We went on a Friday night at 5 with 6 people and were seated right away upstairs. Parking at this location can be challenging as the lot is small, but there is some street parking around the restaurant. Food 3/5: we're used to Minnesota old fashions, so the watered down version seems odd to us. We got on old fashion without a mixer , and it tasted like the added water to it. The cheese curds at this place used to be hand battered, but now seem frozen. The dipping sauce was a nice compliment, but not the most fresh. The kids loved their Dino nuggets with fruit and ranch. The Mac and cheese was buttered noodles with sprinkle cheese and didn't have an actual cheese sauce, we would not recommend. Everyone else at the table got some version of the fish fry. The haddock was cooked well and the portion was adequate. The fish sandwich was undercooked/doughy and was not good. I did like their tartar sauce and thought it balanced the fish well. Service 4/5: our waiter seemed a little overwhelmed and was attentive as he was able. He did get our kids orders in before ours which was nice. The food came hot. Ambiance 5/5: we were sat upstairs which was beautiful during the sunset. Overall this is a kid friendly place (upstairs at least) and our kids loved looking g out the windows and watching the cars and the sunset. Overall their food quality and options have changed over the years and is not as consistently high quality as it used to be. The menu has also changed significantly, so check before you come. If you need a kid friendly place, the have great kid options. read more

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Of all the Danes, this is the Daniest! Nice vibe, nice staff, and prompt service. My childhood friend Cara, and I enjoyed a pleasant lunch Thursday afternoon as served by Grace (with grace). We both had the Mediterranean Bowl (see photo). This order comes up fast, and it's a lot of food to satiate you. It could be saved for your dinner later. Overall, a good price, and for a little extra it comes with a filet of salmon (my choice) or chicken breast. For dessert we shared the black and tan brownie - served with French Vanilla ice cream on top and whipped cream on the sides... it was DELICIOUS. Just an absolutely fabulous dining experience! Thank you, Dane! Erik read more

Great Dane Pub & Brewing Co - Mediterranean Bowl, $15-$16+, (add Chicken Breast or Salmon filet). - Pubs Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

Service was great. I'll give that to them. I've been going to this place for 12+ years and the quality has bottomed out. I feel like they used to form their own patties and now they have some knock off, trash, frozen patties. I'll never come back. Three of us ordered the big something smash and it's one of the worst burgers I've ever had. I couldn't eat it. The only flavor coming out of this thing was fishy. Is this real life? What happened to this place? I'm absolutely disappointed. read more

Great Dane Pub & Brewing Co - Pubs Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

Excellent salad and service! We had Quinn as our server who was relatively new as a server. He was excellent! read more

Great Dane Pub & Brewing Co - Turkey Avocado - Pubs Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

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This is a 3.5 star place, there are so many options of foods on the menu that it can take you a while to figure out what you want so it's a lot more. And it did take some time to get our food with one of our guests not receiving his food when all of ours came out. It was not too busy but I think as everyone says the service is about 3 star. The location and ambiance is good, not like State St. But the large portions and options are there. Fried cheese curds were ok. I think this place makes sense to loyal Great Dane patrons and those that want a simple but not quick meal. read more

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Stopped by for brunch after a long overnight drive with two dozen rescue dogs. Our server was funny and engaging, and overall service was good, but not necessarily great. Despite being pretty busy and a large group of teenagers and their parents being seated across from us, it was a quiet and calm ambiance, which we really appreciated. The coffee was great!! It was disappointing we couldn't get any to go. Our main brunch entrees were average, my friend's eggs were under and over cooked instead of medium, and the mornay sauce on my omelette had "dried" up. The omelette is itself was pretty good, but nothing special. The breakfast potatoes were average. The biscuit was huge and good. We had started with a Bavarian pretzel and it was delicious. 10/10 recommend, and the spicy mustard was so good! Spicy but not overwhelming. The highlight to me was the west African peanut chicken stew. It was rich and satisfying on a bitterly cold day! I wish I'd ordered a bowl of it with some sourdough bread. Our mimosas also hit the spot. I suspect their lunch/dinner fare might be better than brunch, so i would try them again for lunch or dinner. read more

