Returned here this summer after a 5 year hiatus.
It's still not bad but the service is absolutely abyssmal. We were shown to a table...and then promptly forgotten about. It was busy but my family and I sat there for a good 10 minutes, with servers coming and going, and we only got service after asking one of the passing servers at random. We understand that it was a Friday night but it just wasn't THAT busy, especially since the hostess station was literally next to our table.
The Grumpy Troll has great burgers! Our kids all had plenty to eat from the kids' menu. We enjoyed the unique options (chips, dipping sauce, fries). The staff is very helpful and seemed to be happy. My only criticism would be that the hostess station is in an awkward place do the congestion in that area can be bad. I very much dislike waiting for a table two feet from where people are eating. We'll be back, but not when it's busy.
Review Source:Mount Horeb is the Troll Capital of the World. It's a theme you will find all over town with many troll statues and carvings, along with quaint shops, many with Norwegian and other imports. The Grumpy Troll fits right in. Located in an old restored brick building, it has a very inviting wood interior, but the best part is the excellent food and beer. You will find a nice variety of delicious burgers and other sandwiches. I highly recommend the Reuben and the Prime Rib French Dip. The beer is hand crafted on site and has won many awards. Anyone that has advanced beyond Bud Light will surely appreciate the fine brews. I am particularly fond of Erik the Red and Spetsnaz Stout. Be assured that you will not leave here grumpy.
Review Source:Awww.....what a drag that was. We were so hungry and excited to have a beer and some lunch after a ride on the bike trails. The menu reads really well- lots of great-sounding choices and reasonable prices. I've got a tendency to order the special at local places-it's usually a great experience. Not so much here- today's special was a ground beef/black bean burrito that I thought was horrid. Ground beef and black beans have the same gritty texture, so the burrito was a huge mound of grit to me. The whole wheat tortilla would have been a bonus, but it didn't add anything to either the flavor or texture. Blech. The chicken enchilada soup was good, but really thick.
Service was super spotty as well- we asked for waters with lemon as we decided on a beer. Water came, no lemon. Ok. Ordered weiss beers, requested lemons. Beers came, no lemons. The bartender was happy to oblige, but still. We were told the special came with a choice of side, but that adding soup would be $2.00 more. Nope, on the bill the soup was $3.25 without a word from our server. The kicker was leaving the bills sitting there with cash in them, hoping we would get tired of waiting for our change and leave a HUGE tip. I hate it when people play these kinds of games....not going back.
I've seen more than one review here that opened with,"I really wanted to like this place." I sympathize, although some of the disappointment may be as much anticipation as lack of substance.
  I drove up to Wisconsin Sunday intending to visit the Grumpy Troll on the way back and more than likely stay in Mt. Horeb for the eveing but it just didn't measure up. It's in a neat old brick building with a comfortable interior. The bar and booths were light wood, the room was open with plenty of space between the bar and booths, the walls and supporting cement columns were light green, and the cieling was matching painted cement as well. Nice back bar with a couple of trolls lounging on top and a huge old still. There's plenty of light and the noise level isn't too loud.
  The staff is friendly but then we start to run into the problems. The bartender was a nice kid but just didn't seem to have his head into the game. He seemed a little disorganized with little sense of urgency. I got my flight of 12 beers which in reality was only eleven with no explanation why. It didn't make that much difference since I didn't finish the last three. Just saying. When I pointed out that the porter didn't look much like a porter he said it was a maibach. The board said it was a honey maibach but I really didn't detect any honey, honey.
  I asked if there was anything else I should know, since the beers didn't all seem to match their corresponding places on a pre-printed mat, and he pointed out that the pale ale was a different ale from the label on the mat. That aside, among other things, I've never seen a red ale that looks and tastes more like a blonde ale before.
  I get the fruit in the Trailside Wheat and it was definitely a deeper and richer brew than most wheats. The Spetnaz Stout (now there's an interesting blast from the cold war name) did have the coffee and chocolate but I thought the malt was on the verge of being overly roasted. The other beers, for me, were relatively flat and watery.
