First Impressions The Wise in Hotel Red

The three-year Hotel Red development saga proved exhausting for both the neighborhood and the developers. Eventually, the “Euro-chic modern-minimalist property at the coveted corner of Monroe and Regents Streets directly across from the University of Wisconsin’s storied Camp Randall Stadium” opened in 2011, and recently rolled out an in-house eatery. Rather slowly, rumors about the hotel restaurant started to filter out, and The A.V. Club finally sat down for a power meal at The Wise, under the long shadows of Camp Randall Stadium.

The space and service: The dining area gradually appears at one end of the hotel lobby, recognizable as such mostly by the bar and an assortment of tables. Elegant settings and a very ’80s color discipline of black and red with decisive accents—the sparkly bar is back-lit with 2-inch vertical bands of lights that shift from green to blue set against oblong pulsating red tones and dark blocks of sleek shelving—create convincingly upscale environments at the bar and the tables during a normal shift. But on game-days it’s a complete zoo, according to the bartender, and so a battlement of flat-screen televisions keep with sports bar trends of 2012. Service is young, nervous, and not all that together; every customer could clearly hear “order up!” from the kitchen, and then watch the order cooling as three servers chatted at the opposite end of the room.

The A.V. Club’s Food: The “El Sabio” snack plate is obvious but works: Homemade bread, fruit, Wisconsin cheeses, oils for dipping, and salty nuts prove an ideal companion to a glass of the Sonoma-Cutrer, an excellent Chardonnay that’s always welcome on a wine list. Truffled mac and cheese is less than original at this point, but it’s baked in cheese and Mornay sauce and is a welcome comfort on a cold Wisconsin day. A dab of wild mushroom risotto is inexplicably bland, devoid of personality and an egregious dismissal of the textural qualities which define great risotto, but char-grilled Kahlbi short ribs are much better, with a sweet reduction laden over buttered and creamy mashed potatoes. Higher quality meat would make this one a standout, as the cooks seem to be nailing the execution.

The verdict: It’s entirely possible that Hotel Red can chart a balanced course that ensures the restaurant is a profit-driver in the hotel ecosystem, but right now it isn’t fine dining and it isn’t football food. Tipping toward fine dining proper and incurring the cost of quality ingredients for the upscale crowd or including chicken wings and bacon cheeseburgers for the louche and wanton sports crowds are both viable options, but splitting the difference only merits a shrug.