Brat Stop

Decent food… good time… very 80s… good beer selection… has a band on the weekends

I have frequented The Brat Stop many times. It has a great atmosphere and great bands. I have seriously reconsidered returning due to the draft beer tasting like it is mixed with dirty dish water. Clean your taps.

Since it is called the Brat Stop the brats should be good and they were great!!! This was my first visit and probably my last. If you are craving a brat and are in the area I’d probably recommend you stop here for the brats, but know the atmosphere is just so so. The service was ok too… sort of slow. We got there about 6pm on a Thursday (last night) and it wasn’t busy. The place seemed dirty, like it needed a good deep, thorough cleaning. It is dark and has a very strange set up and the floor, tables and booths just seemed dirty and outdated. All the staff was friendly too. Our experience was just ok. It was a bit pricey for 2 brat sandwiches, choice of potato and cole slaw plus 2 sodas our bill was $ 32. The brats were perfectly cooked and arrive on a yummy toasted bun but I just can’t get past the dark, dirty dining area.

Stopped here for the first time after passing it for many many years. I have heard great things from everyone. The positives end there — ordered the WISCONSIN cheese soup, it was very watery and with an odd taste — might have been canned? Either way, not Wisconsin cheese whatsoever. Also ordered the traditional brat — tasted like it was precooked and just reheated — very dry. Never going back — disappointed.

Walk in here and you are back into the ’70 and 80’s. Fun roadhouse feel. I go there with the family for dinner. One time the place was filled with metal-​heads and the band was on stage warming up-​the kids got a kick out of that. Another time it was country bands. What a riot.
Ok, the food… really good «basket» food. Burgers are great. I tried a corned beef sandwich and it was spot-​on. The BEST root beer I have every had in my life. I must have drank 3 big glasses of the stuff.

First time here… decided to try it after reading Unilocal reviews and, being originally a Wisconsinite, craving a brat. It seemed from the reviews the people loved it and really liked the food or didn’t care for it and wondered what all the fuss is about… I guess we’ll call them non-​Wisconsinites! Not to say there are no bad Brats, but taste and opinions can be influenced by many factors; someone who doesn’t like the idea of eating sushi will probably not write a good review.
I kept it simple and just ordered the traditional classic Brat combo the included the Brat in a bun, Fries, Saurkraut, and a Pickle. My drink was simply water with lemon so my total before tax was $ 9.80…a reasonable price for a really good brat! I added chopped onions, the kraut, and some mustard (OK, a little ketchup, too) and devoured it before I thought to take a picture of it fully dressed. You can definitely put me in the «Like» Club for Brat Stop.

Been here many, many times over the years. Getting awfully worn down looking. Brats still good.

It is just what I expected when I saw the sign, Divey with a sports bar flair and a few dead animals hanging on the walls. Beers cold Brats are awesome. I love this place.

Used Unilocal to find a great place for lunch. I am in from Atlanta, GA.
The Brotz, sauerkraut, German potato salad was great. Good value too.
Waiter was helpful and attentive.

Drove up from Glenview for a beer run at Woodman’s and found this. Good brats and several New Glarus beers on tap. Nothing fancy but good food, friendly service and great beer. I would be here regularly if I lived in the area.

Absolutely exceptional menu and some of the best brats we have ever enjoyed. So good were they, that after the cheese curds, we’d wished we had ordered two brats instead of one. Between the extensive beer selection and menu, we’ll have to return again and again.
We happened to be in here on a Sunday and witnessed the special prime rib being served to another customer, where after indulging ourselves in our own meals, our mouths began watering once more. We’re also intrigued to try the grilled pepperoni they offer the next time we frequent the establishment.
Special thanks goes out to one of the most personable, attentive, and hard-​working bartenders we have had the pleasure to meet, Pamela. It’s a rare instance we’ve had the pleasure to be served by someone like her.

My husband and I enjoyed lunch here. Fun atmosphere, decent prices beer, and good brats!
We ordered the Cheese Brat & fries and Garlic Brat & German Potato Salad. I found I’m not a fan of German potato salad. The garlic brat was delicious. My husband didn’t want to kiss me after lunch. I had a few of his fries, they were really good. I little bit jealous I didn’t order fries as well.
If we’re ever in the area again we will definitely be back.

I don’t know why this place gets so much hate on here. Its not fine dining – its called Brat Stop. Have that frame of mind when coming.
I ordered the standard brat meal with fries and red cabbage. Everything was fine. The sides were more impressive than the brat. Its not fancy, but it doesn’t try to be. It was very affordable.
The beer is cheap, but selection is nothing to write home about. At least they have Lagunitas IPA.
Server was friendly, fast, and not overwhelming. A+
The building is big and cavernous, with carpeting. Whatever, its right off the highway and isn’t McDonalds or Wendy’s.
I’m not going to seek it out again, but I won’t avoid it.

