The Grumpy Troll Restaurant and Brewery

The Grumpy Troll Restaurant and BreweryThe Grumpy Troll Restaurant and Brewery
The Grumpy Troll Restaurant and BreweryThe Grumpy Troll Restaurant and Brewery
Brewery, Bar, Eatery, Beer-to-go

105 South Second St
Mount Horeb, Wisconsin, 53572
United States

(608) 437-2739 | map
thegrumpytroll.com
BEER STATS
Average:
3.7
Beers:
53
Ratings:
366
PLACE STATS
Average:
3.93
Reviews:
42
Ratings:
73
pDev:
9.67%
View: Beers | Place Reviews
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by Redrover:
Photo of Redrover
Reviewed by Redrover from Wisconsin

3.8/5  rDev -3.3%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 3.5
The Grumpy Troll is located in a very nice village about 45 minutes from Madison. Mt. Horeb is the self proclaimed Mustard Capital of the World. I was there on a rainy November Sunday afternoon, but it was still a very cheerful place. I’m sure the atmosphere would be much different at night, but considering the time of day, I thought it was great.

The main bar is fairly small. I would say about a dozen stools and maybe 4 booths and another 4 tables. They also have a dining room in back near the brewing equipment. I did not get to see the upstairs bar area, but the waitress said it is bigger and they have bands, private parties, etc. there. Big added bonus, it is nonsmoking!!

They had 6 of their 8 beers available. I especially enjoyed the stout and the pale ale. I was surprised that they had such a wide variety given the relative small size of the facility. The bartender and the waitress answered all of my beer questions and couldn’t have been nicer.

The food seemed like typical pub fare, but I noticed the dinner menu was slightly fancier and more extensive. The appetizers we had were good and the soups (beer cheese with spicy sausage and the potato chowder) were excellent.
Nov 03, 2003
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 4 by PapaGoose03 from Michigan

May 08, 2022
Photo of Hopheadjeffery
Reviewed by Hopheadjeffery from Illinois

4/5  rDev +1.8%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | food: 4.25
Busy brew pub with tables, booths and a bar. The quality of the beers was average to slightly above average. Service at the bar attentive and friendly. There was a selection of twelve beers on tap. The food was very good.
Jan 30, 2022
 
Rated: 4.4 by JeffSK from Wisconsin

Sep 21, 2019
 
Rated: 3.75 by CreedeSon from Illinois

Aug 04, 2018
 
Rated: 3.5 by stadmo1 from Michigan

Jul 14, 2018
 
Rated: 4.33 by SSGCujo from Wisconsin

Sep 08, 2016
 
Rated: 4.01 by iRun2Beer from Minnesota

Aug 29, 2016
 
Rated: 4.43 by scootercrabb from Illinois

Aug 15, 2016
 
Rated: 4.11 by pkeating59 from Illinois

Jun 06, 2016
Photo of Kurmaraja
Reviewed by Kurmaraja from California

3.59/5  rDev -8.7%
vibe: 3.75 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3.75 | selection: 3.5 | food: 3.5
Your standard small town vibe coupled with something of a tourist destination town on the outskirts of Madison. You're definitely amongst locals, including frequent packs of bicyclists and gruff harley riders. Staff is incredibly welcoming and the food - very much standard pub fare - and beer are decent.
Aug 19, 2015
 
Rated: 4.68 by Sprague67 from Iowa

Aug 02, 2015
Photo of EvilMidnightBomber
Reviewed by EvilMidnightBomber from Wisconsin

4.63/5  rDev +17.8%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4.5
What a great place. Biked here from Madison (it's only a block off the military ridge trail), and had a great lunch. Had the Trailside wheat and some frys at the bar while we waited for a table, and both were awesome. Had a burger with a brat on top for lunch that was really good, and my wife enjoyed her grilled salmon salad. They were pretty busy, but service was still good. Only tried two of their beers, but I will definitely go back again to try some more. Only complaint: they need more bicycle parking!
Jul 25, 2015
 
