Villa Tap’s fish fry is so popular, owner Chris “Chico” Warren shuts down his grill on Fridays, and adds an extra fryer for the Icelandic cod, walleye, lake perch, bluegill and jumbo shrimp.
Warren said the fish fry is in such high demand at his North Side bar that it’s a good idea to call earlier in the week, starting Tuesday, and make a reservation for a to-go order. Warren likens it to reserving a tee time on a golf course.
He schedules orders every eight minutes, and said that for each time slot he can cook six orders of fish.
The Icelandic cod dinner has three thick pieces of fish, hand-cut by owner Chris Warren. They're lightly and flavorfully breaded, with no greasiness.
If someone requests a 5 p.m. pickup, Warren might tell them: “I apologize. Five o’clock is full, but I have a 4:52 or a 5:08 for ya. And people get a kick out of that because they’re like 5:07? But surprisingly, we’re right on with our times.”
Carryout on Fridays runs from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m., and Warren charges an extra 50 cents for each takeout box.
Warren took my credit card over the phone and said he’d bring my order out curbside. When I pulled up to the bar, which sits next to Smoky Jon’s #1 BBQ on Packers Avenue, I went inside because I forgot to ask Warren about putting a tip on my order.
It was 3 p.m. on a Friday and there were about 15 people inside the homey room, where Warren said he can host 25 people under COVID-19 restrictions.
Customers are allowed to eat inside, but there’s no wait service. They’re given napkins and utensils and can eat their food out of the carryout packaging.
The Icelandic cod dinner ($14.75) had three thick pieces of fish, hand-cut by Warren, that were lightly and flavorfully breaded, with no greasiness. Warren said he doesn’t use a beer batter. The cod was firm, meaty, mild and sweet.
“It’s moist,” my companion said. “The frying process has locked in the moisture. Often deep frying can lock in dryness.”
The tartar sauce was also excellent.
I always like when there’s a baked or grilled option, but you don’t get that at Villa Tap.
Cod is the No. 1 seller, and which other ones do best varies from week to week, Warren said. Sometimes it’s the walleye, but the lake perch and the bluegill are right up there, he said.
But if you’re hungry for a burger on a Friday night, you’re out of luck.
The five jumbo shrimp have the same great breading as the fish, and are about as big as shrimp can get.
There are five jumbo shrimp ($17.75) though, and they had the same great breading and were about as big as shrimp can get. They’re 8- to 12-count Tiger shrimp from Jenifer Street Market, Warren said.
Customers have a choice of fries or baked potato, and both meals came with coleslaw that had the right amount of dressing, and a high-quality dinner roll. Included were six pats of butter, a little container of sour cream, cocktail sauce for the shrimp, and ketchup for the fries.
The fish and shrimp come with coleslaw and a high-quality dinner roll.
The skins-on fries were thin, but not too thin. I thought they had a hint of salt, but my dining partner couldn’t detect any. The baked potato was well cooked and still piping hot when I got home.
Warren said he cooks the baked potatoes in a NESCO Roaster Oven. He always cooks slightly more than 100 potatoes to have extra for Tuesday lunch, when Villa Tap offers a fish fry with hash browns, which aren’t a choice on Friday.
On Friday, the only option besides fish and shrimp is chicken tenders ($7.75), so I added an order. The box came with four long strips, but they couldn’t compete with the fish. Warren said he uses a product from a company called Brakebush. They came with a generous helping of fries, and we chose ranch and chipotle ranch for dipping.
The only option on Fridays, besides fish and shrimp, is chicken tenders, a product owner Chris Warner gets from a company called Brakebush.
Villa Tap was closed for 10 weeks, starting when COVID-19 restrictions were first enacted in March. It gave Warren a rare chance to check out other fish fries. Each week, he and his girlfriend would learn who was doing what well and not so well. On one occasion his girlfriend waited in her car for an hour and 45 minutes. To be fair, Warren said, it was in the early days of the lockdown and businesses were still getting their carryout systems in place.
Warren, 49, said he was 16 when he got his first restaurant job. It was at Mariner’s for the late Betty von Rutenberg, whom he calls a great mentor. He was a longtime bartender at the Avenue Bar, and bought the Villa Tap in 2011. Before taking it over, he worked for a liquor distributor.
While his bar business has suffered during the pandemic, Warren feels fortunate to have busy fish fries and lunch service. “We have a good neighborhood that supports us, and Friday nights help carry us through these difficult times.”
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Tokyo Sushi
Tokyo Sushi opened Dec. 10, 2019 on Williamson Street, and is surviving on carryout, co-owner Wenxin Chen said. "Not so many people dining in," he said. "I hope that coronavirus is over very soon."
