The Driftless is an institution. You must visit. The truffled steak was to die for? Other guests had a mushroom polenta which to me was a flop and she didn't like it at all. The swordfish was very tasty but too much dairy in my opinion. Other guests had the pizza, both were not good. I make better crusts using Jim Laheys overnight recipe. The true shining items here was the starters. We ordered all 3 of them and wish there were more selection. The mussels with truly the most outstanding bread I've ever had we had to ask for more! The Brussel sprouts were crunchy and super tasty. The pork was delicious. And the tasty cherry couli surtounding the flourless chocolate cake was de-lish and unexpected. The service was also chill and excellent! Ambiance was unpretentious. Music was fit for someone born in the 1970s. Overall, we loved it! Just wish they had more starter plates! read more

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This place has so many good things going for it. Righteous local burger carefully crafted with buttery beef, creamy spicy dressing and topped with what tasted like fresh organic produce. Excellent, flavorful and hearty falafel plate for a veg/vegan option. Beautiful bar and thoughtful bar menu, reasonable prices, and diversity in both the clientele and the servers. But really the photo is all you need to know about this place. Fresh dairy whipped heavily and lightly sugared, folded between bright raspberry sauce and a flaky, airy-but-toothsome crust. Outrageous. I'm actually upset as a passerby that I will never meet this pie again. Hats off to you, Driftless, for showing us what America's dairy land is all about. read more

The Driftless Cafe - Raspberry cream pie - Sandwiches Near Me - Viroqua, Wisconsin

Heard from some locals this was the place to eat and it did not disappoint! Had a great fresh salad to start and the homemade croutons were exceptional, even for my girlfriend who doesn't usually eat them. Loved the capers in the salad to give it a little extra zing. I ordered the beef tenderloin - rare - which can be hard to do and it came out amazing. Perfect sear on the outside and amazing temp all the way through. Whipped potatoes were creamy and decadent. We come to the area for work and will definitely be back. This is a must stop! Also had great service from our waiter Joe and all the rest of the staff. I even had to step over to the kitchen and thank them for awesome food. read more

I have been here just once a year for the past five years or so because it is 200 miles from where I live. I brag about it to everyone I know and I have brought family and friends to try. Unfortunately I went a few weeks ago with my sister after going on and on about this place but it was horrible! I don't know if the kitchen was having an off day but based on this last experience I won't make the trip again. I'm so sorry to say this as we have always enjoyed it before. read more

Farm to table spectacular. Service, presentation, drinks and most importantly the taste was awesome. Thanks to Chef Zahm and the staff for a great experience on our trip along the rivers. Go to this place now! read more

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Food, atmosphere and service are the best! They advertise that they use so many local farm products. Love this place. read more

Amazing. From beginning to end, everything was perfect. The homemade sourdough was to die for. As a Wisconsinite, the brandy old fashioned was superb. read more

The Driftless Cafe - Beef tenderloin and pork ribs - Sandwiches Near Me - Viroqua, Wisconsin

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I've had dinner and now lunch here. Equally impressed by both meals. Just amazing. Chicken sandwich was my lunch along w a chickpea tomato soup. Best chicken sandwich I've ever had, perfectly breaded and the herb aioli is exactly what I want in an aioli. The soup was well balanced and light. I also got the Mac and cheese to go along w tacos and the ginger chicken soup for my husband. He enjoyed everything. The dinner we had was in September and was impressive. Best scallops I've ever had, perfectly cooked tenderloin, great salad and a fun charcuterie board. I'll be back again and again! Don't miss this place if you are coming to the driftless area. read more

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Came here because we always wanted to check out this place. Did not disappoint - the food is as great as you'd think it would be. Got a reservation for a table and found some seats at the bar for a drink. Ended up giving up our table to eat at the bar. Bartenders were great company and very knowledgeable. The food - I mean c'mon - the food was out of the world good. Had the Meze Trio and Oyster Mushroom Ravioli small plate. Then the Organic Prairie Beef Tenderloin and the Skrei Cod for dinner. All were so good and the service - even better. And - - get the Makers Manhattan, served chilled and up - did not disappoint. Thank you Driftless team for exceeding our high expectations. read more

