Last updated: June 2026
Here’s how a proper Northwoods supper club night works when you’re staying in Prentice. You stop at Ripsaw Saloon around 5:00 for a Wisconsin Old Fashioned — muddled, sweet, with a brandy float if you’re doing it right. You nurse that drink, maybe grab a basket of beef tallow fries, and you talk about where you’re eating. Then you drive 15 to 45 minutes to a supper club that’s been doing prime rib since before you were born. You have the full experience — relish tray, French onion soup, prime rib or walleye, another Old Fashioned at their bar. Then you drive back to Ripsaw because you’re not done yet. The nightcap is where the stories from dinner get told.
We’ve been the bookend on hundreds of supper club nights at Ripsaw Saloon, 1117 Railroad Ave, Prentice, WI 54556. We see the before and after. Here’s our guide to making the most of the Wisconsin supper club tradition when Prentice is your home base.
What Makes a Wisconsin Supper Club Different From a Restaurant?
A supper club is not a restaurant with a bar. It’s a bar with a restaurant attached. The correct sequence is: arrive, sit at the bar, order an Old Fashioned, wait for your table, then eat. Skipping the bar phase is technically allowed but practically frowned upon. The bar is where you meet the locals. The locals are where you hear about the fishing, the snowmobile trails, and which neighbor’s dog bit which other neighbor’s dog. This is the social architecture of the Northwoods and it’s been running this way for 70 years.
The other thing that separates a supper club from a regular restaurant: the relish tray. When you sit down, you get a tray of raw vegetables , carrots, celery, radishes, olives, pickles, sometimes cheese curds. It’s free. It’s fresh. It’s been on every supper club table in Wisconsin since the 1950s. If a place doesn’t give you a relish tray, it’s not a supper club. It’s a steakhouse pretending.
The Five Supper Clubs Within 45 Minutes of Prentice
We’re not going to list every supper club in northern Wisconsin. Ron Faiola’s Wisconsin Supper Clubs website tracks 70 in the North Central region alone. We’re telling you about the ones close enough that you can start at Ripsaw, drive there, eat, and drive back for a nightcap without falling asleep at the wheel.
1. Northwoods Supper Club . Fifield (15 minutes from Prentice)
Address: N14066 Flambeau Ave (State Road 70), Fifield, WI 54524
Phone: (715) 762-4447
Distance from Ripsaw Saloon: 15 minutes west on Highway 70
This is the closest supper club to Prentice and the one we hear the most about from our regulars. Northwoods Supper Club sits right on State Road 70 between Park Falls and Merrill, which means every tourist driving through the area passes it. The ones who stop become the ones who come back every year.
Friday fish fry and Saturday prime rib are the anchors. This is a proper Wisconsin supper club , the bar comes first, the dinner comes second. Northwoods Supper Club was featured in Ron Faiola’s 2016 book Wisconsin Supper Clubs: Another Round, which is the second book in his series documenting the state’s supper club tradition. That recognition puts it in rare company: approximately 250 supper clubs across Wisconsin and the Upper Midwest have been documented in the Faiola series.
Ripsaw tip: Start here. Have an Old Fashioned at our bar at 5:00, drive to Fifield by 5:20, get your name on the list, have a second drink at their bar, eat by 7:00, back at Ripsaw by 8:30 for the nightcap.
2. Rock Garden Tavern . Phillips (25 minutes from Prentice)
Address: N8220 State Hwy 13, Phillips, WI 54555
Phone: (715) 339-7282
Distance from Ripsaw Saloon: 25 minutes south on Highway 13
Rock Garden Tavern sits at the Wisconsin Concrete Park, Fred Smith’s legendary folk art environment featuring over 200 concrete sculptures. This is the only supper club on this list where you can walk through a world-class art installation before dinner. Fred Smith built these concrete figures , lumberjacks, horses, patriotic scenes, beer-drinking figures , between 1948 and 1964, and the park is now on the National Register of Historic Places. The combination of folk art and a cold drink is pure Wisconsin.
The tavern has a loyal local following and is available for private parties. Check their Facebook page for current hours because they can be seasonal. Travel Wisconsin also lists them as an official food and drink destination in the region.
Ripsaw tip: Walk the Concrete Park first. It’s free and it takes about 30 minutes. Then head in for dinner. You’ll be back at Ripsaw by 9:00 with stories about concrete sculptures and whether the walleye was better than last time.
3. Pine Tree Supper Club . Tomahawk (45 minutes from Prentice)
Address: 115 West Wisconsin Avenue, Tomahawk, WI 54487
Phone: (715) 453-4235
Distance from Ripsaw Saloon: 45 minutes east
Pine Tree Supper Club in downtown Tomahawk is worth the drive. This is among the oldest supper clubs in the region, right on Wisconsin Avenue, and it’s the kind of place where the bartender has been pouring Old Fashioneds since the Reagan administration. Tomahawk has a cluster of supper clubs . Silver Birch Supper Club on Taylor Lane and Bootleggers Lodge on Indian Pine Point Road are both within 10 minutes of Pine Tree , so if you’re making the drive east, you can do a supper club crawl.
