This is the first place anyone takes you when you visit Madison. There is more history in here than any other establishment in town and perhaps the state, depending on how much emphasis you place on dive bars near the stadium in Green Bay.
It is always packed and noisy. The staff is overworked but the few times I have visited I have found that they always do what is needed if little else. They don't have the time to explain what kind of artisanal swine is used in the summer sausage. You don't mind so much, unless you are a true moron who doesn't have any sense of context, because it is always packed.
Oh, and you also don't mind because you're enjoying a wurst plate or a double bratwurst. Everything is homemade and fresh and best of kind. If it isn't, they aren't serving it. And people around you are laughing and having fun. And isn't that what matters? Everyone goes there because it's a great place to be.
If you want to quiz the server about the GMO levels of the milk used to form the cheese curds, there's a snooty place around the square where they are too happy to curate their menu. That place was weird and boring. So when you friend or family member suggests that you go to the Old Fashioned, expect kind of a party. And have fun.