The Northwoods Supper Club Trail: 8 Places Worth the Drive
If you've never been to a supper club, here's what you need to know: it's a sit-down restaurant with a full bar, and the experience is built around the idea that dinner should take a while. You show up, you order a brandy old-fashioned at the bar, you settle into a booth with a relish tray already on the table — pickles, cottage cheese, maybe some rye bread — and you don't rush a single thing.
Supper clubs are a Wisconsin tradition that goes back to the 1930s, and the Northwoods might be the best place in the state to experience them. The formula is consistent: Friday fish fry, Saturday prime rib, a salad bar with homemade dressings, steaks cooked over charcoal or an open flame, and a dining room that looks like it hasn't changed since your grandparents ate here. Because it probably hasn't. And that's the whole point.
Here are eight Northwoods supper clubs worth building an evening around.
1. Norwood Pines Supper Club — Minocqua
The one everybody knows about, for good reason.
Norwood Pines sits on Patricia Lake just west of downtown Minocqua on Highway 70, and the screened-in porch overlooking the water is one of the best dinner seats in the Northwoods. The menu runs the full supper club playbook — steaks, seafood, ribs — but the baby back ribs and the Filet Portabella are what people talk about afterward. The dining room has the kind of wood-paneled warmth that makes you want to stay for another drink after dessert.
Open Monday through Saturday — weekdays at 5 PM, Friday at 4:30 PM. Reservations are strongly recommended, especially in summer. 10171 Highway 70, Minocqua. (715) 356-3666.
Order: The baby back ribs or the filet. Start with a brandy old-fashioned at the bar and take your time.
2. White Stag Inn — Rhinelander
The one where time stopped — and nobody complained.
The White Stag has been doing things the same way since the current family bought it in 1955, and the consistency is the draw. You get charcoal-broiled steaks, one choice of potato (baked — don't ask for fries), a wedge salad with their secret-recipe dressing, and the satisfaction of watching your steak cook over hardwood lump charcoal. The interior feels like walking into a hunting lodge from another era. No pretension, no trends. Just good steak, cooked right.
Open daily at 4 PM. 7141 Highway 17, Rhinelander. (715) 272-1057.
Order: A charcoal-broiled steak — any cut — and the wedge salad. The haddock is also excellent if you're not in a steak mood.
3. The Guide's Inn — Boulder Junction
The one that turns fine dining into a Northwoods tradition.
The Guide's Inn has been Boulder Junction's destination restaurant since Chef Jimmy Dean VanRossum bought it with a handshake in 1984. His son Jesse runs it now, and the menu is bigger and more ambitious than most supper clubs — over 35 entrees, with veal, pasta, and seafood alongside the expected steaks. But the pan-fried walleye is the signature dish, and people drive from Minocqua and Eagle River specifically for it. Meals come with an appetizer tray, soup, and salad. Expect to spend the evening.
Reservations recommended. 5427 Park Street, Boulder Junction. (715) 385-2233.
Order: The pan-fried walleye. It's what they're known for, and it lives up to the reputation.
4. Smokey's — Manitowish Waters
The one that dresses up just enough.
Smokey's calls itself "casually elegant," which is a good way to put it. The menu leans more refined than the typical supper club — wild-caught Canadian walleye, Alaskan salmon, veal Marsala, steak frites — but the bones are pure supper club. There's a relish tray on the table with five different cheeses and spreads. The old-fashioneds are strong. The dining room is comfortable without being fussy. It's the kind of place where you can wear jeans or a sport coat and feel right either way.
Open Wednesday through Sunday, 4:30 PM. Open year-round. 6410 County Highway W, Manitowish Waters. (715) 543-2220.
Order: The prime rib on Saturday night. Or the walleye, which is consistently excellent. Start with the French onion soup.
5. Fireside Supper Club — Rhinelander
The one on the lake with the fireplace you'll want to sit near.
The Fireside overlooks Townline Lake and delivers exactly the kind of atmosphere the name promises — cabin-like warmth, lakeside views, and a menu that runs deep through steaks, seafood, ribs, and poultry. Friday fish fry and Saturday prime rib are the weekly anchors, and both draw crowds. Eric and Jennifer Blomdahl run the place, and the attention to detail shows. Reservations aren't just recommended — they're strongly encouraged several days in advance, every day of the week.
Open Tuesday through Saturday starting at 4:30 PM. Closed Sunday and Monday. 6012 County Highway K, Rhinelander. (715) 369-4717.
Order: Saturday prime rib if you can time it right. Otherwise, the steaks are consistently well-executed.
6. Hintz's North Star Lodge — Star Lake
The one that feels like a time capsule.
Hintz's has been operating since 1894 — over 130 years — and the dining room has the dimly lit, golden-glow atmosphere of a place that's been hosting suppers since before supper clubs had a name. The lodge sits on Star Lake with gorgeous views from the picture windows, and the salad bar features all homemade recipes. Fish fry on Friday, prime rib on Saturday, and a sense that you've stepped into someone's very well-run family living room. One important note: Hintz's is cash only. There's an ATM in the restaurant, but plan ahead.
7919 County Highway K, Star Lake. (715) 542-3600.
Order: The prime rib on Saturday. Sit by the picture windows overlooking Star Lake and settle in.
7. Knotty Barrel Supper Club — Minocqua
The new one that gets the tradition right.
Knotty Barrel is the newest entry on this list, sitting on a bluff overlooking Lake Minocqua with waterfront views that compete with anything in the region. Despite being newer, they've committed fully to the supper club format — craft old-fashioneds, a salad bar, quality cuts of steak and seafood, and the Friday fish fry / Saturday prime rib rhythm that defines the genre. The location on Lakeshore Drive is stunning, especially in summer.
Open Wednesday through Sunday, 4 PM. 238 Lakeshore Drive, Minocqua.
Order: Get a seat with the lake view and let the bartender make you their version of the old-fashioned. Then steak.
8. Little Bohemia Lodge — Manitowish Waters
The one with the bullet holes.
Little Bohemia isn't technically a supper club in the traditional sense, but it belongs on any Northwoods dining list because there's nothing else like it. In April 1934, John Dillinger and his gang holed up here, and a botched FBI raid turned into a full-blown gun battle. The bullet holes are still in the walls and windows. The lodge operates as a restaurant and a miniature museum of the shootout, with original memorabilia from that night. The building hasn't changed much since the 1930s, and eating dinner in the same room where Baby Face Nelson made his exit is an experience you won't get anywhere else.
The food is solid American fare — steaks, seafood, burgers — but honestly, you're here for the history and the atmosphere. Open Tuesday through Saturday, 4:30 PM. 5625 Little Bohemia Lane, Manitowish Waters. (715) 543-8800.
Order: Whatever looks good, but save time to walk around and look at the bullet holes, the photos, and the newspaper clippings. Order a cocktail at the bar and soak it in.
How to Do the Trail
You could hit all eight of these in a long week of dinners if you're staying in the Minocqua or Eagle River area. A more realistic approach: pick two or three, make reservations, and give each one the full evening it deserves. Start at the bar. Order the old-fashioned. Don't skip the relish tray. Don't check your phone.
The Northwoods supper club experience isn't really about the food — though the food is good. It's about the pace. You came up here to slow down. The supper club is where that starts.
