The Blind Horse

Wow! I am visiting in town and I can’t believe what I am eating and drinking. It is like being in Napa Valley right here in Kohler, Wisconsin. Who would think. We started our day in the winery tasting fantastic wines. I really recommend the Cabernet Sauvignon which tasted as good as any Napa cab I’ve had.
The restaurant was incredible as well as we decided to make dinner reservations while we were on the property. The restaurant is elegant and the food is refined. The beet salad and the scallops appetizer were to die for. I had lobster ravioli for dinner and I’m not sure I’ve had better. I recommend this place to anyone traveling through Kohler.

Bad service + un-​knowledgeable employee +bad selection for wines = Don’t waste your time.
I am a fan of sweet whites which they didn’t have and my husband is a fan of reds which they had but according to him, weren’t good /​anything special. It was a waste of our time and money to come here.
Also, the employee who was in charge of the wine tasting was unable to tell us (or the 2 other people there) anything about the wine. His answer to everything was «I don’t know» and yet he claims he wants to run /​own a winery someday… Yikes!

My friends and I went to the blind horse during Kohler Wine & Food. From the moment we tried to make a reservation we were told it was either before 4 or after 8. So we made a reservation for 8pm. We were greeted and they could not find out reservation, this was the first of our problems. Once we sat down the waiter was clearly discriminating against our age (25,25&29) when we were placing our order he had to excuse himself because «the kitchen was buzzing.» The food was very good but the service was poor. Felt as if we were being judge on some prejudice because of our ages. A nice place with good food but maybe not the place that likes the younger crowd.

So happy to have discovered this gem during a work trip! The staff is fantastic, make sure to have a drink at the bar with Robby as you wait for James to provide the BEST service ever. Have their Tuscan blend reserve and eat one of everything on the menu, or at least try their carpaccio, pancetta wrapped scallops, and the lobster ravioli. Cute, quaint restaurant and outdoor patio. You won’t be disappointed!

As wandering tourists, we arrived well before the restaurant was open and entertained ourselves with an excellent wine tasting experience (nicely orchestrated with interesting and delicious selections), went to Kohler for a little sight-​seeing, and returned for an outstanding dining experience. The venue was absolutely charming, the wait staff friendly and precise, and the food memorable. I’m already anticipating my next visit to Wisconsin with Blind Horse in mind.

Went on a Saturday night; had a reservation for 8pm. We got there 15 mins early and waited for a whole ten minutes for the Asian hostess (sorry but didn’t know her name; and only know her ethnicity) to at least acknowledge us and say hello. There was a couple in front of us too; who were waiting as well.
I then noticed why the hostess was frazzled and doing the back and forth; she was clearing tables as well as hosting! Seriously? I’d expect that for a tacky diner, but a fancy restaurant with 25 dollar plus entrees? She should be hosting: period; that should be her main job. That’s what bussers are for.
Other than that, I’d say the server was great. Food was delicious; had the Salmon Tower (delish Salmon, good portions with a heavy side of greens).
On that note, I’d never go again. Way too loud (music over speakers and close proximity of tables talking loud); hard to maintain a conversation, as I had to yell across the table and read lips with my invited guest sitting across from me. Great food. that’s about it.

This is my husband and I’s go-​to for dates and celebrations. While it is a little expensive, the food, service and environment are worth it. We love the restaurant, winery and shop to walk through. We have had some our best meals here and the service doesn’t let down.

I love Blind Horse, particularly eating outside in the afternoons and having some wine while listening to live music.
What made this even better was the fact there were fantastic painters everywhere doing an art event for charity, really great live music, and that a server we’d liked from Harry’s, Alex, is working here now!
We love the pinot grigio and the red vintner’s blend.
We also adored the flat bread-​thin-​style BBQ chicken pizza.
As it was a misty and somewhat drizzly day, it was great to have amazing service — an umbrella was opened over our table and a heat lamp was turned on to warm us.
My only sad remark is the Caesar salad flat-​bread I loved last summer is gone.
Bring it back? Pretty please?
But as always — Thanks for bringing such neat, new things to this area!

Excellent food and service. The cozy rustic décor in addition to the winery and outside bar; made this establishment a must on our next visit to Kohler.

This is for the Winery. Nice staff and a good selection of wines. Grapes brought in from California and Washington meaning they do good reds. Cozy inside and beautiful patio. I will go back when in the area.

My fiancé and I had a great time last night at The Blind Horse! It was our first time here and we were both blown away. We split a bottle of Lucky Star and the bruschetta to start. The presentation was excellent and the wine was paired perfectly. For our entrees, we had the lobster ravioli and the fettuccine with braised beef. Both were served promptly and were amazing! We finished our dinner with a champagne flute filled with layers of fresh berry purée and mousse.
Throughout the entire night, our service was amazing! Our server James was always present checking on us, filling our wine glasses and giving us laughs. He made great suggestions and really displayed 5 star service. After dinner, he suggested we go to the winery located behind the restaurant. A normal server would have just told us to walk over there, but he took the extra step and personally walked us over there and introduced us to the woman serving samples.
We will definitely be back to The Blind Horse. Keep up the good work guys! Again, big shoutout to James for making the night special!