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Nice staff, smash burger was good with a old glory beer and some very crunchy fries, very different but good! read more

Great Dane Pub & Brewing Co - Smash burger no bun. - Pubs Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

Here we are after three years from my last review. Our dinner get together with family was cancelled at the last minute, so my husband decided he wanted to go to the Great Dane. I reminded him, we didn't like the food, except for the nachos. I went with the flow. We ordered the cheese curds, which were cooked to perfection and had a chimichurri ranch dressing which was delicious. However, here we have the same old issue with main entrees. We both ordered the herb-crusted baked cob. I guess we thought that the whole fish would be breaded or covered with sourdough, herb and cheddar. From the picture you see that it was not, and it was barren. By the way, where is the cheddar? Let alone we were told it came with two pieces of fish, and then it arrived with one small piece, but the bartender quickly brought out two more pieces. The entree appeared to be the pub fries, which were overcooked and dry. Let alone the fish being completely overdone and dry, smelled fishy, and was just plain horrible, but we loaded it us with tartar sauce to make it semi-appealing. We should have probably returned it. The only time we will go here again is for beer on tap and nachos at the bar. read more

Great Dane Pub & Brewing Co - Herb crusted cod - Pubs Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

Food was good Beer was awesome! We sat upstairs and the view was really expansive and we really enjoyed the staff! Helpful and friendly! read more

Great salad at lunch. Nice waitress and her trainee. Fast service Nice atmosphere. Great iced tea. read more

I've eaten at the Great Dane restaurant downtown more than a dozen times but this was my first visit here. Here's what we saw: Beer. I had the Old Glory APA. Very very nice! We started with the seared Brussel sprouts. Grilled perfectly served with an aioli sauce. They were delicious. My SO had the ginger soy glazed salmon salad and the brown ale onion soup. The salmon was way over cooked. The salad itself was good. But the onion soup was excellent! Delicious broth with croutons and cheese - yes please! I had the Turkey and avocado sandwich with sweet potato fries. The sandwich was delicious! The sweet potato fries were way undercooked and so mushy I couldn't eat them - yuk! We had our dog with us and it's dog friendly outside. I'd certainly go back. read more

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Had an excellent traditional Thanksgiving lunch today with family. All of the staff were so friendly. The food was very good except for the green beans. The turkey was very moist and tender. And, a whole piece of Pumpkin pie for dessert. They allowed adults to order the children's portion which was great because the adult meal would have been too much for me. Our server was very attentive. She even took a group photo for us when I requested it. It was a great experience. Thank you read more

Nice place. Great food options and nice service. Alittle trek from the expressway, but puts you into a really nice neighborhood. The pretzel board was amazing. Highly recommended read more

Great Dane Pub & Brewing Co - Cool view of the capital building downtown - Pubs Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

Mixed feelings about Great Dane. Great food. Good beer. Terrific hard working bartender. Everything else is terrible. The restaurant was hardly busy, yet two girls were working the hostess stand and working is a generous description. Can we sit on the patio? Yes but you have to order at the bar. 10 min later - can we have a menu? I guess so. We watched as those two didn't seat anyone but would just point people to chairs to seat themselves. I've seen busier restaurants with only one person staffing the hostess stand so to have 2 on a slow evening was terrible. Three employees were hanging out just inside the pass through through to the kitchen. They weee all checking their phones. Meanwhile, there were tables needing bussing - inside and out - and one lone bartender serving, taking orders, and chatting with every guest. Here's the thing. This is absolutely a management issue. This bartender can (and maybe should consider) get a job anywhere. He's quality and carrying the place. The kitchen crew is doing a great job. The rest of the staff needs to be trained in customer service and "if you have time to lean you have time to clean." If there was a manager on duty, that person should be replaced because they are not doing their job. read more

