In Appleton, the venue really can't be beat with a beautiful view of the water (a dam?) and a classy and historical interior. I have dined here exactly two times: for my one-year and two-year anniversaries. For the purposes of this review, I'll focus on my most recent dining experience.
We were seated immediately in a cozy corner on the lower level with a gorgeous view of the water. Our server was very friendly and attentive. We shared a mango lemonade that was a little on the sweet side, but maybe that's just the nature of a lemonade. We enjoyed the spinach artichoke dip as an appetizer, although it was a little heavy on the cream and less on the melted on cheese.
The lettuce leaves in my caesar salad were a little wilted, which could be attributed to the heavy amount of dressing. Next time, I'll see if I can get it on the side. My chef's mac and cheese was really creamy and I loved the crumbs on the top. It is probably the best mac and cheese I've ever had at a restaurant! I know it's a total comfort food and that I should explore more of the menu next time, but it was simple and completely delicious.
Our server ended up surprising us with a delectable chocolate cupcake for dessert because he noticed us doodling with crayon "two-year anniversary" with a bunch of hearts on the paper "tablecloth." It was the perfect end to a lovely dining experience! Fratello's is a very solid restaurant and I will certainly return the next time I'm in the area.
Fratellos is one of our favorites, we eat their often. Â Last night we had a mediocre experience; a first for us at this usually great restaurant. Â The bread was new and improved and served with a peppery dipping sauce--loved it! Â The ceasar salad was different, it was like a heavy ranch with a bit of pre-made ceasar stirred in--not good. Â The pork dish with the cinnamon sauce and butternut squash was everthing I look for in an innovative, and tasty dining experience, HOWEVER--the pork tenderloin was cooked to death! Â I tried not to let it ruin the dish, since everything else about it was so good, but it was really, really overdone. Â The other dish we ordered was one of our standard favorites; the brushetta chicken, it was also overdone. Â We were dissapointed. Â Our server also rushed us, we did not have time to finish our salads and enjoy the wonderful new bread with the bottle of wine we ordered. Â I hope this was a fluke, I really like this restarant. Â Consistancy is important.
Review Source:Fratellos has great atmosphere. The scenery is really awesome and the bar is very cool. The food is just ok. Good burgers and sandwiches. The salads for the most part are very good. Avoid the apple salmon salad and the mac n cheese. Worth going to to sit at the bar and have a drink and maybe an appetizer.
Review Source:Located in absolutely stunning setting, in an old powerplant building, with huge windows opening up to roaring water spilling out of from what I can tell, is an old dam, this restaurant takes your breath away as you walk in. Make sure to come in when there is still daylight outside and try to get a seat next to the window. For groups of 5 or more there are two great corner tables on both levels. The interior designer also did a great job of keeping some elements of the powerplant to remind of the industrial past of the restaurant. Â All in all you cant find a better place for a date or for a special occassion in Appleton.
Most entrees are $20-25, appetizers are split into smaller and bigger portions with the indication of how many people can share it and that was very convinient. Good wine selection. We had ahi tuna lollipops for a split appetizer ($8) and special of the day pepper-crusted cod entree for $25. Overall all food we had was great.
The best part of the evening though was the service. The waitress went above and beyond trying to accomodate us. Very attentive but not too overbearing she put a lot of effort into accommodating our grandma who had very bad hearing. In the end we were surprised with 3 complementary cupcakes (for the 6 of us) in different flavors and that was the great finishing touch to the overall meal.
Hubby and I frequent Fratello's for date night. It is always reliably good food with great service. The staff here is amazing and professional- always. I don't know what shift in the universe occurs with lunch here, but for whatever reason, it is a different place. Food is dismal. Servers are still adequate, but seem to be more interested in chatting up staff than anything else. Also, if you're looking for a lunch "bargain", you won't find it. Same menu, same prices.
Review Source:Fratellos gets my vote for being a totally solid place. Â The location for a summer day can't be beat: on a dead end road with a patio overlooking the Fox River. Â The food is better than average and the prices are extremely reasonable. Â My favorite dish is the Sesame Ahi BBQ Pizza which I'm sure they didn't invent, but it is excellent. Â The menu overall reflects the creativity that has come to define many higher-end restaurants, but Fratellos brings it home to Appleton. Â
In sum, Fratellos is a great place, if not a little formulaic. Â Not that the formula is bad, because it isn't, but the 5th star is reserved for true, authentic originality.
Went to dinner here and ordered a salad that was wilted and appeared to be prepared days ago and put in the fridge to keep. Â After a complaint to the server, I chose a burger for replacement which was so-so. Positives were: Attentive service and great view, but Conclusion: One should just come here for drinks and avoid the food.
