Mickies Dairy Bar

LOVE THIS PLACE. Such good food. Seating is crowded but the staff are incredibly friendly. Favorite place for breakfast. Would recommend it to anyone!

My favorite brunch place in Madison! Has the best coffee in the world! The scarmbler is very tasty and large portion. It is always crowded on weekends

I finally decided to visit this local favorite, and I was lucky enough to be seated right away. During warmer months, expect a long line out the door though!
The place is cash only, but they have an ATM machine. Their menu is simple to navigate, but they have a lot of choices. Some notable items are their french toast (which is made out of cinnamon rolls instead of white bread), scramblers (gigantic mixtures of scrambled eggs, breakfast meat, fried potatoes, cheese, and gravy if you want it), and the cornmeal pancake (think corn bread cooked like a pancake).
I got the chili cheese omelette with «yanks» which are their fried potatoes. For $ 7.50, I got a probably 3 potatoes worth of yanks, and an omelette topped with chili, shredded cheddar, and american cheese sauce with 2 slices of toast. It was a lot of food. I saw a lot of people taking leftover omelettes and scramblers in take out boxes, so I was proud of myself for being able to finish the whole thing.
I should probably talk about the service: It was friendly, fast, and helpful. They were quick to help me decide on what to order, and they were able to explain all their menu items and point out their unique dishes.
Overall, I had a great experience. The food was good and cheap and the atmosphere was loud but homey. While I had a great time, I just can’t give Mickies an honest 5 stars because I can’t confidently say that this is one of the best diners I’ve been to food-​wise. The food was interesting and pretty good, but I didn’t find it to be as refined as some other diners I’ve been to in the past few years. For example, the french toast made of cinnamon rolls was pretty good, but I found it to be too eggy and dense and not fluffy at all. It was like eating scrambled eggs with cinnamon rolls inside. Still, Mickies is a great place to eat breakfast. If you live in Madison, this should be on your bucket list.

Had the opportunity the finally go to Mickie’s dairy bar.
Wow what a place! Love the diner atmosphere, eating at the counter close quarters, the buzz of the customers enjoying their delicious food. To those who have been dining there for decades or even weeks, this is nothing new. But for me a first time customer… Wow
Great atmosphere, great food and great people.
Going to eat there often.

Mickies is the best breakfast joint in Madison. Been going Mickie’s for 20 years and have never been disappointed with the experience. Favorite dish is the bacon scrambler.

So I had heard great things. I think the love of this place is largely related to college nostalgia and the death grip some use to try and hang on to their youth.
I get it.
My college town of Orono, Maine had a handful of restaurants that he a special place in my heart. They were dark, small, not so clean and If I went back and ate the food now… I’m not sure it would be as good as I remember.
I ordered the coffee, pancakes and a side of potatoes.
Weirdly the potatoes were amazing… I have since thought of ordering just the potatoes to go.
The pancake was a disaster, the inside consistency was paste. It was browned and golden looking on the outside but very dense and had an awful texture.
I will say the waitress was a saint.
I have worked in diners in a previous life and would dread the complains that would trickle in.
She took my pancake away/​took it off the bill as I enjoyed my mountain of delicious potatoes and before I left she brought me a cinnamon bun to take with me at no charge. She assured me I would love it. «Warm it up in the microwave for 20 seconds» she said.
She was right. I will be back and will order more cautiously.
I will likely get my meal To go.

This place has a very unique old school atmosphere. I had the scrambler which was giant and good! More than a grown man can eat in one sitting. They only take cash; however, there is an ATM for you to use.

I had high hopes for this place. Mainly because I’ve heard a lot of great things about it, but our experience was forgettable.
My wife’s family came into town from CA for our wedding and we chose this place for breakfast. The portions were enormous and most of them enjoyed their meals. My wife ordered the chocolate pancakes and she barely made a dent in it. Now this is a woman who will bathe in chocolate if she could, but she didn’t care much for it. I had scrambled eggs with sausage and bacon and hash browns. It was pretty average.
Overall, everyone else thought the place was great because of the portions and most were hungover. My wife and I, the locals, weren’t too impressed.

Went to Mickeys on a Saturday morning about eight, no lines and Not very busy. Seated ourselves, it was small so I could understand why at times there could be people waiting in line out the door. Ordered corn beef hash and the waiter said we’d either love it or hate it, didn’t like it, took it away and got us breakfast potatoes right away, no charge! Good happy employees, reasonably priced food in large portions served in a diner that takes you back in time.

Being from NYC, you never get to see this kind of restaurant. The whole neighborhood, college town, friendly, homegrown atmosphere is very lovely and hard to come by. As early as we came on a Sunday and with a party of 2, we still had to wait for a seat. Anything more than 2 would’ve been hard to get a table for. We took our seats at the breakfast and were quickly greeted with coffee and a friendly smile.
The menu is simple American breakfast food; you get your eggs, sausage, bacon, pancakes, etc. It’s wonderful to see the original menu still up on the wall from oh so many years ago. We took the plunge on the scrambler. SHARE THIS! It was such a huge dish for one person, almost to point of wastefulness. We made sure to share so we won’t end up hating our meal. We ended the meal with a shake to go.
Nothing but good feelings about this place for a big breakfast and hometown feel.

Love the old school charm of the place! Had a corn bread pancake, a serve of griddle and the reuben omelette. The omelette comes highly recommended and it does live up to its reputation! Friendly service and homely atmosphere. It’s cash only though.