I wanted to love this place. I’ll preface my review with the fact it was a busy night and a special Valentine’s Weekend menu. We had 6:30 reservations and we arrived very prompt, a few minutes early. We were sorted downstairs in a «cozy» (very tight) seating area. The service was extremely slow, even given that it was a busy night, slower than I would expect seeing as there were only six other tables in our area and two waitresses. We ordered our food and drinks and about 15 – 20 minutes after we had been seated, another party was seated next to us. They place their order and when the food started arriving, they were served their food before we were and the couple on the other side of us shook their heads every time. Mind you, it was the same menu, except for the entrée, for everyone. It was disappointing that they were served before us and had arrived a full 20 minutes after us. This continued throughout dinner service. When the two tables on each side of us were presented with their bills, both ladies received an additional special chocolate, our table (meaning me) did not. I don’t really care about that but there was some serious lack of consistency in the service throughout dinner. I don’t mind time between courses but a four course dinner taking close to two hours to serve is a bit of a stretch for me. We will try this restaurant again and give them the benefit of the doubt that it was simply the busyness of the special day.

This restaurant was our favorite during a recent trip to the area. By far the best around there! Very nice setting and a great experience that even our teenage kids enjoyed. I highly recommend dining here. Pleasantly surprised!

The restaurant looks beautiful. It is set in an old country house, but is updated with very nice features. The atmosphere was also very nice even though I could have the tables a little farther apart.
We ordered the bruschetta as an appetizer and it was very good. I ordered a steak and my girlfriend ordered the campanelle for dinner. Both were absolutely amazing! I didn’t even need to use a knife to cut the steak. It was grilled to perfection. My girlfriend was loved her meal. For dessert we decided on the crème brûlée and once again it was unbelievable.
Everything was amazing and I would recommend this restaurant to anyone. We will definitely be coming back again.

My wife and I switched things up for our weekly date night and got a babysitter for a «date day» instead. We heard about the winery in Kohler that had just opened this weekend so we headed north (about 30 mins).
Overall, the service at the restaurant is to blame for the poor rating. Right after walking in, we were NOT greeted by the Asian (I only point that out so that management might know who this person is) woman who appeared to be the hostess… seems like a crucial part of being a hostess. Someone else sat us, but apparently at the wrong table so the not so friendly hostess scolded her in front of us and switched us to a different table.
The meal started out fine as we were given complimentary mimosa’s, which was very nice. Unfortunately we didn’t get to put in a drink order for an awkwardly long time after that. Along those lines, this place screams «we have Moscow mules» yet they don’t have the copper mugs — that’s a must at a place with such cool décor.
We finally got our drinks and placed our order… a burger for me and a BLT for my wife. After that we noticed the couple at the table next to us struggle to get the attention of their server so that they could pay their bill… this shouldn’t be a challenge at 2:00 on a Sunday when there were maybe 4 tables with diners in the whole place.
After they left it took a full 25 minutes to clear their table and the one on the other side of us. I can’t tell you how many times our server walked by without cleaning it up (I stopped counting at 8). A server should NEVER walk out to a table and back to the kitchen with empty hands — there’s always something to pick up, drop off or refill.
Finally we got our food. My burger (the napa burger) was good, as were the French fries. My wife’s BLT was suppose to have avocado on it but this was left off. She figured, why bring it up to the server since it took so long to get our drinks that it may dinner time before she got the correct sandwich.
One thing that made everything about this meal even more awkward was that a man and woman who appeared to be the owners were standing and talking to a table with 4 customers for about 10 mins while we sat there with empty mimosa glasses and no service.
I can’t fathom going back to this place given the other options in town. If we’re going to make the drive north we’ll either go to il Ritrovo in Sheboygan or the Horse & Plow at the American Club.
I will end with this positive note… we really enjoyed our service and the tasting we had at the winery after lunch. We even bought several bottles of wine. The owners have the staff at the winery to thank for this comment and the money we spent there.

If you’re considering checking out this restaurant, and also inclined to blindly follow the ramblings of anonymous posters, don’t bother reading any reviews prior to mid February of this year. Everything has changed and for the better. New chef, new menu, new winery, and a new sense for purpose. This horse has officially hit its stride (that’s it for horse puns. I promise.).
Prior to sitting down to brunch my party and I partook in the wine tasting. I won’t bother getting too into detail on this point of the visit as my wine experience prior to this generally started with a guzzle and ended with a bag slap. I will say that the offering seemed complete and despite my lack wine experience I found all of the wines I tried to be extremely palatable. I particularly enjoyed their Syrah and Tuscan Blend.
For brunch I had the pancetta wrapped scallop eggs Benedict. I hope they decide to make this a main stay of their Sunday brunch menu because it was truly delightful. The scallop was expertly prepared. The dish as a whole proved to be successful twist on a brunch mainstay. As a whole, everyone in our group left extremely satisfied.

