Three stars for atmosphere and service. Fun place to sit at the bar enjoy a beer. Food gets maybe one star. Schnitzel was dry and tough. Spatzel was ok and potato pancake. read more

'I barfed in das boot at Essen Haus' They sell shirts here that say (something along the lines of) 'I had a boot at Essen Haus'. I would have bought TOTALLY bought one of those shirts... but only if it had my more accurately titled shirt from above. Seriously fun. Seriously sh*tty beer. Serious polka madness. Seriously sub-par service. I might be spoiled by living so close to best damn German bar ever (http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-bavarian-lodge-lisle#hrid:mTbzuMp3HU-tduzdQ-_UMA) but judging from the just above 3 star average I still had an 'on par' average experience... but a boot was involved, sooo yay! + puke, because I REALLY wanted to be the one to finish it off... but that would have defo meant me barfing in the boot... which is apparently my faux pas. I love beer. I'm all for twinks, short jortsand lederhosen. And as if I even had to mention the polka... bc ya know I'm down for some squeezebox and then some, but Essen Haus, beyond being a Mad City tourist attraction, is just okay Still a 'must see' if in the area. I can't say much for the food beyond the peanuts and popcorn (imma have mayjah sodium face manana) but the beer selection is pretty much just sh*tty German "imports" and the service goes like this: Server: What do you want? You: Some kind of beer. Server: Okay. Sign for $75 deposit if you break the glass on top of the $25 boot Server drops off boot You: finish boot (hopefully do NOT barf in das boot) Server: Another boot? You: I hate you. Server: Brings check You: Pay, contemplate polka-ing, but worry about puking on the dance floor and leave... amidst a batch of skeezy bachelorette parties and low budget post-cubicle hell functions. I don't hate it. I'm happy I went this one time. I'm more happy I didn't barf in the boot. read more

Essen Haus - German Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

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The food is rarely perfect, but it's fast, warm, and if youre looking for a place you can drink at 9am and get some tasty stuffed french toast you can't go wrong with the Essen Haus. A particular dirty pleasure of mine is their cajun benedict... the eggs arent always poached soft and can be over cooked, but when it is they always fix it. read more

Essen Haus - German Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

Authentic German food, pleasant and relaxing atmosphere, live music, varied selection of light/med/dark beers. Excellent choice! This restaurant was recommended to me by a nice lady at the Tanger Outlets in Wisconsin Dells. My husband and I enjoy good German food and Essen Haus fits the bill! I highly recommend: meat and cheese plate, kartoffelpuffers (potato pancakes), Deutsch platter, Munich platter, and the German chocolate cake. All were so delicious. My husbands family is German, so we had a good point of reference. Staff was friendly, knowledgable, and attentive. Can't wait to come back! read more

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It was great to revisit the Essen haus, after many years. My parents would take us there 15 years ago. It was sad to see how bad the food has gotten. It was really awful. Good bye Essen haus. The extra star was for nostalgia. read more

2 Good beers, not much more to say! Terrible wet chicken wings full of grease and a basket of fries (enough to feed a small country). Outdoor zero atmosphere terrace overlooking a parking lot. Waiter was ok. read more

Five stars for beer!!!! They have very great beer. And goes well with their pretzels. But for food, not so much into it... But they do have good sausages. Essen hays is a very nice option to hang out with friends throughout the night. read more

Although we had a reservation, we still had to wait over an hour to get a table. But, I wasn't too surprised considering the fact that it was a Friday night and I was rolling with a party of 24. Lucky for me, I had taken Carolyn B's advice and had made sure to arrive "pre-appetizered." The food is way over-priced considering it's depressingly low quality. I seriously wonder if my wiener schnitzel is available at Woodman's in the frozen meal aisle. It was bad -- but I was hungry, very hungry. The salad was a joke, plain and simple. I would have given the Essen Haus four stars purely based on the fun "binge drinking from a boot set to live polka music" experience, but the abysmal food quality ratcheted them down a couple notches. read more

Essen Haus - you must drink from the boot! - German Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

