The Driftless Cafe — Restaurant in Viroqua

It started today at 1:35 pm when we arrived, a server walked by us 2 times she finally spoke to us while we waited for a booth to be cleared of dishes. 10 minutes later we finally sat down to a dirty table. The other server arrived with 2 menus and 2 silverware set ups for 4 people and said she would be back with the other setups. When she arrived she dropped them on the table along with 2 more menus. Another 10 minutes went by, our order was taken, the server stated that there were only 2 specials left which was suppose to be a quarter of chicken with curry sweet potatoes and cous cous. 25 minutes went by, we watch people that had come in 15 minutes after us, served. At 2:14, Finally the food arrives, the cat fish sandwich was cold, careful though the server said, the plate was hot...right. The chicken special at $13.00 a plate had one small thigh on top of the cous cous. The server continued to say they were sorry about the delay... Yet was the bill corrected, no, did the server come out and explain that there was not enough chicken to fill an order. No..Was the price dropped on that meal. No.. Did the server stop by to see if she could sell us more drinks, free refills for the delay and shorted order. No.. She did show up with a bill for $52.00 for a hamburger, roast beef sandwich, catfish sandwich, 2 soft drinks and one piece of chicken. There was a suggestion as to the tip to pay out for the "fine" meal we were served. 18, 20 or 25 %. You got to be kidding me. Here's my suggestion, get some busboy help, more that 2 servers if you expect to keep people coming back. This was our 9th time driving from La Crosse to eat at the Cafe. It was our final time. The service, the food and the prices were uncalled for. The same server was bringing out the next tables salad, that she had forgotten to bring prior to the main course 15 minutes earlier.. Then said she was sorry but they were out of bread pudding (a staple there I guess) but she could sub a piece of carrot cake instead. What restaurant runs out of food at 2:30 in the afternoon. Specially a SPECIAL. 4 little brats shooting spit balls at each other while the parent sits on his butt doing nothing about it. Must of been the short bus driver. The loud talking from 5 wine tasters at the tables near the bar nearly made it impossible to hear ourselves talk. I think it is time you hear it, maybe the local people enjoy sitting for an hour and 20 minutes to finish a sandwich, we didn't. And we won't again. That same money will buy a nice meal at Old Town or Schmitty's. Sincerely Dave Roellig,...

Two friends and I were exploring the driftless region via bicycle and after three full days of traveling under our own power, the photos of food posted by other diners from The Driftless Cafe filled my mind. I had plans to take a group photo in front of the beautiful mural that adorns the restaurant. We eventually arrived and I was so excited to rest my legs, enjoy something other than gas station fare and soak up the local atmosphere. We arrived on Saturday 09/30 for a late lunch and were directed to a charming table near a large window. The décor of the restaurant is charming, its bustling yet not loud- a perfect balance for a small group to enjoy each others company.

Our server arrived and offered us water which was greatly appreciated. His intricate tattoos, man bun and workers apron conveyed a sense of fine dining but it wasn't long before something seemed off. A member of my group made a simple request or two, something to the effect of "May I please have more water?" or "Do you have hot sauce?" to which our server oddly did not respond at all and elected to abruptly turn his back and hastily retrieve whatever we asked for. It was strange but we figure folks communicate in different ways and perhaps this was his style. My group is extremely polite, we always say "Please" and "Thank You", we never order off menu or make bizarre requests that take up valuable time from staff. When it was time to pay our bill the server combines our three entrees and three drinks on one. Given that we aren't a huge party I politely asked if this could be split into three bills. The reaction this elicited was extraordinary. Our server let out an audible, exaggerated and annoyed sigh, rolled his eyes and shook his head while reaching out to grab the bill from my hand. I politely told him that if this was going to ruin his day or upset him I will pay for it all myself and gave him my card. He happily took my card and I tipped him well because he is clearly not having a good time. For whatever reason some folks are just oddly cruel.

We threw our legs back over our bikes to continue our 5 day journey. About a mile or so away from town a member of my group called out "Hey, we forgot to get a photo in front of the mural". We did indeed forget to snap the photo but in hindsight I am thankful we don't have a reminder of the time we spent at the...

Not really happy with our experience tonight. We had reservations and still waited about 10 min for our waitress to acknowledge us. When she did, she seemed confused almost. Took another 15-20 min just for two drinks (one which was wine) not hard to make you literally pour it into a glass, and some bread. When we got the bread (which we had to ask about bc our salads had already arrived) we asked where the butter was and some tall guy I’ve never seen there before told us “oh that usually doesn’t come with butter). On what planet does bread not come with butter? We’ve been coming here for 3yrs and always get an order of bread. It always comes with butter. I am not paying to eat dry toast. I don’t know if this was these servers first day on the job or what. I also was disappointed in my salad. Had a lot of brown lettuce I had to take off. Had to ask for my extra side of ranch the server forgot. By this point we were already disappointed, but nonetheless our entrees came. We both got the tenderloin. Underwhelming would be an understatement. Mine was practically rare when I asked for medium well and it was too chewy for a $48 steak. In a year, the price went from $38 to $48. Now I understand some inflation, but that’s just ridiculous. With a dollop of basic potatoes and undercooked kale. Nope 👎🏻 Our bill came to $130 for nothing special. We work hard for our money and like to treat ourselves once in awhile, but we’re not coming here again anytime soon. The owner needs to get a better grasp on reality of what he’s charging versus the quality of the food. Maybe retrain some staff. This place was so much better 2-3yrs ago (like another review stated). Not sure what the issue is, but it’s sad really. I’ll take our business to LoveChild in LaCrosse. Their prices (while high) are more on par with reality and service there is impeccable. Oh I should add I’m not a fan of the “hidden” service card fee. Who uses cash anymore? At least if you’re gonna try and do that to your customers who already are paying a lot of $$$ to eat there, waive the fee or mention it before...