Harmony Bar & Grill

I was here in August at noon time during the week and was not impressed. The woman bartender/​server gave us the impression she would rather be somewhere else. Not exactly rude but not friendly either. The food was not of the quality it used to be either. Jump ahead to the first week of January, a Sunday around noon. The bartender was a guy that used to work here long ago who was always friendly and seems to fit the place perfectly. I don’t know his name but remember him well. My wife and I both had the BBQ pork sandwich which came on a perfect sesame bun with a pickle and coleslaw. All good. The chips and blue cheese were like they always were, Great! To be honest, we were going to remove this place off our list of places to go if the food and service wasn’t’ up to par and now we won’t. I hope who ever owns the place now will keep an eye on the food and service so that us old loyal customers don’t give it a thumbs down. That one previous bartender in August is all it takes to start a landslide of customers who will not go back. Hopefully she is gone or retrained to be nice. Thats all it takes.

I dream about the hot potato chips with blue cheese (basically thick blue cheese salad dressing served on the side).
Good things to know:
— Definitely not a gastro pub as others have mentioned but delicious affordable food and decent beer selection.
— Cash only
— Sometimes get kicked out of the main room for concerts
— Order both food and drinks at the bar, then they’ll give you a number (or not if its not busy) and bring your food to you

First time here. I had the WI brat and hubby had the BBQ pork sandwich — both were packed with flavor! The environment is casual and we had fun people watching :) Best part is, it’s right on the capital bike trail.
I do wish we had known it was cash only though — they do have an atm with a $ 2 charge. Remember to bring cash!

This review is just about the food, service and atmosphere on a night where they did not have live music. I’ve been here a couple of times. The food is good. I’ve had the burger and the walnut burger and both were solid (not excellent, but good). Every time I’ve gone it’s been pretty empty and the bar feels a bit dirty (I’m a fan of dive bars but something about this one was a bit too much for me). Maybe if it had been full I wouldn’t have noticed. While service here has been adequate some of the staff seem to have a very negative attitude towards the customers. They are generally curt, and one time, when we came in after the kitchen had closed (but didn’t realize it), we were rudely told that they were no longer serving food and would close soon. Now, I have worked in food service so I know what it’s like to have people come in when you’ve already shutting things down, but we were not demanding or anything. They could have courteously let us know that the kitchen was closed and we would have been on our way. Anyway, at this point, I generally stay away from this place but if a friend really wanted to go there, or a band was playing that I wanted to see, I would stop by.

Drove all the way from Mazomanie for a walnut burger. The website states that they are open. They are not! Closed so the staff can take a vacation. Nice. Thanks a lot

I don’t care if you are a die-​hard meat eater that drools at the sight of a juicy red chargrilled burger– get the friggin’ blue cheese walnut burger. No, seriously. It will change your life.
The ambience is chilled laid back local bar which was refreshing after living in the New York area all my life. Live music playing Bob Dylan. Overall is was an amazing experience.

What’s the first thing that comes to mind to have for dinner before going fire-​dancing with friends on the summer solstice? Brats, right? Of course! What? No? It’s just me? Well, that’s what happens when you’re at Olbrich Beach catching some rays and are subjected to the craving-​inducing scents from 1,000 Father’s Day celebration BBQs going on at the park.
Surprisingly it’s not that easy to find a local place on the east side that you can just walk into and order a brat. Enter Harmony, the harbinger of good things to come. I’m not one who enjoys going out alone, especially to bars, but that’s something I’m trying to get over. So it was a relief to see the place only half filled with low key, relaxed people who barely noticed I was there. I was however, immediately noticed by the friendly, smiling young bartender (who looked all of fourteen), so I was put further at ease. Also delightful was a live band playing happy zydeco music in the other room, a genre which I adore. I sat at the bar and ordered my ‘beer brat’. With sauerkraut, it’s only $ 5.25. Win! They also had a fairly good selection of craft brews on tap, and mine was cold and delicious. Brat, beer and fries for $ 12.
The brat is pre-​cooked and then browned in the tiny kitchen just off the bar, and it’s always fun to watch food being made (if you’re me). They also grill the kraut, a nice touch. It’s served on a big, somewhat fluffy sesame seed bun, which seemed like an odd choice, but it worked. The fries are good, too, and the order is huge. I would have sprung for the deservedly popular pub chips and bleu cheese dip, but they were twice the price of the fries. It was a lot of food, and totally satisfying, and I finished every last bite. I think this is a place I can feel comfortable going to alone or with others in the future, and I plan to, often. :-)
Note: cash only.
Five stars instead of four if only they had a fire grill and not just a flat grill.

