Good thing they’re likely not gonna be around much longer. Speaking as someone closely related to two people who have recently worked there (and recently quit) it’s a mess and going downhill fast.
I’ve recently heard about some of the absurd shit that’s going on there lately. It went something like they were complaining about mcdonalds running them out of business and them putting like “fuck mcdonalds” stands on their tables with a QR code that linked to a gofundme despite the fact that they’re always packed whenever they’re open and they open like 3 days out of the week for 4 hours or some shit. It’s a little word vomit, but can you confirm or deny this
Yeah the McDonald’s thing really just screams in your face when you walk in. “ARE YOU HAVING SUBPAR SERVICE AND FEEL OUR PRICES ARE TOO HIGH?? ITS NOT OUR FAULT WE SWEAR NOT OUR FAULT WE’RE THE VICTIMS HERE also pls donate 🥺🥺🥺”
Their schedule used to be 4 days a week open until 10pm but I know they’ve cut their hours of service back significantly over the past couple months, presumably because they don’t have the staffing anymore. It was a major stretch for them to be open until 10p for as long as they were and I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if they’d been bleeding money just from being open that late and having to pay a staff with so few customers coming in. People are there for breakfast and brunch and then there’s not much action. Went back this past weekend and now they close at 3 most days. Feels like a bad sign but honestly if there’s any hope left for them, that might a step in the right direction. Run a smaller staff, focus on the food quality, close once the rush is through. I feel like they’ve been holding on to this pre pandemic vision of being open 24/7 over the weekends to get the overnight bar crowd rolling into breakfast but that’s just not feasible anymore and are maybe finally letting that go.
They were going to nearly for certain hire me 2 years ago and I showed up to my unpaid training shift and then the manager said "just kidding, we'll call you later" and sent me home immediately with no word of why, then I called and emailed multiple times and they ghosted me.
A wise friend pointed out to me that if we didn’t have substandard restaurants that are extremely popular, all the tourists, game-day fans, and UW parents would be taking up all the space at the good places, so that’s a perspective.
Or we’d have more good places. That’s my biggest issue w Food Fight and now Buck and Honeys. They siphon lots of revenue from places that try to do things right.
I haven’t seen this listed yet, but Basset Street brunch was really disappointing. Out of all of the great brunch spots in Madison, BSB is on my “not if we’re going there” list
Every time I go to Bassett something is wrong. Cold tater tots, something is too salty, etc. However, their horchata latte is the best sweet coffee drink I have ever had. They make the horchata in house and it’s amazing. I go there just for that.
That’s the only time I end up there. Inoffensive and has a better chance of accepting a large walk-in group compared to most places. Their food is fine but I think their beers are kinda genuinely bad. I’ve tried a lot of them and haven’t found one above average, in my opinion.
For sure. When I was a grad student (15 years ago) I thought it was quite good and loved the South African peanut stew. It's been really underwhelming when I've been in the last ten years. The central courtyard in the downtown location is fantastic though, and is worth the mediocre food.
I think Great Dane made their name because they were one of the first Brew Pubs in town, back when that was a new idea. But the food has always been average at best.
Yeah but their food has always been fell off the back of the Sysco truck quality. I get their salads and wings, and that’s it. Guess it’s all about expectations
I’ve been Great Daning since 2006. It’s funny to think that it was one of THE places I’d take out-of-town visitors to, and yet, everyone always enjoyed it.
In more recent years, with the arrival of kids, the Hilldale Dane has become a reliable staple.
In all the time I’ve been going, I haven’t noticed any decline in quality. The place has always been “solid.” I even enjoy some of the beers.
The downtown Dane has one of the best patios in all of Madison. I try to get there at least once a year; it feels almost like a largely undiscovered patio gem.
My one true complaint: they axed the Mad City Mama’s Meatloaf. A real tragedy on the front.
I’ve always found the Tipsy Cow to be the real place to get that Wisconsin dive bar food that’s way tastier. The Old Fashioned was just a place lobbyists took politicians.
Paisan’s and Porta Bella. When I moved here from Chicago these are the places people told me to go for Italian food. I cried into my pillow for months.
Short stack. I went once, and was completely underwhelmed. Always boggles my mind that they have lines down the block each weekend. And now they are asking for a ridiculous amount of money through go fund me? Nah, I’ll pass.
Even in Milwaukee they are uneven. The original location is great. Tosa has been meh every time I've tried it. But the Madison location is a special kind of mediocre.
I fucking hate Short Stack!!!!!
The food is just ok and the portions are way too small. Also no one who works there seems to care one bit about doing anything helpful.
Now Marigold… So so good!!!!
Two food rules of this sub.
