Mary Cody's Restaurant — Restaurant in Onalaska

I ate at Mary Cody's for the first time on Saturday. I was excited to try a new place. The atmosphere was nice, and the waitress seemed friendly when we first arrived. There was only one other table with people, so we were excited to have the place mostly to ourselves. We had a family party of 12 as we were celebrating my niece's 17th birthday.

To say I was disappointed and upset is an understatement. We ordered our food and had to wait OVER an hour and a half for it! There was no rush, no other people to serve. We found out later, after we inquired, that there was no staff in the kitchen. A no show to work maybe? So, they just didn't start our food for the first hour? The waitress that we had asked as she passed by actually seemed annoyed with US and told us our food would be out when it was done and ready... There were so many other things that went wrong besides the MAJOR fact that our food took so long:

-We had to continually ask for refills or bring our glasses up to the bar. -Most of our dishes came out with mistakes when they finally came (white bun instead of WW bread, no guacamole, cheese when we asked for none due to an allergy, missing salads, fries when they didn't order fries, no extra ranch, and MANY MORE). -We asked for our bills (split checks), and it took her 3 tries to get them finally right. After all that waiting for our food, we had to wait another 30 minutes just to pay and leave. -The food was advertised differently than it came out (JUMBO mushroom caps were 5 tiny regular mushroom tops for $11, etc.). -The table that came in an hour after us got their food before we got anything, including our dinner salads.

I honestly can't think of a place that's had worse food or worse service. The most shocking part of this whole experience is that never, not once, did ANY single person apologize to our table for this experience. We didn't know what happened in the kitchen. We weren't told that they were without cooks. We weren't warned that it would be a while. No one came up and offered us anything while waiting. It was like a silent secret. We had told her that we were splitting the check and how before we ever ordered. When finally given our bills, we were told that we would EACH be given a $10 gift certificate for a future visit. What she actually gave us was a $10 gift certificate for each bill. Most of us had four people on each check, so we basically each got a $2.50 future credit which doesn't begin to compensate for the horrible experience we had. Our food should have been compensated right then and there! We all should have had 50% or more taken off our bill. A manager should have come over and apologized. We will not be using those $10 gift cards, as not a single one of us 12 will ever be returning to this establishment again. What an incredible disappointment this...

Upon walking into Mary Cody's, you're treated with a nice replica of what would be an Irish pub. It's a great environment, nice and cozy for great conversation.

This being my first visit, I'm sure I had that face of "What am I doing here, I need help!" I was quickly greeted and had the cream of the crop for eating locations, I took saddle at the bar.

Looking at the limited menu for breakfast, everything was tempting. I took the following: Meat Lover's Skillet, Eggs Benedict, Biscuits and Homemade Sausage Gravy, and Buttermilk Pancakes.

Meat Lovers Skillet It was expected. Well executed. I didn't need to season the dish. Came out fresh. Nothing to write home about, but their take on the Meat Lovers Skillet is solid. Let's be honest, can be purchased anywhere in the area.

Eggs Benedict Eggs were runny and perfect. I'd happily buy again.

Biscuits and Homemade Sausage Gravy HANDS DOWN, the best sit-down biscuits and gravy in the area! Most restaurant have Chef Mic(rowave) in the back, nuking biscuits and gravy. Not here! You can tell that this dish is made from scratch. I'd love to take an IV direct into my vein and just pipe the gravy into my bloodstream. Chef's Kiss

Buttermilk Pancakes Pancakes are hearty and filling. I'd have no problems recommending the pancakes here.

If you're looking for value and QUANTITY, go somewhere else. If you're looking for a true under the radar breakfast place, with great and quick service, friendly atmosphere, and all the dishes coming out perfect and fresh. It's worth the money. Easily a top 10 hidden gem breakfast spot in the LaCrosse/Onalaska area.

Biscuits and gravy, BEST...

Some plans changed for a Mother's Day event and we ended up pivoting to trying Mary Cody's. Their Mother's Day brunch was a reservation only and on my first attempt to see if we could get in, we were advised to call back in about 30 minutes to see if they could fit us in. When we called back 30 minutes we were told they would be able to squeeze us in between some other reservations. We were seated right away, albeit at a high top, and with a young child the table wasn't ideal. Once a table cleared, Caleb (one of their staff members) immediately cleaned off a low top and offered us to move to the low top. We were able to enjoy an amazing Mother's Day brunch in such a last minute decision. A few hours later I received a call from Caleb saying "Hey I believe you left your diaper bag at our restaurant and we will be here for another hour if you want to come pick it up." It was unknown to either myself, or my wife, that we had left the diaper bag behind. The entire Mary Cody's staff, especially Caleb, went above and beyond to provide us a great experience. You won't find a more accommodating place, with excellent service, and amazing food in the area than you will find at...