Laurel Supper Club

Nine in my group for Wednesday night dinner and one carryout dinner. They added the tip to our check. That always upsets my husband who is a generous tipper.
Hubby had the beef vegetable soup, salad, pork chops, and au gratin potatoes ($ 21.99). Mine was the to go order because I was home sick — beef vegetable soup, salad with French, and Pasta Alfredo with Shrimp ($ 23.99).
The popovers were terrific, unfortunately, best part of the meal. Sadly, the cinnamon butter smelled rank. The soup was extremely, overly salty and there was literally one-​half cup of soup in a tiny container within my order. The salads were crisp and fresh. The French dressing was homemade, had separated into the consistency of chili sauce with oil on the side. It mostly tasted like ketchup. The pork chops were «okay» but not worth the price. The au gratin potatoes were not good and one of our friends who also had them didn’t like them either. The Alfredo sauce was bland but with lots of garlic. When I got my meal, I had to doctor it up with cream, Parmesan and Romano, and plenty of salt and pepper because there was no sauce The shrimp was overcooked and bland, not great shrimp.
The décor is still old and tired. When we were last there two years ago, the tschotkes on the high shelf were covered in filth. I was concerned about the prospect of this visit. We won’t be back. We used to love this place. :-(

The food here is very good. I have the chicken alfredo pasta dinner it was a huge portion and very good. They give you a popover warm fresh out of the oven right when you sit down. You get soup and salad before your meal which was pretty awesome. All the food is fresh and homemade I would recommend this restaurant to anyone who wants fine dining.

Pretty disappointing. Took the wife out for her birthday dinner. We both ordered the nightly house special Ribeye dinner. Both of our steaks were cuts not worthy of a supper club, but more what you would expect at a truck stop. It will be a long time before we return.

One of the best places I’ve ever eaten. The décor sucks but with food that good who cares.

Inconsistent food quality and service.
We’ve been here when the popovers are steaming hot, the soup is excellent, the service is very good and the food is amazing.
Unfortunately on our LAST visit the waiter was rude, unprofessional, and acted just plain stupid, while the food was cold, looked old and different from before, the popovers were cold and rubbery, and the soup tasted like it came from the grease trap.
My subpar evening started with being handed the menu. There was a brown mark on it and it was falling apart. I was surprised. Why would the waiter hand me a crappy, broken, stained menu? The brown mark looked an awful lot like a cigarette burn.
When first we ordered we asked for two servings of wings among other appetizers. They’re right off the menu. The waiter, a tired, older, balding, snooty looking weasel of a man, pointed out to me that we were already getting a lot of food with dinner, in an effort to discourage us, I suppose, from ordering so much food. When they arrived they were unseasoned unbattered fried and tasteless wings. I’ve never even considered eating or preparing something so unappetizing for human consumption. When I pointed out to the waiter that these wings were different from our previous visits he said, «Well you ordered wings, not hot wings.» So he took them back to the kitchen, dumped hotsauce on top of them, then brought them back out. A blind chimp could have made them better. Still tasteless deep fried chicken (but not breaded), now with hotsauce. No, not good enough.
Next the house soup. It was beer and cheddar. About half of us upgraded to the onion soup which was pretty good. The beer and cheddar tasted like someone’s moldy old shoe. I normally eat just about anything. I couldn’t choke down one cup of this soup. What I did eat left me feeling nauseated. The waiter didn’t seem to care that nobody else at the table touched their soup.
Then there was the duck. Last time I had this duck it was cooked perfectly and the sauce was colorful and translucent while tasting amazing. This time the duck was overcooked and probably recycled. It was cold, rubbery, and the sauce was brown, opaque, and well… tasted like congealed grease with seasoning added. My wife is reminding me now, that mother’s steak, ordered medium-​well was burnt on the outside and bloody, not pink, but bloody on the inside, and served in a pool of blood. She sent it back to the kitchen (which I never do) and they brought it back just as bloody.
I also had potatoes-​au-​gratin. I took one bite and had to spit it out. Something had obviously turned. I smelled them and what I smelled was RANCID. It was rotten. I asked the waiter to smell my potatoes. He refused and he came on with an attitude. He didn’t appear to enjoy our patronage. It must be my fault that the potatoes smelled rotten. He said another customer had just commented on how much she enjoyed her potatoes. I asked if the regular cook was out sick and he insisted it was the regular cook in the kitchen now.
I used to come to this restaurant with the whole family. The bill was usually a couple of hundred dollars. When you spend this much money on a meal… Well consistent quality would have ensured my return, but being treated like a nuisance and fed swill. I will NOT be coming back, nor will I recommend the club to others, as I had done in the past.
We recently purchased a home a few miles from the supper club, we like to eat, and we earn a very good living. Hudson and Menomonie aren’t too far to drive for a good meal, since the supper club will be a Must-​Not-​Go from now on. What’s the saying? «It takes a lifetime to win a loyal customer and ONE bad experience to lose him.»

