Ninety-nine percent unimpressed. Starting with the charcuterie, where the menu touts "European meats" consisting of "prosciutto" and salami. Without actually knowing, I do not want to come right out and say the meats were not European, but my suspicions are that they are not where perhaps the menu meant that they are European influenced. First, real Italian prosciutto has a very distinct flavor. When properly shaved, it is soft, smooth, and silky with a 2 to 4 mm layer of fat on the outer edges. This example was clearly a knockoff and did not taste anything like prosciutto at all. What was presented on our platter seemed to be shaved some hours before serving because it was very dry, crusty, and stringy just like ham. Try using freshly shaved Prosciutto di Parma or Prosciutto San Daniele immediately before serving for a good representation and customer satisfaction. It really is a shame that prosciutto does not have protected designation of origin as does champagne only coming from the Champagne region in France and Parmigiano Reggiano only from Italy. A customer ends up with ham with an undeserved fancy name. I also had issue with the salami. Again, I suspect it is of the American Genoa variety. Again, real Italian salami has a course texture, where the level of mechanical processing is minimal and certainly much more flavorful. I felt the cheeses were not too bad, but the rind really should be trimmed from the brie before serving, as it is not meant to be consumed. Brie is commonly spread like butter. The olive spread and bread offerings were good. They could lose the Rold Gold pretzels, as it cheapens the presentation. I was also at odds with the Black and Blue salad that I ordered for dinner, where it was supposed to come with 4 or 5 ounces of sirloin. What I received was a bed of spring greens, a couple of tomatoes, bacon pieces, and off to the side, chopped up pieces of beef bits. I was expecting that piece of sirloin as a whole piece of meat or cut into thick slices. These chopped up pieces immediately gave me the impression that they were simply beef trimmings from steaks served earlier in the evening to others. After the charcuterie demonstration, my fuzzy was frigid cold leaving me very skeptical. I do not want to go without mentioning that my server was nice, helpful, and timely with his deliveries. He is the reason I raise my grade one star level. I am not inclined to ever go back. read more

Very busy Friday, waiting at the bar, trying to close out our tab, gave away our table after 5 minutes, no apologies, rude, "that's our policy " after 5 minutes we give the table away, still waiting for a table 20 minutes later, snooty, very pretentious for a strip mall restaurant. Food was good, but nothing spectacular, highly priced, strip mall restaurant trying to be a Michelin restaurant, the ambience is nothing, they put a candle on the table and call it fancy, much better options in the area, nothing memorable about the whole dining experience. Jeans and a t shirt. I don't know why this place gets high reviews, I guess people are really not used to fine dining as you experience in larger cities, but if this passes for a unique dining experience in Appleton, it's pitiful. read more

Phenomenal food for this small city, big city taste. Always a go to for date night. Awesome food and good tasting food read more

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Love this place! Great food, great presentation of food, great atmosphere! Love the service and it's such an enjoyable place to eat

Food is good, but a little pricey. Great atmosphere. They do have some unique options. Definitely make a reservation. read more

A group of six of us went there last night. The consensus was that we all had six great meals. Prior to this visit Houdini's was my preferred gastropub in the area. If this place and Houdini's went head to head, Draft would win on food. Houdini's would win on service. We had steak, scallops, salmon, and a burger at our table. All meals were excellent. The entire table was raving. I didn't taste everyone's food, but I did taste the bourbon glazed salmon. It was delicious. I personally got the ribeye with the horseradish sauce. $32. 99.5% of the time I say that I can make a better steak at home than any restaurant can make. This is not the case. Draft makes what I would say based on my one steak I had there, the best in the area. It beats Lombardi's and any other steak house in the area. The two drawbacks to Draft: 1. Would not accept a reservation after 5PM on a Saturday night. Especially for a party of 6. I can understand if they were like many other restaurants in the area, and didn't take reservations for 4 people or less, but this needs to change. (Also no call ahead). 2. The table that we sat at (3 guys/3 girls) was a high top right near the door. This table was WAY TOO SMALL. Would be nice to see them get some larger/nicer tables for groups (especially when you walk in and see their swanky decor...doesn't make sense to me?). All in all, a fantastic restaurant in the Appleton area. Great for a date, special occasion, and even kids seemed to be enjoying their food at other tables. Will definitely be returning! Update: dined here the day after Christmas. Our server Emily was the best that I have ever had at this establishment. Food as always was on point! read more

Good was good but really needs a BIGGER place. Prices are too high and the wait is too long !