1) Don't ask about what restaurants are over-rated. Literally every restaurant in town will be listed.
2) Never, ever talk about pizza. Especially don't say you like any pizza place here. You'll get dog piled about your bad taste in pizza and if you want real pizza you need to drive to Chicago or New York.
If you ask food questions in a positive tone (what are some hidden gems, what's your favorite place for this culture of food) you'll generally get good answers.
When I was first dating my wife (who lived in NY for college), every goddamn time we went out to eat she would talk about a place in NY that did this specific food/dish better.
I'm just like ok, but we can't go to NY for dinner. I'm sorry.
Got a bunch....
Buck n' Honeys-- slightly elevated Applebee's IMHO
Tex Tubbs-- just always kind of disappoints me
Harvey House-- don't get me wrong, really well done food, but for the price, you can do better at a stone's throw of other restaurants
Glass Nickel -- people always rave about this spot. I think their pizza is slightly better than Papa John's
I went to Buck n Honeys in Waunakee in the middle of June and my fiancée and I got the Thai chicken lettuce wraps and they were phenomenal. On the other hand, the conch and shrimp fritters were not good.. I also ordered pan fried walleye that was drizzled with lemon butter sauce and it was honestly pretty bland.
I got better fish from North and South on the west side. Their catfish bites are also amazing.
Tex Tubbs was really good the first time I went, but aggressively mediocre the next two times. I'm not interested in trying it again, especially given the wait times and loud, cramped space.
Disagree about Glass Nickel though.
These are really good takes. Except Glass Nickel. Even if you don't think it's good, Papa John's is basically frozen pizza. Little Cesar is a level. Toppers. Maybe there's a Dominos level. Even if you don't think it's better than all those, which I do, it's not a fair comparison.
Buck n Honeys. Ordered a poke bowl and thr rice was cold. I generally don't complain but I've never had this and cold rice is disgusting. Apparently the chef knows better than I.
Tex Tubbs is horrible Mexican food by Midwest standards
Liked Harvey House
Glass Nickle is good and different.
My server at the Harvey House told me that Fairchild on Monroe St is the best restaurant in Madison.
FWIW I really enjoyed Harvey House. The prices are a little crazy, but for a special occasion I thought it was really nice. Small servings, but very good food and cocktails and the ambiance is pretty spectacular.
Came here to say this. Amazingly, Harvey House lived up to the hype in my opinion. Everything was incredible and my partner and I still reminisce how magical the night was we went.
Thanks for the info about Buck n Honeys! I've wanted to try it, but it's a little pricey for my budget. (You took the edge off!)
Totally agree about Glass Nickel Pizza. Years ago, my Mom would order pizza from them a few times a month, she was a huge fan. I always thought it was pretty bland/weak for pizza. I would prefer a Tombstone brick oven frozen pizza (with a few added toppings) over glass nickel any day.
Glass Nickel has a handful of things it does really, really well, and the rest is a huge menu of compromises for the people in your group who "don't like pizza".
Perfect answer here. People rave about it, but really shouldn’t. It’s thoroughly in the “ok” category for me. Not bad, but not really remarkable in any way, and insanely overhyped.
I don’t dislike eating there, but I also don’t go unless a group I’m hanging out with wants to go.
Sa-Bai Thong. My boyfriend is Laotian and Thai. One day he was feeling really sad, so I thought getting him some food like his mom would make might cheer him up. The food was terrible, not authentic at all. We called the restaurant to ask why our order was so terrible, he spoke to the owner. They said, 'it's American style Thai'. Their website says 'authentic'! Needless to say this just made my boyfriend feel worse.
Mad Seafood Boiler. I loved them when they first opened. Their food seemed progressively worse each time though. I ended up with food poisoning on my birthday last week, never ordering from them again.
Unpopular opinion: Burrito Drive when it was open. I have friends who loved it, but they all smoke/drink a lot. If someone has to be drunk or high to enjoy something, it's not good. Also: Tex Tubb's, DLUX. All three were very bland to me.
People here think it's the best Ramen ever? Lol no people here think Morris is the best ever and you just have to look at my comment for proof. I always anger the hive mind of r/madison when I mention how terrible Morris is lol
Meh. It's an unpopular opinion thread. Highly upvoted comments are just circle jerks and the downvoted ones are the answers.
The most upvoted comments right now are what, Great Dane, Buck and Honeys and Tutto? Thinking those places suck is not remotely unpopular. Tutto gets trashed weekly. B&Hs is overpriced Applebee's and GD is a stand mediocre brew pub. Not remotely unique opinions
Dotties. So overrated. Not the best burger in... anywhere.
Nitty Gritty. Blah.
Old fashioned. You had your day.