  I ordered a fried walleye sandwich and asked if I could get it medium rare. He said he didn't think it was possible. I suppose I can't fault him that much since there's plenty of people that don't know fish can be cooked to temperature, but if the fish were a little thicker it could most certainly be cooked medium rare. You might've been able to get away with searing this briefly in a very hot saute pan and achieved something approaching medium rare. The hoagie roll was store bought, plain, not toasted or buttered and flavorless. The tartar sauce was nondescript. The sweet potato tots were okay but could have been crisper. The girl that ran the food would have walked away without giving me silverware or napkins if I hadn't prompted her.
  The girls at the desk were friendly and helpful. The overall experience was lacking, but the merch is attractive and I do collect the stuff but even here I had to mention needing a bag for several items twice.
  Neat room, friendly staff.
  Staff could probably use some more training, the beer could be bolder, and the food could use a lift. Now I'm going to open a Polish Moon Milk Stout from the Milwaukee Ale House.
I cannot be grumpy about this place...it is incredible! The food is simply delicious! My husband tried one of their home brews...so impressed that he had to have another and we ordered their deep fried green beans as an appetizer--yummy! I ate beer cheese soup and a grilled turkey and cheddar sandwich and my husband had a brat sandwich with sweet potato tots---all yummy! The service was good and the place had a great atmosphere (although a tiny bit crowded in the lower level)! We really like this place--it sure offers quality at a reasonable price!!!
Review Source:We visited the Grumpy Troll based on Yelp reviews; we weren't disappointed. Â The food was good (not the best I've ever had, but good), the waitress was very friendly and competent, and the beer was surprisingly good. Â It was a bit of a wait on a Saturday night, but we were able to grab a couple of seats at the bar in the meantime. Prices weren't the cheapest, but the beer was worth it.
Review Source:Love this place! We always stop in on the way back from climbing at Governor Dodge. I can only comment on the pizza and beer, as that is all we ever get. The Thai pie changed my life--they put fresh chopped cilantro and shredded carrots on the pizza after its done: so good! I have implemented that technique into my home pizza creations. They have a large selection of delicious beer to go with the pizza as well; I recommend the Maggie IPA. Staff have always been friendly and served us well.
I was with the person who reviewed "Party Foul" a couple of reviews down. It was not that bad. Sure they did mess a some things up, which is never good, but I thought the manager handled it well and was nice. The food and beer that I had were excellent. I got to eat a lot of free pizza out of the ordeal, which was good since I was hungry, and we did receive a satisfactory discount. I will be back. It is great there.
The place is OK. Â Service was fine, server was nice.
Food blah. Â
I wanted more and got less, that's life.
Burger was ok, soup not that great, kids chicken things gross. Â But whatever.
It was fine. Â I would definitely not go back though.
Although, the space is cute....for Wisconsin.
Service was horrible. Sat at bar and had beer without knowledge they don't serve food at bar---good to know after very bad brew; bar maid was rude and impatient. Put our name in for table and waited a bit; hostess or waitress seated us by tossing wrapped silverware on table for midgets, both sides of table had seats pushed in with "patrons" jackets on one side and on the other, a guy sitting back with legs crossed with no thoughts of moving. "You sitting?" the waitress asked. Progosis negative. Went back to bar (filled), paid tab, drank quick and left. What a disapointment. Not the only place in town; only place we found rude and living a bit above stature. Burgers and beer is not a delicacy in WI, Grumpy.
Review Source:Biked about 25 miles and was ready for something cold and something to eat -- behold, a brewery just off the trail! The Grumpy Troll was packed, but we (2 of us) were seated in just a few minutes. Moments later we had a beer sampler and some fried green beans before us. All of the beers at the Grumpy Troll were good; it's rare to find a brewery with such consistency! We had pan-fried walleye for dinner -- maybe I was just starving, but it disappeared in mere seconds. The decor wasn't anything to write home about, but everything else was grand. Great place to stop if you're on the bike trail!
Review Source:I have found myself visiting Mt. Horeb over the years, and have tried to give Grumpy Troll a chance on several different occasions. The beer can be pretty good, if you know what to order, and the menu has improved in recent years. Recently, I thought I would again give it a try, and to avoid the noisy lunchtime crowds, stopped in at 3 on a weekday afternoon. There was a fussy baby, and another small kid who shouted, rather than talked. This is the norm for the place, which the owner seems to encourage (according to other reviews on this site). Granted there are almost all hard surfaces, and nothing to absorb the sound. Bottom line, If you enjoy being jolted out of your by random shrieks, this is your place. I won't be back, but I will encourage those with small children that this is the place for them.