Rated: 3.75 by jonesjere from Wisconsin

Jun 22, 2015
 
Rated: 3.8 by BarrelAgedG from California

Jun 18, 2015
 
Rated: 3.81 by tjk135 from Illinois

May 06, 2015
 
Rated: 4.35 by MilwaukeeBeerMaker from Wisconsin

May 03, 2015
 
Rated: 4.03 by puftdank from Illinois

Mar 19, 2015
 
Rated: 3.71 by XmnwildX12 from Minnesota

Feb 23, 2015
 
Rated: 4.04 by invalid665 from Illinois

Feb 16, 2015
 
Rated: 3.78 by redleg411 from Wisconsin

Feb 05, 2015
 
Rated: 3.5 by italianstallion from Wisconsin

Dec 20, 2014
 
Rated: 3 by Soneast from Wisconsin

Dec 13, 2014
Photo of twb0392
Rated by twb0392 from Wisconsin

3.75/5  rDev -4.6%
The beer is better than the food; and that is ok with me.
Dec 03, 2014
 
Rated: 3.52 by andrewjdc from Pennsylvania

Oct 19, 2014
 
Rated: 4.24 by bowzer4birdie from Illinois

Oct 13, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by Faunland from Wisconsin

Aug 24, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by stouts4me from Illinois

Aug 24, 2014
Photo of mhsmall84
Reviewed by mhsmall84 from Wisconsin

4/5  rDev +1.8%
Nice place, unfortunately I dropped by at a very busy time. Awesome selection of brews, food was delicious and the staff was friendly. I will definitely stop in again!
Aug 21, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by aubzachsyd from Iowa

Aug 11, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by KAF from Iowa

Jul 08, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by SweetChicken from Massachusetts

Jun 26, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by joelambic from Illinois

Jun 18, 2014
 
Rated: 4.5 by Nyboer1 from Minnesota

May 08, 2014
 
Rated: 4.75 by oilcan01 from Arizona

Nov 03, 2013
 
Rated: 4 by egrace84 from Illinois

Oct 20, 2013
Photo of Benish
Reviewed by Benish from Utah

3.41/5  rDev -13.2%
vibe: 3 | quality: 3 | service: 3.75 | selection: 4 | food: 2.75
I've visited this place quite frequently. During the evening hours, it is quite busy, extremely loud, and staff are pacing back and forth through out the place. The restaurant has tables with high chairs, low chairs, and there are some wooden booths. There is an upstairs that serves pizza but I've never tried it.

As for the food, it's mediocre. I enjoy the Salmon Summer Salad and their burgers but that is pretty much it. I've been disappointed with their other dishes (I cease to remember them). Unfortunately my wife had that experience of disappointment when she ordered fish fry. They served her two small fish fillets...almost the size of fish sticks. I'm not kidding. We expected more (we're in Wisconsin for crying out loud!) or at least all you can eat fish. My wife who is petite for an average women wished she had more fish...considering this it will probably not satisfy most people who order this.

Their beers are okay. Not amazing but not bad. They do have a wide selection to choose from which I appreciate. Their Harvest Moon - a wild rice ale - left the biggest impression on me among the rest of the beers. I did enjoy this and would order it again.

Overall - I'll probably stick with the pubs in Madison, WI. But if family and friends are over and we want to eat at a place close by, Grumpy Troll may be the choice.
Jul 17, 2013
Photo of jreindl
Reviewed by jreindl from Wisconsin

3.49/5  rDev -11.2%
vibe: 3.75 | quality: 4.25 | service: 2.25 | selection: 3.5 | food: 4
My wife and I recently took a beer themed road trip to Madison to meet some friends and this was our first stop. Before we get into the review there are a few things to consider.

1. It was the end of craft beer week
2. We arrived at the same time as a busload w/ reservations
3. The pizzeria was closed for a home brew comp.

