My friends and I had a wonderful dinner tonight. We tried the below dishes: Appetizer: 1.Grilled octopus kind of special but a little too sour 2.Bacon-wrapped dates: good (recommend) I love this com 3. Steamed mussels kind of similar to the seafood stew but with spicy Italian sausage Entrees: 1.Jumbo prawns: the polenta is good 2. Lamb Ossobuco: really yummy and juicy the saffron risotto is soft and a little milky taste (recommend) 3. Tuscan seafood stew: contains cute Squid and swordfish Wines: All summer 17 Living in a bubble (beautiful wine glass) What happens in earth The environment is nice The services are good as well. It is better if the server could check us more frequently! read more

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Amazing customer service every time, absolutely delicious food, and such a fun atmosphere! Can't wait to go back sometime soon read more

Cento - Potato Gnocchi Porcini Pappardelle - Italian Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

Loved it! Great food and really good drinks. Would definitely recommend eating here if you are in the mood for Italian!

This is a boutique restaurant where like 4 people eat and the bill arrives for $150.00 + $30.00 tip = $180.00 total for eggs, bacon, toast, and assorted beverages. I regretted being invited, disliked being there and hope to never return. read more

I would give it a 0 if I could. It took OVER 1.5 hours for our food to come out. Then, once we finally got it, it was so cold I couldn't eat it. The pizza was burnt and all black as well. When we told the waitress we got free dessert... that took another 30 mins to get. Then to top it all off, I got food poisoning and was on the bathroom floor all night! 4 other people in the group I went with also got sick. Gross. No thanks Cento read more

This spot is amazing!! The staff is so nice and so proper haha!! Very very beautiful place to eat out in the heart of Madison. The food was excellent. read more

The food was SO good! Our waitress was very attentive. The booth we had was clean and comfortable.

We went for our anniversary. It was so delicious. I got the rigatoni alla carbonara. The server was so kind and gave us the choice of a dessert or a drink on the house for our anniversary. It was such a nice atmosphere, dress nice. read more

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Great food. Always consistent.the menu needs to be switched up from time to time in terms of the pasta section.

Beautiful atmosphere and service was perfect. They were so kind to us and we were seated immediately with our reservation. I chose the Lobster Scampi and wow it was delicious. My girlfriend ordered the Tagliatelle they did not disappoint. Well priced for place and service. Plus the sour dough bread with butter and olive oil was the icing on the cake. Great dining and eating experience. I highly recommend!! read more

Cento - Lobster Scampi on the far center, fresh sour dough bread in the middle, Tagliatelle - Italian Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

Yum!!! My boyfriend and I came in for brunch on Sunday 11/5/17. We made a reservation for 1:00 and I had requested a booth. We sat in a huge U shaped booth! So cool. Our server, Alsa, was so nice. She went over the brunch menu since it was our first visit. We ordered coffee with cream to start. I had the smoked pork Benedict and my bf had the daily quiche. The Benedict was the best one I've ever had. The perfect poached eggs and hollandaise sauce were excellent! I love the pulled pork vs the classic Canadian bacon. The small green salad was perfectly dressed with a light vinegarette. Ben's quiche was large portion and served with breakfast potatoes. We decided to try dessert and the tiramisu was worth the $9 price. So fresh and delicious with a little scoop of hazelnut ice cream. Loved the ambiance, the service and the food!! read more

Cento - Smoked pork Benedict. Amazing!!! - Italian Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

Was looking forward to trying Cento for a long time, and was disappointed with the service and food. I was expecting more from a restaurant like this. Server was friendly, but missed the mark on a lot of things. We put into Opentable that it was our anniversary, and no mention of it - it's simple, but a nice thing to recognize. Took forever to clear plates even though they were not busy. At one point we had just finished the plate, and she asked how that dish was, and then instead of clearing it she just walked away. After we were done with apps, she asked us what plates she wanted her to take - how about all the plates because they're all empty and were appetizer plates? She knew we were having entrees next. It was just off. Never asked how the food was. The food was also a little off. Order the meat and cheese board. A generous portion of meats, but the cheese was strange choices and small portions, cut into little mouse sized pieces. The roman artichokes were tasty, but all that I could taste was the breading and sauce, artichoke pieces were small. The shrimp scampi was good, but nothing special. The tagliatelle beef was tasteless. They also never offered fresh parmesan, or salt/pepper - which I understand they can't put it on the table with Covid, but it would be nice to offer it. Ambiance was nice, I like the interior. The high top chairs were uncomfortable. read more

