While popping between nearby Colectivo and the adjacent park, we popped into Alimentari out of…read morecuriosity, and somehow left with a pre-made frozen dinner for the evening and a Spicy Soppressata sammy to enjoy alongside the lake mere feet away! While they seem to be known for their sandwiches, and for good reason, they have a lot of great artisanal items rooted in Italian cooking. This includes oils, wines, sauces, spices, treats and more. The "more" also includes fresh-made pasta, hand cut meats and cheeses, gelato and a few other absolutely delish items! Back to that sandwich...we were not hungry, but could not pass up a good sandwich, especially one freshly made on locally sourced and baked bread! The bread was the absolutely star of each bite, I mean...sheesh! The sandwich in full was great, and definitely worth the stop in on its own. The store itself is small, but mighty, and well laid out, stocked with all the goods, flows well, clean and in great condition. Service was stellar as well. We were greeted upon entry, checked on while browsing and chatted up while being rang out. Overall, solid spot for a ready-made meal, a special ingredient, a tasty sandwich, fresh pasta, charcuterie or just to wander around in!

Holy smokes... I am going to have dreams about this sandwich. It is definitely top 3 sandwiches of…read moremy life and maybe the best ever. I had the prosciutto sandwich and my SO had the pastrami and both had nothing but good things to say as we ate. The prosciutto sandwich had balsamic that had just started to soak into the otherwise crunchy bread, with these big chunks of mozzarella and the freshest tomatoes and greens. Alimentari itself is this awesome little deli/grocer with both bagged pastas AND FRESH PASTA/antipasti available to buy, as well as all sorts of goods, breads, coffees, chocolates, beverages and a whole wine selection. Beware that there is no seating inside but definitely do not let this dissuade you from visiting.

Construction around this place made it a pain to get here, but finally got there. I dig what they…read moreare doing here, and feel this is a great way to get exposure to many types of dining all at once. Came here on a Monday, and unfortunately, a handful of the stalls were not open. Bummer, as the Filipino joint happened to be one of the stalls. Didnt stop me from looking. All the different food stalls are on the perimeter of this place, with ample seating in the middle. This place is also connected to a market, so if you happen to need a little something extra to supplement your meal, you could get it from here, though no real prepared food, so I'm thinking more of condiments or drinks. The market itself seemed to have a fairly decent selection of Asian groceries and items, with discounted items right before the checkout lines (genius). I found myself going through the drinks for a good 5-10 minutes alone. I hope this place does well. I was here on a Monday in the summer, so hopefully this wasn't a good representation of their normal traffic, but this place was DEAD. OVERALL - if you're wanting the variety of a mall food court, but specifically with Asian choices, come check this place out! CELEBRITY RATING - Donnie Yen

While visiting family in the Midwest we came here for a weeknight dinner. Lots of different food…read moreoptions from various Asian and even African countries. We ordered from multiple different places, noodles, dumplings, various veggie dishes and all the food was good. There is lots of seating and we stopped in the grocery store for some snacks afterwards.

This grocery store has a really respectable array of fruits, veggies and dry goods from Asia. A…read moregood amount of pantry staples, although not as vast as selection as say, Viet Hoa. What really shines here? Their food stall. I had the spam musubi and immediately went back inside to get 2 more lol. The person working the window even gifted me shrimp toast, which was very sweet. (The shrimp toast is fire). This is more of a pick up and go kind of spot, although they have stools and a counter if want to eat there. Think cafeteria vibes but not in a derogatory way. They sell out often. I know bc I came here yesterday around 2pm, SO excited for spam musubi, only to learn that they sold out of everything at 1pm LOL. Today? I made sure to get there around 1130am. Was able to get garlic butter shrimp (7 BIG shrimp, so flavorful) served with pasta salad (delicious, I usually do not love pasta salad), and rice. I also got a shrimp lumpia (delicious) and a spam musubi for later. Food was phenomenal as usual. The food scene in Madison is not as robust as other places I've lived, but this place? A gem. Def give them a try. Just don't go too late like I did yesterday.

This is a really nice little Asian grocery store with lots of fun snacks as well as some hot food…read moreoptions. It's fun to walk around and look at what they have. I also grabbed the sweet chili tofu chips as a snack, which had a very unique and interesting texture with a little spice as well. They weren't my favorite snack but it was fun to try them out. The service was great and staff was very helpful.

They have kebabs and shawarmas in the back of the market - delicious and fair priced. They are very…read morefriendly and have a little sitting area for a quick bite to eat. Really fun- they also have a huge selection of tea.

