Eating Gluten Free at The Old Fashioned in Madison, WI

Like my review earlier this week of the Cooper's Tavern, The Old Fashioned is one restaurant I've been meaning to write about for some time. Now that we're busy packing up to leave Wisconsin and are visiting friends before we go, we're also taking the opportunity to stop by our favorite haunts. Hopefully it will inspire those of you in and around Madison to check out some of these places, too! 

My apologies for the grainy photos from my cell phone, and any typos (also courtesy of my cell phone), but here's my review of eating gluten free at The Old Fashioned.

The Old Fashioned pub in Madison,WI is a staple around the capital square and one of the places we've frequented since we moved to madcity 3 yrs ago. About a year ago they added gluten free bread to their menu, which is awesome because now you can have almost any of their sandwiches (before they just served you the filling on a bed of lettuce), and there's no extra charge for the bread.

Above, you can see me enjoying the #34, the tuna sandwich with roasted red peppers, along with the soup of the day - kale, sweet corn, and shitake mushrooms. FYI-their fries aren't gf, they've been cooked in the fryer with everything else, but they do offer a side salad, or others sides for a small extra cost.

They also have a couple of gf drink options: Lakefront New Grist, which a local gluten free Wisconsin beer and not too shabby, as well as a couple of ciders. Personally I'd like to see another GF beer option or two to really round it out, but one is better than none, right?

As far as pubs go, the Old Fashioned atmosphere is ok. It's usually really busy (see below on making reso's), and loud. It's not really the type of place I'd spend much time lounging in, though, but that's just me.

As a heads up: they don't take reservations and won't seat you until your entire party has arrived. This can be a nuisance sometimes as they are almost always full (unless you go at lunchtime). The best you can do is put your name in when you get there and wait for the rest of your party, then check in. So if you see groups of people standing around in front of the restaurant, they're probably just waiting for a table.