Crafty Cow

Great food as long as the chef is in a good mood. My girlfriend & I found this bar while driving through the area & wanted something to eat. On first visit, the draft selection was epic! Perennial Sump on draft? Sign me up! Cheese curds are amazing & the staff has a lot of knowledge of both craft beer & food. However the 2^nd time we went here we were told that the chef was in a bad mood & the food came out mediocre at best. I’ve worked in a lot of restaurants & know how chefs can be so in some way I excused it but in this situation, I was a customer & expected more. Nevertheless, it’s definitely worth checking out for the; atmosphere, employees, draft & food (as long as the queen/​chef doesn’t have a pickle in her rear end)
Cheers!

great burgers and great beers.

This was my third visit to the Crafty Cow. While waiting for a table one of the bartenders, who I believe is one of the owners, came over to make sure we had been helped. I find that to be a huge positive for the restaurant. The waitress was not 21 and didn’t know a lot about the beer selections, but I was able to work around that small issue. The beer selection is excellent, but my issue was that a couple of kegs were killed (kegs that I wanted to try) and no other options/​replacements were available. I still ordered a flight of beers which I enjoyed.
I ordered the Beast which was excellent and my wife ordered a chicken sandwich which she enjoyed. Overall, the experience was positive and I will return.
I also have to mention the same person who checked on us when we were waiting for a table stopped by our table when we were done eating and asked how the meal was. I really enjoy the small things like that when the person running the establishment takes the time to ask the patrons about their experience.

So our waitress was a little odd, But food was mmm mmm good! I ordered the bleu burger with a flight of dark beers. My fav was the nitro chocolate stout. Super yummy. Fries are extra. Boo. So we opted for none.
Sister and uncle both got this amazing bloody Mary with bacon. Very tasty but yikes L.A. prices in this little town! I’m used to it, being from L.A., but wasn’t prepared for small town America to be so pricey. m and the cups were rather small for the price. At least in L.A. we get fries with or burgers (most of the time).
Sis had a bacon and cheese burger and uncle had a pepper and cheese one. All burgers were stuffed with mmm mmm yum Wisconsin cheese.
Gastro pub feel I was really digging on. Bartenders could have been a little more aware of customers. Walls were decorated hipster with what appeared to be local artists works for sale and display.
Very cute concept, great beer menu and amazing burger options. Should I return to Wisconsin again, I would most definitely come back.

tl;dr Food was good, but not special. Everyone was nice, but not memorable. Not bad, but not great. Simply put, come for the beer, not the food. I doubt I’ll be back.
I’ve dined at Crafty Cow three times now. Once a few weeks after they opened, and twice in the last two months. One thing they have down is their beer selection. Tons of craft brews on tap (a welcome addition to the Five-O’s), a huge bar, tons of tables, seasonal menu options including house-​made sausages, etc. But. It’s always cold inside, doesn’t matter the season. And, if you are stuck in the back half, you’ll be freezing. To top it off, the prices are higher than expected. A burger at most restaurants usually include a side of some sort, but nope, not here, that’ll cost extra.
So… let me dig into the food.
Appetizers: Fried green beans; great, but honestly, they are hard to mess up. French fries; decent house cut fries, but they had little seasoning and are terrible once they cool down (which is hard to prevent in a cold building). Pig pens; I love pickle roll-​ups, I love the dip version too. But these fried, wonton wrapped, monstrosities with soy sauce were disappointing, especially for the cost (you can order a burger for the same price).
I’ve ordered the PB&B twice. First time (check my photo from March 8, 2015) I thought it was great, except that I couldn’t choose how I wanted it cooked… Head’s up, I’m a sucker for peanut butter on a burger. Their house made pickles are perfect, the bacon was perfectly cooked, and there was a generous amount of peanut butter slathered on. A great combination of salt and tang. Second time, it was mediocre. The hamburger meat was mealy, there was little peanut butter on it, and in the end it just left me underwhelmed.
My wife has ordered the Hangover. She didn’t say much about it, but the fact that she did not even eat half of it meant the burger wasn’t great.
For my third visit, I ordered the Twice Baked. There was no flavor pop, no crunch to the potato chips, just a bland texture and flavor. I was disappointed, and even considered asking for something else. But, I decided then and there that was my last time I’d be visiting Crafty Cow.

I would rate this bar higher, however the bartenders and servers need to check their attitude at the door. They are in a service based industry and part of that is making customers feel welcome and appreciated. These guys consistently are lethargic, bad attitude as if they are bothered to do their job.

Great food and a great atmosphere this is just the thing lake county needs, my only complaint is that it’s a bit cold, I guess I just need to order some brandy next time.

Love the sausage sandwiches and the variety of beers.

If asked to summarize Crafty Cow in one word, I’d go with «greasy.»
If asked to summarize Crafty Cow in TWO words, I’d go with «REALLY greasy.»
We came in expecting the «stuffed burgers» to be, you know, stuffed. Instead, it’s essentially just the toppings sandwiched between two thin burger patties.
As has been mentioned before, the burger meat is really kind of weird. It’s mealy and just has a different consistency than a burger should probably have… A little off-​putting, but (probably) not the end of the world. The review here by «G R» sums the meat up perfectly.
On top of that, though, with every bite came grease dripping out of the burger in to the tray. Coupled with the weird meat and the not actually stuffed «stuffed» burgers, these were pretty disappointing (Although I’ll admit the toppings were tasty enough — we had one mushroom Swiss burger and one bacon cheddar burger).
We also had an order of cheese curds which came out hot and fresh.
After the first few, I recall legitimately thinking they might have been the best cheese curds I’d ever had… Until a few minutes later, when they began to cool down a little and the insane greasiness really came out and became noticeable. They quickly went from, in my mind, possibly the best cheese curds ever to possibly the greasiest ever. What a shame.
Ease up on the grease (a lot) and change up the burger meat — then we might come back.