The Pine Tree is listed on Ron Faiola’s North Central Wisconsin supper club map, and it’s the type of place that serves a Friday fish fry so popular that locals will drive 30 minutes to get there. Their prime rib on Saturday is the standard Northwoods cut , slow-roasted, served with horseradish that will clear your sinuses for a week.
Ripsaw tip: Make this a Saturday trip. Grab a quick Old Fashioned at Ripsaw at 4:30, drive east, eat at Pine Tree by 6:30, and you’re back at our bar by 9:00 telling everyone in Prentice about the drive.
4. Norwood Pines Supper Club . Minocqua (50 minutes from Prentice)
Address: 10171 Hwy 70, Minocqua, WI 54548
Phone: (715) 356-3666
Distance from Ripsaw Saloon: 50 minutes northeast
Norwood Pines is the destination supper club on this list. It’s in Minocqua, which is the tourism hub of the Northwoods, and it’s been featured in both of Ron Faiola’s books . Wisconsin Supper Clubs: An Old Fashioned Experience (2013) and Wisconsin Supper Clubs: Another Round (2016). That dual recognition puts it in elite company. The Yelp reviews consistently mention the relish tray, the prime rib, and the old-school Wisconsin atmosphere. The price range is $20–30 per person for entrees.
Minocqua is a tourist town in the best sense of the word. If you’re driving up from downstate, Norwood Pines is the kind of place that justifies the whole trip. And if you’re staying in Prentice, it’s close enough for a proper dinner run , start at Ripsaw, drive 50 minutes through some of the prettiest pine forest in Wisconsin, eat, and drive back.
Ripsaw tip: This is the long drive on the list. Leave Prentice by 4:45. Stop at Ripsaw for a quick one first. Drive to Minocqua. Get on the waitlist by 5:30. Eat by 7:00. Back at Ripsaw by 9:30 for the nightcap.
5. Wojcieszak’s Flambeau Resort . Park Falls (25 minutes from Prentice)
Distance from Ripsaw Saloon: 25 minutes northwest
Wojcieszak’s Flambeau Resort sits on the Flambeau River, and the Sportsman’s Lounge is the bar and restaurant side of the operation. This is where the fishing guides eat after a day on the river. It’s casual, comfortable, and the kind of place where the bartender knows your order after the second visit. The resort is listed on Enjoy Price County, which is the local tourism board’s official site.
The Flambeau River location means you can fish all day, eat at Wojcieszak’s, and still make it back to Ripsaw for the late shift. That’s a Northwoods trifecta , fish, supper club, nightcap , all in one day.
Ripsaw tip: Best combined with a day on the Flambeau River. Float or fish, then eat at Wojcieszak’s, then back to Ripsaw to argue about who caught the bigger walleye.
Why Ripsaw Saloon Is the Bookend to Every Supper Club Night
We’re not trying to be a supper club. Ripsaw Saloon is a bar , a Northwoods bar with beef tallow fries, Wisconsin Old Fashioneds, Bloody Marys with pepper-infused vodka, and a Friday fish fry that starts at $9 for a 2-piece basket. Our role in the supper club ritual is the before and after.
Before dinner: Stop in at 5:00. We open at 2 PM (noon on Packers game days). Have a muddled Old Fashioned , sweet, with a brandy float , and a basket of beef tallow fries. You’ll eat better at the supper club, but you’ll arrive in the right frame of mind. The Old Fashioned at Ripsaw costs $6 and it’s made the way Wisconsinites have been making them since the 1940s: muddled cherry and orange, bitters, brandy, soda, ice. No shortcuts.
After dinner: The supper club closes by 9:30 or 10:00. You drive back to Prentice and Ripsaw is still open. You sit down, order a nightcap, and tell the stories from dinner. Was the prime rib better at Northwoods or did Norwood Pines win this time? Did you get enough horseradish? Was the relish tray fresh? These are the debates that happen at Ripsaw after a supper club run, and they happen every single weekend.
Our address is 1117 Railroad Ave, Prentice, WI 54556. Phone: (715) 428-2042. Hours: Monday and Thursday through Sunday, 2 PM to close. Closed Tuesday and Wednesday, except Packers game days when we open at noon.
