Northside Cafe of Rice Lake — Restaurant in Rice Lake

You guys really blew it, TWICE!! We came in last Saturday morning, party of two, server brought water and took our order. Never came back to refill water or check on us for 35 minutes. Other tables that arrived at least 10 minutes after us were receiving their orders. Went to the front counter to ask about order, and the server said it should be out "soon". We had scheduled plans for the day so I told the server we had been waiting over 35 minutes and to cancel our order. No "I am sorry," no comp, just "okay."

We thought it had to be a fluke so we thought we would try again the following Sunday. This time with a "to go" order so we wouldn't be forgotten. Server took our order over the phone and said it would be 15-20 minutes. Arrived in 20 minutes and told the server at the counter we had a to-go order. She asked what the name was. I responded that no one took my name when I called in the order, and I told her what we ordered. Waited for over 10 minutes at the counter when another server asked what I was waiting for. I told that server what we ordered (to-go) and she left. The first server returned and asked for my name again and I told her my name, but that no one took my name when I ordered. She asked again what I ordered and wrote the order down on an order slip. I asked her if she was putting in the order "right now"? And told her that I placed the order over 30 minutes ago on the phone. No apology, but then she told me that my order was already picked up. By WHO I would like to know? I had been sitting there waiting for 15 minutes and no one came to pick up a to-go order. And where was their order, if they were given my order????? I told the server not to bother putting in the order. They had already wasted enough of my time. 😕. Too bad that the server felt compelled to lie to me to make an excuse for complete incompetence. We used to like coming here regularly. We...

Our family lives on the north side of Rice Lake and we were so happy to see that Nancy's Northside had reopened under new management giving Rice Lake residents another restaurant option in our area. I vividly remember seeing the monthly Chamber Newsletter in August (my work place is also a Chamber member) with their ribbon cutting ceremony wishing the new owners the very best! I get asked daily, "Where is a good place to eat" We are all about supporting small businesses in our area.. When my family sat down we noticed a piece of "shriveled bacon" in the window sill and liquid creamer that hadn't been cleaned up by the condiments. After placing our order, I noticed our waitress both eating and drinking in the pantry. Considering the high Covid cases in Barron County we expected better sanitation practices. I brought this matter to the attention of the owner asking that our waitress wash her hands before serving our food. Simple request. The owner never apologized, had another waitress deliver our food and absolutely ignored our table. She asked the guests around us how their meals were but didn't even make eye contact with us. The food was good but noone ever came back to check on us. When we got our bill we learned that a meal had been discounted which seemed like a poor service recovery tactic. Although disappointed in our experience. Again I tuly wish your...

We popped in for a lunch while heading into town during our vacation in Birchwood. The food came out quickly and was absolutely delicious with healthy portions. I had a cheeseburger which was freshly hand pattied and seasoned well. The fries were perfect. I also had a cup of the chicken dumpling soup which I highly recommend. My husband got the cinnamon roll pancakes and said they were wonderful. The waitress was friendly and helpful. My only critique is that when we walked in the waitress made eye contact with us, but didn't acknowledge us. This in itself is not a big deal, but there were only 2 other tables at the time, and we sat there for awhile before she even acknowledged we were there. She went back and forth to the back a few times, and then finally came with menus. We actually were wondering if we should just leave and go somewhere else, when she finally came and spoke to us. It would have tsken her no additional effort to welcome us and tell us she would be with us soon. That we can understand. Thankfully she made up for it with her service once she brought...