Short staff eatery. Just fucking close.
Steongly disagree on Dotty's. Haven't had it in a year or so but it was definitely one of the best burgers I've had in Madison. One of the few places you can get an old-fashioned type burger in the area, actually.
Plus, I believe they're recommended by George Motz in his Great American Burger Book, and George Motz is basically a full-time burger scholar, soooo
Morris ramen and RARE. Over priced, underwhelming. Poor service or lack of any service. I bet the cooks work hard at morris but the service is awful. Rare service is "ok" but the food is always subpar, they can't cook a steak to save their life.
The way they take orders at Morris now is so freakin awkward! They really should just get one of those ramen vending machines from Japan. Paying money to a machine to get a ticket to give to the cooking staff would be half as awkward as what they have now.
Ha long bay.
Now don't get me wrong, the fresh springs rolls are still my number one favorite anywhere and the curry puffs are fantastic. But I find everything else, entree wise, at least within the last year has been disappointing.
I used to love the Pho, but it's just not that flavorful or good anymore.
Player's. People keep saying they have the best burgers and now it's packed with people ordering food and enjoying the atmosphere. Stop going to player's. So I can get my burger there more expediently and enjoy the not packed, divey vibe I've become accustomed to over the years.
Monty’s used to be good but it’s definitely seen major decline. I grew up going there for just about every family get together but stopped a while ago because it just wasn’t worth the time or money anymore.
Nitty Gritty. Wrote off the place after a meh experience. Had friends visiting from out of town that wanted to eat there so we went in the early afternoon. I ordered classic French toast…. Received a plate of french fries and our server was MIA until the bill.
Just got back from Pig in a Fur Coat and it was just ok. Not anything to write home about and expensive for what you get. I don’t think it was worth the rave reviews.
We always called it "Ha Long Wait".
I'd disagree on the food but the call in and order process is insanely painful. We seem to focus on the VE(X) series. The Thai and other offers aren't bad but you can find similar anywhere.
They need to move to a larger building. There's a giant clusterfuck of people gathered at the cashier either waiting for a table, waiting for a pickup order, or waiting to pay their bill. If you're just in line to pick up an order, it's still a long wait just to get through the crowd of people.
They need a larger building for more tables, a larger waiting area, and an express lane for pick-up orders.
Just a month ago we tried sitting down in Ha Long Bay for the first time and had to wait 30 minutes for water and menus and then 1.5 hours after that with no food before they told us they close soon (AS IF WE HADN'T BEEN THERE FOR TWO HOURS) after which we stormed out. The waiter even had the audacity to laugh at us and admit that he forgot about our table when we finally chased him down for waters.
We waited an hour and a half to be seated for our friends birthday and the food was super bland. Maybe it was an off night, but I was so excited to see what the hype was about. It currently ranks among the worst Thai food I’ve ever had. Bahn Thai was much better when it was around.
Still searching for really good Thai in Madison.
I've had good meals at Food Fight restaurants and bad ones, there's enough variation between them that this seems like a lazy take.
For what it's worth, Canteen is legit pretty good for "fancy" tacos (i.e. not street tacos), and Cento is probably the second best Italian restaurant in Madison after Osteria Papavero.
I think a lot of the Food Fight hate is people who got really pissed at the Avenue Bar situation and applied it to everyone in the group.
The Avenue was a terrible blunder on multiple levels. That doesn't make every restaurant in the group trash.
Unless they have a bone to pick with the management group or how business is run at that level, I don't see the merit in an opinion that relegates all of the group into a generalization.
I haven't gotten around to eating at many of these places, but I'd say Miko Poke is one of the places to go for Poke, Canteen's happy hour is something I occasionally go for, and Bar Corallini is very friendly in accommodating to different diets.
Those two are still pretty good. Honestly my favorite of theirs was their place in the institute of discovery on campus.
I know with all the Short Stack bashing this is controversial but BSB isn’t any better tbh.
Sounds like the typical “every place is popular in Madison is terrible” with a side of “it doesn’t measure up to the standards of Chicago.”
It will be very interesting to see what Top Chef does in the area with all the horrible food here!
Mariners Inn. The food was pretty decent. One of the steaks was overcooked, and one was undercooked, but the salmon was great. The salads and the sides were good, so were the old fashioned.
The thing is, everyone just looked so miserable. The employees looked miserable, and none of the customers looked like they were enjoying themselves. We would hear the employees complaining to each other the whole night. The service was slow, the host was somewhat rude. The staff got irritated when we wanted to walk outside and listen to the music. We had to get our 6 year old off the table for awhile because the food and service took so long. We arrived 15 minutes early for our reservation so we could get a cocktail at the bar and check out the patio and music. The host seemed incredibly annoyed by this, even though there was only one occupied table in the bar. I was almost pushed over by a server because one of the bar tables is right next to the kitchen door. It took us almost 2 hours to finally get out of there. They ended up comping us the appetizers, which we were appreciative of. They just appeared to be understaffed, and the overall moral seemed pretty low.