The Supper Club Calendar: What to Eat and When
Every supper club in Wisconsin runs on the same weekly schedule. It’s not written down anywhere official, but it might as well be carved into the bar top:
Friday: Fish fry. This is non-negotiable. Every supper club within 100 miles of Prentice serves a Friday fish fry. The fish is walleye or cod, beer-battered or pan-fried, served with fries or potato pancakes, tartar sauce, and rye bread. Northwoods Supper Club in Fifield serves the best fish fry in Price County. Start at Ripsaw for a pre-fish Old Fashioned, drive to Fifield, eat, and come back for the post-fish analysis.
Saturday: Prime rib. Slow-roasted, served with horseradish, usually a half-pound cut. Saturday prime rib at a Wisconsin supper club is the reason the phrase “destination dining” exists. The closer supper clubs (Northwoods, Rock Garden) usually have prime rib starting around $25. The destination spots (Norwood Pines) are in the $28–35 range.
Sunday: Leftovers and specials. Sunday is the wildcard. A few supper clubs do a brunch. Others run a chicken special. Plenty are closed. Call ahead.
Weeknights: Most supper clubs are closed Tuesday and Wednesday, just like us. Thursday is a soft opening , limited menu, lighter crowd. Monday is anyone’s guess. Always call ahead on weeknights.
How to Do a Supper Club Night From Prentice: The Full Itinerary
Here’s the playbook we’ve watched hundreds of our regulars execute over the years:
4:45 PM: Arrive at Ripsaw Saloon. Order a Wisconsin Old Fashioned (sweet, muddled, brandy, $6). Optional: add a basket of beef tallow fries ($3) or a Lemon Drop Shot if you’re feeling bold.
5:15 PM: Finish drink. Drive to your chosen supper club. (Northwoods is 15 minutes. Rock Garden is 25 minutes. Pine Tree is 45 minutes. Norwood Pines is 50 minutes.)
5:30–5:45 PM: Arrive at the supper club. Put your name on the list. Sit at the bar and order your second Old Fashioned. This is the required waiting period. Use it to talk to the locals.
6:30–7:00 PM: Get seated. Receive the relish tray. Order French onion soup. Order the main course , prime rib on Saturday, walleye on Friday.
8:00–8:30 PM: Finish dinner. Pay the bill. Drive back to Prentice.
8:30–9:00 PM: Arrive back at Ripsaw for the nightcap. This is where you tell the bar what you ate, whether the horseradish was hot enough, and whether the fish fry was better than last week. We’ve been hosting this part of the evening for years. It’s the best part of the night and it happens at our bar.
More From Ripsaw Saloon
- The Wisconsin Old Fashioned: Ripsaw Saloon Recipe
- Best Fish Fry in Wisconsin: Northwoods Guide
- How Many Bars in Wisconsin? 2026 Statistics
- ATV Trails in Price County, Wisconsin
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a Wisconsin supper club?
A Wisconsin supper club is a dining tradition where the bar experience is as important as the meal. You arrive, sit at the bar for an Old Fashioned while waiting for your table, then move to the dining room for a multi-course meal that typically includes a relish tray, soup or salad, and an entree like prime rib or Friday fish fry. It’s destination dining, not fast food. The tradition dates back to the 1940s and remains strong in northern Wisconsin.
How far are supper clubs from Prentice, Wisconsin?
The closest supper club to Prentice is Northwoods Supper Club in Fifield, a 15-minute drive west on Highway 70. Rock Garden Tavern in Phillips is 25 minutes south on Highway 13. Wojcieszak’s in Park Falls is 25 minutes northwest. Pine Tree Supper Club in Tomahawk is 45 minutes east. Norwood Pines in Minocqua is 50 minutes northeast. All are drivable for a dinner run when Prentice is your home base.
What should I order at a Wisconsin supper club?
Friday is fish fry , get the walleye if it’s available, cod if it’s not. Saturday is prime rib , order it medium-rare with extra horseradish. Always start with an Old Fashioned at the bar (brandy, sweet, muddled). Always eat the relish tray. It’s free and it’s tradition. French onion soup is the standard starter course and it’s consistently good at every supper club on this list.
Do I need reservations at Northwoods supper clubs?
Yes, especially on Friday and Saturday nights during summer and fall color season. The popular supper clubs within 30 minutes of any Northwoods lake fill up by 6 PM. If you don’t have a reservation, arrive early (5:00–5:30 PM) and put your name on the list. The wait at the bar is part of the experience , see rule 1 of supper club etiquette.
Can I start my supper club night at Ripsaw Saloon?
Absolutely. We open at 2 PM (noon on Packers game days) at 1117 Railroad Ave, Prentice, WI 54556. Phone: (715) 428-2042. Grab an Old Fashioned and some beef tallow fries before you drive to any of the supper clubs on this list. When you’re done with dinner, come back for the nightcap. We’re open late and we want to hear how the prime rib was.
See also: Price County Fun have a complete guide to supper clubs within an hour of Price County