Knotty Barrel Supper Club is the perfect Northwoods supper club experience. We started with two perfectly made Old Fashioneds, then shared Brussels sprouts with bacon before enjoying perfectly cooked medium rare filets with thinly sliced potatoes and vegetables. The salad bar was a great, nostalgic touch. The decor was outstanding and exactly what you want in a Northwoods restaurant, warm, rustic, and inviting. Service was wonderful and the views were absolutely breathtaking. Server also helped us navigate menu for gluten free options. We will definitely be back. read more

Knotty Barrel Supper Club - Perfect old fashioned! - Seafood Near Me - Minocqua, Wisconsin

Great location and view from the dining room. The restaurant is in the lower level of this huge building located next to the beach and park in downtown Minaqua. Lots of parking which might be really needed during the tourist season. Tonight's meal was so so. Was attracted to this place because it had a salad bar. Sadly a number of the offerings were gone, or almost gone. It needed attention! The special tonight was a Rib eye with a baked potato. The Rib Eye was cooked well and had decent seasoning, but the cut of meat was not very good. The cut quality was closer to what I'd expect at steak buffet than at a sit down restaurant. (Could very well have been just bad luck) but when you pay restaurant price for a nice steak you don't expect to get a bad one. It is still the "off" season, but this restaurant just seemed to be understaffed. I ate at the bar and the one bartender was working his but off. But waiting until he was done making drinks to get get butter for my potato (came without any) and salt and pepper got a but trying. Also getting an empty bottle of A1 Sauce was not impressive. Hopefully they have more staff when the real crowds get to town. read more

Had the fish fry tonight. We had the fried haddock. It starts with a salad bar, which was good. We were very disappointed they stopped the homemade croutons. They also stopped the basket of crackers with cheese spread. The fish was a good portion and tasty. For $25/person, the price point is higher than other places in the area. Bring back the homemade croutons & basket of crackers! read more

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I've been to 90% of the fish frys in the area, and this is truly the best I've ever had! The batter is so insanely flavorful. The green beans had a wonderful flavor. We loved the warm bread (there is a charge). Make sure to get an ice cream drink for dessert- they're huge and fed our table of 5. Bailey was a great server and made us feel very welcome! read more

Just because a new restaurant calls itself a "supper club," does that make it so? Let's find out. The Knotty Barrel occupies a prime location with beautiful views and a warm, comfortable interior. If you're local and live on the lake or near the Bearskin Trail, it's another excellent destination for a boat ride or hike that ends with dinner downtown. I've watched this building evolve over the past 50+ years, and I think it has finally become what it was always meant to be--an establishment worthy of its exceptional location. But what about the supper club atmosphere? If you grew up with Wisconsin supper clubs, you may find yourself a bit underwhelmed. Spend a few minutes taking in the room, and you might sense that a great deal of effort has gone into recreating the charm of a classic supper club rather than letting it develop naturally. It feels less like a family-owned institution that's been serving loyal customers for generations and more like a carefully crafted interpretation of one. That impression was reinforced when I visited the restaurant's website while preparing this review. The polished, corporate branding matched the feeling I'd already picked up during our visits. As a rule, if a traditional Wisconsin supper club has a website at all, it's probably not highlighting its "Leadership Team." After two visits, however, I can confidently say the food earns high marks. The Waters Edge Cheese Curds and Steakhouse Tips made for an excellent start. Among the entrées, the Aged Ribeye was outstanding and, I suspect, may be one of the most reliable choices on the menu. Not every dish reached that same level. The Lemon Caper Chicken Piccata and Crispy Chicken Schnitzel appeared to use nearly identical chicken breasts--breaded, fried, fairly thick, and seemingly not pounded thin or generously seasoned. The piccata's accompanying pasta was, on our visit, a couple of minutes past al dente. The schnitzel, however, was served with outstanding spaetzle. Really delicious. On an earlier visit, we thoroughly enjoyed the basil pesto cavatappi and the Maryland-style crab cakes, both of which were excellent. The salad bar feels like something of an afterthought. The greens were fresh, and the toppings were exactly what you'd hope for, but its placement is awkward. Located in a busy corridor connecting the front and back of the restaurant--and adjacent to both a server station and the bar--it quickly becomes congested. No supper club review would be complete without mentioning the cocktails. These days it's difficult to completely miss the mark, and The Knotty Barrel certainly doesn't. The classic cocktails were well executed, and several creative house specialties looked tempting enough to bring us back for another visit. Dessert may be where The Knotty Barrel truly shines. The carrot cake and chocolate mousse cake were exceptional--rich, flavorful, and indulgent without being overly sweet. They provided a memorable finish to the meal. So, is The Knotty Barrel a supper club? If this is your introduction to Wisconsin supper clubs, then absolutely--it checks many of the boxes. But if you've spent a lifetime enjoying the authentic, multigenerational establishments that helped define the tradition, you may find the atmosphere feels a little manufactured. Even so, that's not necessarily a deal breaker. The food is consistently good, the setting is beautiful, and the attentive staff delivers an enjoyable dining experience. Whether or not it captures the soul of a classic Wisconsin supper club, The Knotty Barrel has established itself as a restaurant well worth visiting. Note: my impression of the manufactured supper club experience extends to the customer-facing staff as well. While everyone we encountered was friendly and professional, the overall presentation felt at odds with the traditional Wisconsin supper club experience. And here's where I invoke Ricky Bobby-- "with all due respect," extensive facial and full-body tattoos on hosts and other front-of-house staff contribute to a more contemporary, urban aesthetic. That's perfectly at home in a biker bar, craft brewery, or cannabis dispensary, but it feels out of place in a restaurant that's trying to evoke the timeless charm of a classic supper club. Whether that's a positive or a negative depends on your expectations, but it reinforced the sense that the atmosphere was being created rather than inherited. read more