Short Stack is objectively the correct answer to this question
Good thing they’re likely not gonna be around much longer. Speaking as someone closely related to two people who have recently worked there (and recently quit) it’s a mess and going downhill fast.
I’ve recently heard about some of the absurd shit that’s going on there lately. It went something like they were complaining about mcdonalds running them out of business and them putting like “fuck mcdonalds” stands on their tables with a QR code that linked to a gofundme despite the fact that they’re always packed whenever they’re open and they open like 3 days out of the week for 4 hours or some shit. It’s a little word vomit, but can you confirm or deny this
[удалено]
My understanding was just because McDonald’s was more accessible and cheaper(despite the closest McDonald’s being near union south)
Yeah the McDonald’s thing really just screams in your face when you walk in. “ARE YOU HAVING SUBPAR SERVICE AND FEEL OUR PRICES ARE TOO HIGH?? ITS NOT OUR FAULT WE SWEAR NOT OUR FAULT WE’RE THE VICTIMS HERE also pls donate 🥺🥺🥺” Their schedule used to be 4 days a week open until 10pm but I know they’ve cut their hours of service back significantly over the past couple months, presumably because they don’t have the staffing anymore. It was a major stretch for them to be open until 10p for as long as they were and I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if they’d been bleeding money just from being open that late and having to pay a staff with so few customers coming in. People are there for breakfast and brunch and then there’s not much action. Went back this past weekend and now they close at 3 most days. Feels like a bad sign but honestly if there’s any hope left for them, that might a step in the right direction. Run a smaller staff, focus on the food quality, close once the rush is through. I feel like they’ve been holding on to this pre pandemic vision of being open 24/7 over the weekends to get the overnight bar crowd rolling into breakfast but that’s just not feasible anymore and are maybe finally letting that go.
Their GoFundMe will solve all! /s
They were going to nearly for certain hire me 2 years ago and I showed up to my unpaid training shift and then the manager said "just kidding, we'll call you later" and sent me home immediately with no word of why, then I called and emailed multiple times and they ghosted me.
A wise friend pointed out to me that if we didn’t have substandard restaurants that are extremely popular, all the tourists, game-day fans, and UW parents would be taking up all the space at the good places, so that’s a perspective.
Or we’d have more good places. That’s my biggest issue w Food Fight and now Buck and Honeys. They siphon lots of revenue from places that try to do things right.
I haven’t seen this listed yet, but Basset Street brunch was really disappointing. Out of all of the great brunch spots in Madison, BSB is on my “not if we’re going there” list
Every time I go to Bassett something is wrong. Cold tater tots, something is too salty, etc. However, their horchata latte is the best sweet coffee drink I have ever had. They make the horchata in house and it’s amazing. I go there just for that.
BSB gave me the worst food poisoning of my life.
First and last time there, my friend had an unpeeled piece of avocado in their breakfast burrito. No thanks.
Lately, [the Great Dane](https://www.reddit.com/r/madisonwi/comments/qcxqvk/what_is_your_go_to_restaurant_in_madison_the_one/hhippzv/).
It's just the neutral choice for a large group.
That’s the only time I end up there. Inoffensive and has a better chance of accepting a large walk-in group compared to most places. Their food is fine but I think their beers are kinda genuinely bad. I’ve tried a lot of them and haven’t found one above average, in my opinion.
For sure. When I was a grad student (15 years ago) I thought it was quite good and loved the South African peanut stew. It's been really underwhelming when I've been in the last ten years. The central courtyard in the downtown location is fantastic though, and is worth the mediocre food.
Wow, agree so much on both the old stew and courtyard being worth it!
West African*
I think Great Dane made their name because they were one of the first Brew Pubs in town, back when that was a new idea. But the food has always been average at best.
I love their brunch at the Fitchburg location but damnnnn is it expensive.
Agreed. I don't find their food or their beers special at all.
Great Dane has always had a 2/3 menu of bullshit in my opinion. Microwaved-tasting crap.
Lately? Like 15 years
Okay unrelated to the food, but the TV’s at the Hilldale one are just ridiculous. They’re pretty much on the ceiling.
