Sullivan’s Supper Club

Sullivan’s is a local favorite that consistently delivers great food! Great scenery on the Mississippi River. We live 45 minutes away and go as often as we can. My favorite is the steak tips and shrimp. They are one of the few small town family restaurants that really excel. Make sure you check them out and support them. It will be worth the drive.

Sullivan’s has been a mainstay in the LaCrosse area, dating back to my undergrad days at the University of Wisconsin LaCrosse in the late ’70’s and early ’80’s. Just a short drive from LaCrosse at the gateway to Perrot Wisconsin State Park, their scenic location overlooks the Mississippi River. This visit we brought our Wisconsin Supper Club book by Ron Faiola to be signed. We enjoyed our visit — first, enjoying a couple of Wisconsin favorites at the bar — brandy old fashioned sweets, and then a window table. Unfortunately we missed Chris, the owner this time. Cathy was our waitress, she treated us to their fabulous hospitality. After a trip to the well stocked, freshly prepared salad bar — she tried the pan fried walleye with baked potato and I tried the BBQ pork ribs with the Irish potatoes. Unfortunately, the ribs were a bit dry and overly smothered with sauce but Cathy caught this quickly and offered her apologies — (no apology really needed, as I understand, we were one of the first diners when they opened and it was a Tuesday evening — hard to get ribs just right, this early in the night) For a sure replacement, I ordered my usual — the Sure ‘n Begorra — a perfectly tender, tenderloin and delicately battered shrimp — delicious — wow! The pan fried walleye was wonderful as well. Dinner at Sullivan’s is never complete without a perfectly prepared ice cream drink, and tonight was no exception as we split a «Bailey’s Blizzard» — Bailey’s Irish Cream and Kahlua and ice cream — spectacular. Thank you Sullivan’s for providing a consistent Wisconsin dining experience for decades. Stop by and visit Sullivan’s the next time you are in the LaCrosse area, I know you’ll enjoy the experience — we always do.

I have never had a bad meal here. The salad bar is huge. Wait staff is some of the best I have found. You should make reservations. Window seating overlooks the Mississippi River. When I lived in Rochester, I would drive an hour and 20 minutes to go there. No restaurant in Rochester could compare.

Update: I changed my rating to from a 5-​star to a 2 after my last visit. They have really hiked the price BIG TIME, over 35% in some cases. On top of that, the most disappointing part was the fact that they made the portions smaller too. Salad bar remains the same as before but drinks have also become much pricey. Overall, I’d categorize this restaurant is GOOD BUT EXPENSIVE. Very disappointing. I hate to say this but I simply can’t afford this place anymore and won’t be visiting anytime soon. Another good business taken away by greed. Sad.
Now, here’s my previous review:
One of the best restaurant I’ve dined in, ever. I drive over an hour to go to this place with family and friends at every opportunity I get. I noticed that someone reviewed them to be a bit pricy, I couldn’t disagree more. Take a look at the menu (not to mention their dinner specials). Extremely reasonable price; especially, considering the great unlimited and full salad bar.
The greatest aspect of this restaurant is THE GREAT VIEW of the Mississippi and the railroad where trains go by all day/​night. As their logo says — a view to dine for. A great view to dine for.
Food is awesome, service is just excellent. If you’re in the area you I strongly recommend that you visit and dine at this place. Simply a GREAT restaurant!!!

A classic example of the celebrated Wisconsin Supper Club with amazing food and beautiful views. The salad bar is second to none — everything is fresh and homemade and I have actually just ordered the salad bar before as a meal in itself. You just don’t see salad bars like this anymore.
The steak shouldn’t be missed, however — it’s always flavorful and tender. If only we could get such quality in Los Angeles (where I live).
Every time I visit family in La Crosse I ask to go to Sullivan’s. It’s a gem and worth a stop if you’re just passing through, and also worth the drive if you live nearby.

Really great place if you like fish, steak, or shrimp. Awesome food, good service, and fresh salad bar. Full bar with great drinks and good after dinner drinks too! Excellent cheese curds. I recommend the tips and Irish potatoes.

