The Timber Inn

Date Visited: October 12, 2018
Location: Cty. Rd. C, Downsville
Restaurant Type: bar
Fish Types/Sizes Offered: 2 or 3 piece, light hand breaded or baked cod
Sides Offered: toast, choice of potato (baked, hash browns, tater tots, French fries, or cottage fries), and choice of salad (side salad, cottage cheese, or coleslaw)
Cost: around $10

Timber Inn was pretty full around 6pm on Friday night. Cute with its rustic, country-style decor, you’ll want to make sure you make a reservation if you plan to try their fish fry. We were taken to our high top table, and there were also low top tables in the dining room, seats at the bar, and a very nice front patio; however, on Friday night, there weren’t any free seats to be seen.

Our waitress came to get our drink orders right away. We ordered an old fashioned, an Oktoberfest beer, and an appetizer of cheese curds and pizza fries, the latter which the kitchen doesn’t usually make during regular dining hours — however they made them for us upon request!

When our appetizers and drinks arrived, we were immediately a bit disappointed in the old fashioned. It tasted and looked like kiddie cocktail. There wasn’t any flavor of sour nor of booze. The Oktoberfest was great, however, as it came in an adorable Sam Adams mug. The cheese curds, though a small order, were also great. They had a medium-heavy batter and were creamy on the inside. We liked them but would have enjoyed a few more. The cheese fries were not homemade but were still greasy and good. They were a thin fry and had seasoning and a decent amount of cheese.

Our fish meals came out quickly after. The lightly hand breaded cod had a pretty thin breading which was crispy and had good flavor. We liked it a lot and also enjoyed the baked fish. It had great lemon flavor and was not too wet nor too buttery — just the way we like it. The fries were crinkle cut, a bit thin, and salty. The sweet potato fries and cottage fries (potato rounds fresh cut and fried) were also pretty salty but overall, tasty. We also liked the coleslaw and the toast. The toast was garlicky, and the coleslaw had a great texture. It could use a bit of a kick, but overall the ratio of slaw to mayo was right on. The cottage cheese was small curd, and the side salad was small and had a lot of shredded cheese on it.

The Timber Inn is right on Downsville’s main strip, which is just south of Menomonie about 10 minutes. Be careful on the way in or out as we saw quite a few deer, but check out the Timber Inn if you’re in the area.