What a great place for a fresh and tasty lunch. Wish I had time for a shot at breakfast! The building at one time was a jail, and there are some architectural reminders. But the owners have done a remarkable job at creating a chic but comfortable atmosphere for a diverse dining crowd. I loved the grilled salmon salad - cooked perfectly and all the elements were fresh. The hot spiced tea was out of this world - it had a buttery apple cider profile that wasn't cloying but perfectly balanced - I had three mugs of it! And what a fun surprise when they served me my first piece ever of hummingbird cake. Great spice profile, tender crumb and the best icing, all served warmed! Couldn't have asked for better. Make it a point to eat here when you're in town! read more

I have loved the food and dining experience at Main Street since it first opened. Long time customer, first time reviewer. It's one of the bright spots in Madison. The plates are hearty, and the servings are generous. If you can dine in, their cocktails pair well with their dishes. They have the best sweet potato fries I've ever tried. I am thrilled they have a curbside option available in the pandemic. I would only caution anyone with food allergies to be very clear of what the chefs can safely provide. My menu is limited to wheat- and shellfish-free, which they can accommodate, but my options are very limited. It is unfortunate I can't have 80% of their food these days, but what I can have is delicious, especially the flourless chocolate torte! 5 stars for consistency, flexibility, scope, and flavorful menus in Madison. read more

Best restaurant I've been to in a while. The owners are phenomenal and take care of their customers and staff. Would highly recommend this place to anyone traveling in the area to see something different with outrageously good food. read more

For not being a barbeque place (if you know me!), I'm surprised I liked this place so much! After hosting a geocaching flash mob in honor of Derby Day (believe it or not, NOT associated with Madison's Derby Day festival that happened later), we wandered over here for lunch. Everyone was thoroughly pleased. Reservations had been made in advance and a large table was waiting for us upon arrival. Staff was courteous and kind, and full of suggestions. Everyone was challenged by the nice selection on the menu (no one ordered of the daily since we couldn't read from our table). I ordered the Crunchy Chicken Casserole. Wasn't as crunchy as the name implies, but it did have almonds and celery so there was more crunch than in my own chicken casserole. Mighty yummy! Bread and green beans were good, too. I wouldn't hesitiate to order it again next time.. unless I actually read the daily offers! Several bowls of bread pudding passed by as we were heading out the door... if only we had more time to spend here... I'll will be back... and suggested this to a group of firiends for their monthly luncheon! p.s. Good value for the price! I got out for under $10. Quck enough service. read more

Very nice Valentines Dinner. Had Shrimp Trio with fried, coconut, and shrimp scampi (6 of each). Nice flavor and pineapple sauce was perfect with coconut shrimp. My wife had chicken breast stuffed with Brie and balsamic onions also delicious. Would recommend this to anyone. Wish they were open for dinner more often. read more

Main Street Cafe - Welcome and bar. - Southern Near Me - Madison, Alabama

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Met my mom for brunch Saturday, what a lovely place! Had a wonderful chicken salad that was so generously sized. This place is such a quaint spot in Madison, I am glad I found it. I will be back soon. read more

Main Street Cafe is a very quaint little place. The decor is charming and it feels local. However, the small size of the building makes for a very noisy dining experience. If you have a baritone voice, good luck being heard. The staff are undoubtedly friendly. In my experience however they are not entirely honest. I ordered a Chicken Salad. You would expect the chicken to be possibly hot, maybe cold, but certainly fresh. And yet my chicken tasted and felt recooked (it had a granulated texture and was ice cold). We told the manager about it and she told us that they throw the chicken on the grill before putting it is put on the salad. If that chicken was on the grill before it was put on my plate than I'm the pope. They serve some decent dishes but they are almost always odd combinations (green beans, fruit and tilapia just don't go together). Furthermore, they never get beyond "well, that was alright I guess." Nothing here pops. It just all tastes serviceable and boring. My soda was flat. The other person I was with had a dish that was off-colored and distasteful. They only took off one dish. Don't plan on coming here again. read more

Great people, great service and great food! If you haven't had the strawberry pretzel dessert, what are you waiting for?!!!

