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    Tom Sawyer's Bar & Grill

    3.6 (53 reviews)
    ModerateBars, Burgers, Mexican
    Open 7:30 am - 9:00 pm

    Tom Sawyer's Bar & Grill Photos

    Business Info

    TOM SAWYER'S BAR & GRILL ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Live music
    Casual
    Moderate noise
    Good for groups

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    Recommended Reviews - Tom Sawyer's Bar & Grill

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    Fish 'n' Chips, Fries, and Coleslaw
    Damian C.

    Tom Sawyer, Tom Sawyer, Tom Sawyer.... My first time ever being there, and I have to say I was excited....at first. This place reminded me of Castaway's across the road from the decor. They have a nice outside patio, and was a great place to gather. I don't know what it is with different places lately, but the employees certainly are not welcoming...no smile, no hello how are you..very cold and unappealing. When we entered, the woman behind the bar with dark hair and a nose piercing almost seemed "bothered" that we were there and asking questions. I literally said out loud, "boy, she seems friendly." I think she heard me because she changed her tune real quick when she waited on my husband and I. She THEN became very friendly...for a little bit anyways. We were meeting another friend, and so we ordered fried cheese curds and a couple of drinks while we waited. I had a Bahama Mama, and my husband had a Captain Morgan and Diet Pepsi. The cheese curds were really good and they give you a lot of them! We waited awhile before we ordered so that our friend could order food with us, but when she got there she said she wasn't hungry. When my husband and I ordered food, I had what was normally a grilled chicken sandwich that's normally on sourdough bread, and I swapped fries for scalloped potatoes, and I excluded the bread. I asked for the BBQ option, and it was almost as if they just plopped cold BBQ on the chicken once it was done because instead of at least cooking the BBQ on the chicken, it was just sitting on top with American cheese under it. It wasn't seasoned, very bland, and the chicken seemed rubbery, oh, and my scalloped potatoes were bland and under seasoned! My husband's meal was at least decent. He got fish 'n' chips and coleslaw. Did I mention my entire meal was cold, lukewarm at best almost as if it was being held under a heat lamp until the other meal was done. From the customer service to the food, this was not a good first impression. Even if the food wasn't good, my lasting impression would have been so much better if the people were at least kind, particularly this waitress. When I did tell the waitress I didn't like my food, her wonderful comment to me after I said I didn't like it but my husband likes his was, "well 1 out of 2 isn't bad." She didn't even apologize for the food not being good, she was just like, "do you want something else, and said it so snobbish. I looked at the menu again, but by that time from her nasty attitude, I was done and just didn't want anything else, not even a drink, which the drink was actually good. They did take off the meal, and of course no one said that they did, it was just handed to us. The rest of the time another waitress took over, so either the previous waitress didn't want to wait on us anymore, or she bounced. Either way, it would have been nice to have the heads up that someone would be taking over. It makes me sad to be treated in such a way. I wasn't looking to go there for a "free meal," but if it's wrong it's wrong. I didn't even order anything else, so what am I really getting out of it besides a poor attitude? I would say Castaway is a much better option for great food and attitudes! I think just the attitude alone doesn't make me want to go back to Tom Sawyer. I wanted to like this place and wished for it to be a homerun, but instead I got a foul ball.

    tables and umbrellas
    Dean W.

    I can't believe it's been over 4 years since my last time here. Again I give Tom Sawyer's 5 . The staff was very friendly. The Tom Sawyer burger was great. Very pleased. I enjoyed sitting on the back patio enjoying the view.

    Bloody Mary
    Marcia S.

    Stopped for breakfast and a Bloody Mary. Nice place, good food and the waitresses were very friendly.

