This place is Texas. Only want to comment on three things: 1. Mechanical Bull - So fun. Came twice. First time $2, second time free. Do it at least once. 2. Drink Specials - I believe they had $2 local beers and $5 speciality drinks when I came. Affordable. Tasty. 3. Space - Huge. I was there on weekday nights, so not super busy. A welcome place to chill and hangout with folks. I had fun when I was here. read more

As a woman in my thirties it's pretty typical for me to roll my eyes at the mere thought of a downtown "college bar." I mean, ugh... right?! Okay well no, not necessarily. Yes, RR has your typical college night life. But it has much more to offer than that. I've been to RR for dinner and trivia night. The food is spectacular. The variety of sauces is awesome, I love mixing them with the macaroni and cheese or BBQ. I've also been to RR for a bar crawl. It's such a fun atmosphere with great bartenders and drink specials. The management is fabulous, and they are willing to work with you to help plan birthday parties or whatever event you might want to plan. Thanks, Red Rock for being a great asset to Madison and for going above and beyond the typical annoying college bar. read more

Food was absolutely delicious! I had the BBQ pork bowl and my wife had the pulled pork & brisket sandwich. The apple pie Manhattan cocktail was super yummy, albeit it was pricy ($8). Our server Abby was so sweet and attentive!!! Would give 5 stars to her alone. I can't stand country music so I withhold one star :-) We will for sure go back!!! read more

great bar and good atmosphere if you can stand the line. but I saw a bouncer in the bathroom who went pee and didn't wash his hands which is absolutely barbaric.0 read more

Drinks were great, staff was incredibly friendly, and if you're an adult, this is a fine place before around 10 pm, at which point it turns incredibly...we'll call it bro-y. Kinda like Hooters with really loud music. The female bartenders went from wearing pants to...not pants, basically underpants with chaps that had more or less all of the denim material cut out. Kinda weird, but if that's your thing, have at it. There's a mechanical bull, the music gets earsplittingly loud, and the crowd gets rowdy, which is great if you're looking to get rowdy as well, but notsomuch if you're looking to have a conversation. If you're not super duper hammered, this is a terrific place for a drink or two before 10. If you're not part of a bachelor/bachelorette party or looking to get super hammered, I'd recommend finding another bar in the area after 10. read more

Wow! Such a surprise. We went with a good coupon and weren't expecting great things from this large campus-area restaurant we figured was just a bar that also served some food. But we all enjoyed our meals, the service was good, and we were very impressed with the fit-and-finish - Red Rock sunk some serious money into remodeling this old barn! I can't claim to be a BBQ connoisseur, but I had trouble picking my favorite among the 3 unique sauces on the table. They have some great happy hour and daily deals too. My only disappointment was that the onion strings were lackluster. I'll be back for sure, and maybe even take on the mechanical bull. read more

Went for trivia (Monday @7:30) and to try some $0.50 wings. I was extremely satisfied with both. The wings were huge, their sauce was 10/10, and the meat was tender and soft. Trivia was well done, though it was more of a YP crowd, not the greasy college scene I tend to thrive in. Service was excellent, and dealt with our team being a bit chopped in an excellent manner. My only issue: the strange beer special they had going. $2.50 for any Wisconsin beer for people playing trivia. On the surface this sounds decent, but of their ten taps, only three were Wisconsin brewed (Fantasy Factory, Hopalicious, & Spotted Cow). Why have that deal if you have such a limited beer selection? I love craft beer, but would almost prefer some cheap beer special alongside wings. Also, any pint special that doesn't have some equivalent pitcher deal (simple math y'all) is imo. Sort of a nit-pickey issue tho, I will most certainly be back, and look forward to my next batch of wings. read more

Excellent food. Fabulous service. Fun trivia! We will definitely stop again. Mike was a great bartender and a really down to earth kinda guy

This was by far the best brisket and barbecued chicken I've had... And I'm very picky when it comes to brisket. It practically melted in my mouth. My husband said the pulled pork and Mac & cheese were also amazing read more

This is a great place to swing by for a beer, grab some good BBQ, and meet up with friends. Nice wait staff, friendly. They have a packed crowd of college kids until 2 am on weekends, and a few too many fights where people have been hurt. Be careful after 10 pm ... read more

