Anvil Pub & Grille

It’s a good place for burguers… too bad the entrée menu is after 5pm. I was looking forward to try the pasta vodka cream.

This is my first ever Unilocal review although I’ve been an avid reader for years. I have been to anvil three times and each time I leave very disappointed. The food is just not very good. During my most recent visit last weekend I ordered the salmon entrée. The salmon was cold with one small area warm. We had the kitchen warm it up again but it came out cold again. Eating cold fish is pretty disgusting. The entrée also came with cold mashed potatoes and steamed frozen veggies. While I’m fine eating steamed frozen veggies at my home as a last minute option, I sure don’t want to be paying for and eating that at a restaurant as part of my $ 20 entrée. The owner offered to comp my salmon which was kind but not my husband’s which had the exact same issues as my entrée. I felt $ 40 for our meal in the entirety was a crime.

After stopping here for lunch recently, I wanted to check on how I previously had reviewed this place. I retract my previous review to sing the praises of The Anvil Pub & Grille. I stand by my previous review in the fact that their onion rings are amazing, however so are their french fries. My burger was incredible, the saddest part of my trip was when my plate was empty at the Anvil.

Loved the old world industrial atmosphere combined with delicious food and attentive service. We enjoyed the tenderloin, grilled to juicy perfection and the fresh perfectly seasoned grouper. Will come again!

I am a local and have to admit, I have only been to Anvil 3 or 4 times since it has opened years ago. The restaurant itself has a great vibe. I recommend going to sit on the patio on the river for cocktails during a summer night. If it gets a little chilly, the heaters will keep you warm.
The food at Anvil is just ok. Appetizers are good, spinach and artichoke dip is above average. We have had to ask for refills of chips twice, though, when ordering it. They do not give you near enough for the amount of dip you get.
Last week, I stopped into Anvil with my dad. We weren’t that hungry and just got an appetizer and a bowl of soup each and cocktails. Our appetizer was good. The soup was a joke. I got French onion and my dad got chili. His chili looked (and tasted) like the grease that is left over when you cook ground beef, however, there were only a few specks of beef in his chili. There were no beans. It was a thin, greasy, salty broth with nothing in it. We both agreed that it was the worst chili we had ever had in our life. We did not complain because our young waiter seemed very overwhelmed (but he was very friendly).
My soup was also terrible. It was so over seasoned with salt that I could not eat more than a few bites. I know French onion is salty, but this was on a whole other lever. Also, about half of the soup consisted of that cheap pre-​minced garlic in a jar. There were barely any onions, just garlic. The soup was served in a very shallow cast iron pan, giving the customer about half an inch of soup. That’s ok because I would not have ate it anyway. I also should add that this soup was very overcooked, and it seemed like maybe it had sat in a stove on high heat for an entire day. It was so bad.
The waiter told us he would be back with bread, but never brought any. We also were never asked if we wanted refills on cocktails, which we had finished before our appetizer even came out. I am not sure if our waiter was new or just was having a bad night. He was very nice, though.
I have lived in Cedarburg since I was born. If you want a good touristy place to go, try Cream & Crêpe café. If you want good food at a bar, try Morton’s. If you want something a little fancier, try Galioto’s. For a quick sandwich or soup, try Out & Out. I do not recommend Anvil.

My favorite dish is their patty melt and the beer french fries are delicious. Not a very cozy spot
to sit and chat and the main floor can be cold in winter. Beautiful patio outside in the summer.

Lovely little place. Nice and small– there are two levels. Although they do not take reservations you do get seated pretty fast. The menu is simple with lots of variety and favorites. Nothing overly fancy. Prices are reasonable. $ 9 range for a plate of food. Great place !!

The Anvil Pub and Grill is located in a beautiful building that really makes the whole feel of the town come together. Overlooking the lake you get a sense of how this blacksmiths shop make have been in the years past.
The food on the other hand is just okay. I wasn’t blown away with anything, but it was also satisfying. That being said, the Anvil does make their own bread, and the bread used in my companion’s sandwich was in her words, «really delicious».
At the end of the day I have to give Anvil a 3 star review, because I just don’t see myself going out of the way to eat there again.

It has good food. Some food it quite unusual and delicious, sometimes it’s not. Eveytime we go it’s hit or miss if we will like it. It has good service. The atmosphere is a little loud. It’s a small place with very long waits because there aren’t very many tables. We will go back and eat at an off time when service is good and it’s quieter.

