Red Shed Tavern

I’ll keep it simple. This is an average bar. I’m not too big on the atmosphere and the single bathroom can make for a long line, but all you need to know is that their giant long island iced teas are to die for. They are by far the best I’ve ever had. I’ll be sure to stop back in for one many times in the future.

Normally a great dive bar. Bartenders were rude for no reason… We ordered, we tipped, why are you swearing at me?

After spending $ 40 dollars on a round of drinks plus a $ 10 dollar tip the bar tender about 5’8″ white military cap called me a a group of patrons a bunch of fucking losers. We are all in our mid twenties just walked in the bar. I questioned him on why he thought that and he got irate. Stay away!!!

Came here for the «best Long Island in town». Turns out it’s not. They use a store bought mix for starters. Apparently they’ve never heard of mixing a real drink. They also used way too much sweet n sour.
Tldr: Store bought mix. Too much sweet n sour.

Oh the Red Shed. I first came here in my early twenties and now frequent this establishment for pre-​game drinks before Badger Basketball Games. This is normally just a stop in, have a few drinks and then head out to a game.
Grab a Long Island while our there and don’t forget your Cash. No plastic.
Service has always been great here whether it’s 11 a.m. on a Saturday morning or 7 p.m. on a Friday night. You can park right next door in the ramp.

The entire place smells like a bathroom. If they could remedy that with a constant flow of fresh oxygen, then one’s mind could open to discover the joys of bar games and mason jar long islands.

Two stars or two and a half stars? I cannot decide. Ultimately, Red Shed is as the Unilocal label says, a dive bar. For a dive bar it sits somewhere between below average and average.
Everything in the bar is sticky and could easily be wiped down more often, considering it is not as crowded as many of the bars on State. The drinks are cheap and show it in the taste. Mostly everything is going to be made with rail liquor. You really are not given the option otherwise. Red Shed takes cash only and has a random ATM that is going to charge you a nominal fee for using it.
There are pool tables, dart boards, and a cash eating jukebox to occupy your time.
My experience was pretty meh overall. We visited because a coworker was celebrating a birthday and wanted a cheap long iced tea (good if that’s your thing). I ended up getting a a New Castle on tap for $ 2. It definitely tasted like a $ 2 tap beer. For whatever reason the beer tasted sour and watered down. I know New Castle isn’t the best, but it does not taste sour!
I also later had a white Russian while hanging out. It was $ 5.50, and the bartender didn’t have any Kahlua (what?!) so he made it with rail coffee liquor. He made is strong as an apology but without asking. The drink was absolutely awful. I wouldn’t have ordered it if I knew it was going to have half a cup of rail coffee liquor dumped in it.
I would not recommend Red Shed unless you don’t have enough money to go elsewhere.

Descriptive phrase: yeah, it’s what I’d imagine drinking in a shed would be like.
I love the Red Shed. Long Islands. Foosball. Pool (free on Mondays). Darts. Seating for weary (or drunken) legs. TVs. Even the bro-​iest of bros get a little more laid back when they walk in. It’s a respite for the imbibers among us from the blackouts on State and University.

I can’t get enough of this place even though every day after I go to this place is filled with a terrible hangover. The Long Island iced teas are hands down the best in Madison. They’re 7 dollars and in a mason jar. They are dangerous. Don’t come to this bar too hammered and order one and don’t have more than one on any occasion. As far as the dirty bathrooms go I haven’t really noticed — always been too drunk at that point to care. The Red Shed is a must visit in Madison.

Met up with friends before dinner, got talked into one if their famous Long Island iced teas. Not usually a fan, but these were remarkable! Dangerous really in that you can’t taste the alcohol. So good I had 2! They had a small selection of WI beers too.
Only take cash. looked like there was a fryer and grill for food, but we didn’t have any.

Just like hangin back in your grand-pappy’s shed in Pewalkee. Bring your cousins, a lawn chair, and an unquenchable thirst for giant-​sized long islands in mason jars.
$ 7.50 for some serious liquor is a steal, and they’re cheaper the earlier you get there. This bar is cash only, so plan ahead.

