Review
As so often happens, shiny things start to fade and the true nature of the object is revealed. At this point it's the genuine articles that start to shine and in the case of a restaurant the article is the food. No matter how cool the atmosphere or how expansive the beer section a restaurant must have good food if they want to survive. Hollander is toeing a thin line.
The Firday special at Hollander is a 3-piece cod affair and comes beer battered or extra crispy (potato chip crusted). Our previous experience led us towards the beer batter and the fried morsels looked amazing perched on Hollander's patio under the golden sun. The cod was very basic but also hearty. The three meaty pieces were paired with a beefy batter that didn't have much favor, but covered a few minor imperfections on the flaky fish's belly. While we prefer thinner batters the cuts were big enough that the substantial sheath didn't take over completely.
When compared to the plentiful portion of cod the serving of French fries was miniscule. The 20 or so shoestrings that made the trip were perfectly fried and tasty, but such a small sampling still left a bad taste in my mouth.
Hollander's tartar was homemade and pungent, but not necessarily in a good way. It was overloaded with capers and bogged down by too much relish. While I still used some of it, much of the cod was eaten dry which doesn't say much for the sauce.
A nice little crusty bun with salt sprinkled on top was the next order of business and this delectable number was much better than a basic roll. The slaw was also better than basic, but not a lot. It appeared to be made in-house and had a good flavor but nothing otherworldly. Well take it for what it is - not Sysco, but not much beyond either.
We loved the shiny new Fish Fry at Hollander the first couple times we tried it, but some of the luster was missing this time around. The fish wasn't as sumptuous, the fries were scarce, the tartar missed the mark, and while the supporting cast was good, it wasn't enough to take things over the top. Overall, we don't recommend the Fish Fry we had this time around, but will likely give them yet another shot to prove the spark isn't totally gone. Why you ask? 1) The beer selection is impressive and I've liked all of them I've tried. 2) They have good vegetarian options (or at least have them, I have no idea how "good" they actually are). And 3) They are more kid-friendly than most bars or supper clubs. And hey, when you're a dad and a husband of a vegetarian that stuff matters.
Things Café Hollander isn't:
Basically, the new Café Hollander is the perfect place for young families and a pretty gosh darn friendly one at that. It's also the first place we've seen in Madison that uses the No Wait app which allows you to get on the list, leave the premises, and get a text once your table is ready. We headed to Macy's during or 30 minute wait and had blast riding the escalators with no fussing or melting down - big win for the parents. They also have a completely nutty beer selection so if that's what floats your boat you are in like Flynn (yes, that is a quasi-Thomas reference).
The vegetarian options on the menu are numerous (as our resident vegetarian can attest to), and the Friday special is nothing to scoff at. Coming in at $12 it's actually on the cheaper end of the Fish Fry spectrum in this day and age and is available a couple of different ways. The first offering is a potato chip crusted rendition that's claimed to be the crispier of the two varieties. While we found that the chips do indeed add a crunch they also made the fish extremely rigid and dried it out a bit. Plain old beer batter is the other option and is actually a little superior in our opinion. The batter is decadent, but not over the top, and has a really great flavor with very little if any grease. The fish also remains much more flaky and moist with a pliability that was simply more enticing than the rigidity of the crispy kind. Overall, they were both recommendable but we found the beer batter to be more balanced.
Any good fish is complemented by homemade fries (or frites in this case), and the Belgian-inspired tubers were super salty and extremely well executed. These were the kind of frites that always make us wonder, "why can't every place just do it like this?" and while we know not every place can, we certainly wish every place would. They were tender little sticks of love.
Hollander's tartar is clearly made in-house but somehow missed the mark. It's thin, and has a strange flavor, and while we couldn't tell initially if it was the fish or the sauce, we eventually tried them separately and found it was definitely the sauce. It's probably the only weak spot of the meal, but isn't even close to a deal-breaker.
Since Hollander is a Milwaukee-based micro-franchise they stick with the traditional rye on the side. The lightly-toasted pumpernickel is good, but doesn't have the expected bite. Still, it's a step up from a basic dinner roll, and huge leap from nothing at all (which is all too common in 2015).
The house-made slaw comes in a little bucket-looking thing and while our cups didn't overfloweth, it was still plentiful enough to get the job done. We got a good bead on it, and thought the light, vinegar-based mix, was fresh and crisp. The toasted sesame and cilantro made it very diverse, and while it wasn't the best we've had, it was far from the worst. Quite commendable.
