Sent family a $100 gift certificate for birthday dinner. Steak ordered med rare came back burnt. Food was disgusting. Restaurant refunded 20 % of meal. Thought the ratings would mean this place had good food. Upset to say the least that young couple got disgusting food . read more

OMG!!! They really went out of the way to make my father's birthday special. We had a party of 20 people and the waitress Sarah went out of her way making sure everything was perfect. Great service, great atmosphere, and the food was so good. It was a Saturday so prime rib was the special and it was one of the best meals I have ever had. The prices were fair and my father now has a great memory of being with friends and family at a great place. read more

Terrible. Porterhouse Pork Chop was overcooked. Wedge salad was just...meh. Way too much lettuce and drowning in dressing with just slightly less than a half lb of bacon slapped on top. Drinks are limited unless you want to drink an old fashion or manhattan. If you order straight liquor you will get EXACTLY one ounce and not a micro increment more for ridiculous fee. Staff is nice but clueless and poorly trained. Plus, what "fine dining" establishment has a whole row of video poker machines along the wall in the main dining room? Its a truck stop at best. Note to owner....Either spend the money and invest in updating the place and hire a real GM and chef (yours sucks) or don't run a restaurant. Just because you own real estate doesn't make you an expert on running a restaurant. read more

Enjoyed our favorite new wine . I has scallops , always a favorite! Chef comes out to make sure everything is good!

We were here on a Friday night for the fish fry. It was very good. Generous portions. Excellent potato pancakes. We will come back here.

Went here this evening with my husband and niece. Loved the architecture of the building. We ordered a couple fish fry plates and one fish fry/baked cod plate. The 3 pc. fish fry was only $12 and the combo plate $15. Both were delicious and filling; however my favorite was the combo since you get a little taste of both the baked and fried cod. It was a nice, relaxing Friday night dinner :) I would recommend calling ahead if you can as space can be limited. read more

BJ Wentker's - Combo fish fry was great! - New American Near Me - Burlington, Wisconsin

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This was my first not only hearing about B.J. Wentker's but visiting here, and I have lived in the area for some time now. A couple of things to start off, the corner historic building in downtown Burlington is absolutely gorgeous from the outside. Walking in the decor is very inviting, warm and a quiet environment. Service was exceptional and the food was absolutely divine. Everything was timed perfectly, nothing overlapping too much. Cost was well below what either of us expected as well. Definitely coming back again!! Thank you for being part of the community!! read more

This is one of those places where the owner IS THE CHEF. When the chef is away, the place is closed. I love places like that, and they're becoming rare with line chefs cooking even at the nicest restaurants. Each time I've been there, the food has been consistently fantastic. I usually order their their lamb or duck. One comes in a balsamic reduction and the other zinfandel port reduction. As far as I'm concerned, it's one of the only decent restaurants in the Lake Geneva area (15 minutes out of town). If you're staying at Grand Geneva, head on over to BJ's instead of the mediocre restaurants in Lake Geneva (Medusa being the exception). I've had decent service--they won't catch your fork as it falls from the table, but most of the servers I've had were friendly. The occasionally hold special wine pairing events. I've never had the chance to check them out, but they sound fantastic. Give them a call and see when they're scheduled for. Insider tips: If you're planning to go in the winter, bring an extra pair of socks. The old (turn of LAST century) building has cold small tiled floors and high ceilings. Half of this place is a bar, which STILL allows smoking. The dining room is separate from the bar. read more

How does this place not have 5 stars? AMAZING. Bacon wrapped shrimp were incredible. Steak? Amazing. Lobster? Rocking. Apple tart with caramel sauce desert? Whoa now. Even the coffee was awesome. Neat place, very historic. Friendly staff. But forget all that for a minute. The food was AWESOME. I wish i lived closer. Note: it's a little pricey, as in, it's not cheap because its not crappy food. Steak was 32 bucks, lobster tail was 20, appetizer was 9, desert was 6 - so, you're not paying podunk town prices, which is fine, because the food is worth every penny. If you're from the city, you're used to paying these prices for food thats half as good. This was really good. read more

I took my daughter there to enjoy a quite and unique atmosphere to enjoy some quality time and buy her a nice lunch for her birtday . We both loved it , and the polite waiter had no problem asking the chef if he could make me a steak , even though it was a lunch menu . I loved the steak , the service and the ambiance . I'll be back ... only hope they've got some XXXL t - shirts ( the only thing missing . ) =( :- D read more

