I highly recommend this restaurant. We stopped by to see if we could get a reservation on a Friday…read morenight. They were able to work us in. The food was very good. I ordered Friday night fish fry, which was deep fried haddock, a popover, coleslaw and french fries. All of the food was cooked perfectly. My fiance ordered a prime rib sandwich and it far exceeded his perfection. The reason for taking time to write this review is due to the service. Every single employee was so friendly and the service was exceptional. The hostess, the wait staff, the bartenders, etc. We also had drinks at the bar and they were amazing! The ambiance was very nice. We were seated at a table with a candle and away from other diners. Thank you, Turn Key!

This is a nice supper club that is away from downtown and has parking. We were sat in their main…read moredining room but apparently theirs an upstairs I don't know if that is for parties or the public though and then the have a large bar area. The area is very moody lighting and even has small lamps on each table. Our server and staff were great and everything came out timely. We got an old fashioned and a sangria. The sangria is strong but you won't know it until you stand up. We started with the cheese puppies and they had a fantastic pull to them. Some of the best version of cheese curds I've had in a while. My husband and I both had salads and the bowl was too small for the salad but it was a decent salad I do wish the cheese was sprinkled on top as it ended up going to the bottom of the bowl. For an entree I had steak frites. Fries were solid and the cooking of the steak was good with the charcoal but it didn't have much flavor. The chard on the side was also good considering I've never had it. For dessert we had the valentine special chocolate cake and again it was good but nothing super special. We didn't stick around the bar too long but enough to get a winning pull tab. I would come back for the bar tenders they seemed chill.

Amazing on all fronts! We were lucky enough to get a chefs counter seat and could watch all the…read morehard work and love that goes into all the dishes here. The head chef Casey served us our plates and he was a delight to chat with! He puts so much love and thought into every dish. He explained some of the inspirations for things on the menu which was fun! If you are vegetarian this place is a dream with tons of options! Do not be fooled, they are very filling. My husband and I shared the marinated white beans on toast, cauliflower, oyster mushroom and pesto spaghetti. All were great and delicious! Least fav (although still tasty) may have been the cauliflower cuz it's fried and gets a little heavy but the raisins in the dish are a nice surprise and treat! Although tapas style, the portions are generous. You can taste how fresh the Ingredients are in each dish as well. The pesto was a flavor bomb of fresh basil and garlic! The drinks are also top notch with interesting ingredient that create a wonderful medley together. Highly recommend trying a few. For dessert we shared the bay leaf cake and the creme brûlée- also delicious. I look forward to returning the next time I visit Madison. Also love how the restaurant ambiance is a homage to blanches lanai from golden girls! It's a fun space with great decor. Recommend getting there early as they don't take reservations and it gets very busy on the weekend! Highly recommend and overall a wonderful experience!

I've dined at MM more than 10 times since moving to the area, and the food is consistently…read morecreative, flavorful, and among the most exciting in Madison's dining scene. They clearly take risks in the best way, and it often pays off. The only reason I can't give five stars is an ongoing issue with salt levels. On a few occasions, dishes haven't just been slightly over-seasoned, they've been overwhelmingly salty to the point of overpowering the flavor and, at times, bordering on inedible. And that's coming from someone who genuinely enjoys salty food. When they get the balance right, the food is exceptional. I just wish the seasoning were more consistent.

We stopped by for dinner after a pretty draining couple of weeks, and I can't say enough about the…read moreexperience. The food was great, but our server, Lily, was incredible. She had no way of knowing we were feeling worn down, but her warmth and genuine care completely turned our evening around. She made the visit feel special in a way that really stuck with us. Lily is a massive asset to the team, and we're beyond grateful for the hospitality. We'll definitely be back.

We came without a reservation for brunch on a cold, snowy Sunday. We got in right away!…read more Favorites: The cinnamon roll was a crowd favorite and the schnitzel was crispy and rich. Service was just fine considering the busyness. Some long gaps every now and then but I rent taken care of.

Not pictured: fries and fried pickles because we ate them too quickly. The food here is always…read moregreat fresh, delicious, and exactly what you expect. The service is always great as well. They have different seating sections for any mood.

We are travelers and had a hard time finding a brunch spot downtown that didn't have a long line…read moreout the door, saw this spot recommended by locals on Reddit and even though they too were packed - we were lucky and got into a table for two almost immediately. They were efficient with the flow of people, most not having to wait. They offer self-serve coffee ($3)/water, and can order other drinks - I thought the coffee was well brewed. Our server was kind, attentive, and our food came out fast. We went with the carnitas verdes and the rooster. Both were decent, good portion size, and good value. We preferred the rooster a bit more - like a breakfast blt - super flavorful sauce on it and good bacon! The carnitas just didn't hit for us, lacked the flavor we were looking for but the meat was well cooked. Loved the ambiance and vibes here, felt like an old school small town spot where everyone hangs!

