The man stumbled upon The Comeback In for brunch and really liked it. Â When he talked about the different combinations of food and their delicious pancakes I was stoked to try it. Â When we finally decided to try it on a Saturday morning I was definitely not as enamored with the place as he was.
I don't know if I was expecting the place to be different just because I was there for breakfast but this place is totally a bar that is trying its hand at breakfast as well. Â I mean I had been there for drinks a few times but I somehow expected a different vibe when we went for breakfast. Â My wish was not fulfilled. Â Instead I was led to a sticky, lopsided table with a waitress that look like she'd been working there for 45 years. Â None of that matters much right? Well it wouldn't if the food was superb. Â But it wasn't.
The place is mediocre at best. Â They love oil and make you well aware of it. Â The first time I visited here I ordered the walleye with toast. Â I know that it is not typical breakfast fare but I love me some walleye. Â Anyway, got the walleye, tried the walleye, but didn't like the walleye. Â It was oily as all get out and one side was burned. Â The toast was slathered in butter, yuck. Â My over easy eggs were simply just gross. Â They were really watery and completely inedible.
But what do you do when you have a meal like that? Â You go back to try it again. Â I went back to try the pancakes that the man said were the best pancakes he ever had. Â I ordered them with the walleye (again), along with the potatoes. Â I could go into a long description as to how oily everything was (again) and how the potatoes looked as though they had been stuck in the tread of my tire. Â But I wont. Â
I don't like this place and I def will not be back. Â Not for breakfast anyway!
7/4/13 My wife and I stopped at the Come Back In. Â Thursday it's Happy Hour all day! Â Â We started inside with Ale Asylum's Bedlam. Â Then had another round. Â I switched to Left Hand's Milk Stout. Â On our way out we got trapped by the sounds of the Midwesterners playing the sounds of Americana. Â We had to listen and ordered another round of pints while sitting on their patio. Â
They offer a nice breakfast. Â We're a fan of their burger and Rueben sandwiches. Â They make great fries. Â ;-)
Sit at the bar if you can, and things will be much better and more enjoyable. Table service (inside or outside) remains slow and a bit inattentive. Neal (manager) is still there, but seems less obtrusive than he has been in the past.
Popcorn is hit-or-miss; sometimes it's spot-on. Other times it's burned and/or far too salty. Soft pretzels are still a bargain.
Love the tap selection, and I can't help myself from getting the 1L size each time (I'm a glutton).
They've added a sand volleyball court in the parking lot.
Final verdict: come here for drinks or brunch. Sit at the bar.
Went there for an early brunch on a Sunday morning, and I am definitely a fan! Â I got the Crabcake and Asparagus Benedict with a side of bacon. Â Both were AMAZING! Â The crabcake was perfect and the hollandaise sauce was magnificent! Â The eggs were poached perfectly and the asparagus added such a great flavor. Â The dish also came with a side of potatoes, which were a little greasy for me, but still tasted good. Â The bacon is thick cut and you get 4 pieces as a side! Â There was so much food that I left half a piece of bacon that I just couldn't eat - and I LOVE bacon, so that's saying a lot! Â
Of course, what's brunch without drinks? Â My friend got a mimosa and I went for the bloody mary with a spotted cow chaser. Â The bloody mary was okay. Â It's served with a lemon wedge and pickle, and has a salt/pepper rim. Â Pretty good, but not the amount of spicy that I like in a bloody mary. Â Although, I guess for $3 it's not bad at all. Â
Our server was really nice and prompt with everything we needed. Â Overall, I'd definitely go back for brunch!
Ahhh... the Come Back. Â Usually I stop in for a tasty beverage (and free popcorn) - the place never disappoints in that realm. Â The cozy atmosphere, great service and the occasional treat of live music all tickle my fancy.
But sometimes, yes sometimes, I go there for the food. Â And when I do, I'm always pleasantly surprised. Â Last night's dining selection was the French Dip. Â So yummy. Â High quality meat, swiss that tastes like swiss and thick bread to soak up the au jus. Â The mushrooms and onions are just a bonus at that point. Â I'll definitely be back!
