Ate here for a dinner when a few friends were in town a couple of months back. The food was great but the portions were obviously small (inline with the concept, right). As much fun as we had (keeping in mind most of our bill was bottles of wine) sampling their delicious faire- I think there are much better options bang for buck/cuisine wise around town.... read more

Okay. 4 stars is really harsh for Madison's flagship gourmet restaurant. Maybe too harsh. The food is excellent. The service is excellent. The setting is excellent. Everything is excellent. Except the prices. This place is getting more expensive than the French Laundry in Napa Valley. I'd give it 5 stars I but have to subtract a star because of the price. Everything else gives it 5 stars. It is really good. But someone has to call then out on the wildly inflated prices on the menu. read more

This was our third visit to L'Etoile and our first in the elegant new roomy space. I think they have improved, as this was the most memorable meal yet. Nice windows. The amuse bouche raita-like cold soup with asparagus and pumpkin seeds was OK. The beef tongue salad was very good, very deeply-flavored, and the octopus salad was also nice, the big chunks of octopus surprisingly tender (brined, according to the server). Midcourse was the boudin blanc, basically a house-made bratwurst redolent of morels and ramps, nestled in creamy truffled potato mash and drizzled with a mustardy brown sauce. The truffle shavings option was an awesome add. My wife had the salmon in broth with various vegetables, and I had the brined sliced pork chop, kind of like ham, with a tasty little savory flan and a slice of pheasant pate. Went well with a Malbec. Dessert was a berry cheesecake. We always enjoy this restaurant and view it as a special occasion, which you have to, as it's pretty pricey. But you never feel ripped off. Everything is lovingly crafted and presented, very professional, and of course supportive of artisan producers. (Don't even try to compare it to the Immigrant Restaurant in Kohler, similarly priced but an emperor with no clothes located in a windowless basement.) Worth a trip to Madison which is a nice town. read more

This place is amazing. I can't afford to go here on a regular basis but we went here for our anniversary and it was one of the best meals I've ever eaten. I highly recommend it if you're a foodie like me. The best part was the surprising combinations - like the watermelon/champagne/ basil/cayenne "soup" (served in a shot glass) that we had, was perhaps the best thing I've ever had in my life. read more

Most expensive restaurant in Madison, but well worth it for a celebratory meal. Literally can't go wrong with anything on the menu. Steak was as good as advertised. Fancy decor with glass windows. read more

I went to L'Etoile with my parents and girlfriend. They were relatively busy, but we still received adequate attention from the server. Everything is locally sourced. The sungold tomatoes associated with the summer squash risotto were the stars of the dish - luckily the server was able to provide the name of the local farm that sells these on the square for the farmer's market (not naming the farm as my parents wants these sungold tomatoes). My girlfriend had the Roasted Branzino despite her worries of it being too heavy. The Branzino was cooked perfectly and not overly heavy for a hot summer day. As it was a hot day, I went with the Braised Monkfish. The dish was excellent but it was unsuspectingly heavy. In general the portions were huge for a French restaurant and the prices were not too bad (especially since we had been in NYC for dinners recently). However, L'Etoile did not measure up to the best of NYC restaurants that we have frequented. Nonetheless, this was probably the best meal I have ever had in Madison (sorry Mom). read more

Amazing 7 course tasting meal but pretty expensive. $125 fixed price so with 5 was quite pricey. However food was amazing and staff were top notch! Will go back!! read more

Lovely evening. The service was perfect and the food was complex and delicious. Very pricey, but I felt we got our money's worth.

My husband and I have been going here every year for our birthdays and anniversary for the past 3-4 years. It's a new tradition that we plan to keep for many many years to come. The place is beautiful and the service is first class. The food is delicious; I have yet had anything that is disappointing; neither had my husband. I'd definitely recommend this place for a nice evening out or a special celebration. read more

Being from New Orleans and a veteran in the military I would like to think that I know and love food more than most. With that being said this is one of my favorite restaurants in the U.S. The staff is extremely nice and helpful, I highly recommend taking the advice and pair all foods. Their wine selection is above the rest and to top it off I had my first 30 year old cheddar there finely paired with a French champagne. I highly recommend this place and will return here at the next chance I get! read more