New places always seem to be the talk of the town for a few months, but we have a feeling Madison is going to keep the chatter going about Hollander. It simply checks too many boxes for the modern family and we can see it becoming one of our go-to spots when we have the pen out. Overall, we highly recommend this Fish Fry and will no doubt be back in short order. Hell, we've already been there twice as it is...
Things Café Hollander isn't:
Basically, the new Café Hollander is the perfect place for young families and a pretty gosh darn friendly one at that. It's also the first place we've seen in Madison that uses the No Wait app which allows you to get on the list, leave the premises, and get a text once your table is ready. We headed to Macy's during or 30 minute wait and had blast riding the escalators with no fussing or melting down - big win for the parents. They also have a completely nutty beer selection so if that's what floats your boat you are in like Flynn (yes, that is a quasi-Thomas reference).
The vegetarian options on the menu are numerous (as our resident vegetarian can attest to), and the Friday special is nothing to scoff at. Coming in at $12 it's actually on the cheaper end of the Fish Fry spectrum in this day and age and is available a couple of different ways. The first offering is a potato chip crusted rendition that's claimed to be the crispier of the two varieties. While we found that the chips do indeed add a crunch they also made the fish extremely rigid and dried it out a bit. Plain old beer batter is the other option and is actually a little superior in our opinion. The batter is decadent, but not over the top, and has a really great flavor with very little if any grease. The fish also remains much more flaky and moist with a pliability that was simply more enticing than the rigidity of the crispy kind. Overall, they were both recommendable but we found the beer batter to be more balanced.
Any good fish is complemented by homemade fries (or frites in this case), and the Belgian-inspired tubers were super salty and extremely well executed. These were the kind of frites that always make us wonder, "why can't every place just do it like this?" and while we know not every place can, we certainly wish every place would. They were tender little sticks of love.
Hollander's tartar is clearly made in-house but somehow missed the mark. It's thin, and has a strange flavor, and while we couldn't tell initially if it was the fish or the sauce, we eventually tried them separately and found it was definitely the sauce. It's probably the only weak spot of the meal, but isn't even close to a deal-breaker.
Since Hollander is a Milwaukee-based micro-franchise they stick with the traditional rye on the side. The lightly-toasted pumpernickel is good, but doesn't have the expected bite. Still, it's a step up from a basic dinner roll, and huge leap from nothing at all (which is all too common in 2015).
The house-made slaw comes in a little bucket-looking thing and while our cups didn't overfloweth, it was still plentiful enough to get the job done. We got a good bead on it, and thought the light, vinegar-based mix, was fresh and crisp. The toasted sesame and cilantro made it very diverse, and while it wasn't the best we've had, it was far from the worst. Quite commendable.
New places always seem to be the talk of the town for a few months, but we have a feeling Madison is going to keep the chatter going about Hollander. It simply checks too many boxes for the modern family and we can see it becoming one of our go-to spots when we have the pen out. Overall, we highly recommend this Fish Fry and will no doubt be back in short order. Hell, we've already been there twice as it is...
I'm not sure what it is, but every time since our first couple endevours the Fish Fry has fallen flat. This time is was the $13 3-piece cod again and it just didn't work for me. The batter was far too thick for my tastes, but it did have a pleasant flavor so there's that. Since Hollander is a "beer place" the beefy batter was clearly loaded up with suds, but the brand was obviously indiscernible. The fish itself was plentiful and seemed to be of decent quality, but the only thing that came through was the flavor of the batter since there was just so darn much of it.
A nice portion of matchstick fries comes with the fish, but like it piscene counterpart, were kind of limp and uninspired. On the plus side they were slathered with plenty of salt which was enough to make them palatable in my eyes.
The fish needed tartar like I needed another beer and the spongy coating soaked the sauce up with ease. Despite the fact it was thick and creamy it still couldn't go toe-to-toe with the brawny batter which is really a comment on how overbearing this batter really was.
A forgettable slaw came along for the journey and while I remember very little about it every bite of it got eaten so I guess that is saying something. The highlight of it all (if there was one) was rye bread which (while seemingly unpopular) made me smile and added a hint of flavor that was otherwise lacking.
Hollander has a great ambiance, impressive beer selection, and stellar location, but the Fish Fry somehow keeps regressing. We initially found it chic and extraordinarily kid friendly, so maybe we were blinded somewhat, but whatever the case our last couple trips have not been great. Overall, we don't recommend this Fish Fry no matter how much we'd like to.