The Freighthouse Restaurant

Everything about the Freight House is best in class. The salad bar is extensive, the bar is skilled and generous and the food is delicious. It was a great night out!

Congrats to the Freighthouse staff on a New Year’s Eve well done! We got to the restaurant around 5:00 and as expected, there was a huge number of people waiting in the lobby and the bar was packed. We were lucky to grab two seats at the bar to enjoy a few drinks while waiting for dinner. We had over an hour wait time but were then seated in the main dining room next to the front windows. Our waiter was wonderful and funny! We started with scallops, ventured to the salad bar and without much of a wait our entrees were delivered. As usual the steaks & crab were delicious! Great job!

I have to say, «the Prime Rib» is great. Service was awesome, I highly recommend this place!

Both times I’ve been here my steak was way overcooked. They salad bar was missing a ton of items. The atmosphere is very nice though..

Great food, however it’s difficult to have conversation with a small group. Just too loud in there and also feel a bit rushed compared to Waterfront and Piggys.

Been here twice. First time, I only had appetizers. The spinach artichoke dip was the best thing one I had. The second time, I had the best King crab legs I’ve ever had! The waiter will crack them for you if you request it. My boyfriend loved the old fashioned and I had a strawberry daiquiri and thought it was ok. I’m planning to go back soon!

Best salad bar in La Crosse; fresh mixed greens, fresh and wide array of vegetables, and a homemade ranch that must be tried. The prime rib and king crab legs are personal favorites; perfectly cooked every time. Wine and beer selection are superb. Wait staff are all very knowledgeable and attentive, as well as happy to make recommendations.

We are new to the area and did not know what to expect, but we really enjoyed this restaurant. We loved the salad bar idea, being able to build your own salad. The prime rib may have been a little too pink for medium rare, but it was one of the best steaks I have ever had, as well as the biggest (it covered the whole plate!). Thus, with what you get for the money, I think it is money well spent.

Was introduced to this little gem by Big John. Holy cow.
Holy crab legs. Holy pink squirrel.
Everything was divine. Drinks, service, food it was all incredible.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to start my food coma.

Crab legs are fresh and amazing! It is pricy for dinner, but oh so worth it! And they gave us a free desert for our anniversary.

Everything at this place is fantastic! Food is amazing! Service is top notch! They always go above and beyond and their portions are generous too!

My husband and I were there last night and the swordfish was out of this world!!! My husbands char-​crusted filet was done to perfection and the salad bar is to die for!!! Can’t wait to go back!

My husband and I love to eat out and have tried most restaurants in the LaCrosse area, and the Freight House is by far the best. Being in the retail meat business, we find their steaks and seafood to be of the finest quality, seasoned and cooked perfectly. The staff has always been courteous and helpful. The atmosphere is casual elegance. This place is an island of excellence among a sea of mediocrity. LaCrosse’s finest!

I live up in Minneapolis and have ate at great Steakhouse’s in many major cities around the United States. But the Freighthouse still holds the award for best Filet! The Teriyaki marinated Filet is easily the winner as its the best tasting, tender cut, and always prepared perfectly. Their Lobster, shrimp, salad bar, and sides are all top notch as well. The staff is very well trained and the décor is great. Not to mention the prices are actually incredibly reasonable compared to Minneapolis or anywhere in a major city.

Went last night with mom and pops and my whole family. Overall experience was very average, which does NOT align with the prices. Entrée price range is basically $ 25 – 35 each. $ 7 to split. No kids menu. Steaks weren’t quite perfect. Baked potato and a lame salad bar comes with the entrée. Service wasn’t anything to scream about either.

Old school (with an older clientele) steakhouse: wood paneling, stiff drinks, big booths, salad bar, caesar salads, cocktail waitresses. I got the BEST prime rib I’ve had in a long, long time though.

The place is beautiful, especially when decorated for the holidays. The creepy statue by the 1^st floor salad bar was very off-​putting, though. I love a salad bar, but it was a little boring and one of my cucumbers was brown. I love that there are beets, they were delicious! Maybe they could do a spring mix instead of the romaine.
I had the salmon last time I was there and it was pretty good, the sides could be updated, though. Maybe if there were garlic smashed potatoes or some couscous with roasted peppers. I am a big fan of the little loaf of bread, but I wish it was a little crustier and maybe had some rosemary in it. Either that or offer an herbed butter.
This time I had the scallops casino. The scallops were cooked perfectly. They were soft and pillowey and succulent, but there was way to much lemon. It went beyond adding a nice acidity to the point that it was pretty much all lemon. Also, they weren’t cleaned properly and were a little gritty, plus there was a hair in it.
I love the ambiance so much, I just think that things could be tweaked a little and brought to the next level with some interesting spices and fresh herbs.

I ate at the Freighthouse with my husband when we were in town a few weeks ago. According to the locals, this is where La Crossians go if they want to be seen ‘out’ on a Friday or Saturday night.
As the food goes — meh.
It’s dark. The food is clearly more about cranking out quantity than creativity and quality. Their wine and beer selection is mediocre. Mixed drinks from the bar are good.
I had some salmon special that came with something like 4 cooked cups of greasy rice.
If I had to eat here again, fine, but it’s not on my short list of La Crosse favorites.

I will never be able to explain this– but this place has amazing crab legs. Absolutely incredible. I also recommend the mushrooms and steak.
The drinks are also good (incredible Brandy Old Fashions).
Yes, this is a fancy restaurant for La Crosse. But it is worth it. Try to stay in the bar area or the outdoor patio. The restaurant area doesn’t have as nice of ambiance.
We have been here for a few events and their event space was nice. It didn’t feel overly like a banquet hall. It has character.
Eat the crab legs. Enjoy.

I came to Freight House this last weekend for a family reunion and was very impressed with the food and the service.
We came into the restaurant and were greeted by a live musician playing Brown Eyed Girl (+1) and a complimentary coat check (+1). For some reason out of the 20 of us I was the only one that took advantage of the coat check and was mocked for being a «big city» guy. Jokes aside a coat check in January in Wisconsin is great because most of us had 2 – 3 jackets on. Our group was then led through an absolutely huge restaurant to the very back where we had a private room with a fireplace (+1). So far I have been in this restaurant for 2 minutes and could not ask for anything more. Now we got a table for 20 which is hard to accommodate so instead they gave us 2 tables for ten in a private room, next best thing, but not quite satisfactory for our family. We then had different family members try to re-​arrange the tables for 10 minutes to provide for the optimal seating arrangement. This was a bit of a fiasco, but definitely par for the course for my family. The wait staff handled it perfectly (+1). They let us do our thing and just checked in occasionally to make sure we didn’t need any help or weren’t ready to order.
Once we finally arranged our table into something acceptable we ordered. And boy did we order, I personally tried every appetizer, the prime rib, the salmon, the Caesar salad, and the mixed vegetable side. It was all delicious. The prime rib was a huge piece of meat and was cooked perfectly (+1). All the appetizers were delicious although the mushrooms and artichoke dip were probably my two favorites. The Caesar is what you would expect, but huge. Way bigger than necessary before you eat a 12 oz steak, but this is definitely not a complaint.
Overall everything here was fantastic. the food, the service and the ambiance were top notch. I didn’t pay attention to the price too much (thanks Grandma), but the cost of the meal was definitely indictive of the quality of the restaurant.