Stopped in the Saturday of 4th of July weekend after a tour at Minhaus Brewery. The place was packed. We were told we'd only have a fifteen minute wait, but we ended up getting seated at the community table within a couple of minutes.
Despite the foot traffic, our server was quick to come to our aid with water & take our drink orders. When he returned, he spent a few minutes going over his favorite menu items with us (per our request) & didn't put a fuss which was admirable considering how many tables he was waiting on.
Our table of three ordered a small cheese plate to start. The cheese slice are thick, small squares. We got an assortment of 12 cheese pieces (3 each of swiss, cheddar & another one that I'm forgetting) plus four slices of salami. It was certainly enough to tide us over until our meal arrived a couple of minutes later.
I ordered a swiss cheese sandwich & a bowl of the chili w/ all the fixings. Again the cheese was cut SUPER thick. It overpowered the sandwich a bit, but I didn't mind because I looove cheese :) Â The rye bread was super soft & delicious. The chili was a highlight; not too spicy & very tender. Despite the fact it was 85 & humid outside, the chili was a perfect lunchtime treat!
My only regret? Not buying their homemade mustard sauce. It's available for sale & I thought about buying it but changed my mind at the last minute. Now I wish I'd picked up a bottle. It's super addicting & so perfect on top of cheese appetizers!
Hopefully I can make a trip back to Baumgartner's when I'm in the Madison area this fall.
Disclaimer: I heart cheese.
After taking a tour of the local brewery, we decided that we should take a trek to a local cheese and sandwich shop. The locals admittedly said it was touristy, but also said that they personally enjoy their treats. I wanted cheese, meat, more cheese, and maybe a beer. We ordered a cheese and salami plate, I ordered the corned beef on their signature rye, and a bowl if their "2nd best chili" (because mom's is best they say). This stuff was great, EXACTLY what I was expecting. I knew it would be a meaty/cheese filled cold cut with a simple chili side. With that in mind, it was all done to perfection.
The atmosphere is fun, community tables encouraged- we had done great dining partners!
Baumgartner's is great. I don't know much about Wisconsin, or if places like this are common around the state, but I can tell you that I've never been to anywhere like this before. First off, this is where a cheese sandwich is truly a cheese sandwich. Slice of cheese, two slices of bread. Not toasted, nothing else added. They have some sauces on the table, and I highly recommend all three - spicy brown mustard, horseradish mayo, and a sweet and spicy sauce - but I'd say use them sparingly and switch them up for each bite.
The sandwiches are served on a plain-ish rye (no caraway seeds or marbling or anything) that's soft and mild. The basic choices are brick (a local cheese that I'd never heard of), Swiss, or cheddar. They also have limburger and onion....maybe next time.
I got the cheddar and hard salami sandwich. Very highly recommended. I love that they're served on a tiny piece of paper too.
I also started with a cup of chili, which, while very good, probably isn't in the top 2, or even 5 that I've ever had. I washed it all down with a few of their local brews. All the beers were from around the area, and all were very good.
Our server was super helpful in recommending beers and other menu items. We also walked out with a 5 year cheddar (amazing), some Landjaeger beef jerky, and a jar of that spicy sweet mustard.
Can't wait to go back!
I come here every time I visit my dad and I love the atmosphere of this place. Very kicked back and an excellent place to pop in when the weather is frigid outside for cheese, beer, brats, and chili.
The beer is a really great bottled selection from local breweries and the servers will be happy to explain each one. Really, you are in Wisconsin, so you just can't go wrong with beer!
They also have a great selection of cheese and you can order a cheese sandwich or get some to go.
During the summer, they also have a few tables outside to take in the view of the pretty little town of Monroe.
The wife and I took some out-of-town friends to Baumgartner's Cheese Store, and we were all really happy with the experience! Baumgartner's offers a great selection of cheese sandwiches that taste amazing, though they aren't big. That's OK, though, because they're reasonably-priced, so you can order 2 or 3 sandwiches and still spend a normal amount of money on lunch.