Let me start by saying that my past experiences with L'Etoile were five star. It's a beautiful location, the service was top notch, and the food was beautifully prepared. Having eaten in some very fine restaurants all over the world, I truly felt L'Etoile could hold its own. In fact I talked it up so much that my SO booked us a table our anniversary, and I was looking forward to sharing a special experience with him. Unfortunately the timing of the service was off, causing there to be long periods of time during which we had neither food nor drink. The tasting menu featured the same ingredients in three dishes, which was disappointing, considering it was a tasting menu. The sous-vide duck was tough. The upgraded beef dish was also done... sous-vide. (Again this was a tasting menu. One expects variety.) It was also tough. And neither dish was to temperature or particularly well seasoned. My SO pre requested a dairy free dessert. They brought sorbet, which was very good, but perhaps an unimaginative choice. I also didn't care for the music, which had a soporific effect and wasn't right for the meal or environment. It is fair to say that some dishes were excellent, and the wines were very good, but I expected more for the money and, given L'Etoile's reputation and my previous experiences there, was overall disappointed. read more

booo. where are all these good reviews coming from? go here if you wana overpay for a poorley planned menu and some ridiculous waiters who arent sure what level of resturant they are representing read more

We started our evening with custom printed menus with our names on them commemorating our anniversary that we were celebrating. Our server Joe was phenomenal. Detailed knowledge of the 3 and 7 course meals offered for the evening. I have a gluten allergy that we alerted them to prior to arrival and all of the options were thoughtful customized to suit my needs. I had the 3 course meal with wine pairing that was perfectly matched for each serving. We were seated next to the windows overlooking the Capitol. Perfect evening! read more

This is definitely one of the best meals I have ever had. Bold statement, I know. I won't go into the details of what we had, because the menu changes all the time, based on what is seasonal in Wisconsin. The service was excellent - I love a staff that knows their food and that answers questions truthfully. The staff describes the menu in detail with an educational vibe, instead of being stuffy. I hate restaurants that think they are all that, and let you know it. L'Etoile is excellent, and still cares about their customers and their business. The whole restaurant is based on purchasing local ingredients and letting those ingredients shine on the menu. I also like how they tell you exactly which farm your ingredients came from - Giving props back to the farmers/producers - Love that. I did have the blueberry mojito which was awesome. Make sure you bring your pocketbook......but, it is definitely worth it, and I can't wait to go back. read more

Delicious, even though it is CRAZY expensive! I recommend the funnel cake for dessert - amazing! The cocktails are also great, as are the non-alcoholic soda drinks. read more

Probably the priciest restaurant in Madison, and not quite worth the price tag. While the food can only be described as delicious, there is not a single menu item that stands out to me. If you need a fancy place to eat that is consistently good, this would be a good place to go. It's not worth a special trip just to check out though. read more

We were in town to visit family for Labor Day weekend and decided to treat ourselves out. The dining room is beautiful, our service was great, and food was good, but what really pushes the experience over the top are the cocktails... I've been to L'etoile numerous times and after each experience, I always leave extolling the drinks... this time, it was the Pushing up Daisies and AB Negative cocktails. The mixologist is brilliant! read more

Great service, very nice atmosphere. Ribeye was on tough side. At over $100 per person for a meal I expect a much better cut of beef. I will say it was properly cooked and flavorful. Will go again, but step it up. read more

Been here a few times and have had some incredible meals, some flavors that I will probably never forget. A couple of times some items have been less than that and for the price all their food should be superlative every time. But I know, that's asking a lot. I just think if it's not absolutely fantastic it should cost less than it does. read more

We had an amazing dinner! Excellent food and service! Would recommend to anyone! Love that they personalize the menu with your name on it. Don't miss this gem! read more

L'Etoile is elegant and sophisticated without being overtly pretentious. Waitstaff is well-versed on the menu, even though it changes frequently. The view of the Capitol is beautiful, and I love the natural lighting and floor-to-ceiling windows. Considering Tory Miller is an award-winning chef, the prices are not outrageous. My only wish is that the portions were slightly larger, but alas, this is fine dining. read more

What can I say...This is absolutely my favorite place to be! I'm not sure what is more special, the staff or the food. I have previous written about L'Etoile on Urban Spoon, but I wanted to share my thoughts here too. This is a place to visit if you want to experience what 100% attention to every detail feels and tastes like. Nothing is overlooked. This is my go-to location for EVERY special occasion in my life. read more