Review Source:Fratellos restaurant is the bomb here in Appleton. Try the seared ahi tuna pops, BBQ pizza, Mac and cheese, and blackend chicken with raviolis with pesto. Pair with their selection of Fox River beer (like the blueberry ale and Scottish ale) and it makes an even better experience.
Add the scenic Fox River and beautiful decor. A must try while in the area. Â fyi...the paper industry hall of fame (more like a museum) is right next door.
Great place to get a drink! Â Beautiful, large windowed bar area overlooking the river. Â They also have a good Bloody Mary and great Blueberry Beer (not too sweet or fruity)
I don't recommend this place for the food, though. Â Avoid anything that takes much culinary skill to prepare. Â Stick to the burgers and sandwiches. Â Only order the seafood appetizer platter if you want a pile of soggy, rubbery calamari.
Favorite place in Appleton! Â Beautiful and colorful, lots of glass windows and right on the Fox River...inside brick and exposed steel and concrete. Â It has a very open feel.
Wine is served in an usual decanter, that one of my co-workers ended up purchasing for his place in LA. Â Made from glass that looks like a funnel that they bring to your table, and when the wine is poured through it, it's forced through a filter-thingy and you can then, with a lever, pour it into your glass. Â It was cool, and a definite conversation-starter. Â
The food was delish, service a bit slow at times, but it was super busy so forgiven. Â An array of fish, steaks, and italian dishes to chose from...and nice app's. Â It's a great place for a date, a small group (business/party)...I look forward to going back one day when visiting back in Appleton.
fine food. love the ambiance. inside and outside. had one noteably bad experience there for my birthday. i won't mention the details, but it was a big mess up with my food. so i had to wait for it to be re-made, and was hoping they'd do something to make up for the sandwich that would justify a 1-star review, but there was no effort to make the situation better. i've heard several similar stories from others i've talked to. then i got a free birthday cupcake, but it was stale. at least i didn't have to pay for that. but, seeing as how they have a wonderful atmosphere and great outdoor seating by the river in the summer months, i'll continue to go back.
Review Source:My gf and I were in the mood for a good meal during our overnight trip to Appleton. Hands down this restaurant delivered one of the best meals we have had in a while, even better then places we frequent in Chicago. My gf had the shrimp scampi ravioli with perfectly cooked broccoli and mushrooms on top. I had the bruschetta chicken with pesto infused risotto that melted in my mouth with each bite. We split a bottle of Pinot noir and the monthly cupcake which was a margarita flavored cake with a key lime frosting. Great food, great service and an amazing location with a view of the river from every seat in the place.
Review Source:The restaurant atmosphere and wait staff were phenomenal. The food was great, too, but I'd give it about a 4.5. However, it is affordable for being an upscale restaurant (my bill was $80 for 3 people, two had wine and we all had desert). I had the chicken and broccoli alfredo, which was very good, just a little saucy. Another person in my group had the crunch chicken tenders (it's listed as an appetizer, but it looked like a lot of people were ordering it as a meal -- seemed pretty popular), which was amazing. Best place in Appleton I've been to.
Review Source:A little smaller then the one in Green Bay, but I really liked the view at this location. Â The only down side was that I had the hardest time trying to find the place. Â Ended up having to call the place to find my way there, thankfully successfully.
The food is slightly pricey, but the food and service were very good.
Ate their last night....passing through for business in Green Bay. Wonderful decor. Place was very busy. The place to be in The Waterfront area. Great wine list and very reasonable wine prices. Very broad menu. Lots of pastas, seafood, salads...I had a medium-rare ahi tuna steak, slightly overcooked but very tasty. I came served over wasabi mashed potatoes they were quite nice. My co-worker got a sauteed walleye dish with sauteed veggies and fingerling potatoes that was excellent.... Our server was on the new side. Very nice, but muddling though..back to table "what did you order?" She also offered us the check before mentioning dessert. But hey, gotta start somewhere. I hope she's not depending on it to pay the rent. Would definitely go back...Dessert specialty is cupcakes...but they did have a very nice gluten-free chocolate torte. Their menu is very helpful for allergies-afflicted gourmands. Things are labeled! Amazing.
Review Source:First off... if your looking for a pretty spectacular setting, this is it. Very chic building right on the river... the huge windows overlooking the river (near the dam spillway) are just a few feet from the water. Â The menu is large and the food is delicious. Moderate prices for everything from italian specialties to seafood entrees. As far as dessert, while cupcake mania has largely been absent from Wisconsin, Fratellos has jumped on the bandwagon with a handful of different choices for dessert. They are pretty great. Two thumbs up!!!!