My husband and I recently ventured out of the woods to the Knotty Barrel during off-season in Minocqua. I must say that the quality of service and atmosphere was top notch. Not only do they have lakeside dining in the summer, the KB has a cozy fireplace dining area that was sublime. Now onto the food.. Well seasoned, superior plating, and all around a great meal. The crab cakes and Brussels are really well done appetizers and the main dinner options like the salmon are more updated than other restaurants in the area. read more

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Val (bartender) is the shit, thanks Val #brandyalexander #coolshirt yelp wants it to be at least 85 characters but I have nothing else to say once more Val is the shit read more

Service was decent. Everything was very expensive. I enjoyed two crab cakes, but they were $36!!!!! The kids menu was very limited and expensive for butter noodles. The salad bar was sparse. Probably won't go back because the ambiance wasn't great enough for the expense. read more

We were fortunate enough to find the Knotty Barrel Supper Club during our stay in Minocqua. My wife had the shrimp scampi and I had the chicken schnitzel. Both were quite excellent, as was the service we received from our server Casey. I highly recommend this establishment and the old fashioneds!!! read more

Knotty Barrel Supper Club - Seafood Near Me - Minocqua, Wisconsin

Nice addition to the Minocqua dining scene. Glad we ignored these reviews and gave this place a shot. We had the Friday fry which was perfect. Broiled fish and veggie of the day. Salad bar comes with 'meal. Service was a little slow and my teens thought the portions were a little small but overall I thought it was a good meal, in a nice setting, at a fair price point . Recommend if in the area. read more

Knotty Barrel Supper Club - The menu - Seafood Near Me - Minocqua, Wisconsin

Fun & delicious evening enjoyed at The Knotty Barrel Supper Club .. Thanks Shelby, Logan , David & Amy for the outstanding hospitality. Love the fresh salad bar. Might be a little cool out now, but you have to check out their Minocqua / Kawaga Lakes Association / Lake Minocqua access via their new / safe pier system - creating another outstanding dining option by "land or sea" read more

Knotty Barrel Supper Club - Linguine with grilled chicken Knotty Barrel Supper Club Lake Minocqua WI - Seafood Near Me - Minocqua, Wisconsin

