual Mexican dinner this is not the place it's more of a snack shop. And to be honest we all felt upset in the stomach the next day.

We were looking forward to going to a new restaurant in Elkhart lake . The drinks were awful - wine on tap and Prosecco on tap were odd. The bartender was underage and did not know how to make an old fashion. Food was ok - nothing great - highly seasoned with too much salt on everything! Atmosphere was nice but overall they need to look over there system !

Horrid!!! If I could give negative stars I would. The ahi tuna appetizer had way too much soy sauce it was inedible. The other entrees were nothing special and I got violent food poisoning from the chicken marsala gnocchi. I was up all night and sick for 2 days after. It makes me sick to even think about it. Nothing about this restaurant was good or fresh. Do not go!!!!!'n

We had dinner at The Cottonwood Social last weekend and we were completely satisfied with our entrée items and appetizers. We started with the Ahi tuna appetizer, this was melt in your mouth tuna seared perfectly with what appear to be a pickled onion on top served on a crisp flat bread. I would have to say it was the best Ahi tuna I've had! We split it between two people and the portion size was very generous and not over priced. My boyfriend ordered the Schwartz burger and I had the fish and chips. The burger was grilled to perfection, rare and had this amazing bacon tomato jelly on it, just delicious. My fish was walleye a very large fillet encrusted in Parmesan on top of fingerling potatoes with capers. It was just delicious, and also cooked to perfection. After our meal, chef Chris came to our table to chat with us. He is very friendly and a very creative young chef who is willing to try different dishes. The menu really has something for everyone, and it's priced very affordable. We can't wait to come back again and try a different dish! Highly recommend the Cottonwood Social, you won't be disappointed.

Avoid at all costs. Repeat avoid at all costs. We had a 6:30 reservation, arrived right on time and ordered soon after being seated. 50 minutes later we were told our appetizers should be out in another 10-12 minutes. We politely asked to see the manager and a woman identifying herself as the "new owner" came over and apologized that the kitchen was backed up and there were still two tables ahead of us waiting for their food. She did apologize again and then brought us a plate of French fries so out young children at least had something to eat. About 15 minutes the later we still didn't have our food and the nice young waitress came by to see if there was anything we needed. We said our food and asked her how long it would be. She said "To be honest if I were you I would go someplace else as we are still very backed up in the kitchen. ". With a starving 7 and 9 year old and it approaching 8pm I started to walk with the kids to another restaurant when my wife tested that their Mac and cheese had finally arrived so we ran back so they could eat. In the meantime our Caesar salad and caprese salad arrived and within 1 minute our tuna entree which we specifically requested be rare. The waitress has told us they always serve it rare. Only problem here was the tuna was so overcooked that it was inedible. We called the owner back over and she started telling us about the problems they are having and why and I finally said I'm really not interested in hearing about their issues but that they should really figure it out. Btw I should add this is our 9th straight summer coming to Elkhart Lake for our end of summer vacation and we used to love the Back Porch Bistro. We finally left after the kids ate their Mac and cheese and we ate our salads but just couldn't eat the overcooked tuna. To cap things off on our way out there was another family walking towards the Cottonwood Social and I said please do yourself a favor and go someplace else. The owner chased us down the street to tell us I was rude for doing that. I said we were trying to save them the hassle we endured and that they for sure wouldn't think we were rude. All of this is on top of the fact they charged us for Lobster Mac and Cheese even though our kids had regular Mac and cheese without lobster. In many years as a Yelp user this is probably the 2nd negative review I've ever written. Again I suggest avoiding this place at all costs.