Red Rock Saloon - Pubs Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

What can I say? I love country music, especially live cou try music. I love good quality cheese burgers, and I love beer. All that equals a 5 stars. For those that complain about 1$ burger nights. Of course there are stipulations. They are reasonable stipulations. No bar is going to give you a dollar burger unless you order drinks and patronize the bar. Don't drink? Order a pop or soft drink. The burgers are really juicy and they even melt the cheese on them. So so so guilty good. read more

LOVE THIS BAR!!!! To those confused, every Friday night there is a $5 cover charge. Regardless of it being in a "college town" the line proved there are people willing to pay for a great time and a great band. Along with that, you can avoid the cover by eating dinner beforehand, I recommend the rowdy yates sandwich and the pico chico!!:) read more

Really disappointed to have to write such a negative review of this place as I was good friends with several members of the bar-tending and wait staff before the bar opened and was becoming almost a regular despite not even being a big country fan. Because we came to the bar about once a week for either food, drinks, or both, a couple members of our group decided to join the "Single Barrel Club," which entailed purchasing an in-house bottle of Jack Daniels single barrel for about $175, clearly a significant markup of the retail price around $46. What a mistake. This being a pretty significant purchase to make for just a bottle of liquor, we made sure to have the bartender go over the details of the "perks" of joining the bottle club; both the bartender making the sale and one of our close friends on the wait staff repeated the same deals: along with and the bottle, a signature shirt and a few incidentals, the buyer would get 20% of all food, no cover for events, and would be able to skip to the front of the line. These were the points that were repeated to us by MULTIPLE employees, leading us to believe it was worth it to make the purchase. The first couple times we enjoyed the benefits of the bottle without incident. After giving the bouncer the bottle number, we were allowed to skip the line and enjoyed drinks out of the bottle and at the bar. We knew there was no discount for any drinks, so no issue arose here, other than the fact that the drinks are highly overpriced (the "special" is a $7 "double" Jack and Coke which consists of an about 12 oz. drink served in a mason jar). A week later was a much different story; we went to the bar several hours after the televised Badger game to find a moderate line, and upon giving the bouncer the bottle number were told politely that we wouldn't be able to skip the line, "Not tonight." While the bouncer was very polite and apologetic, Brano Kruger the manager who then came out was INCREDIBLY rude, and told us, "I can guarantee that none of my staff would have told you that you can skip the line, that isn't part of the deal." While we understood the problem that could arise if a misinformed member of staff had incorrectly told us the deal, at least 3 members of our group had heard the details and knew what was promised--a quick text to a friend on the wait staff garnered the response, "what? that's bullshit, you can definitely skip the line, they even tell us to use that as a selling point." We further knew this was the case because we had been allowed to do so on several previous nights. Most upsetting was how incredibly rude Mr. Kruger was to customers who had already spent hundreds of dollars in the establishment that he managed: we ended up walking away with his card and I'm sure his assumption that he wouldn't hear from us again. So, the same week we go in for the Wednesday burger special night, only to have a host of problems confront our 6 person group. The wait staff was perfectly nice, the food was good, the problem came with the bills. Both orders of wings for the table (ordered during happy hour) were charged at full price and not given the happy hour discount, then when we attempted to get the Single Barrel Discount for the food (for only 2 people), we were told that the discount didn't apply on any days with specials. The waitress did her best to resolve the problem but again we had the misfortune of speaking with Mr. Kruger with whom we discussed both instances of the benefits of the "Single Barrel Club," being misrepresented. Another quick contact with a member of the bar's marketing staff (another friend of one of our group members) suggested that all food should be discounted regardless of specials. Brano disagreed. Again, his incredible rudeness to frequent to customers who had spent a great deal of money at the establishment was the most irritating part of the experience, and no effort was made to comp any food, drinks, or otherwise solve the problem. Now I have commonly seen restaurants that will provide free drinks, an appetizer, a gift card, etc. for even minor problems such as a long wait or a mixed up order or bill. Even after these constant contradictions and mistakes, Mr. Kruger was nothing but rude and did absolutely nothing to rectify the issue. Clearly the management of this bar is under the impression that customer service is not important, but those of us who have seen bars in Madison come and go--including the one previously in the same location--know that when customers purchase $200 bottles of liquor at your establishment and the management treats those customers like dirt, the word will spread quickly and they won't be around for long. read more

