Red Rock Saloon

Great food; a sauce for every palate! Izzy is a fabulous hostess /​server! Great looks; great personality; great service! Thanks Izzy! We’d come back to Red Rock just for you!

Fun place to go. Food was pretty good. Fun atmosphere after 8:00pm. I kept getting a waft of sewer gas coming out near the kitchen which was off putting. Also, the music was so loud that I couldn’t talk to the group I was with. I’m a drummer in a heavy metal band and it was hurting my ears.

This is the worst bar I’ve ever been to. The bouncer harassed me about my age and id, because I’ve lost 15 pounds since the picture was taken. Inside the bar was dirty, the waitress was pushy and rude, and my drink had multiple hairs in it. I would rather never go to a bar again than go to red rock.

Went here on a Sunday for a burger and Bloody Mary and was very happy with our experience. There are several booths to sit at and the bar area is nice and big. We sat at the bar and was waited on right away. Drinks came fast and we enjoyed our meals. The service was very good and we loved the atmosphere.

Really good food! I like a good BBQ, and they delivered. I’ve been here about four times now, and staff has always been friendly, prompt, and helpful. They have a nice little out door area, but it could be spruced up a bit more. They have random stuff laying around and it’s more of an after-​thought. But on a nice summer night during a week night it’s usually empty and just us sitting out back. Guess I can’t complain too much, it’s our own personal outdoor area.
One thing everyone HAS to try are their deep fried oreos. I’m not kidding that you’ll come here just for those by themselves. It’s a HUGE plate of icecream, hot fudge, and deep fried oreos and cream cheese balls. While the thought initially of a deep fried oreo seemed off putting, it’s now one of my favorite deserts. They are SO SO SO good. They were only like $ 4 and it was enough for a table of four!

I’m in love…
With the sweet potato tots! I am not a big sweet potato person, but these things are friggin’ awesome! When I do eat sweet potatos, I load them up with salt, and these salty and sweet bites of heaven deliver. The rest of the menu is pretty good. I’ve had some of the barbecue and other selections, all serviceable. A little pricey given the atmosphere, but the wait staff was efficient and friendly.
I mentioned I was in love… well I forgot a credit card there when eating prior to a state HS tournament game. When I went back to retrieve it that evening, let’s just say I fell in love a second time. This time, it was the interesting attire of the female bartenders. It was dark enough that at first, I thought they were only wearing chaps and skimpy t-​shirts. Turns out they were actually wearing pants or shorts, but they must have been painted on. I was not ready for that.
That whole thing is not really my cup of tea where I am eating, but for those of you who love a good breastaurant, this place (in the evening) fits that bill.

I would have thought it was common courtesy to let someone on their first beer of the night know why they were being kicked out but I guess not. I’m NEVER going back to this place.

I come here whenever I’m in town! Burgers are always cooked to the perfect temp, we get seated right away, and the waitresses (holla, Hannah!), hostesses, and bartenders are always polite, engaging and positive. Make sure to stop in on Wednesdays for their $ 1 burgers — it’s a steal.

Wow! Such a surprise. We went with a good coupon and weren’t expecting great things from this large campus-​area restaurant we figured was just a bar that also served some food. But we all enjoyed our meals, the service was good, and we were very impressed with the fit-​and-​finish — Red Rock sunk some serious money into remodeling this old barn! I can’t claim to be a BBQ connoisseur, but I had trouble picking my favorite among the 3 unique sauces on the table. They have some great happy hour and daily deals too. My only disappointment was that the onion strings were lackluster.
I’ll be back for sure, and maybe even take on the mechanical bull.

I like bbq food about once a year! So this review may not be best for you. We had 4 people for dinner on Friday night.
Service– very good, some of the girls working the floor were dressed to draw my focus away from the food– lets just say.
Food– We ordered appetizers and the 4 meat sampler platter which was plenty for 4.
Ribs– fall off the bone good
Pork– too much fat for my taste
Brisket– excellent flavor– felt fat could have been trimmed better.
Chicken– juicy and tender– excellent
Cheese sticks– frozen-​avoid
Wings boneless– I’m gonna go with frozen again– good but I would pass next time.
Country music– great band, very good
Ambiance– cool place– feels like a country bar.
If you like nascar, beer, bbq– this is the place for you.
I gave it 3 stars because everything was just good– I believe this place has a ton of potential, mgmt just needs to take it up a notch.

