This place is adorable! So conveniently located across from the beach. Makes your day lounging or paddling complete!
Erin Q.
Place rating: 5 Chicago, IL
This place is such a great find to stumble upon! It’s so cute, we should support local businesses. The ice cream is great obviously and the view of the lake is wonderful. If you walk out on the pier, you can see the Capitol.
Joe T.
Place rating: 5 Madison, WI
Great stuff. A good local business to support. The malt is wonderful, the service is quick and friendly. Thanks for being there! Have went back several times since first trying it. They use Babcock Hall ice cream.
Phillip M.
Place rating: 5 Monona, WI
Such a fun place to enjoy UW’s outstanding Babcock Hall ice cream. Tucked away in a quiet neighborhood. Cash only. How can you go wrong with a Bait & Ice Cream shop! :-)
Terre H.
Place rating: 5 Oregon, WI
Great Ice Cream & Great View! They have old school candy for sale too that you can’t find in other stores. Nice to have a local Ice Cream shop around Monona. Just a little Mom & Pop place. Fun!
Michael H.
Place rating: 1 Madison, WI
COMEON! Your profile says you take credit cards. You don’t. Now, I admit we came here because we live in Monona, heard about it as part of the lore. So, my daughter is psyched, we walk in and see the NOCREDITCARD sign. I refuse to pay a fee they get to keep to use their ATM. I would have gone to get cash, but when I factored in their choice of Babcock Ice Cream, which has just a few more chemicals and preservatives than Cedar Crest, I opted to head over to Michael’s and grab a custard. I’d love to support them, I’d love to try the place, but frankly the cost of doing business should be borne by the business owner, not me. And, it’s just not that expensive to accept plastic people, you have to factor in the increased volume of business you’d do, like mine.
Rowan C.
Place rating: 4 Mount Horeb, WI
Old school ice cream and bait shop right on Lake Monona. Cycle, run or drive on over. Black and white tiled floor, old counter, and delicious ice cream and malts. Don’t miss it! Seasonal hours, Loo is tucked away and has steps so not for the handicapped.
Erin M.
Place rating: 3 Raleigh, NC
Great local color in the Madison area. Out for a day on/around the lake? Come here, as the locals have been doing for a while. They feature excellent small-batch ice cream from UW Madison and it is a great summer experience. I was with a Mad-town native who insisted we had to go there after we got off a day on the boat on the lake, and she was right. Try one of the special sundaes.
Alexis F.
Place rating: 4 Madison, WI
Perfect lazy summer evening ice cream shop. Love the old fashioned soda jerk counter(as a former junior member of the Nat’l Assoc of Soda Jerks, I’m obviously an expert! :P) and classic ice cream sodas, although I remain a total sucker for the vanilla malt. I have no experience with the bait shop, but they appear to have 5 – 7 worm varieties to choose from, so… there’s that!
Lorimer C.
Place rating: 5 Madison, WI
Love this place. Great location across from Lake Monona and a city park. Babcock Hall ice cream. Orange Crush in glass bottles and candy for the kids. Great summertime treat!
Jody M.
Place rating: 4 Madison, WI
This is one of the best-kept secrets around. An old mom and pop soda jerk counter, ice cream, and true to Wisconsin, bait shop all rolled into one. Quaint, comfortable, and with a decent selection of lunch items including a daily soup. Nothing fancy, just lunch counter fare. And what’s wrong with that? The hours are seasonal, from mid-April until about the first weekend of October. So if you want get in before the season ends, make tracks!