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This will be a "quickie" Didn't have dinner there-they threw a reception for our band after we played our Christmas show at the nearby Campanile Center. A much-appreciated TALL Brandy Old-Fashioned was expertly made, and perfectly delicious. (it's the unofficial-but should be official-cocktail of Wisconsin). They presented an assortment of appetizers/bar foods which I was too tired/lazy to get up and get, but all said they were excellent. The Bartender brought over some Crab Cakes and YO! they were MONEY! Chock full of crabmeat and deliciously seasoned. Accompanying them were some lovely parmesan potato slices. If the rest of the menu is this good, I can't wait to come back for a full-on feed. The service was spot-on and decor is warm and rustic, yet dignified. The vibe was super cool, like we were at someone's home. Had the pleasure of a chat with the manager who was a great guy and most accommodating. read more

Delicious North Woods Supper Club, complete with salad bar. Don't miss the bread service and save room for the Brandy Alexander dessert. Ask for Bailey -- she's a fabulous server and made our experience so great. Shout out to the manager, Logan. We'll be back! read more

This resturant has targeted another prior business that used to occupy the same building. They claimed that the previous business is using their "building" photos on google to associate with their current business, knotty barrel. The prior business in question moved location. The photo she referenced is one of many photos from reviews. The photo is part of a review a customer left 7 years ago on the businesses google profile. The owner (or mistress??) claimed she contacted google to try and fix this. In other words she wants the other businesses reviews to be removed. Both google profiles are up to date with location and shows the accurate buildings in current reviews. This business is way out of line. My review of this business. The staff was rude and off putting , and they change managers and chefs like underwear. They can't retain staff.They used to be oakfire pizza but couldn't make that work so put the business up for sale/sat empty and now its knotty barrel. They built an air bnb up top. They also own other space downtown and recently kicked out a small business for ANOTHER air bnb in Minocqua. There is no consistency with the food. Salad bar uses commercial dressings. No complimentary supper club basket or plate. The bartender thought he was edgy by talking me out of a grasshopper ice cream drink to make a "grasshopper cocktail"...crème de methe in a glass...not a joke. read more

Loved the atmosphere of this place though I suggest calling to make a reservation. The head bartender was great and made an amazing lemon drop martini; be sure to save room for one of their grasshoppers because they are HUGE! This place also served the best crab cake I've had since leaving the East Coast, and they are certainly worth the price. I do have to agree with the other review, my Brussel Sprouts were very burnt and had no bacon when it says it's supposed to come sprinkled with bacon. I also had the walleye with amazing flavor, unfortunately it was full of bones (I pulled out 10). Very kind staff, very fast service, vibes were good. Hope this place stay around because I would definitely come back for drinks and the crab cakes. read more

Knotty Barrel Supper Club - Grasshopper - Seafood Near Me - Minocqua, Wisconsin

Food was very overpriced. Mostly velveeta based adult Mac n cheese, walleye was very fishy tasting (clearly not fresh), steak was a low end cut of meat, no rolls at a super club (really?). Staff was very nice, but inattentive. This restaurant is a massive missed opportunity.... read more

Awesome night! A special thanks to our server Bailey! The food was delicious and the drinks were as well!

Shockingly rude treatment by Kelly, the Sunday evening General Manager. After placing our orders with Jessica and helping ourselves to the salad bar, Kelly approached our table and accused us of berating our server and making profane comments. We were astounded and told her so. Nothing could have been further from the truth. No one was rude, no one was inebriated, no one treated the server poorly. We were 11 harmless senior citizens together for dinner on Sunday night. Kelly stated our actions could be verified by cameras and digital recordings. Our response is: Yes, please do! Please review the recording. We urge ownership to do just that to see how older customers are treated. In fact, we insist that you preserve any recordings for future legal action on our part if we discover our food was somehow adulterated as several of us now fear. It gets better. When we finished our meal and prepared to pay our check, Kelly asked us to leave immediately without paying. Well.....OK, was she trying to make amends? After all, the bill could easily have been close to $1,000. We told her that wasn't right and we wanted to pay for what we had eaten. She refused and then followed us outside to the patio as we said our goodbyes. She continued to follow us to the parking lot to write down our vehicle license plate number. What was her plan? To call the police and report that we had left without paying our bill? Had she asked, I would have gladly provided my name, address, and telephone number. I am astonished at such behavior by any employee but especially by a manager. Much worse than any experience in New York or even Paris where we're used to such things. But in Minoqua, WI? I cannot explain such bizarre and erratic action but I can assure we will never return, ever. read more

Incredible food made better by the Cat experience. Great service! Fun time! Great, great food! Too bad the summer season will make the wait longer. But this place deserves to be packed! read more

phenomenal food, great view, best service. An up north staple!! Be sure to get one of their signature martinis too.