Review Source:I'm in LOVE with Baumgartner's and I really wish we had something as awesome as this in Chicago. I'm actually kinda glad that this particular establishment is not in Chicago though because honestly, we'd ruin a  place like this.
We popped in here on the Saturday after Thanksgiving and it was slammed...and rightfully so. The food is delicious. The prices are right. The staff is awesome. The beer is great. This place is fun!
The food is delicious: YES! I had a bowl of 2nd best chili and I kinda thought it was the 1st best chili. Don't sell yourself short, Baumgartner's...it's fantastic! My guy had a  brat, and I'm not a brat girl but I tried it anyways...Holy moly it was perfect! We also ended up getting a cheese platter (swiss, cheddar, brick, salami, and crackers) and it was huge. The sauces that accompany the cheese platter are to die for. I'm a huge fan of the spicy sweet.
The prices are right: For proof, check out the menu <a href="/redir?url=https%3A%2F%2Fbaumgartnercheese.com%2Fmenu&s=286e783ee45b8ea72b28114601ecb2b3a1f1e4cad25471a0a99315f24b08df63" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">https://baumgartnerchees…</a>  I think there are a couple things that are not on the menu that you can order. If I remember correctly, two of the wonderful people that we were there with ordered tuna sandwiches.
The staff is awesome: Our tatted up server was super quick, super friendly, and pretty damn humorous. She's also got quite the arm when it comes to throwing money up at the ceiling with tacks.
The beer is great: They server locally brewed beer... Spotted Cow!
This place is fun: The have a whole buncha board games for people to play while they're eating. They throw money up to the ceiling (for a local charity, if I heard correctly).
I'll come back every single time I'm visiting the area.
Baumgartner's isn't fancy, but it's well worth the visit. Â It's a cheese shop with a bar and lots of Swiss decorations and trivia. Â The menu is limited, mainly sandwiches and soup/chili. Â I highly recommend the chili. Â They call it the 'second best' chili. Â Why? Â Because Mom's (your mom's) is the best. Â Prices are very reasonable and service is prompt and courteous.
If you want to be adventurous, try the Limburger cheese and onion sandwich!!!
This place is a trip! Â The first thing you'll notice when you walk in is the menu. Â There are probably a dozen items on it, a large majority of which are cheese sandwiches. Â That is, bread, cheese, more bread. Â I had a Braunschweiger sandwich with brick cheese and onions, and even that was a stretch. Â I felt like I was being one of those picky diners who changes the menu on everything they order, but that wasn't the fault of the staff, who were extremely welcoming. Â A meal here feels like sitting in your quirky grandpa's basement, from the stack of board games (there were more board games than menu options) to the scads of dollar bills stuck to the ceiling (I won't tell you too much about that, as it's worth experiencing on your own). Â I'd call this a must-see in Monroe, WI.
Review Source:You HAVE to make a stop here if you're in Monroe and you've never been. We stopped here after having one too many free beer samples at Minhas brewery (just a block away) looking for cheese and beer.
Cheese sandwiches are just what you'd expect, thick slices of excellent cheese between untoasted sliced bread served on paper (not plates.) Since Monroe is the only place that still makes Limburger cheese, you'll also have to try one of those sandwiches or it doesn't count. They taste better than they smell.
Beer list is respectacle for small midwestern town located one block from a brewery. They carry most of the local microbrews/standards from the area.
*Extremely* helpful and nice staff, even though the place was busy. Ask for the history of the beer/wine mural and they'll hand you a laminated history with hidden objects you may have missed.
We stopped in on a family food and spectacle road trip through Wisconsin. We chose it because we noticed that there were a bunch of elderly gents in overalls/flannels milling about in front, which is the hallmark of good food in a small town. The menu is short but sweet, servers were quick and friendly and they made my beloved mother a sammich on gluten free bread she brought in without even batting an eye. I had a liverwurst sandwich, which was fantastic. They have a great little deli with nice local cheese and some other treats that was very well priced.
Please go here if you find yourself in town- this is a restaurant with true Wisconsin character and its important that places like this fight on through the homogenization of small town America. Viva Liverwurst!