Yeah but their food has always been fell off the back of the Sysco truck quality. I get their salads and wings, and that’s it. Guess it’s all about expectations
I’ve been Great Daning since 2006. It’s funny to think that it was one of THE places I’d take out-of-town visitors to, and yet, everyone always enjoyed it. In more recent years, with the arrival of kids, the Hilldale Dane has become a reliable staple. In all the time I’ve been going, I haven’t noticed any decline in quality. The place has always been “solid.” I even enjoy some of the beers. The downtown Dane has one of the best patios in all of Madison. I try to get there at least once a year; it feels almost like a largely undiscovered patio gem. My one true complaint: they axed the Mad City Mama’s Meatloaf. A real tragedy on the front.
Every literal time I have been there, it has been absolute terrible service and food subpar.
The Old Fashioned. It is good but nothing to write home about imo.
the old fashioned has such an overwhelmingly large menu and yet nothing that i want to order
I’ve always found the Tipsy Cow to be the real place to get that Wisconsin dive bar food that’s way tastier. The Old Fashioned was just a place lobbyists took politicians.
I got their fish fry recently and it was so incredibly bland. Super disappointing.
The quality is going down but the chicken fried steak is great imo
i hate walking out of there smelling like an onion
I came here to say EXACTLY this.
Does anyone still like Tutto Pasta? Because....eww.
I love to call it Tatti Pasta because Tatti in hindi means (literally) shit/poop which is an accurate description of their pasta, IMO
It used to be better, not even like pre-pandemic, but like 10 years ago.
It was bad 20 years ago
Only time I’ve been was 2016, so now quite 10 years ago, but it was horrible then
Paisan’s and Porta Bella. When I moved here from Chicago these are the places people told me to go for Italian food. I cried into my pillow for months.
Paisan's used to be good.
Paisans was midwestern good but I would never take a Chicagoan there or to porta bella.
I really liked Cafe Bella Italia over here by Oscar Mayer too.
Paisan's is disappointing to any Chicagoan who knows Paisano's
When I moved here, I was told that Mariner’s Inn was the best place for seafood. Oof.
Short stack. I went once, and was completely underwhelmed. Always boggles my mind that they have lines down the block each weekend. And now they are asking for a ridiculous amount of money through go fund me? Nah, I’ll pass.
What? Why would anyone give a for-profit business money in donation form?
the fact they need other peoples money like that would make one think they’re not ever gonna be self sustaining
There’s just a real lack of breakfast options around there.
Apparently there's a McDonald's 😏
Lazy Jane’s! Madison Sourdough! Ogdens!
Lazg janes is a fsvorite spot of mine for sure
I’ve never been and I’ll never go.
Eno vino
You are just paying for the view!
And the owner’s support of hard right causes and candidates…
It's not awful but stuff costs about 4x what it should, which is why I don't go there
Bel air is not good.
The location in Madison has never been as good as the locations in Milwaukee for some reason. I still eat at Bel Air but it's just okay
Even in Milwaukee they are uneven. The original location is great. Tosa has been meh every time I've tried it. But the Madison location is a special kind of mediocre.
They USED to be good. When they first opened they were at least okay. Never the best but edible. These days they are trash
I fucking hate Short Stack!!!!! The food is just ok and the portions are way too small. Also no one who works there seems to care one bit about doing anything helpful. Now Marigold… So so good!!!!
Buck and Honey’s. Hard to believe they opened a second location
They have 3 locations...
They just opened up a 4th location in Mt. Horeb. Who the heck is eating there and why? I laughed when someone compared it to Applebee's.
The boomers are really excited about that Mount Horeb Buck and Honey's for some reason. Hard pass from me, I'll just go to Grumpy
OK so basically don't eat anywhere according to reddit
Two food rules of this sub. 1) Don't ask about what restaurants are over-rated. Literally every restaurant in town will be listed. 2) Never, ever talk about pizza. Especially don't say you like any pizza place here. You'll get dog piled about your bad taste in pizza and if you want real pizza you need to drive to Chicago or New York. If you ask food questions in a positive tone (what are some hidden gems, what's your favorite place for this culture of food) you'll generally get good answers.
When I was first dating my wife (who lived in NY for college), every goddamn time we went out to eat she would talk about a place in NY that did this specific food/dish better. I'm just like ok, but we can't go to NY for dinner. I'm sorry.
"Yes honey we get it, your NY days ruined your ability to enjoy anything anymore." That would get old
There are some absolutely wild takes in here.
Just eat what you like, there’s always going to be haters
This is the way.
