A relatively new restaurant located on the 100 block of State Street, Capital Tap Haus opened this past fall and is already proving to be at the height of Wisconsin beer culture. Serving almost exclusively Capital Brewery beer, this restaurant proudly serves a lunch and dinner menu filled with beer as well – you’d be hard-pressed to find a dish that doesn’t come wrapped, dipped or smothered in the tasty stuff.
With a menu of hearty salads, a classic beer-cheese soup and self-proclaimed “big and bodacious pub style sandwiches,” you just can’t go wrong. The entr?es are affordable and substantial, even offering “A Dish to Feel Good About,” as the menu boasts, for when you want to tighten your waistline as well as your belt.
Owner Jack Sosnowski runs the show at Capital Tap Haus. He’s thought long and hard about what type of restaurant to open as a complement to his Ivory Room Piano Bar and felt a pub specializing in Capital Brewery beer would be a perfect fit for Madison. A Wisconsin native and brew aficionado, he could not be more simultaneously laid-back and passionate about his work.
“It’s kind of a non-stop thing when you have a busy, functioning restaurant,” Soswnowki said. “You’ll see me behind the bar, in the kitchen, doing everything. I switch it up and do it all.”
Outfitted in a Capital Brewery sweatshirt and baseball cap, the man seems at home in front of or behind the scenes and is especially proud of the wholesome, hearty Wisconsin fare.
“What’s unique about us,” Sosnowski said, “is that we have an all-scratch kitchen. Everything’s handmade, and we don’t even have a freezer like most bars or pubs.”
Capital Tap Haus is a far cry from falling into the college bar trap. Although Sosnowski acknowledges the importance of catering to the university crowd – and proudly announces the only boots of beer that can be found close to campus – his near-Capitol location has a greater influence on the cuisine and clientele.
Located on State Street behind the Ivory Room, these two venues share more than just an owner. Equally classy, unpretentious establishments, they are perfectly suited to the Capitol bar culture.
In keeping with a more sophisticated style of drinking and dining, the idea for Capital Tap Haus was in fact inspired by a concept that begs a flipping back through our freshman year American history books.
“Back in the day, pre-prohibition taverns were heavily taxed,” Sosnowski said. “So they struck a deal with the breweries, who told them, ‘Hey, you can only serve my beer.'”
This idea, taken from the popular and profitable pre-prohibition Tied House concept, is one which influences both the restaurant’s serving of Capital Brewery beer and its d?cor. Featuring cozy booths, a wooden bar and a few flat screen televisions – always necessary to appease the Badger game-day crowds – Capital Tap Haus feels right at home, just a block away from Madison’s historical Capitol building.
The pre-prohibition setting can’t help but bring to mind John Dillinger and the Capitol’s recent role in the filming of “Public Enemies” and emphasizes Madison’s history as a city rather than simply a college town.
As spring and summer approach, a pivotal question must be asked of this new establishment, one that can make or break a young restaurant due to the Madison population’s affinity for drinking beer outside. And so, it was asked: Will the Capital Tap Haus have a patio?
“We are going to have a patio,” Sosnowski said. “It’s got a great view of the Capitol. We’ll have brunch, too, and we’re going to kick that off in April, once the Farmers’ Market starts.”
Well, then, it’s settled. Madison may now officially welcome the Capital Tap Haus to its family of indoor/outdoor, boot-serving, brew-loving restaurants.
