Gray’s Tied House now open in Verona
By MadisonDining.com on Nov 26, 2006 in New Restaurants
Gray’s Tied House American Bonfire Grill & Brewery
750 Kimball Lane
Verona (608) 845-2337
Gray’s Tied House has opened in Verona. A more upscale brew pub, serving steaks, chicken, pasta, seafood and other dishes, this restaurant is connected to Gray’s Brewery in Janesville.
Their craft beers are GREAT! For lunch it only costs me $5.95 for a meal! GREAT FOOD!!!
I did not enjoy the Tied House at all. The food was not good. The service was terrible. And everything was rather expensive if you are going there for simple sandwiches for dinner. The do have good beer. They should stick to that.
I agree with Mr. Thiele. Great Beer and Great Food, a winning combination.
The Tied House has a great atmosphere and a beautiful lay out but the service is lacking and the food has been inconsistent. A little over priced, but a nice place to meet friends for a drink
Disappointing, like an overpriced TGIFriday’s or Chili’s. Ick.
Great place! Cool atmosphere, good brew, EXCELLENT service both times I’ve been there. Fri fish fry is good, other items are a little overpriced.
Their side items were delicious; as were their martinis. The service was excellent even though it was a Saturday night and they were very busy.
5 years ago, Big Mike’s was the best food in Verona. We know have; a great place for a beer and a burger, The Draft House, my favorite texmex food at Pasquals and now the Tied House.
Although Grays is no Lake Louie or Furthermore, they are neck and neck with Capital regarding quality and character.
Greys Imperial Stout is one of the best stouts in the midwest.
The food is well prepared though some would say a little too adventurous for a brew pub. Bowing to some initial negative food reviews, they’ve made some changes to their menu, although I have yet to sample it. The service has always been excellent but the servers could use a little more ‘beer smarts’. Regarding an earlier post, The Great Dane’s food and especially their beer is so barely average, we are delighted to have a top shelf brew pub like the Tied House right here in town.
I have been to Grey’s several time. The service has been bad each and every time no matter when you go.
To all of you who have tried Gray’s Tied House and had a bad experience…. They have changed their menu (lower prices, consistant layout/flow), have wonderful $5.95 lunch features every day of the week, the service is getting better and better, there is a new General Manager, and it is FAMILY OWNED. Go back and have a House Burger with their new Brew Fries and the BeerAchos… not to mention their home-made Cream Soda made with real caramel.
I have been to Grey’s many times wanting to like it…but even with the new menu, the food is mediocre and overpriced for the quality. The staff has always been friendly, but know very little about beer. I am also extremely annoyed that there are no beer lists on the table. (There is a liqour/wine list). It takes forever to get your hands on one of the few that seem to exist. Isn’t this a brewpub? Do you not want people to know what styles you are offering at that time? The beer is and always has been good! We just get growler and go as the smoke in the bar is too much for us and we won’t be eating there again.
Overall, we were impressed with our experience when our family (group of 9) was there on a Saturday afternoon. They now have the beer menus, the server was well-versed on explaining beers. And of course, the beer was excellent. The food was good – they offer quite a variety, especially for the prices. The server did a great job. We’d definitely go back.
I have been to Gray’s Tied House twice. . .in May, our food took 2 hours and was cold. My friend had an unidentified object in her entree and the issue was never resolved. Our waitress was pleasant that night, but the bartenders were rude. The second time I was there for lunch on the patio and it was a nice experience – good service and atmosphere. I think because the restaurant is fairly new, they just need to work out a few kinks.
I went to Grays Tied House and I thought it was pretty good. I live on the opposite side of Madison and if it weren’t for the distance I would go there often. The atmosphere is great, the beer was good, the food was good, the waitress was very nice. I am very picky and very demanding especially on the wait staff so unless I got the best waitress there I just can’t understand what the bad posts are talking about. I would call it a classy Great Dane Pub. I would recommend anyone who hasn’t to try it, the food is oven fired so it gives it a different taste, but still it was good for me.
Went there for a fish fry, fish was room temp and rubbery, I don’t think they are even trying anymore.