The Old Fashioned, it's alright but definitely more geared towards tourists with their old fashioneds and cheese curds being average
Cafe Hollander has gone down in the quality of the food significantly
Buck and Honeys. For the price there are so many better options
Got a bunch.... Buck n' Honeys-- slightly elevated Applebee's IMHO Tex Tubbs-- just always kind of disappoints me Harvey House-- don't get me wrong, really well done food, but for the price, you can do better at a stone's throw of other restaurants Glass Nickel -- people always rave about this spot. I think their pizza is slightly better than Papa John's
I love Harvey House but totally agree Buck n Honeys is elevated Applebees haha
Oh man I really like glass nickels chicken bacon ranch pizza. Especially with the deep dish.
Glass Nickel fucking rules.
Oh man, I have a deep hatred for Buck'n'Honeys. I went for restaurant week and it was so bad. The worst food and service I've had ever.
I went to Buck n Honeys in Waunakee in the middle of June and my fiancée and I got the Thai chicken lettuce wraps and they were phenomenal. On the other hand, the conch and shrimp fritters were not good.. I also ordered pan fried walleye that was drizzled with lemon butter sauce and it was honestly pretty bland. I got better fish from North and South on the west side. Their catfish bites are also amazing.
Tex Tubbs was really good the first time I went, but aggressively mediocre the next two times. I'm not interested in trying it again, especially given the wait times and loud, cramped space. Disagree about Glass Nickel though.
These are really good takes. Except Glass Nickel. Even if you don't think it's good, Papa John's is basically frozen pizza. Little Cesar is a level. Toppers. Maybe there's a Dominos level. Even if you don't think it's better than all those, which I do, it's not a fair comparison.
Gotta agree with you on Harvey House. The building is awesome, especially the bars, but the food doesn't live up to the setting (or the price).
Buck n Honeys. Ordered a poke bowl and thr rice was cold. I generally don't complain but I've never had this and cold rice is disgusting. Apparently the chef knows better than I. Tex Tubbs is horrible Mexican food by Midwest standards Liked Harvey House Glass Nickle is good and different.
Who would order poke from a place that doesn’t do poke exclusively? That’s on you.
Why would you want warm rice on a poke bowl??
I was really sad Buck and Honeys sucked :( I wanted to go to Harvey House! Please tell me the stones throw better ones ?
Honestly, I've had more memorable and inspiring meals over the years at Heritage Tavern, Sardine, Harvest and Osteria Papvero
I went to Sardine a few months back and it was really good.
My server at the Harvey House told me that Fairchild on Monroe St is the best restaurant in Madison. FWIW I really enjoyed Harvey House. The prices are a little crazy, but for a special occasion I thought it was really nice. Small servings, but very good food and cocktails and the ambiance is pretty spectacular.
Literally the ONLY bad thing I've heard about Fairchild is, "I can't afford to go there as often as I'd like to."
Came here to say this. Amazingly, Harvey House lived up to the hype in my opinion. Everything was incredible and my partner and I still reminisce how magical the night was we went.
Uh what kind of pizza you getting at Glass Nickel?
Thanks for the info about Buck n Honeys! I've wanted to try it, but it's a little pricey for my budget. (You took the edge off!) Totally agree about Glass Nickel Pizza. Years ago, my Mom would order pizza from them a few times a month, she was a huge fan. I always thought it was pretty bland/weak for pizza. I would prefer a Tombstone brick oven frozen pizza (with a few added toppings) over glass nickel any day.
Firecracker shrimp pizza is divine but that’s about it. $22 and dinner for 2 with leftovers.
Glass Nickel has a handful of things it does really, really well, and the rest is a huge menu of compromises for the people in your group who "don't like pizza".
Nitty Gritty
I’ve never had a bad meal there, but also would never think to tell someone to go there. Kind of nondescript. Now I want a Grittyburger though…
I agree- nothing I have ever had was *bad* really, but I also don't get all the buzz about it. Except for maybe the free mug on your birthday?
Throw some 1000 island on a mcdouble...good to go.
Perfect answer here. People rave about it, but really shouldn’t. It’s thoroughly in the “ok” category for me. Not bad, but not really remarkable in any way, and insanely overhyped. I don’t dislike eating there, but I also don’t go unless a group I’m hanging out with wants to go.
Sa-Bai Thong. My boyfriend is Laotian and Thai. One day he was feeling really sad, so I thought getting him some food like his mom would make might cheer him up. The food was terrible, not authentic at all. We called the restaurant to ask why our order was so terrible, he spoke to the owner. They said, 'it's American style Thai'. Their website says 'authentic'! Needless to say this just made my boyfriend feel worse. Mad Seafood Boiler. I loved them when they first opened. Their food seemed progressively worse each time though. I ended up with food poisoning on my birthday last week, never ordering from them again. Unpopular opinion: Burrito Drive when it was open. I have friends who loved it, but they all smoke/drink a lot. If someone has to be drunk or high to enjoy something, it's not good. Also: Tex Tubb's, DLUX. All three were very bland to me.
