Fondue Stube

I'm updating my review because now that I'm old(er), I have come to appreciate Fondue Stube a little more. If you're comparing it to other fondue places, there is what this place has going for it:

You're not afraid to bring the kids. No, bringing your 3 year old isn't brilliant with all of the hot pots but bringing your, say, 10 year old is totally reasonable. They even have a kids' menu. We brought my stepdaughter in for her 10th birthday and she loved it.  Don't worry, kid haters.  We always make early reservations (5:30 or 6pm) to avoid all you "kids in restaurants at dinner time ruins the ambiance!" folks.  

The casual atmosphere definitely has its place. It's friendly and more approachable than other fondue places.

It's family owned. The owner and her sons are in there working every night. It reminds me of growing up in my grandmother's restaurant and it makes it feel homey.

They have options. You can have three or four different kind of cheese fondues and they have three or four different sweet ones. We always do the muenster to start and the milk chocolate to finish.

But... I really, really wish they'd have more dipping sauces. Really. It would make me love this place.  I always end up just dipping in the Bearnaise and curry sauces and that's it.  Maybe some dill sauce?  Maybe some horseradish cream?  Maybe something spicy?  All would be a fantastic addition to the experience.

There was a mouse running around between empty tables. I notified the buss boy and he laughed and said he would have to take care of it. About 30 min later when our waitress came by and asked if we had seen a mouse. My girlfriend and I said yes, to which the waitress replied: "I called the owner and let her know. She said that there have been a lot of mice and squirrels recently due to the weather. They (I assumed an exterminator) have already been out here today, I guess they will have to come back." She then laughed and handed me my bill. I was there because I had purchased a groupon worth $50. I had assumed she would provide me some type of discount due to their mouse ( and apparently squirrel) infestation. To my utter astonishment my bill was the exact total, and a note which said "please tip based on service of full bill including your groupon," was circled and highlighted. Appalled, I decided to pay my remaining in cash just to get out ASAP (and also, because at that point didn't trust anyone at that place with my card).

Upon entering the establishment, I was met with a strong and overwhelming stench of fish. If I had not been seated in the nearly empty restaurant right away, I would have left immediately.

Now regarding the food. My girlfriend and I chose the classic fondue for 34.95 each. The salad was good and the crunchy garlic bread was great. The cheddar cheese fondue was good, but not as "runny" as I would have liked. You also had to keep stirring it so that it wouldn't burn on the bottom of the pot. Having been to the melting pot several times, I was not used to a soy bean oil fondue. It turned out pretty good, especially the potato slices; it was like making your own chips. I had the shrimp and my girlfriend had the sirloin steak. I had about 6 shrimp and my girlfriend had about 9 pieces of beef. The shrimp was poorly deveined and  required extra attention from my knife. Around the meats were a very small sample of chopped veggies. The only thing that appeared fresh were the mushrooms and potatoes. The chocolate fudge dessert started out looking good. The waitress lit the chocolate on fire and told us to wait until it went out before digging in. As most of my concentration had been following the mouse running around to make sure it didn't run up my girlfriends leg, by the time I was able to " dig into" the chocolate it was burnt and boiling hot since the waitress didn't give us a spoon to stir it.

I went here on Valentine's day with my boyfriend. First off, the staff was great. It was obviously a busy night but they were super attentive and very helpful. We never waited very long to get the next course or have our drinks refilled. Now on to the food, unlike some reviewers I thought the amount of food given was pretty generous and I was really full after leaving this place. My boyfriend and I had one of their specials with the cheese fondue (cheddar) and the beef, chicken, and shrimp combo, and the chocolate to finish it off. There was a lot of food and it was decent quality. They gave us 5 sauces for the entree which included a curry, cocktail, Bearnaise, steak, and raspberry sauce. Decent variety. Now I will say, I do think it is overpriced. $3 for some peanut butter? Umm no. They have to make a good profit at this place. Overall, its something different to do. It was a fun experience and I would come again. BUT please note, you will want to go home and shower and scrub the smell of oil and fondue-ness off of your body. I'm pretty sure I still smell.