I’ve driven by Spanky’s Hideaway countless times — it’s tucked away among neighborhood homes off County Line Road — but I finally stopped in for dinner today, and wow. I was genuinely blown away.
The barbecue wings were outstanding. These are real wings straight off the grill — no frying — and they were absolutely phenomenal. But what truly stole the show was the French onion soup. I’ve had French onion soup four or five times a year for the past three decades, and without question, this was the best I’ve ever had. Hands down.
It’s worth coming here for the soup alone. The cheese is so generous and perfectly melted that you literally need scissors to cut through it (see the photo — and even that doesn’t do it justice).
I also have to call out our waitress, Ashli. She was fantastic — clearly working incredibly hard, serving what felt like half the restaurant, yet still delivering warm, attentive, and thoughtful service on a very busy night. That kind of effort doesn’t go unnoticed.
Spanky’s is a fun, small, unpretentious spot with incredible food — a true hidden gem in Mequon. Highly recommend.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 5
Amy Campbell
Unfriendly server. Food was ok.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 3
Service: 2
Joel G
Had chili and a bloody Mary both hit the spot . Place feels like a Cheers bar ... everyone knows your name and welcoming to new patrons!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Nina Hollingworth
Absolutely worst service I have ever had. I have been here many times and this tops every visit. The bartender Ashely had a horrible attitude and said “chop chop” to us as soon as we walked up to the bar. Looked at us like we were garbage. She had a horrible attitude and definitely didn’t want to be there. If she’s working there I definitely don’t ever want to come back. Just had drinks so can’t imagine what ordering food must be like.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Roger Droukas
Best baked onion soup!! Great staff and great specials
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Chad Emch
Was in the area for work when I stopped in for dinner one night. Very comfortable and welcoming atmosphere between the staff and the other patrons I felt right at home. I liked it so much I stopped in several times during my trip. Every single one of the staff was friendly and personable. Special shout-out to Amanda Kayla Ashli and MJ for making me feel like a friend, it means a lot to a traveller like me when away from home!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Michael Schaefgen
So the heavyset woman that was managing the bar. She was incredibly rude not just to myself, but to my wife. We came in at 1 AM long before car close but she was obviously agitated about us arriving. Throwing ice buckets and having a temper tantrum like a child. She did serve us drinks. Mentioned often than because we work in the business “”. We should understand her closing early. Also making mention of how much her tips of were to not up their expectation. I guess so therefore, our quality of service is not a value. The other bartender she does amazing service so I can’t complain at all. I tip based on quality of service, which was extremely extremely poor. I live less than five minutes away, and this would be the bar I would continue to frequent if I wasn’t cussed at by the bartender for showing up.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Shawn Behnke
We left before being served food. Worst waitress I’ve ever had. I called earlier in the day to give a heads up that we would be bringing a group of 30-40 people in at around 5pm. She greeted the first 6 people in our group so rudely that they were shocked. Moved them from an open space to two small tables in the corner. Every question we had for her was met with eye rolls and rude answers. We didn’t finish our drinks and left for the bar just minutes away. We come to the area every year but our group will never be back to this place. I’ve never seen a cool neighborhood bar turn away so many people. If I were the bar owner, she would be fired
Service: 1
Josh Freiheit
Your classic wisconsin sports bar
Tom Roman
Waitress really hustled and had good recommendation of the seasoned fries. The sliders were better than most I've had. The buffalo chicken wontons, 2 of the three were good, one of them lacked buffalo sauce oddly. My draft high life was good and cold. Seems like a place for the regulars but I didn't feel unwelcome
We come here fairly often, usually for their excellent wings and burgers. This time we thought we'd try their Friday fish fry. My wife had the pan-fried walleye (huge!) and I had the deep-fried perch (5 generous pieces). Both entrees were delicious. The potato pancakes were a very good side dish, better than a lot of other potato pancakes I've had elsewhere. Service was attentive and the price was very reasonable.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Jessica Williams
