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    Puempel's Olde Tavern

    3.9 (77 reviews)
    InexpensiveBars, Sandwiches, Pizza
    Closed 10:00 am - 11:00 pm
    Updated over 3 months ago

    Puempel's Olde Tavern Photos

    PUEMPEL'S OLDE TAVERN ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Divey
    Casual
    Quiet
    Good for groups

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    Recommended Reviews - Puempel's Olde Tavern

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    This was not the Spotted Cow. It was the next beer on tap next to it that was also from New Glarus
    Eugene B.

    This Tavern has a long history in New Glarus and is worth checking out. There is no official kitchen, and so orders can take a while. Luckily for us, our bartender was nice enough to give us a heads up and suggested a few other places for a hot meal. It was the day 12/26. Cold and overcast. After finishing two local beers (including a Spotted Cow), we ventured back out into the cold. This tavern was established in the 1800's. So, expect that kind of vibe.

    Liverwurst on rye
    Becky L.

    Great visit here again. We have come here plenty over the years and it was our first thought for lunch when in the area. We grabbed a sandwich and drinks and the place was fairly busy. However, they were doing a great job of serving people and turning over tables. Our server was friendly and the prices were reasonable. Definitely look forward to stopping here the next time we are in town. Get the liverwurst!

    Lasagna Soup
    Richard C.

    We were planning to go to Glarner Stube again for lunch. The last time we were there it was wonderful. Unfortunately it was closed on Wednesdays. We opted for Puempel's Old Tavern. As a place to stop in and have a couple Spotted Cows, it would be wonderful, but as a place to have lunch, I would try somewhere else. Italian beef sandwiches, eh! Lasagna Soup, kind of amazing!

    A trip back in time
    Barry M.

    Like a trip back in time. Love it. Really good old fashion's and of course all the New Glarus beers

    Cans of Busch Light!
    Sara O.

    Had to make sure to take my husband to this historic tavern in New Glarus! It was much busier than we expected when we arrived but we found 2 seats at the end of the bar. We first used our chips from the New Glarus brewery to indulge in some Spotted Cow. Not ready for a full meal, we decided to order an appetizer. We noticed that they had unbreaded cheese curds, which is not what your normally see on a menu in Wisconsin! Intrigued, we knew we had to try them and we were pleasantly surprised! The bartenders were very friendly and chatted when there was a minute of downtime and we were entertained by watching a couple patrons try to get their dollars up on the ceiling. Overall a great experience and a place we would absolutely return to on our next trip to New Glarus!

    Brittany C.

    Cute bar offering drinks and food in a very quaint town. Loved the bread bowl soup! They have many delicious items like cheese curds as well for a great reasonable price. Service was super friendly.

    Spotted Cow
    Michael W.

    I will be honest, this wasn't where I wanted to eat when we visited New Glarus but it was really good! It is a comfortable and friendly place, and they have New Glarus beer on tap! The servers were very friendly and helpful and we enjoyed the visit. There is a lot of history to this place so be sure to read the back of the menu. We had been skiing all day, and we had a major storm just starting, but we enjoyed some soup and ordered a pizza. I had the French Onion, which was not too traditional but still good. The pizza was an Emil's brand they cooked and it tasted fine. The star of the show is the beer. One of the servers told me of the Apple Ale and we picked up some before we left New Glarus; we loved it. Next time I come to New Glarus I am quite sure where I will go to have a beer or three!

    Ice tongs. One in front of each cabinet for ice.
    Christina W.

    Nice tavern with all of its history still on display for your viewing pleasure. They welcome you without reservations which is a big plus after a day of skiing and a two hour drive to get back home. We just needed a place to sit down, rest our legs and warm up with food and drinks. This place did all of that and we are grateful for their kindness and hospitality. Yes, they have New Glarus on tap and also for sale in cans and bottles. They have a food menu and two soups of the day. Not sure where their kitchen is. We tried one of each of their soups. Hubby had the French Onion and said it was ok. I had the chili, made with beans and meat and optional onions, and loved it. Great flavor and very filling. Then we shared a deluxe Emil's WI's own pizza. It was decent but reminded us of a frozen pizza. While waiting for our food I walked around the dining area and took some photos. One of the employees talked with me about the history of the tavern and some of the original fixtures. One of the ceiling fans was installed before electricity was available. They had to hand crank it to make it work. Their ice chest (walk in refrigerator) has two wooden cabinets on top where they used ice tongs to put the ice in to keep it cool. Don't forget about the four extra large hand painted murals on the walls. Three on the right and one behind the bar. Read the back of the menu for the history about those.

