The Commodore - A Bartolotta Restaurant — Restaurant in Delafield

Highly recommend!

Atmosphere is immaculate! Service is incredible! The first time we went we were so impressed with the service and loved how beautiful it was that we decided we had to go back even though some items we ordered weren't our favorite. I'm so glad we did because the second time we were much more impressed with the food! Advice: If you want the Beef Wellington, state this on your reservation because they sell out of these. We were sad at first that we couldn't have this on our second visit, but it worked out perfectly because everything we ordered was amazing!

MENU (our opinion):

APPS:

Georges Bank Sea Scallop - the scallops were fresh, seasoned to perfection, and delicious (will order again)

Jumbo Shrimp Cocktail - this came with large, delicious, fresh shrimp and a yummy cocktail sauce with a little kick (tasted like a little horse radish in it) (will definitely order again)

SOUP/SALAD:

Caesar Salad - it's not my preferred type of preparation, too leafy of greens, not enough dressing, tasted more lettuce than anything else, Parmesan slices cut too thick, and pieces of anchovies were more fishy than salty tasting (won't order again)

Beverly’s Curried Shrimp & Crab Bisque - delicious, incredible seasoning, and unique different twist on a more traditional lobster bisque; just the broth version has great flavor but doesn't really seem worth it to me; the fully loaded is the only way to order this in my opinion - the scoop of crab and shrimp is a must (will order again)

STEAKS & CHOPS:

Before getting into the steak, let me start with we love steak! We have eaten at incredible steakhouses all over the country and cook a lot of steak at home (sous vide and sear). We're more purists with our steak - we want to taste the meat! If you're like us, then read and consider our recommendations for your order!

28-day Dry-Aged Bone-in Ribeye - based on our first impression, I thought we wouldn't order this again. I'm glad we did though because our second experience was very different and incredible! Here's my big change! The mushroom, onion, sauce mixture that comes with this tastes delicious BUT not on the steak! MUST be ordered on the side. The first time we had it on and could not taste the nuttiness flavor that came with the steak. I even thought it was a lower quality cut. But when we had the sauce/veggies on the side, we could really appreciate and taste the high quality steak and perfect aging! The steak topping MUST be on the side for this steak! I am not one to change a chef's menu typically, but this is a very important change for us that changed our opinion of this steak completely! If you want to go a step further, the Brown Butter Bearnaise that comes on the fillet is incredible and mild enough that it doesn't mask any flavor. I'd say try that on this steak if you are looking for a more complementing, less overpowering topping option. (next time we want to try the beef Wellington, but other than that we will order this steak every time with the stated modifications)

Upper Iowa Prime USDA C.A.B. Filet - This steak was perfection! The butter on top was creamy, flavorful but subtle with a fluffy, airy consistency. The cut was perfect! It was prepared perfectly with the perfect sear! This is the best filet I have ordered in the state of Wisconsin! The spinach I could take or leave. Don't feel the need for it but ate some of it since it was there. (next time we want to try the beef Wellington, but other than that we will order this steak every time)

Roasted Colorado Lamb Chop - I love a really good order of lamp chops, but my experience with ordering this was this is not it. The chops were too large and gamey for me. (won't order again)

Scalloped Potatoes side - taste delicious, but everything else is so incredible and filling that we don't really feel the need for a side. (probably won't order again)

DESSERT:

The Commodore Signature Chocolate Cake - caramel, subtle nutty, sweet, yum! MUST TRY! (will order again)

Jeanette’s New York-Style Cheesecake - good, but nothing to...

My family chose The Commodore to celebrate the 100th birthday of our grandmother in memoriam (as she passed 2 years prior). We had memories of coming here when it was The Seven Seas and decided she would have loved coming back with the renovations done by the The Bartolotta Restsurants. We were not disappointed. The atmosphere is the perfect balance of supper club and fine dining mixed with a nautical feel as it sits on a hill overlooking Nagiwicka lake. I strongly recommend being early enough to sit at the bar and take in amazing views during sunset!

When we told our server why we were there, she took a personal interest in getting to know more about our grandmother, and this meant a lot to us! The team of servers who were assigned to us really could not have done a better job of being attentive, helpful, and quick.