Old school deli and tavern. Â Went for lunch after the Minhas tour. Â We had reuben sandwiches and beer for lunch. Â Â We did not summon the nerve to try the limburger sandwich. Â Next time, I would try the braunschweiger on rye, that looked awesome..... They do have a good selection of beers on tap, we had a German hefeweizen (Paulaner?) Â Â and they have some local beers like New Glarus Spotted Cow.... Â
I don't know if they have a beer sampler? Â That would be good for us beer tourists.....
Five stars just for the mural over the bar depicting the battle between beer and wine. Five stars for the mural in the women's restroom showing beer catapulting hunks of Limburger cheese at the wine. Five stars for a great bar atmosphere, even to a non bar aficionado. Five stars for a great Limburger cheese and onion sammie, complete with complementary wafer thin mint.
If you're in Monroe, you gotta go.
This place is really cool. When you walk into the store, you'll be greeted with centuries-old Swiss charm. Throughout the store, you'll find many optical jokes and other foolishness. The sandwiches that they give you can barely be called sandwiches - they just give you a slice of cheese in between two slices of bread. At least they give you sweet and spicy mustard, though. :)
Review Source:I'm a "local" and make a point to come to town and hit Baumgartner's at least a few times a year. Â It's such an original and local institution. Â The bar has incredible ambiance, a wonderful selection from our local cheese factories, and really friendly staff. Â The menu is local pub fare with a nice selection of local brews. Â The place can get crazy busy during games and town festivals but, it's always a good time. Â Family friendly for lunch and dinner - this should be on your "must visit" list any time you are in Green County!
Review Source:I LOVE Baumgartners. Whenever I'm back home I insist we make the 30 mile trek for the awesome food and atmosphere. I love the decorations on the inside, especially the giant map of the counties in Wisconsin. But obviously, the best part is the cheese!!! The cheese is so good. I prefer the brick cheese as I don't like sharp cheeses, but the rest of my family is obsessed with the sharp sharp cheddar cheese they have. My only critique of the restaurant is there is no fryer, and i love my french fries!!! Â
Baumgartners is a great place to come and hang out for several hours with friends and family. There are huge TVs which always have sports playing on them, and there is a whole shelf full of board games. I highly recommend this place!
Do you like cheese? Â Do you like joints with tons of well-aged charm? Â Do you like one-of-a-kind places? Â If you do, then you'll love Baumgartner's. Â
Oh, did I mention that they have lots of cheese and cheesy things there?
The place was packed when I arrived there on a Saturday afternoon, but there was an open seat at the bar. Â So I settled in an grab a bite for lunch.
Upon looking at the menu, I saw that they had lots of cheese-related items, including cheese sandwiches which many of the other patrons were enjoying.
I went with the Brat since I was told it was the best in Wisconsin. Â It did not come with cheese on it which was fine with me, but there was a hunk of cheese on the side. Â
Oh, and I could have ordered cheese with the meal also. Â Did I mention yet about the cheese?
The Brat was OK, I think that the Brat Stop is better, but the Brat Stop does not give you a hunk of CHEESE with your brat, so I had that going for me at Baumgartner's.
Everyone was friendly and the food came out quickly. Â The guy sitting next to me suggested the cheese sandwich for lunch, but since I had already ordered a Brat, I declined. Â
Did I mention that the cheese selection was outstanding?
When you're done with your meal, you can stop on the way out to further harden your arteries with some truly excellent cheese from the cheese shop at the front of the store. Â
Would I go back? Â Absolutely. Â You should stop by too.
Oh, and don't forget that they have lots of cheese there.
This might be my favorite place in Wisconsin.
If you are looking for some cheese with your fun than this is your place. During a recent visit I experienced the best bloody Mary I have ever had, along with a delicious corned beef sandwich (yes, it was St. Patty's weekend), with bread so fresh it stuck to my teeth.
The staff is funny and the owner even recognized me from five (yes, five) years ago- is that a good or bad thing?! Â There are fabulous murals of wine vs. beer and the signs behind the bar are priceless (my personal favorite reads: Unattended children will be given a shot and a free puppy).