    Italian beef with cheddar cheese. Au jus on the side
    Chris T.

    Old world bar, but not a dive bar. More an authentic trip back to when times were simpler. New Glarus Brewery beers abound. The locally sourced brats were a hit. The pulled pork was also great. The Italian beef sandwich was okay but not great. More like shaved beef kept in a warmer but the au jus on the side was appreciated. Independently owned and operated so Puempels is a well earned fixture in the quaint and authentic town of New Glarus. Go and have a beer, two, tree...

    Sampler and got a take home pint glass!
    Sam W.

    We were visiting IL from out of town and wanted to take a road trip somewhere to explore the open road. Knowing we already love New Glarus brewery we figured this would be a great stop. While in town we took a chance to grab a beer at a few different local bars and loved Puempel's! This old school bar was first started in the 1800's and has only had THREE owners since. We loved talking to the bartender who was extremely funny and turned this place into a great local stop. We got the $10 drink deal where we got a Pilsner glass to take home and a drink with it. What a great souvenir and an awesome beer! After talking with the locals we even all shared buying each other around. Overall, from being out of town and dropping in Puempel's welcomed us in with history and being able to feel like a local. We will most definitely be back again (in a hopefully post-COVID time, ha)

    They serve frozen Emil's pepperoni pizza. Still delicious though.
    Wells L.

    TL:DR - No frills bar that has a good beer selection and serves delicious tasting food, even if it is microwaved or frozen food. Came to this place based on yelp reviews and after the other two spots I was looking to go were closed due to Coronavirus. I will say the place itself was rather quaint. Super high ceilings on the inside and a few tables made it seem pretty empty. Not sure if that was to help socially distant or just the way it was. This bar is super no frills on any front, but you get what you come in for. The food is made in a tiny corner of the back bar. Most stuff is microwaved with soup hanging out in a warmer and the pizza being put in the oven. The pizza itself is pre-made frozen pizza. But to be honest, if I hadn't seen it, I wouldn't have even given two thoughts about it. The food was delicious either way. We got the pepperoni pizza and the broccoli cheese soup in a bread bowl. The pepperoni pizza was thin crust and delicious with a good amount of cheese on top. Even though I could have also just popped a pizza into my oven at home, this was definitely cooked perfectly with good browning across the pizza with bubbly cheese abound. The broccoli cheddar soup was the surprise of the meal. It easily blows panera bread out of the water. It is a bit thicker and had more cheese flavor than panera. The bread was super soft after being microwaved for a bit, and stayed soft. The combination of super soft bread and cheese was amazing. Outside of that, I got a New Glarus moon man. Tasted fine. The staff was super friendly. A bit slow, but it was literally one lady manning the food station and one guy doing everything else. So it's not like he wasn't busy or not working. All in all, this place served good food with a nice beer selection. Long as you don't come expecting anything super fancy or gourmet, you'll have a good time.

    Service was horrible. Our waitress only checked in with us once to refill drinks. Then asked if we could close our tab so she didn't have to worry about us. Cheese curds were warmed up in the microwave. Cheese platter was okay, but the ritz crackers served with it was disappointing. The place is pretty cool looking with an awesome history. Maybe we weren't wanted because we had our teenage kids with us?

    Hard salami sandwich

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    27 days ago

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    21 days ago

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    6 days ago

    I have been there a few times now and the staff is always friendly. There is a cozy atmosphere and great drinks.

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    8 months ago

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    2 years ago

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    3 years ago

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    6 years ago

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    6 years ago

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    4 years ago

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    1 year ago

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    2 years ago

    Great pub sandwiches and cold beer. I had a liverwurst and cheese. Healthy slice of onion.

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    3 years ago

    Cool looking place. When their busy don't expect great service. They need to get a better menu. Food isn't why I've gone there.

