This is the first time we went to the Cotton Exchange for Mother's Day brunch. It was well organized and there was plenty of staff to keep the event running smoothly. The food was very good and fresh. We highly recommend the Cotton Exchange for brunch. We have been there for dinner also and it was very good. read more

Have been to the actual restaurant a couple of times. I remember it being a good (but not great) experience. I was happy to see that they were a vendor at the Waterford River Rhythms concert at the Village Hall Park. They offered a couple of sandwiches. We got one of each. The Italian Beef and the Chicken Bacon Ranch Wrap. Both were good. The beef was tender, and so was the chicken. Couple of suggestions. They add the giardiniera into the beef. My preference is to have it available as a condiment, so you can add as little/much as you like. The wrap was large, and stuffed full of chicken, which would think was a good thing, but it could have benefited from having a bit more of the green salad fixings inside. To give it more textures and flavors. Also, they only have one type of potato chip, plain (and boring). How about offering another choice (Sea Salt and Vinegar)? Super nice service, and it's a reasonable value for what you get. read more

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Came here for all you can eat Easter brunch buffet. It was very busy when we arrived for our 11am reservation. Our table was ready, and we were seated. The variety of food choices was excellent (menu in pics). The staff did a great job of keeping the food filled. Place was decorated very cute for Easter. They did have a sign at hostess stand that if you were a party of 6 or less, you could have your table for 75 minutes. This made the older people I was with kind of "nervous" and worried about the time. The made-to-order omelettes were great. The carved ham had good flavor, but was cold. Everything else i tried was good. Brunch was $45/ person which seems high, but comparatively, seems like an ok price. However, on our party of 5, they added a "large party" charge which was 20% of the bill, which ended up being the tip. We didn't see our server much, but the people clearing dishes from the table did a good job coming around often. read more

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The folks here are just great , they give the best service and know you by name ! Remember our drinks and always have some friendly chats with them all. Food always great and the oyster Rockefeller is always the best. read more

A group of us neighbors went golfing in Waterford and after golf chose the Cotton Exchange for dinner after our golfing. One small reason was that we could request a reservation for a specific time for 14 people. Cheryl was our server and she was a real peach, friendly and conversant, with her engaging attitude and air about her. She took beverage orders and right after delivery, commenced to take orders for food. Cheryl explained some items on the menu, helped us determine what was the best for larger vs small eaters and when the food was delivered, presented all plates beautifully. Coleslaw was delivered along with sliced marble rye bread and butter earlier for snacking to take off the hunger of the group. She also combined couple meals on separate checks after dinner to combine for payment . The only drawback was the fact that they did alert us to an additional credit card charge of paying by card. At this time, 3% additional. But they don't tell you tat it is Leo added for sales tax, so the additional,charge is actually 3.2% with the higher sales tax added to the bill. read more

Cotton Exchange - Junior fish fry with baked potato - American Near Me - Waterford, Wisconsin

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We recently moved to the area so decided to check out the Cotton Exchange that I've always heard so much about. We tried the perch, bluegill and cod fish fries and they were all delicious! You could tell it was quality fish and the potato options (French fries and baked for us) were really good! Service was good and quick which was perfect because we had our twin boys who get antsy if we are at a restaurant too long. It also sounds like they have a drive through for fish fries that I will definitely try in the future! read more

Cotton Exchange - Bluegill - American Near Me - Waterford, Wisconsin

The food was not very good. We ordered ribs and they didn't seem cooked all the way -- they definitely needed more time. I also got the steak sandwich, which was just okay. The service was horrendous. The server only came to our table twice -- once to take our order and once to drop off the check. I ordered an appetizer that never came out, and no one checked on us or offered refills. Overall, it was a really disappointing experience and I wouldn't recommend going here. What could improve: Better attention from servers, checking in on tables, making sure all ordered items are brought out, and improving food quality and cook times. read more

Overall love Cotton Exchange- bartender Dave is entertaining, personable and efficient. Same can be said for waitress Amy. I am gluten free and appreciate the gluten free main menu. Wondering could the Thursday Mexican menu offer entree's made with corn tortillas? Accidentally ate two forkfuls of enchiladas before realizing they were flour tortillas.....suffering this morning read more

Great service and excellent food and drink. We were part of a large party and had excellent service. We had filet minion and the seafood platter. Very pleased with both. Adult beverages were pretty good too. Eat here, you won't be sorry. read more

Overall, this experience was great. The bartender is great at starting up conversations. Let's give him a shoutout DAVE!!!!!! The food was absolutely lit and I almost set on fire from how fire it was. Assoon as you walk in you just get this feeling, like nothing else in the world. I don't know what I would have done if I didn't go here. Overall 1/5 stars. read more

Cotton Exchange - On fire because the food was so fire and lit - American Near Me - Waterford, Wisconsin

The food is excellent. Yesterday, Mexican Night, the waiter and his assistant gave the best service.