Ok, they had my fav German beer on tap- Franziskaner Dunkel Weiss. Served in a large pilsener glass with requisite lemon wedge. Delicious. Complimentary soft pretzels with dipping mustard, and kraut with sour cream/horseradish. My Kase Spatzle was dissapointing, b/c our server brought the one without smoked ham. I'm sure with the ham, it would have been better. My wife got the saurbraten sandwich, which was very, very good. Large and in charge, tons of hot tasty fries. The beef was very tender, melt in your mouth doneness. I liked the Bavarian beer hall atmosphere. Beer mugs everywhere. Mural on one wall of a ram with a beer mug. Large mural on another wall with a dude that resembled John Wayne. WTF? Almost forgot, Liver Dumpling soup. Good and salty with a satisfying liver dumpling. Servers decked out in what else, German traditional outfits. Large menu with schnitzels galore, roast pork shank, all the good stuff. Service was good besides the no- ham slip up. read more

We had a nice early dinner outside in the back. My wife had the walleye it was very good and I tried the smoked Prime rib, I am usually disappointed but it was very good and their horseradish sauce was outstanding. That and a spotted cow and a Spaten October fest bier was an excellent early dinner. These are .5L of bier read more

went there for dinner with an acquaintance during an business trip. Had the Munich plate with consist of sausage, pork veal and some sort of chicken sauté with veggies. I would say the sausage is the best. I also has the liver soup with just some salty broth with liver meatball. The environment is well fit for the German themes and great selection of beer. I would not come back just for the food. read more

The food is really good the beer is great with a huge selection. Had the sauerbraten wth spinach spaetzel and a side of sauerkraut. All was delicious. My friend had a steak with onions. It was huge and cooked to perfection. The German fried potatoes were delicious and it came with mixed veggies that were not over cooked. They give you pretzels with a homemade hoarse radish sauerkraut and hot honey mustard for dipping to start. read more

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Had good experience with their food. Heavy although. Very tasty and makes sense to have another visit. The issue is lack of enthusiasm of their staff and very confusing seating arrangements. read more

Being raised by a super Berliner family, I went into this with my expectations slightly lowered, only because nothing tops my Oma's cooking. Needless to say, they did a great job mimicking some nuances of German culture, and I was overall happy with the visit. My boyfriend and I shared a few pretzels, I had a Weiss beer, we also had the potato pancake appetizer and the Deutsche combo platter. I would say that the best things there are the beer (of course), the service and music, and I genuinely did like the majority of the food. The pancakes were awesome, nice and dense, and served with applesauce (like they should be!). The platter had a Thuringer sausage, a Schwienebraten, and a smoked porkchop, with sauerkraut and potato salad. First off, it was a massive platter, and great to split! I loved the sausage and kraut, and the other two meats were okay (not dry or anything just not my favorite flavor), though the potato salad was too sweet for me. Perhaps the foods I was less excited about are just not what I'm used to in my family's German cooking. I would definitely recommend this place for anyone looking to have a great beer in a fun environment, with decent food that definitely delivers on size and heartiness. It's funny how German of a culture Wisconsin is, yet we barely represent the authentic side of it besides with beer and brats. I loved getting to at feel like I was in a cozy pub in Germany for a bit. read more

Essen Haus - Kartoffelpuffer with Apple sauce! - German Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

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Essen Haus is one of those places you try once for the experience, but then never have the urge to return to again. I like the atmosphere and the general decor of the bar. However, I think the beer boots are way overhyped and way overpriced. A 2 liter boot costs between $20-25, but is really only equivalent to 6 cans of beer (yes, we calculated this)...and that just doesn't make much sense to me. Plus, I was paranoid that someone would shatter the glass boot and that we would have to pay $55 to replace it... This bar is great for large, rowdy crowds - but not so great for my four-person party that was basically edged off of our table by a much larger (and rapidly expanding) group next to us. Our server gave us the option to move to another table, but really? Who is going to give up a table in the middle of the floor for one near the windows. Otherwise, I thought the live music was great. My friends had a swell time dancing up a polka storm, which served as my entertainment for the duration of the night. read more