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    6 years ago

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    6 years ago

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    3 years ago

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    4 years ago

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    8 years ago

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    3 years ago

    Wonderful bar, we came when it was Bloody Mary open bar! Also, bartenders are super nice.

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    4 years ago

    Nice bar, came here to use my free token from New Glarus Brewery. The staff and patrons were very accommodating and had good conversation.

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    3 years ago

    Local owned and operated- great beer great food. Highly recommend visiting if you're in town.

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    5 years ago

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    13 years ago

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    New Glarus Brewing Company

    New Glarus Brewing Company

    4.0
    (409 reviews)
    0.3 mi
    $$

    New Glarus is a must visit when in Wisconsin. At the very least to buy beer that isn't available in…read moreany other state! I've been before but this time around it was a little different. The brewery is under construction until next year so it's a little bit restricted in what there is compared to when I was last here in 2019, however, it's still worth a visit. They do have a large gift shop/beer depot. I always buy a lot of beer to mule back to KC. On this visit they had a limited beer release so it was busy. The individuals working in the depot were a bit rude to be honest. I don't know if they were just over it because there were a lot of people, but they weren't friendly nor very helpful. If it had been my first visit, it definitely would've been a turn off. The individuals working in the gift shop were nice. I bought a few Christmas gifts from there. After I bought all the merch I wanted, I headed across the street where they had a makeshift tasting room. They had lots of tables to sit at outside. In the tasting room you have the open of a pint or 3 tasters. You get to keep the glass either way you go which is pretty cool. I went with the taster option. They give you a glass and a bracelet that has 3 taster tabs that they remove as you get each one. The individuals working that station were nice and friendly. I love their sours and had to get pours of the strawberry rhubarb which is one of my favorites. They also have a self guided tour. It's on the smallish side but still cool to see even with all the construction. The bathroom situation was a bit iffy. Definitely try to use the gift shop bathrooms because otherwise it's porta-potties or there are restrooms in the tour area. Those are pretty run down and the stalls don't lock. My apologies to the poor lady I walked in on mid piss with her pants around her ankles. Overall, it's definitely worth checking out especially if you've never been. I can't wait until they finish construction and I'm able to return to see what it looks like.

    The beer garden is under construction or something so there is just the self guided tour and the…read moretasting room. So hope to go back at photos looked like a beautiful outdoor space. But we did have a tasting and found some new things we really liked. Love that the cup also comes with the tasting so you get a souvenir too.

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    Free beer from token
    Free beer from token
    New Glarus Brewing Company
    View from the back of the brewery

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    View from the back of the brewery
    Mike's Italian Restaurant

    Mike's Italian Restaurant

    4.8
    (81 reviews)
    46.2 mi

    Got takeout pizza to take back to our campsite. It's a good sign when you walk in and there are a…read morebunch of folks wearing high-vis vests. They know what's good. Got a 16 in with pizza and black olives for four adults. The crust is really quite thick... more so than what I'd call NY style. Not a complaint! We just got so much pizza for the money! Sauce was very tomato-y. Not too much on the pie. A generous amount that stays under the perfectly baked cheese. Sausage was top notch. Will definitely get again, sine we come to DL at least once a year.

    I'll admit I was skeptical walking in. The restaurant is attached to a hotel that isn't the nicest,…read moreand the entrance had a strong hotel‑cleaning‑supply smell that made me apprehensive. But from the moment we sat down, it was all uphill from there. The Italian wedding soup was excellent, rich, flavorful, and clearly homemade. The pizza was decent, nothing extraordinary but solid with plenty of cheese. We also ordered the lasagna, the spicy chicken dish, and spaghetti and meatballs. The standout was the spicy chicken: the "spicy red sauce" turned out to be more of a creamy, spicy blend, and it was fantastic. Everything came out piping hot, which I really appreciated. They also bring out warm rolls, and those were surprisingly tasty, soft, fresh, and perfect for dipping. Overall, I highly recommend this place. Despite the rough first impression, it turned out to be one of the best restaurants in the area.

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    Mike's Italian Restaurant
    House Stromboli
    House Stromboli
    Buffalo Chicken Pizza

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    Buffalo Chicken Pizza

    Puempel's Olde Tavern - bars - Updated August 2026

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