Location: Stoughton
Top Restaurants in Stoughton
Top Things to do in Stoughton
Countries
Stoughton Food Guide: 10 Must-Eat Restaurants & Street Food Stalls in Stoughton
Stoughton is a city in Dane County, Wisconsin, United States. It straddles the Yahara River about 20 miles southeast of the state capital, Madison. Stoughton is part of the Madison Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 census, the population was 12,611.
Things to do in Stoughton
1. Koffee Kup
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 109 reviews
Reviewed By jessicams25 - Janesville, Wisconsin
This place is all around amazing from the moment you walk in! The ambiance is wonderful, the staff is friendly, the food comes quickly, and everything we ordered was fresh and tasted fantastic. It is so rare to see a small town restaurant that has been in business for over a hundred years! There is no reason to eat elsewhere in Stoughton!
2. Fosdal Home Bakery
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 52 reviews
Reviewed By jessicams25 - Janesville, Wisconsin
My husband and I drive 30 min to Stoughton at least once a month to get these spectacular doughnuts. We have tried virtually everything they have to offer and have not once been disappointed ! This place is truly a dream!
3. Malabar Coast Coffee & Tea
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 2 reviews
Reviewed By Pub_with_no_Beer - Madison, Wisconsin
This coffee shop is one of the best kept secrets in Stoughton. Basically, if you don't know where it is, you'd never find it in the normal course of events. Tucked away in the fitness center on the outskirts of town, this place has really good, real coffee, great sandwiches and snacks, and free wifi, which you won't get anywhere else in town. Shhhh, don't tell anyone though; I love having this place to myself!
4. Viking Brew Pub
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 64 reviews
Reviewed By ellenahandbasket - Denver, Colorado
We make a point to visit Viking Brew Pub every time we travel to Stoughton. This time I had a Turkey sandwich with cheese and lingonberry berry spread on toast that was incredible.
The Patty Melt my husband chose -- also delicious.Soot In My Eye (IPA) and UffDa (Triple Belgian) were fabulous, he said.
Vik and his wife are so welcoming, even gave us a bag of fresh lefse. Our waiter, Nate, was delightful. This is a gem of a restaurant and brew pub in Stoughton.
5. Big Sky Restaurant
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 38 reviews
Reviewed By Sparkey2014 - Tucson, Arizona
Went to Big Sky for our 50TH. Wedding Anniversary. No disappointments here, food amazing, staff attentive, owner gracious. We each had Beef Oscar, melt in your mouth steak and crab with hollandaise sauce, garlic mashed potatoes, asparagus and a whole carrot. Dessert, creme brûlée and peach cobbler, oh and a bottle of wine. Perfect, casual attire, up scale food, cozy space!
6. Famous Yeti's Pizza
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 48 reviews
Reviewed By James D - Memphis, Tennessee
Yeti's Pizza is a small pizza (+sandwiches etc.) place in Stoughton, WI. We live in Memphis,TN and go up there to visit my daughter and her family. We have taken our granddaughters there three times so far and will definitely be back!
We had the thin crust cheese pizza, once with pepperoni, once with mushrooms, once combo - all were really good! The cheese bread was also very good and was quickly gobbled down by our group. The hand tossed crust looked good and I want to try that next time. The pizza sauce was a little different from most and had a nice zing to the flavor.
I think most of their business is probably carry out. The dining area is a bit small. But they came out several times to check on us. Very friendly staff!
Check it out you will be glad you did.
7. Banushis Bar & Grill
Overall Ratings
4 based on 73 reviews
Reviewed By Roxane E - Janesville, Wisconsin
We have been in this restaurant several times. First few times the experience was good. Liked the atmosphere, good service & good food. Don't know what has happened but the mistakes they are making now are something a new restaurant just starting out should be making. We were in there a couple weeks ago mid afternoon on a Sunday. There was a football game on that the service staff seemed to care more about than us. Hellooooo...we are here for food. I ordered the stuffed chicken special which is always delicious. My husband ordered a pizza. Pretty safe with a pizza, right? Wrong! It came & edges and bottom were burned. Bad enough the cooking staff did it, but then for the waitress to bring it out like that was even more wrong. We had to point out to her what was wrong. She apparently wanted to get back to watching the game. This was our "We'll give the place one more try" time too because here is what happened the time before that. I once again had the stuffed chicken (yum). Husband ordered a steak. Way overdone & very grizzly/fatty. Exchanged for a burger thinking that they couldn't mess up. Again ~ wrong! The thing was still mooing when it came. Ended up going through McDonald's on way home for husband. Ridiculous! We will NEVER go back. They had there chance plenty of times. I would not recommend this place. Unfortunatly not a lot of options in Stoughton. I would head north to Madison.