Had a fun time at Red Rock Saloon. Came in on a Sunday night with my friend. Kitchen was open till 10 so we ordered the brisket nachos which were delicious. The brisket was juicy and just melted in your mouth. I liked that the nachos actually had the gooey nacho cheese, unlike other places that just melt cheddar cheese and it soon becomes a harden mess. The cook stop by and asked how our nachos were and we told him that they were great. He recommended that on our next visit we should try the collard greens and the homemade corn bread. A+ for the brisket nachos. Bartender who made our drinks was really friendly. She did forget to bring out plates and silverware, so we did eat our nachos like messy drunks for the first few minutes. Other bartender noticed and brought us plates though. The drink special that night was doubles for the price of singles. My friend and I both had two vodka press doubles and they were pretty easy to drink. We liked that they weren't strong drinks because we had planned to continue bar hopping. Over all I enjoyed my time here. The place still smells like new and the decorations are fun. Will stop by soon for those collard greens, and possibly to try the BBQ pork nachos. read more

Came here for a bachelorette party because they supposedly had a live dj and dancing that night. Yeeeaah...we weren't really expecting the dj to be playing club-ish covers of country songs! It was very strange. And no one in our group expected THIS amount of country hickness at this place. The mechanical bull riding, the real bull riding on TV, the cowboy outfits the guy bartenders had to wear or the assless chap jean outfits the girl bartenders had to wear. I will say that the girl bartenders do have great assests, so very jealous there. The drinks were strong enough and reasonably priced, though not strong enough to make me forget where I was. No one in our group wanted to stick around for round #2. This place definitely has it's target audience. And for those who are in that group, I'm sure you'll love it. For the rest of us, unless you're looking for an impromptu weekend ho down, best keep walking on. read more

Fun place to go. Food was pretty good. Fun atmosphere after 8:00pm. I kept getting a waft of sewer gas coming out near the kitchen which was off putting. Also, the music was so loud that I couldn't talk to the group I was with. I'm a drummer in a heavy metal band and it was hurting my ears. read more

I love country music, so I love Red Rock. I love drinking out of mason jars, eating BBQ, playing darts and riding the mechanical bull, there's just a lot to do here, plus there's a nice outdoor area for when things get too sweaty inside. Sometimes there are live bands or DJs, and there are always a lot of friends here. read more

This place has the worst customer service that I have ever been to. If you're wearing athletic shorts, don't bother waiting in line because they won't let you in. Apparently that's the cutoff for the dress code when the bartenders are practically naked. Then when you get in (after a $5 cover charge), you pay double the price for same drink you could get elsewhere. 7 dollars for a "double" jack and coke when it can't be more than a 16 oz glass of coke with a splash of jack in it is not a special. Never spending my time or money there ever again. read more

I just want to start off by mentioning that I usually love Red Rock, my friends and I always have a super pleasant time there. Last night we witnessed some pretty frightening behavior from one of the bouncers, and I hate to leave a bad review but I think it's important that this be documented. We came in at about midnight (3/25) and were waiting in line behind a group of three guys. The bouncer was talking to them animatedly, and after a bit we started to hear their conversation. He was talking about how awesome it is that he gets so many women because of his position as a bouncer. He mentioned that the girls he talks to at work "don't think you're trying to fuck them" because he is an employee, and that he happily takes advantage of this. He went on for quite some time about this, and frankly, it was scary. As a woman who goes out in Madison, it's not funny to me that a bouncer would think so little of promoting this dangerous culture, which is already so prevalent in the bar scene. He was being incredibly misogynistic. I know that it isn't my place to be monitoring what your employees say when they aren't interacting with customers, but this was pretty bad. I will say that we took a bit of time getting out of the bar at 1:45 am right after last call, and I know this is really frustrating and I totally apologize for that, but this person was also incredibly aggressive about herding us out the door. When I said to him that we heard him and were getting up to leave, he turned to one of my friends and point blank mocked me. Like, the childish whiny voice kind of mocking. I know my tone of voice was a bit harsh, but after the conversation we had overheard earlier, I didn't have a ton of patience for his behavior. I just thought the whole experience with this specific person was something I had to point out. This bouncer was taller, with short (I think blond) hair. The other bouncer on that night, with the beard, was lovely. And so was every other staff member we encountered. We had pretty large drink orders and the bartender (a woman) that i specifically dealt with was so patient with me and very kind. You may not do anything with this information, but I felt inclined to put this out there. Thank you to all the other staff at Red Rock who continuously provide fantastic service. read more

