Red Circle Inn — Restaurant in Nashotah

We had high hopes that with some new life, new management (Geronimo Group), and some updates, that Red Circle Inn could become a place in our "rotation" in Lake Country. We visited the bar area for some appetizers and drinks this past week and if it's indication of what a full dinner service would be, the search continues. The menu is full of things that at first glance are Wisconsin favorites, but upon further review, the call has been reversed as you notice the really just strange twists that wander down a dark, forced, and not tasty path.

Examples include summer sausage in a wedge salad looks good on paper (not really), but doesn't work. How about not trying to be too clever and do Nueske's thick cut bacon instead, to pay tribute to a local place and stick closer to a classic original. With this, it felt like I had a salad from an Italian pizza place where they threw salami, cheese, and banana peppers into my salad. Not a supper club look by any stretch.

The sampler platter had two pieces of barely toasted rye with what tasted likely a curiously sweet Merkt's cheese spread. It was marketed as beer cheese, but not even close and one of the cheese spreads came off in a large glob, meaning it had sat in a fridge for a while. The deep fried olives had us asking, "where's the olive" as it was just breading. "Hey, let's deep fry deviled eggs" the chef said to be clever. Well, it didn't work and there was no flavor, no seasoning, and nothing special. The summer sausage fetish returned again, this time with two small pieces of grilled summer sausage. Not great. The whitefish mousse was interesting and perhaps the "highlight" of the plate and something unique that didn't tread too far into no-man's land. The baby Vlassic dill pickles could have been something local and nice, but tasted like they were straight from the Sysco jar.

Looking over the menu, it's obvious that the chef was given freedom to make a supper club their own. But, rather than stay to some classics with subtle twists, they went way off the rails with the menu. Skate Schnitzel anyone? Yes, it's a "Reimagined Classic", but not sure what imagination we are working with here.

Also, while we were one of two couples at the bar, service was slow and why, oh why, do we need full place settings with placemats, four forks, two knives, three plates, and everything in between while sitting AT THE BAR. That is why we chose to eat at the bar! The bar is meant to be casual, approachable, and comfortable, not needing the queen's china place settings.

Make I.D. at the Delafield Hotel your test lab for reimagining things while sticking to the classics here with quality ingredients and you will have a winner. Continue down this path and while Red Circle Inn may be the oldest restaurant in Wisconsin, it may be the loneliest one as well as after the first visit, many diners may just say "Geronimo" as they leap outside, never to...

We came here for dinner after a long day of helping our family moving in the area there realtor Mary who has eaten here many times since she was a child wanted to give everyone a good meal for the hard work and I will have to say it was with a couple of caveats. We got seated quickly as it was Tuesday after the holiday weekend and they were not real busy our server was training a new server and they took our drink orders and let us look at the menus while our drinks were made. When they returned with our drinks they took our orders. There were 5 of us and we ordered 1 pan seared walleye 2 Untraditional Beef Stroganoffs and 2 8 oz tenderloins I had my tenderloin with the Buttered Mashers the other was ordered with the Beef Fat Hash Browns I also ordered a cup of French Onion Soup. They returned with 3 what I would call relish trays and set them down and left here is my first caveat and maybe it was on us for not asking but they didn't say what any of the 3 little plates were now one was obviously slices of bread the other 2 were not so obvious one had something that looked liked miniature cheddar Bay biscuits the other was some little tiny strips of veggies with 2 little pats of some kind of dip or spread on either end of the plate no butter was brought for the bread. Here is my 2nd caveat as we waited for our entrees we only saw our servers once that was when my soup was brought out and we hadn't finished our first drinks yet we didn't see them again until our entrees arrived and I didn't time it mind you but it was about 20 minutes. The only way we got our drinks refreshed was because the manager stopped by to ask how things were which is when our host asked him about our entrees and new drinks. That was when our drinks got renewed and they cleared the away the relish plates and my soup cup. As for my French Onion Soup and our entrees my soup was a bit sweeter than I'm used to in French Onion but otherwise was spot on with good Onion flavor and good cheese on top. Everyone said that there entrees were excellent and I agree with that I only have one complaint with mine and that is portion size of the buttered mashers there was barely a teaspoon full I would have liked to have seen there be at least as much as the 2 hash browns that came with the other tenderloin. To sum up what I know is a long review the food and drinks were excellent the service was superb with that one delay in getting second drinks and I will say that the delay may have been so that everything could be done and brought out at the same time but it was a wait for the place not being busy. Would I recommend Red Circle Inn yes I would it is fine dining yes it is a bit pricey but that is generally what fine...

We had my 60th Bday family dinner here last night for (they knew in advance and that we were bringing a toddler) My partner and I ordered the Beef Wellington for 2 as well as my daughter and her husband while the others all (7 total) had other Entrees, (note: the ribs are half a rack, not a full rack which is not displayed on the menu, my son was still hungry) Our private dining room was really cold. it was nice to place us in there because we had my grandson but the room couldn't have been more than 65 degrees. All was going well, other than being cold, when the entree's came out & my dinner & partners was not there. She told me a few more minutes, then said they had to fire another entree, it would be 20 minutes. After 20 minutes it was still not there. the table was done eating. the family sides were cold coming out & getting colder in our room, i told her such. I told her at that point it may not be worth even eating our meal anymore. She said they would comp us our meal and would package it up if we would like and bring out the desserts. (being with a toddler and my 87 y/o mother I thought that best, plus the offer of it being comped was the right offer as I understand sometimes things go wrong) She said twice our entree was being comped, the entire table heard it or I would of just cancelled the order entirely. Our bills come and she told me they paid for our drinks and took 25% off the bill. I said i thought you told me it was being comped. she said, oh no only 25% off ($37.50) and your drinks. (2 ice teas and 3 cocktails which I would of been happy to pay for) It just left a very bad taste in my mouth. My partner was hungry, we have to drive my mother back to the nursing facility in Waukesha and have "to go" Beef Wellington and for those whom know this entree, reheated is not going to be great. I then got frustrated and sad, at least I thought we could come back again and order it another time. I was very understanding and kind to our server up to this point. Now we have a $118 take out meal (not including tip as I know it is not her fault). By the time we got home it was after 9 pm and the take out is still in the fridge. You played this one wrong Red Circle Inn and the management who made this call.

NOTE: Kyle the GM called me and apologized for this snafu. He is using this as a teaching moment and the things that could of been done differently. He was kind, understanding and would like us to return on them for another try at the Beef Wellington or whatever we choose w the $150 gift card! I am so happy to get to return and try this again as we have had had impeccable service in the past and I was hoping this was just a one off. Thank you...