We've gone to the Cotton Exchange for a New Years Eve meal countless times over the years. We"ve always enjoyed a leisurely evening with our friends and family. This year, though, was not enjoyable thanks to the rushed service that practically had us leaving before we had a chance to take our seats. Tables were placed so near to each other that they almost touched. The waitress rushed us to order from a diminished menu and never checked with us during our meal. While one of us was still eating, she had already brought containers for those of us taking a portion of our meals home. She cleared our table as soon as she handed us the check emphasizing that there were others waiting for our table. We were in and out in an hour and a quarter feeling extremely dissatisfied. While we were not happy with the service, it's the management that we hold most responsible for this poor experience. The lower level - which is often used for special occasions - could have been used. Instead, everyone was crammed into the upstairs dining area and rushed through their meals so that the Cotton Exchange could make a fast buck. No leisuely New Years Eve experience here! Shame on you, Cotton Exchange! You've seen the last of us! read more

I don't like rich people and I feel like they eat here a lot, the atmosphere is boring but the food is good but I'd rather spoil myself on something more fun and something that feels more like a snack rather, good food I just don't like the atmosphere that's all. read more

Went here with a reservation for Mother's Day. The hostess, Jenna, had zero intention of seating our party of 10 at a table. She made a mistake when my mom checked in and crossed our party off as seated, but we were never taken to a table. We waited 45 min, were told multiple times she made a mistake and they were getting our table ready, and watched group after group get seated. So, we took it upon ourselves to find a table and seat ourselves. Once seated, the wait staff was fine. The food was fine. As with any buffet, there was the good, average, and bad. Dessert being most of the bad. The best choice was the chocolate chip cookie. To sum things up, would I go back? No. Jenna was so incredibly rude the whole experience left a bad taste in my mouth. read more

We were out here for a week day dinner. Food was very good. The staff was very helpful and friendly. The restaurant is clean and inviting. My husband and I had a Mexican dish that was tasty. My daughter had a pasta dish she loved. My son-in-law had the ribs and they looked yummy. We will definitely stop here again soon. read more

They canceled our wedding date without warning! Back in March of 2024 we booked our wedding venue through them and signed a contract. Last week I went to make the second payment only to be avoided at every turn. When the coordinator finally got in touch with me, she informed me that the venue was "inoperable" just on the day of our Oct wedding and we could no longer have our wedding that day. She wouldn't explain why it was inoperable, just kept telling me we were out a venue. We could have our wedding another day at their venue, but we no longer trust them. Communication is non-existent, you can't trust a word they tell you, and contracts mean absolutely nothing to them. I'd give you negative stars if I could! read more

Great food! Great service. We had reservations, no waiting. Love the Barn. Accommodated our larger group.

If you like midwestern super club, with a bit of an uptown feel..the Cotten Exchange is a stop on your agenda. Bartender is fun and makes a good old fashion. The prime rib is good as is a burger! read more

We've recently visited for both the Friday fish fry and Sunday brunch. Across the board, the food has been excellent. Service, however, was a little hit or miss. The fish fry was outstanding! It was crunchy, flavorful, and came with some really fantastic potato pancakes. We also tried the clam chowder, which was equally good. The only thing that let things down was the service. It seemed like it took forever for our waitress to take our order. The food actually arrived very quickly, but after it was dropped off we didn't see our waitress again until we were almost done and had been sitting with empty drinks for quite a while. Still, we ordered the chocolate cake for dessert (with ice cream) and, wow! It almost made up for the bad service. Just fantastic! The brunch was also very good. And a really good value for the price. Everything was tasty and there was a wide selection of food. Service was a little better on this occasion, but could still use some improvement. Overall, we'll definitely be back to the Cotton Exchange. Would just love to see some better service to really take this place to the next level. read more

Had the duck dinner tonight, which was really excellent. Tasty, and not greasy at all. My husband had the prime rib, and he said it was very good, as well. And their prices were good value. Service was excellent, too. We will definitely be back!!! read more

The quality of the food has gone downhill when using the drive-thru. Just had the WORST fish fry I've ever tried to eat. I say try because I couldn't finish it, it was that bad. Dry, cold, had no flavor and possibly the smallest blue gills I've ever had. I'll never go back. (and this was me giving them a second chance after the last disaster I tried there) read more