Authentic and real food lots of variety and consistent. Market has unique and special items, full…read morehalal

Top quality, hard-to-find Japanese ingredients available here. Excellent, friendly service, very…read morehelpful with suggestions for best brands and how to cook with them.

Madison is loaded with Asian markets, but Oriental Shop caters to the Japanese market. The couple…read morethere are quite kind, and they are honest and truly care about you and making sure their goods are top quality. I trust them so much I only buy my seafood for sushi and sashimi from them. Here I made a chirashi bowl with just some of the seafood they had to offer. I even bought a ramen style bowl from them. She buys fish larger, to cut down on costs. She then cuts them in smaller sections and those savings are in sure given to you. If you want something special, you can ask her to order it for you sometimes. Every time I go I am surprised by something new they will have, and know she will know about the products they sell. This is really my most favorite shop in Madison. I would give it 10 stars if I could.

Came here for the first time yesterday the lady was so welcoming sweet and made sure I had…read moreeverything I needed for my egusi and okra soup it is so beautiful in there feels like home ! I will be shopping here more often and my food came out amazing and authentic

This small, female-owned business doesn't look like much from the outside, but once you open the…read moredoor, a tidal wave of African culture hits you and carries you away. I was immediately drawn to the jewelry. She has a case full of gold-plated necklaces, bracelets, and earrings. Another case houses more colorful jewelry pieces and bracelets with animal designs (lots of elephant detailed jewelry for the Delta women). Then she has a wall full of unique African-inspired earrings and necklaces, including some lavish, hand made pieces, complete with cowrie shells. Some of the jewelry came in sets, others had matching pieces that you could purchase separately. I went a little overboard on the jewelry purchases, but I knew that these were one of a kind finds. I was specifically looking for a dress or skirt. She has an entire area dedicated to clothing and fabric. I fell in love with the skirts. The colors and prints were lovely, and the material was top notch, not that cheap polyester material that some places sell. To boot, they are machine washable AND they have pockets!! (I LOVE pockets!) The skirts were $65 each. She also sells African foods, drinks, and skin care products. The 100% all natural butter (made from mangoes, almonds, and coconut; no animal products) is amazing. I bought a jar for $20; it makes my skin so soft, and it smells good. I spent a lot of moolah in this store, but I honestly feel that the prices are reasonable for the quality of the products. The owner was very friendly and helpful as I browsed for what felt like hours. I would definitely visit again on my next trip to the Madison area.

Finally got in here to dine in, and it was just as lovely as expected. We came here for lunch with…read morea group of six and had a wonderful time. Service was fantastic and they were very helpful with taking our order and explaining anything on the menu. We found a table and they brought us over chips/salsa/queso. All of these were so good and it was a struggle not to eat it all... I wanted to enjoy my tacos. Everyone in our group enjoyed their food and there were absolutely zero leftovers remaining! My two pastor and one steak tacos were overflowing with yummy goodness and I was definitely full afterwards! It's so nice that you can order tacos a la carte (or you can go the full meal and get the rice and beans etc, but I never eat them) for a reasonable price. I did squeeze my limes over the tacos, but they were so good as is I didn't even sample the salsas they brought to the table. It was the start of my day so I didn't get to enjoy an adult beverage, but certainly plan to be back again.

I think the first time or two I was at this place I didn't have as good of an impression of this…read moreplace. My previous view was based hugely upon the poor customer experience that I had endured. But two weeks ago I returned because I was seriously craving a taco and the other nearby place had finally convinced me they were second rate. (I wrote a small bit, about that location, not more than a couple weeks back. I won't name it, but I rather hope these words will be taken to heart and affect change) But upon my reentry to this place I was beyond pleasantly surprised. Eduardo, the owner whom I have since met, is the reason why I have returned. An active and dedicated team needs their captain. So trying to reimagine the perfect taco place I had a fresh mindset and I think I was accurate about that choice. Today marks the 6th time in roughly 2 weeks. Basic ground beef tacos with onions, cilantro and some lime. Cheap and delicious. Absolutely not a bastardized low fat gringo taco. Not at all. Heavy on the filling and tasty. It's only missing one ingredient: spice. The orders include a pair of sauces, a green and red plastic cup with something resembling a hot sauce. Tuesday is a $1 ground beef taco. Sparse but not lacking in the meat. So glad I tried again. Eduardo has a key quality that makes a place feel welcoming. Friendly, and informative about the foods that are available. I don't speak Spanish, aside from simple jargon that every English speaker has to have as their basic vocabulary, even in regular American speak day to day situations. The place vibrates with a lot of ethnic authenticity right here in my Middleton neighborhood where I've lived now for 15 of my 25 years in Wisconsin.