The best food ever! The décor is hideous but the food more than makes up for it! There is a plethora of food for a great price all cooked to perfection. The staff is very attentive and polite! Greatest place on Earth!!!

quintessential WI supper club

What a surprise! Everything that came to our table was DELICIOUS!!! Our server had uptown ability with a down-​home personality. The owner was a delight. I have to say it again — the food was amazing. Recommend the Ribeye and Shrimp Cocktail!

Oh man. Soooooo much food. Soooooo much amazing food!
This place is a traditional supper club. Those of us who remember going to supper clubs with our parents in the 70s, you will feel right at home. Yes, the décor is dated… on purpose I believe! It worked for me… brought me right back to being a kid. I even had a brandy Manhattan or two in honor of my dear departed father (it is Father’s Day after all). Hubs had gin and tonic. Drinks looked small but were amazingly tasty and potent.
The food… we ordered a small relish tray. Nothing small about it. Yummy radishes and carrots and green onions and celery plus dip, along with an amazing pâté and a ton of crackers. We didn’t finish it all… and our server happily boxed it up to go.
Then came the popovers. I would go there just for these. Huge fluffy ones with warm cinnamon butter. I was in heaven. Even ordered one to go.
Then came the soup course. Then came the salad. With wonderful warm bread and butter.
Was a little sad to find that, at 6:30 pm, the Father’s Day prime rib was sold out. But no worries. Hubs had the champagne chicken and I had ribeye (medium).
Then, I was too full to enjoy the ribeye I had ordered. I had two bites to discover it practically melted in my mouth. Took the rest home for lunch tomorrow. The ribeye was as big as the plate.
I have a new favorite restaurant! Don’t go here if you are in a hurry the courses take time. Make sure you are very hungry before you arrive… or you will be sorry.

I enjoyed the old supper club atmosphere, but the food was just OK and I did not think the value was there. $ 25 entrees should be better than this. The service was kinda slow too. We would not return.

My wife and I stopped in at the Laurel on a whim this past Friday night.
It was like walking back in time. The décor is a bit dated; however the food and the service more than made up for it. The bartender welcomed us immediately upon entry. She was nice and very accommodating, offering up a Wisconsin throwback, a old-​fashioned. Delicious. We split the king size prime rib, 26 ounces of buttery heaven. The popover with cinnamon butter before hand reminded me of a pastry my grandmother made over 20+ years ago. The prices are very reasonable. Nothing like eating out in the twin cities and the food overall was scrumptious. No need to dress either. We showed up in workout clothing and felt at home with the locals.

The Laurel is an institution a Real Wisconsin Supper Club. I have traveled extensively through out the Midwest and only Wisconsin has the Real Supper Clubs. After no less than 30 plus clubs in Wisconsin this is one of the best. Beef is the top shelf, walleye great. The fish and shrimp fry on Fridays, another big Wisconsin institution is a great value. I bring my family, freinds, and business associates from all over the area. All are impressed
The staff is the icing of the Club. To have professional staff, quick to serve and make your meal special is a treat you cherish. Try the ribs, my all time favorite is the tenderloin, no one does it better. I have been dining since our wedding dinner. The Club has gone through some owners but the last owner and current owner know that they have a special place and strive to maintain the high food quality and superior service. A totally great value of a top Supper Club.

What an incredible meal!
I was born and raised in the area. I have since moved away, but came back for a nice dinner with my wife. We were greeted by the wait staff and the service was impeccable. Once we finished a course, the next course was ready to go. There was a misunderstanding with the bill, however, staff more than made up for the mishap.
Great food, even better Customer Service.

This place is fantastic on so many levels.
We were lured here by the promise of the relish tray, and we were not disappointed. Great heaping quantities of chilled carrots, celery, radish, scallions pair well with gigantic bowls of pâté and dill dip. A long tray of crackers is also provided.
I could say that we ordered steak, and walleye, and both were good. But that would be telling only part of the story. Here’s the full version. You put in your entrée order, and all kinds of food starts pouring out of the kitchen. First, a hot, fresh baked popover served with cinnamon butter. Next a glass of tomato juice with a lemon wedge. (I could have chosen house-​made soup but come on, a supper club experience demands the TJ). Then, a warm loaf of bread with butter and salad topped with house made dressing (the parmesan peppercorn is recommended). Immediately following all of this, along came my steak. If you leave hungry here it’s your own fault.
A word about my steak. I ordered the 12 oz. top sirloin, and was served a generous cut – I’m guessing it was closer to 14 oz. The meat was very tender, but cooked a bit toward the rare end of my requested medium rare. Still, this didn’t keep me from eating every last bite.
Service is friendly and extremely squared away. There’s a full bar, cocktail menu and a wholly adequate wine list. The interior space is classic supper club – paneled walls, outdated décor and taxidermy on the walls. Atmosphere is quite casual – come as you are. I wouldn’t have it any other way. LOVE.

