Schneid's

Update 2/25/16: Schneid's is closed.

In a word: Doing the best they can with the tools they have.

The specs: #0587  
Address, hours & details via Isthmus; reviews at Madison Fish Fry, collected at del.icio.us; listing at Eat Drink Madison; official web site,

JM ate the perch fish fry with fries, slaw and a lemonade.
Nichole ate the stuffed tomato with tuna salad, a cup of split pea soup, and a coffee.
The bill was $17, or $8.50/person, plus tip.
JM gave Schneid's a C+; Nichole gave Schneid's a B+ (see our grading rubric).

Latest Schneid's news and reviews

JM's first impression of this tavern was when it was smoke-filled Tony Frank's across from his first Madison apartment. That stuck with him, and today's experience did little to dislodge it save that the air was much clearer. The prices hadn't gone up too very much in ten years either, which was nice.

JM got the lunch portion of perch fish fry. Two substantial, moist, and firm pieces of fish came in an evenly fried, thickish batter. The fries were Ore-Ida standard, and he was missing his roll. While he appreciate the fact that perch isn't cod, this fish was neither moist nor particularly flavorful. It felt very MOR. 

Nichole started with a cup of the split pea and ham soup which was from frozen, but decent. That classic "lite choice," a stuffed tomato, beat out the Reuben as her entree. It came served on a leaf of iceberg lettuce and the tomato was of course criminally Sysco-crunchy and flavorless for August, but so what?

The tuna salad was simple and had no fillers: just barely-drained chunk tuna mixed to a uniform consistency with a bit of mayo, and a dash of salt and maybe cayenne pepper on top. It might have even been season salt, which is kind of awesome if you're in the right mood, and Nichole was. If she didn't mind bar fly side eye so much, she could have assembled a dozen tiny Saltine sandwiches and sipped the fresh coffee (black, since nothing but Coffee Mate was on offer) with her pinkie out. Next time.