Zeman's Old Highway House — Restaurant in West Baraboo

I hate leaving negative reviews for a business like this as it seems like a Mom and Pop type place that wants to do well but I was very disappointed. We hadn't been to the Highway House for literally 30+ years. It was our go to when we were younger and wanted prime rib. It was worth the 20 mile drive then when we lived in a nearby town, but not now. We no longer live in the area but were traveling through Baraboo and saw the Highway House was still open, or at least re-opened in the same place with same name. We stopped around 6:30 on a Saturday night and were seated, without reservations, within 15 minutes. We each had an old fashioned which was made with pre-made mix-- a big No-No if you want to call yourself a Wisconsin supper club. The drink was mediocre. My wife had petite prime rib with 3 grilled shrimp added for additional $10. The prime rib was ok but not wow! like we remembered from years ago. The shrimp was, well, grilled shrimp. No cocktail sauce was offered until we asked. I ordered a half rack of baby back ribs-- terrible! They were NOT baby back ribs. They were the thick, fatty and what felt like steamed pork ribs by their texture. There was little or no seasoning on them. There was a bland barbecue sauce added on top but obviously added right before it was brought out. It wasn't tough but certainly not fall-off-the bone tender and had no smoked or grilled taste at all. The thick meat came off the bone stringy. They tasted like pigs smell. Not good at all. I only ate about 1/4 of them. It's laughable they actually call them BABY BACK ribs. I'm not one to complain to staff or send food back once I get it as who knows what you'll get back or what will be in it if they give you a replacement. The people were nice, service was 7/10 and the place has potential. I hope it can get back to what it used to be. I may give them another shot when in the area as I like to support places like this but I won’t be ordering the ribs for sure. Biggest upside was the prices were...

Stay away! We walked in and should have walked out. The person at the bar didn't say hello, but we did and stood confused at the door. She told us to find any table we wanted and have a seat. The dining area was filled with odd old mismatched tables and chairs that seemed found on the curbs of Baraboo. 5 minutes later a young server came to the table and asked for our drink order. She was not very welcoming, much like the bartender female at the entry. I added curds to the order with our drinks. 15 minutes later we still didn't have our drinks. I watched the server bring drinks to the one other table with a party of 8. I saw her in back talking to a young person and then saw her in front of a bright screen seeming to be playing a game behind the bar while talking to another worker. I went to the bar where the bartender was doing nothing but then turned and put a sloppy drink on the bar and said to the girl behind the bar that this must be one of your drinks. I took my seat again and the server brought our two drinks and set them down. The ice was barely frozen, the drinks were watery and had little taste at all. One was an old fashioned and it was nearly clear (typically darker brown in color) and the vodka sprite was mostly water and had no carbonation and very little vodka. We had now been there almost 20 minutes and I asked where our cheese curds were. A worker said she'd check and I said please give me the check also right away. Before looking into where our food was, she brought us our check for $20 ($9 was charged for the curds we never received). I took the check to the bar to ask for the curds to be removed and that I'd like to pay for the two drinks. The bartender was so annoyed that I expected to have my drinks and food (two drinks and one order of cheese curds) in under 20 minutes. She told me to just go... don't worry about it. What an absolute waste of our time. This place is filthy, there is no service at all, no one even wants you to come...

My friends and I tried this place for the first time and were pleasantly surprised by the dining area. Thought it was cute that they had different dining tables and chairs. Nice touch. The menu looked amazing. Lots to choose from. We ordered appetizers but we're mostly disappointed with them. We had two orders of brussel sprouts that were completely flavorless and overcooked and only one of them came with a sauce. Apparently they were out. The spinach artichoke dip was also very bland.Next up, the potato skins, and they were quite good although I did need to add salt. Several of my friends were super excited to order the stuffed shrimp but they were completely out. For dinner we had one person ordered French onion soup and it arrived without a spoon or any crackers. I ordered the chicken marsala and it was truly not good. The sauce had no seasonings or flavor. This dish should be created with cream, wine and lots flavor. The consistency of the sauce was like they mixed up an instant packet of gravy with water and threw it on. I could not eat it. I had my friends try it as well and they agreed. We had the cordon bleu chicken which was not bad but also not much flavor. The best dish at our table was the chicken parmesan and apparently the burger and fries was decent. I think that they need to really work on seasoning their meals. Having good flavor is so important for someone to want to order it again. There was only one server and she was young and very pleasant. When we arrived it wasn't busy but it seemed to take forever to get anywhere with drinks and orders and with the food coming. Our server did have help from other workers that delivered our food and drinks which was nice. It also took a really long time to get our checks. We brought up the fact that the chicken marsala was just really not right and that I couldn't eat it and they simply took $2.40 off. Over all I I'm not sure that I would...