Worst. Â Service. Â Ever. Â Some are very nice but inept. Â Some are terribly rude. Â The perma-manager (Neil - he must live there - he is ALWAYS there) who lumbers around like Frankenstein (with the scowl to match) is not at all focused on customer service. Â Â
But the beer selection, free peanuts and GREAT popcorn almost make up for it.
I visit here nearly weekly with a group. Â We just have beer, maybe some wings - our needs are pretty minimal, but we have fun joking about how CBI consistently sets new records for poor service. Â We occasionally get a good server, but they're usually gone by the next visit (come back, Dallas!). Â It must be a terrible place to work because the staff turnover rate is clearly very high.
What food I have had here is fine - not great, not terrible, just fine. Â The wings are very good. Â Skip the pretzels they bring over from Essen Haus - they are typically dry and old.
Excellent and variable beer selection. Outdoor seating in good weather. Friendly staff. Huge breakfasts (and if you love rosemary hollandaise sauce, heaven), and pretty darn good lunch and dinner food. I recently had fish fry there, and tried the fried perch. I'm not happy that they cut back on the rye bread and cole slaw, but the fish was about the best I've ever had. It was moist, tender, and with a light non-greasy batter. Another great thing about the place: It's good lots of huge family-style tables, so it's excellent for group dining and hanging out.
Review Source:First off, the host was welcoming and fast, and the waitress rocked. She knew we had to be somewhere soon and got the order in and delivered quickly. Â She even took care of the bill quickly and kept waters refilled. 5 stars for service.
The food is hearty and filling, but also extremely greasy. Â It has that cheap restaurant, partially-hydrogenated-vegetable-oil-thickened-Âand-flavored-with imitation-butter-flavor viscous mouthfeel all over the omelet, potatoes, and toast. Â Probably something like "Pan & Grill" or "Savory" or "Whirl" that is all the rage at your local Denny's and I-Hops, and usually used with a heavy hand by line cooks who need to re-use that pan for the omelet after yours and don't want the chance of anything sticking. Â This is convenience food. Â Convenient for the line cooks, not so much for your belly. Â
The asparagus in the omelet was tough, but then, I shouldn't have been ordering asparagus in Wisconsin in October! Â I accept responsibility for that poor choice. Â The "sauce" while having a nice hint of rosemary, also appeared to have been made with that nasty, 35 pound jug of phony butter product. Â
If you want to feed people that nasty, greasy, thick, movie-popcorn flavored excuse for butter, you'd better be charging a lot less money than you are now. Â You're cheap, but not cheap enough for this greasy fare. Â
Fun atmosphere, bad coffee, greasy food. Â I would suggest this as a decent beer bar maybe, until they get a lighter hand with the Whirl grease.
This is a cool breakfast spot. We have a party of 12-16 and they accommodated quite well. Large tables, easy to move around. Even provided separate checks with no hassle!
Nice variety of breakfast options. The biscuits and gravy plate was good, but not the best I've had. Â $4 bloody mary's and mimosas...and they come in a pint glass, so they're big! Pumpkin pancakes were awesome!
Decent prices. Not the best breakfast food ever, but for the price, it's not bad.
Great Beer Selection, Great Wings, Mostly Bad Service, Horrible Management.
Let me preface this by saying that I've been a regular of the Come Back In for more than a decade, the earlier years out of choice, more recently because ... Â well, I think it's really just that my friends like the free peanuts and popcorn and I get outvoted if I suggest going elsewhere too often.
PROS:
- The afore-mentioned free popcorn (good and salty - serve yourself as you come in next to the bar) and free peanuts in the shell (ask for them at the bar).
- They have an excellent beer selection, roughly two dozen tap beers split evenly between Wisconsin microbrews, other American microbrews, and imports, plus a big case filled with a good variety of imports and in-state and other American microbrews in the bottle. Â Like something German next door at the Essen Haus? Â Ask for it and they'll pop through the adjoining door and get you a mug of it (same ownership).
- Their buffalo wings are very good, as good as any in town from BW3, Quaker Steak & Lube, or anywhere else, plus are bigger and meatier (I usually ask for them to cook them extra crispy to make sure they're fully done) and only cost 50 cents each.
- They have a beer club. Â Every sixth tap beer you order is free, fill out the card (around 40-50 beers) and get a free meal.
