Thunder Bay Grille

During a really cold evening in January, my guy and I decided to go out for a fish fry on a Friday night. It had been a while since either of us had been to Thunder Bay Grille and we figured the wait wouldn’t be too long with the place being so large.

I remembered a few years ago, my mom and I sampled their seafood fondue at a Waukesha Biz Alliance Savor the Flavor event and it was the best thing we ate all night. We even went back for seconds (and maybe thirds!) I told my guy if it was still on the menu, we were going to get it.

We did have to wait just a few minutes for a table, but we didn’t mind. The bar was busy and it was nice to just sit down on the couches in the bar area and relax before the meal. When our buzzer went off, we were taken to a large booth in the main dining room and I immediately flipped open the menu and saw the fondue. Yay – we were in luck!

Our server greeted us and we quickly put in orders for Mt. Dews (we decided cocktails and the appetizer would be a little too glutinous) and the seafood fondue while we looked over the rest of the menu. Our server suggested that we order a second loaf of bread with the fondue because if we didn’t order right away, it takes a while for it to come out of the kitchen. He didn’t want us having to wait to enjoy such deliciousness.

When the fondue arrived, it smelled just as I remembered and I already could tell our server was spot on with having us order the second loaf. They do not skimp on the fondue. We were already second guessing ordering our fish frys but figured we could always take leftovers home. The fondue is creamy, cheesy and chock-full of seafood. They are very generous with the portion and the meat in it. We were both in heaven while enjoying it and though we ate a lot, there was still plenty left in the dish.

I found online that the Journal Sentinel posted the Seafood Fondue recipe. I am definitely going to experiment with this some evening as a treat for me and my guy.

Shortly after, our basket of sweet rolls arrived with cinnamon butter. These are delicious but I do miss their cheddar rolls they used to have on the menu.

And then came our entrees. Again no skimping here – we both received large plates filled with food and we knew we would have leftovers.

My guy chose the fried fish and I got the baked. Both of us thought there was a ton of flavor to the fish and it definitely didn’t get lost in the fried batter on his. The butter and white wine sauce was the perfect consistency so you didn’t lose the fish flavor and just taste all butter.

The french fries were good as well and we each got a rye roll with our meals- carbs galore at our table!

Everything was really yummy and our server was extremely fun and conversational with us, making us laugh the whole time. It really looked like we had enough food for a small family, but it was just my guy and I. The entire experience was great and our server was awesome.

We did take home leftovers of everything. I have never walked out of a restaurant with a shopping bag of leftovers, but there is a first time for everything! The fish and fries heated up really well in the oven. We nuked the sweet rolls for a few seconds and then spent time heating up the fondue slowly so as to not cause the seafood to get rubbery. Needless to say we had extremely happy bellies two nights in a row!

Thunder Bay Grille has a really diverse menu of offerings in addition the massive soup and salad bar. My dad’s family used to come here a lot for the Sunday Brunch as the place can accommodate our group of 40+ and the brunch has something for everyone. I highly recommend checking this place out.