This place is Texas.
Only want to comment on three things:
1. Mechanical Bull — So fun. Came twice. First time $ 2, second time free. Do it at least once.
2. Drink Specials — I believe they had $ 2 local beers and $ 5 speciality drinks when I came. Affordable. Tasty.
3. Space — Huge. I was there on weekday nights, so not super busy. A welcome place to chill and hangout with folks.
I had fun when I was here.

What can I say? I love country music, especially live cou try music. I love good quality cheese burgers, and I love beer. All that equals a 5 stars.
For those that complain about 1 $ burger nights. Of course there are stipulations. They are reasonable stipulations. No bar is going to give you a dollar burger unless you order drinks and patronize the bar. Don’t drink? Order a pop or soft drink. The burgers are really juicy and they even melt the cheese on them. So so so guilty good.

Groupon oh I have to admit
Hubby bought one and I was scared! Reviews weren’t great. Hmm but what a cute place and what fun! The deal was for a sampler plate two sides, two drinks or desserts. The ribs fell off the bone, sauce was just right with additional sauces on the side if you like. The chicken was so juicy and flavorful. Brisket was super fresh and moist. Blue cheese coleslaw was sweet and savory, I want the recipe.
Not my idea for dessert but the kids would have loved them. Deep fried oreos and poptarts, even if you don’t go for these they both came on top of an ice cream sunday; pretty presentation!
Great country music, and good service!

Food was absolutely delicious! I had the BBQ pork bowl and my wife had the pulled pork & brisket sandwich. The apple pie Manhattan cocktail was super yummy, albeit it was pricy ($ 8). Our server Abby was so sweet and attentive!!! Would give 5 stars to her alone. I can’t stand country music so I withhold one star :-)
We will for sure go back!!!

I’ll say I like the original more (Milwaukee)… but I find myself biased towards all things Milwaukee. Red Rock Saloon in Madison is pretty spacious, with a bar in the middle and seating all around. Then stage in the back corner and a bull once you walk in. It’s quite an inviting atmosphere. If memory serves correctly, there is also a smaller bar off to the right of the main entrance. It’s been too cold to utilize the patio (unless you’re a smoker… then it’s never too cold to be out there) but I think that will be a nice spot to go during the summer. Which, for outdoor seating … Madison may have the edge over Milwaukee.
It’s a Country bar… if it’s not obvious by the logo or other clues along the way. If you don’t care for that style, this bar is not for you… go for the food, not for the party at night. But if you like Country music, this will easily become your favorite Madison drinking spot!

Wednesday $ 1 burger. Starts $ 1 for beef patty, $ 2 for grilled chicken or veggie. $ 1 for cheese. $ 1 for fried egg and $ 0.50 for most other toppings like sautéed mushrooms, caramelized onions, etc. Sides are and extra $ 3 which includes 5 cheese mac n cheese, beer battered fries, sweet potato tater tots and more. If you only order the $ 1 burger, they will charge $ 2.50 for water. So might as well get soda, or get upset that your «$ 1 burger night» has just become a «burger-​on-​any-​other-​night night.»
Food doesn’t match what you pay for. And for people who aren’t a fan of country music, you might feel that you’re paying for more than those who are. Food was bland and extra greasy. Not the good greasy. I was hoping the grease meant nommy guilty butter and fat dripping down my face. Unfortunately, chancing the possibility of pimples on my face wasn’t worth it.
I am curious how often the mechanical bull actually gets put to use, such a prominent item in the bar/​restaurant, more than the stage that has live performances, Friday and Saturday nights, that was tucked in the corner under low lights. The mechanical bull might be the reason why I go back… yeah…not really. Still a pretty new joint. We’ll see if this country niche will keep the joint open.

