Der Rathskeller

It’s not perfect by any means, but honestly I think this place is pretty good for college cafeteria food though a little more expensive than what I’ve seen on other campuses. Typical selection of burgers and sandwiches and cheese curds (because this is Wisconsin, of course). Plus any college that sells beer in the Union gets extra stars in my book! When is Iowa going to get on that?
I’m not too crazy about the atmosphere inside the building so of course the best part about coming here is taking your food out on the terrace during the summer and just enjoying some of the most picturesque views the Midwest has to offer. Some of my best college memories include sitting on the terrace, just chilling with friends and drinking beer while doing some people watching.
3 stars for the food, 5 for the view, 5 for the memories. If you ever find yourself on the UW Madison campus while it’s still reasonably warm out, stop by and get some beer and cheese curds and sit out on the terrace for a truly magical experience.

5 stars for beer selection and view. Could hang out here all day with a ice cold craft brew and views of the lake.
Food is ok like the avocado and salmon sandwich, burger, and brats. But who cares… its a great view.

Has a great location as you can take your food out to the terrace and enjoy the lake, but the food is pretty average. Cheese curds are good but there are better in Madison. The best part about the Rathskeller is its location in the union and the overall atmosphere there.

Nostalgic local spot, the perfect type of place to hang out with friends for a beer and some burgers/​fried food.
Food isnt the best im sure theres far worse for university food.

Meh. It started raining so I was forced to run I to this place. I didn’t know how long the rain would last, and it was around dinner time, so I grabbed a quick bite to eat. I ordered poutine, these sausage balls and a salad — so healthy I know. When my food was ready, the waitress informed me that the gravy for the poutine was out :(then I was offered to be reimbursed or cheese curds. I opted for the cheese curds but the was given the fries and cheese sans gravy. The waitress said I could still have the cheese curds on the house since the fries weren’t really poutine but I was too embarrassed about all the food on my plate.
When I was describing this place to my friend, I told her it was like Disney world but not over priced. The restaurant is all dressed up in German décor, the food is mediocre but not expensive.

This review is for the Rathskeller in its current (under construction) condition.
It is an historic room, that has been very well-​loved over the years. The food is pretty decent– largish portion sizes, tasty, but nothing too exotic or well-​sourced.
The main problem it has right now is that there is no longer any tap beer. I really cannot picture being in the Rathskeller without a pitcher of beer. Maybe that makes me an alcoholic; I think it makes me a Madisonian.
If I could give it 1.5 stars right now, I would. I have had awesome times in this place, and I’m sure I will in the future, but right now, I have no reason to go there. There are better places to eat, cheaper places to drink, and better places to watch sports, music groups, etc.
If you’re in from out-​of-​town, you should stop by and walk through the place, but I know I’ll be waiting until after remodeling is done to visit again. And I live nearby. And this hurts me.

Always wanted to find a nice spot that has tables designed for work like a coffee shop but serves beer. This spot does that, part student union, part patio, part coffee shop this place have everything you need. Food is great I recommend the smoked salmon sandwich — the only complaint is that they don’t let you sub out fries, but they are fantastic so roll with it. A lot of college types and special events here. Always good ppl watching. Favorite place I’ve visited this year.

The food is very good & the prices R great, especially for the amt of food you get.

Here’s the deal. Der Rathskeller is the bar, where you get beer, it’s the hall, where you sit. It’s not the place you get food, which is confusing because it’s adjacent, but that’s called Der Stiftskeller.
I LOVE Der Rathskeller, I used to bartend there, I spent most of my college weekends tending bar and listening to awesome bands. I used to also love Der Stiftskeller, where you could get great burgers, awesome burritos, and REAL beer cheese soup, not to mention great chili. The recent renovation of the menu in an attempt to conjure a bit of old Germany left the place sadly lacking. I’ve had far better German food (FYI — a panini is not German), and can’t believe I’m saying this, but I miss the grill and the bar food.
And please, what the heck happened to the beer cheese soup? Ack!
And, stop calling your red vegetable soup chili, you used to have chili, someone must still have the recipe.