We came for regular brunch menu on Easter Sunday. The ambience is open, airy, and inviting. Service…read morewas prompt and accurate. However, our server wasn't super familiar with the menu and didn't know what was in certain dishes. We ordered a variety of dishes. Overall, everyone liked their meals. The flavors were great. Love the Korean fusion. However... despite that we were the first ones in the door, they did not have the chicken that was on the menu. That seemed strange to all of us that they didn't plan ahead for a holiday weekend. A solid restaurant would usually have their menu items well stocked prior to a holiday weekend. Overall, still a good expertise if you're willing to be flexible.

I know most people like it here, but everytime I've been here over the years something has gone…read moreastray. This time we went to Sunday brunch with a group, including some kids. We had reservations, so we were seated right away which was a plus. Also, I will say I don't think any of the issues we had were because of our waitress. She was super friendly and quick enough to take our orders on a day when there restaurant seemed full enough, but manageable. We got our drink orders in and our food at the same time to speed up the process for getting little kids food, and the waitress even took note of that. We also ordered an appetizer to help during the wait. It took a while for the drinks to come out, but they were all rather tasty. I think my apple cider mocktail was the best and refreshing since it was getting hot in the restaurant with the sun beating in. Our food however took forever and the kids meals did not come out any earlier than everyone else. One person in our group also initially didn't get his meal, which the waitress apologized and said there was a mixup in the kitchen. That's fine, it happens, but then the staff running meals tried to bring him the wrong order 3 times. The rest of us were all finished eating by the time he finally got his food. Overall, the food was fine. I got the eggs benedict which was a little underdone on the eggs for me as the whites were too runny for me. The kids chicken nuggets were pretty tasty with a flaky breading. I heard decent reviews of the breakfast burger, but the thing that was the best to us was the breakfast sandwich. It was quite messy, but the messiness of the sauce was worth it. We also got an appetizer of the cinnamon roll. I feel like it's a little mislabeled though, as it was more like a morning bun with some frosting/glaze over the top. Tasted pretty good and helped keep kids entertained for a while. Overall, the food was fine, but the experience wasn't great. With the multiple mixups in orders and getting a little green house effect going with the sun shining in, there wsnt a great feeling when leaving. Again, I don't think it was our waitresses fault, so not sure what was going on in the kitchen.

We were in town and looking for a good place to eat and excited to try this joint, with a 4.4 star…read morerating. We've always had good food in Madison and even though we wanted to get home after a long day, we thought it would be worth the delay. Unfortunately, this time, it wasn't worth it. I feel like it's time and money wasted. I'll get to details, but I'm mainly basing this review on the quality of the food I received. Before getting to the food, our service was great. Our server was a bit slow considering there were only 3 tables (including us) occupied. Or it's more of a relaxed atmosphere, so she was just giving us a lot of time to look over the menu. But aside from that, she was friendly, helpful, and kind. Atmosphere is on the dark side. There are two screens to play games (golf, etc) on two corners of the building. I think there are plenty of options, but we were mainly in for food, and didn't really get much info on the games. I did ask whether they were run on a reservation basis, and the hostess (who was also our server) said yes. She didn't mention any pricing, so I'm not sure what the details on that is. Margarita special $5 This was great. Not overly sweet, and just the right amount of booze. It came in a whiskey cup rather than a margarita one. 3sheep chaos pattern on draft Price for draft beer is not cheap, and the beer was great. The glass it came in was super clean, but also warm. I think it just came out of the dishwasher... So clean, but beer glasses should be cold on principle. Wings The description says these are baked, and then fried before tossed in their sauce. The sauce is yummy. The wings are a fairly large size. But I think they forgot to fry it. The skin on the wings weren't at all crispy, but kinda mushy. The meat was well cooked, but also on the dry side. The celery sticks and carrot rings on the side were super fresh and crispy. Blind burger with side salad I ordered it done medium. It came out very well done. For a wagyu, it lacked fat content, and cooked for too long, so it was very dry. We had just hiked 4 hours at Devil's Lake and quite hungry, but I couldn't finish it. Seasoning was great though. And the side salad was also very fresh. Brussels sprouts Something I haven't done in the last 15 years... I had to ask them to redo it. It came out with underdone Brussels. Interestingly, after I asked them to heat it up more for me, it came out perfect, with the right amount of searing on all the cut sides. Overall, it feels like the kitchen was having a bad day and bad timing - wings needed to get in the fryer for longer, burger should've been out of the pan sooner, Brussels should've stayed in longer. For the prices I paid, I expect better food. Especially since the kitchen knows how to fix their stuff! It was like they put 70% into all the dishes until I spoke up. Would I go back? Nope. Not convinced that the 4.4 rating is justified for me.

