Toby’s Supper Club, Madison, Wisconsin

Rating: 4 out of 5 Old Fashioneds

Relish Tray: yes, plus a pickle plate
Ice Cream Drinks: available
Price Range: entrees range from about $10 to about $27
Ambiance: a dive bar meets a supper club

Toby’s Supper Club is located on the outskirts of Madison, WI. We have been there a few times before but had yet to write a review. We headed to Toby’s one Friday night in the mood for a fish fry. Toby’s is a smaller, more casual supper club; a couple steps removed from a bar and grill, but still delivers on the essential trappings of a supper club. It’s Friday night fish frys are very popular, so the place was packed when we arrived around 6pm. There is a large bar area in the middle of the whole space, it wraps all the way around in the shape of a giant rectangle. All the seats were taken, and their were several rows of  patrons behind the barstools trying to get orders in at the bar. At Toby’s you order drinks, put in for a table and even order your meal all at the bar. We ordered a couple brandy old-fashioned sours with pickled mushrooms, as well as two fish fry meals, mine with catfish and Jean’s with cod. We took our old fashioneds from the bar and found a little nook next to the entrance to stand in.

The interior of Toby’s is nice and dark. If you are a cave-dweller-type like me, whose idea of a relaxing ambiance is a wood paneled, windowless room with only the soft and warm glow of a beer sign for illumination, then Toby’s might just be your happy place.

Just as we were ready to order a second drink, two seats opened up at the bar. We sat down and ordered another round. The old fashioneds at Toby’s are solid; bitters-forward and boozy. If you’re lucky enough to get a seat at Toby’s bar like we did, you can enjoy bowls of complimentary pretzels which the bartenders are quick to refill from industrial-sized bags of pretzel twists behind the bar. As I said earlier it was busy, so we waited for a little under an hour for our table. If you know Jean and I, you know we didn’t mind, we’re more likely to be disappointed by a wait that is too short to enjoy a second (or third) old fashioned.

When it’s time to sit down for supper, the host leads you to your table complete with  a complimentary relish tray already waiting for you. In addition there was a separate platter of pickles. Our server brought out a side salad for Jean and a bowl of coleslaw for me, as well as a basket of rolls and bread sticks.

Not long after, the server brought out our fish. Jean had cod with a baked potato on the side, and I had catfish with french fries. Both types of fish were tasty, but I think I preferred Jean’s cod because the batter was just a bit more crispy. I was very happy with the fries, they were fried to golden brown perfection and had a delicious seasoning which I couldn’t quite put my finger on. I’d highly recommend them. Next time, we might like to try the hashbrowns, as we noticed they were quite popular, and served family-style.

It took awhile for the server to make the rounds and get back to our table to see about dessert, giving our dinners time settle and we knew we were full.

It’s always a good sign when the place you’re dining at is packed. For a small place, Toby’s does a bang-up job taking care of so many diners, not to mention the numerous fish fry take out and delivery orders we saw coming out of the kitchen. One of the tables asked if they could get some more of the complimentary pickles, and they server responded “You betcha!” and brought out a heaping bowl of them. Toby’s might be busy on Friday nights, but they’ll still take great care of you.