Worst customer service ever! My fiancé took 2 straws to put in my drink and this dumb bartender kicks him out for no reason! Worst customer service and bartender with the bald head and glasses ever! I highly do not recommend this place. There’s better places that can gladly take your business

This place is no more than a ‘Sconnie feel college bar. Gameday packed with locals and tourists alike… good times had by all.
Drinks were more than fair priced– and the Long Island Iced Teas will do a wicked number on you!

I had *ONE* Long Island Iced Tea… the best long island I have ever had…
The rest, as they say, was history (history best forgotten and never ever talked about.)

Mason jars. Full of booze. Tiny, typically unclean bathroom. Friendly bartenders. This is the Red Shed. And it’s equal parts fun and blackout horrifying.
The drinks are super cheap, and while you’re attempting to figure out what exactly is in your mason jar filled with booze, you can play foosball or grab a seat with some buds.
Drink with caution, enjoy with gusto. Viva la Red Shed.

Had a great time. Reminded me of O Street (Lincoln, NE) bars on game day. Tough to get a drink but somehow still worth the wait to get in. Visited Friday night before the Nebraska game and it was filled with Husker fans. Saturday night it was not quite as hospitable as Wisconsin students had a day long bender under their collective belt.

The only thing I like about this place is the massive $ 7 long-​islands, other than that this place doesn’t really do it for me. It is constantly crowded with angry people who just want to fight. They have some good drink specials but nothing to shout over aside from the long-​islands. Atmosphere is just dirty, no real-​theme to the place and staff is very rude.

I’ve been going here a lot (pretty much a regular you could say.) It’s a good place to include in your bar hopping plans. Wandos too busy? Fooseball taken at Vintage? Swing by Red Shed. It’s also one of the few bars you can actually have a conversation at some nights. One of my minor complaints is the jukebox. If there is no songs playing. it’s just that – quiet. And at certain points in the night, you can hear a pin drop. Lines for the bathroom is sometimes annoying and I’ve felt really bad for the ladies here who have sometimes waited 30 minutes before the line moved one person: P

3 or 4 stars? I can’t decide. I’ll dole out a on-​the-​high-​side-​of-​3-​stars rating… mostly because I won’t go here most evenings. And when I go here, it’s almost never my idea.
The Red Shed is a remarkable blend of Dive and Douche. It’s only Douche because it’s around the corner from Wando’s, so said people trickle in for cheap drinks high in alcohol content. If this bar were located anywhere else, it would be a backwoods, «everyone’s packin’ heat”-kind of bar.
They have $ 6 mason jar long islands. They will f up your s. That said, you shouldn’t visit Madison without getting your s f’d up by drinking one of these bad boys. Wisconsinites really know the best and quickest routes to becoming alcoholics.
The service is always nice and fairly prompt. There’s a ‘big game hunting’ game to add to the ambiance. The music is okay sometimes. BUT… and it’s a big but… avoid the bathroom. It is a mix between a very small, dark prison cell and the toilet from Trainspotting.
Oh, oh! But the best part is the name. You can joke that you’re going to banish your female friends to the Red Shed for being ‘unclean.’ That never gets old.

DO NOT GO HERE.
Ok, I warned you. Good thing you blacked out for the broken glass in the toilets, the sinks that turn into urinals, etc etc.
But wasn’t the foosball game you played at 1 am a lot of fun?
And aren’t you still trying to figure out what were in those mason jars? No, they were definitely bigger than pints jars. Those were quart jars… And your hangover is bad enough that you may never go near those tomatoes you canned last summer.
There is a covered wagon, oregon-​trail-​style, over the door. Real Western. Ever seen hbo’s deadwood? You’re lucky to leave deadwood’s tavern alive. Same goes for the red shed.
DO NOT GO HERE.
(I can’t wait to go back)