Quick Review: If it weren't for the stellar fish fry and the awesome beer selection, this place would be a solid 2.5-star establishment. Alas, the fish is unreal and the beer selection rivals many (if not most) of Madison's finest. Detailed Review: The Fish Fry Fanatics stumbled into Dexter's Pub this past Friday and decided to give their fish fry a shot. The menu selection is vast - we counted at least 6 or 7 solid fish fry options, from shrimp to Lake Perch to Walleye. We put our name in for a table, and were told it would be a 35-40 minute wait, so we ordered some of our customary Old Fashioneds. We were pleasantly surprised to find that the bartenders muddle their Old Fashioneds, but were disappointed by the inclusion of a huge chunk of orange. I'm sorry to say, but a Whiskey Old Fashioned Sour should *not* include half-of-an-orange as garnish. Regardless, the Old Fashioned was solid - very good, actually. So much so that when we ordered a second round and requested they drop the orange, it wasn't a problem. Dexter's recovered nicely, and as luck would have it, our table became available soon after we grabbed round 2 of drinks. We immediately ordered cheese curds, salad, and soup. I went with the vegetable garden soup; others at the table went with chili and salad. The soup and salads arrived within seconds; the soup was good - not great, but good - and it could've been a little warmer. I'm told the chili was good as well - not life altering, but good. The waiter came back to take our dinner order: two orders of beer battered cod, an order of lake perch, and an order of shrimp. He said he'd be back in 10 minutes with our fish. Nearly an hour later, we flagged down a waitress for: refills on our drinks, and to inquire about our curds and fish. She apologized profusely... curds came out a few minutes later - apparently they forgot about us. The only benefit to being forgotten was that we had plenty of time to read the beer menu, which features a nice selection of craft beers from microbreweries - Dexter's doesn't strike me as a place that would feature such a wide selection of unique beers, but I guess it goes to prove that you can never judge a book by its cover. Curds were excellent - not your typical "from the bag" curds, which was a nice surprise. They were breaded and featured a mild white cheese; they were cooked perfectly. Fish arrived within minutes, and it was well worth the wait. The cod was phenomenal. Three huge pieces with a mound of fries - now that's what we're talkin' about. The batter was light, crisp, and flavorful. The fish was thick, meaty, and perfectly flavored. I loved every single bite of it. I also sampled the Lake Perch and shrimp - both of which were excellent as well. Huge props to Dexter's for their fish fry - it's definitely a top-10 offering. In the end, they also made things good as the waiter comp'ed us our drinks and curds, so we got out of there for under $40. We tipped well and called it a night. I'd definitely go back to Dexter's - sure, they dropped the ball, but they did an honorable thing and made everything right by us. Thanks, Dexter's!! Dexter's = WIN Food = 4.5 stars (excellent fish; curds and fries were stellar) Service = 2 stars (they forgot about us, but made up for it) Value = 2 stars (would've been over $85 for the 4 of us) Misc = 3 stars (the place isn't much to look at, but has an excellent beer selection...) Oh - also, parking is hard to come by, so be prepared to park on the street and/or walk a bit to get there.
What is the sentiment of this review?
positive