Let me begin by saying "German food has never been my favorite." This did nothing to change that. It's not bad, I just think it tends to be bland. We went to Essen Haus fairly early on Saturday night. There was a good-sized crowd. It's a party atmosphere with music and beverages. The decor is dark wood and feels a bit dated. Our waitress was fun, friendly, and a sheer delight. She was definitely the high-light of our visit. There is a decent selection of German beers on tap. I started with the Franziskaner Dunkel Weiss. Prior to taking our orders, our waitress brought out two soft-pretzels served with beer cheese. It was OK, but not great. For dinner, we ordered the Schweinelendchen in a Pfefferam Sauce and the Steak Sandwich. The steak sandwich isn't German, but it was a tasty ribeye steak with diced onions, peppers, and pepperjack cheese on a toasted hoagie roll. Our waitress recommended the batter-dipped french fries which were crunchy, greasy, and yummy. The schweinelendchen was served with picked vegetables, bland spätzle and a tiny portion of red cabbage. Very German. I enjoyed the steak sandwich, I enjoyed our server, I imagine if I liked German food more, I would have enjoyed the rest. read more

Essen Haus The food is somewhat variable in quality. The food and service could not be more variable. I don't think you come for the food. some was very good, some was not authentic but good, some was not authentic and bad, and some was authentic. as for service, I've had one of the best waitresses I've ever seen and talked Aristotle with her (Rachel), and had a horrible waitress (I think emma, a high school student who I can only hope was brought in for emergency cover) that did not know what a soup of the day is even (after two tries), let alone what theirs was (I found out, it is standing: liver dumpling, but don't take my word for it). The atmosphere is pretty good, though. A thing is drinking a boot of beer. three gets you a free t-shirt. it takes a table to do that, I think. a boot is 2 L, or about 3 english pints. they are about $20/boot. they have a lot of live music, some outside, polka inside. They also served fish with a steak knife, which I think is a type of joke. But cajun walleye, well, walleye can't stand up to that treatment. I would not order that again, and recommend they do something else with walleye. I would come for the atmosphere again and again. read more

Wide variety of German beers to choose from. Bring all your friends and pass around das boot. Take a break from drinking games to polka dance as the live band plays "She's too fat for me." Come for the drinking experience, but stay away from the food. I'd rate the food 1 or 2 stars. read more

Who doesn't enjoy drinking mass quantities of german beer? Ok maybe some but not this guy! I've been coming here since college in the early 90's and basically nothing has changed. The good news is that you can still drink great German beer out of liter steins or a boot. The bad news is that the interior has not changed since then and is in a state of disrepair. But when you are drinking fermented malt beverages and polka dancing with a group of red faced Wisconsites, does it really matter? These are the institutions that make Madison what it is and should be a stop for anyone visiting town. read more

Boots, polka dance, and free popcorn... Why not? Essen Haus is a good place to hang out and feel young again. If you're hungry and need a little something in your stomach before you crank up the volume, the brats they serve come in handy. read more

We went here just for the German beer and not the food. It looks like what I think a German beer hall would look like. Every spot on the walls to ceilings if filled with collections of salt in pepper shakers to beer tap handles. It's dark and woody with cafeteria style chairs and tables which is not authentic. It's two rooms sit side by side with a bar in both. It's old looking and not the cleanest with over flow stuff stacked on chairs and tables. It has flat screen tvs that can be seen from any seat you are at.the beer was good and served in large heavy glasses. It's a bar version of house on the rock with all the various collections. I would go here for a German beer experience. read more

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Super fun atmosphere at Essen Haus! Came here 5 years ago and got tricked into playing the 'Das Boot' game... trust me, proceed with caution! Then this weekend, I was back in town visiting so my friend took me back here.... this time for actual food and a couple of normal sized beers. Really enjoyed the cheese curds and Weinerschnitzel...huge portions and very tender and tasty. Our server was very friendly and the atmosphere was very fun. My only complaint is that I really wanted to buy an Essen Haus T-shirt to bring back to Atlanta, but they were out of my size in the version I wanted.... oh well, maybe next time. read more

