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    The Downtowner

    3.8 (121 reviews)
    Closed 10:30 am - 9:00 pm

    The Downtowner Photos

    THE DOWNTOWNER ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Casual
    Dogs allowed
    Good for kids

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    Recommended Reviews - The Downtowner

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    Downtowner Trio (Chicken Salad, Potato Soup, and Pasta Salad).
    Terry T.

    If you find yourself in Madison. Give this place a try. It is located downtown and only a block or so away from the Courthouse. Food is good and service at lunch is quick. What more could you ask for?

    Spinach Chicken Wrap
    Christina B.

    This cute cafe is right in the middle of Downtown Madison as the name suggests. There's plenty of free street parking outside. They have lots of sandwiches to choose from, in addition to pizzas, soups, and salads. I had the spinach chicken wrap. Everything tasted fresh, which is why I was so surprised it was served with a bag of chips. It was still good though. My mom had the potato soup and loved it. The staff were friendly and we got our food quickly.

    a man sitting at a table in a restaurant
    Billie K.

    Food first, the potato soup was really good. The potato salad had no flavor. Salad was bigger than expected. There is a lot of seating. Nothing fancy just a casual place to have a casual lunch or dinner. The service was slow but they are low staffed. We waited at least 20 minutes for them to take our order. Would likely try a different spot while in Madison next time, but, that soup- YUM!

    people sitting outside of a restaurant
    Laura M.

    The locals recommended Downtowner for a casual lunch and it was a great choice. There is a nice selection of sandwiches, wraps, salads, soups, pizzas and don't miss dessert. We had the chicken salad with the side of red potato salad and the Italian turkey pesto on focaccia. Best sandwich I've had in awhile. Portions are large so you won't leave hungry. Checkout the oversized cookies they are worth it. Our server Chelsea was excellent!

    Built my own veggie sandwich due to lack of vegan options
    Lisal F.

    I visited The Downtowner for lunch during a recent day trip to Madison. As it was my first time in Madison, I relied on recommendations from friends who had been there before, and The Downtowner came solidly recommended. My experience could have been better. Here is why: 1. While there are quite a few vegetarian menu options (parmesan pesto grill, black bean & cheddar ciabatta, extra cheesy grilled cheese, Greek pizza, garden, pasta, and potato salads) there are no vegan selections. While not surprising, it is disappointing. 2. As there were no vegan choices, I opted to create my own sandwich, which should have been a roaring success, as I was the one creating it. I ordered a veggie sandwich on rye, grilled, with sauerkraut and "all the vegetables," which were reported to be: lettuce, tomato, peppers, green and black olives, mushrooms, cucumber, and spinach. My sandwich arrived after all my other dining companions', and rather than having "all the vegetables," had lettuce, a tomato slice, 4 mushroom pieces, 1 sliver of pepper, and 3 green olive slices. More concerningly, it was sprinkled liberally with cheese, which not only covered the top of the sandwich, also spilled over onto the plate. When I pointed this out to our server, she took the sandwich back to the kitchen and returned very quickly with the same sandwich, slightly altered, on the same cheese-sprinkled plate. The top of the sandwich had been replaced with un-grilled bread, which resulted in half my sandwich being grilled and the other cold, with small bits of cheese sneaking in. 3. I did not receive a check. My three dining companions did. 4. As I try to be ethical, I pointed out the lack of check to the server who did then print a check, however I had substituted a side salad instead of chips, and was charged for the salad. When I pointed this out, the server was not sure how to correct the issue; after consulting a colleague it was resolved, but this compounded an already less-than-par experience.

    Loaded potato soup, grilled cheese, Italian pasta salad
    Laken T.

    A Madison staple!! The Downtown is a classic Madison experience for lunch! Friendly staff and service. I crave the loaded potato soup and grilled cheese and when I'm back in my hometown it's a must stop! So yum! Also save room for dessert and get a cookie or slice of cake. Parking is always free and lots of adorable shopping in the area!

    a dining room with a ceiling fan
    Peter P.

    This place doesn't look like much from the outside, but when you step inside you feel like you just walked into a little New York deli on Wall St. They have a nice selection of soups and sandwiches and the price is right.

    Sides and Kids menu
    Keith F.

    We had lunch at the Downtowner this past Saturday during one of many Madison weekend walk around events. One of the first signs of a good establishment is the tables are full but turn over quickly meaning they had great food and great service. That rule certainly applies here as our seating wait time was short and the food was every bit as good and a nice choice of different meals available very fresh and a great value. So would we recommend the Downtowner, absolutely they are a better lunch spot or a quick dinner, there's no wine or any afternoon beverages we'll call them, so if you looking for a dinner of that atmosphere this one is not the place.

    Big Reuben. Kinda big deal!
    rod m.

    We happened across this restaurant on Sunday. It was pleasant surprise and sandwiches were big and flavorful with soft hoagie buns. I had BLT with nice aioli and crisp bacon. The star sandwich was the Big Reuben... see pictures. I need to have one of these next time.