Atmosphere is unique and staff are attentive, but I would not recommend this place, unless you can't cook decent or better food at home. The green beans are out of a can and not fresh, but I guess some people think that's good cooking. The crispy chicken casserole might as well have been in a soup bowl, with a watery consistency, and likely came from a soup can in the first place. It certainly didn't taste like it was in an oven; it was lukewarm. I'm surprised the place has such a high rating. Maybe it's because the prices are fair, although the quality isn't much better than many fast food places. We don't go out much and I don't consider myself a picky eater, but this restaurant incited my first ever review, and it isn't 4-5 star worthy. read more

Food was delicious, as usual, and service was outstanding! Will definitely be back and highly recommend to others!

The food is delicious and the ambiance is super intriguing since it is in an old jail. You might even get to eat in a jail cell. Great southern cooking. Servers are great too read more

This is a great southern home style restaurant housed in the old jail. I have eaten here many times and each meal has been very good. My favorite is probably the Georgia Chicken. If you are lucky, you'll get to eat in one of the old jail cells. read more

We love this place! Always great service and simple, good food. The food doesn't take long and always tastes fresh and their desserts are delicious. The prices are very low as well which is a plus. It's a good local option to frequent over the chain restaurants. read more

Loved this place. It's quite quaint and cozy. Busy was booming! The staff was very friendly, attentive, and personable. The food was good. And the portion was...... Let's just say, I don't need to eat dinner. Great comfort food. Definitely going back soon! read more

Place seemed nice but wait staff and kitchen were truly ill equipped. Food was mediocre. Will not attempt this place again.

I travel to Huntsville about once a month and like to eat at Main Street Café at least once each trip. The food is always great and reasonably priced, and my customer likes it too. It's too bad that they are only open for lunch because I would prefer to eat dinner here. While all of my previous experiences have been great, I experienced a problem on my last visit. The inside dining room was full and I was offered immediate seating on the patio outside. The weather was nice so I took them up on the offer for outdoor seating. As soon as I sat down, I noticed the people sitting a few tables away swatting flies, and I saw several flies land in the lady's plate. Yuck! Then they brought my food and the flies started attacking my plate. There was a constant barrage of flies, and it was annoying to have to keep shooing them away while trying in vain to keep them off my food. I finally got irritated enough and asked to either be seated inside or take my food to go. The server brought me a to go container and my check. I paid and left. Bugs don't usually bother me, but flies are so nasty and dirty. They land on dog feces and then land on my chicken. I can assure you that they didn't wash their feet first! One thing that bothered me about this situation is the attitude of the server and manager. First, the server said something like "sorry, the flies were worse the other day before the inspector sprayed." So they know there's a problem, but continue to seat people outside without even a warning. Second, the owner or manager never came to my table to apologize, and only said "have a nice day" to me when I walked by her on the way out. It left me with the impression that she didn't care about the flies or fact that I had a problem on that visit. Perhaps she could have shown some concern by discussing the issue with me or even offering me my lunch for free? I have had so many good experiences at Main Street Café, and I will overlook this one bad experience and try them again on my next trip. However, this business needs to address the problem with flies on their patio. They should get bug zappers or contact a professional pest control company to address the problem. Or close the patio until the problem is resolved. The fact that they continue to seat people on the patio with such a big problem leads me to believe that they are more interested in taking in cash than providing patrons with a good experience. That's an attitude that I can do without. If the flies are still a problem on my next visit, that will unfortunately be the last time that I will eat at Main Street Café. I hope they take care of the problem because otherwise I love this place. read more

Perhaps it was on off day in the kitchen, but my lunchtime experience was so disappointing! I chose the crab cakes and they tasted like fish-that's been-sitting-around-too-long. The accompanying squash casserole lacked flavor, as did the strawberry pretzel salad, which was watery (?) the atmosphere is somewhat charming, but could use a good scrub-down. read more