It was midsummers night in downtown madison, I brought my stallion to a slow trot as I turned down the lone street of west johnson. Something caught my eye in the distance. Red Rock Saloon stood alone amongst the darkness in all its glory. I spurred my horse. As we closed in I could hear the faint "yee-haw's" from inside. As I tied up ol' dusty, a kindly cowboy greeted me with the tip of his hat. "m'lady this heres the best waterin hole in the wild west" he said. And right he was. I kicked the dust off my boots and moseyed on inside. The barkeep poured me a glass of moonshine while he wiped down the counter. "Howdy stranger, what brings you round these parts" he inquired. Well I was just passing though on my way to visit auntie in west virginia. But I told him I might just stay awhile. He fixed me a plate of beef, beans, and rye with molasses, just like mama used to make. That trip was like a dream until the train robbers stole every last cent I had the next week. I never did get to see auntie. read more

I went on a Friday night with some friends and this place is a total riot! I'm not a country person, but the band was great and I LOVED watching the mechanical bull riders. So much fun. read more

Disappointing food and service. I will never be back. Food took a long time and none of the four of us enjoyed it. My daughter and I split a big order of wings and the were the worst I ever had. read more

Very good! We were pleasantly surprised. I had the pulled pork and my husband had brisket sandwich. Both were very tasty. Mac n cheese was flavorful and not too greasy. Sweet potato fries were good as well. Great big place with live country music at 10pm. read more

Food awesome. Drinks fantastic. Live music incredible. But....beware...they move the tables close to the music right before the band starts. Wanna sit and watch? Sit farther away. read more

Really good food! I like a good BBQ, and they delivered. I've been here about four times now, and staff has always been friendly, prompt, and helpful. They have a nice little out door area, but it could be spruced up a bit more. They have random stuff laying around and it's more of an after-thought. But on a nice summer night during a week night it's usually empty and just us sitting out back. Guess I can't complain too much, it's our own personal outdoor area. One thing everyone HAS to try are their deep fried oreos. I'm not kidding that you'll come here just for those by themselves. It's a HUGE plate of icecream, hot fudge, and deep fried oreos and cream cheese balls. While the thought initially of a deep fried oreo seemed off putting, it's now one of my favorite deserts. They are SO SO SO good. They were only like $4 and it was enough for a table of four! read more

I am a regular at the MKE Red Rock and was very excited see them expand to one of my favorite cities...There was huge hype for the opening of this bar and for that reason I was expecting a bit of a let down however there was not one at all. The decor was amazing (love the old style sign), much more space to move, sound system was second to none and they even have some new menu items. They were very accommodating given the crowd as well. Overall great experience and can't wait to go back. Oh yea, the band was pretty damn solid too! read more

Honey Teriyaki Chicken Wings are great, drinks could be stronger, atmosphere is cool.

So we went in today, wanting a seat on the patio since it was a nice day, no one really in the bar. Asked the bartender if we could have a seat outside, she said sure and would send someone out. Never happened. But when another random table came in, some server was there in a heartbeat. We purposely walked out the restaurant and heard the bartender say "oh shit" as she realized she forgot about us and said nothing else. The saving grace is this really cool worker let us ride the bull and that was entertaining. read more

Bull rides are always a good time! Beer pong and darts on thirsty Thursday's will put you in a good mood too! Fun atmosphere and good service! read more

Poor service. I assumed they were closed even though there appeared to be patrons at the bar. Waited ten minutes with three workers behind the bar. None came over, greeted us, or even made eye contact with us. Zero stars! read more

Tried Red Rock in Madison for the first time because I enjoyed the Milwaukee Red Rock so much. Went out with friends on a Friday night. Went to some of classic Madison bars earlier (Wando's, Brats and the Nitty Gritty) and ended up at Red Rock around 10:30. There was a line and a $5 admission because of the live band. However, I made my friends wait the 20 minutes in line because I was excited to check it out. The wait was worth it. The vibe was great with the live music and the bar was packed with people of all ages. Not the typical Madison College bar. I love the concept. Might be because I am a huge country music fan. I will be back again... and again. read more

I come here whenever I'm in town! Burgers are always cooked to the perfect temp, we get seated right away, and the waitresses (holla, Hannah!), hostesses, and bartenders are always polite, engaging and positive. Make sure to stop in on Wednesdays for their $1 burgers - it's a steal. read more