I recently drove by this place on the way to our nieces play at the local high school. and I have to say I probably would have been better off with Kwik Trip for dinner. the place was not very busy inside for a Friday. I had the 4 piece cod fish fry (the fish didn't seem right, the pieces were to uniform and to doughy to be fresh hand dipped as the menu said) beer battered fish that is made fresh has a different texture to it that usually is light and fresh this was not. my wife had a burger that was over priced for the quality even a plain grilled burger deserves some sort of seasoning when cooking(i know people argue about sodium levels but there are plenty on non salt seasoning options) overall what I had high hopes for fell short. read more

Very nice fresh fish. Fresh green beans. Fish fry on Fridays. Best kept secret among the locals. Steak is fantastic. Try giant pretzel and fresh baked bread. I had the walleye and fresh green beans. read more

Cotton Exchange - American Near Me - Waterford, Wisconsin

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The restaurant from outside looks nice , but inside was disappointed because it looked like they have not changed the carpet in decades and the decor doesn't much the country style of the restaurant. The appetizer we ordered was disgusting it was teriyaki skewers and the two pieces of meat that came were rare and the vegetables hard not to mentioned that the whole bottle of teriyaki sauce was used to covered the whole plate. The T-bone steaks we ordered were ok only that mine was not left to rest and when I got my plate all the juice was left covering my mashed potatoes. It literally looked like steak soup . Lastly, I will say that the waitress made us wait 10 minutes before she brought our iced teas and didn't bother to check on us. I will not go back to this place at all and for what I paid it was not worth any penny! Simply disgusting and bad service!! read more

Very Pleasantly Surprised! The four of us all loved our meals. I am a health fanatic, so I am difficult to please, but I loved the Smothered Chicken, minus the cheese, and swapping the potato for the garlic green beans. With the included salad, I got plenty of vegetables, which is the way I eat. The chicken had a great grilled flavor, and the mushrooms, onions, and peppers on top added the perfect flavor. My sister in law had Stuffed Shrimp Scampi, which she said tasted every bit as good as it looked. My brother had the prime rib special which was huge and very flavorful. My husband had Bacon Beer Cheese Chicken topped with wonderfully crunchy onion strings. He rarely says anything is good, but he really liked it. The waiter was one of the best I have ever had. He went out of his way to recommend a meal to my SIL, who couldn't make up her mind, and she loved it. He also was able to get the kitchen to make an oil and vinegar dressing that wasn't on the menu. Then he picked a dessert for my husband. He made the evening a pleasure. read more

My husband and I have been to the Cotton Exchange quite a few times now and I have to say the services awesome. The food is delicious in the drinks are great. I love the atmosphere is clean, classy and cozy! Would highly recommend going to the Cotton in Exchange read more

Enjoyed a nice Medium Rare Porterhouse, 24oz. Cooked properly, and topped with Garlic Butter. Added the cheesy hash browns, which were melt in your mouth good. I would definitely recommend coming in and getting a steak. If you come on Monday, they have a special for bottomless Baby back ribs. Wasn't five stars based on service. Only two waitresses, and they walked by a handful of times and we had to ask them for refills on our drinks. read more

Cotton Exchange - Porterhouse steak with garlic butter. Side order of cheesy hash browns. - American Near Me - Waterford, Wisconsin

Great fish fry, nice environment and friendly staff. No reason to post less than 5 stars.

Very descent fish fry on Friday nights. The entire place is a converted barn into a restaurant. The atmosphere is by far superior to restaurants of similar price. There is also a big party room for weddings and private parties. read more

We had dinner on Saturday night. Three of us had chicken beer cheese....absolutely delicious! One had T-bone steak....rated it good. Drinks reasonable. Service excellent. Will return! read more

We had a family gathering for my birthday with a reservation. The place was completely disappointing from beginning to end. First we where seated (and I understand our whole party wasn't there yet 5 of twelve three more joined joins 10 min later followed by the last four 5min after that) but we did not get acknowledged by our i guess main waitress until she was done with her other table. She took our appetizer order and brought our drinks (she never looked like she enjoyed her job). At some point we had a second server come and take orders for half the table. Soup was cream of chicken rice with barely any flavor and we where informed that the rolls where put in oven frozen so it was gonna be a little bit for them (idk we did have a reservation you'd think they would be a little more prepared) got the rolls as dinner was coming out. The chicken was undercooked and steak was lacking anything the chicken sandwich was completely dry. Essentially saying save your money there are plenty of other options in the area!!!! read more