Excellent in every way! Service was professional, food was superb, and the atmosphere calming.

Great food. Would recommend lobster bisque or lobster pizza. Staff are very friendly.

They have an entire vegetarian/vegan menu, just ask! I tried the butternut squash ravioli and it was undercooked slightly and already going cold. We went during a busy Friday night around 5:30. The place was packed and it was early still so I was surprised. I'm going to toss up my cold food to the busyness of the restaurant. It is on the pricier side. read more

Draft Gastropub - Vegetarian/vegan menu - Gastropubs Near Me - Appleton, Wisconsin

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I went before the shut down and ordered takeout at lunch since I just haven't had time lately at work to leave my desk for an entire sit down lunch. I got the grilled Caesar salad and it was amazing. They provide such nice disposable silverware with their takeout also. The salad although simple was absolutely delicious. I can't want to be back at work so I am near by this place again to order lunch. read more

We have been here a few times now and have enjoyed it every time. Whether we are sitting at the bar and having appetizers or joined by friends for some dinner, we have loved it. They have completely remodeled it from the breakfast restaurant it was before. It really looks nice inside. The staff is very friendly and attentive. Jonathon always does a great job behind the bar and the servers do an excellent job also. The beer and cocktail selection are spot on. The one knock I would give is the limited wine selection. They do have good wines, but not many of them. All of the food we have ordered has tasted amazing, there is a good portion of it and is presented well. This will definitely be on our favorites list. read more

Grabbed a table in the bar area Saturday for a late lunch. Put server was super friendly but not over the top, and didn't rush us at all. Love their WI Old Fashioned (Brandy/Sweet)... they serve them in a larger glass and muddle the fruit. We both ordered the French dip, and man oh man were those good! I had mozzarella on mine and it was fresh. The meat and bread was fresh. read more

Draft Gastropub - Wisconsin Old Fashioned - Gastropubs Near Me - Appleton, Wisconsin

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This was our favorite place for delicious food & service while visiting WI. The grilled romaine salad with grilled shrimp was so good. Highly recommend. read more

Super delicious food. Will definitely be going again in the future. Expensive but worth it. Servers are very nice and so is the owner.

This is one of my Favorite places in Appleton!!! I love the creative drinks and the creative food! The food is top notch and the service is too! Definitely try the charcuterie board! read more

I've never had a bad meal here. Ever. Service is always amazing, too, whether it is a large or small group. Cocktails are handmade and scrumptious, but they are a bit pricey. I'll order wine over a cocktail any day here. The food, though...always delicious. Their menu is priced to fit every budget if anyone is looking for an amazing meal. read more

Draft Gastropub - Scallops - Gastropubs Near Me - Appleton, Wisconsin

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Always a great, unique, reasonably priced meal. 4 years of visiting, and never disappointed.

Asked some friends for a fun WI place and they suggested this. Definitely a place to check out!! Great drink menu, but for a "draft" place they don't have that many beers but what they have is a good selection including local beers. Got the pretzel for an app and it was huge (lots to share) and amazing tasting. I ordered the lobster roll and hubby ordered lobster Mac and cheese which was delicious. The vibe is definitely date night (brought our sleeping in and wore jean shorts oops) but no problem showing up casual! Service was great and prices not too outrageous. Overall def recommend this place!! read more