Tip: Be sure to donate a dollar (or more) and they'll throw it and tack it to the ceiling; all the money after a year is donated to local charities.
Ok, what the heck is with the cheese sandwiches? I didn't get the Limburger cheese on the sandwich because I was afraid, but from the other reviews maybe I should have.
I heard about the cheese sandwich in a travel book and stopped here on the way to New Glarus. Thinking great imaginations of a lovely cheese sandwich in my mouth I ordered the sandwich with brick cheese and added soft salami while my friend ordered the hard salami. I was taken completely by surprise by the two hunks of cheese and salami thrown into a couple of rye bread slices and tossed on a paper plate. I guess I imagined it grilled or something and had to smother the sandwich in mustard to slide it down my gullet.
So, disappointed in the food but the got some great cheese from the gift area.
(Back in January, I set out on a road trip from the Twin Cities to Toledo, Ohio. I decided to make it a culinary trip, visiting six restaurants between St. Paul and Chicago. I tweeted reviews at the time in 140 characters or less, but here is a more extensive review)
"Limburger cheese and onion sandwich. Smells. A lot. Tolerable. Paired well with brown mustard. Creamy, complex flavor. 3/5"
After 3 stops along the main I90/94 corridor, I take the beaten path to Monroe. The foodie in me is curious about a peculiar type of cheese here ... the infamous Limburger. And this was the place to get a whiff of it.
In case you don't know, Lumburger has been compared to well ... smelly feet. The smell is so strong that it has been used to attract mosquitos carrying malaria in Africa, with some success. But I like a challenge, and a limburger sandwich was up my alley.
So what does a limburger sandwich consist of? Two slices of rye, a thick slice of limburger, and a thick slice of raw onion. The server recommended I pair it with their brown mustard, which was a good call. The mustard was great, and complemented the creaminess of the cheese and the crunchiness of the onion. Gosh I don't want to know what my breath was like afterwards.
I nearly finished it, but the smell was too strong in the end. I probably got through 3/4 of it. A surprising find here though was the super good chili they served. Also as a cheese store, I had some of the best aged cheddar anywhere. It was a 5 year aged cheddar that had good flavor, still creamy instead of crumbly. I parted the store with a 1/2 lb block for $5. Not bad.
No, I did not part with limburger cheese. As much as I appreciated the complex flavor, I can't get past the smell. Who knows, maybe a plate of limburger cheese paired with the durian fruit served with Taiwanese stinky tofu will be popular someday. At least I can say I've tried all the above...
This place is great. Â It was my first time in Monroe and I was on a mission to find Limburger cheese. Â Limburger is only produced at one factory in the whole of the US and that factory is near Monroe. Â
The interior is really beautiful and the service was quick, nice, and too the point. Â Not too much schmoozing to get a big tip. Â Plus, the prices and the beer selection can't be beat! Â
They made me a custom Limburger sandwich and I'm still kicking myself that I didn't bring home ten pounds of the stuff. Â
If you're driving through WI take the time and stop at Baumgartner's. Â You won't be disappointed.
Great pit stop when driving through southern WI.
We had the cheese plate and two 8oz beers from the local breweries. Dollar fifty a piece. NICE. Not bad, though nothing to write home about.
Great Swedish facade in front, similar to other stores in the rest of the Monroe Square, surrounding the picture-perfect courthouse. The interior is open, with high ceilings covered in dollar bills. ??? Murals and cover the space on the wall that is not covered in memorabilia. Obviously they are very proud of their heritage and their cheese.
Nice, and knowledgeable staff. Our waiter, John, gave a few travel tips, places to avoid/visit.
If you are ever in Monroe, make it a point to visit. I hear they have fantastic cheese sandwiches.
Ya! This place is GQ (Great Quality). The beer taste good, the price is right and the 'Chili is off the hook'. I wish the hot food area did not close so early. Â Around 8pm? But thank you Baumgartner, I enjoyed my stay, I especially liked all your funny signs you had plastered around the bar area.