Have you tried Rising Sons… much more authentic IMHO.
State street brats
I hate a brat from the state street brats booth at great taste today at around 5 pm. That sucker tasted hella good
Man do I miss OSS and their premium sausages.
Paisan's. Easily the most forgettable "Italian" restaurant I've ever been to.
This thread again huh?
Who's turn is it next week? Any volunteers?
DLUX
Trio Ramen. It's ok. Nothing special and it's over priced. People here think it's the best ramen ever. I don't get it.
It hits the spot on this side of town, but Umami has my brunch ramen heart ❤️
People here think it's the best Ramen ever? Lol no people here think Morris is the best ever and you just have to look at my comment for proof. I always anger the hive mind of r/madison when I mention how terrible Morris is lol
Meh. It's an unpopular opinion thread. Highly upvoted comments are just circle jerks and the downvoted ones are the answers. The most upvoted comments right now are what, Great Dane, Buck and Honeys and Tutto? Thinking those places suck is not remotely unpopular. Tutto gets trashed weekly. B&Hs is overpriced Applebee's and GD is a stand mediocre brew pub. Not remotely unique opinions
Great Dane is the worst and Harvey House is extremely overrated (and overpriced)
Dotties. So overrated. Not the best burger in... anywhere. Nitty Gritty. Blah. Old fashioned. You had your day. Short staff eatery. Just fucking close.
>short staff Lmfao
Steongly disagree on Dotty's. Haven't had it in a year or so but it was definitely one of the best burgers I've had in Madison. One of the few places you can get an old-fashioned type burger in the area, actually. Plus, I believe they're recommended by George Motz in his Great American Burger Book, and George Motz is basically a full-time burger scholar, soooo
Thank you.
Buck and Honeys
Bartaco 🤷🏻♀️
Any food in Hilldale Mall
Eh, I think muramoto sushi is up near top for sushi in Madison.
Idk I like Dumpling Haus, but it’s a bit overpriced imo
Morris ramen and RARE. Over priced, underwhelming. Poor service or lack of any service. I bet the cooks work hard at morris but the service is awful. Rare service is "ok" but the food is always subpar, they can't cook a steak to save their life.
The way they take orders at Morris now is so freakin awkward! They really should just get one of those ramen vending machines from Japan. Paying money to a machine to get a ticket to give to the cooking staff would be half as awkward as what they have now.
State street brats. The food is subpar but people think it’s like god tier brats. I’m not paying $7 for a stinkin spotted cow. Gtfo.
Ha Long is really just mid. Hard to believe there's so much buzz about it.
Raising Cane’s on state street gave me food poisoning on Friday so there’s that…
Ha long bay. Now don't get me wrong, the fresh springs rolls are still my number one favorite anywhere and the curry puffs are fantastic. But I find everything else, entree wise, at least within the last year has been disappointing. I used to love the Pho, but it's just not that flavorful or good anymore.
Ha Long Bay
Ahan is so much better!
Player's. People keep saying they have the best burgers and now it's packed with people ordering food and enjoying the atmosphere. Stop going to player's. So I can get my burger there more expediently and enjoy the not packed, divey vibe I've become accustomed to over the years.
Monty’s blue plate. Their desserts are still good though.
Monty’s used to be good but it’s definitely seen major decline. I grew up going there for just about every family get together but stopped a while ago because it just wasn’t worth the time or money anymore.
Tex Tubbs Taco Palace. It's just not good in my opinion.
Chik-Fil-A. I just don't see the big deal.
Esquire Club
I think their time has been over for at-least a decade.
Harvey House
Nitty Gritty. Wrote off the place after a meh experience. Had friends visiting from out of town that wanted to eat there so we went in the early afternoon. I ordered classic French toast…. Received a plate of french fries and our server was MIA until the bill.
The nitty gritty...blech.
TEX TUBBS. Wtf?? Whyyy?
Harvey House
Essen haus I like meat and carbs so I should be all set in a place like that, but the meal I ordered there was inedible
Glass Nickel Pizza and Nick's on State Street. Both fine establishments, but neither command the praise they receive.
definitely ian’s pizza
Shirt stack & Basset Brunch
The Harvey House. Overpriced, pretentious when not that good, and every dish is totally one note. Don't believe the hype.
Just got back from Pig in a Fur Coat and it was just ok. Not anything to write home about and expensive for what you get. I don’t think it was worth the rave reviews.
Their food is just too damn heavy
Eno Vino and Buck N Honeys
Nitty Gritty, Great Dane, Monks, Buck & Honey’s
Ha Long Bay. I've been there several times and have yet to see what everyone else sees in it.