Pretty nice place, especially for this area. The food is good but a little bit overpriced. The interior is very nice. Very clean. Good staff. read more

Cotton Exchange - The main dining room. This is where they have the famous Sunday Brunch. - American Near Me - Waterford, Wisconsin

From the moment my wife and I walked in we were met with rude an unfriendly people. (Everyone looked like they wanted to be anywhere but there.) our waitress was rude and not in a mood to wait on us at all. My wife and I got our food in a reasonable time and I ordered a steak. My wife's food was okay. Mine however was odd. The meat tasted weird and looked even more special. It has a grey look to it. After a few bites I asked our service if she had received any complaints about the meat. She rudely said no one had ever complained and they she would go and get me something else (another cut of meat from the kitchen) I said yes. She came back with a look of frustration and annoyance. She set a gray and over cooked slice of prime rib in front of me. At this point I was not feeling hungry anymore. I asked her for the check and she proceeded to give me a speech on how everyone who comes in here has never complained and how how everyone loved the food and service. I asked her again for the check and she spun on her heel and stormed away. After about 3 min she came back and didn't charge me for any of my meal. We paid for the meal and left her no tip. We will never go back to this terrible place and I highly recommend that you keep driving past this place. read more

So sad to report they've changed the batter for the Friday fish fry! After many years of one of the best fish fry's in WI they are no longer on our favorite list!! Batter was thicker and too bready, not light an airy at all. Fish was still white with good flavor but the batter was a big fail for us. Fries changed too- not bad just not same. read more

We came out for the fish fry. I ordered the sampler plate. The perch was fresh and meaty not greasy. The shrimp were excellent. My spouse ate the fried smelt. He felt they tasted frozen. The baked potato was perfectly cooked. There was a little too much dressing on the side salad. Maybe serve dressing in the side. The caramel apple pie dessert is out of this world. read more

We went there this weekend for brunch for my grandmas 87th birthday. The waitress never told us we could order eggs or anything else....we saw other people with them and had to ask. Even when we asked it took 10 minutes for our rude waitress to come ask what we would like. The kids brunch is up to 10....my 12 year old eats like a bird but we had to pay 20.99 for her to have one waffle....no other options. The food...lamb roast and beef tips for brunch? It was such an odd selection and honestly not very good. The prime rib was very well done. And to top it off they added a $40 tip to our bill!!! For a BUFFET!!!!! The waitress did none thing and was rude and I had to tip her $40?!?!?! So we paid $260 for 9 people to eat Okay food with less then service. I will never go back and suggest you dont either. read more

For the record, I NEVER write bad reviews about businesses. I feel bad service is no excuse for potentially harming a business's future prospects and reputation. This is the exception. Just got off the phone with the owner, Cathy. Saturday, 10/13/2012, driving to Wisconsin from Illinois. I went to the restaurant on Saturday per the advice of a local homeowner, from whom I was picking up an item for sale. He said he had trouble finding good food around that area, but the restaurant down the street that looked like a barn had been their best bet. I went in with my business partner and ordered a burger. We went outside to smoke a cigarette while we waited(reason for stating this will be explained.) Went back in and noticed a sign on the table advertising a free appetizer with the order of an entree if one were to text a code to a given number. I asked the waitress if that was possible, and she said yes. The burgers and appetizer arrived. The appetizer, Oysters Rockefeller, were awful, didn't finish half the plate of six oysters. The burgers were not bad. We finished, paid, and left. By the time that we had reached home, both me and my partner were bent over with stomach cramps that we had to assume originated from the food we had just eaten. I called up the restaurant, and spoke to Cathy, the owner. I told her that all I wanted was my money back for the meal ($25 for garbage food). She AGREED, and took my credit card #. Today is Wednesday, and I just ran over my bank account as I normally do, and saw that she ran the card, and did NOT refund the money! I called up Cathy a little while ago, and asked her why the money was not refunded. She told me: -The appetizer was free, and I was just trying to get the rest of my meal for free! -We weren't even in the restaurant, and she doesn't even know what we were doing there. (The cigarette break previously mentioned.) -The phone call that I had made to her after the meal was awful. (I was bent over sick!) -I should have went to the hospital and have tests done to warrant the refund of $25! -She went on to say that she and a few other servers had had the burgers that night, and the meat was not bad. OK. I thought, maybe I was wrong. So I went on to say that, OK, maybe somehow it was something else. I told her, though, that to ACCUSE ME of trying to scam her restaurant for a measly $25 was offensive. Her Response?: Whatever. I said: It wouldn't be worth it to me to scam somebody for $25, when I make about $100 an hour on average. And it must be worth $25 to you to have a bad review, when I am giving you the opportunity to right the wrong of a night spent in pain. Her response?!! Again, "Whatever", and hangs up. So here it is, the first one-star review. Awful place. Awful, awful service. Would not be surprised if they go out of business. It is my experience that places like these do not stay in business. read more