Good good, friendly and efficient server, and great Covid-19 precautions. Wish we had room for dessert. We definitely will return. read more

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The food was superb, but what really made this experience great for my 74th birthday wasthe server. My hamburger was out of this world delicious and the seasoned fries were even better. Highly recommend. read more

A wonderful taste experience! Local producer's products are combined in artful options. I had the specialty salad and the tenderloin with kale and potato's. My partner had the shrimp. Both were wonderful. The strawberry rhubarb galette with fennel ice cream was a pleasant finish to the dinner. A foodie's dream spot. read more

Freshly made and absolutely delicious food. Service beyond compare. I see why it's always a packed house. The fried chicken sandwich and loaded grilled cheese, not to mention the fruit salad, were fantastic. Just go there! Now! read more

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I had a good salad, but it wasn't anything special, and a bit overpriced. The service was very good.

Our first time in Viroqua. Best choice for lunch. Great atmosphere, service and scrumptious food

I had read about this restaurant in a book, "Going Driftless - Lyons" and wanted to try it. We drove from our farm in Mauston and had cocktails at the newly opened Hotel Fortney and a wonderful dinner here. read more

Excellent food and service...handled our party of 8 without missing a beat. Food...both quality and variety...was first rate. Will come again when in town read more

After several excellent visits, this one was not. The room was extremely hot and the pizza under cooked.

My husband and I had heard great things about this restaurant and were not disappointed! We shared the ceviche and I had the scallops while my husband had the steak. Everything was cooked perfectly. The steak was meltingly tender, the scallops had just the right sear on them and the vegetables were amazing. Our server was friendly and attentive and the entire staff worked together to make the evening a delight. The restaurant itself is casual, and would be appropriate for anything from casual drinks and blue jeans after work to a special dressy event. This was easily one of the best meals my husband and I have ever had. read more

The food was awesome! Wish our small town had more of this type of restaurant. Menu changes daily. Service was excellent. Will definitely be back and recommend to family and friends. read more

The Driftless Cafe is the trendy restaurant you'd never expect to find in Viroqua. All of the food is absolutely incredible. I'd go so far as to say the beef tenderloin is among the top cuts of beef I've ever eaten. As someone who doesn't normally eat fancy cheeses, even the cheese plate blew me away. Much of this comes down to the local ingredients they use. The menu is small and rewritten daily to best use the local ingredient options. read more

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Never Disappointed. Classy and Delicious. Perfect Date Night or Pizza and Wine! Make it here. read more

The Driftless Cafe - Dinner at The Driftless Cafe. Yum! - Sandwiches Near Me - Viroqua, Wisconsin

This place was fantastic. Warm and comforting. Farm to table type of restaurant. Menu changes daily depending on local resources. Had red lentil daal which was a masterpiece. Very exquisite and delicious. Butternut squash with nuts and lentils - very hearty for a vegetarian dish. Also had their special siscilan pizza. So good and crust was delicious on its own too. Yum. Such a great restaurant in the quaint town of viroqua! read more

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Wow! We were on a girls' week end and the 6 of us enjoyed an excellent meal here. The salmon was the star-perfectly delicious, The spirit here is rustic elegance, the food was outstanding. Our group had no complaints and we plan to return soon. Thank you for extending your hospitality to us! read more