After being to Red Rock twice now, I plan on keeping it in my regular rotation of weekend nights out. We had a mediocre experience when we went for opening night, but now that everyone isn’t swarming the place, it seems to be much more organized.
Let’s start with the positives: reasonable drink prices, awesome atmosphere, great music. Beers are $ 3. There’s a lot of unique décor. They play awesome country music. The crowd is pretty diverse, too. The country aspect definitely brings out some of the rural folk in Madison, so it’s awesome to see the different groups interact. Everyone seems to be having fun when you walk around, so this place is not short in that department.
And of course there’s a couple things that could be improved: cover charge, the live bands, and the mechanical bull. Both times we went, the cover charge was $ 5, which they justify by having live music. You can usually get out of paying for cover by slipping by the desk or saying that you’re with one of the groups. Also, the bands that have played when I’ve been have been pretty mediocre. The crowd seems to be having more fun when they play regular music. Maybe it would be better if the band played 8−10pm, or something like that, but I’m definitely not a fan of going back and forth between live and regular music. The mechanical bull looks like it’s about to fall apart after 2 weeks of use; it could definitely use a makeover.
I’ll be back in a few weeks!

Everything else was booked on Valentine’s day except for Red Rock. Here, we were seating within minutes of entering.
We were told that they’d completely redid the space after acquiring it from the previous tenants of the building, and it is very obvious that they put a lot of thought into the design of the space and the décor (my favorite is the antique motorcycle piece at the center of the bar).
I ordered the Two Gun Corcoran sandwich with a side of beer-​battered fries, absolutely guilt-​free. I thought the sandwich was pretty good, but that may have been because I don’t have particularly high standards for bar food. The pulled pork and brisket were tender and fell apart easily, but they were also quite charred (way too much for it to have been purposeful). Anyway, I kept myself entertained by trying all of their BBQ sauces with the beer-​battered fries. There aren’t THAT many options, but I do like that they offer different sauces.
I like the concept of Red Rock, but it does seem a little out of place in Madison. My friends and I have a running bet on how long they will stay in business. I say a year to a year and a half, my friends say six to seven months. I guess we’ll see who wins the bet?

I feel that there are certain places that you have to rate for what there are and not compare them to what you wish they were; Red Rock Saloon is one of those places. With Red Rock you know you are not going to get top quality food but you can at least hope for good service and great drinks.
I was here on a Saturday morning the day after it opened and was completely impressed by how large the space was. Turns out, the location used to be a brewery which makes sense based on space alone. Either way, we were greeted by a nice hostess who sat us immediately and briefly went over the menu with us. We were there at 11 or so and they don’t serve breakfast so we called it an early lunch. Our server arrived and she was all smiles. Super pleasant and super attentive.
We started with their wings that were supposed to be Asian flavored but were more like grilled with chili sauce on it. I ordered the chicken wrap and my partner the brisket, chicken with a couple of sides. He really dug his dish I thought mine was just fine. My expectations weren’t super high but I also wasn’t super disappointed.
I would come here again. It seems like a fun place; they have video games in the back with a bull that you can ride in the front. I would also even eat here again. You really can’t go wrong with bbq for a night out. I will however wait until the hype wears off as I hear it was pretty packed on their first couple of nights open.

I feel like Red Rock Saloon is going to be a hit or miss for most people.
First, the whole country meets Hooters theme is not really in tune with Madison culture (just my two cents, by the way). I enjoy my hoedowns as much as the next person, but this place was missing the southern hospitality vibe to it.
Our servers were kind of distant and cold, which I guess was understandable, since we went on their grand opening night.
Second, they could have done a better job promoting the restaurant. Maybe have a 50% off deal to prompt people to try your food, or offer something like a free appetizer. Instead, people got a free coupon to try their mechanical bull, which is something most sober people would avoid. On top of that, they didn’t even offer rides for the majority of the night because their «operator» wasn’t there. I guess you needed to be a licensed joystick handler or something.
Third, their food simply wasn’t great. If you’re going to be offering BBQ with Brickhouse BBQ down the street, you better be prepared to throw-​down. Unfortunately, Red Rock missed the mark, and opted for a bland menu of items instead of something of quality.
Fourth, no drink specials? You’re a bar, learn to cater to your audience, c’mon!
However, all that being said, this place does have the potential to be a great night out. With live music, large spacing, plenty of seating, a dance floor and some catchy tunes, this could definitely liven up the dance scene in Madison.
For now, I think I will stick to the status quo.