Bear & Bottle 601 North Sherman Avenue, Madison, WI 53704

"So the entrance is a little awkward. You have to walk through the bar area to get to the host/hostress station but this isn't the first place to do that set up. Once in we were seated quickly which is rare on a Saturday night in the Madison area. Most places have a 50 - 60 minute wait for a walk-in. The bar area and a good part of the dinning area was filled, very few open seats. Menu had lots of drink and food options. Some drinks with unique and cool names. I ordered the California Chimichanga which comes with Carne Asada, refried beans, cheese blend, jalapneno queso, guacamole, french fries, pico de gallo, salsa verde. To drink I had the Market Margherita. The flavor of the day on this day was pomegranate. As you can see by the picture at first, some of the items seem to be missing from my entree. But not so, you see, that is because all of the items were stuffed inside of the Chimichanga. The soggy potatoes really washed out what little flavor this dish had for me. It was not tasty or spicy. The steak was tender so not a total loss. The drink, pomegranate Market Margherita was not very good either. I couldn't taste the pomegranate or the tequilla. All you could taste was lime. We tried to order desert but they were out of almost everything that sounded like a possible viable option for our table. It was all ok, but I would not likely revisit this restaurant."

"I've been to Bear & Bottle twice. Both times while I was waiting for another restaurant. The first time around I only got appetizers. The experience was really solid overall. I had the nachos and cheese curds. They were solid appetizers. I went back again waiting for the other restaurant and got the same appetizers and was happy with the consistency across two visits. Due to the wait time of the other place, we decided to just do dinner at Bear and Bottle. I got the Street Corn Chicken tacos which ended up being big nostalgic vibes of street corn with an enhanced touch of chicken. My other friend got The Dip he said overall it was solid but the meat could have been a bit more tender. My third friend got the braised venison and loved it for comfort food. Overall, I'd say this place is a great ambiance with a solid beer selection. It appeals to someone looking for a traditional Wisconsin restaurant vibe with elevated ambiance and fusion menu items."

"Cool place! Stopped for the start of our date night for drinks and dinner. Beers and cocktails were good. The food was good, I'll probably pick something different the next time. Flies were annoying, but that's what happens when you have open doors. We will be back!"

"I wasn't sure what to expect but I'm glad I stopped in for lunch. The prices seem a tad high but once you get your dishes, you'll see that it's actually quite reasonable. No complaints about the quality of the food and the quantity was perfect for a filling lunch with a few leftovers. If you're on the fence, I'd say it's absolutely worth stopping in! There's also a great selection of bears and wines with mixed drinks as well, including a few NA options (the fizzes are tasty!)."