A Madison tradition?
I've experienced a few fish fries around the city and have to say that this one isn't the best. It's decent but too costly for the quality. I'm not saying it's a terrible place but rather a relic from the past.
The place always seems crowded. When we visited, we found faster seats at the bar where we ordered food. The layout isn't conducive for a hoard of guests waiting to be seated and that is very apparent by the waiters' tactics to move around. This layout has been mentioned in other reviews as well. I did observe some strange situations like a middle aged couple on a date getting a nice view of the people waiting's midsections.
As far as the food goods, I won't go back. I compared my meal to a drunk, late-night visit to Denny's in college. I wasn't impressed by the fish fry. Going off the bartender's recommendation, I added the "cheese" and onions to my hash browns (one of the many potato options). I can't say that I was delighted to see two squares of cheese (Kraft singles?) slightly melted on top. Uploading that photo here too.
I heard a rumor that this place was bought by the Food Fight group. Maybe the kitschy factors will become more secondary to a more tasty dining experience.
**Note: Yelp removed the photo of the Kraft Singles Squares as it was reflective of "my personal experience" rather than the restaurant. I'm not sure sure what that means so here you go:
NOV 05, 2012 | 10:12AM PST
Hi there,
We wanted to let you know that we have removed one of your photos of Avenue Bar. We encourage users to post business photos that are broadly representative of the business, while sharing their personal experience with that business in a review. In this case we thought that your photo looked more like it captured your personal experience.
Thanks for understanding, and we'll see you on Yelp!
Regards,
Fritz
Yelp User Support
San Francisco, California