For starters, 3 of us had the Waldorf salad, and I elected the Georges Bank sea scallops. In addition, fresh, warm bread was served with butter. The salads got smiles all around. The sea scallops are served with a warm champagne butter sauce, chanterelle mushrooms, leeks, and caviar. While they were perfectly cooked, it was the combination of the sauce and extras that made this an instant favorite! If you're a fan of scallops, this is a must-try!

For dinner, the four of us decided to have the Beef Wellington. Wow! The pictures don't do justice to just how amazing these were. I have had filet mignon, but this was another level. The craftsmanship and care that went into the making of these can not be ignored. From the duxelle mushrooms to the lattice on the surrounding puff pastry and the perfect cook of the filet mignon at the center. Each bite of this amazing combination only encourages another. I honestly haven't had a more perfectly cooked steak. There were NO boxes to take home leftovers at our table. That's how good it was. They included a side of scalloped potatoes and creamed spinach. The spinach was topped with bread crumbs and cooked just enough to ensure the spinach stayed in this perfect cocoon of temperature & and texture preservation. The scalloped potatoes seemed out of place for this dish. It was an interesting idea as they are served like a slice of pizza, which provided an unfamiliar texture that didn't sit right. A fine replacement would be roasted carrots, brussel sprouts, or possibly whipped potatoes. In addition, we also had the Brussel sprouts, which were cooked with panchetta...nuff said: delicious!

For dessert, we had grasshopper drinks, a pineapple upside down cake, and coffee pudding. The pudding was comped to us as birthday dessert in honor of our grandmother ❤️! The pudding had an amazing espresso coffee taste with the texture of a mousse along with a pistachio cream! The pineapple upside down cake came with a scoop of vanilla ice cream that made me wonder if they made it in-house.. delicious!

While this was a bit pricey, given everything we experienced, it was worth it. It has made it into our rotation of upscale restaurants and can not wait to be back. It surpassed our expectations, going well beyond them to carry forward the charm of the former Seven Seas. We hope The Commodore is around to stay for...

We have had excellent experiences with Bartolotta restaurants, especially Lake Park Bistro, so we were excited to try The Commodore, just down the road from us. Had tried to book reservations but were unsuccessful. So we thought let's go early and see if we can get a seat at the bar. That worked quite well until we asked to see a food menu and were told they are not allowed to serve at the bar! Checked with the hostess stand and were informed that we could get a table in about an hour which we accepted. It was really only 15 minutes! Let me add that the renovations are truly impressive.

This is where things started to go downhill. The bar menu listed the ingredients for a cocktail I like, so I asked for it, 15 minutes later it was sorry we don't have everything on our list yet. Ordered a martini which was good until I received the itemized bill showing $15 for the Belvedere plus a $6 upcharge for it being a martini! Their defense is that a Belvedere cocktail is 15 but the extra vodka to make a martini was the reason for the upcharge. Fine, but I didn't order a Belvedere cocktail! I ordered a martini I think this is bad optics, I would look at the $21 charge as slightly high and not think about it again. We were further informed, by a bartender, that until just recently they used to charge extra for stuffed olives and still charge extra if you request a drink with a large ice cube! Again, bad optics for a restaurant of this caliber.

Once in the dining room, we were told what was not available, which included the daily specials (they were not ready to prepare those yet). I'm a fan of Wiener schnitzel and was looking forward to it. I asked what is served with it and was told it is a la carte! Sorry but the traditional compliments were not available a la carte and at $42 should have been included. So I chose two appetizers for my meal. Steak Tartare and Caesar Salad. The tartare portion was tiny and a first for me had grated cheese on it. The highlight were the potato chips served with it! /s Those were listed on the menu as crispy potatoes! That bad optics theme again. The salad was OK, the dressing was mainly lemon and oil; no garlic or anchovy flavor in the dressing. No pepper on the table or offered.

My wife ordered the salmon which was described as wild Columbia River salmon. It was cooked to the proper temperature , but tasted fishy and mealy. The accompanying whipped potatoes with a mustard sauce were good!

The savior was the dessert. We split the Lemon Posset and it was delicious.

Of note, both in the bar and dining room, it seemed to us there were a lot of staff training as if it is their first day. Regardless everyone we interacted with was extremely pleasant and friendly.

A manager did speak to us and I shared this info with him. As a service recovery measure he took a significant amount off of our bill which i did not ask for but he insisted.

I really like the location and concept and want this to succeed. My wife and I will wait for a few months hoping that some of these start-up hiccups go away and this restaurant can hit its' stride like the rest...