Neil's Wine & Bourbon House — Restaurant in Portage

We stopped in last night (Friday) on a whim for dinner for the two of us because we were kid free and I've heard this place is good, and 10/10 recommend for a couple or small group looking for a great meal definitely consider stopping.

We had no clue they were partaking in the Portage Wine Walk for Wicked when we got there, and even though they had an event going on, the owner was at the bar and saw us walk in and could tell we aren't with the event. He quickly found us a table and sat us, personally gave us the menu and treated us.

The wait staff were all very friendly. Our drinks were ordered (and delivered) in minutes. Our waitress explained the specials and menu and checked on us every 5 minutes or so.

We ordered the spinach and artichoke dip with crustini for appetizer and we're pleasantly presented with the perfect appi for two. There's were 8 fresh toasted baguette slices and a nice amount of dip.

I got the evening special of tenderloin medallions in a red wine reduction sauce with mushrooms over asparagus and quinoa. My tenderloins were perfectly medium rare and the flavor of the food was way more then expected in downtown portage.

My husband ordered the Ribeye with garlic mashed potatoes and asparagus and his steak was perfect for him, better then the steakhouses in the area honestly.

Not a wine drinker but I did get their maple Bacon old fashion to try and they have a even pour with good flavor on at least that cocktail.

Skipped dessert so can't speak for that, we were humbly satisfied with our food.

For the atmosphere you can tell this place was once a home or some sort, when you walk in there is a bar top on one side a decent size dining room the opposite. You walked out of Central Wisconsin and into NorCal Wine Country walking into here, it's a very artsy/bistro style restaurant. We found it to be quite romantic despite the strange event going on...

I stopped here a few weeks ago during the wine walk with a couple gal friends as it was recommended by another close friend. The food was good, our server was very kind, however the owner was drunk and made us feel very uncomfortable.

He made a point to touch my arm when passing by our table early on after our arrival. At the end of our meal, he left from behind the bar to stop at our table again. He crouched between me and a friend with his face very close to our chests and faces. My friend told him he was making us feel uncomfortable and he became agitated, clearly drunk. We told him again that he was in our personal space; and to please back off as he was making us feel very uncomfortable. He responded saying "Do you know who I am?! I'm the owner.” We repeated again that he was making us feel uncomfortable and he finally walked away. Ruined the experience and made us feel unsafe. Extra worrisome that this was during a wine walk and I can only assume more women made the stop more than any other typical night. I hope no one else was made to feel as...

Found Neil's Wine and Bourbon House while on the way from Chicago to Eau Claire and needing a spot for dinner that wasn't fast food/bar food. This 10 mile detour couldn't have been better. Great patio and luckily the fall weather hadn't quite hit. Pleasant servers who helped navigate the dinner menu with their recommendations.

Now to the food, we had a pan seared salmon, the loaded mashed potatoes, French onion soup and tenderloin medallions with mushrooms and blue cheese. This was easily the best meal I've had in the last 6 months if not 2 years. We shared dishes to try everything and every bite was just loaded with flavor. I started with the steak and afterwards I was going to be sad about ordering the salmon, but the butter and cook and the salmon was just perfect.

I really can't give enough praise for this place it was a nice break on a long drive and I'd absolutely stop again. Also all that food, 3 beers and a glass of wine and the bill was $73. Maybe I'm just used to city prices but that...