Whenever I get a chance to eat at this location I take it. Lobster sandwich for lunch was a nice surprise one day. The fish fry is to die for. The chefs do everything with a personal flair. The wait staff is attentive and very friendly. You will not make a mistake going out to dinner at this establishment. read more

I was here not too long ago with a few friends, and overall we weren't impressed. The beer list is impressive! It is significantly longer than the dinner menu. The martini list was very nice too. I would give the bar 5 stars! Now for the negativity... My friends and I weren't impressed by the service. Our waitress couldn't be bothered to tell us the daily specials. The funny thing is that she was so willing to spend 20 minutes slowly going over the specials as well as the menu with another near by table, but ignored my table. Extra points off for her telling us "I can't be bothered to drink coffee, but from what I guess, it is ok here or something." The food was anything but impressive. We ordered appetizers only as the prices seemed very high. My scallops were seemed to be frozen pre-made appetizers, and my friend's crostini assortment was a cold, obviously reheated (poorly) dish which was hastily prepared. The claims of "fine dining" need some work. If you have ever seen the original British episodes of Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares, the episodes featuring "The Fenwick Arms" remind me of this place. read more

We have eaten there a number of times....with up to six folks...never disappointed. A good wide ranging menu; good beer and wine selection with suggestions on each menu item, which I appreciate. We really like the new NO SMOKING rule for the entire place...in advance of the 7/5/2010 ruling....makes it a much nicer place to eat for all. We recommend it...a little pricy (by SoWi standards) but worth it. read more

This place was gross. The soup was too salty and the steaks were cold. Some steaks were even grey! Save your money. Get meat from a butcher shop for half the price and grill them. This was gross. Even the sprite was weird. We got there at 4 and didn't get home till 7:30! It took an hour to get appetizers out! We need to call Gordon Ramsey and get this place into shape! read more

We had a party of 12 celebrating a birthday tonight. Terrible experience and we will not be back. It took 30 minutes for an appetizer to come out, which was completely different than described on the menu. They seemed to be out of a lot of ingredients for being a Saturday night. Soups/salads came out and the French onion soup was cold to the touch and way too salty. It took another hour for our entrees to come out and every filet was cold and overcooked, which means they probably sat out while other things were cooked. Prime rib was completely cold and almost raw. We showed a manager a filet that was ordered medium rare and came out well done. The manager took it to show it to the cook and then brought it back to the table. She didn't offer to replace any of the steaks, and we wouldn't have waited for that. They only took off two of the steaks and one soup from the bill, which doesn't seem acceptable to me. At $25-$35 per entree, you would expect much better food. My filet didn't taste like a filet. It tasted more like overcooked sirloin. Other people walked in and waited to be seated and then left, lucky for them. We could have gone to a prime butcher and bought 12 filets and grilled them at home. The food would have tasted better and would have cost 1/2 the money. This used to be a good restaurant years ago. My guess is that under this new ownership that this restaurant won't make it long. We won't be back. read more

Food was excellent, as was the service. And the decor and history inside rounded it out perfectly. Jennifer our waitress and Jessica our bartender kept up going too. Definitely recommend it if you're looking for fine dining, or a good bar, in Burlington, Wis. read more

BJ Wentker's - A wintry night at BJ's - New American Near Me - Burlington, Wisconsin

We walked into this restaurant before 8pm and was eventually greeted by a hostess who welcomed us by asking what time it was. Seemed like she was hoping that it was past dinner hours. Went on Friday for the fish fry. They had run out of the baked cod, though they still had the deep fried cod......how is that possible? Fish cooks quickly. We opted for the salmon that was on the regular menu. It was overlooked, dry and yet, still tasted extremely fishy. The gnocchi that came with it was mushy and tasteless. We went there with four star expectations. The only four star thing at this place was our waitress, Jennifer. She took the salmon off of our check and was understanding and very personable. read more

Great meal here, reasonable price. Casual and welcoming, but it has the nice touches expected at a fine dining establishment. Baked cod was great, but spectacular potato pancake side w applesauce was exceptional. Staff wasn't quite up to speed on wines, but taps made up for that. Mgr stopped by and it's clear he knows what he's doing, and is working with staff for the right vibe. He knows where he wants to take this place. Take a break from the usual sports bar scene you can get anywhere, and try this place- it's special and they are doing it right. read more