First time to this location for a Friday's early dinner. I saw the hostess and another person by the podium but they didn't greet me for at least 5 minutes. Unsure what they were doing but I ended up asking them where to place a to-go order. Went to the bar and placed an order for to-go. Got my food in 15 minutes which wasn't bad at all. The Nashville chicken sandwich was spicy; love my sweet potatoes fries and plantains. read more

Great Dane Pub & Brewing Co - a burger and fries - Pubs Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

I love the location and the ambience. Sunset views are awesome on the second floor. I love their drinks especially the Hot Toddy during winter. But I wish they have more options or variety in food. I bring first time guests or family visitors from out of town but can't seem to make myself go back that often because of very few food selections, except for the fried sweet plantain that I love so much if their supplier brings the ripe ones. read more

Went in for brunch around 11 am on a Saturday and we must have gotten there before the rush, but we had excellent seats in the booth upstairs. Quiet and open, with a beautiful view. The staff were gearing up for what looked like two large parties coming in. I ordered the Smothered & Covered Chicken Biscuit. It was hearty, filling, great on the portion and tasted wonderful. Our waiting staff was also excellent. 10/10 would go back for their brunch again since we live less than 5 minutes away. read more

Great Dane Pub & Brewing Co - Pubs Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

I was in the area for the weekend and happened to stop by this place for lunch. Located on the Eastside of Madison. Didn't have to wait too long for a table since they had seating inside and on the patio outside. But since it was a hot day out, we decided to stay inside. Service was pretty quick. The waiter came right away and asked for our drink order. I ended up ordering the German Pilsner. It was actually pretty good. It was pretty crisp and tasted similar to the Coors lite. Love it and would get it again. For the entree, I ordered the 6 piece wings in the sweet heat peach habanero with a side of fries. It was also very good. I thought with the habanero in it, it would be too spicy but it wasn't too bad. The sweetness evened it out. I would come back and try the other beers and food when I'm in town again. read more

Great Dane Pub & Brewing Co - Pubs Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

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Fish fry was decent. Big portions and the fish was fried well. Not soft or cold in the center, very crispy texture. The plates are sharable sized for small eaters. Pair it with soup or a salad for a nice dinner. read more

Great Dane Pub & Brewing Co - Fried Haddock with fries - Pubs Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

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It's good but way overpriced. I can't justify spending $14 on a jack and coke. The food is usually good but the last 2 times the cheese on my nachos was overcooked and hard as a rock so half of the nachos were inedible read more

We absolutely love the Nakoma Nachos at The Great Dane! We've gone to so many restaurants trying to find better nachos and we always revert back to these! They are hearty and plentiful and with a healthy dollop of guacamole and perfectly melted cheese. We always chase these with some of our favorite beers---German Pils, Old Glory and a new favorite Good Dog IPA! read more

Great Dane Pub & Brewing Co - Nakoma Nachos - Pubs Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

I always have an amazing time at this location and the food is always great! Our server Brody was absolutely amazing, extremely accommodating, very personable and provided us with best service I have had, ever!! Everything that we ordered was cooked perfectly and we really enjoyed ourselves! read more

Great food, great service, and plenty of beverage options. It has a real chill atmosphere and the fact it's multi level makes for a different experience whenever you're there. read more

Overall good was good. Wait staff attentive. Sunset was beautiful. Overall 4 out of 5 read more

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My wife & I decided on the Great Dane Madison East before our nephews basketball game. We hadn't been in awhile. The hostess was very nice & our waitress was great. Our food was neither!!! I ordered the Pub burger with a French onion soup on the side(they refer to the soup as something different but it's French onion soup) my burger & bun were incredibly dry, had to dip half of it in ketchup just to eat it. Only had half of it. The soup didn't have soup in it, no broth at all. Very burnt cheese with wet onions & croutons. There was no soup to be seen. I called the waitress over & told her to just take it, very nicely because she was very sweet & not her fault. We had to go so couldn't wait for it to be redone. She took my meal off the bill & I gave her a very nice tip because of how sweet she was & again food was not her fault. This was the 3rd time something like this has happened to us at the Great Dane. This place is a staple of Madison & hasn't been good during visits. It's too bad, I really miss how Great the great dane was in the past.​ read more

