Dotty Dumpling's Dowry

alphadudetothemax

1/5  rDev -72.5%
vibe: 1 | quality: 1 | service: 1 | selection: 1 | food: 1 | $$$$

This is hands down the worst service I've ever received from any restaurant. The girl gave us the wrong food, and when we told her this, she refused to send it back and give us the right food. So okay, whatever, this still looks delicious, but when the bill came several other things were added onto it, in addition to the beer I ordered was twice as much then from what the menu said it would be. When pointed out to the waitress, she claimed she served us that food that was on the bill only. So, she flat out lied to us. We then asked for the manager, where she literally said "no!" and walked away. So we had to physically grab someone else, and they steadfast with their waitress and refused to correct the bill. After ten minutes of arguing, my friends wanted to relent so we just paid that amount and left. We were ripped off, hands down. I would never, never recommend this place for anyone, unless you want to be a victim of robbery and treated like crap. Just an awful place.

01-16-2013 20:02:52 | More by alphadudetothemax

manitouman84

Wisconsin

4.05/5  rDev +11.3%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 3 | food: 5 | $

I love this place. The atmosphere is very british pup esque, just off the main drag of busy university, you walk into a cozy pub with comfy low key lighting and nice woodwork throughout, and yes, crazy crap on the walls, but tastefully so. Seems to always be busy, especially before a game, my favorite place to go before a hockey game, the atmosphere is great. The beer selection is fairly big, although by local standards its nothing impressive. You will no doubt still be able to find a good beer, and it will definitely wash down an excellent burger. All specialty burgers, they are not obnoxious half pound burgers; carefully prepared to house standards (slight pink, medium rare), these burgers are succulent and delicious. You can even get an ostrich, lamb, or bison burger if that suits your fancy. Have not had a burger yet that I havent loved. Check this local standard out, some may not agree, but I do believe they stand by their burgers, and they are some of the best in town.

09-03-2011 03:37:29 | More by manitouman84

HopHeadHurls

Wisconsin

3.75/5  rDev +3%
vibe: 3 | quality: 4 | service: 3 | selection: 4 | food: 5 | $

Dotty's has the best cheese curds in Madison, IMHO. Yes, even better than the Old Fashioned. I have never had bad food at Dotty's and their burgers are fantastic (with their garlic spread). Ordering is a la carte, so you have to order curds/fries separate from your meal. Their beer selection is pretty good, but not fantastic. I wouldn't go here to drink all night, as the atmosphere is not spectacular. However, it's a great place to start your night and is better food than you'll get at a bar on State Street. I would suggest starting here and polishing off a few staple Wisconsin beers and then heading over to Wando's/State Street Brats/Brothers/Church Key. Dotty's will definitely give you a great meal and some good brews to get your drinking night started!

06-08-2011 21:38:32 | More by HopHeadHurls

cwcolby74

Indiana

4/5  rDev +9.9%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3.5 | food: 4.5 | $$

This is definitely another one of my favorite Madison haunts. The place is reknowned for its out-of-this-world hamburgers, and it never disappoints. I'd add that the cheese curds are ridiculous. The food really is very very good.

The beer selection is just so-so. A few Wisconsin types, a few national brands, and some imported stuff. I did enjoy having Hacker-Pschorr on tap the last time I was there, but I usually stick with Spotted Cow.

Service is usually just so-so. The waitresses are always cute and fairly attentive but aren't always the most talkative. That may be more as a result of me and my buddy who I drink with acting like drunken cretins. But we're just being friendly, I swear.

I like this place a lot and couldn't recommend it more. I also like the ambiance - it's dark, everything is wooden, and there's plenty of seating. It does tend to get a bit of an older crowd and families, probably because the hamburgers are outrageously good and fairly priced.

03-28-2011 22:25:30 | More by cwcolby74

blackie

Virginia

3.63/5  rDev -0.3%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3 | food: 4 | $$

nice enough atmosphere - dark and wooden with a mix of UW paraphernalia and aviation trinkets handing from the ceiling and adorning the walls, has usually been pretty quiet during the early dinner hours

selection is pretty average and doesn't really seem to change much - local options are of course always available and you'll likely find some sort of Bell's, Lake Louie, and New Glarus on tap among others, though these tend to be standard offerings and nothing really exciting, all beers are served in standard pints

given the ho-hum beer selection, the fried sampler basket with cheese curds and mac & cheese wedges is what keeps me coming back, and the burgers are really good as well

while service has been good when service has been had, I've gotta knock them down a notch considering the time we were forced to walk out after sitting around for 15 minutes without any acknowledgment

08-29-2009 16:41:51 | More by blackie

Atron67

Wisconsin

3.5/5  rDev -3.8%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 3 | selection: 3 | food: 4 | $$$

A- I actually like the atmosphere of this place, idk why it stands out as being better, because I know a bunch of other places that are pretty much the same thing, but it comes together much better here, anyway, its kinda reminds me of applebees, except minus the generic boring part. theres airplanes and other things on the walls, some woodwork. overall pretty nice. gives a good bar atmosphere

Q- everything seemed pretty well done, and was worth the cost of it.