The food is only ok. Kind of expensive for the portion sizes, but I suppose you are paying for convenience. I really like the buffalo chicken wraps. They have a nice kick to them. All of the wraps are good as are the fries.
One of the stars is for the beer. The selection is pretty good and it’s fun to hang out at the Rath and play pool, watch a movie or listen to live music. They have open mic nights too. You can buy a decently sized bag of popcorn to go with your pitcher of beer.

Didn’t go to UW but everyone tells me that our family’s sigil should be a badger! So we had to check out the Rat in the heart of badger land. Glad we did.
We had a late breakfast… good cheap eats with a nice patio and beautiful lake view. Not a bad place to be a student! or a tourist!

The beer hall is just okay, it reminds me of a cafeteria that serves beer. Kinda lame, but beer makes it good. The adjoining Terrace is completely awesome though, I think the locals see them as being a couple different places though.

The Rathskeller room itself is classic Madison and a great place to talk and have beers or study. The restaurant gets two stars just based upon the space.
The new food sucks. The rueben was tiny, stale, and tasted awful. The warm potato salad with bacon would be a great idea, if it didn’t taste like yesterday’s french fries boiled in sugar and mayonnaise. I’ll eat almost anything but after one bite I threw the entire serving out.
Also, the food is significantly overpriced. $ 6 for a brat and fries?!
Zero stars for the food, two stars for their luck to be in one of Madison’s finest sitting spaces. Probably fine for french fries or nachos but eat lunch or dinner anywhere else but here, especially with so many great carts right outside.

They changed up the Rathskeller recently, and it is not for the better. First of all, they decided that every sandwich HAS to have a side item: chips, fries, carrots, etc. If all you want is a burger, you are SOL. Next problem, food was disgusting! It was low quality and suffocated by a giant bun. Grossest brat I have had since some people in Chicago tried to make beer brats. On top of that, they now charge more than the KK, which has better food (before 2) and is only a block away.
Now the only reason to go there is to socialize or study.

Decent cafeteria food, nothing more.

Great ambience. Good beer, very chill. Open for many groups. Boots = good times.
What happened to the polka band on thursdays??? they were the best!

This place has actually improved (since I attended this institution back in the Dark Ages) in one key respect — the jukebox actually has a legitimately diverse selection now! It’s not the frat-​boy douchebag musicbox that spouted out «Wherewolves of London», «Tempted» and every song on the Bob Marley «Legend» Album every miserable day that I worked in the cafeteria. I mean, you can actually make everybody listen to «Love TKO» and «I Don’t Love You Anymore» now. Much nicer.
One thing that hasn’t changed, and knock wood never will — the Paul Bunyan Room. The wonderful, wonderful PWA murals of the great lumberjack legends still surround the room in vibrant, living color.

If you are considering attending the University of Wisconsin as an option for college, you MUST visit the Rathskeller to see what’s up. I remember coming here 10 years ago when I was on my college tour and this place sealed the deal. It’s unlike any other student union on any other campus I’ve seen. When you walk in, you feel both instantly cozy and but somehow have plenty of room. The whole place is all dark wood and murals and arcs of doorways and German decorating. The cafeteria also makes awesome sandwiches and gigantic chocolate chip cookies. There’s nothing like looking out the window on a snowy day overlooking the lake as you sip cocoa or heading down for a couple beers on open mic night. This place is one of my favorite places on earth. You will love it.

The sheer power and aura around this place for ten minutes helped finalize my decision to go to UW-​Madison. I wanted to be there. The setting is that good.
Enough said.

As a transfer from Indiana University I was so stoked that you could actually drink in the UW Rathskellar! (and smoke, back in my day). A great place to meet friends during the day or see a band at night. And yes, you will find places like this in Germany!