Five stars for delicious brats, good beer and because when I walked in, every TV had the packers game on.
This place is pretty big, the menu is decent but really you go here for brats (duh) sorry to my vegetarian friend who came with us, Ryan said they had decent sandwich options (they don’t)
The service was good, the cheese curds were great and new glarus? That’s not something you see in IL.
Also, they have a little market where you can buy curds to bring home!
Stop by! It’s just off the highway!

I’m not really sure what to make of the Brat Stop. From the outside it looks like a bunker, but inside is a weird amalgamation of giant bar, greasy restaurant and tourist trap cheese shop.
First — the bar. It’s WAY bigger than I would have expected and seems to attract a big crowd for football/​sporting events. When we visited, it was decorated up for Halloween and chock full of people in jerseys. The bar seems to be fairly townie but overall «a-​ok».
Second, the «restaurant» — it seems tacked on to the bar and is a mishmash of booths, beat up stack chairs and lots of home remodeling quality wood trim. Nothing looks like it’s been updated since 1987. I made the mistake of looking up and saw tons of dirty cobwebs and some of the filthiest fan blades (see pic) on earth. The floor was full of food and looked like it hadn’t been vacuumed in a good long while. Absolutely disgusting. Food wise, expect Sysco’s best — I had a burger and it was decent but overpriced. Service was very nice but obviously untrained (no drink refills, had to ask for things like napkins).
Finally, the store — essentially, it’s the same stuff (New Glarus, brick cheese and some brats) that you can get at Woodmans across the way, but WAY more expensive. They did have some stylish Brat Stop Tshirts though.
Basically, it’s the dirty dive version of the Mars Cheese Castle.

I love this place! The brats are on point and where the heck else can you get a brat omelette… I mean seriously! I’ve only been here for breakfast because I live in Illinois, but whenever making a trip to WI, we make it a point to stop here. The bloodies are good too. We just love coming here. The atmosphere is totally outdated but it kind of fits.

Been a very long time since I visited,
We went in to be greeted by a long hair old bouncer, probably the one that I used to get carded from when I was 18 back in the late 70s (Good God) where did the time go.
So the atmosphere is a typical bar for bands, dirty and in kept, on the bright side my feet didn’t stick to the floor.
I thought I would have a brat since that is a signature dish. I selected a veal Brat that was flat and void of flavor. I chose red cabbage and the fries which were battered and really tasty. My Arteries are feeling it today. We also had the appetizer platter which had fried cheddar cheese curds which were amazing .
Would I return No. I went there on a Groupon and they couldn’t find me in the system even though it showed I purchased it, soooo unfortunately I paid regular price.
Any how it was not nearly as tasty or memorable as it was in my youth. But over the decades my tastes have evolved .
THE END

The Brat Stop in Kenosha. Ehhh maybe my tastes have changed over the years, but I use to love this place. I use to stop by on the way back to Chicago from Elkhart Lake, WI after a weekend at the races like the Can Am races, The June Sprints…
My wife, sister and I stopped in to grab a bite to eat after a day at The Premier Outlet in Kenosha. We walked into what seemed like a time warp. This old long haired dude at the door looked like a hippy from another era.
They warned us that there would be a live band playing & it would be a little loud. They weren’t lying. It was a little loud. We were yelling at each other over the sound of the band. Ehhh Cie la vie. Ahhhhhh ROCK & ROLL
The food was not what I remembered because I use to love their brats. I guess I am evolving and have a little higher standard on what I consider good food. The appetizer platter was ok, but a little greasy and small portions for $ 13.00. The fried chicken was greasy and tasted like it was cooked in old oil. The veal brat was $ 10 (a little expensive for a brat). It was edible, but not very good. To cap off a rather blah meal my sister paid for the meal with a Groupon offer of $ 50 for $ 27. We were adding to the total bill because the waitress said we had to use the whole $ 50 in order for them to honor The Groupon offer. When it came time to pay the Groupon offer wouldn’t go through so they wouldn’t accept it. She had to pay the full $ 50 amount even though she paid the $ 27.00 through groupon.
The best part of the evening was the waitress. She was very friendly, attentive & a good waitress. Thank you for your service. I just wish the food was better.

