Grill 164 — Restaurant in Oconomowoc

Let me tell you a story about this place. I am 6 foot tall and 280lbs so I know a little about food. I wanted to take my fiancé out to a nice dinner to take away some of the stress of wedding planning. We herd great reviews from other people so we thought we’d try the steak house we pass all the time. We walked in and immediately noticed that we were at least half of the average age of all the people in the building. Even the waitresses were old enough to be my grandmothers. The saddest thing about this is that we are 27 years old and it is a Saturday night. But on to the service. We sat down and watched three other parties walk in, be seated, and served bread before we even received our drinks. When she finally came back with the drinks we ordered. To start was the breadsticks. Very basic and bland. I have had better out of the freezer section at the store. I ordered the special, which was the prime rib served medium rare. I thought I was safe since it is a special but my medium rare steak came back very well done in the middle and I gaged on how much seasoning was on the outside edge. It was served with steamed vegetables that came as raw as they were in the garden and mashed potato’s that would have tasted better if it came from a box. My meal was a fail and I wish I could say better for my fiancé. She ordered the Rubén that was listed on the menu as “one of the best.” The corn beef tasted like it was canned and cooked until it was very dry. The sauerkraut was cold as if they dumped it right from the can (see a theme). The fries were cold as well. In the middle of the dinner we were blessed with a couple that were adamant on watching the race but the TV wasn’t working so it took a group effort of the entire staff to join together and then call a son to ask how to change the channels. One man with an apron came from the kitchen and poured himself a very stiff drink. I counted eight Mississippi’s before he put the bottle down. He was also stumbling with the soda gun. Maybe this is why the food was so bad. It took forever to get the check by the waitress who was cleaning the tables off with her hands and then serving food to other tables without washing in between. Needless to say I was very unhappy with the experience and I left the smallest tip ever in my life. I normally do 20% and tonight I gave 5%. Try at your own risk but if your not a regular or on social security I wouldn’t...

To start with I should say that having been a Chef I am somewhat picky.

I have eaten at Grill 164 five times over the past two months. During those visits they have become one of my top 10 restaurants in the Waukesha to Oconomowoc area. During our visits we have enjoyed the half pound char-grilled Black Angus burgers, perfectly cooked to medium with a full-bodied taste served with homemade chips, Hay stack onions (thin sliced breaded fried onions), lightly battered and golden brown with very little salt taste, Mozzarella Sticks wrapped in an eggroll fashion served with marinara sauce and perfectly browned, char-grilled Beef Tenderloin Sandwich served medium rare to medium with potato salad.

However, our favorite meals have been on Fridays. They have a Friday fish fry that offers something for every fish lover. They have fried or baked Cod, fried Lake Perch, fried Bluegill, Pan seared Walleye and Jumbo Shrimp. For those who have a big appetite they offer an AYCE fish fry. The fried cod is pure white, lightly hand battered, fried to golden brown and is moist, and flaky. The coleslaw is creamy and has a slight smokey undertone that I have only ever enjoyed before at a few restaurants in the deep south. The lemon pepper and butter Baked Cod was pure white filets, moist and flaky served with drawn butter. The Fish Fries are all fish fries are served with coleslaw, potato salad, rye bread and choice of French Fries or Homemade Potato Pancake.

While the food is the star of this restaurant/Pub the service is very good and the atmosphere is that of a small-town family grill.

The one thing that may upset some people is that they are often so busy that you may have a 40-minute wait for a table. However, I have found that if you do a little planning, you can either arrive early (3:30pm) or make a reservation.

Therefore, if you find yourself getting hungry and you are in the Oconomowoc WI area I recommend that you...

Had lunch with a friend; most booths weren’t cleaned so we had to take a table near the kitchen, noisy and uncomfortable. First impression, bartender/waitress seemed pleasant, but was odd and a bit crass. When she brought my friend’s wine, it was a good pour, but nothing crazy. She joked “take a big sip right away so I don’t get in trouble from my boss” (then felt compelled to mention it again when giving the check.) Tacky. She took my fish fry order and just before entering the kitchen she stops and says “the fish comes with coleslaw and potato salad” and asked if I wanted those. I said yes. Get this, she then asks…”Are you gunna eat it?” and did the same thing about the rye bread - all included w/the fish fry. Wtf? If it’s included, just bring it and don’t interrogate the diners. I don’t like wasting food, but if it’s not tasty, no, I’m not going to eat it. And how would I know - it was my first time there. She had a bad vibe and it’s in poor taste to ask “are you gunna eat it?” for items included! Maybe they were low on sides. lol Two piece cod fish fry was decent, potato pancakes were tasty, potato salad was just ok, coleslaw was blah, marble rye was ok. My friend enjoyed his Cajun chicken salad. Overall, fish fry was ok, but the vibe from the bartender/waitress was a turn off. I...