The New Fox & Hounds Restaurant & Tavern in Hubertus, Wisconsin

My husband and I do a fair amount of traveling which always involves food in some fashion.  We traveled by train a couple of weekend ago to visit our kids in Wisconsin.  Now that was a wonderful way to avoid a long and tedious drive when roads tend to be rather nasty especially at the bottom of Lake Michigan during the winter months.   Finding great restaurants when traveling is usually by word of mouth for us combined with a little good luck.  Our kids made 4:00 PM reservations at The New Fox & Hounds Restaurant & Tavern because she had fond memories of going their as a child with her parents.  It had been years since she had been there but the restaurant still had a good reputation so they thought we would enjoy it.

The New Fox & Hounds Restaurant & Tavern is located at 1298 Friess Lake Rd in Hubertus, Wisconsin.  Friess Lake Rd is narrow and winding, sure to be rather nasty with any snow coverage.  The restaurant and tavern is located well out into the woods with not much around it.  The building was a one room cabin built in 1845 in the wooded, rolling hills of the northern Kettle Moraine.  It was acquired by Ray and Alta Wolf in 1929 who restored the cabin, added a basement bar and opened it to fellow equestrians where it became headquarters to many fox hunts, hence its name.  Their restaurant opened in 1933.  Ray passed away in 1963 so Alta sold the restaurant and tavern to Karl A. Ratzsch Jr.  When he retired, his son Joseph and wife Jane purchased the restaurant.  The family owned and operated the restaurant for over forty years!  Brothers Thomas and Will Masters along with Jim Constantineau are the new owners of the The New Fox & Hounds Restaurant & Tavern where Tom and Jim parked cars at The Fox & Hounds over thirty years ago.

There is a sign hanging in the foyer of The New Fox & Hounds Restaurant and Tavern proudly announcing that the location has been home to a restaurant since 1933.  The first thing that you notice aside of the sign is the abundance of wood, only a small hint of what's inside.  The maitre d greets you just inside the restaurant where your dining party is shown to your table.

There is a lower dining area divided in several sections (some as almost private rooms and named) along with the tavern.  Then upstairs dining area divided into sections as well but a bit more open.  Be warned, the stairs leading to the upper level are rather steep!

The pub located on the lower level is warm and cosy, featuring live music on Saturday evenings.  Despite the small size, the ambiance is delightful.  A real open wood fire in the stove at the end of the tavern creates a beckoning welcome while imparting just a hint of smokey aroma to the air while the warming glow dances.  To the left of the fireplace is a small hallway that leads to the restrooms.  Further to the left of the fireplace is the narrow aisle leading to the staircase.

When we arrived the tavern was almost empty.  When we left, it was beyond packed and the only way out for those dining upstairs is through the tavern.  It was wall to wall, packed tight with people.  So, it is best to make reservations for an earlier dining time as the restaurant does fill up rather quickly for reasons that will become apparent below.

It is quite apparent from the inside the building is quite old.  Despite newer windows, there were   drafts coming from around the windows and log chinking.  Yet the upper dining area where we sat was quite comfortable.  There is a lot of rustic touches throughout the entire restaurant.  To the right is the top of the staircase.  There was a very impressive lit chandelier that had been constucted from empty wine glasses placed on an angle in a round metal frame.  I counted 16 rows of wine bottles in the picture I took but it didn't get the very top.  The entire chandelier had to have been 8 feet long or more, reaching over the bar and aisle area just before the stairwell.

This restaurant offers BOGO deals!  Monday through Thursday after 4 PM, Saturdays and Sundays after 3 PM all entrees are buy one get one free of the same or lesser value.  It excludes their Super Surf & Turf (8 oz filet, 8 oz lobster tail as well as the lobster tail entree BUT they do have a special Surf & Turf (6 oz filet, 5 oz lobster tail) as part of the buy one get one free entrees.   Along with the BOGO free entrees, desserts from the dessert tray are also BOGO as are some bar drinks.  This explains why it gets so buy there!

Reading through their impressive menu, I wasn't surprised to see the price range for entrees in the $20 and above range with many options averaging $26.  I thought that the BOGO deal would not include extras but I was wrong.  Dinner entrees include homemade soup or fresh house salad, choice of potatoes (garlic mashed, baked or savory fries).  A loaf of fresh baked bread with maple tarragon butter.

Appetizers and drinks are extra.  Appetizers average $9 with the exception of the Fox Feast which is an appetizer platter priced at $18.99.  We ordered the stuffed portobella mushroom caps stuffed with cab, topped with Bearnaise sauce and shredded Parmesan cheese to share.  It was scrumptious!

My husband ordered the 18 oz prime rib entree with broccoli cheddar soup, baked potato and steamed vegetables (baby carrots, baby corn, red onions and green beans).  There was a creamy horseradish sauce for the prime rib.  As you can see he likes his prime rib rare, pretty much blue and just barely not mooing!  It was a very generous portion of prime rib, more than he could finish in the meal.  He declared the meat cooked to perfection!   

We had ordered baked potatoes with our entrees.  They were a nice size served in a small baking dish aside of the main plate.  I really did like their presentation including the way they served the baked potatoes. It was simple, unpretentious and kept the focus on the food where it should be. 

The kids and I ordered the surf & turf special that came with a 6 oz steak, 5 oz lobster tail, whole browned mushrooms, and steamed vegetables (baby carrots, green beans, cauliflower).  Hot drawn butter and a lemon wedge was included for the lobster.  This was a beyond delicious entree, very much full of flavour.  The lobster tail was cooked perfectly and nicely presented.  The juicy steak had nice hash marks with a nice flavour.  I normally ask for steak sauce with my eat out steaks but didn't this time

The entree portions were quite generous.  I couldn't finish my steak nor could the kids or my husband his prime rib.  We asked for take-out boxes just for the meat that we reheated for brunch the next day.  We sliced the meat into strips then made a light stir fry to serve with fried eggs and home fries.  The meat remained tender and juicy, a sign the meat had not been originally over cooked. 

We had never heard of The New Fox & Hounds Restaurant & Tavern prior to this visit so I was rather surprised to read some of the reviews on Trip Advisor.  While I do have some reservations about the reviewers on Trip Advisor, we had no complaints at all with this restaurant!  The atmosphere was wonderful, the waitstaff were friendly and efficient, and the food was good.  We enjoyed four well prepared, nicely presented entrees for the price of two so you certainly cannot complain about this.  The only thing I would recommend is to make reservations and go a bit earlier to avoid the crowd.  This restaurant is on our must go to list when we are in that area again.