Awesome place for lunch! Drove two hours to see Luke's restaurant in Viroqua, WI. Very well worth the drive out there. Had the pasta special with salad and pork and vege soup. It was a great meal. Salad was pleasing to the eyes, smells good and taste wonderful. The salad itself excites all the senses that make a dish good. The creamy pasta with chicken was also delicious. The interior decor is simple and yet unique. Two tree trunks were used as supporting beams. How cool is that? Along the wall are paintings from the high school and those grade 11 kids are very good! The best part was seeing Luke and having a quick chat. Luke explains that the highlight each day will be dinner. The menu changes every day. The chefs will discuss what to cook that night based on what they get locally. They will take reservations if your party has 6 or more people. Looking forward to the next time to try dinner there. read more

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My husband and I visited Viroqua and immediately made note of The Driftless Cafe given its impressive menu and rave reviews. When it came time to order, we decided to be safe and order take out versus dining inside, and I'm glad we did. It was a Saturday night and the restaurant was PACKED. They require masks when moving around the place, and servers are masked as well, but I'm just not sure I'd feel comfortable eating inside during COVID. The downside is that the take out options were limited -- even though the online menu had a variety of entrées, we were told that we could only order one of them to go, in addition to a vegetarian option that wasn't on the original menu. I was especially sad because their vegetarian menu feature was supposed to be a delicious-sounding agnolotti, but the take-out option sounded much less appealing. We ultimately decided to go with pizza. My husband ordered the day's special, a mix of veggies and sausage, whereas I built my own veggie pizza. We showed up at the given time and discovered they were running behind, in what ultimately became almost a 20-minute delay from the planned pickup time. The staff was accommodating and offered a beer on the house over the wait time, but given the degree to which the restaurant was full of people, we decided to wait it out in the car. Once we got home, my husband discovered that the sausage was left off his pizza, so he basically ate a veggie pizza for a higher price point than seemed reasonable, which was disappointing. I thought my pizza was great, and the 12-inch "thin" crust was pretty hefty so we ended up having plenty of leftovers for the next day. Overall, I thought our food was enjoyable but I didn't feel like I got to really experience what sets this restaurant apart. If I ever find myself back in Viroqua post-COVID, I would love to return and enjoy a sit-down meal to see what makes The Driftless Cafe so special. As it stands, we had a good meal, but not earth shattering, for an ok price. read more

We saw this on WI Foodie (the owner of this place is the host) and planned a weekend adventure to end with dinner here. The atmosphere was young and hip. The staff was friendly and accommodating. The drinks were good. The menu is small and ever changing. The shrimp appetizer was amazing. It was served over fried polenta, with a cold corn relish. The side salads were an interesting and beautiful combination of ingredients. We ordered blue cheese dressing which tasted like ranch but we were assured it was blue cheese. Disappointing! I asked for pepper and got a diner shaker not a mill. I ordered a Moroccan inspired chicken dish. It tasted like fall. It was served over a flavorful rice with a vegetable medley that reminded me of ratatouille. Overall, it was good however the breast meat was dry and it was difficult to eat bone in chicken in a bowl. My partner order the pork chop which was served with potatoes and a cold relish. The pork chop was oddly chilly. It was charred on the outside but barely cooked. It was too rare for me. I would have sent it back but my boyfriend ate it. We were celebrating our anniversary (they asked) and gave us a card. That was cute but if you are gonna ask what we are celebrating then give us something (like a dessert?). Perhaps we ordered the wrong things but for us it wasn't worth the drive. Glad we checked it out but we wouldn't go back. The other reviews say the tenderloin is amazing but you can get great tenderloin lots of places without the long drive. Sorry Driftless, just being honest. read more

