Dinner here runs from a four-week rotating small-plates menu about 0.4 miles off College Avenue to stuffed prime rib out in the country, so the Appleton restaurants worth booking depend on what kind of night you want. This rundown sorts the city's kitchens by occasion, with hours from the listings where we have them and straight-line distances from downtown.
Book ahead for the small downtown rooms on a weekend, since a couple of them open only a few nights a week. Dinner pairs naturally with a night out, so plan the rest of the evening around Appleton's shows, museums and festivals.
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Where to book a special dinner
For a birthday or an anniversary, look at Marvol and Ellinor, which both cook from local ingredients on menus that change.
Marvol suits a night of many small plates, Ellinor a coursed dinner around the oven, so pick on mood.
Before a show at the PAC
Because Rye opens at noon, it also covers a late lunch downtown between the museum and the shops. For curtain times around 7 to 7:30 p.m. at the PAC, book Rye for 5:30. The rest of the walk, from the PAC to the Houdini exhibit at the Castle, is laid out in a guide to downtown Appleton block by block.
Steak and seafood
On the east side at N140 Eisenhower Dr, about 3.3 miles east-southeast, Fire Seafood & Steakhouse does seafood and steak with attention on the plate and the service, Monday through Saturday evenings. It is closed on Sundays, and its Google profile shows a 4.6 rating from 83 reviews.
On South Memorial Drive, steak and prime rib have been the trade at George's Steak House since the 1930s, according to its Google profile, in supper club surrounds with a sing-along piano bar. It keeps early hours, closing at 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 8:30 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, and it is closed Sundays. Its Google profile shows a 4.4 rating from 1,041 reviews.
Supper clubs and the fish fry
Appleton sits in supper club country, and Friday means fish fry. In town, Dick and Joan's 220 Club on North Lynndale Drive serves broasted chicken, perch plates and prime rib with a salad bar, and its Travel Wisconsin listing calls its Friday fish fry exceptional (call to confirm). Order a Golden Cadillac for dessert. Its hours have changed over the years, so check its listing before you go; its Google profile shows a 4.3 rating from 1,253 reviews.
North of the city, Kountry Bar serves a fish fry with old fashioneds, often books bands with no cover, and is open Tuesday through Saturday. It also runs a list of starters, and its Google profile shows a 4.7 rating from 160 reviews.
Out in the country, Krabbe's Supper Club near Seymour serves dinner six nights a week, with its stuffed prime rib and broiled haddock as the focus. The bar mixes a Banana Bread Old Fashioned and an Espresso Cream Martini, and the peanut butter pie is homemade. Its Google hours run from 4:30 to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday, closed Sundays, and it shows a 4.4 rating from 615 reviews. For the rest of the region's clubs, from George's to Black Otter in Hortonville and the Kaukauna clubs, see the Appleton supper clubs rundown.
Sushi and hibachi
Out to Greenville: Field and Fire
About 7.4 miles west-northwest in Greenville, Field & Fire serves modern food for dine-in and pickup Tuesday through Saturday evenings, with Sunday brunch in the dining room. The menu has included the Mary flatbread, a chicken dish with jasmine rice and a wagyu burger, with crème brûlée, cobbler or a mocha pot for dessert. Its Google hours show dinner from 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and brunch from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sundays, with a 4.7 rating from 392 reviews.
Casual food with a game on
For a game and a beer, GameDay Sports Bar on Stoney Brook Road, about 2.9 miles east-southeast, is a big hangout with an outdoor bar, a volleyball court, casual food and a lot of TVs. Its Google hours run from 11 a.m. every day of the week, and it shows a 4.2 rating from 999 reviews.
Coffee, breakfast and lunch
Mornings downtown can start at ACOCA Cafe and Roastery at 500 W College Ave, which roasts all of its beans in house in small batches. Its kitchen menu runs to sandwiches, bowls, fancy toasts, waffles and salads. Elsewhere on the avenue, Voyageurs Bakehouse is at 201 W College Ave, Copper Rock Coffee Company at 210 W College Ave and Brewed Awakenings at 107 E College Ave. In its fall 2025 roundup of seasonal drinks, the downtown business group pointed to a Cinnamon Roll Latte at Voyageurs and the pumpkin cream cheese bread that Copper Rock bakes year-round.
Over on South Riverheath Way is Tempest Coffee Collective, whose Travel Wisconsin listing describes breakfast, lunch, homemade baked goods and coffee from Spyhouse Coffee Roasters in Minneapolis (check before you go). The same downtown roundup suggested its Pumpkin White Mocha, made with house pumpkin spice and white mocha sauces, followed by a walk along the river. For lunch on College Avenue, Rye opens at noon, and Out-O-Town Supper Club near Kaukauna does a supper-club lunch from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., Tuesday through Friday.