- Some of their servers and a few of their bartenders are very pleasant and are really nice and give good service. Â Don't expect to see them again next time you pop in a month later, though (see below)
-They have some interesting stuff as decorations (huge Native American arrowhead collection, lots of vintage UW sports memorabilia, lots of vintage beer cans, signs, tap handles, etc..)
CONS:
- The regular weekday bartender, the bespeckled Jen, the only front-of-the-house employee to survive here long-term, is, to be blunt, mediocre-to-crappy in every way. Â She might look like a kindly librarian, but she's stingy and gives the bare minimum of service. Â She has poured hundreds of beers for me over the years, and EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM has been a short pour. Â Think that a bartender should offer something on-the-house to a regular customer (up until then a good tipper, too) on his birthday? Â That's reasonable, isn't it? Â Well, not to Jen. Â Think a bartender should tell long-standing regulars about the bar's beer club so they can avail themselves of free beers? Â Jen sure didn't - she kept mum about it for years and it was only when a short-lived new bartender who asked us for our beer club numbers and explained about the program that we learned of it. Â Jen, if you read this review, it's time to learn that a gratuity-based service provider who doesn't provide good service doesn't deserve a good tip - that's why you're probably making less money now than you did 5 or 10 years ago.
- The manager, a middle-aged guy with 1960's glasses and a mean stare is, to be blunt, one of the least friendly, most unpleasant, most overbearing, least-customer service-oriented, Â etc... (I could go on with negatives to exhaust the review word count without coming close to finishing) . Â When I discovered that the lovely Jen had failed to tell us about the beer club and refused to do something about it, I talked to the manager, explained that as I was sure he recognized, my friends and I were regulars for years, we had lost out on free beers for years. Â He mumbled a curt "Sorry" and walked away. Â I was astonished. Â I had to chase him down and told him that we had essentially been cheated out of many free beers and that as regulars of his bar for a decade, he ought to do something about it for us. Â He grumbled and bitterly said "OK, I'll give you a free round." Â That was it. Â One free beer each. Â Additionally, the manager hovers and over-supervises, making for a unpleasant atmosphere, plus he's a royal ass to his employees, which is why this bar has probably the highest turnover rate of any business in town. Â Given that most bartenders, for the few weeks that they can stand working here, won't fill a beer mug all the way, Â I suspect that the manager orders them to pour short.
- The food, other than the wings, is so-so, very typical bar food, not as good as the late night menus from Chilis, Applebees, etc... Â Breakfast is supposed to be good, but haven't had it.
As soon as the new Ale Asylum brewpub opens near the airport, I think I need to convince our gang to frequent there or else to the Malt House for beer or Alchemy for beer and food when service has been too bad at the Come Back In. Â As I write this, I feel kind of dumb for having given this bar so much of my business over the years. Â In summary, if you like good beer and good Buffalo wings, Â plus can tolerate mediocre-at-best service, you might like this joint. Â Otherwise, it's entirely skippable.
Surprisingly this is a great place for weekend brunch, especially if you are a fan of eggs Benedict. Â I think they also have a brunch drink special where you can get a beer or a mimosa real cheap with breakfast. Â
Also a great place for happy hour and maybe throwing back a boot with friends. Â (If you are unfamiliar with the boot, its a giant glass boot filled with beer that you pass around the table. Â popular at essen haus next door but you can also get them here)
You want beer? Â Come back here!
Great for weekend breakfast/brunch, with tables outdoors if you'd like to brave the elements. Â Those include a drink for $1 - I prefer a half-liter of a Milk Stout if it's on tap.
26 taps and a ton of bottles. Craft brew and imports are the name of the game, with many German imports due to their affiliation with the Essen Haus next door.
If you're here in the evening, you can migrate between the Come Back and the Essen Haus where they have even more beer and pretzels and German food.
Service is pretty good as much of the waitstaff have many years of experience working here.
Live bands sometimes, although the acoustics are rough in the Come Back.
Basically, this is a great beer bar with decent food and good service.
Grab a boot while you're here, you crazy person you.
They have a large lot for parking with parking ramps/lots nearby if it's full.
Over 10 TVs if you're looking to watch a game, and they also have darts, some video games and a jukebox.
