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    Pooley's

    3.5 (95 reviews)
    Closed 11:00 am - 10:00 pm

    Services - Pooley's

    Venue rental

    Pooley's Photos

    Business Info

    POOLEY'S ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Loud
    Live music
    Outdoor seating
    Happy hour specials

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    Recommended Reviews - Pooley's

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    Place is littered with sports memorabilia like old helmets, banners and signs. It's a pretty cool place.
    William D.

    Ok so the place screams sport. Standard sports bar fare, TVs and memorabilia everywhere. Our server was very nice and didn't "over serve" us at all. Food was a pair of burgers and fries and there were no complaints. Worth a stop if you're into this kind of thing.

    Tricia C.

    Stopped in with a friend from out of town, and we were pleasantly surprised at the size of this place! Very large, and SO much sports merchandise. Staff is friendly, and the food was great! I practically inhaled my burger and ranch-seasoned fries. I could eat those things every day. I am a big fan of pull tabs - a guilty pleasure that is a fun treat on the (rare) occasion I'm at a bar these days - and usually I am lucky if I win $1. This time, I won $250! So I don't think I could've made a bad review about this place even if I tried, but I had an awesome experience regardless. I will definitely be back.

    Menu
    D. N.

    If you love sports and have kids, this is a great place to eat and have the kids entertained. They have a basketball gym I believe is for booking, so lots for the kids to do. Food is great and beer selection is nice as well. Service is always on point and the radio always has good music playing. Never too loud or too low. Always the biggest hits.

    Nessa D.

    I have mixed feelings about this place. The drinks are cheap but the food is gross! In particular, the tacos and nachos are a 2/10 at best. I really feel that this place needs a better cook or to change their menu options. A lot of locals come here which is why the place is still open. The environment is chill and they have a cool little area to play games and they have a place to play slots and arcade games.

    Tiana M.

    Fun place for a drink! Came here with a group of people on a Saturday and had no issues with service or seating. Decor was super fun, will be back!

    Wisconsin Old Fashioned
    Allison G.

    Pooley's is one of my favorite sports bars in Madison! They have so many TVs to watch games on, great happy hour deals, delicious Old Fashioned's, plenty of seating, and the bar is surrounded by Wisconsin sports memorabilia. They also have tons of games including pool, pull tabs, gambling machines, and even a basketball court inside! They have a large patio to sit on when the Wisconsin weather cooperates. For a sports bar, it's clean and the food is pretty decent. I really like the garlic cheese curds, they're always a crowd favorite for our crew. You'll definitely find me at Pooley's on game day. I'm so surprised by the low ratings I've seen on here! Definitely try it out and see for yourself. :)

    Lemon pepper dry rub & Thai wings
    Jenny A.

    Large sports themed bar, with tons of tables and a large "W" shaped bar for seating. TONS of TVs around the entire place so every seat is a good seat to see the game. Good place to meet up with friends for sports games, drinks & food. There is a lot to keep both adults & kids entertained as they have pinball machines, basketball games, shuffleboard, darts, pool table, gambling machines, pull tabs and a handful of other arcade games. We came here for a Packer game to meet up with a larger group and we all had a great time! Their food menu is surprisingly very good; everything came out hot and very fresh. I had their grilled chicken wrap & fries - would definitely order both again. My husband had wings which were also very good (and I'm extremely picky about wings too!) Their dry rub with lemon pepper (not on the menu but asked & they had) was great. My friends grilled chicken salad looked green and fresh and I would like to try next time. There is also a full bar, lots of beer on tap and many options to choose from. Our server was great & on top of everything even with a full bar & chaos for the game. Will definitely be coming back for the next big game :)

    Wisconsin Old Fashioned

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    11 months ago

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    1 year ago

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    5 months ago

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    2 years ago

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    4 months ago

    Such a fun place to go for a game day atmosphere! Drinks and food here was great and so was the service! Definitely need to come back!

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    3 years ago

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    1 year ago

    Food was great. Service was good. Drinks were good as well. Loved the atmosphere. Would totally eat there again.

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    2 years ago

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    9 months ago

    They have good food and the service is great. Lots to do, and you can participate in actual sports. Chill environment

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    2 years ago

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    2 years ago

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    1 year ago

    I have been going to pooleys for years!! Really whenever I am in Madison.. classic place to eat

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    1 year ago

    A true sports bar. There are lots of food options--meals and snacks to eat while watching a game.

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    4 years ago

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    3 years ago

    It was a very enjoyable experience. Food is great. The associates very friendly the atmosphere. I really enjoyed.

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    5 years ago

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    2 years ago

    Great wings! Requested extra crispy and they delivered. Great buffalo sauce! Cold beer. Great friendly service! I'm going back.

