Tipsy Cow — Restaurant in Madison

I normally don't take the time to write negative reviews. I do try to give quality establishments their due respect but felt like this establishment needed some updating on their Google reviews. We were in the state capitol area with a little over an hour to kill before we had a time slot four a local ax throwing establishment. (Madison Axe Throwing e was awesome!) I did a Google search on "fun bars near me" and this place popped up. Parking was very difficult, but that probably is to be expected at 5:30 on a weeknight with the afterwork crowd. The place was not real busy when we walked in but surprisingly it took an extended period of time to even get someone's attention to get seated. Once we were seated it took 10 minutes for our server to stop by the first time. We did not realize she was going to be our server, as we watched her braid one of the other servers hair by the front entryway for that time before she acknowledged us. Acted like we were putting her out when we actually made an order. Ordered a round of beers and a couple of appetizers. When I asked her how the shrimp was, her comment was how would I know, I'm allergic to shrimp then that was the end of her statement. Didn't mention that other people seem to like it, didn't offer Alternatives that she thinks are good on the menu, etc. My wife and I ordered Summer Shandy. It was a hot day in August and was looking forward to a cold beer. Got served a room temperature or warmer beer in a cold glass. Didn't make any sense. It took all of 30 seconds for the glass and beer to be room temperature. The Google reviews mentioned a happy hour, but those certainly weren't mentioned to us and the price is certainly didn't reflect it as it was $14 for two warm draft beers. Another server brought our two appetizers out to us, but didn't ask if we wanted another round of drinks. We assumed that was because she was not our server, but unfortunately our server never came back. Wasn't a fun or friendly atmosphere. The name of the establishment evoked more fun than the actual atmosphere. Overall the place had maybe 15 people total in it and yet I felt like we were annoying our server. When I tried to ask questions about the food slash appetizers, I got one word answers and she couldn't walk away quick enough. We literally watched her walk away 20 ft to the other end of the bar so she could resume her conversation with one of the other servers where they were stationed right inside the front door. Spent $40 plus tip for too warm beers and two appetizers. The spicy shrimp and cheese curds were very good.

We all have bad days, but the overall environment of this place on that evening seemed to be consistent with our servers attitude.

Would...

The Tipsy Cow is an upscale pub just off the square. I went there because they show up in every discussion of the best burgers in Madison. We went there on a Saturday around noon and it was predictably crowded. They told us it would be a half hour wait, but they managed to seat us within about 10 minutes. They gave us a nice small table next to the window which had a partial view of the capitol. Since it's right off the square, parking is a challenge. There's a ramp nearby, but it isn't cheap. We paid $8 to park there just for our lunch. I ordered the Tipsy burger with fries and a drink. The Tipsy burger is a double burger with cheese, sauce, onion strings, and pickles. The only cooking options were "some pink" or "no pink" so I ordered mine with "some pink" because I'm not a complete Philistine. It arrived after about 10-15 minutes and man, was it good. The beef had a nice flavor, the cheese was good quality and balanced well. The onion strings added nicely to the overall flavor. It was one of those times I ate something I knew was bad for me, but it was totally worth it. On the strength of the burger alone, I would go back. The only downside to the experience was the service. Our waitress was friendly enough, but she tended to forget that we existed. To get a refill on my drink my wife had to finally get up and go find someone to help us. It took a long time for us to get our bill. So, overall I highly recommend The Tipsy Cow on King...

Don't know how to fix this, but I just noticed I wrote this review for the downtown location and not SUN PRAIRIE, which was my intention. Service was awful. We were in with our 3 year old this week and we took our time with the menu and had decided what we wanted all before our server even showed up. When we got our food, I didn't care for what I had ordered. The fish was bland, the breading was too thick and soggy on the inside and the entire thing was greasy. The mayo, had an off putting bacon flavor ( I don't eat bacon), I just wasn't impressed but my kid was eating it, so I was just going to order something else and not send it back. We had to flag down another server to get a menu, and by the time our server returned to ask about our food I as so annoyed I decided not even bother to reorder. My husband said his sandwich was good but for $12 without a side, we could have gone to Culvers and had a good sandwich which would have included the fries and cost less. OH and how awkward that the server runs your credit card at the table so they know exactly what you tip them while they're looking at you, not cool. The place was really loud too. Won't...