Food was really good, but was pricier than other places that I have had comparable or better tasting menus. Maybe that is just because I had been looking forward to dinner here for so long. The Tasting menu was Fun and interesting; it was a great night and dinner but I just don't see myself going back here anytime soon if ever... There are just so many restaurants with amazing food that aren't so pricey. read more

Would never go back. Our "wine pairing" over the first 3 courses was good. Then it just stopped! I asked our server and she said she doesn't do the wine. At 6:30 there were 20 people and still 20 minutes between "courses". 2 courses were great but with only a bite per plate hard to tell. So many other places you can go for half the price. Maybe the Chef was on vacation? read more

Dined there on Monday, 12/27/2010, with friends. Wonderful! The four of us enjoyed the 5 course tasting menu after cocktails at the beautiful bar. One of our party does not enjoy meat or poultry, and asked for a slightly different selection of courses. The kitchen and front house staff were absolutely accomodating. The food, service, wine, and view are 5 star. read more

Proves food is an art! Amazing! Be ready to pull out the bling $$$$$$!

My husband and I went here for our wedding anniversary and we were blown away by the service! I am expecting and they knew that when I made the reservations, when we got there they remembered and offered to tailor my entire order without me even asking. My husband did the tasting menu and I ordered a la cart but they still came up and told me not to try the cheese in his 5th course b/c it wasn't pasteurized! WOW!! We couldn't have had a better experience for our anniversary, food was amazing, I recommend the Halibut and chocolate cake dessert! read more

The food was good, i wouldn't say it blew my mind. Its sad to see that these days all a restaurant has to do is tell you the brand of ingredients that they are using and they can charge whatever price they want. I've had my fair share of dining and I'm also a farmer. I really hate when they over charge you for boiling a potato and throw some butter on it and try to tell me that its some special potato from heaven or something. Anywho, the service was good. Better than most places which is always a good thing. But the pricing is outlandish. Their wine prices is crazy, its for really rich people who knows nothing about wine ....CABERNET SAUVIGNON Chateau Montelena Napa Valley 2006 which cost $100 at any store, they are charging 435 dollars, and their RIESLING Weinbach Schlossberg Alsace2009 goes for $40 retail and they are charging 235 dollars a bottle. I guess there's a reason why Tory Miller didn't win Best Chef at the James Beard Award this year. Serve Honest food next time with better pricing pls. Don't charge the good people of Madison an arm and a leg for NYC prices, trust me your restaurant will last longer. read more

I have always given L'Etoile 5 stars, until now. You can go to many restaurants in Madison for fine dining, but L'Etoile was the only place in Madison to go for a dining experience. Six or seven FULL courses spread out over 2 and a half hours. Waiters and Waitresses who explained the farm to table detail of each course you were eating. If you are a foodie, L'Etoile WAS different. My disappointment has come with the new tasting menu structure. Seven courses for $125.00 and you get no choices. You get what you get. Portions are ridiculously small because they are a TASTE. If you don't care for a course or two, I guess you'll have to stop at McDonalds on the way home. We were told we could do the 3-course a la carte if we still wanted choices. I don't come to L'Etoile for 3-courses, I can go anywhere for that, I come to L'Etoile for something special. We used to enjoy starting our dinner with a cheese board selection, and that isn't even an option any longer. Service is more chaotic than it used to be at the old building. We probably had 6 different people serving us food, we never knew who was going to pop over. Most of them didn't have a clue what they were serving you. Our original Waiter was wonderful, but got busy with other tables and was lost to us about half-way into our dinner. With a final tab of $380, I am very saddened by the experience for the first time in 10 years. Chef Tory Miller may be spreading himself too thin and not concentrating on his mother ship restaurant. PLEASE bring back the old L'Etoile menu! read more