Review Source:Party Foul.
Never have I ever experienced a more unfortunate series of events when it comes to service. In fact, even using the word 'unfortunate' is still being WAY too kind, 'FUBAR' is a whole lot closer to the type of service+management we experienced.
I'm going to start off with a mildly irrelevant tidbit and then move into the real nitty gritty of how Grumpy Troll turned my group grumpy. I know this is just a taste thing and not at all what I'm basing my review on, but I felt it was still worth mentioning that their bourbon barrel aged porter is a joke, also, more like a farmhouse sour than a porter. Defo NOT what you're expecting or wanting when you order a porter.
We dined with another couple in the upstairs pizzeria... I think going upstairs was not a great idea as it was empty, less one guy at the 'bar' and a staff that looked barely legal to be serving beer. For 2 couples, who ordered one round of beers and 2 pizzas, the number of mistakes made by the restaurant became almost comical until the bill came and we were still not appropriately compensated for the excessive amount of time wasted waiting for them to attempt to make our make our food correctly, which they still ended up not doing.
First mistake: The other couple ordered the large Thai Pie pizza, veggie style (no chicken, sub pineapple) and requested for one half of that to be made w/o cheese and noted that it was because one of the diners is lactose intolerant. When that pizza came, the server acknowledged that pizza had been made incorrectly, with only half being the veggie Thai Pie and the other half being only cheese, which obvi wouldn't work for the lactose intolerant diner. She said they were making her up a new smaller pizza that was the Thai Pie as she requested.
Second mistake: After looking closer at what was on the Thai Pie portion of the above pizza, they realized that they had also not gotten half the ingredients that were meant to come on the Thai Pie. No shredded carrots, no cilantro, nada. When we let the server know she brought it back to the kitchen area and had the kid toss some shredded carrots and cilantro on top.
Third mistake: Our pizza arrives well after the other couple's first pizza at the table had arrived (what was the hold up with ours? Can they not make 2 pizzas at once?). We had ordered the large Thai Pie as well, veggie style (no chicken, sub basil). The server dropped the pie off and swiftly left. As we looked at the pizza, we noticed that there was no basil and there was chicken. Since neither of us eat meat, this was obvi not going to fly. We had to AGAIN get up, find the server, tell here the issue and wait for her to come back for the old pizza. They said they'd make us up a correct one right away. Fine, no prob, I worked in restaurants for well over a decade, I've had sh*tty days and I know there are times when it seems like a chain of everyone is messing up one table's order.
Fourth mistake: Our pizza FINALLY comes, after he other couple is done with both their first and second round of incorrect pizzas and just waiting on us. We check out the pizza and not only did they bring us the small sized pizza, instead of the large that we had ordered, but there still was no basil, and they added pineapple. So apparently they remade the other couple's first half of the pizza they ordered. Whatever. Fuck it. We're all hungry, we have a long drive back, I'll pick the f*cking pineapple off the pizza. Another person at our table went to ask for a side of basil to add so at least we could have that, but it was still some kind of bullsh*t that they still could not manage to make a single pizza correctly, when there was only 1 table in there eating.
Fifth mistake: The manager came by and stood with her hands on her hips in a kind of 'Look guys, I don't know how we managed to f*ck this much ish up' type of manner. Everyone at the table had all or does still work or manage a restaurant so we understood and she just checked to see if everything "at least tastes okay" and said she'd take care of some of our bill, but when the bill came for the BF and I we were still charged the full price for our drinks and she had only mildly discounted the price of a large Thai Pie, when we still had only received a small one. So basically, she cut us a deal on *maybe* $3 after we had been sitting there getting the wrong sh*t for the past 2 hours, and then, to top it off, she blamed everything on the poor server girl. Using her name and saying she was new and making a face. As a former server, I thought this was totally inappropriate. For that many mistakes to happen it's not only the server, but the kitchen, and now, in my opinion, the manager's fault. If you have a server who is new and is clearly having an issue after 3 wrong pizzas come out, you obviously need to stand by and help them out instead of sitting back by the bar. Shame on you for throwing the server under the bus.