4 stars, because while the beer is excellent, the food can sometimes be hit and miss, and it can also get uncomfortably loud in there, especially when there's a band.
There are 2 reasons I love this place:
1. Weekend brunch.
2. Great joint for kicking back with some friends and ordering tasty pitchers of beer.
For brunch I LOVE love love their crab cake & asparagus eggs benedict. Although last time I had it the asparagus was overcooked and they slopped too much hollandaise on everything. The crab cakes, however, are always DEEEELISH! Also can't beat the drink deal they have with the breakfast items - only $1 for a full sized bloody mary?? Yes please!
The Come Back has historically been one of my favorite places to go whenever I visit home. There is a fun atmosphere, usually very friendly service, lots of space, great beer, and all the popcorn and nuts you could want. I'm sad to say that my experience last weekend has led me to decide not to return.
I was in town, celebrating the completion of a half marathon with friends over some beer. A couple of my friends had to leave, and couldn't find our waitress, so they settled up at the bar. After they left, our waitress was confused and said that they did not pay. I explained the situation to her, and she said that although she was new, it was not possible to settle up at the bar. I was asked to pay for my friend's tab.
I got in touch with my friends to double check that they had indeed paid, and they literally sent me a picture of the receipt to my iphone. After much time, the manager was called into the equation. He looked at the photo of the receipt, which clearly had the date, time, and amount. He said he didn't know what that was. He never once apologized, but only said that they did not pay. He told me that because the tab was on the floor and not at the bar, it was not possible to settle up with bartenders.
Sure, maybe my friends shouldn't have settled up at the bar--I guess, but at the very least, the manager should have apologized for something that was clearly some bartender's fault, not really mine or my friends'. And, we double paid! Sorry CBI, but the poor customer service on the manager's part is just enough to make me direct my business elsewhere. Bummer.
I have to admit, the first time I stepped in I was incredibly unimpressed. Â It's big, they sell GIANT glasses of beer and the crowd is a bit too eclectic for even this guys tastes. Â That's usually a recipe for disaster... Â but for some reason this place is growing on me. Â
Sure, it's not my favorite bar in madison.  It's not even in my top 20.  I wouldn't make this a weekend destination, but it fills that niche of  "Hey, you wanna grab a beer?"  Plus it's close to home.
Weeknights are pretty quiet, you can sit and have a conversation and drink. Â Sometimes that's all you need out of a bar. Â
The Come Back is not good, it's definitely not bad... it just IS
I always have a good time at Come Back In. Friendly people (both staff and patrons), plenty of seating, and a good selection of beer. On Sundays they've got karaoke, and several nights feature bands that offer a contrast to the polka happening next door at Essen Haus. I haven't had a chance to try their brunch (working on Sunday mornings has really put a damper on the lush life), but I've never heard anything less than stellar reviews from friends.
Review Source:If you want a real breakfast, then the Come Back cannot be denied. Â We had a company Christmas party in downtown Madison Saturday night and beelined for the Come Back for breakfast on Sunday morning. Â The breakfast menu is extensive and most items are cleverly created and satisfyingly greasy. Â Don't get me wrong, though, this is not a greasy spoon. Â
My husband and I got the classic eggs benedict. Â It came with perfectly poached eggs and wonderful Rosemary hollandaise. Â The fried potatoes were generous. Â Of course, we partook in the $1 bloody marys. Â OMG ... really? Â I couldn't get enough. Â
The best part of our breakfast was the service. Â Our waitress was prompt and friendly without hovering. Â She was always there to fill the coffee.
I can't believe it is so hard to find a good breakfast for under $10, but this is definitely the place to hit. Â It seems to be a hidden gem among the urban crowd, but everyone is welcome at the Come Back In. Â Apart from Mickey's, this is the only other breakfast place I will visit in Madison.
Don't let any of the bad reviews sway your enjoyment. Â This place is a must try. Â See it yourself. Â I don't think you will be disappointed.
This is an extremely average bar serving extremely average bar food. While, after a liter of German beer from Essen Haus next door, the sliders I ordered tasted delicious, I recognize that they weren't really much different from sliders that you can get anywhere else. My steak ones were extremely juicy and tender, while the chicken ones resembled cardboard. My friends' burgers as well as the cheese curds we shared were all average, reminiscent of the kind you'd get at any other bar.