First time here and since I'm very critical when comes food and service I will them 5 stars because I honestly could not find one thing to complain about. Nice little quaint place with good vibes. Service was fast and staff was very very nice. Ordered the Blacken Ribeye and was cooked to perfection. Very pleased with affordable prices. Will definitely go back. read more

This might be the best local restaurant ever. The food is of the highest quality and the staff is on point. The owner hangs out at the front and makes sure you enjoy your visit. She hangs out because she loves what she does. You can see the passion in the way she talks and interacts with her patrons. Love this place. read more

Food was good. We went at lunch and were dressed casual because we were out shopping. Apparently this is where all the Real Housewives of Madison eat lunch. They looked at us like what are you doing here and how dare you have on capris and a shirt and flip flops. Traditional southern food. read more

Great service and great food. Tim was our server. We knew him from a former restaurant and he is GREAT. I had the porkloin and my girlfriend had the Georgia chicken, both of which he suggested. Great job. We will definitely be back. read more

The location is neat, eating in a old jail but the food was nothing special. I wouldn't go out of my way to eat here but if I was in the area I would consider it. read more

I love Main Street and it isn't just because I know the owners! I don't get there as often as I'd like since I don't get out for lunch a lot but everything I've had from Main Street is delicious. I could make a meal out of their squash casserole. Their meatloaf is delicious too! I've been watching what I eat so I haven't had their fantastic desserts but it is hard not to order anything they have with chocolate in it!! :) read more

They advertise curbside but when I called to place an order I got a recording stating their hours. I wanted to give a local place our business rather than a chain. Had to go inside to place the order and it was packed. I was surprised that they appeared to be utilizing all their tables that are quite close together. When I expressed my concern to the owner his response was to wave me away and walk away. He came back by and blurted out "if your scared stay home " i realize that we all have our own thoughts and opinions but as someone who has owned a business I could think of a number of ways to handle it differently and not be rude. We will not be returning, which is sad because we enjoyed this place in better days. And I want to add that I fully understand their need to make a living. Covid has hit the restaurant industry hard. He just could have handled himself better in this situation. read more

Very cute location. I went here with my mother for lunch my food had good flavor, but the majority of my steak I got was just fat. On the other hand my mother's fish and hashbrown casseroles received was undercooked. The staff was very friendly and fixed it immediately. Service was great, but I think most of the problems we had was from the kitchen. read more

My husband and I really enjoyed our time here. We love the atmosphere, historic, and of course mamma's good cooking. We take our guests here too, for the unique dining experience. read more

Excellent southern food! My husband and I thoroughly loved our meals. He had the Georgia Chicken and I had their signature dish, Poulet de Normandie. Both were equally delicious! Such a cute cafe' and clearly a local favorite. read more

I kept hearing about Main Street Cafe so I tried it. Three times. That was enough for me. I just don't understand how so many can give it a really good review when the food is mediocre, at best. On my first visit back in October, I had the chicken salad plate. The chicken salad was okay, but not as good as what I can get at Costco. The slice of pumpkin bread was good. The pea salad was rather bland and there were actually ice crystals in it. Service was okay and our server was friendly but obviously overwhelmed for not keeping our tea glasses filled. The next trip was a birthday party in December for a co-worker. Despite calling ahead to let them know we needed a table for 10 at a particular time, we weren't seated for nearly 45 minutes. Our server was really good this time, but even she was frustrated that our meals were coming out of the kitchen sporadically. Several in our group were finished eating before the rest even received their orders. I had the pot roast which tasted okay but the veggies were way too salty. When we lined up to pay on our way out, the owner got a little testy about us paying separately. I hope she was just trying to joke around but a couple of our out of town people were really put off. The last time I went was in late January with a friend who really wanted to try Main Street for the first time. We got there at 12:45 but most of the specials we were interested in were already sold out. We ended up getting broccoli cheese soup and salad. On top of being extremely salty, the soup was barely warm. The salads were simple house salads, with iceberg lettuce, tomatoes and carrots but it was room temperature and wilted. We also ordered the strawberry pretzel salad as a dessert but it was really soggy. I really, really wanted to like this place and I prefer to support small, local businesses but my experiences over 3-4 months just turned me off. I have friends who swear by eating here and others who won't set foot due to experiences similar to mine. The offerings remind me of 1960's fare made from "a can of this" and "a can of that." Nothing was original and the amount of sodium in the food was more than I'm willing to pay to eat. read more

