Draft Gastropub
In a Bite
https://goo.gl/maps/nFeJRdGJwkYLs8KQ8
Ambiance: Comfortable Contemporary
Music: Old school pop
Service: Professional
Price: $$
Food Style: Diverse Pub Food
What to Order: Start with a sandwich, like the Thai chicken waffle slider or Whiskey Burger
Go Again?: Heck Yes
The Whole Plate
We’ve been to Draft Gastropub several times before but thought we’d give it an official review this time.
Tucked away near the edge of the Northland strip mall, Draft can be easily missed unless you know about it. As we live in Grand Chute, I remember driving by several times, curious. It still took a year and a half of living here in the valley before Linds and I went there for a date. Since then, it became a quick favorite! We often bring family and friends to Draft as an introduction to great food in valley. If you’ve never been, I think you’ll see why in a bit.
Expect a full parking lot if you’re going during prime dinner hours.
Inside is a contemporary, yet rustic, dining experience. You might think that’s a paradox but it is a self proclaimed gastropub! They do a great job at balancing high class food with a laid back atmosphere. Whether you’re coming straight from work or have planned a date, you’ll fit right in. If you’ve ever been to Rye on College Avenue, this place has a similar vibe.
Outside is a patio for outdoor dining. Heading inside, we passed through a small vestibule with some fake shrubbery before being greeted by a mesh metal draft horse, rivaling the PF Chang’s horse from across town. As the friendly hostess guides you to your table, the walls are adorned with sleek wine decorative racks, tin lettered signs, and other art which doesn’t really draw the eye.
Despite it being happy hour, we were actually seated very fast. Tables and chairs were sturdy but nothing fancy. All black, standard comfort, and forgettable in every way.
On the other hand, our waitress was very memorable, reminding us more of a supper club server. She immediately brought salad water to the table with a refill bottle. By salad water, I mean cucumber water. I don’t like cucumbers. Pickles? Yes. Cucumbers? No.
I scanned the QR menu with my phone, then I scanned the rotating draft menu with my eyes. I landed on the Alltech Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale while Lindsay stuck with the drinkable salad. They also have wine, beer, and specialty cocktails. The Wisconsin Old Fashioned is also a prime choice.
After she brought my ale, I sipped on it for a long while. A bitter front end mellows out into a sweet, smooth ale. This has become one of my go-to drink’s if it’s on the menu. It is strong at 8.2% APV so order an appetizer with it.
The waitress kinda forgot about us and I had to get her attention to order food. Things went well from there though and our food came quickly. If I had to describe the food menu, I’d say classy yet approachable pub food.
The dinner menu covers multiple cuisines for every size and sensitive stomach, perfect for a family get together or a nice date. They also have a scaled back lunch for M-F so you can wow a business partner or potential client. If you have a peanut allergy, good luck. You best grab a Little Caesar’s cheese pizza from across the parking lot.
No matter what you order, they bring their A-game with creative plating. From freaking sugar domes on creme brûlée to swirling smoke on tuna tartar, you’ll feel a little like you’re a judge on Iron Chef.
For an app, we had the empanadas with roasted corn and feta filling. It looked delectable with the drizzled poblano remoloude, the fancy word for sauce. However, while we thought it was good, we don’t think we would order it again for $15. The filling had the essential cheese stretch but lacked robust corn flavor. The dough wasn’t greasy but it retained the flavor of the fry oil, which dominated the pallet. Maybe why I was searching for the corn.
It was also served next to an undressed salad which confused us. I won’t hold it against them though. I don’t remember it on the menu from previous visits and I’m always down for a good experiment. I think they may have seen Author’s Kitchen’s empanada success and gave it a shot? It is still on the menu as of writing this review but the fillings have changed!
For our main course, I ordered the Gastro Tacos with tenderloin and Lindsay had the Thai Chicken Waffle Sliders. Whatever entrée you pick, your side options of truffle fries, sweet potato fries, soup, or salad are all delish. We especially recommend the lobster bisque, but just know it’s a very rich soup.
The medium-rare tenderloin was nestled in two homemade tortillas and topped with caramelized onions, goat cheese, and micro greens. I loved the richness of the goat cheese in combo with the sweet onions, a great compliment to the juicy steak. Have your napkin ready cause they like to drip. The only fault I see is there wasn’t a third taco! My side was the sweet potato fries. They don’t come with a sauce but they do a have a cinnamon sugar dusting, which I haven’t seen elsewhere.
Lindsay’s “slider” was really a fried chicken waffle sandwich, cut in half. Waffle and chicken were crispy and it wasn’t over sauced with the sweet peanut sauce. Lindsay was worried it would be spicy but it wasn’t at all. From the one bite I had to wrangle away from her, I wish it was spicy but that’s what I like! Her side was a salad with the champagne house dressing. Plenty of the dressing came on the side by default.
If you want a lighter menu option, the salads are very filling and ridiculously big. The Black & Blue salad is ideal for steak lovers. The Champagne salad is for those who enjoy a sweet, fruity salad. The Mediterranean salad is a great seafood option with big, zesty shrimp.
There was one time we ordered the lobster pizza, and that’s not one we would order again. It was kinda boring, not much flavor.
Desserts are rotating and not really written down anywhere online. Surprisingly, there was only one dessert option for us to split: tiramisu with Moscato and fresh berries. I thought to myself, “what a weird combination, coffee and Moscato.”
Traditionally, tiramisu is made with coffee liqueur soaked lady fingers layered with thick cream. Draft’s tiramisu substituted the coffee with a refreshingly light berry sauce. The purple sauce soaked into the fluffy white pound cake between layers of mascarpone (basically a fancy, sweet cream cheese). It looked like a big slice of cake and tasted like summer. That worked much better than coffee and moscato.
Our whole meal came to about $60 plus tip. We left with full bellies and a half a Thai slider. Lindsay said it reheated well when she had it the next day.
You already know we’d come back to Draft in a heartbeat, but I’ll summarize for you anyways. Draft Gastropub is the quintessential gastropub, mixing a casual dining experience with high class food at fair prices. Whether dressed to the nines or throwing a sweatshirt on after a day of hard work, no one really looks out of place. Expect great service and unique eats on par with that of much larger cities like Chicago or Minneapolis.
Have you been to Draft? What’s your favorite thing on the menu? Let us know by messaging us over on Instagram.