Great Eastside find... other than the complete lack of parking. Great craft cocktails and…read morereasonable bar prices. The service was good and the place had a nice vibe.

A few of us were in Madison for a jazz concert at UW. We were looking for a nice pre show dinner…read moreand heard great things about Merchant. The restaurant didn't disappoint. Our hostess and server were pleasant. The cheese curds, burgers and fries were delicious. My New York strip, however, was just OK; tough and not very flavorful. The baked on site carrot cake was really really good! Nice place with nice people and a fun vibe.

We went here for a Girls Night and had a reservation for 07:45PM. However, service was extremely…read moreslow in which we did not get our food until an hour later. We were a little disappointed in the wait because there were some empty tables around, which showed that Merchant was not extremely slammed, but we wanted to give benefit of the doubt. Fried Cheese Curds tasted alright. We probably got the unlucky batch though, because halfway through eating them, we had dime-sized cheese curds. It certainly didn't feel like we got a full appetizer size of cheese curds because of this. I think typically the smaller cheese curds are at the end of the dish, but here it felt like we had it for 50% of the dish. The Merchant Burger was alright, but nothing to wow my senses. The black pepper aioli was delicious though, but it felt like that was what was saving the burger. Not pictured was the Floral G&T drink, which tasted delicious. Overall: giving this place 3 stars because it wasn't amazing, but it was OK. The interior is beautiful though, but food and service were below our expectations.

Tons of vegetarian options. All of our choices were delicious. The highlight was the coconut tree…read moreleches cake. Cozy seating. Service was good and friendly. We found street parking easily. Beautiful weather and we appreciated all the open windows as we lean into springtime.

One of the best restaurants I've been to in Madison so far. Spectacular food, nice venue, friendly…read moreand helpful staff, cannot recommend more. As someone whose hometown is Buffalo, the wings were super phenomenal. The reuben bread especially was crispy and not soggy and the meat was good once I put some extra salt on it. Drink was solid as well. I also tried a bit of the layered chocolate cake and that was also really good. Fries were very crispy and salty, like professional potato chips. Everything was out of the park, definitely would go here again!

The Weary Traveler Freehouse is an unexpected, but also on point eatery and bar situated on the…read morefamed "Willy" Street in East Madison, and have quickly become one of my favorite spots in town! Weary is an eclectic space that is full of a hodgepodge of artwork, mirrors, lighting, decor and a bunch of random items that just make sense together. The vibe here is uniquely local for this part of Madison and from the moment you enter through the large ornate wooden door, you are teleported into a special space where a good time is sure to be had! We have come here for Friday Fish Fry, weekday lunch and weekend brunch, and we have never left unhappy or hungry. The menu is made up of mostly classic dishes such as salads, soups, burgers and sandwiches, with a few mains like steak frites and pork chop. Brunch has your classic brunch dishes such as breakfast plates, biscuits and gravy, burrito and of course, French toast. The fish fry is excellent here, especially the pan fried version, which still provides the light, crisp and fresh fish but less the thick breading. For brunch, the breakfast burrito add sausage was spot on and super tasty! For cocktail, they have a stellar menu of house curated cocktails. For brunch, I went with the Bloody Mary and outside of brunch hours, I gravitate to the Killer Bees Knees gin based cocktail. I will grab a beer on occasion, but the cocktails are too good to pass up! Service is always stellar here whether we are sat in the dining room or bellied up to the bar. Overall, absolutely in love The Weary Traveler Freehouse!

Great food, cozy bar, attentive staff. Relaxed and laid back. Several NA options on the menuread more

Run don't walk to Lola's to try their Korean Fried Chicken Sandwich before their menu changes for…read morethe summer. I kid you not, I visited the restaurant twice within 24 hours after having one for the first time. One of the best meals I've had in Madison in a while! As always, great vibes, lovely staff, and dope tunes.

Went here for the first time on a Saturday evening for a Girls' Night Out, and it was so amazing! I…read moreloved the lighting, the decor, and overall it was giving "cozy cocktail lounge with a bit of class". Our server was so kind, she made sure that we were well taken care of, and checked in every so often to see if we wanted any more drinks. But the food-- wow! It was so delicious and I don't think I've had better cheese curds than at Lola's. The cheesiness and crunch were perfect, and it was not too hot to burn your mouth. Everything we ordered was so good, and the Pelmeni was super flavorful. I wish we had more rangoons, but I have no complaints about the food. Passionstar Martini was the best drink we ordered here. I definitely can see myself coming back here for another fun night Only downside about this place is that there are only 2 bathrooms (yes, single-person bathrooms) throughout the entire establishment. It gets a little crowded waiting for it, but otherwise everything else was amazing.