The Flying Hound Alehouse

I’ve been here multiple times for different reasons — business lunches, family dinner, business networking events and out for the evening. It’s always been a great experience. Servers, bartenders, managers and kitchen staff are all friendly, knowledgable and very accommodating. I’m not much of a beer drinker but I know enough to know that they have a great selection. It rotates and the staff seems to be well educated on all of the varieties. They also have a very solid selection of liquors including some excellent craft spirits. Some great specialty cocktails as well.
The food has been very good as well, I’ve tried a variety of appetizers and entrees and have never been disappointed. Their burgers are great and have always been cooked exactly how I requested, love their apps as well. The nachos are a meal and a good one at that.
The Flying Hound is an excellent addition to the southwest side of Madison. Glad to have you in the neighborhood and thanks for all the great service and experiences

GREAT food and a pretty good beer selection. The place was clean and most of the staff were pretty good; I’m not a huge fan of staff eating while serving me. I was in Verona on business and ate here a couple of times and would recommend it.

Ick! This was a miss for me. The only thing worse than having to flag down your bartender for a drink (when you’re actually seated at the bar and it isn’t busy at all) is… I don’t know!

We have been to the Flying Hound four times –twice for meals and twice for drinks. It’s one of those places that you always leave saying, «why don’t we come here more often!?»
The atmosphere is great. Very clean inside and a spacious patio with a fire pit for chilly evenings. Big bar to sit at and both bar tables and booths for different dining experiences. Every time my husband and I have gone there has been different beers on tap, and we always find something we like!
The food is awesome. We have eaten off the Regular menu (good burgers) and have had the fish fry. It was one of the few fish fries in town that didn’t leave me in a grease coma afterward, which was much appreciated. The French fries are delicious. It’s not even like they have special seasoning, they are just really really good.
The service has always been quick and friendly, and as we found on our last trip, extremely flexible. We ran into friends and the staff was great about us drinking together, eating apart, and then rejoining as a group for after dinner drinks. It is a bit pricey compared to similar spots on the West side, but the experience and quality makes it worth it.

Terrible over priced food. If you enjoy paying 9 dollars for a brat then by all means go wash it down with a 14 dollar beer.
Their menu is not very good and their specials are cheap. (meaning they add a lot of cheap carbs instead of actual good food.)
The bar staff is by far the rudest staff I have ever visited. The only one worth a damn is John.
Bar manager is rude and got into argument about a 1.50 chicken tender when I had a 70.00 bill and I’ve spent probably close to 1000.00 in a few months at this place.
Don’t go you will likely be disappointed and upset you spent all that money. Go somewhere that actually likes their clientele and wants to please a customer.

Excellent fish fry — and I’ve tried 5 – 6 in the Madison/​Middleton vicinity. They don’t take reservations so either plan to get there early or be prepared to wait a little bit — food came out relatively quickly — but maybe because we were early. Poutine seemed good (very large dish for one person, and this is coming from me where «large» is usually way too much for others) — but I don’t have a reference since it was my first. The fish fry was tasty and juicy (cod and perch). I would plan to go again.

I love the location (off the beaten path, but still near civilization), the décor and ambiance is very nice, and the food is adequate.
The space is pretty large, but is broken up nicely so you don’t feel like you are in a big open room. I’ve had great service both times I’ve visited. The menu may be short, but its also pretty diverse.
What I tried:
Giant pretzel with mustard– served with like 4 different mustards and the pretzel is soft and very dark, like twice as dark as a normal pretzel. It’s very good for sharing, which is what I did.
Steakhouse burger (with a veggie burger) — Couple of pointers. Ask for the sauce on the side. They liberally applied the steak sauce which really overwhelmed everything. Also, hard pass on the veggie burger. It was very mushy and generally lacked flavor. Although, it may have just been bland up against the lake of steak sauce. Aside from all that, this one has promise.

