Good food but bad silverware and plates. Hard to eat the good food. Mashed potatoes are amazing- bring your own spoon.

We celebrated my sister-in-law's 50th birthday party at the Statehouse not too long ago. The service was excellent and the waitstaff were very attentive to our needs. Everyone seemed very pleased with their meals and my sister-in-law and her husband said the steaks they had were among the best they've ever had. It's quite a compliment coming from them as they live overseas, have travelled extensively, and I know they've been to more than their fairshare of nice restaurants. Personally, I had the Heritage Pork Chop w/cheddar jalapeno grits, mashed potatoes, and a Caesar salad and I could not have been happier with my meal. Afterwards, my daughter and I stolled down to the dock, which had some pretty nice evening views of Lake Mendota and the UW Terrace. Overall, a great experience and one that I'd highly recommend. read more

We went for brunch and it was incredibly good. Pancakes with Nutella were great, and the bacon was stellar. Endless mimosa also available.

I must add the manager contacted me & refunded our bill which was very nice of him. I hope the server in question learns from this & improves her skills. The Statehouse management called & were very apologetic & made up for he poor experience. read more

We've been here many times already for dinner and we highly recommend the lobster rolls! Yum! Fried Calamari was nicely flavored and fried. Great view and tasty food, what more can you ask for? read more

Amazing view, fresh oysters, delectable desserts. My family and I had a wonderful time with great service and fresh dishes. Try the scallops! read more

Such a special experience at The Statehouse on our visit from San Francisco. Sitting by the window at sunset overlooking sailboats on the lake, we had a superb meal. Our table of four started off with charcuterie, oysters and shrimp cocktail. All were fresh and hit the spot. The real stars were our entrees, which we split, and included an amazing steak on the most delicious mashed potatoes I've ever had smothered with the best gravy I've ever had! It was really a classic menu updated with unexpected favors and an artistic presentation. I'd also suggest a post meal cocktail on the dock down at The Boathouse! read more

Below average service and average food for the price. Views are great but there needs to be some staff training on how to serve. Disappointing for sure. read more

I drove 1 hr 15 min to be with family member for brunch this am. The build out of this resto and the view are great. The food is something else. 2 of us ordered the the egg white omelette appeared to be yellow as it was bathed in better. The smoothie was average at best and the hot chocolate was less than stellar. They need a good bar consultant with a craft cocktail movement in Madison. The bloody mary was ordinary at best. read more

Gave them a second chance after making the mistake of going on restaurant week last year. The service was great, Dalton was responsive and offered great service. The food was great, the wedge salad being my favorite. It was nice to see the service matches the wonderful views of lake Mendota! read more

First bad review ever given! Such a disappointment! Beautiful view but that's it. Ordered lobster benedict and brioche french toast; lobster was tough and rubbery. English muffin so tough could barely cut with a knife. French toast was subpar, comparable to what you would get at Denny's. Service subpar as well. Had to ask for refills of coffee and drinks. Assistant manager came to clear our places as we sat for 10 min. waiting for someone. She didn't ask how our meal was. Hostesses and waiter were friendly but that's it. So sad as restaurants on the water are a rarity in Madison. The Statehouse has the potential to be a premier restaurant in Wisconsin but falls short in every category. read more

The food was great and the service was perfect. Restaurant Manger Liz is very friendly and professional. Couldn't ask for a better experience! read more

Three people for dinner on a Sunday eve. View unbeatable. Service was flawless. The appetizer of smoked trout spread and crackers was delicious and a large enough portion for 3 to share. Sides of sautéed mushrooms and broccolini were both simple but nicely done and large enough to be shareable. One person had the lamb entree - decent portion and well cooked, but the meat was a bit dry. Two of us ordered the gnocchi with rabbit. Here's where the meal went wrong. The portion was very small for the price. The sauce had skimmed over on top which was quite unappetizing. The sauce flavor was ok but strong, and totally overpowered the overcooked mushrooms in the dish. But the real downfall was the bite-sized pieces of rabbit which were like eating rabbit jerky. This gnocchi dish needs major work, so do yourself a favor and order something else. read more

Wow wow wow. Was hoping to have a drink outside on a recent beautiful day. Gracious hostess suggested a table by the window overlooking the lake as the terrace was packed. Perfect. View and service were excellent. Plans changed, we had dinner incl apps but no dessert. The apps were really tasty , well presented and just the right size. Entrees: Walleye for one, ribeye sandwich for the other. An unexpected delight in definitely uspscale surroundings. Going back again. read more