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    9 years ago

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    3 years ago

    Excellent service on a busy night. Food was fantastic and love the atmosphere of the restaurant. Will definitely return

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    Page 1 of 3

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    Players Sports Bar

    Players Sports Bar

    4.5(82 reviews)
    4.9 miSchenk - Atwood, Williamson - Marquette
    $

    FYI - Cash only! ATM on site…read more Had a delicious cheeseburger and fries! It was cooked to order medium rare and had so much flavor. Fries were really good too! They have quite the variety of burgers. I'll definitely be back!

    Players Sports Bar has the best burgers in town when you are on the hunt for the ultimate burgers!…read moreTheir burgers are massively huge/filling, well seasoned, and deliciously made with love! Players Sports Bar & Grill is a fun, casual, cash ONLY, typical Wisconsin neighborhood dive bar nestled in the Atwood neighborhood of Madison, WI. They have a great beer selection, classic bar games, pool tables, and ping pong! This place has plenty of tvs to catch your favorite sports! It was super busy when we arrived on Wednesday night. It seemed to be a diverse crowd of neighborhood locals, blue collar, younger folks, and just people having a great time! It's a great place when you are craving greasy, fried, delicious bar food, and snacks! They serve not only burgers, but cheese curds, wings, and lighter far like salads. They need a round of applause for coming up with some of the tastiest unique burger creations ever such as their Poker Ho Burger, Lotza Motza Burger, and Players Burger. My husband and I were blown away by the burgers! My favorite is their Big Daddy Burger with a side of onion rings and my husband's favorite is their Lotza Motza Burger with fries! The Big Daddy Burger is made with Bacon, Ham, Swiss & American Cheese with spicy garlic mayo. It is served hot, made fresh, juicy, made with a huge 1/2 pound well seasoned patty! The side of onion rings takes it to the next level being fried hard, crispy, golden brown, and hot out the grease! The Lotza Motza burger which is a super fun burger made with Deep Fried Mozzarella Sticks, Vito's garlic sauce, pepperoni & Mozzarella Cheese. Its like eating an appetizer and burger all in one! Players Sports Bar is your casual dive bar hooking you up with delicious bar food but don't expect sit down type of service or what you would expect for service at a restaurant. You have to order at the bar. Players Sport Bar is a great option if you are looking for a fun, casual dive bar serving up delicious rememberable burgers!

    Photos
    Players Sports Bar - Bar area

    Bar area

    Players Sports Bar - Classic burger and fries

    Classic burger and fries

    Players Sports Bar

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    Monk's Bar & Grill - California Chicken Sandwich with fries

    Monk's Bar & Grill

    3.3(179 reviews)
    1.8 mi
    $$

    Monk's Bar & Grill was a fun bar and grill to visit on a Friday night. I came out to stay a night…read morein Madison, WI, to break up my road trip and this looked like a great spot to watch hockey playoffs. It wasn't crazy busy at 7pm and the staff looked like they were enjoying their guests and time. They had all kinds of sports on, and had the Brewers baseball game playing overhead. There was a good crowd of people in good spirits. I ordered a blackened chicken cilantro lime rice bowl and later ordered some fried pickle spears. Great food! The rice bowl had a lot of flavor. With the lime squeezed over the top and added salsa, it was extremely tasty. The pickle spears were seasoned in the batter and the spicy ranch it came with was really good. I'd recommend Monk's to a sports fan looking for some quick bar food and games to watch. I'd come back to try a famous burger or some wings!

    A big shout-out to Becky T. for her excellent service of our party of 20, 5/9/2026. Food was good,…read moreno complaints, but Becky was the epitome of what good service should be and I am only giving this restaurant '5 stars' based on her. I had called a week earlier, asking to make a reservation for our large party, and was told that Monk's does not make reservations for Saturdays. It would be 'luck of the draw' if there would be space for us, and it was suggested I should call back about an hour before our planned family gathering. I called and when I stated I needed seating for 20, there was a gasp on the other end of the line. I'm so glad Becky was there that day. I was a little nervous about customer service after my phone conversations.

    Photos
    Monk's Bar & Grill
    Monk's Bar & Grill - Quesadilla

    Quesadilla

    Monk's Bar & Grill - $5 old Fashioned's on Fridays!

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    $5 old Fashioned's on Fridays!

    The Great Dane Pub & Brewing Company - 12 Pack Pub Wings (1/2 - 3 alarm, 1/2 - general tso's)

    The Great Dane Pub & Brewing Company

    3.8(1.1k reviews)
    6.7 miCapitol
    $$

    A must visit in Madison! The food is great and the beer is tasty…read more Came in early evening on a Wednesday. It was pretty empty. They have a wing deal - 15 wings and 2 pints for $25. We got the Korean BBQ and Habanero. The habanero is SPICY!! My mouth was burning after two wings. I always get the APA beer. Classically delicious! Luckily we walked because parking can be tricky to find. Service can also be a little hit or miss. Today our server was a lil forgetful.