I loved the food when I first went there, although there was a very long wait. The bartenders were slow, but we waited. On the third time there, I took my 27 year old daughter and my sister. It was the first time for both of them. I used my gift cards, in which I had two. I was not sure of the balance on the first one but I knew I had $50.00 on the second. We each had 3 drinks and we all 3 ate. It was okay, but I never received a receipt of anykind (none of the 3 times I was there) and when my charge card and gift card (only 1)were brought to me, I asked if this was the card balance and the bartender says yes, so I signed it over as a tip. It was $8.and some change. I also left $2 more in cash. The next day when I spoke with my sister, we went through what we drank and ate and thought it was VERY COSTLY. So I found my receipt from the time before and found my balance. The baland the bartender told my was my card balance, was in actuality the balance I had left to pay for my bill, which was to come out of the $50.00 gift card. So I ended up giving about a $45.00 tip, for service that was not very good and food that arrived cold. IF YOU DO GO…..DO NOT USE CHARGE OR CREDIT CARDS!!!!!!!!!
I live nearby, and was excited to see that Grey’s was here. My excitement has quickly diminished. Besides being drastically overpriced, the food quality is poor at best for most menu items. There are a few things they do well, but they are few and far between. The drink cost is astronomical–even though I live in the area, I’d rather drive over to the Draft House or Fifth Quarter. They don’t have the atmosphere, but their prices reflect what you get. I keep going, hoping something will change, but it hasn’t. Grey’s either needs to drop their prices about 20-30%, or hire Gordon Ramsay to come in and shake up the place a bit. I’ve never had a problem with the bartenders–they always seem friendly, but the wait staff is much better at a poorly run truck stop. COME ON GUYS–GET IT RIGHT! Grey’s could be a GOLD MINE if it was done properly!!!
Tried to get an Easter Dinner yesterday. We had called about a month ago to make reservations, not knowing what to expect. At that time they said that they would be open but weren’t sure about specials. We made reservations for 3:00 PM. We got there yesterday about 2:00 PM to have some beers before dinner. We were told that they had a buffet going until 3:30 PM and then that the regular menu wouldn’t be available until 3:00. Well 3:00 came and went. They said that they had to clean up and switch the kitchen over. We were finally seated at 4:00. We were the only people in the restaurant other than the owner and his family. Our server came and took our order and came back with our salads and soup shortly thereafter. The salads were far from fresh with the greens quite wilted but still okay. We overheard our server being sent home a little later. We didn’t see another waiter until I grabbed the one who was serving the owner’s group some 45 minutes later. I asked if our food had been put in. She checked and said it would be up shortly. It came and was all cold except for one dish that had obviously just been microwaved. We had ordered the most expensive entrees on the menu. One order was cooked improperly besides being cold and also had the wrong side. Food was edible but hardly an enjoyable Easter dinner. We complained to the waitress who took it up with the owner. Fred Gray came and apologized and tried to explain everything away. He comped our dinners and asked that we come back and give them another chance some time. After 3-1/2 hours and then cold food, I hardly think so. We had driven over an 1-1/2 hours to come there. There is nothing like indifferent, costly service and food to really make you have indigestion. We should have gone to Quivey’s Grove.
Service was slow food was cold……. I’ll just go for the beer it’s the only thing that is good………… Tooo Bad………
I just recently was in Grays and had a very enjoyable experience. The beer tasted very fresh, we were promptly greeted by our server. We came at a busy time on Friday but the food arrived hot and fresh. We had a table of 15 and we all ordered pretty expensive meals and we were all totally satisfied. I will definitely make another visit to try different items on the menu.
Our family went to Gray’s Tied House on Mother’s Day, they had a buffet set up with a huge selection of food and cooks ready to make special requests (omelets, etc). Excellent food & service!
Add another negative vote. We, too, were excited to have an upscale bar/restaurant in Verona. After our first two poor experiences (lukewarm, flavorless food; slow service) we were ready to give up. But, we were told to retry after they got a new chef/menu. The next 2 visits were excellent. However, over the next year, it has progressively recovered its old ways. Last night’s experience was exceptionally poor. They forgot we were waiting even though we had a pager and several tables were open; we waited 8 minutes after seating for a menu (yes, I was timing it and we were just about ready to leave); food was lukewarm and flavorless; no plates for our appetizer; two different wait staff who disappeared for long periods. We eventually left cash on the table because neither staff came back after dropping off our bill (including a tip that now I regret having left because they didn’t deserve it). We’ve given up on Gray’s until they are under new management. Sorry. I agree with Jen above…it had so much potential.