We won't be back. Never again.
My fellah and I are up in these parts on our mini vacation and were recommended here by a nice gal at the Cave of the Mounds. Always ask the locals where to eat. You almost can't fail unless you're someplace they hate tourists.
Ordered the beer sampler, 12 four ounce glasses of beer. Aw yeah.
Get the bourbon barrel stout. Omgawd so good!
The Belgian style IPA (you heard me right) is also yummy as hell.
Anyway, we both ordered burgers, he the Grumpy burger, I the make your own.
They both came out grilled perfectly medium with all our trimmings fresh and delicious. I got grilled onions, pineapple and avocado (I also like calamari on my bratwurst, what?) and everything came out perfect.
Also? Sweet potato tots. FTW, y'all.
Every tot should be made of sweet potatoes.
Our food  came out lickity split, our waitress was such a doll I tipped her more than my standard 20%, and the brewmaster came and chatted for a minute and told us his favorites. In all fairness I did tell him I loved him after tasting the bourbon barrel stout, which may have prompted him to come and chat.
I see this place has mixed as hell reviews, but our experience here was awesome and we'll happily go back when we're in these parts.
We stopped here for dinner the first night of our mini vacation. It was not overly busy, but we headed to the back area of the bar to avoid the crying baby. We had a clear view of the window looking into the brewery part, which was cool, except that aside from about 30 seconds, the lights were off in the brewery.
The dining room was very poorly lit. Christopher and I both had to use a flashlight to read the menu. Ok, I have old eyes, but this was a tad ridiculous. The food was fairly good. I had a French dip beef sandwich, with their home made chips. I enjoyed it, though the prime rib was a little overcooked for my taste. Christopher had a burger of some sort, which he pronounced "good".
I ordered a seasonal special drink called a "Peach Cobbler". It tasted overwhelmingly of Cinnamon, and I really did not like it. The server noticed I had not really put a dent in it and asked me if I didn't like it. I told her my issue with the drink and she took it off the bill. Christopher had a house brewed bear called the "Jingle Bell", which he liked well enough.
All in all, it was a decent enough but if I come through the area again, I will probably try another establishment.
Oregon beer snob here...
This place makes the best beer in Southern Wisconsin. Â How do I know? Â Because I've toured them all. Â New Glarus Brewing and Grumpy Troll are men amongst boys in this region.
We had the Troll's beer sampler with 12 beers and what a great variety. Â Also the fried green beans were good.
The bartender's service and knowledge were outstanding. Â You guys have a jewel right there in Mt. Horeb.
After visiting the Shoe Box in Black Earth, we continued on to Mt. Horeb for  a quick bite to eat. The people at this restaurant were fabulous! It was crowded, but we got our food and drinks relatively quick, and we thought everything was fairly good.
I don't necessarily recommend the food, it's just standard pub fare, but the Pretzel and the Beer I do recommend!
Enjoyed the grumpy troll on a quiet saturday afternoon in March. It was around 2-3 pm and the place was pretty vacant. We were the only three at the bar, but 3 pm is a weird hour for visiting a brewpub. Our crew ordered a salad, reuben, and some soup. All were good. The beer sampler was the highlight. Quality brews made in small batches. Some were great, others were mehhhhh, but overall, a solid offering from a small town brewpub. The troll has a nice, homey feel to it and doesn't seem manufactured or fake. It has a solid amount of personality and the atmosphere is certainly inviting for families. Good service, good food, good beer. Notice there were no "greats" in that statement, but that word is rare from this picky patron. ;)
Edit: Returned last week for a beer. I liked the beer a lot more than i did a few months ago. Didnt eat but the vibe was great and had some good conversation. Good music playing on the speakers too.
Stopped by this place because it was lunchtime and the family was HUNGRY!
We were not disappointed! Â We started out with the uf dah pretzel which was huge and freshly baked. They provided two different mustards for dipping but they both really tasted the same to me but the nacho cheese sauce was very tasty. The wife had a reuben sandwich which she said was very good. I had the brat burger which was okay but nothing to brag about. My side of coleslaw was very good though. Our sons both had the chicken enchilada soup which was excellent. The wife and I split the beer sampler and I found the brews to be quite good and varied. Only found one I didn't care for and the wife found four out of the twelve. The atmosphere was nice and the staff was attentive and very friendly even though the place was packed. Would definitely visit again.