    My family of 4 adults and 3 kids decided to stop in here for a lunch on a Monday afternoon based on the recommendation of my aunt. What followed was the absolute worst dining experience of our entire trip to LaCrosse! Walking in the door, my elderly mother asked the man seating us if we could sit in the table by the window. Even though the entire restaurant was empty except for some bar patrons, he sarcastically said, "Well, do you have a reservation?" Of course she replied that she didnt, but she asked if we could be seated there. With a snarky sarcastic smile, he said "Well, you should've reserved it then, shouldntcha?" (I didn't hear this exchange, or I would've turned around and left right then.) He apparently told my mother that the window table was already reserved. (More on that later). The man then seated us at the table directly BEHIND the window table, and we were greeted by a friendly waitress who took our drink orders. We ordered the cheese curds ($9.99), and they arrived within 10 minutes, which is about the time we placed our food orders. The seven of us ordered: fried chicken dinner, a burger kids meal, a grilled cheese kids meal, a Philly steak sandwich, a steak sandwich, a chimichanga, and an adult cheeseburger. A full forty minutes later, we still had not received anything, not even the salad for the chicken dinner, nor was there a refill offered for any of our seven drinks in that entire time. (Here, I'll just point out that the waitress seemed to be the only one tending the entire place, so I can't blame her for the awful staffing). At last! An hour after being seated, we received everything at once. I'm just going to list off the TON of CONS here, because otherwise this review is going to be too long. My mom's salad was delivered AFTER her dinner plate. The kids grilled cheese was burnt. My steak sandwich was at least 30% gristle/fat. The Philly was dripping grease and soggy. The A1 sauce was diluted with water. The ketchup was a cheap brand. The prices were not proportionate to the quality of food served AT ALL. ($10 for a frozen burger?) After eating, we waited another 20-30 minutes with empty drinks for the waitress to bring the check. We were overcharged for two drinks which were supposed to be free with the kids meals (which was corrected). Oh! Remember the window table that was already booked?? No one used the table. There was no reservation for that table. The owner was just being a jerk. By this point, we didn't want to wait around another 20 mins to pay the bill, so my mother went to the bar with the check to pay it right then so we could all leave. The rude man from earlier asked her "How was everything?", so my mother told him very calmly that she was very disappointed, and then began to explain the list of reasons why, when the man snapped the ticket out of her hand, tore it up into pieces, and said "I'll take care of it then." Mind you, this was not done in any kind of apologetic manner, but rather he was acting quite angry and didn't even look her in the eye. He then immediately walked away from her, ignoring her as she tried to insist she was not looking for a "free lunch." But it doesn't end there... My mother, now literally in tears from having been insulted and completely disrespected by this man, told me what happened after we left the restaurant. I felt bad for the waitress who apparently wasn't even getting a tip from our entire bill of over $100, so I decided to walk back into the restaurant, and ask to charge $20 on my card so that she could at least get tipped, and a different bartender was assisting me in doing that. The RUDE OLDER MAN walked up, asked what he was doing, and then took my card out of his hand, THREW it down on the counter in front of me, and said "No, I'll take care of her." I replied "I feel bad that she's not getting her tip". He repeated, sternly: IT'S TAKEN CARE OF. WOW. I know, as part of a family of small business owners myself, that it is stressful and difficult to run a business, and there are sometimes days that you just don't have a ton of patience when things go wrong. But I would never, ever let the customer know that in my attitude. That man needs to learn how to handle his anger issues and maybe take a lesson in customer service. If it weren't for the terrible owner's treatment of my elderly mother, this place would have gotten three stars for the awful service and prices. Not only will we never return, but I'll make sure none of my friends or family endure a meal there, either!

    Mushroom Burger

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    1 year ago

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    8 months ago

    The food was great and our waitress Megan was even better! So attentive and kind. Stop in and have a Bloody Mary. We will be back!

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    1 year ago

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    4 years ago

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    3 years ago

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    6 years ago

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    4 years ago

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    6 years ago

    No one was wearing any masks, INCLUDING WORKERS! Food was really good though, the workers were nice!

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    9 years ago

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    6 years ago

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    8 years ago

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    11 years ago

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    9 years ago

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    7 years ago

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    8 years ago

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    11 years ago

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    9 years ago

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    12 years ago

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    15 years ago

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    10 years ago

    Great place. I love the burger, fish and wraps. The Jameson is quite tasty as well. Nice view of the Black River. Great staff

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    11 years ago

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    7 years ago

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    7 years ago

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    10 years ago

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    9 years ago

    View is beautiful. Food was questionable. Whats with a square burger???. Fries tasted like old grease. Service was good.

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    13 years ago

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    11 years ago

    Awesome food and service, will definitely be back! The buffalo chicken wrap was outstanding.

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    11 years ago

    Great fish burgers, chicken and salads. I eat there quite frequently and have never had a bad meal. The service is best in town

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    11 years ago

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    13 years ago

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    Milwaukee Burger Company - Cheese Curd Burger

    Milwaukee Burger Company

    3.3(100 reviews)
    2.6 mi
    $$

    When I visit family in the La Crosse area, I order their food items via one of the food delivery…read moreservices. I always thought it was OK...nothing to write home about. Finally, I went to the establishment, and I liked its look and feel. The staff, while not overly friendly, acknowledged me. The bar was clean, and the drink and beer options were good. Some of the food items worth mentioning: the double Smash is solid and worthy if you want one of their more "plainer" burgers. The Defibrillator is really, really good! This burger is a lot of food, and unless you are under 25 and a glutton, I'd share this one. It is about 2/3 lbs of burger. The other part of the equation for this burger is that it has chicken fried bacon in it. Batter-fried bacon? Who'd have thunk? I didn't look, but if this is not on the appetizer menu, it should be. Cheese curds are solid and best eaten hot...of course The beer menu is OK. you will get a few stalwart craft breweries intermixed with your standard corporate beers.

    My husband and I visited Milwaukee Burger Company as a last-minute dinner option, and we left…read morewishing we'd gone somewhere else. When we arrived, we were told the wait was 25-30 minutes, so we opted to sit at the bar instead and the bar wasn't busy at all. Thank goodness the barstools were comfortable, because with the long wait and slow service, at least we were sitting comfortably. Unfortunately, that's where the positives end. Our bartender, Chloe, was disengaged and inattentive throughout our visit. She forgot one of our drinks and seemed far more interested in chatting with a friend sitting at the bar than taking care of her actual customers. The floors were covered in trash and food, which didn't exactly inspire confidence in the kitchen. As for the food, my husband's smash burger and fries were decent -- the one bright spot of the evening. My wings, however, were awful. The fat wasn't rendered at all, leaving them slimy and unappetizing. For a place with "burger" in the name, I'd expect them to at least nail the basics on the rest of the menu. Between the filthy floors, the poor service, and the undercooked wings, we won't be back.

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    Tom Sawyer's Bar & Grill - bars - Updated September 2026

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