    Every time I visit Madison, it is an absolute guarantee that I will be stopping by The Great Dane…read morePub...most trips more than once! Great Dane Pub has become one of my favorite spots in Madison for a variety of reasons from the drinks, vibes, service and community support! Situated on the corner of Doty and King in downtown Madison, Great Dane is a welcome sight for any visitor or local looking for a chill spot to have a solid drink, tasty bite and/or a good time! The pub is one large space, but it is separated into a few unique areas. One side is quintessential pub with a long bar, lots of dark woods, and a good sized dining room. The other is more of a pool hall vibe where you will find the other side of the bar, several pool tables, lots of TV's, high tops, darts, etc...We have bellied up to both sides of the bar and while I like both sides, I prefer the vibe of the pub side. They have a fairly extensive food menu with several bar/pub classics such as wings, nachos and burgers. But they also offer a good variety of sandwiches, bowls, salads, soups and even tacos. While we are normally here for the drinks, we do enjoy the cheese curds, wings and poutine! Speaking of drinks, they always have a great menu of house cocktails that is constantly updated for seasonality. I have had several iterations of cocktails and since I visit a few times a year, I always get to try new seasonal cocktails and beers! Service is always stellar here, no matter what side of the bar you are on. Welcoming, friendly and helpful...every time! Overall, I am an absolute fan of The Great Dane Pub!

    Photos
    The Great Dane Pub & Brewing Company - Bar area

    Bar area

    The Great Dane Pub & Brewing Company - 6 Pack Pub Wings (habanero hellfire)

    6 Pack Pub Wings (habanero hellfire)

    The Great Dane Pub & Brewing Company - The outside of the building is a little shabby and could use fresh paint but I guess that's part of the charm.

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    The outside of the building is a little shabby and could use fresh paint but I guess that's part of the charm.

    Blind Shot Social Club - Golf suite

    Blind Shot Social Club

    4.4(55 reviews)
    4.1 miStarkweather - Yahar
    $$

    We were in town and looking for a good place to eat and excited to try this joint, with a 4.4 star…read morerating. We've always had good food in Madison and even though we wanted to get home after a long day, we thought it would be worth the delay. Unfortunately, this time, it wasn't worth it. I feel like it's time and money wasted. I'll get to details, but I'm mainly basing this review on the quality of the food I received. Before getting to the food, our service was great. Our server was a bit slow considering there were only 3 tables (including us) occupied. Or it's more of a relaxed atmosphere, so she was just giving us a lot of time to look over the menu. But aside from that, she was friendly, helpful, and kind. Atmosphere is on the dark side. There are two screens to play games (golf, etc) on two corners of the building. I think there are plenty of options, but we were mainly in for food, and didn't really get much info on the games. I did ask whether they were run on a reservation basis, and the hostess (who was also our server) said yes. She didn't mention any pricing, so I'm not sure what the details on that is. Margarita special $5 This was great. Not overly sweet, and just the right amount of booze. It came in a whiskey cup rather than a margarita one. 3sheep chaos pattern on draft Price for draft beer is not cheap, and the beer was great. The glass it came in was super clean, but also warm. I think it just came out of the dishwasher... So clean, but beer glasses should be cold on principle. Wings The description says these are baked, and then fried before tossed in their sauce. The sauce is yummy. The wings are a fairly large size. But I think they forgot to fry it. The skin on the wings weren't at all crispy, but kinda mushy. The meat was well cooked, but also on the dry side. The celery sticks and carrot rings on the side were super fresh and crispy. Blind burger with side salad I ordered it done medium. It came out very well done. For a wagyu, it lacked fat content, and cooked for too long, so it was very dry. We had just hiked 4 hours at Devil's Lake and quite hungry, but I couldn't finish it. Seasoning was great though. And the side salad was also very fresh. Brussels sprouts Something I haven't done in the last 15 years... I had to ask them to redo it. It came out with underdone Brussels. Interestingly, after I asked them to heat it up more for me, it came out perfect, with the right amount of searing on all the cut sides. Overall, it feels like the kitchen was having a bad day and bad timing - wings needed to get in the fryer for longer, burger should've been out of the pan sooner, Brussels should've stayed in longer. For the prices I paid, I expect better food. Especially since the kitchen knows how to fix their stuff! It was like they put 70% into all the dishes until I spoke up. Would I go back? Nope. Not convinced that the 4.4 rating is justified for me.

    Great Eastside find... other than the complete lack of parking. Great craft cocktails and…read morereasonable bar prices. The service was good and the place had a nice vibe.

    Photos
    Blind Shot Social Club - Spicy watermelon margarita

    Spicy watermelon margarita

    Blind Shot Social Club - Bar

    Bar

    Blind Shot Social Club - Old Fashioned in golf suite

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    Old Fashioned in golf suite

    Pooley's - venues - Updated June 2026

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