I have lived in the greater Madison area for the past 6 years and finally decided to try Great Dane for the first time. The single star is because our server, Izzy provided 5 star service as does the ambience (clean open and cool). The food is. Without a doubt. Some of the worst tasting I have had in any similar or related setting. The cheese curds were over cooked yet warm and nowhere near hot with a crumble breading and half hollow. We decided to not finish a third of them because they were just lousy. Oh. And a third means we left 3 behind because they are apparently about $1 per curd. My wife's "herb crusted cod" was flavorless,-"crusted" apparently means they (over)cook the fish and then sprinkle flavorless color confetti on top. I think this was $18 for glorified styrofoam. Their beer battered walleye was similarly over cooked and flavorless. Do they water down the malt vinegar that comes by the tablespoon on the side? Yes. Yes they do. The slaw is about the same as you'll find at KFC. The fries were the only decent tasting not over cooked item on the table besides the beer. We finished neither of our entrees, tipped Izzy 22% for her decent efforts and went home to eat leftovers from last nights dinner. Save yourself the gas money and go straight to that. *addendum/edit* Please notice how the business responds to one star reviews. Go ahead. Look. Not just at mine below, but all the one star reviews. Copy and paste generic text from one to another. Come to think of it copy and paste seems appropriate given the experience we had. How one responds to criticism is nearly as important as how one tries to avoid it in the first place. Arguably more. Also note. This same business thinks it's a recipe for success for them to put the responsibility on the customer to reach out. Like the recipes they seem to be using in the kitchen this one is tasteless as well. "Discuss more" What more needs to be discussed? This is pretty thorough. Do they read this or copy, paste and move on. Lastly falling short of excellence implies there was the potential in the first place. And had the respondent bothered to read before copy/paste they would know that they weren't within a light year's distance of excellence* read more

Great Dane Pub & Brewing Co - Flavorless herb crusted. Note the portion size for the $18 cheapest fish on any menu (cod) - Pubs Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

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Went to meet friends/family and grab dinner( 6 of us) . Just ok . Ordered drinks my sister asked about seltzers waitress said we just have house gave us a drink menu with none on it so she ordered something else . Others beers were good I asked also what is your seltzers she again just said house brand which says virtually nothing I kind of waited then said um i guess water ? 2 got burgers looked good . Chopped salad was large and looked appetizing as did the wrap . All of us agreed the fries waffle and otherwise good. The fish tacos had great flavor along with the beans and rice but the fish on them was almost embarrassingly nonexistence. The Cajun Turkey was a flop . The description sounded flavorful it was not at all would not recommend even a little the only thing good about it was the toasted bread . Waitress not bad and not good . Overall would go again with hesitation .We used to go to the downtown one often when our son was in College and Grad school ( two years ago ) and they were always spot on. Atmosphere is great , clean and appealing. read more

used to like this place. I will post pics. treid to give them a second chance. they skimp too bad, especially when you order out. 19.00 for a piece of fish as big/wide as my index finger with a small portion of broccoli and rice. GO SOMEWHERE ELSE PEOPLE. TOby's , Maple tree , larger portions and food is just as good. I will post pictures. Egergious. read more

Food was phenomenal got the Tennessee chicken. Service was excellent and beautiful setting inside.

