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Start a Top 5 for Cheese CurdsEditor’s picks
Press picks, until locals rank their own Top 5s. Sourced from the local food press. As seen in Madison Magazine. Updated September 2026.
The Old Fashioned · Capitol Square
Madison Magazine’s survey of the city’s cheese curds puts The Old Fashioned in the fried category and notes that most people who come through the downtown door end up tempted by one of the rotating Wisconsin cheese plates instead. The beer-battered curds are the reason to hold the line. The room sits on North Pinckney Street off the Capitol Square, which makes it the easiest of these stops to reach on foot from the top of State Street.
Tipsy Cow · Capitol Square
At Tipsy Cow the cheddar curds are battered in New Glarus Spotted Cow lager, which Madison Magazine calls the more quintessentially Wisconsin choice, and fried in smaller sizes that make them as easy to eat as popcorn. The King Street room is a short walk from the Capitol Square. Order a basket to share rather than as a single plate, since the small size is what makes them keep disappearing.
The Coopers Tavern · Capitol Square
PBR-batter Ellsworth curds, crispy and served with homemade ranch.
Craftsman Table & Tap · Middleton
Craftsman Table and Tap in Middleton works with the fresh Carr Valley curds Madison Magazine names in its own fresh category, and serves them two ways: battered in Surly Brewing Co.’s Helles Lager, or camped on top of curry-sauced poutine. The poutine is the version worth the drive out Frank Lloyd Wright Avenue. Take the battered order if you want the curd itself rather than the sauce around it.