That being said, the 15 min. wait was actually 45 min., needless to say it was very busy. We did talk with a local who said it's almost never like that. When we finally were seated, our table was right in front of the floor to celling windows looking in on the brew house. Charming really. Our server was very nice but did get a few beer orders wrong, which is why I marked them down on service. The food selection was pretty standard pub fare but delicious. Great cheese curds (it is WI.). My Ruben was pilled high with corn beef, and paired well w/ the wee heavy. The beer cheese soup was decadent, and our friend had a fantastic veggie wrap that was as big as her head! All the brews were very good, the Spetznaz stout, with plenty of roast to go around, and the Hoppa Loppa IPA, with its wonderful floral/citrus aroma, were my favorites. The bill was extremely reasonable, about a $100 for 9 beers, appetizer, 4 meals and tip. I would certainly make this trip again.
Jun 08, 2013
Photo of TheSSG
Reviewed by TheSSG from Illinois

3.3/5  rDev -16%
vibe: 3 | quality: 4 | service: 2 | selection: 4 | food: 3
This was the first time BeerAdvocate let me down :(

I stopped in here after being in Madison (and checking out the new Ale Asylum building).
It was a dark, foggy night (no, but really, it was), and the place was easy to find. I really liked the physical building; two stories.
The entry confused me a bit. Apparently the restaurant is UPSTAIRS, while the bar is downstairs?
Anywho, we went up the STEEP stairs (Handicap elevator is on the right side of the building, I think).

It's a nice little diner-feel upstairs.
The wait staff looked about 14 years old...at the oldest.

I came in for the Spetznaz and the Wild Rice brews. I immediately asked for them. The waitress was just confused and said they don't have them. I was saddened, and asked what they did have. She pointed to the menu.
Yeah...they had the Wild Rice one....[sigh] I know it's petty, but it's the closest thing I have to a pet-peeve when the staff at a brewpub is TOTALLY IGNORANT about the bier, and doesn't seem to care.
Alas, Spetznaz was out...on tap. Apparently, they have bombers of it for $7...Instead of telling us this, we found out as we were leaving....(expect the review soon!)

The Wild Rice brew impressed me. I love rice in bier, and it was great. My brother enjoyed the Belgian-style they had made; very, very solid. My dad sat, broken-hearted, pretending his solid Schwarzbier was a Russian Imperial Stout.
I had asked to just have a taste of 2 or 3 biers at the beginning (trying to figure out which dark brew my dad would enjoy as a replacement), and the waitress gladly brought over little glasses with just a bit in them. That seemed really nice...until I realized I had been billed for them...as full 4 fl. oz. samples....[sigh]

I bumped the selection up a bit because the made a really nice mixed drink (warm, mulled cider) for my non-beer-drinking brother. But, in addition, they did have a pretty nice selection of styles (on bier alone, I'd say it was just shy of the "4" score).

We all decided on pizza. The pizza wasn't that great. It was okay, but nothing amazing. It was actually a bit expensive considering the size and price.
We ended up wishing we had: 1). eaten pizza at Ale Asylym OR 2). Gone to the Hubbard Avenue Diner (down the street from Capital) for dinner

I really cannot knock the bier. It was above average, and they had some great styles.
But, the service sucked, and the pizza was so-so at best.
With SO MUCH AWESOME FOOD and bier in the Madison vacinity, I don't know if I can ever justify the ride out, again.
If you've never gone, I'd say you should go.
I REALLY wanted to go when they had the smoked, sour, dunkelweizen a month or two ago....but, I missed that. So, if they have something that REALLY trips your trigger, I can DEFINITELY tell you it will be worth the drive to try it.
Just do yourself a favor if you're coming from Madison; stop at the Hubbard Avenue diner in Middleton for dinner, instead; Black Bean Burgers and Pie > All.
Dec 17, 2012
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Reviewed by Lemke10 from Wisconsin

4.13/5  rDev +5.1%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | food: 4
My wife and I stopped in for lunch on a Saturday afternoon. There was about a 20 minute wait for seating but I enjoyed the decor while we waited. There is the pub and restaurant on the ground level and the pizzeria upstairs, both which will offer beer. Food was tasty, especially the grump chips! I did a little research and decided to try one of their better rated beers which was great and took home a 22oz bomber of another to enjoy. Small quaint little place but very clean and busy. Highly recommend.
Aug 18, 2012
The Grumpy Troll Restaurant and Brewery in Mount Horeb, WI
Brewery rating: 3.7 out of 5 with 366 ratings