Very disappointing eating experience. The crab cakes were very good. We also had the shrimp for starters and I found two of the shrimp were not cleaned properly. The entree took 40 minutes to arrive, even though my friend ordered scallops and I ordered two sides, marble potatoes and veggie latkas. When they did arrive, the scallops were soft and wet inside, although seared on the top and bottom. Now that's better than the rubbery texture you sometimes get at places, but we had never seen scallops served or that tasted like this. She did not eat but one bite. No discount was ever offered for the time we waited because a "misunderstanding" took place in the kitchen, and no one asked about why my friend had not touched her scallops. What a dive! Don't waste your money, if you want a lake view there are lots of other places to dine! read more

The stars are for the service - great guys. The food is pretty awful. It's overpriced and you can get better at Denny's. Ordered the club which was supposed to have avocado but I only saw a smudge in the corner of a piece of bread. Underwhelming to say the least. read more

We walked in and thought. This is amazing. But unfortunately it went down from there. Service and food were both underwhelming. And then the manager from the state house had an amazing treat with champagne waiting for us after our Spa treatment. Really nice. Second Chance. Chanced my review read more

My mom stayed at the Edgewater a few month ago and we had dinner with a few friends at The Statehouse. The service was incredibly friendly and competent. The food was delicious and beautifully presented. I also really enjoyed the wine list which featured a strong selection of lesser known California wines that I rarely find in Wisconsin. We will be back! read more

We had a stellar experience at the Statehouse last night. The new decor gives it a warm, New York feel. We enjoyed seeing the happy couples celebrating weddings and reunions while we enjoyed our drinks on the terrace overlooking gorgeous Lake Mendota. Our indoor table also overlooked the lake and the impeccable service started as soon as we arrived. The warm olive bread and seasoned butter were a nice way to start our evening. The appetizers were generous. The lobster bisque was a hit. We ordered salmon, steak and scallops. We all agreed they were done to perfection. The sides of mushrooms and frites added a nice compliment. The only thing I could improve was the house salad dressing was a bit strong with mustard/vinegar (and I usually enjoy grainy mustard). Save room for the apple pie (that easily served four of us), and the hazel nut chocolate dessert. Both a bit of heaven. Watching the storm brewing during sunset was amazing. We took some great pictures. Definitely worth the spurge. read more

The Statehouse - View of Lake Mendota at sunset from The Statehouse Restaurant. - New American Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

In short, the service was bad, the food was lack-luster, and the price was ridiculous for what you get.

My family and I went to the state house for Christmas Day dinner. A few specials were on the menu and I had the warm duck salad. Very very good. Several slices of duck on a sauce and then a croquette on the side with a raspberry jam. Excellent. My main entree was roast lamb on a creamy polenta and serve with shaved fennel and pomegranate seeds. Also excellent. Perhaps I hit it on a great day but I would definitely recommend going. read more

I would like to have written a review of this restaurant based upon the quality of service, or even how well the meal was prepared. Unfortunately, that didn't happen. My wife and I made reservations via OpenTable for 7:30 pm, Friday, December 14 to celebrate our 10th anniversary. When we arrived, we were told our table should just be a few minutes. A few minutes eventually became 50 minutes and still no table. Eventually, the hostess (to her credit did her best with an awkward situation) offered us a free appetizer and instructed us to sit at the bar, where they would notify us when our table was ready. Still no table. Eventually, exasperated and annoyed we asked them to forget the whole thing and that we would just like our parking validated so we could leave. Which is exactly what we did. My review is actually a Zero (0), for the spectacular failure that is the new Statehouse. As an aside, my wife worked at the Admiralty Room for over 10 years (the former restaurant inside the Edgewater), she was disappointed and frankly sad, to see what it had become. I can't think of a reason to give this business a second chance, especially when there are so many other restaurants to choose from. read more

Terrible drinks and rude servers! Unbelievable considering the incredible experience we had at The Edgewater outside of this. I will never go back. We will go down the street to Eno Vino or honestly anywhere else in the future. read more

Enjoyed two meals at this restaurant over the past weekend. Our dinner at the Statehouse was truly spectacular. The waiter was knowledgeable about the menu and wine list and gave us the opportunity to sample a wine before we ordered. He was attentive throughout the meal without being overbearing. The food was delicious! I had the salmon and my companion had a steak - both delicious and cooked just right! In reading some of the previous reviews, it seems that the service was not up to par .... they seemed to have figured it out! We were delighted! Definitely an upscale experience. A nice bonus is the gorgeous view from the restaurant. Lake Mendota is beautiful. Lunch was also excellent! Our salads were fresh, tasty and attractively presented. I would highly recommend this restaurant for the food, the service and the spectacular views. read more