Sullivan’s needs to remember service is key.
I’ll let my story speak for itself. Went here with the family to celebrate a the Grandparent’s 54^th Anniversary. We had a reservation but decided to enjoy a few drinks on their very scenic deck before hand. Upon entering we asked the bartender if we should order at the bar or if they had staff to cover the patio, which we were told they did. All six of us went outside and proceeded to speculate for the next twenty minutes where the staff was. There was a lone guy scurrying around but it was clear he was waiting on only one table. We decided to just try our hand at ordering from the bar. Mom dutifully went forward and watched the bartender begin to make the drinks, stop at one and say «I’ll just bring out the rest later» feeling deflated she returned with a single G&T. Ten minutes later (I’m not joking) our drinks finally arrived. We instantly placed a second order since there was clearly a delay, they came out 15 minutes later right as our reservation was called. Mind you, as we were on the deck I would have had no problem waiting the extra 25 minutes after our reserved time if we had been getting regular drinks, OR if the table my Grandma had requested early in the week was available. As there were three tables with a view, which is what we had requested, I would have thought they would have made accommodations, especially since this is clearly a party celebrating and wanting to spend money.
As we were going to the table the waiter/​barback with the drinks in hand, offered to bring them to our table as we were walking in, which we accepted. However after we were seated we could see the guy standing along the wall talking with another employee and the drinks had vanished. Our waitress was eventually able to track them down, but by now they were watered down. The meal was good, I got the lobster and steak. Lobster was overcooked but the salad bar was a high note and the table loved it as well.
Unfortunately the service monster raised its head once more. When ordering the meal we had requested wine to be brought out in accompaniment. The food showed up the wine didn’t, we brought it to the attention of the waitress, who said she would «get right on it». She didn’t. About eight minutes later she came back asked how everything was, «still waiting on the wine» by now the meal was half finished. She brought it out shortly later but by that point the timing was too far off, which lead the table to refrain from after dinner drinks.
Poor service all around caused Sullivan’s to leave money on the table that night. Save yourself the drive. We won’t be back.

We drove down from Red Wing MN, for a dinner at one of Wisconsin’s traditional Steak Houses.
It was on Thursday and it was busy around 5:45pm which was surprising, for such a small town.
Sullivan’s does not rate a 4.5. Star based on our experience but it is worth a visit, for the experience.
It’s a nice location, bustling with activity. A very nice traditional salad bar, but come on the garlic toast. Is dry, flavorless and dry.
I had the Walleye, pan fried, two nice filets, ⁴⁄₅ ounces each, and a little over cooked, but not bad, a 3.5… My guest had the battered shrimp and they looked good but were very greasy, and tasteless 2.0!!!
The Gin and tonics were watered down with a pour quality Tonic on a gun. Instead of a quality tonic like Schweppes, or Q!!! 2.0
The service was fine, the Resturant clean, and the view of the river nice, they did ask us to wait and they would have a window table, a nice touch. Service 4.0.
It’s worth a trip, but it’s not something I would recommend as a dining destination.

Enjoyed our anniversary dinner at Sullivan’s and it was simply amazing. The view is amazing, a great date place. The sirloin tips melt in your mouth and the pan fried walleye is huge and perfectly cooked. You must get the Irish potatoes, they are out of this world. Oh ya, they also have a large salad bar that is super fresh. We’d never been there before but a colleague recommended it and now I’m passing that recommendation on to all. You have to check this place out! One note, if you rate by interior looks, this place is not modern looking. If however the service and food quality is what you’re looking for, this is the place.

This is a large restaurant with great views of the Mississippi from the dining room or the outdoor eating area. Although called a «supper club,» it’s open to the public and perhaps only someone from Wisconsin could define the difference between a supper club and a restaurant.
Sullivan’s has a salad bar that is a step above average — not the best we’ve seen, but not too far from the top either. For one of us, the «salad bar only» option at $ 9.95 was plenty of food, with more than adequate variety and nutrition. The cuisine is typical midwestern, but they did a good job with broiled scallops.

Perfect example of a classic Midwestern supper club — seafood, steaks, chicken, burgers, very notable salad bar (included with every entrée) — and all at a very reasonable price considering the quality of the food. Best appetizer = batter-​fried cheese curds. Good full-​service bar.
My family has been eating here on a regular basis for over 40 years, and I recommend that you do the same should you find yourself in the Trempealeau, WI, area.

If you are visiting Trempealeau, there are 3 (seriously) dining options.
1. The Trempealeau Hotel (Burgers/​steaks/​Pasta)
2. The Sullivan’s (Steak/​Crabs)
3. Pizza Corral (as name suggests)
Among those three, the sullivan’s is the most expensive. They offer juicy steaks and sea foods along with their fresh salad bar. The décor is very dark and slightly grandpa-​ish. But i guess it’s a part of their charm. The dinign area overlooks the beautiful view of MIssissippi river.