Craftsman Table & Tap — Restaurant in Middleton

Craftsman was highly recommended to us so we decided it would be nice to try something new. Our party was extremely disappointed. We were seated fairly quickly but our waitress didn't stop by the table to get our drink orders for almost fifteen minutes. There were several empty tables around us so it definitely didn't seem to be that busy. She was paying a lot of attention to the table of six directly behind us, walking past us several times when we obviously didn't even have drinks yet.

Our food took a very long time to arrive, especially considering the place seemed to be pretty empty for a Sunday morning. When it did, we were even more disappointed. The ham and cheese sandwich arrived without cheese; it was literally just ham sloppily thrown onto bread. The chile burger came out with what we thought was almost none of the sriracha aioli (I'll touch on this later). The Craftman was one of the worst burgers I have ever had, which is kind of a shame considering how basic it is. The bun was soggy and the actual burger itself had absolutely no seasoning.

While one person flagged down our waitress to address the "just ham sandwich" (and yes, she literally had to be flagged down), the GM Nick came over and asked how things were going. My wife asked him about the sriracha aioli and he had no issue correcting that. He was actually fantastic and the only thing that impressed me this trip.

What we thought was a very, very light brushing of sriracha aoili turned out to be butter, which was really confusing. But my wife insisted that the aioli made it fantastic, so she was happy. The ham and cheese was deemed passable by the other person in our group. I only ate half of the burger and just couldn't stomach anymore. I should also note that at the time our food arrived, our drinks had been emptied and our waitress didn't offer to refill them. We ate our food without beverages and never saw the waitress to ask for refills. There were plenty of other issues but this was pretty annoying. Our waitress stopped by our table three times the entire time we were there, which ended up being almost an hour and a half.

Food has the potential to be good but I won't be back...

Stopped from a referral, wore mask, Covid aware. The service was initially Ok, had the Chorizo sand which, the Bun was drenched and soggy but, was actually pretty ok considering. spicy jalapeño cheese on the criss cross fries was a powdered derivative ( should specify that btw ) was like popcorn seasoning ( not cheese ) looked past it and was OK. My bride ordered the fish and chips and she was enjoying it. About 1/3 of the way through it she found a hair that was embedded in the batter, she double checked just to be sure it wasn’t her own and actually picked it up by the hair and shook it. Yes, it was embedded in the batter and cooked in it. Asked if my Bride wanted it replaced and to my surprise she said yes. ( I was kind of grossed out by it ) The waitperson returned and said after she dug into it and pulled the hair out of the batter that it was my brides and not the kitchens fault. Asked again if we would like it replaced ( thought it was already confirmed) after this said that’s ok ok and said she was done. At this point she was offended and stormed off took what food I had which was 75% of my order and returned with the bill. Actually comped the fish and chips though. Storm led off again ( yes stomped ) charged for all of mine, whatever at this point. Was kind of miffed at the Demeanor of the waitperson and how things went but, whatever, life goes on. Was a bit upset and walked the 10 feet to the door with my face mask in my hand and was about yo put it on and was tongue lashed by the bartender for contaminating the restaurant but not having it on.told him maybe the kitchen staff should wear hair nets and face masks ( which I saw they were not wearing the nets and the masks were around their necks and not covering their faces. Needless to say will never return and hope they can get their customer service where it needs to be. I am not a bitter person but, this did try my patience. Just my experience and hope that they can get...

We have been going to the craftsman for almost 10 years and loved this place. It is what we think about when we think Wisconsin. Great atmosphere, great drinks, and the food was amazing. However, we went there tonight and everything has changed. No mentioned fish fry Friday, all the amazing burgers and sandwiches that made the menu great was reduced down so much they only have 2 burgers left. They still have the cheese curds but it was similar however not the same and that is the only thing really left from the old menu.

The staff was amazing but understand the menu change so much that there is an impact. So much that there wasn't a wait at 7:30 on a Friday as apposed to the usual hour to 2 hour wait.

For the food! The menu reminds me of like a zupas. Everything is vegetarian and vegan optional. There is a difference quality of food (not for the better) from bacon that is super thick like ham, sirloin sandwich that had some grissel that comes with sirloin, to a burger that was thinner and smaller in diameter. We also tried the turkey sandwich and salmon salad which was ok but the salmon salad had a lot more quinoa rather than greens to keep it lighter per the manager.

Finally the prices. Everything is a-la-carte so fries with a burger are $4.50 after $11 for a burger that is not even close to what they used to be. The macaroni and cheese was $6 as a side but was good. So the good was ok but seemed like it was more for the vegetarian/ vegan/ physically fit college students and young adults trying to save the earth. It was ok but not enough to go back. Especially to spend those prices.

Thank you for the meal, we feel bad for the staff who are suffering from the backlash of the menu change, and we look forward to coming back when you bring the old menu, atmosphere, and quality of food back. We left asking ourselves how much of our food supply actually comes from overseas because what we ate isn't...