The Tipsy Cow

Our experience to the Tipsy Cow was reason enough not to go back. We were seated behind the main door, next to the bar and bathroom. This shouldn’t even be a seat. Too cramped and we kept getting bumped into. The bathroom door doesn’t close softly — extremely loud. Just a really uncomfortable spot removed from the rest of the seats inside and outside. Our waitress was not kind or polite. We ordered. She forgot our order of fries. When our burgers came she put onions on the burger when I asked for none. We felt like she wasn’t even listening to us or interested in her role at all. The cheese curds were decent, but the rest of the food was soggy in grease and was not appetizing.

We ate dinner here last night after curds and drinks at The Old Fashioned (see prior review). It was my first time eating at Tipsy and I wanted to try the fish (cod) after the rave reviews on Unilocal.My girlfriend had a beer and I had a mojito. My mojito was lacking sugar… it was heavy on soda taste. My fish was a mahogany color and delicious but my coleslaw was not as creamy as I like and it was pink. Don’t get me wrong… I’m all for breast cancer awareness… but the pink slaw threw me. One of Marcia’s pieces of fish, about half of it, was like rubber. She was wondering what was wrong with it so I said give it here… I honestly couldn’t bite through it! I liked this restaurant but if we go back Marcia said she will not order the fish again… that means we will never eat here on a Friday since that’s her fish day.
As a side note (don’t judge me) I ordered carry out –the taco carnitas platter– for breakfast today. It was yummy as was Marcia’s other piece of fish at 10:30 last night. *wink* haha good eating everyone!

I have been here twice and am still very impressed by this place. The menu has a great variety and everything I’ve tried is very tasty. Some of the best cheese curds around. I’ve also heard great things about the Korean fries. They have both indoor and outdoor seating which is a plus and the prices are reasonable.
My only complaint is the service. Both times they have been very sub-​par. When it’s 80 degrees and I’m sitting outside, I should not have to ask for a refill on water, especially when the server has been out to us once or twice already. Very slow, very unhelpful, and overall awkward service. Maybe she was new?
Despite that, I will definitely be back.

Food was good. Waitress was maybe busy? She wasn’t around our table much. One of the kids ordered a grilled cheese with bacon, but the bacon was missing. Everyone else was pretty happy with their food. Normally we have a really good experience here, but tonight was definitely off. I can’t even compose a proper review, so I’ll just stop here.

Mostly the experience ruined this place for us. Got seated just inside on the left next to the women’s bathroom door. The door SLAMMED constantly through the entire meal. This area is also right next to the bar where the bartenders are clanking glasses and doing dishes. Had a raging headache by the time I left. As for the food, I’d give it a ³⁄₅. Cheese curds 5/​5, terrific! Bacon/​avocado burger was good, but bacon tasted like pre cooked Oscar Meyer bacon and the fries resembled the deep-​fried, belly burners I used to get at the Iowa state fair. Probably won’t go back.

Interesting menu and always a good atmosphere with plenty of energy. You may experience some confusion at the hostess stand which is no big deal if you expect it. Good beer list while you wait and the ala carte sandwiches are good.

I really want to like this place more but with so many good burger/​sandwich/​beer options in the area it’s hard. Service is spotty-​some times it’s great, sometimes the bartenders treat you as though they are doing you a favor by pouring you a beer.

Yum! Service was phenomenal.
We got the salmon grilled cheese special, which was delicious.
They didn’t have the portobello sandwich, but we’ll come back later to try that. I got the roasted veggie salad instead, which was much nicer than most places.
Overall, really yummy! Sandwiches were slightly greasy, but it was nice!

Everything too greasy.
We had Tipsy Burger, «Portobello» Mushroom burger (which came as regular mushrooms) and onion rings and all were swimming I’m grease, just not appetising. I also posted a photo of the pool of fat left in the dish even from the mushroom burger.

Addicted to their apps! (Appdicted???)
I love munching on their alligator bites and truffle fries *drool*…and the best part is that you can do full or half orders to mix and match. Their outside seating is the perfect chill spot to grab a drink with friends and enjoy the limited nice days in WI.

Love love Truffle Fries! I can’t enough of them.
Drinks are great, food is great, friendly servers.

A great place to get American fried food and craft beer.
I like Tipsy Cow for 3 reasons:
1) They may not have the most incredible, knock your socks off food in the world, but their menu is so fun. They have so many different burgers, sandwiches, and fries. Just a great variety of bar food that gets interesting with influence from all over the world.
2) Their grilled cheese is probably my favorite grilled cheese ever. It’s brutally cheesy. I swear theres more cheese than bread on that monster. I think they said they use six different cheeses. That thing will just drip cheese down your arm like a juicy peach (except cheese instead of peach juice).
3) Tipsy Cow always has a solid beer selection with one or two standouts. This weekend, they had Waldo’s Special Ale by Lagunitas which had sold out at Trixie’s Liquor in one day. This isn’t a beer review, but it’s a good beer if you ever see it around.

COST:
$ 3 (Jamison Shot)
$ 5 – 10 (Variety of beer)
I was going to say it was pretty non descript but with the name like that, fancy neon light and how it’s dead smack in one of the Capitol Square’s corner, it hits you in the face and for good reason.
Pretty nice bar, obviously poppin on a Friday night. I didn’t get to try their food but for the service and the décor, they get four stars.

The Good: Ate at Tipsy Cow with some out of town guests. We were all very happy with our meal. I ordered a salad to balance the cheese curds-​the meal was delicious and the service was efficient.
The Not So Good: Unfortunately, we had a very long wait for our table. This would not have been the end of the world but there was nowhere really to stand and wait. I alternated between being shoved around for a bit and standing by the cold door.
Highlight: The regular cheese curds. The best I have had in Madison!

