Capital Tap Haus - CLOSED

When the Capital Tap Haus opened on the top of State Street back in 2010 we thought this place was going to be a no-doubt, slam dunk, Fish Fry success story. It had all the makings of a classic: the all-things-Wisconsin inspired menu, a modern yet traditional feeling atmosphere, and beer as far as the eye could see. It seemed they simply couldn't fail when it came to Fish Fry, but somehow they did.

At least initially, their only offering was beer battered haddock which is served every day of the week with nothing added Friday (besides presumably more orders hitting the kitchen). It was a bland rendition to say the least and in classic "beer place" fashion the batter was way over the top. As time has passed the Tap Haus has evolved and while Haddock is still offered every day it is now joined on Fridays by walleye and lake perch (although this Friday Tilapia was standing in for the perch). Since we were still wary of the haddock, and wanted to see what they could do with walleye we went that route instead.

As per usual, the walleye wasn't cheap, but even at $15 is pretty much par for the course. It came alarmingly fast (seriously alarmingly, like 3 minutes after we ordered), and was scalding hot which necessitated picking a few fries out from underneath first to let it cool. It was basically one large, triangular-shaped fillet with the substantial batter we expected. While the fish had the classic walleye flavor all that goodness was essentially smothered under the thick beer batter cocoon. The underside (skin side) even had a crunchy dual layer of batter that needed to be pulled off to make it more manageable. While that all sounds very negative it actually wasn't a total loss, as the fillet was thick enough to balance out the copious coating to some extent. But of course, there is a lot of great walleye to be had in and around Madison and this one is simply not a fine as some of the others out there.

Perhaps the place where the Cap Tap can hang its hat is on their house-cut fries. The skin-on spuds are nearly perfect and had us wishing there were more to be had once we polished them off well in advance of the fish. Props to these potatoes.

The tartar was good too and really helped to make the brawny fillet much more palatable. It was thick and creamy (as it needed to be) with just enough pop to pacify with the fish.

Since no bread comes with the Fish Fry a house-made coleslaw was all that was left to finish things off and it was creamy yet light, but somehow missed the sweet spot.

While we'd say the Capital Tap Haus has improved over the years we think there is still room for growth. The walleye was hearty and it's nice to see the expanded Friday offerings (even if the perch was absent this Friday), but we're still far from blown away. Overall, we barely recommend this Fish Fry, but could actually see ourselves ordering it again if we happened to be there on a Friday night for some reason.

Fish Fry and beer go together like peanut butter & jelly, Starsky & Hutch, or Smith & Wesson. That is to say, these brothers in arms are best enjoyed in tandem, and while they are still perfectly acceptable when separated, their succulence is elevated when the two come together. Fish Fry and beer reviewers are much the same way. After making our desire to visit the all-new Capital Tap Haus known publicly we received a message from the good folks at the Madison Beer Review inquiring as to whether we would like to join them as they made their own maiden journey to the State Street speakeasy. Being the consummate professionals we are we took them up on it, and Fish Fry and beer joined forces for the benefit of mankind once more.

We planned to meet at 7pm, and when our sect of the MFF contingent showed up at about 10 minutes late, we found that Jer was already present, and hitting it off with the happy hoppy trio from MBR. We wedged in near them at the end of the crowed bar, and did our best to avoid the wait staff as they brushed our backs on their way to and from the kitchen. We grabbed some drinks (see the MBR review for more info on the Capital Brewery-centric selection), and waited the hour or so for the only table large enough to seat our group to open up. Eventually it did, and we all sat down eagerly hoping that steaming plates of fish would be in front of us in no time flat. It turned out these notions were premature at best.

Our orders were fairly straight forward for a Friday night. Most everyone opted for the Fish Fry (which is served daily, by the way), and we threw a few appetizers in there because if anything compliments fish and beer it's fried cheese. Unfortunately for us, these appetizers never satisfied our cravings due to the fact that they never actually arrived, which was totally unacceptable to all involved. The fish also kept us in suspense, and didn't emerge for almost an hour after the orders went in. By this point it was around 9:15 and I would have eaten a rancid octopus if it was battered and deep-fried, so when the fish came I pounced on it.

Unfortunately, even though I wasted no time digging in, the single sizeable haddock fillet was not steaming hot when served. The lukewarm fish housed a light batter, which lacked any discernable taste and simply couldn't help the slightly slimy haddock it sheltered. All at the table seemed to agree that they likely tried to fry too many pieces at once, reducing the temperature of the fryer oil in the process, and leading to the undercooking. Pairing with the floppy fish was a dynamically delicious tartar, which actually made the disappointing haddock palatable. This stellar sauce was thick and creamy, with a spot-on mayo:relish ratio. The only problem I had with it was little cup it was served in, that while decorative, made it damn near impossible to fully exhaust.

Like the fish, not all the fries were freshly fried when they hit the table, which detracted from their luster. However, these homemade ditties were tasty enough to overcome that failing and rally the meal somewhat. Regrettably, killing this rally almost instantly was the lack of bread, and my god, when your dropping 13 bones on a single chunk of haddock a piece of rye doesn't seem like too much to ask.

Putting the finishing touches on the meal was the Cap Tap coleslaw which was clearly homemade and simply delicious. While it in no way salvaged the meal it at least alluded to better things on a possible re-visit on a non-Friday.

Overall, there is simply no way I can recommend this Fish Fry. The fish looked like it had a lot of potential, but our portions didn't come close to living up to it. Good fries and a tasty slaw did offer a glimmer of hope, and maybe someday their memory will be strong enough to coax us back in the door, but as for this Friday there were just too many shortcomings. The fact we had a large party at a place un-equipped to handle it explains the long wait, but nothing justifies the poorly prepared fish or the fact that we never received our apps. It is too bad really, because there is a lot to like about the Capital Tap Haus especially the clean, modern atmosphere, and a good beer selection.

At the end of the day the only thing that kept this Fish Fry from being a total failure was the fact that we got to meet the nice folks from the Madison Beer Review. And who knows, maybe we'll hook up with them again sometime for beers and chow? If indeed we do decide to get reacquainted with them, you can bet the farm that we'll choose somewhere other than the Cap Tap for the rendezvous.