This place is really exactly as many people have said, solid. The menu is sparse but seriously they had me at Bacon on a Stick. I had to refrain from ordering a second one to go. Three amazing thick bacon slices in a bourbon sauce that was like heaven on a stick. The slaw that it arrived on was just meh, too dry… not bad tasting, but omg the bacon! We had a jalapeño blue cheese burger that the kitchen sent out to an exact medium rare, which sounds much easier to do than it apparently is in this town. And the pulled pork sandwich was phenomenal. Apple and jalapeño in the perfect proportion with cheddar cheese. The side salad greens were also high quality and we were pleasantly surprised given that the place appears to be geared more toward their beer selection.
The service was fast and friendly as was the manager or whomever he was that stopped by twice to make sure we were happy with everything. My only complaint is that it was a bit too loud, but it was during the Sunday March Madness Badgers game so I gave them a pass on that. It does echo a lot though in there.
We stopped in on a whim because a place we wanted to try was closed. Certainly glad we did!

Always good beer and really good chx nachos! Love that the beer menu has the % listed! They’ll let u have samples of anything before u actually commit to a big glass. Classy place but not too classy to go in a pair of jeans with a group of friends!

Giving it 3 stars because we’ve only been here once and we sat at the bar. My husband really enjoys beer so he wanted to try this place out. I’m not very keen on this area as its really built up now and crowded.
It wasn’t very busy and I wasn’t thrilled with how the dining area was set up, it was a little to open for my preference. The bartenders were ok but they seemed more interested to talk to each other. I tried the poutine mostly because because I love poutine. I don’t mind different versions or takes on poutine: beef gravy, mushroom gravy, fried or non fried cheese curds, bacon, etc. This version just lacked flavor and not enough gravy. I had to ask for more and it was too think and lumpy and very bland. Either not made properly or possibility from a can or jar. I’m sure this place will do fine, lots of growth going on in this part of Madison. But we probably won’t be coming back here. There are other solid dining spots in Madison with good beer and food without having to head into this over commercialized area of Fitchburg/​Madison.

I went to The Flying Hound Alehouse last night for a drink with a friend and ended up trying their food too. Right off the bat I loved the English pub feel. The staff were all very friendly through our entire time there. Even as the last remaining employee was trying to close up shop and we were obliviously still talking away he was very polite and patient.
I got the Blood Moon cocktail which was delicious. As for eating, if you are a vegan you will have some options of veggie-​patty burgers, sides, and salads. The creativity of the burgers looks pretty cheese and meet dependent, so heads up that the burgers might be boring… but I didn’t try one. None of the entrees are veggie or can be made with veggie substitutions as far as I could tell. I got the harvest salad without bacon or cheese and added avocado for a price. I also got a side of french fries of course. The salad was filling (I had to use a doggie bag for about a third of it) and I loved the generous amount of nuts and cherries in it. The vinaigrette was yummy too. The fries were fries… hard to do wrong and I gladly ate the whole dish!
Lastly, if you’re a vegan who gets turned off by a wide array of meat dishes on a menu (like bacon on a stick, pulled pork quesadilla, mussels, and sausage platter) this alehouse might not be the place for you. I’m a bit like that but I know some of you vegans are moreso!
I’m giving three stars (A-​OK) because though The Flying Hound is unapologetically what it is supposed to be – an English Alehouse with a lot of meat and cheese on the menu – it would be a hard place for me to come on a regular basis as a vegan. It makes an effort to offer some veggie options but none that really look veganteresting. Alas, not my cup of tea.

So happy we decided to try here.
My bf and I came here during HH. I had the steakhouse burger cooked medium rare and the bf had a bacon cheeseburger cooked rare. They were PHENOMENAL. We both had an average expectation for the fare here, it being a tap house joint n all, but we were *genuinely* happily surprised. Awesome sauce on the steakhouse burger. Oh and the sweet potato fries were perfection as well. We both had a few beers and the bf, quite an ex-​Californian beer snob, was impressed by their large beer selection and he gave them a thumbs up. There are stouts, sours, Belgians and IPA’s here :) As far as the service, they’ve probably stepped it up after the few people below me complained because our waitress was pleasant, punctual, not overly annoying, and came by after our food was served to make sure everything was ok. Yeah and this place IS loud, but it’s also dark, and pretty classy. Good job.