This place is an amazing historical building. That in itself is worth seeing but if you go for a nice high dollar food experience go elsewhere. First clue both times we've been there on a Saturday night. Dead! No one goes. Not sure how it stays in business. First dinner was 'ok' got scallops. Second visit the steak was awful and I got burnt salmon. I mean charcoal. They flipped it over so I wouldn't notice but I couldn't tell if I was eating a piece of charcoal or salmon. I couldn't eat it. Chef cake out pacing the floors because no business and asked how our meal was. I said well I hate to complain but you burnt the salmon. He couldn't look me in the eyes and said well we grill fry it. And walked off as if that was normal. So we told the waitress and she acted like this wasn't the first time and took it off our bill. I told her that's not necessary just discount it since I can't eat the fish. We had her before and she's very friendly. But. Last time, we won't be back for 3 strikes you are out. Go elsewhere and avoid this place until they get a new chef. read more

The food was ok, but not excellent. The part that annoyed me the most was the wait for the food. Our reservation was at 8 PM and we didn't get served until 10 pm!! We were a larger party (8 people) but I was not expecting it to take that long! They were apologetic and they were really nice, but over all, I wouldn't really recommend. read more

Definitely make reservations. I couldn't get in for lunch on a Wednesday about a month ago. Today was not busy, but I had reservations just to be sure. We had the fried brie with cranberries for an appetizer. It was very good. I had the Peanut Chicken Salad with spicy peanut dressing. It was excellent. My friend had a bacon cheddar burger, and I'm normally not a burger fan, but it looked mouthwatering. The staff was impeccable, letting us talk as long as we wanted with few interruptions, but being sure to be right there whenever needed. They substituted sliced tomatoes for potatoes on request. My only regret is that I was too stuffed for dessert, as I really wanted to try the chocolate creme brulee. While some may say $27 (w/o tip) is too much for lunch for 2, I'd rather go out half as much and pay the extra to get this really great food, atmosphere, and service. read more

Common theme in these reviews are - COLD FOOD. Absolutely correct. We ordered 4 different dishes from veggie spaghetti to steak. Every dish looked good when arrived at the table but all dishes were just on the edge of too cold to eat. Some reviewers said lukewarm but a better description was that the temperature was where it was just-cool-enough that it was uncomfortable to eat and created a strong urge to Microwave it. read more

We used to love this place. Have not been there for quite sometime as we live quite a long ways. It was very disappointing on every level from the food to horrible service. The icing on the dessert that was never offered was walking out to find "the chef" and other staff members hanging outside around the dumpsters smoking and staring at their phones! Unbelievable! Must be different owners. It's a real shame such a beautiful place... read more

Stopped by on a late Sunday afternoon for drinks, and had a fantastic experience! Bartender Kyle is super knowledgeable about the history of the building, and a great mixologist. He made us a pre-prohibition "Old Fashioned" with rye whiskey that was fantastic (where else are you going to find that?!) Prime rib sandwich and coconut shrimp were wonderful. Other drinks great, too, especially the Brandy Alexander for dessert. :) Very fun visit. We'll be back! read more

Beautiful historic restaurant with wonderful ambience, food and hand crafted cocktails. The bartender is great. Would highly recommend this restaurant. read more

My wife kidnapped me and we spent an evening in Burlington-we heard from a friend that B. J. Wentker was a great place to go. Kyle greeted us at the door and was the best bartender/host. Made me the best Old Fashioned I've ever had-then recommended our meals and was one of the best steaks I've had out. We will be back!! read more

Ate here on date night and was so excited to try this place with my sweetheart. We were very disappointed. Although, the wine and fresh bread with roasted garlic butter were very good. The salmon was not fresh, in fact it was freezer burnt. The Mediterranean Stuffed Chicken had very little "stuff" actually in the breast. Staff only came to our table twice the whole night and there was only one other table seated the entire time we were there. It took 15 minutes to get our check. Won't go back. read more

Had a delicious dinner here. Excellent filet, excellent service. Beautiful decor in a historic building. Romantic dinner for two? Come here and you will be rewarded later. read more

Still loving it. They have Saint Germaine elderflower spirit, yummy! Stellar clam chowder served with fresh bread and roasted garlic. All the menu options are good, my only complaint is that it is hard to choose only one entree! Salmon served with gnocchi was heaven! read more

