1855 Saloon and Grill — Restaurant in Village of Cottage Grove

Made reservations for 2024 Thanksgiving meal for 2 people at $39pp. Each of us came from different parts of the county so this was a perfect spot to meet in the middle. We were really looking forward to it due to the menu & cost as well as was organic which this accommodated my friends dietary restrictions. I arrived first & parked in the back. When I walked in, there were 3 people at the check in desk in a deep discussion. I went to approach the desk and the woman raised her arm and told me to hold on for a couple of minutes. (Warm holiday greeting right??) I looked around & saw the rest room so I took advantage of the wait to use it. When I came out I approached again and one of the men asked what’s the name (again, no ‘hi or ‘welcome) When I didn’t answer immediately he asked how many in the party. He then proceeded to read out loud names on the reservation list. This felt like a violation of the customers privacy but I guess we’re not talking HIPAA violation. Anyway, once my friends name was read I acknowledged and the woman grabbed the menu and drink list and showed me to the table. She showed me the menu & strongly emphasized the special holiday drinks. She left & the server appeared and asked me is someone else will be joining & i said ‘yes’ she was coming from another end of the county & I got seated early before she arrived. She said no problem & asked to take my drink order. Note: She tried to push the drink special too and I finally had to say, I don’t drink alcohol so I’ll get a soda.

The woman who sat me came back around after the server asking if someone was still planning to join me (mind you, our reservation time had still NOT come - she/they sat me early. Why did they sit me early if it was a problem??) I told her she just arrived & I point to my friend walking in the door. I asked if she needed to check in with the desk at the back of the restaurant & she said she’d take care of it. (Note: My friend arrived 5 minutes before our reservation time so neither of us were late.)

The server returned with my drink & asked my friend about a drink & she said nothing at this time. The server proceeded to ask for our order which confused us because we thought it was a set menu. She said it was except you had choices and she needed to submit those all at once. For example, you can’t just choose soup or salad now and then the main course choices & dessert after dinner. So, we gave our choices for everything.

She delivered my soup & my friend’s salad. We no more than looked at the food she just brought & she arrived with our full main course plates!!! What the ??!?? We asked what was going on and she said the kitchen was ahead of schedule!! She gave us no choice and put the plates on the table even though we hadn’t even tasted our other food!

As we worked through the food and finished a plate or glass someone walked by and grabbed it by even reaching in front of us! Don’t get me wrong, I like when restaurants clear the tables efficiency but reaching & not asking if we were done really emphasized the absolute RUSH we felt from the staff. In fact, the woman who originally sat me, walked by our table once or twice every 15 minutes! (There was a clock on the tv in the corner so that’s how I knew the timing.) Mind you, there were 5 empty tables right next to us that were never used while we were there so it wasn’t like there wasn’t room if they truly needed it.

The server checked in near the end of our meal & we asked if we could get a box since we were so stuffed from having to eat so quickly after the main course was delivered on top of the appetizer. We also wanted to save room for the pie. She brought the boxes. She then brought the pie, set it down & walked away without even asking if we wanted or needed anything else (ie coffee or tea with the pie). She returned seconds later putting the bill on the table walking away again. The food was decent but $39??. The turkey was shredded (??), you only get a quarter scoop of potatoes, stuffing , squash, tablespoon of cranberries & gravy. Rushing us...

Went to 1855 for our Anniversary. Enjoy the laid back type setting. I would expect that some people would respect the type of restaurant it is and not come wearing crappy shorts and flip flops being it is 40 degrees out, so he did receive some attention just do to that. I know this is not the fault of 1855, just thought I'd mention that you do not need to dress up unless you want to because they allow any clothing in their establishment.