Fantastic neighborhood bar. The pizza is some of the best in town (the Greek pizza, ftw) and the rotating specials keep things interesting. Tap list is pretty steady and doesn’t switch up too much, but the bottle list is always nice.
I come in fairly often and the staff is always aces. Great atmosphere to catch a badgers game.
On top of everything, the music schedule is phenomenal. A steady supply of Madison bands (not nearly enough People Brothers Band) and other acts from around the Midwest. The vibe is always chill, and the cover is never more than $ 7 or $ 8 (if there even is one). Definitely one of my favorite spots in town.

Good old fashioned Wisconsin Bar. Locals flock to the place. Great food and service. Cheese curds… yummy, bratwurst yummy, grilled cheese hello… yummo.
Not fancy but who needs it?

I used to love their white house sandwich and came with my family for years. Fast forward to coming in with a friend of color for a sandwich in the afternoon, we are greeted with a gruff «ID’s?» that oozed «we don’t want you here.» I was of age but not planning on drinking. I’d left my ID in the car but this abhorrent «hospitality» was enough to make us leave and never come back. I heard from family their food has gone down in quality so I am glad I’m not missing much. I’ll continue recreating my own version of grilled cheese meets Reuben at home.

Bartenders and clientele not as bad as a fart. Food is good. If you’re looking for random stimulating conversation though, stay home and talk to yourself.

It’s a slow, but steady slide…
Trying to count the total number of times I’ve been into the Harmony is futile; Unilocal shows I have 16 check-​ins, but I’d venture a guess that I check-​in maybe once for every 2 – 3 visits.
Interacting with the bartenders, one would think each of my visits was my first. They don’t seem to recall regulars, or if they do, they don’t seem to care much. Not looking for any special treatment, but when I walk-​in, sit down and say, «Hi, how’s it going?» I’d hope for a bit of a reply other than a grunt or a «I’m so busy I couldn’t possibly bother with a response» eye roll.
Food is continuing to slide; had a cheeseburger with fried onions last night… the dry bun overwhelmed the small, overcooked burger. A mound of fried onions delivered almost no extra flavor. Removed the bun and ate the burger solo.
Lake Louie Arena Premium is usually a fave of mine, but the one I had on Saturday (a few days earlier) tasted off — like the tap line was in need of a good cleaning.
I also wasn’t allowed to start a tab; it was pay-​as-​I-​go… so, when I ordered food and a beer, I had to pay (and tip). Need a refill? Pay again. Ugh.
There are so many great places in the area; I’ll be visiting the other haunts. So sad.
Pub chips, though… yum.

The Harmony probably hasn’t changed in 20 years, and I hope it never does.
This is the first place I go when introducing new people to Madison’s east side. It has a great bar atmosphere, and surprisingly good food. The pub chips with bleu cheese are a must, and their curds ain’t bad either. Despite what some reviewers say, I love their pizza, and it might be the best sauce in town (they make it on site, I’m told). The Walnut burger is unbelievable, and I’ve never had anything there I didn’t like. It’s not fancy, but it is quality.

The Walnut Burger w/​blue cheese and onion rings rock. Alaskan Amber to quench the hirst.

