Nitty Gritty-Sun Prairie — Restaurant in Sun Prairie

Multi-Visit Update as of April 14, 2025: (running out of Google space - gotta be quick now!...) Sam is still KILLING IT as a waitress! So is her colleague, Annika! Their Front Desk Guy from 04-12-25, 6:30 PM - So friendly & dynamically welcoming !!! WAY TO GO, MY MAN! ("2-10" Rules)! LOVE their chix breast (both Flatbread Pesto, & Pretzel bun). Fries/O-rings/Curds to die for!

Original Review March 9, 2025: Discovered Nitty Gritty (“NG”) while attending a Destination Imagination Regional Tourny, and we are glad we did! It has instantly become a fab for us in this area!

For First-Time Visitors: NG is inside a historic canning factory in a safe, pleasant area of downtown. Adequate on-street parking as well as some adjacent lot parking. Outdoor seating available near the entrance..

Cutting right to the chase: NG’s greatest asset during our visit was our server, “Phredde” (pronounced “Fred,” also known as “Sam”—it's a long story, but she can share that with you if she wants to!). She was a total ROCK STAR, making what most would consider top-tier service look second class. Phredde (Sam) was prompt, attentive, professional, and had a fantastic personality, which is essential when serving people like us! She accurately took our orders, especially for my wife, who has Celiac disease, ensuring everything was correct, hot, timely and safe.

While our initial arrival here didn’t feel particularly welcoming, she completely turned that, around, making us feel like honored guests. From what we observed at our table, we were not the only ones benefitting from this level of care; this seems to be Sam’s default setting when serving guests at NG (okay, I’ll start using her real name - I think I've “damaged” her enough by now!!).

We plan on returning to the area within the coming weeks, and we will be looking for Sam as our server again! If you stop by - you should be asking for her also! Sam will make your day!

Next, the food. Fabulous! I took advantage of the Friday Fish Fry, Soft Pretzel Appetizer, and their “Worlds Smallest Sunday” (although, I am sure that Ed Dedevic’s in Chicago may have something to say about that claim!).

The Soft Pretzel Sticks (4 count, about 6” x 1” each) were warm and delicious. Firm, but not unforgivingly tough. The cheese sauce for dipping was a great addition ( I passed on mustard - hate mustard!). The sticks were tasty just on their own. They were not salted, which I prefer.

While others often choose lesser-quality cuts for their events, NG uses premium cuts of cod that are light and flavorful. Instead of a thick layer of partially fried dough, their cod is enveloped in a very light and fully cooked batter. The accompanying fries were lightly salted and cooked to perfection.

The “Smallest Sunday” was about a golfball-ish sized portion which was just perfect for a filling meal. I had chocolate and caramel sauce added….WA!

My wife chose the gluten-free cheeseburger, and she found it to be a surprising tastey. While many gluten-free food options can be fairly bland, this sandwich stood out for its flavor. More importantly, it was carefully prepared to avoid gluten and any cross-contamination. Although NG is not a dedicated gluten-free establishment, their staff clearly understands the importance of these precautions. We experienced no adverse effects whatsoever. Great job!

Finally, if NG has an Achille’s Heel, it is in the initial greeting as we entered. Both greeters, along with someone we suspected was the manager, were prompt, professional, and efficient—perhaps overly so. They did not offer any smiles or warm greetings, instead carrying out their duties quickly and politely. They quickly assessed how many were in our party, whether we preferred a booth or a table, and then escorted us to our seats.

However, that somewhat flat start to the evening was completely transformed by “Phredde” (…did we mention “Phredde?”). As we alluded to earlier, she truly elevated our experience, turning what would have been a 4-star review into the 5-star rating we are...

I came to Nitty-Gritty on a Sunday afternoon. I decided to come to the Sun Prairie location after having an overall fantastic experience at the downtown Madison Nitty Gritty: great service, great atmosphere, and friendly staff and it was shoulder to shoulder packed and a 20 minute dinner wait night plus on an prime event night. Wanting to end my weekend on a good note and wanting to watch the Brewers/Cubs game, I took my family to the Nitty-Gritty Sun Prairie location. We came on s very slow day, about 3 other tables besides us and a few at the bar. First, the location isn’t that great and the parking lot is not convenient. My family and I were greeted by a very friendly hostess and our initial waiter was very friendly (but then he had to leave because his shift was over). Our new waitress, Nichole, was possibly the worst waitress I have ever had. We asked for water with our beer twice and never received it (even after the off shift waiter reminded her to get it). The food came quickly but our waitress never checked on us. She was purely rude, slow, and unfriendly. We asked her for a few other things and she acted like it was inconvenient (we are very, very easy people to serve!). The food was good, but WAY overpriced for what we ordered. At the conclusion of our meal, we sat and were watching the Brewer game, within a 4 minute time period, and me with still over a half a beer left, our waitress checked to see if we left her a tip- THREE TIMES. The fourth time she came back she actually picked up my credit card and receipt and reloaded it to the center of our table and said “I need you to finish this” and walked away. I still had my beer left and felt like I couldn’t even watch the end of the inning- I guzzled my beer and walked out. If she would not have done this, my family and I would have stayed longer and ordered more drinks. Upon this experience, I would never, ever come back to Nitty Gritty again. I pay a hefty price at restaurants to have an enjoyable, relaxing, and happy experience, not leave me grouchy with the rest of the weekend- I am so disappointed and would not...

We went to the Sun Prairie location. We went because they seemed to have a good gluten free menu and a dedicated fryer so I could actually get french fries. We had no complaints about the food. Our waitress Samantha was a bit rude. She rarely checked on us and did the minimum. It was also pretty dead so no excuse for lame service. Our kids were ordering and our oldest was not being specific in her order and we were, as her parents, trying to correct her and have a teachable moment as she is autistic and the server cut in and said she is the one taking the order. Very rude. She also didn't bring our appetizers, we had to ask about them when she brought our main food out. She didn't put the order in. And they didn't come out until we were basically finished. There was also a young child there, maybe 4 yrs old, that was a child of one of the employees. I don't mind that, it's rough with child care. What I do mind is this young child running all over the place and talking to strangers and asking strangers for things. This child went up to my husband several times while he was playing the crane machine games they have and asked him to get him a stuffed animal. Then later my husband won some crane machine with candy and the kid kept asking him for the candy. The kids parent didn't even tell the kid to leave us alone until my husband looked around for someone to get the kid. The person just told the kid to be quiet. Didn't get up or get the kid. This kid then comes and sits at a table by my family and wants to talk to us. I felt bad for the child and it put us in an awkward situation. Plus what is a 4yr old doing talking to strangers like that and asking strangers for candy and stuffed animals? We will never go back to the Sun Prairie location. We will still try the other locations. The food was good but for the price you pay we expected better service and not to have an employee's small child hanging around asking for things...