Not sure what other reviews say, but we really enjoyed our meals. The menu was different, the restaurant's vibe is pretty cool, and we had great service. We did have to wait a little bit...but it's obvious that was a result of COVID. If we were local, we'd definitely be regulars. read more

Great Dane Pub & Brewing Co - Mexican bowl w/ brisket - Pubs Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

Solid food, some beers are solid some are below average. The German pilsner is their best beer, the Good Dog is the best of the IPAs. Good service as well. read more

I love visiting Great Dane for a beer and some bites! I had never been to this location before so I was excited to try it out. The staff was really friendly and gave great service. I've always had a great experience with the staff at all their locations. With Great Dane in general, I usually love their beers but they rotate their menu and sometimes they don't have options I enjoy. Most of the time their great though! I love their cheese curds and apps but sometimes struggle to find menu items that I'd enjoy. I've more recently tried their Mayan chicken wrap and was a pedantry surprised! The vibe of the bar and restaurant is great at any location! It's a great place to watch a game and I love going during Badger season. Definitely check it out! read more

Great Dane Pub & Brewing Co - the menu - Pubs Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

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I've ordered the same thing the last two times I've been here, so take my review for what it's worth. I've gotten the tandoori chicken naan, which has been prepared nicely, might actually be as related to tandoori as most 'mexican' tacos are to Mexico, but was delicious anyway. Also tried the special vodka-lemonade-berry cocktail. Curds that the group shared were fine, but not amazing. Pros: lots of open seating, generally friendly staff, a menu that almost everyone can find something to taste Cons: a menu that wide means sometimes things are so-so. read more

Great Dane is a great Madison staple. There are a few locations in the Madison area. I would highly recommend the beer cheese and potato soup, it's delicious. The rest of the food was good as well. The jerk chicken did seem a bit over seasoned and very spicy coming from a person who loves spicy foods. Definitely a place worth trying if you are in the area. read more

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I really really loved the lavender haze cocktail drink! super good. the food was great too. read more

Great Dane Pub & Brewing Co - lavender haze drink and beer! - Pubs Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

We're done. I moved to the neighborhood where this Great Dane location resides and for nearly 5 years we've been eating here out of convenience not because we enjoy it. The food is average at best and the service is atrocious. We've done dine-in and carry out yet somehow they've managed to make every experience an occasion where we say "why do we eat here?" It's really a shame because we enjoy their downtown location. The downtown location service is top notch and the food is much better. Our most recent experience was the breaking point for me to finally write and a yelp review. We had a long day of work, it was 8:30 at night, and and we needed dinner. We decided might as well just get takeout from the Great Dane. We ordered online and when I went to the pick up counter and said "I'm here to pick up an order" the bartender didn't even make eye contact with me dropped my bag of takeout on the counter in front of me and walked away. That was with a 20% tip by the way. It's unfortunate that I'm such an inconvenience in supporting a local business in my own neighborhood. Our friends and us used to joke that it wasn't the Great Dane, it was the "Good Dane" but after tonight, we won't be back. You'll find us up the road at Culver's. The food is the same quality, but at least I've never felt like an inconvenience at their drive thru window. UPDATE/EDIT: I got in touch with the GM, she was very nice and apologetic about the experience. Yeah shared with her about some of our past experiences and she expressed that she would work with the team. read more

Great food, great service I really enjoyed my meal I would highly recommend. They also just opened a new one in Japan

Their main highlight meals are no better than any other restaurant doing the same thing but their odd dishes that don't fit with their menu really need some attention to detail. read more

My friend had a Ruben, I had poutine w brisket.. both were delicious. I liked the atmosphere, plenty of tvs to watch sports. I'd stop in again. read more

We came here to meet up with a group of friends on a Monday night. It wasn't very busy and we were seated at a table on the second floor. Nice overlook of some of Madison. Our server was nice and attentive. Porter, crop circle wheat, and blackberry old fashions were our tables drink choices. I ordered the Mediterranean falafel bowl and it reminded of an old menu item I used to order there. My husband ordered the jerk chicken sandwich and liked the kick it had. Both of us would order our meals again! Others got the Monday night fish fry or Korean bowl. I've been to this Great Dane location the most out of all and the atmosphere and food is always pretty enjoyable. read more

Great Dane Pub & Brewing Co - Jerk Chicken Sandwich - Pubs Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

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