This is a beautiful and unique restaurant. The drink selection is interesting and the wine or liquor selection is great too. Meals are prepared and presented with a flair for taste and beauty. Even a simple pizza is outstanding. read more

Sofia, our Server was very friendly and helpful with making recommendations. The food was so delicious

Eating at Cento was an embarrassing experience. We walked into the restaurant asking for a table. The restaurant was at 50% capacity. The hostess scanned the list of reservations and said we can sit at the bar. I asked about the open tables. All reserved. My wife and I weren't dressed badly. I wondered why we weren't allowed a seat. I went to Open Table and found a whole evening free. I booked the first one. I insisted we move our table from the bar at our time. They asked four times if we really did want to move. I said yes every time. A table was cleared and we had a decent meal. Hours later I found the restaurant canceled our reservation. I am not sure if it was because you can't leave a review on a restaurant you did not dine. Regardless of the reason, take this review into consideration before you dine there. read more

Cento - Dessert - Italian Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

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What the hell happened since my last 5 star review of this place? We had an 8pm reservation, were seated immediately but didn't get our dinner until an hour later. The host was friendly, there was a group of people who walked in after us and were seated after us. Our waiter was also friendly but lied to us about what took so long to get our pasta. He said there was a big group of 20 people which caused the back up in the kitchen. But I saw the group of people who came in after we were seated eating their full entrees while we had nothing but waters on our table. If the large 20+ group caused a back up in the kitchen it would've affected the group of 3 that came after us also, but it didn't. It only affected us for some reason. We ordered the Agnolotti which was luke warm (I'm thinking someone forgot about it and it was just sitting there for a while?) and it was a really poor presentation. It looked like it was made really sloppy. Can't believe they have the nerve to charge $17 for this! I'm used to eating at great restaurants and based on this experience we had tonight, Cento wouldn't last a month in a bigger city. I've had better pasta with better presentations at Olive Garden! Long wait, poor presentation, serving food that isn't hot and poorly made, no thanks! Won't be wasting my money here next time I'm in Madison. read more

Absolutely delicious and wonderful dining experience. We ordered the calamari which was fried perfectly and the lamb meatballs were wonderfully tender. The short rib with papperdelle with short rib was so buttery. The tiramisu was so creamy! If you are looking for a date night place or just a laugh with friends and delicious food this is it! Also the service was excellent! read more

My chicken parm was absolutely delightful. Everything was cooked to perfection! The waiter was also very kind!

I'm a fan of Cento! My boyfriend and I went here a few weeks ago on a Friday night. We walked in and were lucky to find a high top available in their bar area because otherwise it was pretty busy. Our waitress was really friendly and helpful. We started with the burrata and it did not disappoint. The tomatoes were meaty and ripe, the arugula spicy, and the burrata creamy. YUM. I got the salmon special, and it was fresh, flavorful, and interesting - just how I like my food to be! My boyfriend got the tagliatelle (pasta bolognese), and it was awesome. I took more than a few bites. Really great flavors, hearty but not overly heavy, and the perfect amount. A great Madison spot overall! read more

Cento - Italian Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

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I met a friend for drinks and appetizers here on Monday night. I had only been here one other time for an anniversary dinner with the hubs, and I was looking forward to coming back! Our waitress was very sweet; she had great suggestions and was knowledgeable about the menu. Service in the bar area felt just a little slow but it was a busy night. My cocktail was one to remember - smoke & roses - I loved it, but it definitely had a smoke finish. We shared the Butcher Board which featured three standard meats, two cheeses that are pretty easily found locally (moody blue and an aged cheddar), and just a bit of honey. Portions were great, but nothing stood out with that one except for the fight over the honey! We also shared the seared Brussels sprouts and these were fantastic. Loved every bite! The spice of the salumi was perfect contrast to the honey and ricotta in this dish. For dessert I tried the carrot cake and I was actually pretty disappointed in that part of the experience. It came out cold, like it had been refrigerated, with an excessive amount of shaved almonds on top of it. However, a very wonderful scoop of salted caramel gelato next to it gave me a sweet finish to the night. Overall I think Cento is a great addition to the fantastic line up of choices we have for eating out downtown! read more

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We enjoyed the Sunday Brunch. Service was very good, and the food was excellent. Amongst the 6 of us we enjoyed the baked eggs, salami hash, rigatoni alla carbonara, and the tagliatelle bolognese. The pastries with the boozy breakfast were excellent, especially the blueberry scones. We'll hopefully be back sometime to experience the dinner menu. read more