Brat Stop is what it is: a last resort restaurant that doesn’t have a drive-​thru before you hit the state line of Illinois. I’ve been here a million times growing up, but I remember it being better than my most recent trip.
It was SO LOUD. Like, we weren’t in the bar section, and I could barely hear my father across the two-​top table. I know sometimes there’s live music here, but that wasn’t the case. It was just radio/​DJ loudness, to the point that it hurt my ears. This wasn’t helped by the swarms of children that kept running around. I don’t know why they were in the bar section in the first place, but because our table was right at a doorway, kids kept running (not walking, full on running) between the rooms, causing issues and stress between them and the customers and staff. I don’t know why staff didn’t try to stop it, since the parents obviously didn’t care.
The food is mediocre. Brat Stop’s saving grace is, and always have been, their cheese curds (large order, $ 9.99). They’re always delicious. They’re fried but not too greasy, flavorful but not too massive of curds. They’re why I used to love coming here, and are the only positive I had while dining here this time.
My dad ordered a famous brat plate ($ 9.25). I asked him how it was, and he gave a shrug and said, «‘s alright.» I ordered the Grilled 3 Cheese and Ham, which comes with ham, cheddar, muenster, provolone, and grilled mushrooms, as well as fries ($ 10.99). It was disgusting. First, you couldn’t taste any cheese. Of any kind. At all. I could SEE at least one cheese, so I know it was on there, but there was no taste. All you could taste was salt from the cheap deli ham slices that were loaded onto the sandwich. The bread wasn’t grilled well, it was just wet with butter, so it was really oily and greasy to eat. And the mushrooms? Pretty confident they were from a can. They also had no flavor. I pretty much paid eleven bucks to lick a salt rock for half an hour.
And as for little, pettier things, there were flies that kept flitting around our table which got old pretty quickly, and our condiments were all empty. Service was pretty fast, but our waiter didn’t seem to care much, and only gave us one word questions and replies.
If you find yourself here, be prepared for loud, family-​filled road trip nonsense. Skip the ham and cheese, whatever you do, but be sure to get the cheese curds.

Those cheeseheads sure do know how to craft some damn good beer… and cheese. Of course. If you love New Glarus beer and cheesy goodness then you don’t need to look any further than the Brat Stop. Forget about having cheese with that wine — upgrade and have some cheese with that beer… some of the best beer in the Midwest to be exact. Here at the Brat Stop they house a large array of New Glarus beers on tap as well as a huge selection of beers to-​go in their attached shop. The Brat Stop will typically have some of their most popular drafts, Spotted Cow and Moon Man, on tap so that you can easily quench your thirst. In the gift shop they carry all of their drafts, including some of the seasonal ones. The other great goodies in the gift shop??? Cheese! Cheese! Cheese! They have cheese curds in about 10 different flavors (though the original white cheddar is the BEST), cheese spreads in about 20 different flavors (including a Ghost pepper flavor for all your daredevils) and plain old blocks of cheese. It does not get better than this.
In addition to the ever wonderful beer and cheese their food is delicious. If you have not been here before than two food items are a must: the mixed appetizer plate and at least one of the bratwursts. The bratwurst is so meaty and juicy — you couldn’t ask for anything better in a brat… just don’t let your brat get cold — you’ll cry. And the mixed appetizer has the cheese curds, mozzarella sticks, fried mushrooms, onion rings, fried jalapeño poppers and chicken tenders. SO FREAKING GOOD. Beware, though, the appetizer plate alone is a lot of food and you could easily split this with someone else. If you are going to eat here then do come hungry, that’s an order.
Another order is this: do not, absolutely do not, come here and order a beer that is not New Glarus. I will be very mad at you. When you order a beer you can get it in a schooner which is this fantastically and abnormally large glass of beer that’s almost too heavy and too big for your hands to hold. But that’s what makes it totally awesome! These schooners are so cheap as well — its only about $ 5 for one. Let me rephrase — that’s the cheapest amount you will ever pay for THAT much beer at a restaurant. I’m serious — it’s a lotta beer.
Now — on to the décor and the service. The interior is perhaps a little divey, but it has a certain laid-​back charm. It is also huge on the inside so chances are you won’t have an issue finding a seat inside… or a parking space on the outside. It’s big because it is a hotspot, located conveniently right across the Illinois border. You can easily access it off of the highway, which is what many people do I presume. Oh, and the service — the staff are very friendly and our food came out super quickly. The last time that I went, it was on the 4^th of July and it was quite busy, yet our food came out within about 10 minutes of ordering it.
Oh! Another side note — this is a great stop after you’ve enjoyed an exhausting day at Six Flags Great America which is only a couple of miles away. It’s just a thought.
Oh (again)! And Go Packers! I may be from Illinois but I’m a Packer fan like many of those who trek through this bar. So if you’re a Bears fan don’t go blaspheming the cheeseheads and their sacred Packers.