Draft Gastropub - Pretzel!!! - Gastropubs Near Me - Appleton, Wisconsin

I've read and heard good things about Draft Gastropub in Appleton so we decided to give it a go. Started out with a couple craft cocktails and lobster bisque (yum) which were very good. Decided on the Spanish Croquettes: potato, chorizo, shallots, parsley manchego cheese sauce. Very good but wish the chorizo had more flavor. I ordered the wagyu burger with truffle aioli, onion strings and Swiss. I didn't get much truffle aioli taste on this burger and the truffle fries just tasted like regular fries with Parm cheese on them, no truffle flavor. The burger overall looks amazing but I wish I could say the same for the flavor. Meh. My husband had the bacon wrapped chicken medallions with mozzarella, bacon, spinach, mushroom, roasted red pepper, risotto and bourbon glaze. They were pretty good altho I'm not a fan of sweet bourbon sauces. The risotto with it was very good. We might be back and hopefully the next things we order will have a bit more flavor. But better places come to my mind when spending more for dinner. Especially ones that use more flavor in their food. read more

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I've been to Draft a few times. The most recent time was on a Wednesday evening. We got there early so it wasn't busy. I love the atmosphere and service was great! We started with the artichoke dip as an appetizer along with a few drinks (yum!). Then dinner was one ravioli dinner and one Pad Thai dinner. Both were visually pleasing and tasty! Can't forget dessert....creme brûlée! It was wonderful & wished there was more! Definitely would go back to Draft again! read more

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What is going on here? I cannot understand the great reviews to this place. I had the most mediocre, absolutely underwhelming meal I've had in a long while. We decided to try this place as something different from our usual spots. This place looks decent. We arrived fairly early into the evening and it was not quite what I would call busy just yet. We were told 30-ish minutes for a table-no worries as we did not plan ahead. Bar service 1/5 Bartender ignored us for 15 solid minutes. Now I understand tickets are coming in etc but this guy has Tuesday afternoon slow shift vibes, not Saturday night busy hours, multi tasking abilities. Also there were like 2-3 other patrons waiting for service at the bar when we got there, by the time he finally acknowledged us he was 3 deep and overwhelmed. Whatever, we got our drinks, (which were not great but I suspect it was because they were called out for their crap service beforehand) and went and waited for our table. Host/hostess 4/5 They were nice and doing well to take care of people that came in quickly and efficiently. It took closer an hour for our table but it wasn't an issue. Server 4/5 We were greeted promptly and given menus. Our server was busy but acknowledged us as she walked by and said she'd be right with us-perfect. We ordered another round of drinks and an appetizer. We were read the specials and placed our food order soon after. For the duration of the meal our server was pleasant and attentive. Food 1.5/5 We order bam bam shrimp-way overcooked, tough and chewy. The sauce was very good and this could have been a great app if it had been done correctly. For our meal we had Wagyu and brisket burgers which were completely well done though we asked to have them cooked medium...if you are offering a premium burger and don't know how to cook to different temperatures, what is the point? This completely changes the flavor and texture of the meat. Brisket was flavorless. Truffle fries tasted like regular bar fries. Not a hint of truffle about them, they were crispy and fresh, that's about it. I almost had the scallops but after the shrimp and the burger, I was grateful I didn't waste my money. Overall impression 2/5 All and all this place has the potential to be amazing, but it currently falls way, way short. I don't get the glowing reviews. I didn't see one bit of amazing anything from service to food. We cut our evening short on both drinks and food because it was so underwhelming. I would have happily spent another $75-100 on our meal if I felt it was worth it; we would have had more than one drink at the bar if we had been given the opportunity. Draft offers Burger King level service at a premium cost. For an average price of $40/plate I don't think expecting the food to be cooked to the requested temperature or for it to actually taste like it was worth that price point is too much to ask. Will likely never return or recommend. read more

We've eaten here many times. We have our elderly parents in town so we thought we better make a reservation (they aren't able to stand for long periods) - but when we called we were told no reservations. Even after explaining our situation to Eric (the manager) he wouldn't budge on this. I get policies - but I also understand accommodating patrons with special needs. Apparently this business doesn't. read more

Went for lunch a few times. Service was good but super disappointed no manatee steaks. Apparently can't keep the meat fresh when shipped to the Midwest. Used to be a diner in this place, nice upgrade read more