I specifically visited Mt. Horeb because I did a search for brewpubs and came across the Grumpy Troll. I was not disappointed.
The decor was fairly typical for a brewpub. Clean with wood accents and the requisite brewing equipment view. It is a little on the small side compared to the big corporate brewpubs, but there is nothing wrong with that. I liked the cozy feel and it makes sense considering the size of the town that the Grumpy Troll is hiding in.
So we came for the beer and we tried everything that they had. We started drinking pints, but later found out from the manager that they offer samplers as well. ($1 / 5oz) The waitress had failed to mention that to us. It was a good thing because I am not sure I could have made it through all of the beers otherwise. The selection was broad enough to keep a beer lover like me satisfied all night long.
Maggie (cask conditioned)
flowery, fruity... hard to describe, but delicious! Served at the perfect slightly cool temperature.
Maggie: The normally tapped version of the Maggie was also very good. This beer is a stand out among the beers offered at the Grumpy Troll. We liked this so much that we took a growler home for the night. (But be careful, the local laws won't let them sell a growler after 9PM We were practically rushed out the door at 8:59 with ours.)
Curly: dark and slightly smokey. Very pleasant tasting. My wife liked this one more than I did.
Trailside Wheat: smells great - like bananas. Good fruity flavor, but could stand to be a bit more flavorful.
Saison: good initial aroma, but very watery tasting. Kinda sour as it warms. I have had other examples of this style of beer and liked them very much, so I was very disappointed. I would not get this again.
Dry Irish Stout: creamy, deliciously dark and chocolatey.
Spetsnaz: good, dark - like burnt chocolate, but in a good way. A little more sour than the Irish stout, but good in a different way.
BIPA: bitter, citrousy like a bitter grapefruit. Not unpleasant, but not very impressive when compared to the Maggie.
Freedom IPA: nicely bitter, but I couldn't help comparing it to the Maggie that I had earlier and it just didn't stand out.
Eric the Red: good flavor without and extremes - just right. Not too anything. Nicely balanced, easy drinking beer.
Captain Fred: kinda stinky aroma. Not a horrible taste, but I just don't like this style of beer very much.
Slow Eddie: very mild jalepeno flavor. I am not a big fan of this style, but I thought I would try it to make sure.
In between all that beer we ate a little food too.
Wisconsin Cheddar Curds: yummy! Nice batter based coating rather than the usual crumb based breading. Good cheddar flavor. The accompanying honey mustard dipping sauce was just right.
Troll's Beer & Cheese soup: not quite as flavorful as other beer/cheese soups I've had. A little watery.
Brat: tasted good, but nothing special. I was in Wisconsin, so I felt like I had to have one.
Walleye: this was a decently sized portion of well cooked fish. The Grump chips were fun. Sautéed green bean were a nice side dish too.
The one thing that bugged me about this place is that it was very "family" friendly. There were too many kids. At one point my wife and I changed tables when a table of 10 was set up next to us with 6 kids. Come on people, it's a brewpub, not a Chuck E Cheese! I mentioned this to the manager, but he was proud of the kid friendliness of his establishment. I guess there are just not enough people like me to keep him in business.
Overall I would go back again. In fact, we went back again the following night for a few more beers. We also left with several large bottles of their beer to enjoy once we got back to Illinois. I don't know when we will make it back, but if you are in Mt. Horeb, be sure to tip a pint at the Grumpy Troll.
Grumpity grumpity groo... oh, wait, that's the Grumple. Â
En route to House on the Rock, we stopped here to build up our strength and drink a little liquid courage (boyfriend is afraid of dolls, and there's a freaking doll carousel at House on the Rock). Â
I am a sucker for hilarious, offbeat places so Mt. Horeb was a natural win for me. Â Trolls everywhere. Â I even brought my own because the concept of BYOT cracked me up to no end. Â
We did the little tasters of several of the beers, including a jalapeno one which wasn't as scary as it sounded. Â I think the wheat was my fave. Â Foodwise, we had started with the grump chips which were good and I enjoyed a half corned beef sandwich and chicken enchilada soup. Â Boyfriend had some black bean dish which was massive and apparently enjoyable. Â
Our waitress was friendly and she laughed at my troll. Â The atmosphere is a little blah, and could have used more trolls, but it's some tiny town in Wisconsin, it'll do.