The Flying Hound is a pretty good spot. We stopped in on a Saturday night after calling ahead to see if there was much of a wait since we’d be arriving about 7:30 and they let us know there was none at all.
The interior is dim and has a warmth about it — it’s definitely a place you could sit and chat over drinks for a couple hours. They have a large beer list and are happy to let you taste before buying — in this case I opted to sample both of the nitro chocolate stouts on tap to see which I liked better. Ironically, the double chocolate was the less chocolatey of the two, so I’m glad I tried both.
For dinner I was between the Spicy Citrus Chicken Sandwich and the Pulled Pork Sandwich. I asked the server for her preference and she strongly in the chicken sandwich camp so I went with it. I opted to upgrade to the sweet potato fries for an extra $ 1.50 — not something I usually do as a cheapskate, but the whole plate came out to $ 10.50, which is still on the lower side for a sandwich and fries.
The upgrade was worth it — my sandwich came out with a huge mound of shoestring sweet potato fries that were quite delicious. As someone who would happily eat fries multiple times a day every day (and, on this occasion, someone who hadn’t eaten since breakfast that morning), I appreciated the generous serving.
The sandwich was okay. The bun was good, the arugula and tomatoes fresh, and the parmesan peppercorn dressing was fantastic. The chicken itself didn’t really do it for me, though. I liked that it had some heat, but the sourness of the citrus (still not sure what particular fruit was providing the flavoring) didn’t quite mesh with spice blend for me. It also didn’t help that my first bite of the chicken was crunchy gristle/​tendon/​whatever — it seems super common to get that weird bite in chicken breast sandwiches, I don’t understand why chefs don’t just lob that chunk off as part of normal prep. Do people actually like that part? Am I in the minority?
Even though the sandwich didn’t hit the spot for my taste buds, I’ll be back to try the pulled pork and see if that’s more up my alley.

We have visited The Flying Hound twice now since moving to the area and have had different experiences each time. The first time our server was very friendly and helpful when it came to the menu. We had the jalapeño poppers as an appetizer and they were delicious, and then had burgers as our entrée which were both great. The second time we stopped in our waitress was nice, but not nearly as helpful. The place wasn’t busy at all and she hardly stopped by our table throughout the duration of our meal. We once again ordered the jalapeño poppers and this time they were so spicy that we couldn’t finish them. I’m not sure what would have changed from our previous visit to make them that much spicier, but it was unbearable. As I mentioned our server didn’t visit our table very often, and we were dying for more drinks, which made the problem seem probably worse than it was.
Aside from the spicy poppers issue, we do enjoy this place. They have a spectacular beer selection and the burgers are super good. We will more than likely return, but from now on no more jalapeño poppers!

I wasn’t very impressed. Just ate there with my family and due to how small the place is along with the high, open ceilings and the fact that the dining area is not separated from the bar, it was a real struggle to hear each other. Drunk people were screaming in the bar which carried right through the entire place. Definitely not a place to go for decent conversation.
The food was mediocre, too. I ordered the salmon entrée topped with a dill cream sauce that came with diced potatoes and kale mixed with sweet onions. It tasted great but the dill sauce was way, WAY too salty, to the point that I could barely finish the salmon (I had to scrape it off), and couldn’t finish the kale. My mother had a veggie burger and the patty tasted like it was molded together from turkey stuffing, which did not taste good on a cheeseburger. My father had the prime rib and said it was just «ok» even though the server raved about it more than once.
I would not go back to the Flying Hound for a meal, but would only consider it for a couple drinks to watch a game. Even then it probably wouldn’t be one of my first choices, as the place is extremely small so it fills up quickly. I think I’ll stick with the Dane or Vintage west.