I wasn't especially impressed by the atmosphere. It was just a loud, crowded bar with your basic bar decor and Madison bar crowd. Our waitress also either got high before work, or someone decided her first day on the job should be on a busy Saturday night. She screwed up several parts of our order and didn't seem to be very familiar with the basic etiquette of being a waitress, like when to show up and when to walk away. None of it was too serious, but what really got me is that she didn't know anything about any of the beers on the menu. You work at a bar next to a German biergarten. Seriously?
You wanna know how much I love the Come Back In? Well, I ate breakfast here twice this weekend while I was in Madison.
I never took advantage of this place when I was a student, and that's regrettable because I don't know if I've ever had such a delicious breakfast in Madison. The decor is decidedly German bierstube (like the Essen Haus next door) and the service was exceptional... but it's the food that sold me (twice).
Your first breakfast drink (I got a spicy Bloody Mary) is only $1 and the greasy spoon schtuff coming out of the kitchen will make your tummy smile. They've got walleye and eggs, breakfast sandwiches on pretzel buns and all kinds of omelets and benedicts.
My visits were quite different, even though they were only 24 hours apart. The first day, I was in a group of about 16 people (all of us UW alums). I ordered the huevos rancheros at the recommendation of my boyfriend. It's actually a breakfast burrito full of eggs, ham, green peppers and onions and smothered with cheese. It was so big I couldn't finish it. It came with those heavenly fried potatoes, which are thinly sliced and seasoned with salt, pepper, onions and maybe garlic... God's gift to hungover alumni.
I also tried a bite of my friend's French toast, which is stuffed with cream cheese and altogether too rich for me. I don't like sweets at breakfast though--my friend really liked it.
Today my boyfriend and I stopped there on our way out of town. I got the Gold Rush Scramble: a deceptively small skillet filled with a mixture of THE fried potatoes, eggs, broccoli, green peppers and onions and then topped with strips of bacon and gilded with Wisconsin cheddar. I would eat this every day if I still lived in Madison and I didn't care about my cholesterol. I practically hoovered my plate clean. Our HUGE feast (my scramble, his huevos rancheros + a side of corned beef hash, two Bloody Marys) set us back $19 + tip. Win.
The Essen Haus was packed, and though it appeared to be a good time with über-German, polka-fueled revelry, the wait was long and we were assured we could order food and, perhaps most importantly, the 2-liter boots of beer next door at Come Back In.
Almost immediately upon sitting down in the cavernous space at the ample wooden tables, our group of 6 had ordered a boot of Spaten. Now, normally this Bavarian lager would be enjoyed by one and all in a beer hall setting, but when, according to the rules of boot drinking, you must finish sometimes up to a liter of the stuff lest your neighbor finish it and foist the purchasing of the next round upon you - if I may amend the Spaten slogan - "Lass Dir raten, trinke kein Spaten" (Be advised, don't drink Spaten.)
As for food, I wasn't too impressed with my first sampling of Wisconsin cheese curds, these seeming to be essentially the same as fried mozzarella sticks one could get anywhere. For an entree, I couldn't pass up the sausage combo, choosing Weisswurst and Knackwurst from the list, which I found to be quite good on a bed of sauerkraut with German fried potatoes. One of my companions was less than thrilled with his fried fish, which comes as an all-you-can-eat special on Fridays.
Ultimately, the atmosphere was good, especially when the live music kicked in, and while the food might be spotty, the beer is cold and the liquor strong. Come Back In is a great bar if you've got a big group looking for a good time.
So, I've eaten here a handful of times, none of them impressive. Â This last visit on 9/11/10 prompted me to write. Â We met family for lunch, had a nice booth by the window and were plagued with flies the whole meal. Â We had to repeat our orders to the waitress (who did right them down the first time), and when the food came to the table, even though its bar food, the presentation was terrible. Â The chicken breast used for my sandwich was cooked as-is... therefore "squirted" out the far side of the bun because it hadn't been pounded to an even width (which seems like a no-brainer to me). Â Toward the end of the meal, where everyone munches on the fries and visits, the waitress came along and took my plate from me as I was still eating, and asked, "Are you done with this?" as she walked away. Â Guess I was. Â
Later inquiries of other friends and acquaintences found that NOBODY we know likes the Come Back In for anything other than breakfast. Â In fact, all we asked said, "Don't bother going for anything but breakfast... It's the only good thing they serve." Â Duly noted.