UPDATE: I can say now that inconsistent fits this to a tee! Visited for our fourth visit and the food was, meh. The appetizer was delicious, but how can you got wrong with cheese curds? Salads were good. Main courses - left a lot to be desired. Dining companion had walleye, where the breading was so thick you couldn't taste the fish and the portion so tiny, well, it must have been a baby walleye. I had a steak which was fine. Both were accompanied by "root mashes" which were disgusting. We told the server we were less than thrilled, and she commented that they have gotten a lot of complaints about the mashes... The chef needs to get with it!!! It was made right by free desserts. But, this is used to be a destination restaurant inside the hotel, now it is a hotel restaurant. OK if you're staying there but not worth venturing out to dine there. read more

We went to the Statehouse for our anniversary. It couldn't have been better. Service was respectful, quick, and spot on. Food was excellent! Favors were simple, but delicious. I had the salmon and my husband had the ribeye, both were great. This will be a new favorite on my list of fine dinning Madison restaurants. read more

Not worth it. The prices are very high, which would be fine if the food/service were great but both failed miserably. My husband and I went on a Saturday evening to celebrate the birthday of a friend. We arrived around 7:15 and finally got our entrees about 2 hours later. This was not by our choice nor was it because the house was packed, although the waitress used "house chaos" as the reason for the poor service when she delivered the bill to us nearly 3 hours after we entered the restaurant. What went wrong? 1- The waitress offered a glass of Proseco to the B-day girl yet charged her for it anyway. 2- Two in our party ordered salads which never came. 3- The food was so so. One of us ordered the scallops that tasted gritty. Two of us ordered steaks; one medium and the other medium rare. The medium came out medium rare while mine (the medium rare) came out cold and nearing medium. When I asked them to do something about my cold steak they put it under the broiler which obviously made it warmer but also inedible. When we complained about the overall quality of the meal the waitress offered us free desserts which were ok but hardly worth the overall poor experience we had already had. 4- As I already said, the bill came with the Proseco on it but the 2 salads were also on it which we had to of course remind the waitress to correct. After all of this we sought out the manager who was very apologetic. He removed the cost of my steak and begged us to give the restaurant a second chance, but with so many better (and cheaper) restaurants in and around Madison I see no reason to return. read more

My family just had an elegant holiday dinner at The Statehouse at The Edgewater after an hour of skating on their Plaza. There were 11 of us and we plan to make it a tradition every year when the kids come home for Christmas. The food, service and wonderful atmosphere were all superb. Gary Stebnitz read more

Best brunch if you come for breakfast you must try the french toast

The reviews so far surprise me greatly because our food service on a beautiful Sunday evening in early June was so outstanding. Our waiter was Don. He was knowledgeable, prompt, good-humored, and accommodating. He took care of a minor glitch with drinks effortlessly. I believe we may have lingered a little longer into the evening just because he made us feel so at home. The food was good; the view of the lake is serenely gorgeous. read more

Spectacular Father's Day dinner at the Statehouse. My wife and I were staying at the Edgewater (in from San Francisco). For a classic 'Steak and Seafood' restaurant, the dishes were surprisingly inspired and creative. A few highlights: -Cheese and Charcuterie: Great selection of local meats and cheeses, served with mustard, pickled ramps and a fantastic pickled rhubarb. Very generous portion, which we devoured... -Meatballs and Sausage: Amazing house made meatballs and Italian sausage in a tomato sauce over creamy polenta. The best thing I've eaten in months. So good. -Seared Scallops: Perfectly cooked scallops sitting on an amazing pea puree. -NY Strip: Perfectly cooked to medium rare, juicy and well seasoned. Sitting on a bed of super creamy mashed potatoes. Wait staff was attentive, friendly, and helpful. Awesome views of Lake Mendota. All that paled in comparison to the food, which I really can't say enough about. read more

Mothers Day brunch $53/ person. Had to wait in line for 1 waffle maker, 1 omelet maker, had to pay for "mom"mosa, got the bill for 4 of us for almost $300!!!. Had a service charge of $42 plus gratuity built in for 20% for a brunch! where the servers brought coffee once ours were very cold. So disappointed in the service and price that we will NEVER go there again and will not have kind things to say about it. Even the parking was advertised as $5 and had to pay $9!! read more

I cannot comment on their food specifically, but we were staying in the hotel and went down at 11:45pm to have a drink on a Saturday night, and we were informed that the bar already did last call. The bar was filled with people including a bride and groom who had their wedding there, so this did seem odd to me that there was a last call with so many customers before midnight on a Saturday. Moral of the story is just to make sure you take advantage of the refrigerators they have in the room, because they charge $7 for a beer anyways. read more

Portions too small. My husband and I both got quiche. My husband went home and ate breakfast again. Service was terrible refill on coffee came almost at end of meal. There was no dressing on salad we couldn't ask server because she never came back to table. We had to get up to get the bill. The only thing good was the view. read more