I’ve been to the Harmony several times before, but last night was the first time I’ve been there for live music, and also the first time I tried their famed Walnut Burger.
First, you should know that the Harmony is indeed a bar. If you go expecting an upscale «gastro-​pub» experience of chic bar food, then you will be disappointed. There are no waiters, and you seat yourself. You order food and drinks at the bar, and a food runner brings out your order when it’s ready. Its got a dive bar atmosphere, and the interior is pretty run down.
After fighting for a table due to the crowd that was rapidly accumulating in anticipation of that evening’s band, my friends and I perused the menu. It contains primarily stereotypical bar food (burgers, fries, onion rings, etc), but there are a few exceptions. There are several vegetarian options, including veggie nachos, so if you’re a non meat eater, you would probably find lots of things to order at The Harmony. Most notably, The Harmony offers a walnut burger. I’m told they’re famous for it, so I ordered the walnut burger with blue cheese and a side of homemade potato chips with «Bleu Cheese Dip». (What can I say, I really, really love Blue Cheese!) It took awhile for the food to come out, so we drank beer while we waited. Our table of about 10 people ordered 3 pitchers to share. I am not sure what all of them were, but in honor of the WI bar experience, I stuck to PBR. It was as good as PBR can be.
Onto the food: The blue cheese walnut burger came topped with a creamy blue cheese sauce in addition to blue cheese crumbles, rather than plain blue cheese crumbles like I had been anticipating. It also came with onion, lettuce, tomato, and mayo. The lettuce and tomato were exceptionally fresh and ripe looking. I was really impressed, especially by the tomato (it was actually red!). I bit into it and was immediately transported to blue cheese heaven. It was fantastic. I will qualify this praise with the statement that the reason I loved this burger so much was largely a result of the copious blue cheese flavor. I am not sure the walnut burger itself was why it tasted so great. The chips were also awesome. They arrived piping hot. Some were crunchy and others were chewier. It was clear that they were made to order. The Bleu Cheese Dip they came with was similar to what came on my burger, and as a result, was amazing.
We ate as the band played and just reveled in how fun the whole experience was. By the way, the band was great! It was a Rockabilly group called The Fast Clydes. If you like that style of music, I couldn’t recommend them more. They had a ton of energy and knew how to work the crowd. I had a blast.
All this said, there are a few things that I think The Harmony could improve upon. First off, the tables in the main dining area are plastic. They’re the exact same tables that you played beer pong on in college. I feel like The Harmony excels in spite of its dive bar atmosphere, and not necessarily because of it. Therefore, if they invested just a little bit of money to spruce up the interior, I think they would see a return. The Atwood area is still rocking that hippie vibe, for sure, but more and more, I am noticing newer and more upscale establishments. To me, that says that there’s probably a market for it and the times, they are a changin’. Also, I don’t mind ordering food and drinks at the bar. However, I think The Harmony would benefit from offering table service, at least during shows on Friday and Saturday night. I have only ever been to The Harmony with a group, and it sucks to have to walk away from the conversation to get another beer, a process which can take 10 or 15 minutes if it’s crowded. All-​in-​all, these drawbacks are minor, and I’ll be back at The Harmony many times this summer!

Beer selection is ok. Good room for seeing bands — sound was great. However, majority of the male staff here is unapologetically rude & disrespectful. Aging sports neanderthals that could care less that you’re there.
Don’t waste your time — spend your money at Mickey’s Tavern or Crystal Corner instead.

This is one of those places that you feel welcome and relaxed as soon as you get there. I enjoy the food, the walnut burger was super different and interesting, and although I prefer the beef it was fun to try something different.
The rest of the food was as good as bar food gets, but the staff and general feel of the bar (I love the old school jukebox!) makes it 5 stars for me.

This is my neighborhood bar. It is dependable and predictable. My favorite dish is the chicken breast plate with the Asian noodles. The chicken is moist and flavorful every time. I love their homemade chips with blue cheese but I try to steer clear. I always pray that someone else at the table will order them and I can sneak a few. Stolen food has no calories… Really.

Great local place in the Atwood neighborhood. Pizzas are amazing, as are the pretzels. Keith and staff do a great job. Plenty of local brews on tap.

I’m truly a carnivore at heart, but the walnut burger at The Harmony is quite spectacular & totally unique — great flavor, great texture and totally satisfying. Paired with a side of hot chips & blue cheese dip, you’ve got a delicious and memorable meal.