Breweries and pizza
Hop Yard Ale Works in Appleton brews in small batches and serves wood-fired pizzas, and it has a second location in Menomonee Falls.
Stone Arch Brewpub, at 1004 S Olde Oneida St, traces its historic brewery to 1858 and Anton Fischer, who set up Outagamie County's first brewery, and it serves a full menu of new American food. Its October 2026 calendar lists taproom trivia, a Stone Arch Sessions music night and a jazz jam session, so check what is on before you go.
About 15.5 miles southwest in Oshkosh, Bare Bones Brewery opened in 2015 and serves its American-style beers with Village Pub pizzas, cheese curds and beef sticks, and dogs are welcome on the patio. Its Google hours show it closed Mondays, open from 3 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and from noon Friday through Sunday.
On the river
Fratello's Waterfront Restaurant, at 501 W Water St, sits on the site of the former Vulcan hydroelectric plant, and its floor-to-ceiling windows look out over the Fox River. Its wine list holds a Wine Spectator 2026 Award of Excellence. A dining directory reviewed in September 2026 sums it up as casual Italian American food and seafood, with pizza, and its picks from the menu include the short rib pasta, the house meatballs and hand-breaded shrimp. A travel blogger's 2023 post noted a big outdoor dining area there in summer.
Eating out with kids, or eating in
With kids, the hibachi grill at Nakashima of Japan makes dinner an event.
Field and Fire in Greenville also does pickup orders Tuesday through Saturday evenings if you would rather eat in your room.
Worth the drive: Oshkosh and Brillion
Oshkosh, about 15.7 to 19.5 miles southwest to south-southwest, has three more places worth a dinner drive. On the river at 425 Nebraska St, Dockside Tavern is a haunt with vintage boating decor, updated regional food, a patio and its own dock. It opens Tuesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. and is closed Mondays.
Dublin's Irish Pub on West 9th Avenue pours craft draft beer with Irish classics and pub food in easygoing rooms with a patio. It opens at 11 a.m. every day, according to its Google hours, and shows a 4.5 rating from 988 reviews. Out on County Highway S in Oshkosh, Winkler's Westward Ho is a log-cabin bar and grill with live music, a jukebox, pool and darts, and it seats 300 for receptions and parties. It also caters, and its Google profile shows a 4.6 rating from 454 reviews.
About 17.9 miles east-southeast in Brillion, The Trough Underground makes distinct pizzas: the Heifer, styled after a bacon cheeseburger, the crab-rangoon-style Crabby Neli and a breakfast pizza, plus cheesy breadsticks and wonton mozzarella sticks. Its Google hours show it open Wednesday through Sunday from late afternoon and closed Mondays and Tuesdays. Pair it with a walk at Brillion Nature Center.
After dinner
Downtown's live-music bars sit within about 0.6 miles of Rye and Marvol: Fox River House on South Walnut Street has bands on weekends, and the Gibson's October listings run to shows on one to four nights a week. A block or two north of the avenue on North Appleton Street, Missfits runs events through the week, live shows included.
For a pool table, a jukebox or a sports bar instead, the options are sorted by kind of night among Appleton bars.
Appleton restaurants by part of town
- Downtown on and around College Avenue: Rye, Marvol, ACOCA Cafe and Roastery, Voyageurs Bakehouse, Copper Rock Coffee and Brewed Awakenings.
- East side: Ellinor on East Pacific Street, Fire Seafood and Steakhouse on Eisenhower Drive and GameDay on Stoney Brook Road.
- South side: The Red Ox on South Oneida Street and George's Steak House on South Memorial Drive.
- West side: Dick and Joan's 220 Club on North Lynndale Drive and Nakashima of Japan on West Pine Street.
- Out of town: Field and Fire in Greenville, the supper clubs around Kaukauna and Seymour, and the riverside and pub options in Oshkosh.
Practical notes
Two of the smaller kitchens keep short weeks: Marvol opens Thursday through Saturday and Ellinor Wednesday through Saturday, while Fire, George's and Rye close on Sundays. On a Sunday, Nakashima, Dick and Joan's and The Red Ox are open, and Field and Fire serves brunch. Krabbe's closes on Sundays, and Dick and Joan's hours have changed over the years, so check its listing before you go. Hours change, so check each listing the day you go.
Frequently asked questions
Published September 28, 2026