I stopped at the Grumpy Troll on a whim while driving back to Madison from Cave of the Mounds. Â This was probably the best decision I made that day. Â
The atmosphere in the Troll was great. Â The beer I tried was cold, crisp and refreshing (Angry Fred). Â I was really impressed with the variety of brews they offered. Â I think there were 10 or 12. Â
For lunch, I had a bowl of their beer cheese soup and a salad. Â You can't really screw up a salad, but I was impressed that they use spring mix lettuce instead of blah iceberg lettuce. Â The beer cheese soup was pretty incredible. Â While it wasn't the best I've ever had, it had a delightful taste - and chunks of sausage for some extra flavor.
The people I was with had the whitefish sandwich with fries and the chicken bacon ranch sandwich with the grump chips and gorgonzola dipping sauce. Â I tried all of it and it was GREAT! Â The chips and dipping sauce were particularly awesome.
All of this in Mt. Horeb? Â Who knew?
Quick Review: Went here for fish on Friday night and it was extremely expensive ($28 for 1 person with appetizer and Diet Pepsi), service was poor, and the fish wasn't good - it was dry and flavorless. Â Beer was excellent, but everything else was MEH.
Detailed Review:
I had high hopes for The Troll, but a coworker warned me ahead of time that the place was "largely forgettable." Â I ignored the warning and ventured down to Mount Horeb, found a parking spot, and walked in to the Troll. Â And that's where things got confusing...
When you enter the place, you're faced with a large, open, expansive stairway and a rather plain looking door with a small glass window. Â If you weren't paying attention, you'd wander up the stairs - but that's where the pizzeria is located. Â If you're looking for the brew pub, enter through the school-like door.
The Troll was packed on Friday night; I could barely find room to stand. Â I was also struggling to locate the hostess - turns out the hostess station is located near the back of the restaurant (odd location), so I fought my way through the crowd and asked for a table. Â The hostess (a middle-aged woman with bee-hive hair) stared at me blankly. Â I stared back.
After staring at each other for a while, I blinked and asked, "could I get a table for one?" Â She said, "ok" and then walked away. Â Not sure of what to do, I went back to the bar as a seat was opening and I wanted to snag it.
After 35-40 minutes of sitting at the bar, I decided to eat at the bar. Â The place had cleared out - most folks were now seated - so I asked for a menu. Â I inquired about the "brats in a blanket," but they were sold out... I inquired about the cheese curds and was told they were, "The best you'll ever have - homemade and everything. Â The Grump Chips are also fantastic."
Ok - sounded good to me. Â I ordered an appetizer of chips, followed by the baked cod with curds as my side. Â Chips arrived quickly, along with a butter-laden soft pretzel and a bowl of coleslaw.
The chips were terrible. Â Cold and stale, with a strong flavor of old grease. Â The gorgonzola dipping sauce that accompanied them tasted like lumpy cream cheese - it was flavorless as well. Â Sigh...
Fish arrived, along with the curds and I was immediately disappointed. Â The curds were obviously not homemade - they were the same curds that you'll get at nearly any bar in southern Wisconsin (Sysco curds). Â They were overcooked and greasy to boot.
Which left the fish... and strike three - it wasn't anything spectacular. Â Appeared to be of the frozen variety, baked, and covered in paprika. Â No flavor to speak of, and it wasn't tender, moist or flaky - in fact, it was quite dry. Â I cut it with a fork and knife.
The bartender asked how things were and I shared the bad news. Â He shrugged and walked away. Â I ordered a Diet Pepsi to wash the dry fish down my gullet and he asked if I'd like to try a piece of the beer battered cod. Â I obliged, and one appeared within seconds. Â Alas, it wasn't very good - heavily battered, greasy tasting, and lacking in the flavor department (aside from that by-now-all-too-familiar old grease taste).
The worst part? Â My bill was $28, and they don't offer an itemized receipt... The best I can figure is that the fish was $12, the curds were $7, the chips were $5 and the soda was $2. Â WOW.