Not sure why this place has a bad rep...Ate here for lunch and it was great! Excellent atmosphere and view, food was good, prices reasonable, service attentive. Not sure what else you need in a restaurant. I had the duck confit poutine which was very good, and a burger, and we had a bunch of other apps that were good. read more

Awful! We were here for nearly hours due to slow service, several orders of cold fries, drink mix ups, and waiting 45 minutes for our check. Waitress said fries didn't come with our meals so we ordered extras. Turns out every meal came with fries. It was a huge mess. Had to go out of our way to confront the manager by the end of it because it seemed she purposely avoided our table. Will not be back read more

We ate at The Statehouse during restaurant week January 2017. The food was simply not good. Bland, slightly burned--each dish lacked flavor. Charging the highest possible price for a restaurant week meal ($35 per person) was not at all justified. The ambiance was also quite strange--it was very dark in the restaurant and there was no warm lighting. The goal of restaurant week is to introduce people to a restaurant in the hopes that they will return. I will not be returning. read more

I wish this place would step it up. There were 4 of us for Christmas Eve dinner. We arrived at 6:30 for our 7:30 pm reservation so we hung out in the bar. We got no service at our table, we felt very ignored. We had to go up to the bar for our drinks and waited and waited for service. We walked up to the host stand at 7:28 and the host said "your table is not ready, we've had a slow turnover." Then, a hostess walked up and host said to her "is the table ready for this party?" She said, "it's 7:28, they're early, we'll seat them in 2 minutes." WTH? We were seated, after 2 minutes. We ordered cocktails and they were too strong, and no limes came with the vodka tonic, had to ask for those. We ordered a bottle of wine and I asked for bread. We ordered chicken liver pate, and it was good, but I was unfamiliar with having to remove the hard, cold layer of fat on top first. They could not find the wine we ordered, so it took a while to get that. The wedge salads came and were good, but still no bread. The specials for the evening that we had were just meh, the herb-crusted lamb was thinly sliced and not that good, something like a buffet meal. The sea bass was not good at all, fishy tasting, small portion. The filet was good, but the broccolini that came with it was old and not good. Several servers dropped things around us. It just was not the high-end restaurant or meal I was expecting, especially for $360. This was the second time we've eaten here for a holiday and the second time I wasn't impressed. read more

Overpriced, mediocre food overall and awful service! I do not tend to notice or evaluate service, unless the staff really stands out. The service was so bad, it stood out. We made a reservation for 6. 5 of us arrived together and informed the staff that our 6th would arrive shortly. The table had only 5 seats and incomplete place settings. We pointed this out to the host seating us, and she assured us she would fix it. 10 minutes later, when the guest arrived, still no chair. He stood around for at least another 10 minutes, and finally took a chair from another table for himself. The restaurant was half empty. (Graduation weekend in Madison, most restaurants are fully booked-now we know why this place was available). The waiter seemed unsure, and ordering became a fiasco. We finally got through ordering- usually a simple straightforward process. The food was quite pricey - for example 5 small (chewy) scallops for $38.00, salad and soup extra. My husband loves oysters and ordered an appetizer. It came with 4 oysters and 2 clams. He asked for all oysters instead and said that increasing the charge would be fine, and they said, no, can't make the substitution. No explanation. Being a good guy, he ordered it as is for the 4 oysters (which were good). He enjoyed his filet mignon steak more than I enjoyed the scallops. The salads were interesting and good. However, the worst part of poor service happened at the end of the meal. We ordered coffees all around. When the wait staff brought my husband's coffee from behind, they did not warn him and they spilled an entire cup of coffee all over his shirt. Thank goodness the coffee was only like warm! They neither apologized or offered to make amends of any kind. We left with a large bill and an unhappy crew. We were in Madison for a celebration, and this choice of place to celebrate was s huge disappointment. read more

My family made reservations for a Christmas Eve dinner. When we arrived, checked in 15 minutes early and were told the restaurant was running 30 minutes late, we should have left for Dennys but decided to give the statehouse the benefit of the doubt and stick around. We were finally seated 45 minutes after our confirmed time, were gracious and unlike the angry diners seated to our left , did pay for our drinks. Note to self, angry diners...free drinks. Our water glasses weren't filled when we arrived at our table...we were seated 45 minutes after our reservation.....When our dinners arrived, more than an hour after we were seated, 2 of the 6 were stone cold.... not cool, not tepid, freezing cold. One of our dinners was initially served to a diner at another table...yuck! The cold dinners were removed from our bill, and we left the restaurant 3 hours after our reservation with no dessert, no offer of free drinks, dessert, coffee to make up for the terrible service. Note to self again....we didn't complain....... no free service..... So very disappointed with everything associated with this meal... time, food, service. The 1 rating was only because of the lights around the skating rink. read more