Ate breakfast here with some UW friends before we drove back to Illinois because they hyped it up quite a bit. Boy, did it live up to the hype! It’s definitely a no-​frills place, but when the food and service are so good you really don’t need any other bells and whistles.
Ordered a scrambler with corned beef. It was awesome and the portion was huge! It was literally enough food for 3 meals. The price was well worth it and service was quick and friendly. The huge pile of leftovers I had still tasted good for dinner that day!
Would recommend this place if you’re looking for a good breakfast in Madison! I heard it gets pretty busy a lot of the time, but if you can get a spot it’s worth it!

Mickie’s, I’ve been waiting so long for the perfect time to return to you! And this morning was it! We got scramblers and they’re too good for words. That might be because they have what could quite possibly be a whole bag of cheese dumped on top of each one… But hey, it’s Wisconsin, we’re cool with it. Our server was so sweet and our food came promptly despite the crowd. This place’s diner feel and homey food always has me coming back for more! Mickie’s, you’re cute, I love you.

This place has been around forever, and the original mid-​century signage (with mid-​century prices) is still up. I was originally ordering off of it, thinking it was the actual menu haha.
Mickies serves great brunch/​breakfast/​diner-​type items. I had buttermilk pancakes. Let me warn you that the portions are enormous. I only finished about half of the standard order, so I would share with a friend or pare down your portion. No complaints about the food quality at all. Only issue is no credit card machine but it’s 2015. Still, I’ll be back!!!

This has long been a favorite for me, and is now so for my son as well. Standing order if a buttermilk pancake, bacon, fruit, and OJ for him and it’s the perfect size breakfast for a growing boy. Standing order for me is a cornmeal pancake, patty sausage, yanks with onions and jalapenos, and an iced tea. I usually have some left overs, which is fine because it’s such an affordable place. It’s an old place with TONS of character (some of which is not great… tiny bathroom…). We always try to sit at the counter, but frequently the restaurant is PACKED and you may not have a choice of where to sit. As long as you party isn’t too large and the line isn’t too long it’s probably worth waiting, but good luck on game day.
When I was working on campus I used to pop in here for lunch about once a week or so and it was always great for lunch as well. Soups were delicious, hearty, and warming on those cold winter days; highly recommended.
Really I’ve enjoyed most everything I’ve had at Mickies and never been there with anyone that felt differently. The one exception may be the french toast, which was VERY eggy.
It’s a ‘greasy spoon’ in all the right ways. Definitely worth a look!

On an adventure from California. A friend and I stopped into a local gem for Madison WI eats and we were not disappointed!
Ambiance was down to earth and by no means pretentious. Lots of families and/​or groups of men or women just getting together to enjoy a meal over conversation (whatever that may be). The place was busy and a good kind of loud… the kind where you know everyone is having a good time.
Service was fantastic (so friendly and out of her way helpful) and the food good! We ordered chocolate chip pancakes (melted chocolate chips in most bites — yum) and the scramble with bacon and tomato (gravy on the side). Price was incredibly reasonable at $ 16 for generous portions.
Everyone– Consider this spot recommended!

You know what? The price is right. That about sums up this place. This establishment continuously makes nationally recognized lists, and don’t get me wrong it is an establishment, but sometimes too much hype leaves one aching for something more… If you’ve never been here before, relax. It’s a diner not a Michelin star and your expectations should reflect that! :)
After a hike around the arboretum my fella and I decided we could splurge. We ordered 2 cheeseburgers (standard order comes with lettuce, tomato, american cheese, and pickles), cheese curds, and a vanilla malt. (Total of $ 19) Cheese curds were great — standard issue, normal serving, but who is going to argue against fried cheese! The burgers were classic — served medium. I would sub the cheese for Swiss and ask for the bun to be toasted — but that’s just me. The «malt» however was a low point… it lacked malt flavor, had lots of ice chunks, and was very thin… sorry but at $ 4.50 they can do better! — The server did give us two plastic cups and spoons — so splitting is not extra.-
I like this place. The old charm makes for a fun dining experience. With that being noted I think the location makes it more popular than if it were elsewhere in the city. But, all that said, if I found myself in walking distance I’d probably wander back in.

Earlier I wrote a five star review of this place. The review was full of sarcasm and boredom. This is a diner that is like many other diners in the world. If you are a fan of functional, yeah, it’s functional. They will put things on plates for you, and you will eat those things or not eat those things. That’s entirely up to you. As far as I know the things they put on plates match the words that come out of your mouth.
Congratulations, Mickies Dairy Bar! You did your job!
That Oriental Chicken Omelet could use a better name, though.

Get…
— a milkshake (a good, old fashioned milkshake, not something you’d get at culverts)
— the griddle pancake (I don’t even like pancakes, but these are the bomb diggity!)
…and you’ll love this place.
The scrambler and the omelettes are alright, average diner food. Their sweet potato fries are just ok as well, but the fact that Mickey’s serves sweet potato fries at all is at least a step in the right direction.

Mickies Dairy Bar is a great, über-​popular breakfast joint right near Camp Randall Stadium. The food is delicious and the portions are gluttonous, so make sure you come hungry wearing stretchy clothes.
I highly recommend their milkshakes and pancakes.
Seating used to be a problem as it was a free-​for-​all: if you showed up with 4 people, you had to wait for 4 seats at the same table to open up and then hope you got to them before another group of 1 – 4 did. Luckily, they now have a host (ess) person who seats groups in the order in which they arrive, which is a GREAT improvement.

Un diner pour le petit déj comme on en voit dans les films. Et en plus c’est bon et copieux. Et pas cher.
Peut être le pan cakes étaient un peu pâteux, mais ils étaient bons, l’omelette l’était également (bonne, pas pâteuse).
Le service est cool, le cadre est très sympa.
C’est un diner populaires à tous les sens du terme. la clientèle est variée mais plutôt étudiants (on est à Madison!), travailleurs et habitués «du quartier»
Une adresse très sympa.