The Coliseum Bar & Banquet, Madison, Wisconsin Restaurant Details

Food:

Good place to go before and after Badger games since they have a free shuttle. Good bar food and a decent beer selection.

Food:

Desperate for lunch after my first couple dining options failed to pan out, the Coliseum Bar, with its less than stellar 3 star rating, took advantage of my weakened state to lure me in. As I entered the parking lot, I was oblivious to the fact that some 75,000 very hungry dairy enthusiasts were converging on the nearby Expo Center for the start of the World Dairy Expo. I suddenly became aware of that key fact as I stepped into a restaurant in the throes of utter chaos, teaming with the aforementioned hungry dairy enthusiasts. Instead of having a host manage the near capacity crowd, management felt it wise to have a sign by the entrance informing the throng of patrons to seat themselves. I found an open table where I sat for almost twenty minutes before desperately flagging down a server to get a menu. I quickly ordered the first item that caught my eye, a Reuben sandwich and a side of tater tots. Before my server vanished to parts unknown, he indicated it would be a thirty minute wait for my sandwich because the kitchen was backed up. Oy, that woulda been nice to know twenty minutes ago...

While waiting for a server to appear, I had plenty of time to survey my rather sterile surroundings. The interior of the Coliseum Bar is your basic no frills Wisconsin sports bar with an armada of flat screens, dark wood paneling, tile floors and generic furnishings. With all the hard surfaces, the noise level could kindly be described as a dull roar when the restaurant was at near capacity.

After 10 minutes, my food arrived. It was your classic good news / bad news proposition. The good news was my food arrived 20 minutes early, the bad news was that my food arrived. (rim shot)

Let's start with the tater tots, which spend too little time in the fryer on their journey from the freezer bag to my plate. The exterior had not crunch and the interior was mushy, almost like mashed potatoes.

The Reuben sandwich was not better, just an assembly of institutional grade ingredients with little manipulation by the kitchen. The bread, a light rye, with a heavy dose of caraway, spent a minimal time on the grill. While the cook was generous with the thinly sliced corned beef, it failed to bring an abundance of flavor to the equation. The slightly dry sandwich could have benefited from 1,000 Island dressing which was missing in action. If you are looking for a volume play, the Coliseum version of this sandwich will fit the bill, but there are many better tasting options available in town for you Reuben aficionados out there.

Excluding the delay in delivering a menu and completely whiffing on the estimate of when my food would be delivered, my harried server did an acceptable job. As the crush of lunchtime patrons subsided, he even showed some signs of personality. But all in all, the service this day was only marginally better than the sub-par fare.

If you're looking for prototypical Wisconsin bar and grill fare, the Coliseum Bar will fit that criteria. However, if you seek elevated pub grub, I'd recommend places like Dexter's, the Tip Top or Baldwin Street Grill before the Coliseum.

Food:

Awesome bartenders, strong drinks, great burgers. Will be back!!

Food:

In town for the world dairy expo, nice bar, good atmosphere...condescending and snotty service from the two male bartenders.
Asked if they had clamato - nope (which was fine)
Asked for a bloody Mary and asked to get it spicy.
"It's a mix..." *insert eye roll and huff*-bartender
Okay so no getting it spicier.
I'll have a beer.

Come back to order more drinks, process repeats itself with same pretentious tone *multiple times until I finally asked for the check. I left a 25% tip because I know ppl have off days but I will never be back here.
You don't like your job, then quit.

Food:

This place is great, they are always willing to help out when a local charity needs something. The food and service here are great. I have never had a problem with anyone being rude at all. It is a fun bar that really caters to area sports fans! I would recommend stopping in!