Great food; a sauce for every palate! Izzy is a fabulous hostess / server! Great looks; great personality; great service!! Thanks Izzy! We'd come back to Red Rock just for you! read more

We used our first groupon here, and it was a great deal. The sausage melts in your mouth, and all of the BBQ is on point. Wash it down with a Shiner Bock and you are golden! read more

I was in town for a few days with a friend. We were both excited to try the BBQ here. We stopped by on a Sunday night so it wasn't very busy but most of the seats at the main bar were occupied. There were two people behind the bar. We tried to sit at the bar but were told that the seats were taken. We asked one of the bartenders if she knew if there were any seats available or if anyone was getting up soon and her response was that most of the people sitting at the bar were employees and to try to fit in somewhere. okay... not a huge deal. We ended up seating ourselves at a table next to the bar. She did bring us food menus but then never came back to the table. We noticed someone get up so we moved ourselves to the bar hoping that we would be helped. As a bartender and someone who has worked in bars/restaurants for many years, I am usually a very understanding person when it comes to the industry... but we waited about 15 mins at the table and then probably another 10 at the bar and didn't even get asked if we wanted to order a drink, which we definitely did want and would've order more than one. She walked past us multiple times while we were sitting at the bar and we saw people who had walked in after us who already had drinks. We decided we didn't want to wait any longer so we both got up and put on our jackets, at which point she finally came over to us and asked us what we wanted but wasn't very friendly about it and didn't apologize for the wait. We left and walked over to HopCat, where we were helped as soon as we sat down by a friendly bartender and ate delicious food. read more

Bailey is the best bartender ever!!! She makes the best bombs on $1 bomb night and she's super nice and outgoing. Ask for her!

I quite liked this place in the past, but the new menu isn't great. The worst offender being their new fries. They taste like they were bought from a supermarket frozen section and the "poutine" that has replaced the (much-beloved by my friends) chili cheese fries is a strange combination of BBQ and cheese sauce over baked beans, cheese curds and their awful new fries. Additionally, the half priced starters during happy hour does *NOT* count the addition of meat to any of the starters (such as the poutine or quesadillas), which lead to quite a nasty shock when my party saw that they were paying on average $1.50-$3 more than they expected to on each appetizer. Overall I think it's cool that they're trying new things, but between things feeling generally more overpriced than they were before this new menu and the really quite bad changes to certain previous staple menu items, I can't really recommend Red Rock to any fans who haven't visited it in the last few weeks. read more

My first interaction with red rock was less than satisfactory. Some might even call it "poor." I was greeted by the most unwelcoming bouncers shout orders and profanities at me and my guest. Some bouncers were trying to get the crowds in order while others were just standing in the corner ALOOF. Once we got inside the man operating the mechanical bull was by far the most enjoyable part. His charisma is the only positive memory I have from the night. Then I went to the bathrooms which smelled and looked as if they haven't been cleaned in weeks. When I came out from the bathroom my date was being escorted out for simply washing his hands. Who knew hygiene was a crime? Apparently red rock saloon. When he tried to reenter upon explaining the situation and how he was simply washing his hands the Napoleon syndrome bouncer then accused him of doing drugs. I proceeded to speak with the manager who initially agreed to let my date in and then he waited in the cold for 30 minutes, denied him at the door and accused him of doing drugs AGAIN. I will not be returning to this awful establishment anytime in the future and I would urge customers to take their business elsewhere. read more

We walked in and a guy behind the booth waved us in and said sit wherever so we found an empty table in the middle and were going to sit down at one of the empty tables when the bartender YELLED at us that they had a host would seat us and we couldn't just sit wherever we wanted. The "host" proceeded to sit us in the exact table we walked to. We immediately ordered a cheese curd appetizer and proceeded to wait well over 45 minutes for said cheese curds. We were trying to get our servers attention and she made a point of avoiding our table for the entire 45 minutes. We ended up having to ask two servers if our appetizer would ever be coming out. The excuse we got repeatedly was the food runner was super confused. After waiting well over an hour for the rest of our food, a burger, two sandwiches and a salad, we received our food with another apology. I don't usually write these reviews but the service was extremely subpar. On a positive note, the macaroni was good. read more

I would have thought it was common courtesy to let someone on their first beer of the night know why they were being kicked out but I guess not. I'm NEVER going back to this place. read more