Family-​friendly bar-​like atmosphere with a chill beer garden in the back. Not sure what it takes to get seating at the fire pit table, but that is a cool addition whether you’re seated there or not.
Few but solid menu options, like you’d expect to find at a place with «Alehouse» in its name. The steakhouse burger I ordered medium well, because I’m afraid of being judged, actually came well done. This was a huge relief to me, haha. It was delicious, the perfect burger with all the toppings and no compromise. I especially loved the dressed fresh greens as a side option — surprisingly you don’t see that a lot in Madison, and this is the one thing that would bring me back. The portion sizes and pricing are also reasonable — just enough that one person should be eating.
If I had to pick a second thing that would bring me back, it’s the beer, cider, and mixed drinks selection. There’s something for everyone, without being overwhelming. Its location next to the AMC Fitchburg theater means I’ll be back next time I’m in for a nice dinner and movie.

When The Flying Hound first opened, I was excited to try it. Granted, it seems like Madison is teeming with similar restaurants (Great Dane, The Vintage, etc.), but this one is closer to home and in an area that could really use some great restaurants.
Unfortunately, The Flying Hound has not been what I hoped for.
The food was… meh. I had the Friday Fish Fry and found the fish overdone and the fries were very bland. My husband had some sort of brat/​sausage that was presented very strangely and was also overdone.
We also had terrible, terrible service. Sure, it’s a busy place, but I expect an offer for a refill on my soda, or at least no attitude when I have to flag down a server to ask for it. It was also loud enough to make conversation difficult.
Between the food and the service, we will not be returning.

I’m a bit torn on this place — love parts, not so sure about others. Have visited twice in the last month. Atmosphere is nice — definitely fits its name «ale house». Big bar with decent amount of indoor and outdoor seating. Beer selection is outstanding– some favorites and some rare finds. Lots to choose from. Service was ok, a bit odd the first time around, but good.
Where I’ve struggled is the food. Both times I had a scotch egg. First time I shared one and it was amazing. Already knew I loved Scotch Eggs, but this one was really good. Second time around — it was really spicy — and I like spicy food. A bit inconsistent. For my meals I tried the Flying Hound Burger and the Spicy Citrus Chicken. Both were just ok, but wouldn’t order again. The burger was a bit bland. Maybe it just didn’t work together, but it was kind of forgettable. The Chicken sandwich totally needs fixing. All I could taste was the spice. Again, I like spicy foods a lot — but this was bad. It had arugula on it too which had a strong taste, but was lost among the spice on the chicken.
I will go back– really love parts of this place, but hope they are working out the kinks in the menu.

It’s hard to accurately review a restaurant after eating a whole Shephard’s Pie; mostly because initially you are so excited for dinner, but afterwards you’re so full that you rethink every decision leading up to it. Yes, I had the Shephard’s Pie and it was everything and more that I could have hoped for. Yes, I’m still very full an hour later.
We had a late dinner (close to 8pm), so seating was very easy to get. The waiter was very accommodating (almost overly — but he knew the line) and recommended great beers from their very extensive list. He even scored me the last Shephard’s Pie, which could have been a lie — but he sold me!
The atmosphere wasn’t too loud, great to carry on a conversation and the lighting was dim, but I could still read the menu. As it got closer to 10, the lights dimmed even more.
I definitely need to come back again, the hype was accurate. Yay, I’m a fan!

Update: After coming back here several times, Flying Hound feels more like a 3.5 star kind of place.
This place has a cool pub atmosphere and nice artwork. It’s a nice restaurant and bar scene. The burgers and sweet potato fries are very good.
Downside:
— It’s very loud and can be pretty crowded. Sometimes it is hard to carry on a conversation due to loud atmosphere.