Oh my, where to begin? First the bar is fully stocked, and they can make any cocktail or drink you want. It’s always nice to have an apéritif before dinner.
I ordered a medium-​rare 12-​ounce filet mignon ($ 30.99). We also separately ordered their large classic relish and cracker platter ($ 8.99) that once was a standard first course of the dinner, but since not enough people were eating their veggies, we were told Laurel decided to make it a menu item. This large platter consisted of fresh cut carrots, celery, scallions, and radishes, with a delicious house-​made dill dip. On the side was a rack of assorted crackers to spread on their house-​made pâté, a deliciously earthy, garlicky, and herby meat spread.
Our first course was their legendary popover. Perfectly baked, it was a dark brown crackly-​crusted popover that was steaming-​hot, pillowy, and eggy inside. Served with an irresistible honey butter.
Next was a fresh-​from-​the-​oven ramekin of French Onion soup (+$ 2.50) with a molten, bubbling layer of cheese on it with soup-​soaked croutons swimming below. It was celebration of sodium, but what French Onion soup isn’t? It tasted great and it was super-​hot – exactly as the soup is supposed to be.
The third course was the dinner salad and mini-​loaf of fresh baked bread. The salad was simple, just fresh greens, tomatoes, cucumbers, and croutons. I’m not sure, but the French dressing might have been house-​made. It had almost a pureed salsa-​like consistency and flavor complexity made it exceptionally good. It was foiled by blue cheese dressing as my favorite combination on dinner salads.
At last, the steaks arrived on a large plate, bordered with sautéed mushrooms and onions (+$ 3.95). The steak was perfectly seared, ridiculously tender, and perfectly cooked. It was beautiful and cut easily with a butter knife. Oh, and I barely ate three bites of the au gratin potatoes that I had on the side. They are cheesy and good, but I wasn’t going to waste any time or stomach real estate when I have 12 ounces of amazing beef before me. Survival, you know.
My only suggestion to the Laurel are just little refinements that could make an excellent experience a stellar experience, and they’re coming from a snobby city slicker (me). If they are going to make their own salad dressings, honey butter, and other condiments and spreads, they should use ceramic or metal condiment vessels and dishes instead of disposable plastic cups. The silverware should also be nicer, I remember my fork seemed a little flimsy to be eating a steak with. It was a steel fork, of course, but it’s a mass-​produced one you might find in a cafeteria rather than a nice restaurant. Cloth napkins always trump paper napkins but that is an almost-​not-​worth-​mentioning quibble.
Come to the Laurel with a SERIOUS appetite and a love for an amazing steak dinner and cocktails, because this place is top notch and frankly, quite reasonable. The father of a friend of mine called this place «death by food» and he’s not joking. Next time I’ll opt for an 8 ounce filet instead, and go for the small relish tray. I can’t wait to come back, this place is special.

Quintessential Wisconsin Supper Club. While the décor might be dated and the dinner guests look pretty casual, don’t be fooled!
Order the prime rib, steak, or lobster for a very happy belly. You get lots of sides — salads, soups, popovers with cinnamon butter, and potatoes cooked to your liking. You will stumble out in a food coma if you finish your plate!
If you really want to throwback, order the relish tray and get Tomato Juice in place of your soup (I told you this place is classic super club!). Also, the Friday night fish fry is seriously one of the best around!

Food is ok, it has really gone downhill since the new owners took over. The bartender who is also the owner is rude to her staff. My party and I sat at the bar and watched her yell at her staff just because they wanted their drinks to take to their table. The owner is has a poor personality for being a bartender and talked too much about herself. I eat at the laurel at least 6 times a year and have always had great service, it’s too bad to see they are not treated very well.

Nice old style supper club. Great pop overs.

Going tonight, what to have? Prime? Shrimp? Steak for two with hub?
Old news but all of Wisconsin is smoke free. So delete all that on my old review and it’s updated to five stars.

Mostly loved The Laurel. Popover was tasty and larger than expected. Beef soup was delicious. Dinner salad could have been better (I was presented with the stem from the lettuce head on my plate which is inexcusable — but I got over it). Blue cheese dressing… Yum! Fresh bread that arrived with the salads was warm and tasty although the butter was hard as a rock directly from the fridge. (why do restaurants not have room temp butter for the bread)? The sirloin steak I ordered medium arrived closer to medium-​well than medium but other than being less tender than most sirloins are, still managed to be completely devoured. No room for dessert. This review is harsh, but I still love The Laurel Supper Club. This was my first visit and there will be many more to come. A cozy dining experience on a cold winters eve.