We have been coming to CE since we discovered it in 2011 and have been regulars ever since. We visit about 3 times a month in general and make the 45 minute drive each time because it is that good. After my visit on Saturday, March 2nd, I don't believe we will be back and here is why: I ordered a 10oz filet and received a small grizzly piece of meat. After attempting to cut into it to eat and found nothing but grizzle running through it, I alerted the waitress of the issue and she took it back for a new one. Things happen, I know this so I had no problem at this point. After waiting a very long time, my husband and son were already done with their meals and I still had no food. Thank goodness I already ate my salad and there was some bread so I had something to hold down the growls in my tummy waiting for my steak. Waitress was very friendly and checked in with me to let me know it shouldn't be long, just that it's a thick cut of meat. I told her I completely understand and had no issues with waiting so I could get my steak I was looking so forward to. Second steak came out and it was a nice 10oz size but gray in color and my green beans were a pile of mush. I cut into the steak and was so disappointed to see that it was clearly without a doubt microwaved. Took one slice to taste and that confirmed it. The steak was gray with grill marks. When cut open the inside had a perfect gray ring with a raw center, again, clearly microwaved. What a waste of a perfect piece of meat. The waitress came back to ask how it was and I told her how disappointed I was with it and would not be eating it. She said she would get the manager. Cathy, (the hostess) came to the table and I told her I guess it was a bad night. The exact words to me were, "Well, it's the same cooks as always even though Melissa isn't here". I found this to be very inappropriate and uncalled for. Melissa, our regular waitress, is a great waitress and person and we always receive excellent service, that is why we like her. Melissa doesn't cook my steak so why would that even be an issue? I explained to Cathy that the steak was microwaved because of the color, way it was cooked and it the taste and she told me "I do not allow them to microwave steaks" Allow or not, this one was. I used to cook for a restaurant, I am not new to this. She told me she adjusted the bill and walked off before I was done talking. I was left thinking "wow, so much for customer service or valued customer here" We got the bill and to top it off there was only $20 taken off the bill for my meal but yet not the meal itself. I was still charged $7 for the salad I ate and the bread, pretty expensive lettuce AND the $1.99 for the mushrooms for my steak that I never got to eat. $9 for some lettuce and bread. I'm so frustrated at the level of quality and service provided on Saturday and then to be charged for food I didn't get, just tops it. It will be a very long time before I will think about returning to what used to be my favorite restaurant. Quite sad. Tried to speak with Cathy on the way out to bring this to her attention but of course she could not be found. Ironically, my review here on Yelp is featured on their website. Thanks to people like me they had a good review to post, wish I felt the same now and I'm sure they will not update it with this one. Quality has gone downhill, drinks are overpriced and customer service is terrible. read more

I was excited to go to the Cotton Exchange, because I had seen a lot of positive reviews before going there. So, I took my wife there for an evening out, and WOW! Was it crowded Note**If you're an obese or over-weight person, you're not going to like squeezing through the tables to get to your own. The food is very good, I will give you that. But, when I drop a few $$$, which is fine and all, I want to feel like I can breathe as well. Their Friday fish fry is one of the best I've had, and like it just for that. But I don't like feeling cramped in a sardine can when going to a nice restaurant. Waiters/Waitresses are decent, way over worked, and it does take a long time for them to help you, so I guess that's OK. It's just that, COTTON EXHANGE Listen if you care! Don't over crowd the dining area, or EXPAND!!! I hate being cramped, and for that reason, I won't attend a Friday night sitting. Maybe during the afternoon, but forget the night time atmosphere. From reading other peoples reviews, I guess I don't ever want to buy a steak here! For what Waterford has to offer for restaurants, if Cotton Exchange is considered to be their best, they got to change a few things, or the Cotton is going to be exchanging out of there! read more

We had a group of people that went for a fish fry here and it was our first time and our last time. When we arrived I saw a line of cars for the take out and figured it must be great - was I wrong. I ordered the bluegill, my husband had the perch, others had the baked fish and one person had ribs. My bluegills where just little curled up/dried out pieces of something. My husbands perch was no better - French fries cold and I tried a rib - terrible - piece of tuff meat with a thick sauce just tasted like it was microwaved on the top of it. I would NOT recommend this place - save your money (it's not cheap either - fish fry $16.00!!). read more