Big fatty breakfast. This is what my review is about. My favorite Madison girls and I hit this place up every weekend that I'm around town. Refill my bottomless coffee mug one more time- This is where we hit reset in the morning.
Prices are cheap, food is hearty and filling, and its a German pub..
When you order breakfast, the following drinks are only $1 extra (unreal!) : Coffee, mimosas, bloody marys, beer (no joke- who the f orders a beer with breakfast outside of Wisconsin? or in Wisconsin for that matter??), juices, milk, or tea..
The food isn't a culinary art, but this place feels like home.
Vegetarian eggs benedict! Only $7 - and add a bloody mary for $1. You heard me, $8 breakfast that I couldn't finish, a half liter drink that of course I finished, and a great way to start out a long day of trekking the hills and valleys of Madison. The tap beers are also a buck if you order brunch on a Sunday, and the list is extensive and interesting. Luckily this was the first stop, otherwise the low low price of twenty bucks for breakfast would have been soured by the twenty pounds of hollandaise weight I gained.
Review Source:This place is perfect for big groups because all of the tables are large, there's free peanuts and/or popcorn, and it's so big (especially combined with the essen haus) that there's always somewhere to sit- very few, if any, places downtown can say this.
other than that, the service is fine, the food is fine, the atmosphere is fine....nothing too exceptional, but certainly good enough if you want to drink beer with a bunch of friends. (avoid mixed drinks- this place is for beer and they seem inexperienced at anything else)
We went for the Sunday night karaoke. Â The karaoke guy was a scary lookin mo fo. Â But the song selection blew my mind. Â I sang Bjork, people! Â My friend Jason sang MIKA. Â I was in heaven. Â Some jack ass freaked out - kicking tables and shit around - while attempting to sing "Don't Stop Believin" Â That was annoying. Â I think if the karaoke guy hadn't been out smoking, he would have throttled the guy. Â But who knows. Â DJ Scary is on my good side though - he gave us a free bottle of champagne at the end of the night. Â He mumbled something about a contest but not enough people sticking around. Â Free booze = good times.
Anyhoo, I also had breakfast here twice. Â It was alright. Â But nothing will ever top Smut N Eggs for breakfast in Madison. Â It's just not possible.
When my boyfriend and I got to the Ruby Marie and were handed coupons for breakfast at the Come On In, I was afraid. Â Very afraid. Â Breakfast at a bar? Â But I was really surprised by the brunch at this place. Â There were around 20 dishes to choose from, and everything the boyfriend and I tried was quite good. Â The Eggs Benedict were really tasty, and my cajun omelette was good (though not terribly spicy). Â Add on a mimosa or a bloody for a dollar for the first one? Â Yes, please. Â
We came back later to do some drinking, and the beer selection was nice. Â Lots of tap choices, and lots of crazy steins to drink from. Â Bonus - you can order food from the Essen Haus, so I was able to get Essen Haus wings while sitting at the bar here. Â Major bonus!
While usually the place you go when the Essenhaus is too full (or your ears are bleeding from the incessant polka), the Come Back is a fairly standard Wisco bar.
Of note is their breakfast. Though the service can be spotty, the food is pretty tasty, especially if hung-over.  Case in point: I ordered some sort of canjun steak benedict and it was so tasty (or I was so bleary) that I missed the fact that the dish was lacking  eggs until the end of the meal.
Review update: I need to stop rating places when I'm so hung-over I can barely type. Â Visiting the Come Back In not clouded by the haze of last night's whisky can be a risky proposition. Â Rude waitstaff, misplaced orders, and centipeds become much harder to deal with when clear-minded.
Although this isn't my favorite place for drinking at night, it's definitely rising to the top of my favorites for brunch. Â And the reason for this is largely because pretty much everything you order comes with a side of meat or hollandaise. Â I also recommend the bloody marys, the old Madison photos on the wall, and the baskets of unshelled peanuts.
Review Source: