The Thirsty Goat — Restaurant in Fitchburg

Liked it so much I am writing my first google review ever. Went there for a quick lunch with a friend a month ago. We decided to split the nachos, and try the spinach artichoke dip. Each bite was more delicious than the last. The spinach artichoke dip was easily one of the best renditions of it I've ever had. And the nachos were incredible...like the dip, the nachos were easily some of the best I've experienced. The chips are home made, and every ingredient in both dishes was fresh and well-prepared. Presentation was perfect. We were so impressed with the app menu that we grabbed another friend and came back a week later for the fish fry. Equally impressed. We also tried the cheese curds; again...easily within the top 3 best curds I've ever had. As we ate them, the only sounds at the table were grunts of delight. It was busy both times (lunch and dinner rushes, respectively), but the service did not suffer. The waitstaff is incredibly friendly and very well trained. They struck the perfect balance between attending to our needs, and letting us enjoy our meal privately. We haven't stopped talking about our experiences there and will continue to spread the word about this amazing restaurant. If you want a pleasant, low key atmosphere, with a sophisticated yet relaxed feel, and incredible food with an amazing drink menu...this is the place for you. You won't be disappointed.

Update 8/8/17: Currently sitting in the restaurant for the third time in six weeks. Tried their proper bbq menu. Brisket, chicken, ribs were stellar. The brisket was fall apart, went well with the bourbon sauce. The chicken and ribs needed no compliment... They were perfect by themselves. Cornbread is moist and perfectly sweet. Beans are smokey with just a hint of sweet, and the loaded baked potatoes were delicious... Somehow they got the cheese all the way into the potato, it was swirled throughout, perfect! The service was fantastic as usual. Quick, professional, and friendly. Shout out to Gabriel our waiter. Will keep updating as we explore the menu.

Update 9/6

Ordered the curds again. They came to us over cooked. We talked to the server to let him know for future orders. We've had them before and we're not upset because they are usually very good. The server thanked us and went on his way. He came back and told us he comped the curds. This was an unsolicited show of excellent service as we did not expect nor ask for them to be comped since we ate most of the basket. Thank you Skyler for your excellent service, and for the great tip on how to build what sounds like the perfect burger. On another note, we tried the egg burger. Amazing! Also discovered how good the fries are...protip: load them with cheese, bacon, able sour cream.. perfection. They also had an amazing live singer doing great covers. Really enjoyed the atmosphere even more than usual because of her. Yet another great stop at the...

First time guests - family of 4 - dinner at 630pm Saturday. A rare treat after a movie.

No wait, many empty tables.

Overall, disappointing experience. Mainly due to the server - unprofessional and inattentive.

We were sat at a high top in the bar area at a wobbly table. We had the pleasure of listening to our server yap to the bartender our ENTIRE time there. Loudly. I think she had two tables.

We sat for several minutes before server came over to get our drink order. 4 waters.

The water tasted like it came straight from Lake Mendota.

Server took our food order - without pen/paper - my husband said “that’s impressive” - her response: “I’ve worked here forever”. A few minutes after taking our order she came back: “now you’ve got me questioning myself” - and had my son repeat his order.

Our food took longer than expected to come out - server never came back to check in during the wait - my son ran out of water. Though she wasn’t far away - just at the bar talking to bartender.

Someone from kitchen brought our food out- server hops over from bar - “how’s your food?” Didn’t come back until we were nearly finished.

Husband: BBQ sandwich &chips: delicious

Son #1: ribs & mashed potatoes, cornbread: good

Son #2: sirloin, Macn cheese, fries: sirloin came out medium well - he ordered it medium RARE - GET A PEN AND PAPER. He ate it - why? Because server was yapping to the bartender - not tending to her tables.

My food: walleye, side salad, macn cheese: walleye tasted like a bottom fed tilapia, the lemon butter was over the top lemon. Macn cheese came out crusted over like it had been sitting out - not hot. Salad was great - variety of toppings.

Server came back to check in when my husband and son #1 were already done eating. I asked for tartar sauce. Son #2 was nearly finished with overdone steak.

There was a male server (dressed like a cowboy) - had we been serviced by him, our experience would have been much better - he was very attentive to his tables - we didn’t hear him yapping to the bartender - ever - and I bet he didn’t mess up anyone’s steak order - if he had - he was attentive enough that it could have been sent back to the kitchen in a timely manner.

Our meal was $98 (charged CC fee) - no drinks, no apps.

Oh - the music was great.

Edit to add: I signed off the bill for $97.68 - surprise! Credit card was charged $107.68. Lost another star...

We were looking for a place that all six of our family members would find something on the menu they like, and chose Thirsty Goat. I had been here once or twice for lunch before, and remembered it being good.

Our family ordered the brisket tacos, make your own burger, chicken wings, chicken fettuccine Alfredo, and the 3 meat sampler platter with pulled pork, brisket, and kielbasa. The kids also ordered the cheese curds and Gouda bites.

Everything was very good. I cook a lot of smoked meats myself, so am pretty particular when it comes to that. The pork, brisket, and kielbasa rivaled that of a dedicated smokehouse. I was impressed, ate every last piece, and was stuffed. The coleslaw I got as a side was also very good. I'm pretty picky about coleslaw as well. There was one very minor mistake with the food (sour cream added to the tacos when it was asked to not be). The waitress realized this right away, but we told her not to worry about it as it was not a big deal. She still told management, who paid a visit to the table, and sent out a second order of the brisket tacos even though they didn't need to. Having worked in the restaurant industry for several years myself, this is the type of service I love. The ownership and expectation of providing people with what they asked for says a lot about a place.

To top things off, it was karaoke night. My 13 and 10 year old boys love to sing, and after brief encouragement from the rest of us were out there entertaining the place. They did several songs, and were told they could do as many as they wanted. The patrons genuinely seemed to enjoy it, and more and more participated after the kids broke the ice. Again, management was great, and was very supportive of the kids singing.

The overall experience was great, and we've already discussed planning our next visit here, even though it's 40 minutes from our house. My only regret is not getting pictures...