Review Source:This kind of place is a great way to revitalize the area. Â Currently in an old lumber factory along the river.
Menu has a lot of options, which makes me wary - because how can one place be great at ALL of these dishes. Â Then again, everything I've tried has been spot on. Â Not the BEST I've ever had, but the yum appeal is high.
Very novel way to decant their wines - which is cool. Â They bring a large funnel to your table and pour it over a glass globe - which then gets forced through a filter.
The food here is great, and it's the prettiest view you'll get in a town like Appleton. My servers have always been friendly without hovering around too much. The waffle fries are probably the best you'll get anywhere (YOU MUST TRY THEM), and the white chicken chili is pretty delicious too.
Review Source:Great food, good service, and a hell of a venue. Adds up to a good meal in Appleton.
On a recommendation, we headed here for dinner, while in town for business. A bit out of the way, but right near downtown, the venue floored us. Built in the shell of a 19th century power plant, right on the Fox River, you have a majestic view of the rapids from the locks, mixed with the good contract of the exposed industrial architecture and clever artistic touches.
A note on wine: I'm a Northern California wine snob. There, I said it. When I pick up a wine list in a smaller Midwest city I am traveling to, I expect to cringe with overpriced bottles of Mondavi Coastal or Kendall Jackson. Much to my surprise, there is a very diverse list here, with many wines by the glass, and a wide section of regions, countries, and flavors available. Being slightly warmer, I enjoyed a Spanish Rioja at a very inexpensive price. My companion ordered one of the beers (honey wheat, maybe? I just remember shuddering at the mention of a Blueberry Ale), and agreed it was super.
Based on Yelps I read, we started with the Chicken Crunch strips. While they were good, the included waffle fries were equally good, when covered with that honey mustard dressing. The Caesar salad was a surprise, with good flavor, and an ample addition of sliced egg on the side, though the cheese was a bit hard. Main courses were Fish N' Chips, which our waitress exclaimed, "Oh, that is SO Wisconsin!" (after learning we were from San Francisco), which were good, and a Shrimp Pad Thai, which, while heavy on the peanut sauce (which I like) also proved to double as a paint splatterer (note: don't order this if you are wearing any light clothing). Overall, very good.
My only quibble with the place was the price of the entrees. Yes, you got a good selection of the food, and the food was good, but the prices for most were on the upper range. Given the venue and the inexpensive (but good!) wine and beer, it balances out, but if they offered 3-4 main courses at the $12-13 range as a specials list, instead of another $22 meat dish, I can see this place being THE summer hotspot.
It's definitely a great place, and I'd definitely go there again...and will.
I had the strawberry spinach salad with gorgonzola and raspberry vinaigrette. Â Yum! Â Others at my table had various other dishes and all thought they were great. Â Beware the "flourless" cake on the dessert menu, as I was told it wasn't actually flourless. Â The canoli were described by my fellow diners as like chocolate cheese in crispy tacos, so they weren't really winners. Â But, the butternut raviolis & cinnamon pork tenderloin met with lots of praise and my husband enjoyed the jambalaya.
Our server seemed to have great intentions but still be working on his serving skills. Â He occasionally brought us the wrong thing, but then got it sorted out and was very polite about it. Â
We sat at a table overlooking the Fox River right by the locks, which was rather exciting since the river was so high that it was much more like rapids than I've ever seen it.
Outside, there are some nice historic markers along the river that explain some of its history. Â Check them out! Â This restaurant is also served by the Downtown Cool Trolley, which is free and fun.
We only had appetizers, which were good but not excellent - but the atmosphere and drinks were great. Â The servers were nice - ours seemed a little pissed that we sat in her section w/o being seated... but she got over it quickly and was really friendly after that.
We sat outside, but when we went inside after we thought it looked really cool inside, too.
Right on the river, overlooking the lake, how could you really go wrong with such a location? Â On a nice summer day, I could see how this would be a favorite of mine if I lived in Appleton. Â Young, fun crowd, and young fun staff. Â
We sat outside of course, and had Captain Crunch Chicken Tenders with honey mustard sauce, Fish and Chips, garlic bread, Polynesian Platter, and the Spinach and Artichoke Dip. Â All of it was DEEE-LICIOUS! Â My favorite standout was the Captain Crunch Chicken Tenders because those were great: unique yummy flavor, and the honey mustard sauce was the perfect complement. Â Everything else though nothing original, was well made and tasty!
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