Northern Taphouse - Eau Claire — Restaurant in Eau Claire

A group of about 14 of us came in this afternoon having just traveled a few hours on our way home. Seeing good reviews, as well as some of the group having already been to this location before, we had very high expectations. When we came in they sat us very quickly, but when it came to taking orders they completely skipped over me. Which isn’t a big deal but our group was split into 2 groups with 2 separate waiters. After about 5 minutes we were able to get the waiters attention so that I could order. Soon everyone got their order and it was almost 20 minutes till my food came out, but my side of mac and cheese was not there. I didn’t think much of it and just asked, and was told that it was on its way. Soon we were all almost down eating, the waiter came and refilled waters and let me know the rest of my food would “be out in 30 seconds”. Which was not the case, we later got our checks and my food was still not there. Asking again, I was told it was being boxed up for me. At that point I didn’t even want it, I had no reason to carry food with me when we still had hours before we’d be home. I didn’t receive it till have the group started walking out. Taking a bite, just because I love Mac and cheese, I was very disappointed to find out the Mac had little bit no cheese. It may seem pretty minor, but all these adding up ruined my day very quickly. Was really hoping to enjoy the rest of my food, but even that was pretty mediocre. Great ranch, but overall,...

Stopped here on Friday after going to David's Bridal. Poor decision on my part. Service was ok. Drinks and drink specials were pushed more than the food or the special for the day, walleye fish fry.

We started with pretzel bites since apps were $2 off. Portion size was good. Some were overcooked and had a very hard exterior. The cheese dipping sauce was bland and was in a small fish. Our server apologized and gave us the "normal" side dish it should come in.

For our mains my wife ordered a burger. It was ok. Nothing spectacular and not worth the cost. My daughter ordered a burger off of the kids menu. She received a drink, two sides and an ice cream sundae all for $6.99. This is the only reason for the second star!! I ordered the walleye fish fry. Never again. Two small strips of walleye, overcooked and not seasoned. I asked for tarter sauce and was told they don't have any but they have a Sriracha tarter sauce and was asked if I wanted that. I said sure. The good thing is it added some flavor to the fish, the bad, I was charged for that sauce. If you're going to do a fish fry in Wisconsin, you need to do better for $22. It's absolutely ridiculous to charge that amount for the portion size. The two pieces weren't whole fillets either. They were the halves you get after taking the zipper bones out.

Service was nice, but not exceptional. Will probably never go back due to the high cost of food that isn't very...

When we arrived there were lots of empty tables outside and several empties inside but we were told it would be a 20 minute wait to seat us, so I am assuming they were short staffed. Inside, it was ridiculously loud; too loud to carry on a conversation or even order properly. (And no mentionable game was playing at the time.). The interior is wide open, even into the kitchen, so I guess that's just the downside of that type of layout. There was an extensive beer list. However, for every one of us, we ordered what we wanted and then were told a few minutes later that were out of that and we would need to reselect. The beer costs, on average, $1.00 per ounce for any of the craft options, so at $10 for a 10 oz glass, it was disappointing to not get what we had wanted. It took a little longer than expected to get our food, but it was an acceptable wait time for the number of customers and staff. Our house cheese curd appetizer was perfectly mediocre, with a few of the cubes pretty much hollow. My burger was over cooked from what I ordered, but still tasted good. Overall the entrees themselves were pretty good, but given the environment, beer availability, and cost, there is nothing about the place that would interest me enough to visit again. 3 stars. Average. It's not awful, but in my opinion, there are better...