Food was amazing! Service was fast. Craft cocktails were good. Table was too small for the six of us. Expected more draft beer options given the name. read more

If you're looking for an upscale restaurant this is your place. They provide a nice atmosphere with well prepared dishes. The service was perfect as well. This would be a great place for a date or a nice dinner with friends or family. read more

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Just got done with an Excellent dinner at this fine establishment. I was lucky enough to get Julie as my server and she patiently reviewed the whole menu with me and pointed out the best and most popular dinner. I really had a hard time picking just one dinner. Alll her recommendations sounded so yummy. I watched my fellow patrons dishes and everything looked fantastic. I finally decided on Halibut with Mango Rissotto and fresh veggies and a spotted cow beer. When my entree arrived all I could say is Yum Yum Yum. Perfectly cooked and everything was so fresh. Paired with an excellent beer and I'm in heaven again. I listened to my fellow patrons and everybody said how good their dinners were. Fellow yelpers visit this fine establishment and ask for Julie ( daytime server). read more

Celebrated a family birthday and had an amazing, fun time. Food and service were both excellent. Louisa did a great job taking care of us. We have always had great meals at Draft. read more

Food was amazing and service was top notch. I was here for work and if I'm ever in the area again I would definitely come back.

Awesome menu and the food is even better! Customer service terrific and incredibly quick and efficient. Ate there 2of 3 nights in town

Friendly staff and quick service. This is a brand new facility with a classy interior. The food was great. Drinks were great. I took a lunch date and we had a great time. We had enough privacy to talk and enjoy ourselves. I would recommend this place for a dinner rather than lunch as I typically don't like to spend $73 for lunch. We got two drinks each and the special. Oh... their lobster bisque soup was amazing! Convenient location and plenty of parking. . read more

My friends and I came here while we were staying in Appleton because we saw that this place had good reviews and boy was that false advertising. The place itself is nice and our waitress was good but the food....you guys need a new cook. I ordered the prime rib special with a baked potato, side salad, and bacon wrapped asparagus. The asparagus was over cooked, the baked potato must have been baked seven times and the prime rib....just...HOW? HOW is the special ice cold? If you're making a special and cook it the night before, at least have the decency to microwave it THOROUGHLY. Don't bring it out in hot au jus and think that's it. I told the waitress it was cold and asked not to nuke it and she came back out with it three minutes later, obviously microwaved again. I didn't finish it, needless to say, also not worth $30. I wasn't about to send it back again for someone to mess with my food either. My friend got a burger with everything on it and they sent out a burger patty with cheese. Side note, sweet potato fries are already sweet, caking them in brown sugar is overkill. Crushed red pepper, cracked black pepper, cumin, salt, paprika, tossed in olive oil and baked at 450. You're welcome. Also, that wasn't even a prime rib steak. That was a chuck roast that you guys are trying to charge a premium for. Traaaaaaaaash. read more

Draft Gastropub - Calamari and honey goat cheese - Gastropubs Near Me - Appleton, Wisconsin

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Fantastic service even in a super busy Friday night before Christmas. Drinks at the bar were delicious, food and table service was even better. Will definitely be back. read more

Great food and good drinks. Only comment to improve would be to please make the bar area bigger for people to sit to have a drink before dinner. There is literally no space and I like relaxing a bit before dinner. Service and food were excellent. read more

Ate here this evening for a late valentines dinner and had a wonderful experience. Cassandra was an exceptional server. She was probably the nicest server I've ever had. She made my date and I feel very welcome, answered all out questions with ease and provided stellar service. She is most definitely an asset to your establishment. We had the corn empanadas, a Cajun pasta? And the vegan cheeseburger. It is difficult for my partner and I to find places we both enjoy because I am a very picky vegetarian. Both of us were very very pleased with our entrees. We will be back soon. Thank you for providing delicious vegan and vegetarian options. read more

