The Stem & Stein

So I’m doing some early December grilling and lo, I realize I don’t have any beer! I can’t stray too far from my apartment so I’m thinking of hitting the gas station next door, then I remember the stem and stein! Give them a call, turns out they’ll fill a growler. Super clutch. Lucky me, I have a beer store across the street from my apartment that does good beer to go. Thanks stem and stein!

I love the caprese crustinis! The wine selection on retail sode could use a pick-​me-​up but there are a few gems. Everyone is always friendly here and helpful.
Close to the airport

Great time out on the patio with new friends. Will definitely make this a frequent outing. Wine tasting was fun with interesting demo, food good and friendly staff. Live music added to evening. Definitely a keeper.

Super chill spot to hang out with friends and listen to music. I personally have not eaten any of their food.

Great informal atmosphere. The ladies run a nice place with a variety of libation to offer.
The food selection is limited but the live music and warm and engaging staff more than makes up for it.

I was visiting town alone wanted to try a local made 2 stops before ending up here, jackpot. Had the Rocket Republic Vapor Trail Cream Ale and the Spinach Artichoke And Chicken Panini, both where delicious. The place and staff were inviting to a lone travel that didn’t fit there demographic.

My husband and I love Stem & Stein! This was the first place we would frequent when we moved her 3 years ago. We have always been impressed how the owners, Jess and Ali remember not only our names but our favorite beer and wines. And to make it even better, they both suggest new items they have for us to try each time we are come in. Their selections are wonderful. I often buy bottles of wine and beer for gifts for my own clients. I can’t say enough good things about this place. It’s a Madison Must See! Can’t wait to get back out on the patio this Spring! Y’all rock!

Went here with a buddy for a quick bite and drink, and it was quite enjoyable. The dining room was tight, especially the bar region. I’m a big guy, as is my friend, and the bar was feeling awful cramped once five people were at it.
The chocolate stout on tap that day was great, and my friend tried two beers on tap that he said were also very good. I had the Brunswick stew, which was probably the best I’ve ever had that wasn’t at a BBQ restaurant. Definitely a good, hearty portion to go with a nice, thick stout. The chicken & mozzarella triangles were good, too, and definitely worth getting again.
I left with a Woodchuck smoky cider, which was too smoky for this family. The banana bread beer was delicious, though, and I was able to buy both in single bottles to try them instead of having to commit to a four or six pack without knowing. My friend left with a recommended Trappist ale, which he said was indeed very good. Quite a selection of unique beers in single bottle and four or six packs, with competitive pricing.
The staff was polite and knew their menu, but not as engaging as I had been led to believe by other reviews. They might have been understaffed, but it seemed like very little attention to those of us who weren’t regulars.
Perhaps my biggest beef with them is their searchability online. Perhaps this is more a fault of Bing and/​or Google, but trying to find their menu was far too difficult. I actually had to find their website through the link here on Unilocal,which just irks me. If they have the wrong listing on search engines, that is something they should look into as much as they are able.

Great staff, so friendly and treat you like family :) love Jess Ali & Amy! Superb selection of local craft beers and wines. Tasty Paninis. Sandwiches, Salads and more. Great live music on Thursdays Fridays & Saturdays. One of Madison’s best!

One of my favorite places to go. Excellent selection of draft and bottle beer. Retail section is well stocked and orderly. Selection and menu caters well to the business/​professional crowd. If you’re looking for a Bud Light move along, nothing to see here

I’m giving it 5 stars because: Ally and her sister (Jess?), behind the bar, ALWAYS remember my favorite wine. They are knowledgeable about wine and will special order a case of something that you like; they are locally owned, they (and the patrons) are honest. I accidentally left my purse there on a Friday night and when I called them upon opening on Saturday, they had it for me behind the bar to pick up, NOTHING was missing. Their large recently-​installed back patio will be a nice place to hang out in the Spring.
I don’t care for the food here, it’s kind of reminiscent of a frat party menu (SORRY!!!). I understand the young couple who own S&S have just sold (or will soon be selling) this place, so perhaps the food will improve. It has a super cool neighborhood vibe.
Check out Stem N Stein, if you’re forgetful, don’t use the purse hooks under the bar. ;-)

Nice place, good selections, friendly staff, BUT their wooden chairs are very uncomfortable… my back starts hurting in 20 minutes.