Lorraine's
Ken Kopp IV renovated his former New Orleans Take-Out location on Monroe Street in one month and turned it into Lorraine's Cafe, which opened in late January. "It’s going OK around here," said Kopp, who isn't offering dine-in now. He's not doing delivery, either. "The online orders off my website for curbside have been great," he said.
Everyday Kitchen
Everyday Kitchen is part of a coworking space called Lodgic Everyday Community. The restaurant, bar and cafe opened in June 2020 on Marshall Court, and is visible from University Avenue. General manager Bobby Frizzell said the restaurant is open for delivery and curbside carryout only. "We have not yet determined a hard date for reopening the dining room, but we can’t wait to welcome everyone back!" he said in a text.
Garibaldi Mexican Restaurant
Garibaldi Mexican Restaurant opened June 1 on Butler Street, close to the Capitol Square. Erik Francisco Doroteo, whose father, Felipe Francisco Juan, owns the restaurant, said business has been OK. "We have more new customers coming in, some coming in once a week," he said. "We have some slow days, but more people are getting to know us." Erik said the restaurant is seating inside at 25% capacity with tables spaced six feet apart. Garibaldi also offers delivery.
Kosharie
Kosharie, which opened in late 2019 on Regent Street, is owned by Fawzy Mohamed, whose impressive restaurant resume includes 13 years as executive chef at Smoky’s Club and three years as a sous chef at the Madison Club. Kosharie's namesake Egyptian national dish, above, combines spaghetti, elbow macaroni, rice, lentils and chickpeas. Mohamed said the restaurant is "doing very well for corona time." He's offering takeout and delivery and is able to seat customers at two tables under dine-in restrictions. He plans to open a restaurant next door on Jan. 15 called Mafia for Pizza.
Skal Public House
Brian and Kim LaDow opened Skal Public House in May 2018 on Mount Horeb's Main Street in what was best known as Sole Sapori for 11 years. Brian LaDow said that business is going as well as possible. "Not great, but could be worse," he said. The restaurant is doing carryout, including curbside, dine-in and local delivery.
FEAST Artisan Dumpling and Tea House
Williamson Street's new upscale dumpling restaurant, FEAST Artisan Dumpling and Tea House, serves dumplings so good, they don't need dipping sauce. Mike Wang, who opened the restaurant this summer with his wife, Judy Zhu, said business is going OK and that the restaurant is open for dine-in, carry out and delivery.
Ragin Cajun Seafood
Ragin Cajun Seafood, in the works for about a year, was delayed by the pandemic, and opened July 10 in the former Ginza of Tokyo on the Far East Side. The restaurant’s basic seafood boil is one of the best splurges a person can make after months of quarantine. Jordan Zhou, the nephew of owner Ting Cai Zhou, said "everything is going well." The restaurant is doing dine-in, carryout and delivery.
Ahan
Jamie Hoang opened Ahan -- “food” in Lao -- inside The Bur Oak this summer after other kitchens didn't work out at the East Side music venue. Hoang said business has been "staying steady and busy with delivery and carryout." Deliveries make up about one-third of Ahan's business, Hoang said. She's not offering dine-in.
Finca Coffee
Todd Allbaugh and Marleni Valle opened Finca Coffee in August 2019 in a modern building on Rimrock Road owned by the Alexander Company, which Allbaugh said has been great to them during the pandemic. Finca's tacos are among the best tacos you'll find in Madison. The coffee's hard to beat, too. The shop offers limited indoor seating and curbside carryout.
Royal Indian Cuisine
Royal Indian Cuisine opened in September 2019 on the Far West Side in the days when lunch buffets could be found in every Indian restaurant in town. Now they're prohibited. At Royal Indian, co-owner Inderjit Kaur is offering carryout and delivery. No dine-in.
Settle Down Tavern
Sam Parker, Ryan Huber and Brian Bartels opened The Settle Down Tavern in the middle of a pandemic and serve a mean burger. Parker said the bar is doing takeout and delivery, and can seat customers in the tavern and in the attached atrium under its glass ceiling. "It’s the next best thing to being outside without being outside," Parker said. The tavern is also expanding into the space next door that used to be the men's clothing store Context.
Ru Yi Hand Pulled Noodle
Ru Yi Hand Pulled Noodle opened in mid-January on the 300 block of State Street to eager, high-energy crowds. Within two months, everything changed due to COVID-19. The noodle shop carried on with carryout and delivery. Dine-in is offered at a limited capacity, usually one or two tables, said Melody Lin, whose parents own the restaurant.
Sunny Pho
Sunny Pho owner Kim Khouch cooks a wide variety of Asian dishes and does them all well. The restaurant isn't offering dine-in for now and is concentrating on carryout and delivery.
Read restaurant news at go.madison.com/restaurantnews
February 18, 2021 at 10:30PM
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Curbside review: Villa Tap's fish-fry pickups show precision, yours might be at 5:07 p.m. - Madison.com
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