Restaurants to Avoid in Northeast Wisconsin
Over the past couple years of us writing this blog, we’ve had a handful of truly awful dining experiences and we’ve chosen not to share them because we didn’t want to come off as know-it-alls or offend people. While that is still true, between a recent bad experience and our readers asking for a candid “where not to go” blog, it’s time. We fully acknowledge that people have bad days and our experiences may have been a fluke. So maybe instead of telling you to never go to a particular establishment, we’ll just tell you to enter with caution. Let’s begin.
Island Sushi – Appleton
Years ago this place was great, but unfortunately within the past year, the quality of food and service has declined dramatically. They used to be very adamant that you could not make reservations for the boat experience (which also used to cause lines of people waiting to get in), but as of February or March 2023, you can make reservations and walk-in seating is not guaranteed.
When we arrived at about 6:30pm on a weeknight, we were informed about this new reservation system and the closest they could get us in was 7:30. We decided to stay and sit at the bar. The bartender was a little quirky but friendly enough and made good drinks. The only thing that was rather strange and unprofessional about the bar was the bartender’s handling of cash.
So 7:30 came…and went. At 7:35/7:40ish one of us went up to the hostess and asked if there was an update on our seats. She explained that there were people still ordering food. I questioned why that mattered when I knew there were empty seats. Apparently with this new system, everyone starts their meal at the same time so no one could be seated until everyone from the previous seating left. The bar was very full of hungry people waiting for this 7:30 seating. There had been no communication to the group.
At 7:50, 20 minutes after our reservation time (and 1 hr. 20 min. after our arrival), our bartender handed us a bill for food. Yes, for food we hadn’t even seen yet. It is a set price per meal so we understand that it’s easy to predict the cost per party, but come on…you don’t give a bill to people that have been waiting 20 minutes past their reservation time. That was kinda the straw that broke the camel’s back. Still absolutely no update had been given to the group and when we suggested better communication, their only response was that our complaint was “unwarranted” and they’re doing the best they can. So we left and went to Culver’s.
What’s even more concerning is that when we shared a small snippet of our story on Instagram, we left Island Sushi’s name out of it and people started responding trying to guess the restaurant from their own experiences. Apparently Sushi Lover and Koreana don’t have good reputations either, though we haven’t tried them to speak for ourselves.
Click here to view Island Sushi’s Google Reviews
Where to go instead: Sakura in Oshkosh, though it can get really busy so takeout is a good option. Maybe takeout is the answer in Appleton too.
TJ’s Sushi also known as TJ Japanese Steakhouse (we’ve heard it said many ways)
So the night of the Island Sushi incident, we actually tried coming here first. We sat at the bar and were told, “We are too busy to serve you.” Mind you that the restaurant was only about half full, though everyone seated looked angry and didn’t have food. So Island Sushi was our backup plan. *eye roll*
Click here for TJ’s Google Reviews
Where to go instead: Still Sakura
Stone Arch Brew Pub
We’ve heard good things about this place so it’s probably a surprise to both you and us that it made this list. Unfortunately we don’t have anything to report on because after waiting 90 minutes for our food and watching other tables come in, get food, and leave, we decided we couldn’t do it anymore so we left. Do we try again?
Click here for Stone Arch’s Google Reviews
Where to go instead: Draft Gastropub
So what now?
We plan to continue updating this blog in the future, but we hope we never have to! If you’ve had a bad experience that you think wasn’t a one-time incident, share it with us. We may add it to the list.