Everybody in Neenah knows The Dome. What I didn't know until I sat down for the Friday fish fry is just how much of a family operation it is — three generations of the same family in the building and working the bar, in a place owned by a man Neenah voters know pretty well.
The Dome Sports Bar & Grill sits on Commercial Street on Neenah's south side, and it's a sports bar the way sports bars used to be: a cute bar, a pool table, six gambling machines, TVs everywhere, and a huge back hall that hosts weddings, parties, and benefits. Nothing fancy, and it doesn't need to be.
The owner is Dean Kaufert — yes, that Dean Kaufert. Mayor of Neenah from 2014 to 2022, a state representative for decades, and a guy who announced this year that he's done running for office so he can put his time into the business and his grandkids. On a Friday night that shows: his family is the staff. You can feel it in the service, which was the best part of the night. Great customer service — they make sure you are taken care of.
Start with an Old Fashioned, because theirs are great. Then the fish. The Dome's reputation rides on the perch dinner and the haddock sandwich, and the fry draws a loyal crowd — you'll find people online calling it the best fish fry in the Valley. We had two plates on the table: the Seafood Platter ($20.75) — a loaded plate of perch, haddock, walleye, and shrimp with a baked potato, coleslaw, and rye bread — and my walleye ($14.75). I'll give it to you straight: the walleye was pretty good, but there were a lot of bones in it. Overall, I'd call it a pretty standard Wisconsin fish fry — done right, priced right, and carried by the room and the people running it. And the bill backs up the "priced right" part: both plates and two Old Fashioneds came to $48.28 before tip.
That's really the story here. Plenty of bars can fry fish. The Dome is a family — three generations deep — pouring great Old Fashioneds, working a room full of regulars, in a building run by a former mayor who'd rather be here than in Madison. On a Friday night in Neenah, that's worth the trip.
One more stop on the fish fry trail. The Dome joins a list we've been building all year, one Friday at a time. We've sat down to the fry at Willie Beamons and the Baypoint Bar in Neenah, Michiels Bar & Grill, Club Tavern, and Cimarron in Menasha, Sidetracked Bar in Neenah, the Dairyland Brew Pub in Appleton, and the Woodshed in Neenah — and if you want the short version, our Best Friday Fish Fry in the Fox Valley roundup pulls the top spots together in one place. The Dome earns its spot on that trail: maybe not the best fish we've had, but a room, a family, and a Friday night that's hard to beat. We're still working the list — if your favorite fry isn't on it yet, it will be.
The Dome Sports Bar & Grill
1338 S Commercial St, Neenah, WI 54956
(920) 215-3595
Friday fish fry — kitchen open Friday 11 AM to midnight. The back hall is available for parties, weddings, and benefits.