Came here on a Wednesday night before a show at Overature. Our reservation was at 5:45, so we figured that we would have plenty of time to make the 7:30 show. Needless to say, we cut it a little close. We started out with some of the specialty cocktails and then ordered an appetizer of bread and fried artichokes. The drinks and appetizers came out pretty quick, and when they arrived we ordered our food right away. The bread was very good and so were the fried artichokes, although they would not be my go to dish. For the entrees we ordered the gnocchi and the chicken and brussel sprout pizza. These both took quite a long time to come out. Our waitress even came over a couple of times to apologize for the wait. Finally, the gnocchi came out at 7:10ish. However it was still another 8 minutes before the pizza appeared, cutting it very close to the 7:30 show. Everything tasted amazing, but it was sad we had to rush eating it. The waitress had mentioned that the kitchen got pretty backed up in the time that we were there, so since it took so long, they would comp some food. The manager also came over to apologize and give us another discount. Based off of this attention to detail, and the great tasting food, we will definitely be back to try some more of the menu! Also of note, the happy hour bruschetta is great! One of our favorite happy hour deals. read more

Enjoyed the food and reasonably priced. Seevice is fast and the server was attentive and knowledgeable. I'll be back here if I'm in the area! read more

Went to Cento with a group of 7 and we all had the boozy brunch, quite a few options to choose from and it includes two drinks.The hostess and waitress were pleasant and we had a nice conversation with the chef. Everyone enjoyed their different brunch and drink options and the Salami hash was awesome. Alot of parking ramps nearby.Cento was a great value for the quality and price! I will definitely return!! read more

Cento - Salami hash - Italian Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

Fantastic. Beautiful space. Very professional staff. Beautifully prepared cuisine with delicate flavors, beautiful presentation and attention to detail. We loved our dinner here. read more

This place is "fancy pants". The vibe is dimmed lights, bossa Nova, excellent drink menu, tastefully modern Italian cuisine, modern 3-tier chandeliers, open kitchen. If that sounds nice - come on in! It would fit in on the island of Manhattan. Except it would be half the size, double the number of tables, triple the price, and terribly busy on all days of the week. But I digress. :) My visit here exceeds all expectations. Hostess was kind, gesturing me to the bar after answering a few quick questions. (Note: I am a sucker for the kindness of WI folks!) From there I was taken care by an attentive bartender. He recommended the potato gnocchi - filling, pleasant balance of flavors and textures. Excellent recommend! I enjoyed that with a Madison cider - when in Rome... And olives - I was darn hungry, and those warm olives were delicious, however I'd recommend sharing as it's quite a serving. The prices are in my eyes worth the quality of food and service. Best in mind, I live in NYC, so my view of prices is askewed. read more

We hosted our rehearsal brunch here for our wedding and had an amazing experience. The staff here are absolutely amazing, as is the food. Lisa, the Event Director, made planning super easy and was very responsive and helpful. They were also very accommodating to our dietary restrictions, including offering gluten- and dairy-free options, which is incredible for an Italian restaurant! Our guests loved the food and the space was perfect for what we needed. Overall a wonderful experience! read more

I give Cento a three star due to service today only. Our meals were absolutely fantastic. This was my first visit to Cento. Our server asked us if we wanted to do the brunch special they do there that included a pastry, 2 cocktails, entree and bottomless coffee for $25. Little did he tell us, they were out of pastries. Many people in my group were excited about this part of the deal and the waiter said nothing and when we asked at the end of the meal what happened, and where they were, he said they ran out and offered us "bread". It was just really distasteful to me how it was handled. If we hadn't asked, nothing would have been said. Our table has ordered the charcuterie board, salami hash, seasonal omelette and salmon bagel. We all were thrilled so it's really unfortunate that we felt misled by our waiter to purchase the deal that we couldn't benefit fully from. I would really recommend any. This venue is also super cool, classy, trendy and slightly upscale. I loved the decor. read more

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They use EatStreet for online pick up orders. For the second time this week EatStreet charged my card and did not get my order to the restaurant. So Cento had to charge me a second time and I still have not gotten my money back. My feeling is that they should not use EatStreet. Cento divested themselves from the second charge read more

Decent place to have some nice food. Pretty good cocktail and the flavor is pretty rich. Great atmosphere if you want to hang out with a girl. read more

Cento - Cocktail - Italian Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

I think you go here for the atmosphere more than anything. Good service and good first date spot. The food is not wow but it's nice.

