- Date Visited: March 17, 2o17
- Location: W. River St., Chippewa Falls
- Restaurant Type: Bar
- Fish Types Offered: pan fried and bread-crumb-crusted deep fried perch (cod available other parts of the year)
- Fish Serving Sizes Offered: 1 piece meal
- Sides Offered: French fries, coleslaw
- Other sides are available but not for substitution.
- Cost: $15
The Sheeley House has undergone a lot of change within the last few years including a few drafts of their menu. Having not been since the new menu emerged, we were intrigued by what we could see of the menu online and wanted to try out their Friday fish fry. Walking in, the restaurant was fairly busy with seating available in high top seats, seats at the bar, 
and upstairs seating. We were lucky to get a table in the front window where we could watch the town as well as the bar. The waitress told us to pick our seats and arrived shortly after to take our drink order. We also ordered Yellowstone cheese curds to start.
Our curds arrived in just a few minutes. Each small, yellow curd was coated in a very light batter; the curds were reminiscent of fair curds, though they were not as greasy (or tasty) what you’d expect from the fair. They had a good, clean taste and were served with a unique dill mustard and a chipotle ketchup.
Our fish arrived quickly after our curds. The pan fried fish was coated in a medium-light colored battered. It was very moist on the inside, and the coating often fell off between bites. The green seasoning (parsley, maybe) on top added flavor to the fish, but the batter was relatively tasteless (perhaps a bit off-tasting). The fries were also coated in this strange batter. They were dense with potato but lacked much flavor. The bread-crumbed-crusted perch was heavily coated and crunchy. It was seasoned 
fairly well, and the Sheeley remoulade sauce – the bar’s substitute for the usual tartar 
sauce – was a great accompaniment. The remoulade was heavy on the mayo but had a nice horseradish kick. The coleslaw was also very heavy on the mayo, a bit soupy, but had a spicy flavor that was enjoyable. The fish seemed to be prepared well, but overall, the flavors of fish and sides were a bit off-putting and sometimes bland.
The decor in Sheeley House is cute and creates a nice old-time saloon ambiance. The service is good, and the menu did appear to have some things that we would like to try in the future. The fish fry, however, wasn’t our favorite and lacked the main elements that would cause us to return again. We also felt that it was quite overpriced for the amount and enjoyment that it offered.
out of 5
Smokehouse is definitely inviting and very accommodating. Immediately upon walking in, we saw that, just as like at the Smokehouse, one orders at the counter, chooses a seat, and is served at their table. However, unlike the Smokehouse, the Public House has a bright and fresh appearance that includes seats by the cozy fireplace, cute decor, and an appetizing array of deli cold salads as well as scrumptious desserts by the slice.
ordered right away and filled our water glasses from the adorable spouted water jug. You-fill-pitchers for the taking were also available alongside the jug, which we were very happy to see and grateful for. We took a seat, and literally, one minute later our appetizer of deep fried cheese arrived. The presentation was lovely, and the Wisconsin curds, as the employee taking our order had told us, were delicious. The “curds” are chunks of aged cheddar cheese, beer battered, and deep fried. The curds 
were cheesy and cooked all the way through, the batter was appetizing, though not overpowering, and the three dipping sauces were a great addition. Ranch, chipotle, and BBQ sauces aided this delicious appetizer well.
very moist. The fried fish was coated in a light, medium colored batter, though the batter wasn’t seasoned and lacked much flavor. The wedges were coated in a delicious batter which had an almost Cajun flavor, and the hush puppies were seasoned well and
added a unique touch to this fish fry. The coleslaw was a vinegar-based slaw (no may0), and the tartar sauce was wonderful, a bit chunky and with a dill flavor.
is really excellent (we’ve had it before) and something we would highly recommend. Our white cheese curds came out quickly and were very hot. They were coated with pretzel crumbs and very gooey on the inside. The pretzel batter was unique and had great flavor, though the salted caramel BBQ sauce served with the curds wasn’t our favorite. However, we’ve had the curds at Betty’s before and will continue to order them as they are one of our favorite things on the menu.
soon began arriving. We started with a side salad for an additional $3.00. It was a good sized salad topped with croutons, cheese, diced tomato, cucumber slices, and onion. The honey mustard dressing was great.
yet salty at the same time. These sweet potato fries are another of our Betty’s favorites, and our guest reviewer, who ordered the veggie burger, also ordered the sweet potato fries and loved them. She is also a repeat sweet potato fries orderer. We’ve also had the veggie burger before; it has an awesome mix of flavors but falls apart very easily. When the bun is grilled perfectly, as it was that night, it helps to keep the burger intact. 
mayonnaise flavor.
the waitress was very prompt in getting my drink order and bringing us all a small cup of a Randy’s specialty – warm pudding. She came back shortly after with my decaf coffee (I love ordering coffee at Randy’s because they bring you the cutest carafe to pour your hot coffee from – 
I’ve even inquired into purchasing one!) and placed an order for a cheese curd appetizer. My co-fish blogger and that night’s guest reviewer arrived shortly after, and we enjoyed Wisconsin cheese curds within minutes. The curds were yellow cheese andhad a heavy, crunchy batter. They were squeaky, though some of the bigger curds weren’t gooey all the way through.
fried fish as well as baked, which is unusual (usually seasoned options only
come in baked varieties). We ordered the plain deep fried, the cajun deep fried, and the baked cajun and lemon pepper, and all of the options were great. The fish was very flaky, hot, and was covered in an appropriate amount of seasoning; it wasn’t overwhelming nor lacking. The battered fish was battered lightly. The potato options were also great. There were so many choices that it was hard to decide which to order, but we really enjoyed the seasoned
potato skins and the battered and Cajun seasoned French fries that we chose. Both options were seasoned well and tasty, though the potato skins were pretty light on the inside potato, which was probably to be expected due to their name.
h meal portion was very large, so I was too full for dessert, even though I really wanted to try a piece of pie or a bar. The service was great, and around 5, the restaurant was really starting to fill up. There were obviously some repeat customers and newbies as well.
chippewa valley friday fish 