We visited on our way to Madison and didn’t expect much. What an unexpected great time!
Me: How do you pronounce this place? OCOW-​NO-​MOW-​WACK?
Waitress: No– It’s pronounced F-​U-​N!
All kidding aside, we were traveling and read some negative reviews about the place when we stopped in town. Despite being a bit apprehensive, his *real* burger, my veggie burger and the beers were fantastic
Our Milwaukee transplant waitress was beyond amazing, and did I mention the skee-​ball?! Though both fans of the game, we had never played together. It was such a great way to celebrate our known and unknown loves!

20 beers on tap, and they’re always changing. Nice atmosphere. A little noisy. Large bar area with seating in the bar area as well as seating in the rear of the establishment. Great appetizers. The Pig Pen, which is deep fried wonton stuffed with cream cheese, dill pickle and ham, are a must! The burgers can be a little high priced, but they are stuffed and very good. This place is a must when in Oconomowoc.

We dined in on a Friday night with out two young kids. We didn’t have to wait for a table, which was nice with the kids. One of the things that I always like in any restaurant is when the high chairs are clean and not sticky. I was very happy about that.
The beer flight was a great deal and it let us try beers we usually wouldn’t. The Guava beer was very good. We tried the beast burger and the loaded potato. We also tried the wonton appetizer. Everything was very good. The presentation was lacking but the foot was good. They should probably ditch the plastic black baskets. Good price point though. Will definitely be back for a «cheat» day.

Great find in Oconomowoc! Wonderful selection of craft beers, a few difficult to find.

The place doesn’t brew their own beer but the gourmet burgers and the sausage is absolutely awesome I had the elk sausage stuffed with jalapeños and cheddar with sauerkraut on top. Cheese curds are excellent

Great hamburgers, very greasy cheese curds and French fries were burnt, good selection of hamburgers and they were tasty, beer choices were good. Would go back.

If you want a great, solid burger or sausage, come to Crafty Cow. But, be sure to check out the Crafty Specials to see what the kitchen has been experimenting with lately. As for drinks, they have the best tap list in town, and it changes regularly. They also offer house aged craft cocktails. The staff are friendly, and remember you if you come in more than a few times. This is our go-​to place in Oconomowoc.
If you want a lighter option, the kale and blue cheese salad is delicious — add chicken to make it a filling meal.

We took a «date night out trip» from Milwaukee to check out Sweet Mullet Brewing Company down the road. Their kitchen ended up being closed, and peanuts were not cutting it, so we stopped on our way back home. What a great idea. THE NAPKINS! OMG, THE NAPKINS! No kidding they were the softest most amazing napkins ever, like five-​ply Kleenex. Other than that the beer selection was great, regionally heavy, and the burgers were pretty good. I had the Packer, which reminded of a Portillo’s Italian beef sandwich with the marinated green peppers. Dinner partner had the gluten free but which he said was adequately toasted, but still ended up using a fork when it fell apart.
Cheesecurds were a large serving, with delicious batter, though semi difficult to find the cheese.
We will likely return, planning dinner on our next visit to Sweet Mullet.

I was thrilled by my experience at Crafty Cow. It is often very hard to find a good restaurant in the Oconomowoc area that is both kid-​friendly and vegetarian-​friendly and Crafty Cow was just that. To sum it up: good food, great alcohol list, friendly and attentive service and extremely pleasant overall vibe.
The atmosphere is laid back and casual but modern with a lot of dark wood and a big bright window letting in nice light. We sat at a long table with bench seating and were immediately greeted by a friendly waitress. We ordered a round of drinks and some fried green beans which all came out very quickly. The fried green beans were a huge hit — everyone enjoyed them.
A few of us ordered one of their special burgers off the menu (which looked great) and a few others did a «build-​your-​own». I built my own veggie burger and the toppings selection was above and beyond. While we waited for our burgers, my son enjoyed playing some skee-​ball and my father enjoyed a whisky flight.
The food arrived quickly and everyone enjoyed their meal. I can’t wait to return.

I won’t be back I can’t rate a star so disappointed can’t find limes for drinks wrong stuffed burgers to customers with jalapeños supposed to be cheddar bacon
Ask for grilled onions on burger servicer drops off raw? when there was already raw on the burger asked for grilled lost My Packer didn’t look or taste the same two weeks ago covered in mustard smaller cut it in half wouldn’t fit on the other side of the bun I was told new chef

I went here on a Monday night. It is still new, maybe less than 1 week since they opened, and they are figuring things out. However, I see a lot of good things happening at this bar. I had the cheese curds, lightly battered and delicious, and a Packer Burger, which was also delicious (I love sauerkraut).
The beer list has some really fun items. They understand that craft beers aren’t just hoppy IPAs. It’s a well balanced list and fun to explore. The highlight was the Central Waters Bourbon Barrel Stout. They also have some great cocktails, and all of their ginger based drinks come in copper cups.
It was really busy on the Monday night I visited the restaurant. The food was slightly delayed, but the staff was really attentive and made for a great experience.