Cento was definitely worth the trip downtown! The restaurant itself is very clean and modern. The bar is small and crowded. But the bathrooms are clean and pretty. It has an upscale feel but wearing jeans and a nice shirt is a-okay! The menu has options for most budgets. The group I went was ordered a little bit of everything to share. For starters we ordered the Sourdough Bread with butter, olive oil, salt for $3.00. It was good but I probably wouldn't order it again because we ended up with too much food(such a thing?). We ordered the bacon wrapped dates. I would potentially get these again if someone else really wanted to get them but I would probably try something else on their menu. And we also had the Wine-Poached Beets with balsamic, pistachio-crusted and goat cheese. This was also very good but not a have-to-have for me. For dinner we ordered the Formaggi Pizza with mozzarella, fontina, blue cheese, ricotta, arugula, fig and balsamic glaze. It had multiple levels of flavors and the pizza was baked perfectly. We also shared the Orecchiette pasta. And a side of the Seared Brussels Sprouts. All of these were also very good and I would order them again! For dessert, yes dessert, we shared the Chocolate Salumi which was also tasty. Overall I had a really nice experience at Cento. Our waitress was kind and helpful and the view of the Overture Center from the dinning area was magical. Tip: Make a reservation! read more

Grandiose atmosphere with gorgeous views of the Overture Center. Tried the warm marinated olives which were amazing, and the lasagne alla bolognese which was to die for. Incredible ambiance and delicious food! read more

Cento - Italian Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

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We tried their Brunch specials, and it was really nice. I never liked their cocktails, but they have a great wine collection. The assorted deserts with Tea is very quintessential english and was a rare experience in Wisconsin. Their baked eggs are really good too. read more

Cento has a nice atmosphere and friendly staff, but the brunch experience was not something I would want to repeat. My son ordered the Rigatoni alla Carbonara. It was $18 and consisted of about 12 pieces of pasta and a poached egg on top that was not much bigger than the yolk. I ordered the "Two Eggs Over Easy" that quite clearly stated that it came with wheat toast. It arrived with a small, burnt, dry, piece of Italian bread. No butter or jam was offered. After inquiring twice, I did get the wheat toast, also dry without butter. When the bill came we were unbelievably charged separately for the wheat toast that was listed as part of this dish on the menu. We stopped on the way home to get food for our hungry son. Live and learn. Probably wouldn't go back. read more

Today, I was able to get in for breakfast with a group of 9... on homecoming weekend in Madison! The stars aligned in our favor on the day of. The restaurant is beautifully restored and decorated in a way that doesn't diminish the history elements of the building. The service was great and prompt. They have a great $28 deal that includes two breakfast cocktails, pastries and an entree with bottomless coffee. We took advantage. Everyone enjoyed their food - and if we're back in Madison, will come back again. read more

Fantastic pasta and enthusiastic staff. Had a great dinner at the bar. Cozy and comfortable. Will be back again.

We came for a large dinner party, and they had the back area set up with two long tables, which was really nice. This room also had its own bar, so we were able to stay in one area the entire time. However, the biggest negative about this room is that it is LOUD- there is nothing to absorb any sound in there, and you felt like you had to keep talking louder and louder for people to hear you. Aside from the noise, we had a four course set menu for dinner, and got to try: -Wine Poached Beets, Balsamic, Pistachio Crusted Goat Cheese (http://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?select=_TKKptLTxqvrqhTllNwoIg&userid=76vIFZcC7owykCBjMfGVXg): Yum- the beets were poached perfectly and went really well with the goat cheese. However, the wine and balsamic pairing made the overall dish a bit too acidic for me, but the goat cheese helped to offset some of that. -Margherita Pizza (Basil, Roasted Cherry Tomato, Mozzarella, Tomato Sauce, http://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?select=eqgMv5SpIaFrjfyQQ08KQw&userid=76vIFZcC7owykCBjMfGVXg): The tomato sauce was delicious, as were the roasted cherry tomatoes. However, as always with Margherita pizzas, it could have used more mozzarella and basil for my tastes. The crust was solid though, and I would order this again. -Spicy Salumi Pizza (Soppressata, Mozzarella, Basil, Tomato Sauce): Pretty good, but I actually liked the margherita more for it's simplicity. -Orecchiette, Italian Sausage, Spinach, Tomato, Pecorino: Yum- the oreccheitte tasted really fresh and was perfectly al dente. I loved the bite from the pasta and the combination of ingredients- highly recommended! -Tagliatelle, Ragu Lala Bolognese, Ricotta, Parmesan: Also very good, but I liked the orecchiette a bit more. However, the tagliatelle also tasted super fresh, and the ragu and ricotta were a good combination- recommended! -Cherry Chocolate Truffle Cake w/Cherry Gelato (http://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?select=G-mSxm5E4a5PyqVvYEKq3A&userid=76vIFZcC7owykCBjMfGVXg): This was the only dish that night I didn't like- the cake had a strange consistency (not quite brownie like not quite cake like) and was very dense. I'm also not a big fan of cherry flavors, so didn't like the gelato at all- skip! The service was a bit slow since we had such a large party, and there were some long gaps in between the different dishes; however, overall they did a good job. It was also a bit difficult at times to pass the pastas and pizzas since it was served family style instead of individual plates, and not everyone got to sample everything, which could be a bit disappointing. The food itself though, was mostly delicious, and I would definitely come back here and also recommend it for any Italian food lovers. Parking can be difficult on a Friday night, but we were able to find street parking a couple blocks away. There are also some parking structures available. read more