«The Tipsy Burger” – tastiest burger in Town.
The only burger that ever made me pause to take the Lord’s name in vain and exclaim, «God %#@, that’s a fine burger!»
Since then – over 7 years ago – I have been on a fruitless (but fun) quest to find one I like better. I’ve had them in bowling alleys, bars (ie, Oakcrest, Blue Moon), chains (Five Guys, Fuddruckers, etc), and higher end (ie, Graze). None have dethroned The TB. My quest continues. Suggestions?
Ps – along with a Tipsy Burger, I strongly recommend a side order of their truffle fries and housemade pickles.
Pps – 2^nd place so far? The brat/​burger at Country Corners Bar out past Yahara Golf Course. Greasy guilty burger brat heaven with hot salty fries (and fermented malt beverages on tap!) in a friendly spacious and accessible country bar.

Such a cute place. I love that there’s outdoor seating and the adorable cow décor. I tried their fries, aioli sauce, and tipsy burger, which was delish!
They also have a sizeable beer selection which was really great. I read on Unilocal that the tipsy cows Bloody Mary was to die for, but when I tried it it seemed to be a generic bloody mix (but you get a spotted cow chaser!)
It was really nice to sit at the bar, read some stuff, and chat with other people at the bar. A lot of the patrons there are very friendly.
Overall, this is a great casual place to get a burger and fries (although the fries don’t come w the burger which is a bummer) and some beer during the summer and spring time.

We tried The Tipsy Cow for lunch. It’s a small place and the tables are pretty tightly put together. My knees were constantly hitting the chair near me and it was tight getting in and out. It’s also very crowded. There was a line most of the time we were there.
The other slightly downside was that while I was at first impressed with the prices or the burgers and sandwiches, I was much less impressed when I realized that didn’t include fries or chips. However, I was impressed with their appetizer and sides offerings.
I ended up ordering the Tipsy Burger and the cheese curds and I was very pleased. The burger is messy but delicious with two patties, bacon, and a «tipsy» sauce. I devoured it. The cheese curds were light and crispy tempura batter with gooey cheesy insides. Some of the best cheese curds I’ve had.
I’m looking forward to going back and trying more!

Lots of artery clogging food (which can be a good thing or a bad thing depending on how you’re feeling that day) and beer!
In my experience, the food is good but not remarkable, and centered on fried stuff (cheese curds, fries) and burgers. One thing to keep in mind when looking at prices is that the sandwiches don’t include sides. Daily food and drink specials are also listed on the menu.
The ambiance includes 2 separate areas – an area that is all tables and another area which is more bar-​like with seating at hte bar and some high tops.
My most recent visit was marred by a curdled drink. A friend ordered a Bailey’s with coffee. Three of us tasted the drink and it was clearly off, perhaps curdled or otherwise spoiled. For about 15 or so minutes we desperately tried to catch the eye of our server but failed. Friend returned drink to the bar and they re-​made it and it was fine.
In short, Tipsy Cow works but I don’t feel a pressing need to go out of my way to return.

If I could put my review in a single sentence, I would have to say Tipsy Cow is good, but with reservations. Even at 1 pm in the middle of the week, TC was hopping. There is a strong smell of truffle oil in the air, so if you are not crazy about the pungent smell of truffle oil, you best avoid this place. Since I love truffle oil and use it in my own cooking, I was not put off by this. Most of the crowd at that time of day were co-​workers having a late lunch out.
Tipsy has a bunch of daily specials that don’t appear on the regular menu. I was intrigued by the chicken sandwich marinated in Moroccan spices. The sandwich was great, but it was very messy to eat with two hands. I must have run through about five napkins to wipe the sauce off my fingers. in hindsight, I should have given up and handled it with a knife and fork. Going back to the office lunch out folks, if the sandwich is that messy and sloppy, do you really want to eat it in front of your supervisor?
I didn’t miss out on ordering a half order of truffle fries, which came with a mild mayo dipping sauce. Good thing I only ordered the half, as it was more than enough and I ended up taking most of my fries home with me.
Tipsy Cow has a great tap beer menu sketched out on the chalk board in each of the ‘rooms’ that make up the restaurant. Again, this is a place where you go with your office or get a beer or two at the bar by yourself.
One thing: If your good friends have told you or you yourself have discovered that you have a voice that can really carry in a small space, you may wish to tone it down, least you talk about something personal where every single word can be heard two or three tables away. Tipsy Cow was by no means quiet on the day I was there, but one person unwittingly made sure that everyone could hear every bit of her side of the conversation she was having.
The only door for entering and exiting is where the smokers like to congregate for a smoke and a chat. If you are sensitive to smoke, you might want to keep that in mind.

Tipsy Cow is frequent choice of mine for delicious food and great beer. The Korean beef fries and juicy burgers will not disappoint! The beer selection varies, but there’s always a few IPAs to choose from which is always a plus. The salmon grilled cheese is often on special and I cannot get enough of it.
Last night we received text alerts for a table, which I believe is newer and quite helpful. We were quickly offered a table by the restrooms, but opted to sit at the bar instead.
The wait staff is not always on their game, but they also seem to change quite a bit so it’s often newer employees. The bartenders are attentive and friendly, and we’ve noticed the food tends to come faster. Last night we received a few tastes of new drafts which is always a plus. Unfortunately their specific brew «Fugly Duckling» was a little too pungent for us — but to each their own.
While the wait staff performance depends on the day and time, we’ve never had too much trouble. If you’re happy to sit at the bar, it’s my favorite part of the restaurant by far. And the food cannot be beat.