Super disappointed in spending $60+ and a generous tip totalling $80 for a to-go order today. We are in the area for kiddo's hockey games. We wanted food but not fast food, in between the games. When we pulled up we realized that it was fairly busy, but not too bad. When we went in, there was a live band and obviously people to watch games. The live band was great. The younger lady washing tables was super sweet and polite. If we had been eating in I would have asked for a new server almost right away. The older lady was kinda grumpy and rude, and seemed irritated that I did not see the regular cheeseburgers, as we needed ours cut in half. We waited longer than I had anticipated for our food so I walked up to pay ahead of time so that we could quick get back to the games. She couldn't find our ticket on the screen, and found it printed, off to the side. After I finished paying, she said that she was going to package my last meal and have it right out, and she did. We walked out to the car and she came rushing out the back door with our chef salad, it had been forgotten. That's when things got kinda weird. She then asked us, in a very accusatory way, how many to go boxes we had. She then spent SEVERAL minutes having us open and reopen boxes and looking at her little sheet, AND PUTTING HER FINGER IN MY REUBEN AND OPENING IT UP TO CONFIRM IT WAS A REUBEN. She literally went from touching the screen on the touchscreen for me to check out, pulling out her black order book and checking slips, to opening my reuben multiple times in the parking lot with her bare fingers. We were parked so long in the middle of the way that another customer started honking their horn at us. We did in fact have all our own orders after the salad was brought to the car. Even if we had had an extra box, what was she gonna do with it, hand it out to someone else? The tone she had made me feel like I was being accused of stealing an extra box that wasn't ours, and the amount of time wasted trying to figure it out was ridiculous. When we got back to the hockey rink my son had little time to eat. The food was well put together and good. There was no ranch for the chef salad but luckily we had some for the sides we had ordered extra. The portions were great. Honestly, the only thing not good about the food was I had to get past the fact that my reuben had been fingered, because there was nothing else for me to eat or time to stop to get something else. I left a fairly generous tip, I will be calling to change.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 1
catherine kosloske
Only 1 waitress on a super busy Sunday. Food was great just took forever to get it. Waited forever to get menus, etc.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 5
Service: 2
Mike Sheppard
A group of us are here working. Not knowing any places close by we asked Google…and Google did not let us down! We tried a bunch of appetizers as well as the ribs. Every single thing was excellent! I do have to point out one star of the show - in a pub like the I lever thought I’d see escargot on the menu…well, I ordered it and it was amazing! What was more amazing was the service - Kayla was amazing! Thank you all for everything!!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Brittany Leach
Great food! Sit wherever and enjoy yourself! Recommend the seasoned fries and French onion soup. If you do the Mac, get cheddar and pepper jack! Creamy and delicious. Lots of cheese, just as you should get in Wisconsin! Cute older, brick building. On a Friday night there were plenty of locals and well known patrons. Food was good... Service was ok. Everyone's been there a while and they obviously like to work together. Just takes away from the service a little. Great that it is handicap accessible.
Spanky’s Hideaway
I’ve driven by Spanky’s Hideaway countless times — it’s tucked away among neighborhood homes off County Line Road — but I finally stopped in for dinner today, and wow. I was genuinely blown away.
The barbecue wings were outstanding. These are real wings straight off the grill — no frying — and they were absolutely phenomenal. But what truly stole the show was the French onion soup. I’ve had French onion soup four or five times a year for the past three decades, and without question, this was the best I’ve ever had. Hands down.
It’s worth coming here for the soup alone. The cheese is so generous and perfectly melted that you literally need scissors to cut through it (see the photo — and even that doesn’t do it justice).
I also have to call out our waitress, Ashli. She was fantastic — clearly working incredibly hard, serving what felt like half the restaurant, yet still delivering warm, attentive, and thoughtful service on a very busy night. That kind of effort doesn’t go unnoticed.