We went on 10/10/2015 - our 5 year wedding anniversary. We wanted to go to the best place in Madison. This spot is right on the square with a nice view of the activities around the capitol. The atmosphere is very nice. My wife wouldn't let me wear jeans but we saw diners wearing jeans. It was nicer than jeans and I'm glad we dressed up. The staff seemed like they were all happy to be there. The service and the attentiveness were spot on, everyone was attentive but not overly attentive - just enough to make you feel good. My wife got the halibut which was very, very good. If we both got the halibut, this review would be very different. The place only gets a one star from me because of my dish and the way the error was addressed. I asked our server for a description of the $58 ribeye and she described something that sounded pretty tasty. It was the ribeye cut with the bone removed and the outside would be served at medium and the inside portion was going to be medium rare. I asked if both could be served at medium and she said, of course, I could have it any way I wanted it. When I received the dish I could tell that both sections were very under cooked, but I cut into both to be sure. They were both bloody rare. Surely not medium and definitely not medium rare, but blood oozing rare. I immediately flagged our server and told her about the problem and she apologized and would take care of it. A few minutes later my dish returned and it was only slightly more cooked. It just looked darker on the outside. I couldn't eat the center section - it was still too bloody. Now, here is my big problem with this place. This is supposed to be fine dining and the experience is supposed to be a big part of the meal. Everyone who knows anything about meat knows that once you cut into a piece of meat, it is hard, if not impossible to fix a temperature mistake. About the only thing you can do if it is undercooked is to cook it to well done. And if it is over cooked, then you can't do anything about it. That's that. So a 5 star restaurant with a $58 ribeye should've tossed it and started over. They certainly wouldn't have lost any money on the transaction and they would live up to their reputation. To throw it back on the grill and try to fix it is what I would expect from diner and $12 dollar ribeye, not from the most expensive place in Madison. Our server offered to buy us a dessert to make up for the problem, which was nice, but I would've preferred that they put a new piece of meat on the grill at the very least. The management also should've stopped over to our table to check in on us - pretty normal for a 5 star place, but then that is why this place is not and why we will not return. I see that the $58 dollar ribeye has been replaced with a $52 NY Strip. Let's hope they know how to cook that. read more

This place is the incarnation of the Platonic form of the Fine Dining Restaurant. As a big-city restaurant snob, I came to this place (at their old location) about seven years ago, expecting to be polite with my local friends. I was amazed, and my amazement has only grown over the years even as they moved to the new location. Where to begin? With the FOOD, of course, which starts with mostly locally sourced ingredients of the highest quality (MIchael Pollan loves this place too). The chef is a genius. I can still remember dishes from past years with tears in my eye (agnolotti with lamb balls, I love you! -- but I haven't forgotten you, Mr. Pheasant, or you, Bison steak!). The sommelier has a real knack for selecting superb wines through their supplier that sell for reasonable menu prices; if you are willing to spend $50-$100 on a bottle of wine you will not be disappointed. They are also really good at pairing wines, and you can do that more economically and for an even better dining experience. The wine list is so good, by the way, that I take it with me to wine stores as a guide. The service is impeccable; it is all done wonderfully and without fanfare. Finally, the atmosphere of the new place is excellent. There is a gorgeous view of the capitol and the square and the interior has the feel of a classy restaurant in New York but you're right there in Wisconsin, eating Wisconsin products from farmers who can be seen visiting the restaurant on their anniversaries. Remy would be proud! read more

Dinner - two 50's - 60's y.o. couples. Very source oriented (free range, organic, killed humanely, Portlandia - but not over the top) restaurant. All food excellently prepared. Main courses ample in size, 1st & mid courses not so large (I eat alot though.) Pork belly app spectacular & would've been more so w/more pork belly. Fish fresh. Pork chop juicy & tasty. My only criticism of any food prep was the farro that accompanied the pork - just on the still decently palatable side of salty. Any more salt and I'd have said something. Alcohol on the pricey side -- maybe could've shaved a buck or 2 from each drink. Desserts & cheese plate spectacular -- again a buck or 2 overpriced but oh so good. We had the banana bread pudding & the toffee pudding (?) I think it was called and it's the best dessert there I'm sure. Next time I'll get 2 of them for myself. The accompanying ice cream was excellent -- burnt caramel & ?????. Scoops could've been a little bigger -- but like I said I eat a lot. I would definitely go back & tell my friends to go too but you can't worry about the money and mostly worth it anyway. Service was perfect. All in, drinks, wine tax & tip & walking out stuffed -- $105.00 per person. read more