The new winery is excellent! Truly feel like you are in Napa. We did the 12 $ food and wine pairing-​it was excellent! Everything paired very nicely. Great value!
Now to the restaurant. I would give it only three stars but the winery brought it up to four. We didn’t have a reservation so they seated us at the only table smack in the middle of the room even though the other tables were empty. Odd. The restaurant is not connected with the winery and you cannot order their wine in the restaurant. Disappointing after doing the tasting. Other tables were given bread. We were not offered any until we asked for it. This could be because we didn’t order an entrée? But we did order a fair amount of food. Food was quite good. The front staff could step it up a bit as I think they are trying to make this an upscale dining experience

UPDATE 4÷15÷2013: Last week I tried this place again. Matt seemed very genuine with his words and I figured he deserved another (3^rd) shot which I don’t always give. He asked me to call him prior but I didn’t. In fact he wasn’t even there. Perfect scenario. Well I guess 3^rd time IS the charm and I had a great experience. From service to food, it was great. Sat by the fireplace and enjoyed a great lunch with a great friend/​colleague. So, I’d like to thank Matt for not only reaching out and meaning business but also making the necessary changes to make this spot a good spot again. At least this time. If anything changes I will reflect it here but I just don’t feel that it will. The change was somewhat apparent as soon as you walked in. 1 star just got bumped up to 4.
ORIGINAL REVIEW:
The phenomenal place that used to be here is no longer open. I have been to the blind horse twice and i am not going back. prices are much much higher for the quality of food and, most importantly, the service you get. wonderful interiors, i’ll give them credit for that but not nearly enough to get me back. I’m so sorry to lose my all time favorite lunch spot.
RESPONSES TO MATT:
Matt, thanks for your reply but after seeing your comment «I don’t understand the one star rating for simply being different.» I am not sure if you are reading this carefully. Do you see my comments on sloppy service and high price for the food I got,? Why would I rate you low only because you are different? I came twice, both big disappointments. Sorry, unless I’m dragged I’m not coming back. If you fix your service and etc maybe others will keep coming. I can’t keep wasting money in hopes that you will fix’em. Thanks.
Matt, thank you for yet another response. I like your approach. You sound like you mean business. After all the changes you mentioned that took place but mostly because of your attitude and approach I will take you up on your offer and visit one more time. I would be delighted to up my rating if I get an improved experience. Thank you.

My friend and were spending a «spa» weekend in the country, away from the hustle and bustle of Chicago. Our room at Inn on Woodlake made this place very convenient and it was a new restaurant with a number of non-​meat entrees so we were excited to try it. The menu was exactly what was featured online. We were promptly seated early at 5:00 as we had arrived from Elkhart Lake’s Aspira Spa before our reservation — hungry and needing to relax and savor our state of mind and body.
The service was attentive and helpful. Our server even suggested a walk on the lakefront in Sheboygan when she discovered we were visiting and had time after dinner to take a stroll. A wonderful idea.
The food was excellent, the choices just right and portions perfect. We were seated by the fire as requested and the ambiance was very appropriate. Pumpkins, gourds and autumn-​themed accessories throughout. Rustic interior as a restored farmhouse with modern touches such as the large painting of a horse in our dining room.
My one complaint which seems to be a recurring one is that they were playing music from the 70s and 80s — obviously in the bar but its close proximity to the dining room meant that we were «treated» to the music throughout the meal. I am just annoyed at the insensitivity and incongruousness of some of these otherwise classy and contemporary dining venues that ruin the ambiance with music — period. With all that this particular place had going, they did not need the muzak. So they loose a star.

I hate hate hate to give this place a bad review. I REALLY wanted to like it. But it just really wasn’t good, for several reasons. Except for the service. The service was really good. But not enough to make me come back.
Went here for lunch with my husband and his brother. The menu that was posted online was not the menu we got for brunch, which was a bummer, as the menu we were presented with was much more limited. I wanted one of their burgers that was on the menu online, but there were no burgers on the menu we were given.
I ordered the breakfast tacos… advertised as eggs, chorizo, I think Manchego cheese, and some sort of sauce on corn shells. When I got them, it was basically some hunks of egg with some huge hunks of chorizo on shells that fell apart really easy. There was no cheese on top (not sure if it was baked in instead?) and the eggs were SO flavorless. No seasoning at all. Chile sauce was ok. I ALMOST sent it back, which I hate to do, because I hate to be a pain, and was saved by my husband offering to share his.
He got the short rib eggs benedict. It was supposed to have a beer braised sauce. After he ordered, the waitress said it was going to be a mustard sauce instead. He didn’t really want that, but nothing else on the menu was appealing to him. His was pretty darn good, especially the short rib and the carmelized onions.
Bro-​in-​laws pasta had tiny little shrimp. Sauce was a little bland.
Atmosphere was beautiful, but LOUD.
Overall, for the price we paid, it just really wasn’t worth it. I don’t know we’ll go back. I originally had wanted to go for dinner, but as my husband pointed out, if they can’t cook eggs decently, how are they going to do at dinner?