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Beautiful renovation of the 100 block of State St, gracious staff, elegant food, and SPACE! The 100 block of Madison ("Cento", get it?) has undergone a major renovation, and Cento is a really nice endcap to the renovation. They completely gutted the interior and installed a gray/dark wood theme, with part of the kitchen and woodburning stove exposed. Notably, there is a good deal of room between tables. In Madison, communal dining has gained popularity, but sometimes one wants to have an intimate conversation with just your table, and enough space to do so seems to be a real rarity these days. Digestif/aperitif on tap (a type of vermouth) was an excellent aperitif. At the bar, we enjoyed a wine soaked beet salad, which was mostly beet, which IMHO, is the way to do it. Pistachio crusted goat cheese accompanied the salad. Pasta dishes are offered in two serving sizes, both pasta dishes were appropriately al dente. I'm happy that the menu has rabbit as an option; the rabbit polpettini (meatballs) are rich but not overly heavy. A cheese and charcuterie board is available, but the staff was able to accomodate our request for a cheese-only plate with bread, olives, almonds, honey, burrata, bleu cheese, and another type of aged hard cheese. Excellent. Service was excellent, thanks to the two bartenders and the head server. Madison has truly lacked a variety of good Italian restaurants, and I'm happy that Cento has made good use of a beautiful space and look forward to trying more! read more

Cento - View from loop - Italian Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

Probably one of my favorite birthday dinner to date. Walking in this place, you can sense it's a wee bit different than the usual Italian fare around Madison. Dressy? Yes, please. My fiancé took me here for a birthday dinner after we've been driving past it the last couple of months. We thought, why not? So we got dressed and headed here for some Italian. We started off with the bacon-wrapped dates stuffed with spicy sausage and piquillo pepper sauce after reading other Yelpers' reviews. Small, but tasty! There's literally like a burst of flavor once you bite into it. I expected it to be really just a bacon flavor, but I was wrong. The sweet and salty was a perfect combination in this little plate. The piquillo pepper sauce would've made for some good bread dip also. They were out of gnocchi tonight (?!?!?!?) and it almost felt like it was meant to be. I LOVE gnocchi and always seem to steer towards that dish at any restaurant, so it forced me to try something else. First world problems over here. We opted for the smaller versions of two pastas: 1) agnolotti with pumpkin, sage, walnuts and parmigiano reggiano and 2) black tagliatelle with lobster, prawn, mussels, lobster sauce and fresh horseradish. The agnolotti was so soft and the parmigiano reggiano wasn't as strong as I've experienced. I was hoping for more pumpkin because that actually was my favorite part of the dish. Go figure. The black tagliatelle dish (aka squid ink pasta, y'all) was oh-my-gee seafood heaven! My fiancé wasn't a fan of it because it was too fishy for him, but this Filipino girl felt at home. It was a very rich dish--that lobster sauce was very creamy. Overall, the pasta dishes were no disappointment. It's definitely worth it to get 2 or 3 of the smaller pasta dishes to be able to try them all out. Or that could just be me. We also got a pizza (sweet italian sausage, bocconcini, broccoli rapini, tomato sauce, garlic and chili flake)--very thin, not too crunchy, but very good. It wasn't out of this world, but it was a good introduction to their pizza selections. My fiancé's main dish was the pollo al mattone with salsa verde, arugula and lemon--the chicken just looked so pretty with the skin roasted into a perfect brown (I felt weird typing that?) and the arugula was a good balance to the simple flavoring of the chicken. My birthday dessert was the the cherry chocolate truffle cake with gelato--LOVE. The fiancé isn't a huge dessert person but he really enjoyed this and actually ate more of it than I did. The cherry was a good choice too--I was weary at first but it really made the dish. Overall, a very satisfying dinner. The service was great (oh! Chanel/Shanell? was our sweet server) and I was greeted happy birthday several times. Felt pretty special! So glad this place exists. read more

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