This place was cool. Do NOT let the strip mall look fool you. They have neat seating in the back, and live music on the weekend. We didn’t eat, but it smelled good. The wine and beer selection is very good. They regularly rotate the unique draft beers, so it’s fun to taste new stuff on draft. Very good place for a first date too.

What a place:) Enormous selection of wine and beer. Jess is the best! Remembers us and the wine we like and brings over the bottle. Wine tastings are wonderful and the live music is fantastic! We have listened to live music inside and out in the patio area and it was so good. Great places to go for a couple or just to anyone who wants to sit, sip on some wine, and listen to the music on a warm summer evening. Very friendly! Music is never too loud, just pleasant soft rock. You won’t be disappointed!

Good atmosphere with decent beer & wine selection for purchase. Loved their Adessa, red sweet wine. I’m a sucker for sweet wine. Ordered their nachos, it was edible but plain, like the ones you get at movie theater. They need to work on their services and train their wait staff. We came in once and the place was packed. So we left. Second time, we were meeting friends there and they were packed once again. But then we found out that there’s a patio in the back. The patio was nice & cozy. They had a band there that night, and they were pretty decent. Wished the staff would’ve told us the first time we were there that there’s a back. We entered one door and walked over to the other side (where they sell beer and wine), we passed the bar/​kitchen/​whatever and the waitress/​hostess saw us looking for a seat but didn’t say a word to us… Once we were seated the second time, the waitress was nice (told me about Adessa), but we hardly saw her (granted they were busy & I think they only 2 runner…)
Overall, it’s an ok place but wouldn’t go my way out to go to this place. It’s a nice place for a quick meet up and glass of Adessa (if it wasn’t for Adessa, would’ve given less star lol).

Good beer selection, absolutely HORRIBLE UNFRIENDLY service. I don’t know how this place can keep such unfriendly waitresses who seem to dislike their job, because they never smiled or acted friendly.
This used to be my absolute favorite place in town. I always gave it high reviews, & recommended it to newcomers in town. Unfortunately, the service was ALMOST ALWAYS the downside I chose to overlook – until April 2013 – after being a patron for over 4 years. I finally got tired of the 2 main waitresses never smiling, & asking «What do you want?» instead of the friendly waitress question, «What would you like to drink?» If I’m spending at least $ 50 on a regular basis to eat there, I shouldn’t EVER feel like I’m inconveniencing my waitress, or feel like I’m an annoyance. This happened COUNTLESS times over the 4 years I went there. I always returned for the great selection of beers, the good food, & the atmosphere, despite the unfriendly waitresses.
The very last time I was there, I was part of a group. When I asked if we could move 2 tables together for the group, one of those unhappy waitresses scolded me for asking the «bus boy» if I could move the table. She then said, «You could sit outside.» I replied, «It’s pouring rain,» & she just shrugged her shoulders as if to say, «So what? Too bad.» I was IN SHOCK! I decided to write the owners a very subjective email about how long I’d been a customer, & how much I loved supporting a local business, but had finally had enough of the two unfriendly waitresses. I never received any response from the owner, & that showed me that I no longer needed to support or return to the Stem & Stein. Sad ending, but there is no reason to ever repeatedly pay for crappy, unfriendly service.

2 miles from my hotel in Madison … How did it take me so long to find this… Beer selection is awesome…
food i ordered was OK

I went to see what this place was all about and well I did not see the 300 beer selection that this place claim they have. They do have a good selection but that is about it. Not worth going to if your not in the area.

The food is great as well as the beer and wine selection. I recommend the Wisconsin Cheese Dip… its spicy but delicious! Get there early on the 1^st Fri of the month if you want a seat.

This is a fantastic place to feed your eclectic wine or beer tastes. They have wine tastings on Thursday nights and Beer (High Gravity!) Tastings on Friday nights. The staff is super knowledgeable and extremely helpful. If they don’t have what you want they can help you find a good replacement or in some cases they can order it for you.
They also have a food menu, but I have yet to eat there.