Just had lunch and it was great! Nice atmosphere, Great staff, and Great food! I was really impressed with menu and the depth of choices.

I happened upon this place while working in Madison for the day and was very pleased. I ordered the chicken poulet with green beans and strawberry pretzel salad and it was great. I waited less 5 minutes for my food and it was delicious. I hope I get to work in this area again...will definitely be back. read more

Ordered the salmon salad at lunch today. The salmon was the saddest, colorless, flavorless salmon I've ever seen that includes canned salmon. The filet (using that term loosely to say the very least) looked like someone had put the filet in a baggy and ran it over with their car then threw the car in reverse and ran over it again. I hadn't been here in years and was sadly disappointed that I won't be back. In addition it took us 50 minutes to get our food. On the bright side the yeast roll was heavenly. read more

This is one of my favorite places to have lunch. The food is always outstanding. My favorite dish is absolutely the Georgia Chicken :)

Only open for lunch, it gets busy! Very tasty southern food and friendly staff. The train nearby gets loud, but this restaurant is a do-not-miss treat when visiting the ever-charming Madison, AL. read more

My favorite place to celebrate birthdays with girlfriends. Can be a little loud so we ask for one of the jail cells. Food is always good with a nice variety. read more

We were driving through town on a road trip and saw the parking lot full so decided to stop and get some home cooked food for lunch. Wow, what a mistake. Special was Rib eye with 6 shrimp and salad for $10.99. My grandson ordered the burrito. While waiting for our food a huge 3" cock roach walked out of the serving area and towards our table. My grandson noticed it and before i could tell the server she stepped on it while serving the table next to it and swipe it towards the wall with a soccer move,lol. The food came and my rib eye was a breakfast steak, 8 oz , 1.4" thick frozen .Gross, shrimp were overcooked 60 count with veins still in them. My grandson burrito was full of cheese and beans, no meat and looked like those .49 cent Aldis brand frozen style. Sad and gross, we paid the bill , $25 plus tip and left 3/4 of it and went to the arches down the street on way out of town.The locals all seemed to like it though and place was full read more

Quaint diner in Madison's cute little "downtown". Dine inside or outside in good weather. The meatloaf with cheese and marinara was delicious. It came with sides of garlic mashed potatoes and perfectly seasoned green beans. My daughter loved the fettuccine Alfredo with grilled chicken. The portions are large without totally knocking you into a food coma, and decently priced. The sweet tea actually tastes like...tea. Yum. Real southern sweet tea where the real tea flavor and sugary goodness stands out. It's harder to find than you might think. Well, you can find it here. Service was really friendly and relaxed and the drinks were refilled at the right moment without us having to slurp the bottom of the glasses. read more

Last time I ate here, it sucked. It still sux. Food was awful. Bathroom looked ancient and not clean. Who ever decided women's restroom location lacks any sense of privacy let alone smells observed after being seated next to the short wall divider. Not going back. read more

I used to think this was one of the better places to eat in the area, but the last few times I ate there were not that great. I feel like I am eating reheated frozen food or something out of a can. There is no shortage of people going there, so someone must like it. read more

same old same old. ate there with a friend that had the chicken poolay and she said the chicken tasted dated and stale. the menu has not changed since ? read more

Do not have the club sandwich. It was awful...slabs of tasteless ham on dry bread. Worst club sandwich I have ever had.