Review Source:This place is awesome. Â
+ Â Cheap good LOCAL beer (I think $3.25 or less per pint)
+ Â Cheese shop
+ Â Two of the coolest and friendliest bartenders on earth
+ Â $3 sandwiches (cheese, salami, etc)
+ Â 2nd-best chili in Monroe
+ Â Various humorous signs
+ Â A huge hand-painted mural depicting a battle of wine vs beer
+ Â Wooden coats of arms of all the Swiss cantons
+ Â Wooden signs with factoids for all the Swiss cantons
+ Â Massive, magnificent deer head on the far wall
+ Â Right on the square in downtown Monroe
The only detractions are the cigarette smoke and the fact that after 8pm they serve only cheese sandwiches and chili.
If you walk in and get the impression that everybody here knows each other, don't worry--soon you'll know them too.
Baumgartner's is one of the best things about Monroe. Â It's a little unassuming cheese store and bar on the courthouse square - the kind of place where locals take visitors, probably because they were heading there anyway. Â There's a hit-or-miss factor with local places in small towns, but Baumgartner's is a hit all the way. Â I grew up in Green County but I'm not really local to Monroe, yet my parents and I are always treated by the staff like neighbors they've known for years. Â The decor of the place fits the atmosphere perfectly. Â I think most of my knowledge of Switzerland comes from the demographic information on the wall. Â And the beer vs. wine war mural rivals the Sistine Chapel in its poignancy.
Last Wednesday I was in Monroe for a training course, which was all the excuse my parents needed to arrange to meet up Wednesday for the baby back rib special. Â I parked on the square (a quarter buys you 4 hours!) and walked in to the wood table where my parents were already into their Berghoff & Hubers. Â I'd barely settled into my seat when Don, our waiter, came up and joined my parents in ribbing me about being late and, right to business, asked what kind of beer I wanted. Â We ordered our ribs, plus a to-go order for my grandmother, and received our sides quickly. Â The ribs came about the time the first Berghoff went down, and the server quickly grabbed me another. Â At this point my father decided that a trip to Baumgartner's wasn't complete until he ordered the Limburger & red onion sandwich, which came out moments later. Â I always have a bite, and it's good, but I can't take a whole sandwich (yet - I'm up to about a half before I give up and hand the rest to my father). Â The ribs were delicious and messy - I was washing off sauce over an hour later. Â Everything was just perfect. Â It is definitely not to be missed if you find yourself in Monroe.
If you're in the Southern Wisco area (or not) you have to stop here and have a beer! Â Not only will they fulfill your beer needs, they also have a cheese counter so you can stock up on your favorite cheeses. Â Baumgartners can also ship your cheese to your final destination (or to your friends/family) which is a bonus if you're traveling from far away. Â
So stop in and have a cheese sandwich or cheese curds and some Berghoff. Â You'll be treated like a regular and you won't want to leave :) Â While you are sipping your brew take a look around at the silly signs, and don't forget to look up at the ceiling! Â An added bonus is Cheese Days (3rd weekend in Sept of even numbered years) and they are always packed to the max at this place.
A Wisconsin landmark, Baumgartner's is a must-see for anyone who loves: cheese, beer, Wisconsin history, or any combination thereof. My family has been going here as long as I can remember, and the place hasn't changed much since my earliest memories. It's tucked away in an unassuming corner of Monroe's town square. You can buy local cheese and beer at the front, but the real action is in the back, under the sign that reads, "past these doors are the world's finest cheese sandwiches." Be sure to check out the mural of Switzerland that includes all kinds of demographic information (including the religious makeup of each county) and the mural above the bar picturing an epic battle of beer steins!
If you're hungry, cheese sandwiches are the staple here - my favorite is the combination brick and sausage, with lots of mustard. For the bravehearted, try the Swiss Apple - limburger and onion! Their "second best" chili is also a great choice for a winter evening. Finish it all off with a Berghoff beer, which is brewed locally at the Huber Brewery. The crowd is friendly and the place can be full on weekends. My only complaint: the bar can be very smoky.
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