S- the server was nice and quick, though not exactly a beer person, confused capital amber with two hearted. ohh well, got the orders correct

S- the beer selection was pretty standard for madison, two hearted, capital amber and hoegarten were ordered, stella artois and a couple other INBev were present. a new glarus fat squirrel, Bud and bud light, a couple more but not much more.

F- food was pretty tastey and came in large amounts, although fries dont come with the burger, which stinks becuase the burgers are novel, but not that special, the appetizers are nice as well.

V- i didnt spend too much but the menu is mainly burgers, and at 7/8 a burger without fries its not great, but i feel like something at that price deserves either a bigger burger, or a little bit of fries. side of fries are 3 or so, so its 10/12 for fries and a burger....

08-15-2008 19:39:13 | More by Atron67

BoitSansSoif

France

3.95/5  rDev +8.5%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4 | $$

Went here for the first time after passing by it at least twice a week. My wife was here last week with friends and liked it, but didn't get to try a burger. She got a burger, and I got an ostrich burger. Both were pretty damn good, but it sure wasn't the best I've had. The rolls are just white sesame rolls you'd pick up at the corner store, although they cook the meat perfectly to order, and it's good. Ordered a New Glarus Fat Squirrel. The service was good, and there was a nice long set of taps behind the bar across from where we were sitting. I had just woken up and met my wife for lunch, so I wasn't in drinking mode yet where I felt like sampling the entire row. The lunch crowd was in, so it was pretty bustling and loud. The menu was expansive, and the prices were reasonable. You have to order fries separately, but one order is probably enough for two people as a side. I'll most surely be hitting this place again later in the afternoon when it's quieter and I'm thirstier.

04-21-2008 13:09:01 | More by BoitSansSoif

drseamus

New York

4.18/5  rDev +14.8%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | food: 4.5 | $$

Classic nice resturant with tons of crap on the wall. Fortunately, I'm not the type of person that would hold that against a place.

Advertises the best burger in Madison. I'm not sure if it's the best, but they're pretty damn good. Their cheese curds and fries are excellent as well. Their selection is pretty good, I had a pretty hard time deciding on what to go with. The servers are extremely friendly and the food came pretty quickly. All in all a great burger joint and somewhere I'd go often if I lived here.

02-22-2008 23:22:35 | More by drseamus

citrusjim

Massachusetts

3.5/5  rDev -3.8%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 3 | food: 3.5 | $$

Happened to be staying at the Doubletree next door to Dotty's. Looked good, went in. Comfy barroom vibe (dark, tvs, etc.). Beer selection is decent with some local stuff on tap. I had Bell's Two Hearted. They claim to have Madison's best burger. I ordered one, it was good, not the best I have had though. You need to order fries separately! I had an order of Jambalaya too. I bit watery for me. The server was nice - there is no shortage of students available for this job. The price is right where it should be. I could see my self there once in a while if I lived in town. All in all, a pretty good place.

02-14-2008 12:58:07 | More by citrusjim

miskatonic

New York

3.48/5  rDev -4.4%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3 | selection: 3.5 | food: 4 | $$

Ok, so I am obviously applying East Coast sensibilities and experiences to a Great Lakes area establishment, and a Madison institution at that, but I think as many other reviewers have mentioned there must have been something left behind at the old location. I really like the general look of the wall decorations and the logo of the place in general, but it seemed like the interior of this place was designed with maximum tonage in mind - the booths are crammed into every corner from the fron door right up to the bar and the open view kitchen, and the newness of all the wood interiors and fixtures contrasts poorly with the pastichy old posters and signs. The bottle selection is pretty good, but could definitely improve easily by carrying a wider range of local microbrews, and though the 24 taps are impressive in number and by the shortage of BMC type beers, there is a macro-import heavy lean (Stella, Newcastle, etc.). The cheese curds were stellar, and the o-rings were awesome, but the burgers, which this place is obviously quite famous for (there are more than a dozen different burgers on the menu, and many plaques touting years worth of awards won) were nothing to write home about. The would-be-missus and I split each others burgers and neither was worthy of that much praise (good certainly, but I've definitely had better in many other places around the US). All in all I wish the space was a little less cramped, and thought they could definitely take better advantage of their tap space, but the prices are very very reasonable and food is tasty. Though the burgers don't seem award worthy to me, this place is definitely worth a visit for some pretty tasty food and some fine Wisconsin beers.

12-05-2006 22:58:20 | More by miskatonic