The drinks were strong and good. I was a little be annoyed by the food. I had expected a larger portion for the price I paid, knowing what they must have paid for 2 small shrimp (about 1.5 inches and that is including the tail), 2 scallops (about 2 inches in diameter), and one small crab cake a little bigger (not much) than the scallop size. All of which I could have made in my kitchen in about 5 min. just the same as they made it. There was nothing special about it. Not even seasoned correctly as they just throw it in their "famous butter". The total weight of the seafood must have been about 4 oz. (not including the crab cake). I ordered "Little Nell’s — $24.95 Crab cake, sea scallops and large shrimp baked in our famous 1855 vegetable butter". Since they did not specify I would have expected about 2-3 LARGE shrimp (would not call what I received large by any means), 2-3 larger scallops and a nice sized crab cake for that price. The 7 vegetables that I received as my side was very good and I did like that (adverage size portion about the size of a small-medium apple). The taste of the food was good, not great. The crab cake had 2 small, very hard black pieces I found in it both about the size of two peas but flat. I had them in my mouth and realized it was not part of the crab cake as it was not the right texture and I ended up spitting them out. I showed them to my waitress and told her it came out of my crab cake and she said she thought it was "part of the grill" and kind of shrugged her shoulders. Part of the grill!! I don't know, I've never been told I've just almost ate part of a grill! Anyway, I didn't make a big deal and wanted to have a great evening so figured I'd write a review later. Anyhow my meal included a very small salad (I'd say it is about the smallest I've ever received at any restaurant).

My husband ordered the largest prime rib that was a Saturday night special. It was the same price as mine at $24.95. I believe it was 16 oz. He had fries as a side. He said it was cooked to medium which is what he asked for. However, said there was nothing special about it. It did include au jus and horseradish sauce. The prime rib was not seasoned very well if at all.

All in all we did have an ok evening, trying not to let the "not the greatest" food bother us and just indulged in the strong drinks which made everything ok...

Visited 1855 again today. We live close by and it is an option outside of the myriad of fast food joints. When we arrived (Noon), there were a few tables eating. A sign said "follow the boardwalk to the host stand". When we arrived at the host stand, there was no host. After about 5 minutes, a very hurried bartender asked if we had been helped. Then, she scurried around trying to find a host to no avail. She them attempted to seat us herself, but they had no menus available... The bartender ended up seating us AND waiting on us. She did a great job and was as attentive as she could be while tending bar. My main problem with 1855 is the food. Bland, over priced and generic. I have worked in the food service industry for 37+ years and I can see through almost anything food related.

We ordered nachos (every single aspect of them was straight out of a can. Bland, run of the mill and $15 ; compared to nachos at the Great Dane which are fantastic and semi-unique at $12)

We also ordered 2 pizzas (Margherita and Frontier- each $14) The menu boasts "hand rolled" dough, but I am skeptical. I don't know why they would take the time to make their own dough when the end product is beyond forgettable. Bland, skimpy ingredients... and, our waitress / host / bartender was also spied MAKING pizzas as we were waiting to be seated. If they cared at ALL about that pizza being special, it wouldn't be left to whomever could "get around to it"- the restaurant was NOT busy. There is an abundance of pizza to be had in CG, and 1855's attempt falls very short.

I ordered the "Border Burrito" $15 and to say it was miserable would be a compliment. No decent burrito on planet earth is made with a wheat tortilla. It was filled with flavorless Spanish rice and a few chucks of dry chicken... THAT'S IT! On top was a little melted cheese and canned salsa. On the side was a 1oz cup of off colored pre bought pico and another 1oz clunk of iceberg lettuce. OFFENSIVE!!!

We have tried several times to "like" 1855, but every time, I just feel like I got robbed and the food just falls incredibly flat.The menu has changed several times, and each time it seems to shrink and lean more towards the "easy" and run-of-the-mill. Cottage Grove is in need of something different, and while 1855 feigns to be different from the herd, it is really just pumping out over priced, bland food that can be found cheaper and better elsewhere. I guess the beer selection at 1855 is supposed to be exciting, but in 2019, every single bar and restaurant in the Madison area is boasting the same exhausting beer menu, so thumbs down to that as...