Madison King Street Spirits Ghost Walk: Haunting Tales
Uncover the eerie history of Madison's oldest district on the King Street Spirits Ghost Walk. Hear ghost stories and urban legends from expert storytellers.
The Friday fish fry is Wisconsin's social meal: beer-battered or breaded lake perch, cod or walleye with rye bread, coleslaw, French fries or potato pancakes and tartar sauce.
Wisconsin's Friday fish fry began in 19th-century Catholic Lent observance, when the German and Polish immigrant population avoided meat on Fridays. Through Prohibition, taverns moved beer revenue into hot food, with the all-you-can-eat fish fry becoming Wisconsin's defining social meal by the 1930s. Today every Wisconsin supper club, brewery hall and corner tavern from Milwaukee to Madison runs a Friday fish fry; Madison's Tornado Steak House, Coopers Tavern and The Old Fashioned anchor the ritual with perch and cod every week of the year.
4 editor picks for Wisconsin Friday fish fry in Madison, ranked by editorial score. All Madison signature dishes · Wisconsin Friday fish fry across every city.
The Old Fashioned ★ 4.8
capitol-square · 23 N Pinckney St, Madison, WI 53703
The Old Fashioned on North Pinckney, the Wisconsin canon codified into a tavern menu since 2005, runs cheese curds, fish fry and brandy Old Fashioneds.
Tornado Steak House ★ 4.6
capitol-square · 116 S Hamilton St, Madison, WI 53703
Tornado Steak House on South Hamilton, a block off Capitol Square, runs Madison's traditional supper club tier with steaks and the weekly Friday fish fry.
The Coopers Tavern ★ 4.4
capitol-square · 20 W Mifflin St, Madison, WI 53703
The Coopers Tavern on West Mifflin, Food Fight's eleventh restaurant since 2010, sits at the top of State Street with 28 taps a block off Capitol Square.
Schwoegler's Park Towne Lanes ★ 4.0
westside · 444 Grand Canyon Dr, Madison, WI 53719
Schwoegler's Park Towne Lanes on Grand Canyon Drive, the Madison bowling-and-supper-club institution since 1919, runs a fish fry and a sports bar restaurant.
Learn to cook it, or eat it with a guide
Wisconsin Friday fish fry makes more sense with someone from Madison explaining it. These are the classes and tours we have checked, with booking links.
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