Salad bar was great, very fresh. I had the chicken schnitzel and it was amazing! Our wait staff was great.

My friends and I had the pleasure of dining at The Knotty Barrel Saturday 10/18/25. We did not have reservations on a very busy night (Homecoming and the Art Walk were happening this weekend.) In spite of this, we were graciously accommodated. We simply waited (with a glass of wine, of course) in their beautiful and cozy reception area. And our wait was short. After our meal (delicious, by the way) we were comped with a large slice of carrot cake! Amy, one of the owners, spoke with us and graciously told us their story of acquiring the restaurant and their commitment to making The Knotty Barrel a destination supper club. She was lovely. We all highly recommend you visit this restaurant to experience it for yourselves! Thank you, Amy & the Knotty Barrel staff for your kind service and excellent meal. read more

We really enjoyed dinner for 2 on a Wednesday night. We ordered the Salmon and the Walleye Dinner along with one drink each. The server was very good, the meals were cooked perfectly and brought out by the Chef. This was easily the best meal we have enjoyed in Minocqua. Only suggestion- get rid of the clutter behind the salad bar. read more

The bartender was a true professional (probably head bartender). There were 7 staffers behind the bar many possibly in training. We had reservations and we were called on time. Once seated it seemed like things were out of sink. When we originally sat down one wait person for several tables (at least one more later). Salad bar was dark and uninspiring. We ordered a filet and it was cooked to perfection. Overall a 3. read more

The food was absolutely amazing but just as amazing was Cat our server she was such a delight and Cam the manager came to our table a few times to check in- great experience! read more

Just wasn't that impressed. I had crab cakes and they came out cold, but they did have a good amount of crab meat in them. I tired my friends chicken piccata and it was ok, very very light flavor. Salad bar was fine but nothing over the top. I guess for the newness and menu style (small menu) i was just expecting more from them. The bread butter and drinks were the tables favorite part of the meals. read more

Very rude hostess. Not just to us but she didn't greet anyone, she didn't apologize for the wait, fumbled with getting menus, spent more care with pushing tables and chairs around in the dining area (which didn't need it), made rude comment when we asked if we could be seated for our reservation, never smiled, the phones rang and rang, she was hard to find - never near her post, etc. Bartender was awesome. Friendly, attentive, welcoming, good drinks. Servers were also great (bar area and at our table). Food was fine but not great. I hope changes are made to the hostess area - customer service is non-existent and the reason we won't be back anytime soon. read more

Food was pretty good although the folks behind us 2 of the 4 complained about their meals as being dry and the other was over cooked..... another table was upset that it took way too long for their food. Service was ok, nothing spectacular. The manager was rude and unreasonable when addressing customers issues read more

Outrageous and unprofessional customer service. Our experience at this restaurant was nothing short of outrageous and disturbing. From the moment sat down the service was disorganized and dismissive. We had to ask 3 times for the complimentary cheese and cracker basket. The salad bar was dark and looked questionable at best. The menu was extremely limited, and to make matters worse, they were out of two of the six entrees they offered. Things took at turn for the worse when the manager falsely accused us of swearing at our waitress. Rather than approaching the situation calmly, the manager stormed over with a bouncer. Instead of escalating the situation she doubled down-- she accused us of not only of verbally abusing the server, but also of switching seats to "confuse the staff" about who ordered what entree. The whole exchange was bizarre and hostile, making us uneasy enough that when the food finally arrived, we were genuinely worried about whether it was safe to eat. As if that wasn't enough, the situation escalated again when it was time to settle the bill. The manager rudely asked who was with whom for the check. When we explained the original server had already made note of that, she started yelling "You didn't answer my question!". As we attempted to explain it again, she repeated "You didn't answer my question!" over and over. She then told us to leave immediately and refused to let us pay. We assume our bill for 8 was easily over $800 with food and drinks. It did that end there. She followed us outside with the bouncer and watched our every move. She also wrote down our friend's license plate number. Why?! I can only imagine what she planned on doing with it. The entire situation was threatening, unprofessional and completely unacceptable. We left feeling stunned and completely disrespected. This was not just poor customer service--it was harassment. We will never visit this place again and would NOT recommend this restaurant to anyone who values respectful service and professional management. read more