We visited here while running errands in Burlington. The atmosphere is classic steakhouse with many historic photos on the wall. Wait staff was great, welcoming and cordial from start to finish. We had our heart set on fish fry and were not disappointed. Ordered a combo of baked and fried cod and both were delicious- served with drawn butter, tartar sauce and lemon wedge. Came with fries or potato pancake, coleslaw and a slice of rye bread. Everything was great and will definitely return. read more

Gave the restaurant another try, since being reopened. The good first.... Host and waitress were friendly, their menu offers a wide variety of choices and the ambience is still very nice. Now the not so good.... My whiskey old-fashioned sour came with cherries and was rather sweet. I did not send it back, but didn't order another. Our food took awhile to arrive and was then lukewarm (although it had nice flavor). The onion rings were of course mushy after maybe sitting on a warmer for too long?? I also ordered a side of veggies, which were way too carmelized. Bummer. Hoping things turn around. read more

Finally had dinner here and went with the NY Strip. Wonderful!! The only complaint - which has nothing to do with the food or service whatsoever - is that when you're seated in the back of the restaurant, you can hear the kitchen staff chatting and getting a little boisterous. Just a note to the management, you may want to tell them to keep it down a little back there (although they sounded like it was all in good fun, it doesn't always go hand in hand with a pleasurable dining experience...we were willing to overlook it, but it was a little distracting - especially at a place like this which is upscale for the area). All in all, a wonderful meal and we will return. read more

There are a lot of bar/pubs out there but few have the wonderful historic interior that Wentker's has. Do you like a truly hand-made cocktail? Kyle makes the best Manhattan and Old Fashion we've ever had. It's true as some have pointed out that they were out of certain menu items, but what we had was stellar; the Prime Rib Stew and the Maytag Burger were as good as anything I've ever had. Beer? Weellllll, we are beer snobs and there were no Trippels, Quads, Barleywines, or ..... but that might be changing very soon as management seems intent on upping their game and doing the heavy lifting to make the place a Go-To for the discerning folks who are not only looking for world class decor but also want excellent food and spirits. They are clearly on their way. read more

Food and service was great ! Don't pass on the bacon wrapped shrimp for an appetizer! I had the rack of lame, it was amazing. The owner was there and checked on us 3-4 times. If your from out of town looking for a classy place for a nice cocktail, steak or seafood with a great wine selection this is your place! read more

This place was a very nice surprise. My sisters and I took Mom up to Lake Geneva and on a Saturday night the restaurants were packed. We Yelped surrounding towns and found this a short drive away. It's in a beautiful old building that's been run under the same name (though different owners) for decades. The food and service was excellent. The selection was an interesting mix of standbys and unique dishes. I tried the Chorizo stuffed chicken which came in a corn chowder. It was very good though, frankly, I wished I'd gone for the crab stuffed filet which everyone else got and was falling over themselves saying how great it tasted. Desserts were all great, too. Try the Mango Cheesecake (take a few bites without the crust to really taste the mango) or the Strawberry Foster (like bananas foster with strawberries). Ask for a knife on that last one as the pastry can't be cut with a fork. Go to Lake Geneva for the lake but go here for the food and atmosphere. read more

This is a great place to dine or meet friends for a cocktail. The atmosphere, unlike other restaurants and bars in the area is quaint and quiet. We've frequented BJ's for happy hour, appetizers, and the Friday fish fry- and have never been disappointed. One of the best restaurants in the area. read more

We ate here last night with a group of 8. Excellent food and drink. Hubby had drunken ribeye...very tender, delicious. I had grilled salmon...absolutely delicious! Everyone in group had wonderful meal. Drinks great. Waitress was awesome. Nice relaxed atmosphere. Price is on higher end, but worth it! read more

Excellent food, and service. a little pricey. but the lunch menu is a deal. so it balances out. Try the steak sandwich for lunch. Or the Lobster blt wrap read more

I suppose it depends on what you get when you visit a restaurant. I would say that some of the dishes are better than others, and some are overpriced, but in general, the food is good and the atmosphere is really interesting. I would especially recommend the seafood and fish here. read more

The food was quite good, I had the pistachio crusted walley and tasted the drunken ribeye, but the service was on the slow side. They would have gotten another star if the service was a bit faster, another table in our area got seated after us and had their entrees before our soup/salad. The dining area did have a nice atmosphere, with original tile floors, tin ceilings, etc. read more