Essen Haus is a bit "dingy" and "divey", but I think this makes it feel like home. The food is tasty and the servings are generous. The beer/bier is a plus. The atmosphere is usually festive. On a recent trip, we ordered the Smothered Chicken Sandwich, Deutsche Sampler Platter, and Wienerschnitzel then shared these plates between 3 people... The two German dishes were unique and tasty, but I'm going to be ordering the Smothered Chicken in future EH trips. (I was GOOD and came at a good price.) The free pretzel appetizer with spicy mustard and creamed horseradish is a nice touch. It wasn't particularly gourmet, but it was free, fun, and enjoyable. I like Essen Haus. read more

This was my first visit to this restaurant, and I would say that it was a unique experience. Being away from home for Thanksgiving, a group of four of us made reservations and had dinner here. The meal was a set menu and was average at best. For a restaurant as busy as it was, the food was quick to come out, perfect temperature, and plentiful; it was a bit lacking in seasoning and flavor though. Our server, Brooklyn, was very friendly and prompt to help when needed. The restaurant's bathroom, however, had what looked to be someone's sick all over the floor (it was disturbing that no one had cleaned it up yet). I understand being busy on the holiday (and being connected to a pub, you get patrons that get sick) but it was quite the upsetting sight. read more

Great Bavarian food in a state with rich German traditions. The schnitzel was everything I was hoping for when I saw it on the menu. It came out moist and perfectly cooked. They even offer a delicious nonalcoholic beer by Guinness that blew my socks off. The hearty portions will leave you satisfied. We had such a relaxing evening. read more

Prost! That's the word. This place is great and I love it. However, if you go be aware of three things: (1) stick to the beer (which is excellent); (2) sit in the bar area which is also excellent; and (3) note that the food while good, isn't great. However, if you are looking for an German beer hall atmosphere...this is the best spot in Madison that I have found. I can't wait to go back. read more

Fantastic brew pub! Excellent beer, friendly staff and incredible polka band. Everyone really seems to have a great time at this spot. I only had beer there, not their food so I can't review that. As far as their beer goes, it's great! You must drink from the boot however. ;) Great place to go with a group of friends and get drunk. You must like German style beer to appreciate. read more

Essen Haus - Beer in the boot at Essen Haus - German Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

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Great atmosphere! Great beer! Great night! The Essen Haus is a fantastic place to come on a Friday night and enjoy the live music!

I never leave bad reviews because I always try and think of things from the restaurant end. This was just not a good experience or good food. We were sad to be missing our annual Oktoberfest for the weekend, this was the first restaurant that came up with German food. Upon arrival, I stood at the front for quite a while before being greeted and asked if I had been helped, even tho a woman had just sat someone in front of me and was aware of my presence. Finally, someone had me follow over to the Come Back in to pick up our food. There, they told me they don't accept orders from Yelp and would have to go check on if it was received even though we had confirmation emails. Eventually it was figured out from the marker written note on the bags. Which did not include any names. I understand they had an event outside that we were unaware of, so I let it go. We got home and food looked ok. I was extremely disappointed when we didn't receive our Germans potato salad or German fried potatoes and only fries instead. I could've ordered from a burger place if I wanted fries. Overall, just not a good experience, the Sides were wrong, soft pretzel was not soft, it was hard and burnt, the pork shank was all gristle. read more

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This might be the best place to drink in Madison. The fact that it doesn't have a five-star rating on here is a travesty. It's a restaurant-style place more than a typical Wisconsin drinks-only bar. You're at long tables or booths. It's not a dive bar. It's gonna be a little pricey. It's gonna be pretty damn loud. Come with that in mind and it's the best. read more

My in-laws were in town and eager to try authentic German cooking. We'd have been better off doing brats at home - the quality of this restaurant has fallen shockingly far from the last time I was there. The beer was good and the waitstaff friendly, but that's as far as we enjoyed the evening. There was a loud trivia competition going on in the only area open for indoor dining, with the only other option being eating in the patio area on a night turning chilly. The food was just awful. The menu descriptions didn't mention how far certain elements veered from what would be expected of the venue- at no point were we told the ketchup coming with our food was "cajun", which you think would be common sense in a German eatery. (It also was not remotely Cajun.) The German potato salad was overly sugared. The sausages were almost inedibly salty. The chicken of the chicken and dumplings special was so highly spiced that no one could finish it - and again, nowhere near the flavors expected of German cuisine. Even the wienerschnitzel was pounded so thin and so overcooked that it might as well have been shoe leather. Bluntly, not worth the time, the money, or the chance of Covid exposure. read more