Spanky’s is a fun, small, unpretentious spot with incredible food — a true hidden gem in Mequon. Highly recommend.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 5
Unfriendly server. Food was ok.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 3
Service: 2
Had chili and a bloody Mary both hit the spot . Place feels like a Cheers bar ... everyone knows your name and welcoming to new patrons!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Absolutely worst service I have ever had. I have been here many times and this tops every visit. The bartender Ashely had a horrible attitude and said “chop chop” to us as soon as we walked up to the bar. Looked at us like we were garbage. She had a horrible attitude and definitely didn’t want to be there. If she’s working there I definitely don’t ever want to come back. Just had drinks so can’t imagine what ordering food must be like.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Best baked onion soup!! Great staff and great specials
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Was in the area for work when I stopped in for dinner one night. Very comfortable and welcoming atmosphere between the staff and the other patrons I felt right at home. I liked it so much I stopped in several times during my trip. Every single one of the staff was friendly and personable. Special shout-out to Amanda Kayla Ashli and MJ for making me feel like a friend, it means a lot to a traveller like me when away from home!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
So the heavyset woman that was managing the bar. She was incredibly rude not just to myself, but to my wife. We came in at 1 AM long before car close but she was obviously agitated about us arriving. Throwing ice buckets and having a temper tantrum like a child. She did serve us drinks. Mentioned often than because we work in the business “”. We should understand her closing early. Also making mention of how much her tips of were to not up their expectation. I guess so therefore, our quality of service is not a value. The other bartender she does amazing service so I can’t complain at all. I tip based on quality of service, which was extremely extremely poor. I live less than five minutes away, and this would be the bar I would continue to frequent if I wasn’t cussed at by the bartender for showing up.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
We left before being served food. Worst waitress I’ve ever had. I called earlier in the day to give a heads up that we would be bringing a group of 30-40 people in at around 5pm. She greeted the first 6 people in our group so rudely that they were shocked. Moved them from an open space to two small tables in the corner. Every question we had for her was met with eye rolls and rude answers. We didn’t finish our drinks and left for the bar just minutes away. We come to the area every year but our group will never be back to this place. I’ve never seen a cool neighborhood bar turn away so many people. If I were the bar owner, she would be fired
Service: 1
Your classic wisconsin sports bar
Waitress really hustled and had good recommendation of the seasoned fries. The sliders were better than most I've had. The buffalo chicken wontons, 2 of the three were good, one of them lacked buffalo sauce oddly. My draft high life was good and cold. Seems like a place for the regulars but I didn't feel unwelcome
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
We come here fairly often, usually for their excellent wings and burgers. This time we thought we'd try their Friday fish fry. My wife had the pan-fried walleye (huge!) and I had the deep-fried perch (5 generous pieces). Both entrees were delicious. The potato pancakes were a very good side dish, better than a lot of other potato pancakes I've had elsewhere. Service was attentive and the price was very reasonable.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Super disappointed in spending $60+ and a generous tip totalling $80 for a to-go order today. We are in the area for kiddo's hockey games. We wanted food but not fast food, in between the games. When we pulled up we realized that it was fairly busy, but not too bad. When we went in, there was a live band and obviously people to watch games. The live band was great. The younger lady washing tables was super sweet and polite. If we had been eating in I would have asked for a new server almost right away. The older lady was kinda grumpy and rude, and seemed irritated that I did not see the regular cheeseburgers, as we needed ours cut in half. We waited longer than I had anticipated for our food so I walked up to pay ahead of time so that we could quick get back to the games. She couldn't find our ticket on the screen, and found it printed, off to the side. After I finished paying, she said that she was going to package my last meal and have it right out, and she did. We walked out to the car and she came rushing out the back door with our chef salad, it had been forgotten. That's when things got kinda weird. She then asked us, in a very accusatory way, how many to go boxes we had. She then spent SEVERAL minutes having us open and reopen boxes and looking at her little sheet, AND PUTTING HER FINGER IN MY REUBEN AND OPENING IT UP TO CONFIRM IT WAS A REUBEN. She literally went from touching the screen on the touchscreen for me to check out, pulling out her black order book and checking slips, to opening my reuben multiple times in the parking lot with her bare fingers. We were parked so long in the middle of the way that another customer started honking their horn at us. We did in fact have all our own orders after the salad was brought to the car. Even if we had had an extra box, what was she gonna do with it, hand it out to someone else? The tone she had made me feel like I was being accused of stealing an extra box that wasn't ours, and the amount of time wasted trying to figure it out was ridiculous. When we got back to the hockey rink my son had little time to eat. The food was well put together and good. There was no ranch for the chef salad but luckily we had some for the sides we had ordered extra. The portions were great. Honestly, the only thing not good about the food was I had to get past the fact that my reuben had been fingered, because there was nothing else for me to eat or time to stop to get something else. I left a fairly generous tip, I will be calling to change.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 1
Only 1 waitress on a super busy Sunday. Food was great just took forever to get it. Waited forever to get menus, etc.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 5
Service: 2
A group of us are here working. Not knowing any places close by we asked Google…and Google did not let us down! We tried a bunch of appetizers as well as the ribs. Every single thing was excellent! I do have to point out one star of the show - in a pub like the I lever thought I’d see escargot on the menu…well, I ordered it and it was amazing! What was more amazing was the service - Kayla was amazing! Thank you all for everything!!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Great food! Sit wherever and enjoy yourself!
Recommend the seasoned fries and French onion soup. If you do the Mac, get cheddar and pepper jack! Creamy and delicious. Lots of cheese, just as you should get in Wisconsin!
Cute older, brick building. On a Friday night there were plenty of locals and well known patrons. Food was good... Service was ok. Everyone's been there a while and they obviously like to work together. Just takes away from the service a little.
Great that it is handicap accessible.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 3
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