Great ambiance, old black smith building, super cute, good food and next to a winery. Our server Deb was awesome. Go here.

I tried to use this NoWait app they have. Nowait is supposed to be an online check-​in system however when I arrived at the restaurant there was a 40 minute wait ahead of me. Apparently they don’t use the system at all, even though there website says it does. Very poor customer service. If they can’t handle seating people, I doubt they will be able to handle food properly.

Well… this is a little gem. Absolutely charming, with really tasty food. In case you didn’t know, this used to be a blacksmith shop. hence the cute names.
I might have even given an extra star for the setting except that our service was on the low end of the mediocre scale.
**this is the gripe part, skip to the next paragraph to get back on track, if you wish**
So, a quick tip… keep an eye on the people coming and going if you are «on the list» to get in. No reservations, it’s not that kind of place. We showed up at 1:30 on a Monday afternoon, perfect early fall weather, sun shining about 70 degrees (f) so when they told us it would be about 35 minutes for a table. we shrugged and thought, no problem! Watching people come and go for 20 minutes we noticed that other people were getting right in. checked in and… a quick apology from the hostess because they had accidentally skipped us. OK, no problem. Ordered some beverages and waited, and waited, ordered our food and waited, asked for refills on the beverages and waited. you get the picture.
**end of gripe
We were seated outside overlooking the creek and waterfall (dam), great! Or is it great dam! Or dam great creek… well. whatever. the setting is damn great. Really, it was worth waiting around for.
The food was tasty, not great but worth stopping for.
We started with the cheese curds (duh, this is Wisconsin and I AM a tourist) which they call Anvil Bites. breaded (not so) spicy pepperjack cheese served with ranch, these had a very crisp crust on the outside and were a nice way to start the meal.
I read somewhere that they have great fries. so I had to get those as my side dish with my Angle Smith Burger (¹⁄₃ lb on ciabatta bun with swiss, bacon, fried pickles, horseradish mayo etc.) really, a nice combo of flavors for the burger, it was really good. but too damn small! (sorry, personal thing, I like a BIG ASS burger) and about those fries. they are the breaded kind. so if that’s your thing…
Lisa went with the Swiss Iron Burger… despite having a deep affection for fries and hearing glowing reviews. she went all contrarian and got a side of pasta. so it’s our 31^st anniversary weekend and I look at her and ask. «who are you?» As it turns out out she made an OK choice as the pasta was good and the fries were less than incredible. She enjoyed the burger, swiss cheese, mushrooms, blue cheese dressing etc.
So, we would go back again, particularly in good weather and we would wait (keeping a watchful eye on the hostess) for a table outside because the experience is worthwhile.
Then we walked down the street to one of the candy shops and got a bunch of chocolate. WIN!

Fun place out of the industrial era with a great interior décor that brings you blacksmiths shop. The food is incredibly great. A recommended vegetarian entrée is cheesy asparagus soup and vodka cream sauce pasta. Both dishes are filled with creamy goodness cheese from Wisconsin!
#veggieabroad

My husband and I just left after having one of the most disappointing meals of our trip. The house salads were good, and the chocolate butter was quite tasty. However, if the salad and bread were the best part of the meal, you know there were problems. I ordered the Chicken Advil, it’s a chicken breast stuffed with cream cheese and wrapped in bacon. The bacon was completely black on all sides. If I didn’t know it was bacon, I would never identified it. Needless to say, the chicken was almost completely dried out. My husband got the Lake Perch. It was also overcooked and extremely over seasoned. Perch is such a mild fish, tons of rosemary and breading did nothing to add to the flavor. Very disappointing and I would not recommend this restaurant.

I have been to The Anvil a couple of times now. The location is in an absolutely great spot within the Cedar Creek settlement in the beautiful downtown Cedarburg area. They have a very nice outdoor seating area next to the river. The service and food have always been good. They bake their own bread used in their sandwiches which is delicious. Prices are a little high based only on the food items, but is justified by the rest of the experience. I recommend The Anvil as a stop anytime. Cheers.

