Black Forest Pub & Grille — Restaurant in Town of Three Lakes

We recently ate at the Black Forest for the first time and were highly anticipating our visit after looking at and hearing great reviews. We were shown to a table right away, but from then on, were completely ignored. Finally, someone at least brought us water. We waited awhile longer, when finally our waitress just appeared from behind us and stood by us, never acknowledged us, gave us her name, or told us the specials. She just says, "Are you ready to order?" Our food came in a timely manner and it was very good other than my daughter ordered a portobello mushroom sandwich and it was burned to a crisp on the underside and tasted terrible. We were unable to tell our waitress, because she never once came and checked on us or asked how our food was. We waited for our bill, by then we were finished eating, so we didn't want to order something else for her, and again, our waitress never asked how everything was; just brought the bill. My daughter did not want a big deal made of it, so we paid and left. Our waitress did come and refill our water glasses AFTER we were done eating and had given her our money to pay. Now, as I said, the rest of our food was very good, and I believe we just got the wrong waitress, as the others who were working were extremely personable to their guests and introduced themselves, told them what the soup of the day was and what the specials were. Could we have flagged down another waitress, probably yes, but it shouldn't have to be their responsibility to help another coworker's table, when they themselves are extremely busy. My rating is on the service we received that evening, and I definitely wouldn't let this stop you from eating there. As I said, the other waitresses were extremely friendly and knowledgeable, and the food was very good other than my daughter's meal. We were just very disappointed because we were vacationing in the area and were looking forward to...

We've been to Black Forest twice--once three years ago and once in August of this year. Compared to our experience 3 years ago, the overall quality has gone down. Here are our biggest observations based on our recent visit:

Drinks: We ordered a couple of mixed drinks. They weren't cheap but were very small and mainly ice. Feels like they're being cheap with the drinks.

Service: The service is friendly and good. No complaints about service.

Food: The food was mainly good. Mine was good, but a bit light on the meat. A couple people in our party ordered the goulash, and it was way over peppered, to the point that neither of them could finish it. The cheese curds that we had there three years ago were the best I'd ever had. They must've changed the recipe somewhat, because now they're not the same. They're still good, but not great. It also feels like the portions are smaller now.

Overall, I'd say that the restaurant is good, but not great. It's a little disappointing because we were really looking forward to it based on our amazing...

My family and I came in on a Friday night. There were 11 of us. Regardless of our party size, we had excellent service. She was friendly, knowledgeable of a complex menu, and attentive to all our requests. The cocktails were a little underwhelming (the reason for the four) but then again my wife and I have high standards for Old Fashioneds. The german plates were excellent. My pork shoulder was a special treat. The salmon on my wife's salad was a bit dry. My boys had a pizza that had excellent crispy crust with a unique flavor of cheese. The ambiance of the restaurant has an old world feel that one doesn't see every day. The menu includes German flare, hamburgers, steaks, salads, and pizza. They als have the traditional Friday Wisconsin Fish Fry. The building was originally designed by former major league dead-ball era star...