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UPDATE: about the NEW STAFF My friends and I visited on Thursday Aug 20. Two stars for the evening waitstaff. We were super excited to enjoy Driftless today. So excited that my friends and I ate there for lunch AND dinner! And four times that week!! You do the math! The GOOD! The pizza was a a veggie mix and meat special today. Both were equally delicious. The Cesar salad was perfectly dressed and adorned with a perfectly made egg. The tenderloin is A-MA-ZING. The charteuterie platter was also impressive (although our waitress could not be bothered to explain what was included). Our waitress was WONDERFUL at lunch, as well as her teammate Jolly. Oh and the local pear cider on tap is still AMAZING! The BAD/UGLY: The wait staff at night was much different and rude in all of our opinions. The waitress who "served" us was in her 30-40s, wore a a flower top, blonde and served the main dining room. A new face according to my local friends. When I asked what the specials were (and every time I've ever dined here before there are ALWAYS specials) she replied "Well the menu changes daily, so everything is special" in a pretentious manner. And yes, at lunch our server made us aware of the specials. She proceeded to serve us in a very rude manner, omitting the explanation of the $30 charteruterie platter we ordered, and remaining curt throughout the night. So your rude, and somehow feel justified mistreating customers...during a pandemic no less?!? So needless to say, she put a MAJOR damper on our experience, although the food was delicious as always. So, I cannot give a five star review when I pay a premium for subpar service...and of course we tipped...which also is unfair considering that she went out her way to be rude. ----- The GOOD: I always visit this place when I'm in town, mainly because it's the best restaurant in Viroqua. Also because it's a legit place to eat! This trio I was smart and went for lunch! So there was no crazy wait like normal and it wasn't packed with people. I had the andouille sausage and veggie soup and my friend and I shared the mac and cheese. She had the Cesar salad, which I tasted. All was amazing! The soup was like pizza in a bowl with yummy veggies. The Mac was good, but as a Mac chef myself they could give a bit more sauce--but still very tasty. The egg on the Cesar was perfection! The pear cider and stout that my friend and I had were great also. When they were changing over for dinner they did not put us out! Ha! They let us relax and drink while we waited for our friend who works at the hospital. Barb, our server was great! She even asked if we would be bothered while she killed some unwanted guests--a slew of flies. Oh and we even witnessed another patron cursing and being rude to another waitress who handled it expertly. The BAD: The slew of flies, which I'm not sure how to handle. The UGLY: Nothing to reoir read more

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Had a wonderful lunch at cafe. We choose the Mediterranean Plate and Istanbul Fish Sandwich. Outstanding! Just an aside but initially a table was not available so we were seated at the small bar. Although no furniture expert their stools did not seem to match the bar height for comfortable seating. Nonetheless we quickly got a table and all was great!! read more

Farm to table food with evolving seasonal menu. Excellent food, charming atmosphere. Noisy when busy, which is every lunch and dinner, but well worth it. Very popular and deserving of every new award they garner. The owner/chef makes a point of visiting with guests at their tables and is happy to discuss his daily menus. Viroqua is a small town in the middle of farmland, yet this is the type of food you'd expect to find in the trendy food district of a large city. It is a treat indeed to have this restaurant within striking distance. If you need to travel to get there, the scenery in this part of the state is stunning and unique. Plan a weekend because there are so many great places to eat in the area, and with the Mississippi River nearby there is no lack of available activities. Enjoy! read more

The Driftless Cafe - Sandwiches Near Me - Viroqua, Wisconsin

Being new to the area I'm not sure if Driftless is or is not a destination but, if not and based on my first lunch comprised of their hamburger, it is now a destination for yours truly. The burger was recommended by staff when asked which of burger or Cubano should be my maiden voyage. The organic beef was truly tasty and prepared to order. My side salad was appreciated and the maple-balsamic vinaigrette delightfully surprised in as much as it was not too sweet for this pilgrim. My brother across table from me ordered and completely enjoyed the beef-lamb bourguignon with its amazing sauce, amazing looking and tasting vegetables, all atop creamy mash. As if ordained by the Utterly Indifferent, the table next to us was served a Cubano that convinced me that will be my meal when next I return to Driftless Cafe and, oh, I will return. read more

