The Sett

The sett has such a great variety of savory menu items as well as an extensive beer assortment to boot. Most of the menu items are extremely rich and filling, but if you’re feeling extra famished, s
If you’re feeling especially hungry, get the fish fry. It is essentially two large pieces of cod deep fried with the Sett fries, coleslaw, and rye bread.

This place has the best FRIES ever! They are thick cut, crispy on the outside and soft in the inside. It also comes with a yummy dipping sauce. I go there just for that. The burgers are good too.

Came here to watch a friend’s band. The venue was pretty good and the staff wasn’t bad. They ran out of meat for the nachos at like 9PM and didn’t tell me until it came out. The beer selection was good and reasonably priced. The nachos were super cheap tasting and I wouldn’t recommend them. On the other hand, I tried a friend’s burger and friea and those were both quite good. The Sett looks nice and is super relaxed. I wouldn’t seek it out, but I won’t have any complaints coming here in the future for events.

Great atmosphere, live music, and an awesome place to watch sporting events, if you can get a seat. The food is alright, I think it’s better than Memorial Union, but still average food from the university.

I used to work downtown, and The Sett is where I would always go for lunch. Their burgers are phenomenal, as are their fries. The sauce that comes with it is amazing! The prices are fair, and they get food out relatively quick. Love the big TVs there too. It’s always nice to have something to look at when you’re eating.

We were killing time before an event started. We were hungry. Once we spotted the Sett we knew exactly how we would fill our time gap.
The Sett is laid back, no one really cares what anyone else is doing. You order and pick up at the counters. The burgers are pretty good and they come with fries. I think the flavored fires are an upcharge of about $ 0.50. Not the fastest food in the world, but that is what happens when food is not precooked and sitting under heat lamps. Small but quality craft beer list, including 3 Floyds.

Cheese curds! Mmmmm. A glorified cheese stick you may say… yes, perhaps, but a must try when at The Sett! Laid back environment as I was visiting early on a Friday night. I imagine a great place to watch a football game and hang with friends.

The Sett provides a nice contrast to the other eateries in Union South. Although you still order at the counter, there is designated seating indoors and a giant screen/​stage set-​up for events. You also have the option of dining outdoors on the patio.
The menu is limited to an assortment of bar foods, but all of the options that they have look good on paper. I’ve only tried the BBQ pulled pork sandwich so far, which includes a generous portion of BBQ pulled pork and is served with your choice of fresh veggies, onion rings, or fries. Although the pork was a little dry (like pork that had been cooked and left sitting around overnight uncovered), the coleslaw did help to moisten up the bun a bit.
I don’t know what I will be trying next time (maybe the fried catfish??), but I’m sure I’ll be back since The Sett is one of the closer lunch places to our lab!

It’s gorgeous and hip. Drink prices are a bit steep, but it’s worth it for the atmosphere. The terrace outside is beautifully landscaped and just a pleasure to sit in. I watched goldfinches landing on the purple coneflowers next to the water feature while drinking Hopalicious. I never thought I’d be saying THAT about a student union!

