Restaurant Review: Bourbon Street Grille in Monona, Wisconsin

The Bourbon Street Grille is a Cajun-style restaurant located at 6308 Metropolitan Lane, in (Lake) Monona, Wisconsin. The restaurant is within a rather unassuming building, at least when you first see it: just a white, two-story, rectangular structure made from concrete blocks. It appears as though the building was a boat storage/repair shop at one time. However, your opinion of the place quickly changes when you step inside: a stairway leads you up to several dining halls, a long bar, and the real gem of the place: a two-story outdoor seating area whose balconies look out over the Yahara River. Boats come and go along this river (and dock at the restaurant too), and beyond that one can see private houses dotting the landscape.

This is the perfect place to come and enjoy the limited Wisconsin summer season. On a past weekend this July, I decided to go to Bourbon Street Grille with a couple of my buddies for dinner and drinks. We showed up just after the Sunday brunch crowd had finally taken off and the inside of the restaurant was almost completely empty. However, various individuals and groups were sitting outside at the balcony tables, either eating or just sipping on drinks.

We initially wanted to be seated on the very top balcony and so were directed to go there by the hostess. After sitting down at a table, though, no one came around to us at all. It also became evident that no one was eating anything here, unlike the individuals seated on the lower balcony level. There was a bar open on the top level, and people were getting drinks there, but that was it. We went back to the hostess and mentioned that we needed menus- she appeared lost, asking us if we had seen any on the bar up there (is this a self-service restaurant?). We just told we hadn't seen anything of the sort. She then instructed us to sit at the lower level balcony area, as the top balcony may not be getting food service (OK, why couldn't we have been told this before?).