Pete J.
Yelp
Visits: One (so far)
When: Friday 7/13/12 6:45pm
Company: Me
Cuisine: Classic northeastern Wisconsin supper club/ steakhouse. Wet aged (14-16 days, in house) steaks, pan fried walleye, variety of fish entrees included perch.
Vibe: Subdued, historic, peaceful. Average age 60 plus. Historic hotel over 100 years old, in family (present owner a former high school math and computer programming teacher who absolutely loves running this place and whose mission is making the wine list the premier, the creme de la creme, of wine selections in the area) for 95 years.
Volume: Low.
Decor: Per the owner "arts and crafts from 1930's". The bar has subdued lighting, very old feel to it. Dining room with Naugehyde booths, wall sconces, wall paper, high ceilings. Second dining room with tables, historic pictures on the walls. Another Yelper stated the Union Hotel was Vince Lombardi's favorite restaurant and he could rise from the dead and feel totally at home here. I agree. It has sort of a 60's classic supper club feel to it. Very cool atmosphere. Warm, cozy ambiance.
Service: Excellent. When you arrive, you sit at the bar, order your drinks and are assigned a waiter/waitress. The waitstaff then gives you a menu, ultimately takes your order, and assigns you a table or booth. You then move to the dining room where a relish tray (lots of super fresh and crunchy carrot sticks, celery, and peppers, accompanied by liver pate, ham salad and cheese spread), bread basket (variety of fresh baked rolls) and crackers await at your table. Both the bartender and the waitress were excellent. The owner was beyond excellent, talked to me at length about the restaurant, the steaks, the wines.
Drinks: Half bottle 2003 Chateau Montelena (go "Bottle Shock") Cabernet Sauvignon $48.50. Incredible wine list, over 300 different wines, priced economy to luxurious, but all very reasonably priced. Some of the wines here are cheaper than what you can buy them on the internet, if you can buy them at all. Wine cellar with over 2000 bottles. Over 50 half bottle selections. By far the best selection of wine in the area. Mission accomplished.
Food: Meyer Natural Angus (Loveland, CO) prime filet mignon cooked to perfection, so tender it could be cut with a fork. Very distinctive flavor. Accompanied by home made "tater tots", which were actually not the breaded deep fat grease bombs most places serve, but rather shredded potatoes fried but not greasy. Fresh salad with French Roquefort dressing. Dessert was a French silk (chocolate) pie with whipped cream- decadent.
Total: $93.90 Given the ingredients (on Meyer's website, the smallest (5 ounce) filet mignon costs $28, before shipping), the level of dining, and the fact that the wine was over 50% of this bill, I consider this reasonable.
Overall: Highly recommend for a "splurge" dinner. The only reason I rated this four rather than five stars is the lack of anything on the menu vegetarian friendly. I really think in 2012 it is incumbent upon fine dining establishments to provide at least one healthy, whole food, plant based choice in addition to the classics. A restaurant this good, with a wine list this extensive really needs to cater to a larger group.