8. Rio Grande
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 52 reviews
Reviewed By docrockaud - Madison, Wisconsin
What a gem in Stoughton. The place is bigger in there than it looks outside; booths, tables, a small bar, and stage. I loved the bright paint, decor, and music. Staff was ridiculously nice, overly accommodating, and small town conversational but not annoying. 4 different employees approached us, one perkier than the last.
We tried out their house margaritas to start. Typically I avoid these like the plague due to their using a mix but El Rio staff insisted they use real lime. The premium was served up and was quite a bit more - nah. House was perfectly fine, particularly with their acknowledging my request for extra salt. Beers were also satisfying.
I ordered Enchiladas Michoacan. I never order enchiladas since I don't love corn tortillas but this dish was killer. Pulled pork inside, green salsa, cheese sauce, chorizo outside. Rice. Beans. So rich. My partner ordered a burrito smothered in cheese sauce. The sauce was incredible; I'll be ordering the app version next time. The burrito itself was just ok. Guacamole app was very small so I won't bother with that, but I absolutely appreciated the free chips and salsa throughout the night.
9. Wendigo
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 61 reviews
Reviewed By TriAgain - Madison, Wisconsin
It really wasn't a good experience. The less-is-more aesthetics (menu, decoration, website, etc.), failed as it came across as lazy decorating. The walls are adorned with outside art (nicer than the place), and some random garage sale farm decor with typical country farm tables and chairs.
It's on the main drag in Stoughton. The wait was short and were seated within the time they told us. We took 3 steps to the bar while we waited for our table and got drinks and a Snack Plate to tide us over and told the bartender to add it to our bill. The Apple Old Fashioned was too sweet to finish, but the snack plate was good and enough for 4 people. We had to grab our snack plate and drinks as we were taken to our table.
The hostess said our server would be right with us... and we sat for about 20 minutes before we asked a server to track down our server. We finished the snack plate, read our menus, kept looking at servers passing us, stared at the server serving the table next to us and even talking about how we haven't seen a server while the person was serving the table next to us! That table also had a food delay and drink mistake. After flagging someone down, all the servers seemed to disappear and it took 5 minutes, no joke, before an apologetic server greeted us.
Once we ordered (almost 9pm), the timing of the food was a bit longer than average: appetizer came within 15 minutes (really? The place was clearing out). The entrees came about 20 minutes after that. I had the Pickled & Fried appetizer and it was tangy and fried well, but too oily. The Sea Bream Piccata was very salty and not reminiscent of piccata. The fish was decent, and not subject to the salty, stiff rice pilaf on the bottom. The "roasted red peppers" tasted similar to the pickled ones I had fried. The Chicken & "Dumplings" was more like a Salty Poultry Seasoning Stew with shredded chicken in a thick, gloopy sauce with gnocchi as the "dumplings." The parmesan gnocchi added to the saltiness.
Our server was good once we had one. She checked in on us and her timing was good and was not overly-apologetic, which could be annoying in itself. She certainly was at the mercy of the kitchen for our food timing. Our bill was missing the snack plate and when we pointed this out she didn't offer a discount for the wait or made an exception, she thanked us and added it. The table next to us got free drinks for a mistake. We were there an hour and 45 minutes. The art in the place garnered the 1 star.
This is the place to go if you have burned out your taste buds with a highly salted, highly seasoned diet rich in frying oil. I couldn't tell if the food products are so bad they need to be over seasoned, or if the chefs lack ability to balance the actual food to seasoning by drowning the food in salt and seasonings? Service was bad, but who cares when your one chance to make an impression is every customer you have. Overall, we won't be back.
10. Sugar and Spice Eatery
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 28 reviews
"Restaurant with homestyle meals and delicious desserts with an attached deli and catering".
Reviewed By Rebecca C - Madison, Wisconsin
This casual eatery is an excellent place for breakfast - particularly if you hit it on a day when they have a potato pancakes special! The omelettes are good, but the weekend breakfast specials are not your typical fare and are great in terms of "brunch." The waitstaff are friendly, and if you want, you can order from their deli or bakery for "to go" food as well.
