Fish Type: Cod Price: $12.00
Overall, I would not recommend this Fish Fry.
| Fish Score: Good Potato Score: Good Tartar Score: Good Bread Score: Good Miscellaneous Score: Good |
Comment: Seasons change. People change. Heck, even restaurant ownership changes. There is no doubt our world is a dynamic one and when youre in Wisconsin and youre talking Fish Fry change is a big part of the landscape. Sure, the best of the best are, and will always be, just what they are, but there are fledgling Frys out there that are just trying to make a go of it in this crazy Fish Fry Universe. A recent change in ownership brought The Roost Pub & Grill onto our radar and along with it rumors of a Fish Fry far exceeding that of its predecessor The Klubhouse. We took notice, and paid them a visit as soon as we got a chance.
Sometimes MFF flys solo, and other times we have a big group - this time around it was the latter. We showed up at The Roost Pub & Grill eight deep, which worked out really well since they werent very busy. Our party basically took over the main dining room and seemingly had a waitress all to ourselves (which turned out to be necessary since she was mildly overwhelmed with our numbers).
There are a couple fish options at The Roost on Friday nights and I chose the $13 cod over the $15 walleye (although both sounded excellent). The fish came in due time and was nice and hot when we got it a good start. The cod featured a seasoned beer batter that was good, but didnt have quite punch I anticipated. The batter was also slightly thicker than it was billed to be, which led to it holding the tiniest bit of grease. From time to time a splash of wayward oil dribbled down my fingers but it was nothing I (and a couple napkins) couldnt handle. All told it added up to three hefty chunks of fish that were satisfying, but not quite as flavorful as we expected.
The French fries followed suit and while the portion was gratifying, the Julienne-cut potatoes were nothing special. Maybe we were simply expecting too much, but if you want to run with the big dogs in these parts youd to step your game up. Average just isnt gonna cut it. Good not great seems to be the name of the game on the 19th hole, and The Roost tartar also rode the B-train. While it was creamy and thick, it was a little heavy on the relish. Although to the credit of The Roost, the spunky sauce stood its ground against the amply batter cod while a lesser sauce would likely have fallen flat. Clearly some thought went into the flavor combination, so well give them some love.
Garnering a few bonus points was some marble rye that came along for the round. Unfortunately, where the portions were huge everywhere else, they skimped on the rye, offering a mere half of a tiny slice. The coleslaw returned to form and the bounty was creamy and inoffensive.
We have to give some credit to The Roost Pub & Grill. They said theyve upped the ante when it comes to Fish Fry and to some degree they delivered. While it still wasnt quite as good as we hoped, the cod has improved dramatically over its predecessor, and everything else played its roll admirably. We appreciated the generous portions, the clean spacious atmosphere, and the attentive service, but overall, we really don't recommend this Fish Fry, and have to say we were expecting a bit more based on the buzz.
88 Hawks Landing Circle
Verona, WI 53593
(608) 848-5751