Well, my credit card statement tells me I was at the Essen Haus on Saturday. I have a blurred version of the night that goes something like this... 1. Good and buzzed, Annie and friends move the party to the Essen Haus for boots. According to the credit card statement, they cost about $25 each. 2. Annie wakes up the following morning, with a 1/2 eaten slice of Ian's Pizza on the nightstand. 3. Annie and friends return to the Essen Haus to claim left credit cards and a Men's Warehouse sport coat (complete with boutonniere still attached to the lapel from a wedding). Oh, and to eat breakfast next door at the Come Back In. That's pretty much how most trips to the Essen Haus have gone for me, but here are some tips for a successful time here: -Don't get any food. I had dinner here once with my parents and it was awful. -Dance. Polka. Go on, get out there. -Be good to the staff. They have to handle some of the drunkest people in Madison on a regular basis. -Toe up. In more ways than one. read more

The Germans do some things really well, others not so much. War is a national sport (the division they play in, including France, Belgium, Poland, and Luxembourg, is ridiculously easy, not like the tougher US, Russia, China league) and high-end sports cars with typical Teutonic over-engineering ("you know, the Germans make good stuff") define this European powerhouse. Beer is something the Germans do well, specifically lagers. We sampled (quaffed or guzzled would be better words) several of their drafts, and all of them were medicine for my inner goose-stepper. Cheese curds, found everywhere in Madison, were as good as any. Food, and romance, are not something the Germans do particularly well. I had the brat selection, served with three different brats over a bed of sauerkraut with some fried potatos. Nothing really special, but as you're throwing back half-liters it almost doesn't matter. You came here to drink. Under no circumstances should you conquer a neighboring table. read more

You take the good with the bad at Essen Haus. If you want a relatively authentic German gasthaus experience, this is probably the only option in Madison. The food is pretty authentic German fare, if truly mediocre at best. The drinking is the real draw. If you stop here with some friends, order some boots and have a blast. The lack of 4 or 5 stars is based solely on the fact that the other prevalent factor here is the general stench of urine, vomit, popcorn, and stale beer. No self-respecting German would ever run a place that was not fully "in ordnung." But once you are drinking and have a few boots of Spaten under your belt, you won't really give much of a damn. read more

I'm so torn about how to rate the Essen Haus. I've been there twice this spring, both times with my family. Both times were for live music and drinks, but we only had food the second time. The atmosphere, in my Wisconsin-raised, German-American opinion, is SUPER FUN! I love polka, my mom and dad love polka, and I love to drink beer and dance around with them. It's also super fun to take your family somewhere where you know they're having a blast. Service is pretty good too, at least in my experience. However, in my Wisconsin-raised,German-American opinion, the food is just not very good. In fact, it's kind of awful. So, as most people have said, skip the food and go for drinks and dancing only. How does this translate into a star-based rating? Well, the atmosphere is a 5, and the food is a 1, so how bout we call it a 3? But really, bad food aside, the Essen Haus is so. much. fun. And, like it or not, the musicians that play in the Essen Haus's featured polka bands are devoted to their art and extremely talented musicians! Maybe you have to be a native Wisconsin-ite to truly appreciate it though. read more

Here's the thing: you do NOT come here for the food. If you're German, you probably won't recognize what's on the plate. It's German-ish American pub food, basically. And it's not that great. lol The past two times I've been here, I decided to go the less-German route and eat a fish fry (not memorable), and the kase spaetzle (bordering on gross: and yes, the ham WAS in it). I was trying to keep from being disappointed. No dice. What IS great is the atmosphere. There's often live polka music at night, the waitstaff wear lederhosen and underbust wench thingies... and where else can you get a giant "boot" full of beer?! Will I stop coming here? No. Will I probably only drink here from now on? Yeah, unless I've got friends who want to check it out who are not from around here. The parking lot is behind the building, and I'm grateful for its existence. Just don't try to park in it past 7pm on a weekend--it'll probably be full. Bathroom? Well, the ladies room is FREEZING. Please explain to me why the coldest place in the building is also the place you have to pull your pants down... :/ All in all, if you want really GOOD German food, I prefer that place on Monroe... read more

