Fish Type: Lake Perch Price: $12.00
Overall, I would recommend this Fish Fry.
| Fish Score: Good Potato Score: Good Tartar Score: Excellent Bread Score: Good Miscellaneous Score: Good |  |
Comment: Deaks Pub and Grill bills themselves as a Family Friendly Sports Bar. Yes, you heard that right family friendly and bar in the same sentence. I love Wisconsin.
There arent many bars that welcome kids with open arms, but Deaks really doesnt give a damn. They have a nice niche, and since there are a whole lot of parents who want to go to the bar and get fish Deaks is jam packed every Friday. When we showed up to meet our friends at 6pm the parking lot was crammed full with people parked on snow banks and cars overflowing into the parking lot next door. I feared the worst, but Deaks is misleadingly large and there were a couple open tables in the back, near one occupied by our friends Stan and Megan.
No sooner had we all sat down than one of Deaks exceptional waitresses came right over. She sped off to get us a round of beers, and when she came back with them took our orders. Cod and lake perch are listed on the everyday menu and walleye is available on Fridays, but all three fish eaters in our group went with the every day perch.
Considering how busy Deaks was the fish came quickly and looked pure. Each plate featured five large fillets that were coated in a light, golden colored beer batter. While my perch lacked seasoning, they were flaky and tasty. Adrian and Megans however, were much greasier although they appeared to maintain some of the flakiness. It was really a mixed bag which does hurt Deaks somewhat as consistency does count.
Since the fish had some grease Deaks thick and creamy tartar was absolutely necessary. While it was mostly mayo it had just enough relish to let you know it was there. Similarly, the hash browns had just enough cheese and onion to be noticeable. The shreds were scrambled up and fried to a crisp with just a tad of shredded cheddar and a scant amount of onion.
Most kids arent fans of coleslaw but Deaks mix might just be able to win a few of them over. Its a creamy and delicious blend with plenty of zip to cover any cabbage or other vegetable flavors. The roll was of the crusty, football-shaped variety, which is marginally better than a regular dinner roll, but its definitely a narrow margin.
You wont find too many bars that welcome the whole family, but when you do you can bet they will be plenty busy on Friday nights. While Deaks isnt the best Fish Fry in the area it is good enough, and when you have you have a little one that makes it more than enough. Overall, we recommend this Fish Fry and think its a great addition to the Stoughton scene.
www.deakspub.com
1017 Nygaard Street
Stoughton, WI 53598
(608) 873-4066