This was my second time at Draft in the past week. Before I wrote a review I wanted to make sure my first visit was not just luck. Both visits were excellent from a customer service standpoint. The water glasses come with a slice of fresh cucumber which is such a nice touch Our waiter on a Wednesday evening was very good. Prompt friendly and attentive without hovering. On Saturday afternoon Jamie was outstanding. She was very knowledgeable about all thing Draft and is an asset to the owners here! Both visits the food was delicious. Well prepared with great presentation and flavors. We have tried the truffle fries which are wonderful. They have no added salt and are rolled in truffle oil and Parmesan after they are cooked. Yummy. Salads are well made with dark leafy greens and plenty of good for you veggies. Champagne vinaigrette is a great choice for dressing. Their burgers are very good on a fresh bun that would be amazing alone. Nothing like a great burger on a great bun!! The Cali Chicken sandwich was outstanding on red pepper and onion bread topped with roasted red peppers! Again the breads here really shine along with what is on them. From the pizzas to the pasta dishes to salads wraps or burgers you cannot go wrong!! read more

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My husband and I visited the new Draft location this past Friday and we were really impressed! We came in for an (early) dinner with our twin three year olds, and although this place is nice and has an adult atmosphere, it was still kid friendly complete with a kids menu and a book for each of my girls to look at while we waited. The host and waitress were both great with our kids! It wasn't overly busy when we arrived (5pm) but by the middle of our meal there were people waiting for a table. Kiddos each had Mac and cheese with fries- and this was not Kraft! It was SO yummy! The truffle fries were also awesome. I had the caprese burger with vegetable soup and the balsamic glaze on it was a great addition! My husband had the ahi tuna sandwich with lobster bisque.... It was all delicious! We were so impressed with the food. The menu was interesting and I already want to go back so I can try more! They even have a poke bowl, which is a favorite dish of mine but I have only seen out on the west coast or in bigger cities-- I didn't think I'd ever find one in Appleton! We kept saying Draft reminded us of some of our favorite Milwaukee restaurants that we used to love when we lived there. The drink menu was a nice mix of cocktails, beer (Ace Pineapple cider , another hard to find gem!) and wines. Our server was attentive and friendly, we really enjoyed it! read more

My first time at this location lots of parking the interior looks very nice this is a definitely a gastropub that leans more towards trying to provide quality food I'd said the bar the bartender seem to be knowledgeable of the menu and was able to answer my questions about some of the specific ingredients in the sandwich The bad I ordered a panini one of the first things I noticed was that the top of the Panini was textured as I would expect and was nicely browned however the bottom was obviously done on a flat grill and was slightly burnt on top of that the sandwich did not have the avocado that was listed on the menu they did bring me out some fresh avocado but the cold avocado on the warm sandwich was a bit unappealing in my opinion they should have offered to redo the sandwich. As I was leaving I noticed a couple of older ladies waiting at the hostess station it seemed like they had been there at least a little bit already I waited to see how long it would take for a hostess to show up and it was at least another 5 minutes before anyone appeared considering it was not that busy I don't find that way to be acceptable read more

I will start this review by saying I went to their old location and LOVED IT. This was a mediocre experience. We arrived on a Friday night and we were told 1.5 wait which for us was not a big deal because we were waiting on friends. This place is noticeable smaller than the old location and standing room in the bar is at a premium. It was difficult to get to the bar and the bartender insisted on only making our drinks one at a time which was strange. The drink quality is high though and the two $10~ beverages I had (old fashion and secretariat) were delicious. After waiting for a long time (the full 1.5 hours) we were seated in the back room corner. I ordered the mussels with fries because I was starving at this point. For $18 the meal was really good food quality wise and portion size. The mussels were served in a butter type sauce with fries in the same container. A small loaf of bread and aioli came with it as well. I loved my meal. Sadly my husband's portion size of scallops was tiny with three scallops. He had to end up sharing part of my meal. His meal was $26. I would not recommend coming here if you are in a rush or are tight on budget. I did like my meal but other's had less than stellar meals. It was hit or miss if you will. read more

Draft Gastropub - Old fashions. - Gastropubs Near Me - Appleton, Wisconsin

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One of our favorites to go to. Food is always amazing and the staff is fantastic. Love the ambiance in the restaurant.