Run by a Fascist Eeyore, but that totalitarian grump grows on ya! Food a total sideshow to the beer for the most part, but seriously, what else do you need while watching Madison's classiest babes dance to polka music and inebriated customers sing raunchy Boy Scout lyrics (along the lines of "There was a man from Eau Claire...") beyond pretzels and dollar burgers that probably set the management back 5 cents? I won't deny it. The Essen Haus is a very strange place. One of the strangest. You have to have a certain sense of humor to even walk in the door. But for all its faults, at least it doesn't try to be some pompous yuppie brewpub. It is peculiarly and idiosyncratically Wisconsin in all its tacky, bizarre glory. You will not find it elsewhere. Alas, it is also part of a dying breed. This is not what the dot-com start-up generation gets involved in when they create a restaurant. The world will be poorer when a tasteless generation bulldozes it into Lake Mendota. And that is cause for an adorable 64-ounce glass boot of teardrops. My advice is: feel sorry for the servers, leave an extraordinarily liberal tip, and only go on the weekends. The mid-week polka bands are for that handful of old farts who saunter in. Also haunted.... The bouncer gave me an upstairs tour once. This vast, sprawling building -- part misbegotten compound of greed, part bed-and-breakfast, part beer hall -- is one of the oldest buildings in Madison and was apparently a whorehouse in antebellum days. Ask to see the amazing storage area upstairs: basically a museum of the vanishing Midwest. Boxes full of dead men's steins, paraphernalia of the old immigrant drinking clubs, the decor of "Are You Being Served?", and local ghosts.... The bouncer and I both felt a strange chill and heard weird stuff going on in the walls up there. We bolted down the stairs. The veteran bartender agreed that he had heard and seen weird things upstairs for years. The 2-liter glass boots are a ginormous bacterial infection waiting to happen. But good, solid American fun. read more

Three words: Dis. Gust. Ing. The food is appalling, the polka makes my ears bleed, the kitchen is gross (I know, I used to work there), the manager is crazy, and, like everyone else has said, no organization for reservations. You will NEVER get quality here because all they care about is $$$$. read more

Do you have any local beers? No, we're not a Wisconsin restaurant, we're a German restaurant. A good one, too. Certainly A-OK. S.U. had the wiener schnitzel, I had a pair of smoked pork chops. Both came with fried potatoes and sauerkraut. I washed the large portions down with a liter of their imported Octoberfest Amber Not bad at all. Wait staff is dressed in kitsch costume, beer steins and German Beer House decorations are everywhere. We listened to a concertina player playing polkas with a recorded rhythm section. A bit jazzy now and then if you like a polka version of "Lullaby in Birdland". Still, you've got to support live music. We're told that after 9PM and on weekends it can get quite full of students. They have an interesting and inexpensive late night food menu and dance floor. We lived 10 years in Portland, OR near a German Restaurant named Gustav's. Never went in once. Now that we're in Wisconsin it looks like we'll need to embrace a few more aspects of German culture. It's everywhere. read more

I haven't been to very many German restaurants but the few I've been to Walzwerk and Suppenkuche in San Francisco are SO much better than Essen Haus. We ordered the Rahm Schnitzel (breaded pork tenderloin) which was ok but the mushroom sauce tasted like they had melted a whole stick of butter and poured it all over the pork! The Jaeger Schnitzel (non-breaded pork tenderloin w/white wine sour cream gravy) had no flavor and wasn't good at all. Both dishes came with Spaetzle (noodle sidedish) which I've never had before and didn't care for at all! The Red Cabbage side was actually kind of good and interesting. Kind of tasted like it had beets and a little bit of cinnamon or nutmeg. I think it's too overpriced for the poor quality of food they serve. I can't see myself eating at this place again. Drinking beer maybe, but the food...absolutely not. read more