Wild Badger Sports Saloon — Restaurant in New Richmond

4.6 Stars – A Solid Spot with Some Flavorful Surprises and a Dash of Nostalgia

So, my wife and I wandered into this place hoping to find a new favorite. The kind of spot where the food makes you forget your phone exists for 20 minutes. And while it didn’t hit icon status, it definitely earned its stripes.

Walking In: Right off the bat, we hit the classic “do we seat ourselves or wait and awkwardly pretend not to be lost?” moment. No signs, no greeter, just raw instinct and mild confusion. After about 30 seconds of reading the room like Sherlock Holmes, we seated ourselves. Mystery solved.

The Vibe: Now this is where the place shines. Rustic pub charm, dartboards, TV screens like you're in a Buffalo Wild Wings, but better. And our booth? Came with its own remote-controlled TV. We threw on golf (because why not?) and let it roll in the background. Then I spotted it. The holy grail of bar games: a domed hockey table. I hadn’t seen one in nearly a decade, not since my early young and 21 days in Vegas. Instant nostalgia points unlocked.

Appetizer: We kicked it off with the spinach artichoke dip, and let me say: fire. Creamy, flavorful, and baked to perfection. But the real MVP? The chips. These weren’t your sad, stale, bagged excuses for dipping. These were crispy, fresh, and clearly made with care. A+ chip quality. Sure, we ran a little low on dip by the end, but that’s only because we were devouring it.

Mains: My wife ordered The Sheriff burger with cheese curds. She said the BBQ sauce was too sweet, but here’s the kicker—I’m the one who doesn’t do sweet. Not diabetic, just passionately anti-sugar in my savory food. And yet... I thought it was great. Smoky, rich, and bold. I think her palate just took a personal day.

I went for the Reuben, because I’m on a quest to find the best one in the Midwest. Visually? Beautiful. Taste-wise? Solid. Not the crown jewel, but easily a 7.2/10 on the Reub-o-Meter. The bread was toasted just right, the corned beef was tender, and the sauerkraut held its own.

Cheese Curds: Good crunch, great batter, but a bit salty. Like, "remind me to hydrate after" salty. Still tasty, just could’ve used a little balance. Which brings me to my unsolicited genius: they should offer a cup of carmel with the curds. Sounds weird until you try it. Salty curds + sweet honey = undercover gourmet move. Wisconsin folks, trust me on this one.

Service: Server was friendly and on top of things at first, but once the food hit the table, drink refills became rare beasts. Not a huge deal, but worth noting since it wasn’t exactly packed, maybe four tables and a half-full bar.

The Breakdown:

Reub-o-Meter: 7.2/10

BBQ Sweetness Scale (as a sweet-hater): Surprisingly enjoyable - 8/10

Cheese Curd Salinity: Bold, but begging for a drizzle of Caramel

Chip Game: Strong. Crispy. Reliable. 10/10

Atmosphere: 9.5/10 (TV + domed hockey = power move)

Overall Vibe: Casual, fun, with just enough quirks to make it memorable

Final Rating: 4.6 Stars - Come for the food, stay for the vibes, and next time… maybe sneak in your own honey packet...

Been here many times. almost always a great experience. Today though, I thought I'd share about - but only facts:

We were waited on promptly She ordered wings with extra dipping sauce and I ordered a plain chicken tender ranch wrap Food came to the table about a half hour later No extra sauce - even though our server wrote it down Wrong wrap altogether Server noticed the lack of extra dipping sauce and brought more Told server about the wrap mixup. She did her due diligence and solidified that she had written it down correctly for the cooks but that they had prepared the wrong thing Check came and there was no discount or otherwise for the mixup, no comped beer or similar

Again, been here many times and it is a great place. Just thinking there should have been something done about the confusion. It should be noted that we still tipped well, cause the server did their job, and we still would've tipped the same as we did even if they would've done something monetarily, as most places do in similar scenarios, cause - as noted - the server did their job.

So this is mostly just feedback and a heads-up to check to ensure you get what you ordered. I am sure that the cooks are working hard and are likely even short-handed and burned out from picking up the slack for all the people at home still not working.

Keep up the good work Badger crew! Hopefully things will get back to...

So in a restaurant, food is something we get to go out to enjoy, have a good time, and be taken care of. The restaurant met the first standard for my burger but lost me on lengthy wait times, my 2 year old child’s kids meal which came out last after 45 minutes, and the rest of my party’s meals were very delayed and cold. I was embarrassed to bring our friends here versus other restaurants in the area. We took our friends here because we never have had a bad experience at the wild badger before and have enjoyed eating here until last week. The manager/owner came out after more than a few requests and decided to watch his camera checking for wait times rather than address real time issues with the customer right away. Sad, I know. Seems like we may know now from the top down what the wild badger is all about which I’m disappointed because I enjoyed eating here until I’ve seen how this place handles adversity and accountability. Seems like they were simply short staffed leading to delays as the place wasn’t even at...