I haven't been to Driftless for a bit but I won't make that mistake again. We arrived an hour before closing and ordered right away to a friendly and responsive server. We ordered the special fries to share and summer vegetable soup to start. The fries were fresh, crisp and the seasoning was a blend of some sort and was a show stopper! Seriously, the seasoning elevated a simple plate of fries from great to amazing! Now onto the soup. I can describe it as creamy but not heavy and the vegetables were perfectly cooked- not to hard and not mushy. Finally I had the Mediterranean plate and my daughter had the Mac and cheese. Both were excellent however, perhaps the Mac and cheese needed a bit more salt. The Mediterranean plate had fresh falafel and homemade hummus with warm pita and salad. The only reason I brought some home was from being stuffed! It is such a nice feeling to leave an establishment that clearly cares for the dishes it puts out in presentation, flavor and sustainability. What a perfect lunch! read more

Awesome vibe, great staff, high end drinks and the enticing MENU... forget about it!!!! We will never pass through without stopping for lunch, dinner, or the nicely wind protected beer garden!! The flavor experience of the chef's creations are something everyone should try!!! Went with a party of four, had apps pizza dinner lots of drinks and dessert... can't wait to be back. read more

So AMAZING! food all really delicious and fresh! Staff very friendly! Social distancing, sanitizing and masking followed very well! Thank you for a wonderful experience l! read more

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We had a girls weekend in Viroquoa and had a reservation (I think reservations are required most nights and quite a bit in advance) here our first night in town. Everything about the place was fantastic! We enjoyed the wine, the non-alcoholic offerings (wiscopop), the salads, the meat, fish and all the fixings. I ordered the grass fed tenderloin. The portion was huge, and I finished every bite! I ordered it medium rare and I received two pieces, stacked on top of each other. The bottom piece was a bit more rare, and I appreciated getting the best of both worlds in this tender, melt in your mouth cut of beef. The potatoes served with my steak were buttery as can be, and the sauce pulled everything together fabulously. The service was spot on. I think we were all in agreement that we will be going back when we get the opportunity. read more

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Every vacation hits a bump in the road and our "bump" was dinner at the Driftless Cafe. I could make a million excuses, but that is not my style. I shoot from the hip. We had an inattentive server. Her attention was given to chatting with another server. My husband was not happy sitting with an empty beverage glass. You know, food does not come flying out of the kitchen here. It is prepared according to request, but I didn't ask for a dry duck leg nor did my husband order his tenderloin rare. Oh well, every dog has his day. Sorry we were present for dog day at Driftless. THEN you get your check...wait...what...you get to add 4% for a credit card surcharge or deduct 4% if you don't charge your bill. NOW is not the time for fuzzy math, my friends. I want to go home. I'm done with the Driftless Cafe. read more

Totally 5-star! Everything we ate (especially the gnocchi) was amazing. The service was fast and friendly. Drinks were good with lots of options. Expected a crowd for a Saturday but it wasn't too busy. A little loud for people who are hearing impaired and can be pricey if you order at will (as we did!). Would return again no question!! read more

Go. Here. If. You. Love. Local. Food. Pricier than McDonalds. But who cares, cause you're not at McDonalds. Delicious pizza. I repeat, delicious pizza. Also if you're addicted to chocolate cake, TRY THEIRS. Did you hear me holler just barely? It's awesome. Plus it's flourless. And flawless. And flawlessly flourless. And flourlessly flawless. read more

This place is fabulous! All fresh, local and organic. A changing menu almost daily. Nestled in the beautiful town of Viroqua, WI. Our experience was very favorable. We enjoyed beef tenderloin and red snapper, both prepared to perfection. We enjoyed some delicious appetizers, scallops and duck. Ready, along with a delicious Creme brûlée for dessert. read more

The Driftless Cafe - Sandwiches Near Me - Viroqua, Wisconsin

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So awesome. We had several of their pizzas, old fashions and mocktails. All was wonderful. Dessert was amazing. - chocolate cake. Service was attentive and friendly. Would recommend reservations as it seems the place fills up fast. Highly recommend. read more