Superb service, food, ambiance. The drinks were very tasty. All the staff was friendly and skilled. And what a great brandy Alexander. We will be back again and again! Oh and the salad bar was delicious!! read more

Knotty Barrel Supper Club - Seafood Near Me - Minocqua, Wisconsin

So great. Logan and Taylor and the entire staff are all amazing!!! Don't miss going for a great dinner!!

Went a group of 12!! They sat us all together at a lg square table. The wait staff was great and even gave us separate checks-all correct! Our suppers all came out at the same time, with multiple staff delivering at once. Our supper was great. We had the chicken piccata, TENDER, and flavorful with linguini, capers and lemon sauce. Friends had the salmon-good, walleye-good,-steak-good Salad bar was fresh and had alot of wonderful choices. Beer from Merrill on tap is good-a little high priced at $8 pint. Old fashions good $9-$15 each. read more

Wow, wow, wow! I went here for a dinner with my mom & we are already talking about who we're bringing back with us next time. Salad bar was delicious & they had everything one could need for a solid old fashioned. I went with the center cut filet - great flavor! No sauce even needed. Also came with salad bar, asparagus & a choice of potato (baked potato all the way!). For dessert, we went with a classic Grasshopper and it was enormous such a fun way to end a relaxing dinner on the lake read more

Knotty Barrel Supper Club - Filet - Seafood Near Me - Minocqua, Wisconsin

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On a scale of 1 to 10 I would rate them as a 2. The only reason for the 2 was the waitress was very Plesant. I had the special which was the shaved Prime rib sandwich. The only problem was it had little to none Prime Rib! I Also had the French onion soup which was nothing more than beef broth with a couple of small onion pieces. No French bread or melted cheese. I had the house Old Fashion which came in a very small glass. Also, very pricey. read more

I was hesitant to try this place out due to the low rankings it had been receiving and yelp never lets me down. However, since it was new, I said I would try. I had expectations that the food would be good but the service wouldn't. However, the service was very good! Rick was an amazing server/bartender. He gave honest feedback on what he recommended for food. I had the filet and my friend had the blackened walleye and we both were content. The salad bar was not disappointing. It had your basics + esp for a small supper club. The menu is small but it means it should all be good since they specialize in each item. The ambience/vibe was chic-up-north style supper club. I would recommend all around. read more

Salad was the best food offering , everything else was bland and or dry. Steak was bland, chicken dry.

We spent over 4 hours trying to have dinner here. The manager and hostess were beyond rude and acting like a bouncer does at a packed night club. Poorly organized operations, maybe 2 waiters managing all the tables, salad bar was out of things and nothing was getting refilled. Seemed like they could only cook for one table at a time. They also ran out of items too. Bartender told us they ran out of glassware. Everyone around us was clearly frustrated. Food had very little flavor as well. Clearly need someone to come in and create a proper restaurant process. Won't be going back. read more

Beautiful setting absolutely terrible service. Took hours for food. The server never came back. I would not recommend this restaurant.

We were immediately greeted by friendly and knowledgeable bartenders offering their take on drinks and food. The salmon was perfectly prepared and the pesto pasta sauce was the highlight of the dish. The addition of a small salad bar solidified the supper club feel. Be prepared to watch a constant parade of grasshoppers which appear to pack a gallon of ice cream apiece. Definitely worth a visit. read more

The head bar tender is an ass........... and he should keep his mouth shut. Very poor business practices. Also the Brussels sprouts were over cooked and dry. We left and never had dinner there which we originally intended to. I would recommend looking elsewhere If you want a good meal. read more