Grumpy Troll = FAIL
Service = 2 stars
Food = 1 star
Value = 0 stars
MISC = 4 stars (beer was great)
There are many better fish frys out there, folks. Â This is one you can probably skip.
I think Benjamin Franklin said it best, "Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy."
The Grumpy Troll makes me happy. They brew a ton of their own beer. My boyfriend and I were on a mission on the eve of New Years Eve. We wanted to bring back the most delicious brews for our following evening. Mission accomplished. Left with a few growlers. $15/ growler and $12 for refills. ALLriiiight.
We started with the sampler which consisted of 12 - 3.5oz glasses. There were only 2 of the 12 that I didn't care for. My favorite was the Freedom IPA. The BF's favorite was Eric the Red.... and the Maggie. The most interesting of all was the Slow Eddie. So unique. Brewed with real jalapeno peppers. I loved it. I drank it while chowing down on some amazing fried cheese curds. It's a light tasting, thirst quenching then the bite comes in. You can smell the peppers. It's not spicy on your tongue, but gives you a sense of it. You'd have to try it to know.
The Brew-master came by our table to chat. Asked us all sorts of questions and welcomed us to town. Helped us understand a little more about some of our favorite selections.
We had lunch and enjoyed our beer samples. Both of us feeling a slight buzz shortly after we started. Decent food, good burger, good fries. They have some interesting things on the menu, and I really wish I could have tried more. I had a quesadilla that had chicken, andouille sausage, artichokes and some other stuff. It was good. I really wanted to try the artichoke cakes, but there were only two of us and we had other breweries to attend that day.
Stopped here on the way back from Governor Dodge State Park in Wisconsin this past weekend and was pleasantly surprised. The food was A-OK and the waitress was constantly absent but the place was so cute I didn't really mind.
They also have an interesting selection of their own beers. They let my companion and I sample a half dozen before buying a "growler" (where have I been while this word was proliferating?? I had never heard it before!) of beer for $15 ($12 for a refill). I didn't think the beers really matched their descriptions overall, but what do I know?
Basically it is a good, not great, place for a bite to eat on your way back from the frozen north!
I love this place, really. Â I make an annual trek to House on the Rock from Chicago and always stop here on my way home.
I've had some hits and some misses, but last time I went (3/29/08) the food was very good (a burger and soup--I'm a burger snob). Â The beers are also good--though a designated driver is a must.
They lose a star for service. I've always had pretty bad service here... usually young girls who would be better off working at a Fridays or Dennys. Work on it! I'll be back next year and re-review.
Beer and Trolls! Huh?
Seriously though, delicious beer. I took a growler of the Maggie IPA to-go. The food was decent, but thankfully we'd just been down the street to the Mustard Museum and had some amazing pretzels and mustard to snack on with the beers. I love the woodwork on the sign out front too.
If you're in the Troll Capital of the World, make sure to stop by this gem.
Very good brew pub beer.
Good burgers. Bun nicely toasted, meat about the right proportions.
Okay soup.
Pretty good fish sandwich.
Passible service.
French fries had the goopy seasoning coating that is always a disappointment and leaves you wondering just what were they thinking when they signed onto that disaster.
Disturbing green wall paint. Industrial look of the brewing room reflected in the visible ductwork in the eating chamber.
Really about 3.5 stars, would probably improve if they got rid of the TVs and used a less unsettling wall color and served actual unadulterated french fries.
Basically the only reason I've ever been in Mt Horeb is because of the Mustard Museum. Â I'm not going to lie about that.
But, I was pleasantly surprised to find the Grumpy Troll kinda across the street. Â They serve some pretty tasty food, and although Im not really a fan of beer, my dining companions have thought that the little beer sampler thing was good enough to get a Growler of beer to go.
That's right, a Growler, which is basically a big glass jug.
Who would of thunk it, a brewery in Mount Horeb. I wouldn't of been in Mount Horeb if it wasn't for the mustard museum. Speaking of mustard, Grumpy Troll serves mustard from the mustard museum with their food.
Ok the beer, that was the reason I was at grumpy troll and I am happy to report that it was some very tasty brew. The beer flight offered 8 tasty samples... 8 thats a pretty pretty pretty good deal! I think my favorite was the ''Red Eyed Troll.'
Lots of seating and great service.
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