This place is my ALL TIME FAVORITE bar. Cozy, fun, GREAT drinks, good service. Been here more than…read more10 times passing thru Minocqua and it's always Immaculate vibes. No matter if it's Bloody Mary mornings, afternoon beers or late night live music cocktails. PERFECT.

Ambiance was fun and although it is a tiny place with a lot of locals at the bar, the vibe was cool…read moreAnd inviting to us as passers thru. All we heard from our local family was that we needed to go. So the day we were leaving we made sure to hit up the place as we left town. Bartender was an interesting character. Seemed unfriendly at first, but then warmed up and we were bantering in no time. Although I still got a weird vibe from him. I will say this, he made a bang on spicy bloody Mary and it is by far one of the best I have had in years! We definitely will go back when we come back to visit our family.

Fun spot. Pizza is cooked to order and very good. Pool table, good juke box, gazebo out back. Fun…read moretime

Kat is very friendly and has a great sense of humor. The pizza is to die for. Awesome bear…read moremounted in the bar. I think the big night for the pizza special is Tuesday? You have to try the Dear Lodge.

Amazing Northwoods bar and grill that has been updated with just enough modern convenience to make…read morethis former dive bar my favorite family run business in the area. I have been coming to the HD for years, but the new owners are making this legendary stop even better. Whether you are in the area for winter or summer, you will not be disappointed once you experience the warmth of the owners and the atmosphere of this Northwoods gem. Looking forward to seeing what you guys have been up to and my first spring suds when you guys reopen at the end of the month.

Owners were amazing and place has a lot to do besides drink. Fun times, highly recommendedread more

I probably shouldn't write this because if more people find out how good this place is we won't be…read moreable to get in! But, I owe it to the chef and his wife, the front of the restaurant manager, to do so. The food is very, very good, excellent! The chef is very talented and melds flavors together with seemingly some kind of magic wand! When you drive up and enter, the facade and the interior is typical of classic old school Northwoods bar/restaurant, . Then the soft lighting, . The one man band, pretty darn good by the way, . The well made drinks, . Ice water automatically brought to the table . Then the food... and ohh yesss! a small loaf of warm bread and a bread knife brought to the table as part of their service . The already perfectly softened butter packets set out at the table, and yes, that is worthy of a check! Then the food! We have eaten here a few times only because it used to be far from us, but now we live closer, YES! . This day, I chose the Lobster Bisque, thick, creamy and so full of flavor, how the chef got so much flavor into that soup and perfectly balanced was incredible! Best lobster bisque outside of Maine I've ever had and right up there with the one I had in Maine . For the entree I chose the Mediterranean dish with Cod fish. It's a fish dish in a sauce that not only perfectly complemented the cod but, the explosion of flavors with absolute balance was joyful! So often, I find some chefs try to improve flavor with salt, which of course is important but, is so often over the top because they can't or don't bring out the flavors naturally. I can taste the fact that this chef spends all the necessary time and work to bring out these flavors naturally by a slow and traditional process that can't be rushed, thank you Chef! My husband had the same dish but with the salmon which was also very good but to be honest, I preferred mine after trying his, but, probably just because I prefer cod over salmon. I took the last of the warm bread and soaked up the bread with that luscious, flavor-filled sauce, a perfect end to a very special treat in the north woods!! The chef stepped out briefly that evening and I got his attention and thanked him for an incredible meal and told him the bisque was as good as what we experienced in Maine and he shared that he is from New England originally. Well, now that makes sense! Thank you to the chef, restaurant manager and staff for providing us with a really special meal! Of course we'll be back!!

This place looks like a whole in the wall dive bar but has amazing food! Be patient cause bartender…read moredoes it all at least on a Thursday night. Try this place. Prices are worth it.

I came here with my wife and sister to celebrate my 38th birthday. There is a nice mix of locals…read moreand tourists here, so if you pipe up you might be able to offend someone if you have a this or that perspective on fishing and whatnot. The bartender had extensive knowledge of local fishing and random history regarding supper clubs. The other patrons also chipped in with their wisdom over pretty much anything you wanted to know. The drinks were good and cheap too. Go to this bar.

Awesome 'up north' bar. The blood Mary is solid and reasonably priced. Met the owner and she's a…read morereal cool lady! If you looked up 'Wisconsin beer bar' in the encyclopedia, there would be a picture of Retreat Bar. If your passing through or on vacation, you can't go wrong here!

Young local entrepreneurs with an incredible team serving up tasty adult beverages, laughter,…read morefantastic northwoods cuisine, the best times with live talent/music...taking it to a new level- worth the wait (&/or X snafu)- Professionals.

My first time here friendly atmosphere so our group decided on the 16 inch pizza sausage mushrooms…read moreonions and black olives. This pizza was delicious hot light sauce and you could taste all the toppings nice thin crust . We sat at the bar and the servers were very attentive to their customers . We we ordered our food service was prompt .I would suggest this place iv your in the north woods I was watching Hugh portions of orders coming out I would come here again

Visiting the area and decided to stop in. We were greeted and served right away by the friendly…read morebartender. We ordered the cheese curds which were delicious. Followed that up with the ribeye sandwich and crinkle cut fries. The steak was cooked perfectly and was delicious.

Awesome food! Beer battered fries are delicious. Cheese curds a great appetizer. Burgers are very…read moregood as well. Fun atmosphere! Get Shaned!!

If the brunette with the wavy hair and no personality and obviously is unhappy with life would…read moresmile and make you feel welcome we would have stayed longer. Sad for business unless its just the local crowd. Not going back. No wonder its for sale.

Dirty bar. Never clean and the food is vile and waaay overpriced. Waste of money. The owner is so…read morerude and the staff are just as bad. No idea why they treat the customers so awfully. This pub just needs to close-- it's a lost cause at this point.