At a loss for where to eat, the woman at the winery suggested the nearby Anvil Pub and Grille. Great choice for a nice lunch on a summer’s day. We ate outside, so I can’t tell you what it is like inside the restaurant. We sat right by the Cedar Creek, with a lovely view of the old building that houses the restaurant and a beautiful view of the creek. We were in the shade, but there are umbrellas at most tables too, so even on a hot day I suspect the patio is pleasant.
The staff was very attentive. Our water glasses never emptied, our order taken promptly with lots of descriptions and recommendations from the waitress. All of the wait staff checked on us whenever they walked by the table, making sure we were comfortable, the food was good, our drinks OK, etc.
It wasn’t a long wait after we ordered before our food began arriving. I had a blackened salmon salad and my wife had the barbeque duck pita. The duck pita was superb! The duck was shredded or pulled so the barbeque sauce would be spread throughout. It was moist but with crispy bits here and there. Topped with chives and parsley, and not much more. But it was excellent. The salad was good. Nice fresh vegetables– a good assortment of spring greens, scallions, sliced tomatoes that were clearly ripe, some cucumber slices, and a few diced red peppers. The salmon was a square fillet a bit smaller than a deck of cards. It was cooked well, and the blackening was good, but to be honest it tasted like it was a frozen filet that one can heat up quickly in the microwave before cooking. It was good only because the greens were so good. The dressing too was a bit of a disappointment as it was almost clearly bottled bleu cheese dressing. The place was nice enough in appearance I expected more.
I’d go again, to be sure, if for nothing else that the patio. That was great. Not too crowded, well tended by the wait staff, and so pleasant we lingered for a long time after lunch. We had a couple of post lunch beers; the waitress was kind to recommend some local craft brews that were quite good.
Unlike many Cedarburg places, it is noteworthy that it has a parking lot. A big plus on days when the town is busy. It wasn’t so busy when we visited, but it was nice to have the parking nearby as I pulled a leg muscle the day before and was having a very hard time walking any distance.
Even though my salad was somewhat mundane, I still would go back. But the execution of the salad means one less star.

I’ve been waiting 40 minutes for my entrée my soup hasn’t arrived yet. Took 20 minutes for us to receive our appetizers. Appetizers were sub par at best.
Don’t eat here if your in a rush.
Better service at Applebee’s.
Finally got soup after 50 minutes. The soup wasn’t very good.
Bread and butter is good.
But I’m still hungry…
After an hour I still haven’t received my entrée.
One of the worst dining experiences I’ve had in a long time.
1 hour and 10 minutes. That’s a record. The longest I’ve ever waited for a dinner.
And they got our order wrong. Had to send a dish back because it taste horrible.
For the price the wait and and the taste I don’t recommend.

I must just say the outdoor seating at Anvil is close to perfection! A completely lovely set up, right next to the river. I could sit and eat while looking at that scenery daily!
The food was good, not mind blowing on flavor, but definitely good. Fresh, well put together, tasty. Fairly priced. Our server was friendly and attentive.
Overall nice experience and would certainly dine at Anvil again.

I’ve been here a few times with the first being during a Cedarburg street festival — Strawberry fest so I wanted to go back and check it out on a normal day.
The other day I biked up here on a Sunday morning to grab brunch or an early lunch. I was surprised to find there was a 20 minute wait on a table of 2 at 11:15 when the back outdoor seating had plenty of open spots. The patio area overlooks the Milwaukee River and truly is a great view yet when the sun goes past the building it does get a little chilly.
The place is very cute on how it is in the little village area and has the lofted eating area. The beer selection is inferior to most restaurants with 5 or so beers on tap and then around a dozen that are bottle.
The food menu was quite extensive and got some apps and then a burger. The mozzarella sticks are wrapped in wonton wrappers and can even get pesto in them — these were good., The burger was on a chiabatta bread and was struggling to stay together with the large, greasy patty. The Asian slaw was alright yet the burger could have used some more flavor.
The service was alright at best yet like Emily F states in her reviews it truly is a place for tourists compared to locals.
I would pass this up if you live in the general area. If you’re an out-​of-​towner it may be worth a stop yet there are any places with local flavor on the strip.

This place was a great place for lunch on the river in Cedarburg. You can’t beat the ambiance that comes with this place.
Beers– I got the amber beer on tap. I was happy with the beer selection. It was small, but there were quality beers on tap.
We got the pesto mozzarella sticks as an appetizer. So much potential because they do the wonton wrappers, but lacking with the pesto! You can never have enough pesto in my opinion. We could barely taste it. There were a bunch of other appetizers we were interested in trying, so we will definitely come back.
I also got the Cedarburg Salad, their «specialty» salad. It was definitely a good salad, don’t get me wrong, but there really wasn’t anything «special» about it. Craisens, blue cheese, and chicken. Add some avocado and I would have been much happy with it.
All around a good experience, but it really could have been great with some minor changes to some of the menu items.