    French bread pizza
    Destiney R.

    This establishment was quaint, and on the smaller side. You walk in and are greeted by a handful of tables/booths in the main area with the counter and the kitchen behind. Then to the left of the counter you go through a doorway and there are 6-8 more tables give or take. We were told to sit anywhere we like. It did take the server a bit to greet us, but she was friendly and took our drink orders. Came back with our sweet teas, and then gave us a couple more minutes to look over the menu since it was mine and my wife's first time there. Once the server came back, I ordered the downtownee trio, which was my choice of a half a sandwich or specialty item & two sides. I got half the downtowner club, and for sides I ordered the bow tie ranch pasta and the loaded potato soup. My wife got the French bread pizza with pepperoni. The downtowner club 5/5 The loaded potato soup 1/5 (it was hot and looked good but the taste was not good in my opinion.) The bow tie ranch pasta- 5/5 My wife said her French bread pizza was also a 5/5 Aside from service being a little on the slower side, all around this place was a 10/10 for us and would highly recommend.

    The Downtowner burger and loaded potato soup

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    4 months ago

    Consistently great food! Love the loaded potato soup, top it off with one of their amazing cookies!!

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    Good friendly service, good food,at a good price. Great homemade soups. Our place to go when we visit Madison.

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    Rivertown Grill - Whitefish basket

    Rivertown Grill

    2.6(38 reviews)
    0.1 mi

    We ate here for lunch today, and it was a very disappointing experience. There were only three…read moretables waiting for food, yet it took nearly an hour for our meals to arrive. We were told the delay was because of the mac and cheese, which was supposedly cooked in a cast-iron dish. Instead, it appeared to be Kraft mac and cheese heated in a ceramic bowl. Because of the long wait, all of our fries were cold by the time they reached the table. I ordered the buffalo chicken wrap, and it was difficult to eat because of the way it was prepared. We drove to Madison hoping to enjoy a nice lunch, but unfortunately it was one of the most disappointing restaurant experiences we've had. Considering the quality of the food and the lengthy wait, we couldn't believe how much we spent. We left feeling like it simply wasn't worth the cost.

    Four of us for lunch. Started by splitting a half order of chicken livers. The menu stated a half…read moreorder was a half pound of livers. The livers were very good. However, the order seemed awfully small to be a half pound.. We also tried their cup of gumbo ($9.99). The gumbo was pretty good, but I prefer gumbo made with a brown roux, this gumbo was tomato based. Three of us had the Half Corned Beef Reuben lunch special served with fries ($9.99). The sandwich was average, not bad but nothing outstanding either. The fries were ordered crispy and they arrived as ordered. Fries were very good. One person had the breaded tenderloin sandwich. It looked good and he said he did like it. They have bottle beer, no draft. IMO the highlights were the livers and fries. Service was very good, fast and friendly.

    Photos
    Rivertown Grill - Half Reuben and fries.

    Half Reuben and fries.

    Rivertown Grill - Angus burger. Yum

    Angus burger. Yum

    Rivertown Grill - Pizza was really good

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    Pizza was really good

    Harry's Stone Grill - Filet lobster tail $47 with 2 sides   And a small but very tasty margarita I had to

    Harry's Stone Grill

    3.4(114 reviews)
    2.9 mi
    $$

    Not good.. Use to be awesome and has really went downhill…read more Waitress was good just seems dirty inside..maybe invest in a duster and vacuum.

    We completed our day at the Madison Chautauqua Festival of Art. Now we were hungry…read more I looked up in Yelp for local restaurants and Harry's Stone Grill came up. So drove around looking for a place when we did come upon Harry's. The parking lot was almost full. We entered and spoke to hostess and received a possible 45 minute wait; lobby was full; but we put our name down. Tired to see if sitting room in bar but packed. People seemed to be moving at steady pace. We were actually seated in about 25 minutes. Waitresses and waiters bustling about, our waitress was Alyssa and promptly attended us but said she was really busy but would get us started. Water; drink order placed. Took awhile for drinks since bar was full. She stopped by and asked if we wanted an appetizer or bread while waiting. We asked for bread and soon returned with nice pumpernickel loaf and butter. She came back and took food orders and drinks followed. It was a bit of a wait but this place was humming. Staff dashing left and right and at times close calls as they took care of patrons. Ordered prime rib special medium and rare. Salads came pretty quick and very tasty and looked fresh. Alyssa kept us informed all the way through our dining process. We were so pleased by her service. Hadn't had service like this in a long time- top notch. Our steaks arrived and were perfect! I highly recommend trying this place! Best steak place in probably 40 mile radius that's really a steak house!

    Photos
    Harry's Stone Grill
    Harry's Stone Grill - Grilled shrimp skewers

    Grilled shrimp skewers

    Harry's Stone Grill - Chicken quesadilla

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    Chicken quesadilla

    The Downtowner - sandwiches - Updated August 2026

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