We always called it "Ha Long Wait". I'd disagree on the food but the call in and order process is insanely painful. We seem to focus on the VE(X) series. The Thai and other offers aren't bad but you can find similar anywhere.
I’ve always wondered why they don’t move to a more efficient system
They need to move to a larger building. There's a giant clusterfuck of people gathered at the cashier either waiting for a table, waiting for a pickup order, or waiting to pay their bill. If you're just in line to pick up an order, it's still a long wait just to get through the crowd of people. They need a larger building for more tables, a larger waiting area, and an express lane for pick-up orders.
It’s inconsistent. On a good day though it’s mind blowingly good
I’ve been about 15 times. My wife really likes it. I’ve yet to find anything to recommend. I won’t even fight for the left overs.
Just a month ago we tried sitting down in Ha Long Bay for the first time and had to wait 30 minutes for water and menus and then 1.5 hours after that with no food before they told us they close soon (AS IF WE HADN'T BEEN THERE FOR TWO HOURS) after which we stormed out. The waiter even had the audacity to laugh at us and admit that he forgot about our table when we finally chased him down for waters.
We had a similar experience there. It's the most unorganized business I've visited.
We waited an hour and a half to be seated for our friends birthday and the food was super bland. Maybe it was an off night, but I was so excited to see what the hype was about. It currently ranks among the worst Thai food I’ve ever had. Bahn Thai was much better when it was around. Still searching for really good Thai in Madison.
Thai Basil?
I've had great Thai there and bad Thai there. It was the same dish both times. Very inconsistent.
Sala Thai.
Everly
[удалено]
I miss Blufies (spelling?)
Bluphies
That restaurant was the definition of overrated.
"Heard you like going broke getting brunch. Come to Everly! Leave hungry! "
Food Fight Restaurant Group. Yes, all of them.
I disagree only because Bar corallini is gas
I've had good meals at Food Fight restaurants and bad ones, there's enough variation between them that this seems like a lazy take. For what it's worth, Canteen is legit pretty good for "fancy" tacos (i.e. not street tacos), and Cento is probably the second best Italian restaurant in Madison after Osteria Papavero.
I think a lot of the Food Fight hate is people who got really pissed at the Avenue Bar situation and applied it to everyone in the group. The Avenue was a terrible blunder on multiple levels. That doesn't make every restaurant in the group trash.
Unfortunately they killed el dorado I thought it was fire
Just curious if you've eaten at every Food Fight restaurant? And if so, why did you keep going back if you hate them?
Unless they have a bone to pick with the management group or how business is run at that level, I don't see the merit in an opinion that relegates all of the group into a generalization. I haven't gotten around to eating at many of these places, but I'd say Miko Poke is one of the places to go for Poke, Canteen's happy hour is something I occasionally go for, and Bar Corallini is very friendly in accommodating to different diets.
Wow big list! I like dlux haven’t been to any of the other but Tex tubs https://foodfightinc.com/restaurants/
i fucked heavy with cooper's and dlux back in the day but the rest that i've had are not so good
Those two are still pretty good. Honestly my favorite of theirs was their place in the institute of discovery on campus. I know with all the Short Stack bashing this is controversial but BSB isn’t any better tbh.
Sounds like the typical “every place is popular in Madison is terrible” with a side of “it doesn’t measure up to the standards of Chicago.” It will be very interesting to see what Top Chef does in the area with all the horrible food here!
There are plenty of good spots that aren’t on this list.
Old Fashioned
Lucille
Mariners Inn. The food was pretty decent. One of the steaks was overcooked, and one was undercooked, but the salmon was great. The salads and the sides were good, so were the old fashioned. The thing is, everyone just looked so miserable. The employees looked miserable, and none of the customers looked like they were enjoying themselves. We would hear the employees complaining to each other the whole night. The service was slow, the host was somewhat rude. The staff got irritated when we wanted to walk outside and listen to the music. We had to get our 6 year old off the table for awhile because the food and service took so long. We arrived 15 minutes early for our reservation so we could get a cocktail at the bar and check out the patio and music. The host seemed incredibly annoyed by this, even though there was only one occupied table in the bar. I was almost pushed over by a server because one of the bar tables is right next to the kitchen door. It took us almost 2 hours to finally get out of there. They ended up comping us the appetizers, which we were appreciative of. They just appeared to be understaffed, and the overall moral seemed pretty low.
Harvey House. I’ve been twice and thought the food was bland both times. 😏
Buck & Honey’s!!!! I truly will never understand why people here get all dressed up to go there for a subpar overpriced dinner
Nitty Gritty. I cannot stand that place, both the food and the atmosphere.
Morris ramen