Huckleberry's Restaurant — Restaurant in Prairie du Chien

Our large party of 14 gathered for a "last meal" together, following a funeral the day prior. Having previously enjoyed excellent food and impeccable service here on past trips, we were deeply disappointed to find this visit was the complete opposite.

We were seated in a back room alongside two other large tables hosting a class reunion. It quickly became clear that one lone server was responsible for the entire room – easily over 30 people – taking all orders simultaneously. Unsurprisingly, our food took an unacceptably long time to arrive, and when it did, it came in staggered waves – four distinct deliveries, roughly 10-15 minutes apart. This meant we couldn't truly eat "together" as a family.

To make matters worse, nearly every single order was incorrect: missing side items, unwanted ingredients, or completely wrong dishes. Our server was visibly distressed, scrambling to manage a growing list of corrections. We had great empathy and patience for her as many of us have, at one time or another, worked as servers. So we understand the "crying in the cooler" moments working as a server can bring. Even after the final tray of food arrived, our drinks (beyond initial water) were still nowhere in sight. One of my daughters had to send her meal back THREE times before finally giving up and going without food. My husband's plate was cold, and his eggs drastically overcooked, leaving him unable to enjoy his food as well.

While we sympathized with our overwhelmed server, our pressing question was: Where was management?

The answer to our question about management's whereabouts came later, from my daughters: they were being profiled at the front counter. Bored and hungry while waiting for our perpetually delayed food, my “20-something” mixed-heritage daughters, had wandered to the front to browse the tourist merchandise. My middle daughter was looking at a rack of sale tank tops. As soon as she moved away, an older, red-haired woman at the counter – whom I presume was a manager – immediately went to check the rack, as if to ensure nothing was missing. My daughter returned to the table visibly upset, though we chose not to create a scene given the already difficult circumstances.

When I finally went to the front counter to pay, I calmly explained the nightmare our server had endured and detailed the numerous issues with our meals. The same red-haired woman simply offered a dismissive, "We should have had more than one server back there," before stating that the only compensation she could offer was removing our drinks from the bill. Trying to stay focused on our family goodbyes, I chose not to argue. I paid the bill for uneaten food and walked out.

Words of advice if you still intend on visiting this restaurant: Go when they are less busy Don't go with a large party Have empathy for the servers (always) And dont browse the merch unless you...

This is an excellent restaurant to dine at in PDC. The menu is simple and easy to understand. The food is always amazing. The prices are cheap and the proportions are huge making eating-out on a budget easy. This is my go-to place to eat with enough menu variety to keep me coming back for years to come.

My only complaint is with the service. The staff is always very sweet and kind, however they often leave me waiting for long periods of time for or in-between service. Every single time I've ate there, it seems that I only saw the waitress twice, once for the order and once for the bill. I feel the issue may be from understaffing the restaurant, as it isn't an issue on the part of the individual wait staff employee. Waitresses are perhaps just too busy to maintain excellent service at Huckleberry's. I hope this issue is fixed soon.

The quality of food and prices definitely make this place a must-try, however the lack of speedy or consistent service can make this place easy to overlook when...

How do you give negative 5 stars???

First off, they don't believe in giving a military/veteran discount.

Second, most of the food was inedible and at room temperature. What was hot enough to eat was disgustingly greasy.

Third, the cinnamon buns were hard and could double as a truck tires.

Fourth, they were serving milk that was expired 3 days ago. See photo below.

Finally, I talked to the owner/manager, Chip, to express my concerns and his only response was... "I've seen worse and I can guarantee you're not going to get sick drinking expired milk cuz we drink it at home like that. The cinnamon rolls are hard cuz they've been sitting out since this morning."

No wonder the food is terrible, it's a direct reflection on the lack of concern by the ownership/management.

The Health Department will definitely getting written complaints about this place.

You'd be better off eating an MRE cuz at least you know it's safe.

Eat here at...