I’ve been to both the upstairs and downstairs sections of The Sett, each with their own charm. I’ll tackle the upstairs first, which hosts live shows and has a more extensive food menu. The Sett as a music venue is a big open space two stories tall, with a large balcony circling the area around the stage. For those shows where I don’t want to be up front dancing, the balcony is great. I’ve always been able to find a seat there with a great view of the stage, and the acoustics are nice. They do bring in some great acts (in recent memory, I’ve been able to catch both Yacht and Sims for free), although the size of the crowd varies wildly. The acoustics are great, loud but not too echo-​y. I do recommend earplugs if you want to preserve your hearing, though — even in the balcony. Note that you’ll have to bring them from somewhere else (the closest place to buy them is the Walgreens on East Campus Mall about a mile away) since they don’t sell them at Union South at all. There are also a number of TVs in the room, and they often have a large projection screen above the stage showing sporting events when a show isn’t going to be happening.
The beer selection is impressive, featuring some good deals, as well as some fantastic local micro-​brews for a few dollars more. Make sure you bring your ID, though. They are fairly militant about carding, given the high volume of college students. The food is better than the Rathskeller’s fare, especially the snacks and side dishes. If you’re looking for great local flavors, grab a Klement’s brat (they’re the folks who sponsor the Sausage Race at Brewer games, and their sausages are head and shoulders above Johnsonville) on a bun from Clasen’s, one of the best bakeries in Madison. The spicy catfish sandwich is crunchy and flavorful without being too greasy, and the BBQ pulled pork sandwich is pretty good (Sweet Baby Ray’s is the best commercial BBQ sauce you’re going to find north of the Mason-​Dixon Line), though I always get it without coleslaw. The garlic fries are a personal favorite, almost as good as the Gilroy Garlic Fries at AT&T Park. The cheese curds are crunchy and not greasy at all, more like Culver’s than the Old Fashioned’s. The condiment bar is extensive, with a veritable buffet of options. My boyfriend shudders to think what would happen to it if Gwar ever plays there.
The downstairs area has more limited food options (I suggest you bring down food from upstairs or wait until after you’re done downstairs), but this is where the pool tables, air hockey table, climbing wall, and bowling alley are. It’s a huge improvement on the old gaming/​recreation area, which was a dank pit of skeeze (although there aren’t any arcade games anymore, boo). It’s much cleaner, doesn’t have any weird smells, and the students who work there are attentive and courteous. The quality of the music varies wildly depending on whose shift it is. Some days I love every song playing, but some times I want to throw knives at the speakers, because there are only so many times one can listen to Smash Mouth’s «All Star» without feeling homicidal twinges. The bowling alley is great fun and probably the cheapest in town, especially before 5 p.m. There are bowling balls of all sizes and weights (a much better selection than Schwoegler’s), and TVs located over the pins and the seating areas are usually showing live sporting events or other ESPN programming (sound is off, but subtitles are on, which is a good compromise). They do sell inexpensive socks, which is great for when you forget to bring them while wearing sandals. You can also host parties for a fairly low price. One minor problem is that sometimes the area is overrun with kids or parties, which can get loud, but it’s not as much of a problem in the evening. Also note that you can’t buy pitchers of beer downstairs, just individual cups.
Overall, The Sett is an enormous improvement over the Union South of yore, and a great place for some inexpensive non-​frat party entertainment in the campus area.

One of my favorite music venues! The stage is great, most of the time they’re free, and the acts they book are fantastic. I used to live in Madison and have spent countless of hours studying at the memorial union and union south. Plenty of comfortable seats and the sett’s veggie burgers are delicious! Every time I’m in Madison I always check for upcoming shows here.

Oh my word. This place is awesome. Why wasn’t my college union this beautiful and spectacular?
The Sett is located in the UW’s Union South on Dayton St. It is a restaurant + concert venue and it is over the top of a college union! The stage is impressive and can host full scale shows with hundreds in attendance. Attendees can choose to stand on the ground level, or go up to the balcony for a view of the entire venue. The coolest part about this place is that they bring in national acts — for free. Props to the Wisconsin Union Directorate for making these events happen.
The Sett also features a bowling alley, rock climbing wall, billiards, and plenty of seating, and the rest of the Union has a lot to offer too. I’m beyond impressed and I left feeling a little mopey that my Union wasn’t as cool back when I was in school.
Wonderful facility, highly recommend.

I spend a lot of time in Union South, and I’ve eaten at The Sett several times. The burgers are pretty good, as is the catfish sandwich. Each sandwich is made to order, so there’s often a wait to get your food — definitely not outlandish, by any means. Try the garlic fries with Sett sauce on the side — so simple, but so addictive! The bar has a pretty expansive selection of tap beers, too. There’s three tiers of beers (for price differentiation) with a pretty good representation of Wisconsin craft beers. Try one by Capital Brewery (Middleton, WI) or New Glarus (New Glarus, WI) for a taste of something local.
The Sett is also a fun spot to hang out — there’s plenty of seating (booths, tables, high tops) and lots to watch. You can watch people climb up a rock wall, play some pool, and listen to live bands, depending on the time of day. There’s more pool, the entrance to the rock wall, and bowling lanes downstairs for the adventurous/​active set.
When it’s nice outside, take your burger and beer to one of the tables just outside The Sett — it’s a nice way to enjoy the outdoor side of Union South and a great way to people watch! One of my favorite places to pass the time in Madison.

5 stars for the burgers… yum! The place is hidden in the new Union South on Dayton. Along with The Sett, comes other restaurants, including Bacock ice cream (another yum!)
But — I’ve only ever tried the burgers and fries, so I can’t have say on the other menu items. But the burgers are definitely not frozen, you can tell they make them themselves. Atmosphere is great — quiet and cozy — cabin-​type setting with big booths and a fire place. However, this is a bar, and haven’t been in past lunchtime, so I imagine it can get quite loud — considering it’s downtown in the University. Great price too for the quality of food you get — and it will fill you up.
I’ll definitely be back!