The Esquire Supper Club — Restaurant in Madison

Arrived on Friday night for fish fry. Me and my two year old son. We went to the front desk to ask about a table. We waited for 10 minutes politely trying to talk to anyone while there were 6 workers standing/sitting around ignoring us. We finally got one to reply back to us and told us a 10 minute wait. After 30 minutes, two seaters asked us our name so they could check on us, since they noticed we had been waiting for a long time and felt bad. After 40 minutes total, they grabbed another seaters attention and asked why they hadn't seated us even though we were on her list. We then got seated.

Server took about 10 minutes to get to us (went to every table by us though), and she took another 10 minutes after she took our drink order before coming to take our food order. Food came out very quick and was good. We asked for a box after a while and it took another 15 minutes to come. I then noticed that my meal was incomplete as I was missing my bread and coleslaw (eating with a toddler is hard to keep track of everything). When the server dropped the box, I told her. She offered to bring me bread and coleslaw to go. She didn't come back for at least 10 minutes. My toddler and I had to go (toddlers can sometimes have their own agenda).

Pro - Great fish. Fast food.

Con - Front of house is a mess. They have three people standing at the front desk. 1 takes to-go orders over the phone, 1 calls people's name over the loud speaker, and 1 is supposed to manage the wait list. Then three seaters have names on their list and you're at their whim??? Servers may be over worked. That could explain the slowness and forgetfulness. They seemed to be semi-self aware, as I head, 'I'm sorry' from 7 different people throughout the night.

At the end - I was charged money for food I never got.

After being a long time patron and advocate to my friends and family, I can not recommend anymore. It's a shame, the new owner is definitely doing press releases and articles about himself and the restaurant, so he's trying to get business. When I see a newspaper article written that they've re-worked their front of house and business processes, I'll give them a try. Until then, I would expect unclear responsibilities and no quality control. I recommend two people at the front. 1 handling the phone and handling payment for to-go orders while 1 person manages the 1 list and works with the seaters to seat people. Take the number of seaters down to 1 or 2 and have an...

My wife and I went to Kavanaugh’s for dinner on a recent Saturday night with friends. We had never been before and I did not know what to expect. My first observation was of the owner sitting at the bar doing paperwork at 5:00 p.m. on a Saturday night!! A bit odd!!!

They did not have my favorite Scotch, so I ordered a popular Irish whiskey. My wife ordered a white wine which they had to go to the basement to get. They actually had not stocked the bar with white wine - on a Saturday night!! It took 15 minutes to get a glass of wine.

We started with Wisconsin Cheese Curds ($8.95) and Homemade Onion Rings ($7.95). The cheese curds had a good flavor and were probably a step above ordinary. The onion rings, however, were to die for. Lightly breaded and crispy - they were great; about as good as I have ever tasted.

I order a nightly special - Prime Rib & Shrimp ($25.00). It was billed as Queen Cut Prime Rib served with 3 Jumbo Fantail Shrimp. I selected hash browns as my potato option. Dinner came with a cup of soup and the salad bar.

The soup was delicious. The salad bar was fresh but Had only a limited number of ingredients.

Our dinners arrived soon after finishing the salad. That is where the disappointment really set in.

The dinner was terrible. The queen prime rib was generous but it was tepid at best and at least 1/3 of the portion was FAT and uneatable. While the flavor was good, and a little fat enhances the flavor of prime rib, there was just too much FAT. As bad as my meal was, the other two at the table who ordered prime rib had more FAT; about 1/2 their meals were uneatable.

The “hash browns” were an indescribable pile of potatoes. They were not crispy and nicely browned on the surface; but charred and a flavorless plate of cold potatoes.

My wife order the Fresh Salmon which was full of flavor and cooked perfectly. Her side was the harvest vegetable blend. She said it was a mushy, flavorless pile of mystery vegetables that was way too salty.

The service was sporadic. Our server was pleasant and cheerful, but she was not attentive. She had to be reminded to refill our water glasses and forgot our second drink order; blaming the bartender for forgetting our drinks.

Dinner at Kavanaugh’s Esquire Club was a disappointment both for food and service. Unfortunately, Kavanaugh’s is not a place we...

Ate at KEC on the advice of a friend following a recent Badger FB game. My friend said it was "classic Madison". First impressions were not good. The building was run down. The control mechanism on both men's urinals were broken. Couldn't flush them. The men's bathroom reeked of urine. The faux leather chairs at the table we were seated at were peeling, badly. I'm in my late 50s. My wife daughter and me were easily the youngest people in KEC until a younger couple arrived midway through our meal. The waitress who first attended to us quickly filled out water glasses, said something about KEC being shorthanded, then left, never to be seen again. The waiter that replaced her was attentive and polite, maybe overly so. Crackers and cheese spread arrived promptly. No bread or relish tray. We ordered the cheese curds and stuffed mushroom appetizers. Don't know if it was because we were so hungry, but both were pleasant surprises. We kept the rest of our order simple, as we were running late. My wife ordered a Reuben sandwich, my daughter a BLT sandwich. I ordered a single stuffed chicken breast with a side of sauteed mushrooms. The "entrees" put us at ease. My wife really liked her Reuben, though pricey for a Reuben and fries. Took half the sandwich home with us, as it was stacked with meat. My daughter enjoyed her BLT and fries. My stuffed chicken breast was tasty. The service was attentive, if not a little over the top with some of the comments. My wife commented that she had low expectations given the atmosphere and state of the building, but came away happy with her meal. I would agree. I know times have been tough for "sit down" restaurants like KEC, but the place is in serious need of some updating. Seems like it could go one of two ways: Either the owners invest in updating their establishment (if they have the means and desire), or it'll become irrelevant on the Madison restaurant scene when their mostly over age 65 clientele ages out. I would add that I have a special place in my heart for supper clubs and older restaurants in particular. This is one that appears...