Delivery
No
Payment
Credit Cards Accepted
Parking
Parking Lot
Good for Kids
Yes
Attire
Dressy casual
Alcohol
Yes - Full Bar
Reservations
No
Cuisines:
American,
Seafood,
Steakhouse
Price Point
$$$
$ - Cheap Eats (Under $10)
$$ - Moderate ($11-$25)
$$$ - Expensive ($25-$50)
$$$$ - Very Pricey (Over $50)
WiFi
No
Outdoor Seats
No
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02/12/2024 - MenuPix User
01/19/2024 - MenuPix User
11/17/2023 - MenuPix User
My favorite place and I go there as many times as I possibly can EVERY year... The Haddock Dave's way is so good... love the salad and the dressing... LOVE EVERYTHING about The White Stag
10/07/2023 - MenuPix User
Thanks your honest review. You saved me from a very disappointing experience. I was just looking for a good place to eat. Won't be there.
12/31/2019 - MenuPix User
We were very disapointed tonight our lovely steaks were cold!, the service was fantastic but we will not be back
09/02/2019 - Rick
White Stag, long in the tooth, past its prime, living off the reputation.
Supper Club Status: Revoked
To start, I've lived in Eagle River on and off for the last 30 years. Been to the Stag occasionally with Madisonian relatives, who've made it part of their ritual when visiting Vilas County. Such was the case this past Saturday evening, when they treated us to a meal there. I paid the bar tab.
First, I've been there in the height of the summer rush, where every table was full, and one had to wait outside for a seat at the bar. Not so Saturday, where there were about 30% of the tables open in the main room, and about 70% open in the back...yet we were told about a 30-minute wait. Fortunately (at least I thought it was), four seats opened up at the bar. After a 5-minute wait there, the less than cordial bartender took our drink orders, one at a time, three of which were Old Fashioneds, of course. When I was bartending at a busy golf course, I would take the orders for four at a time with no hesitancy, and line them up and make them. Three Old Fashioneds would take less than a minute to make, tops.
Full disclosure, I was a Wisconsin State "licensed" bartender in the years I was in college, and learned the importance of producing the State Drink of Wisconsin properly, which involves muddling. I am also a big Supper Club aficiando, and love the tradition of a great meal and a fabulous Old Fashioned, "The kind Old Dad used to make!" Instead, Old Cheery threw ice in the glass, dumped what looked like a house made concoction of some kind in, then the booze and mixer, and garnished with a cherry on a bamboo toothpick. Tasted awful, asked him for an orange slice, and his curt response was "we don't have any oranges". I then asked him for additional bitters, expecting to see the ol' Angostura bottle to come out, but instead got more of the house concoction, which didn't help. Slammed down the rest of the "Old Fashioned" as our table was ready, and ordered a double whiskey for the table (rail whiskey there is Fleischmans). Result plus a 15% tip (I did used to work the wrong side of the bar, mind you)....$45 for 3 Old Fashioneds, an Amaretto and 7, and a double whiskey. Seriously, if you don't have the interest to properly produce a muddled Old Fashioned at what is perceived to be a high-dollar supper club, you are in disdain of your clientele.
The meal: Again, in full disclosure, I am a person who enjoys a good supper (if you could see me, you would understand), and actually likes to cook. I've lived around the country, and have picked up many recipes and methods along the way. Here's where the Old Stag has lost it.
"The same menu forever" is the claim to fame. From that one concept it would work, plus the grill in the middle of the room touch, but only if the quality of the dining experience was consistently top notch. Otherwise, and from reading other glowing reviews to the contrary, a slow spiraling descent is perhaps harder to discover.
The order:
Rib Eye Supreme, 3/4 lb, medium rare, $27
Icelandic Fillet of Haddock, $23
En Brochette Dave's Way, medium rare, sirloin "Little steaks on a skewer, 9 oz, $19
Chicken ("Succulent, falls from the bone!), Dave's Way, $18
Total Food Bill, with $4.50 for 2 oz of blue cheese crumbles, $91.50
What you get:
Really good hot rolls with cold slabs of butter (Why, Lord, Why?).
1/5 head of Iceberg, with browning and limp outside leaves, and White Stag clear French, Russian Cream and Caesar dressings.
An actually baked russet potato (no foil), served sliced with a frozen lump of butter shoved inside. The above were the highlight for the meal.
En Brochette, Dave's Way: This was the winner here, nicely medium rare, tender, and juicy with the au jus.
The Rib Eye Supreme: Looked like it started out in life as a half-inch steak, and was served medium, shriveled up, blackened, and appeared from the remains that at the end it had been about 30% fat, etc. I did some time in Texas in exchange for purgatory time, so I know what a good ribeye looks like. Believe me, down there a proper ribeye is as important as a proper Old Fashioned up here. This one was, in a word, garbage.
The Icelandic Fillet of Haddock: Appeared scorched and dry, despite the drawn butter and tartar sauce.
Mine was "The Chicken, Dave's Way": Apparently, Dave liked his half yardbird chokingly dry and deeply charred. The breast had no moisture to it whatever, and even the leg and thigh were dessicated. I physically scraped the burned skin in front of the waitress, and asked her if this was normal: I got the Alfred E. Neuman "What Me Worry?" shrug.
All in all, a big disappointment, especially for the relatives, who were looking to enjoy a meal from years past. There are plenty of other, much better places in a 20-mile radius, for a quality Supper Club experience. The lousy drinks, poor food, coupled with a total bill that would buy three weeks of good groceries, I'll not be returning. Ever.
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