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March 2024 by Charles Szymanski
Elegant but down to earth dine in eatery. Food was great, my friend had the risotto and was blown away by the added rib. I had a burger and thought it was one of the better burgers I’d had. Just don’t expect lettuce or tomato on it!
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March 2024 by Sandy Caughlan
Cool looking place. Service was good. The food and drinks were underwhelming. Had the risotto, which was bland. I typically don't salt my food much, but this was one note. Needed more acid, salt, or something. We had the gin, raspberry, lime, egg white drink, and it was incredibly sour. Like drinking lime juice. Requested some simple syrup to make it drinkable. The onion fondue was good. Although I was expecting a cheesy onion fondue, it was not. It was like French onion soup without the broth. It was still yummy with the chips. That was my favorite thing here.
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March 2024 by Jennie H
Got the Costco gift cards, thought we would give this place a shot. When we checked in for our 5:30 reservation we were told that there was another party coming at 7:30 and they would need the table for that. Very odd, I've never had a timeline for a restaurant that didn't have booked experiences.Got the cheese curds and the bogo wine for our appetizers. Wine was good, the cheese in the curds was good. The batter around the cheese was a little harder than I like but ok. The ranch they served it with had no flavor.My husband got the Spiced Black Manhattan, which was good, though the gingerbread syrup was little overpowering at the end.I had the braised short rib with roasted potatoes. Overall very mid. The meat was well cooked but needed some seasoning. The potatoes seemed baked more than roasted and has no seasoning.My husband had the steak frites. The steak was charred on the outside and rare on the inside. Aioli with it was ok.Overall, felt the time limit for the dining experience was a little off putting and the food overpriced for what you got. Wouldn't go back except maybe for a cocktail.
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March 2024 by Sameet Sapra
Good vibes and ambiance! I liked the large open seating areas, comfortable booths.Excellent cheese curds, but neither of our brunch dishes (omelette, 2 eggs) were that special.The breakfast potatoes could’ve spent a bit more time getting crispy. There was also a lack of seasoning, which was disappointing.
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February 2024 by J D
Had the onion fondue and drinks...real
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February 2024 by Rodney Jenkins
5 stars in the hopes the Merchant makes a comeback!*The Way We Were - Barbara
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February 2024 by DanielleR
Handy because we could get a brunch reservation. They weren't busy on Sunday and it was quiet, which was good. Our server Grant was great. Service was slowish- not his fault. Menu and food was ok. We probably won't be back. Not because it was bad, just wasn't that great.
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February 2024 by Piotr Langner
Walked in right now and restaurant emptyWas told there is no room on SundayCalled them and they said it’s fullLet’s see if they will be….Bunch of kids serving…..Manager said sorry about it….
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February 2024 by Jerry McLain
Just a cool spot. Has the downtown Madison alternative vibe open to all. Craft cocktails and great food. Frites are sick. You won’t stop until they are gone. The merchant burger..best bun I’ve ever tasted. Great curds, eggs benedict…stop it. So good yet somehow undiscovered. Music was brunchtastic. Great mix fit the vibe. Go soon.
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February 2024 by Tim Riley (UglyStix)
Wasn't thrilled with the food but maybe it just wasn't for me.
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February 2024 by Sara Errthum
This was my first time back for a meal since the restaurant's reopening. It's a great spot for gathering with with friends or a date. We started with several dishes including the Bibb lettuce salad, cheese curds and the charcuterie board from the bar snacks/starter portion of the menu. The salad was very refreshing and light. It's fairly big and we were able to share it across 4-5 people. The curds came with a spicy hot honey (not spicy so give it a try) and an aioli. The charcuterie board came with two cheeses, a couple of meets, jam, bread, pickles and more. I would rate it as in my top five. My friend and I shared the steak and frites along with the beet salad. One of the best beet salads I've had! It was a friend's birthday and he got a choice of dessert. The carrot cake was amazing and I'm not really a carrot cake person. The cream cheese frosting melts I. Your mouth. We also tried the flourless cake and which I'm always a sucker for. It was small but didn't disappoint.
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February 2024 by Brandon
My wife and I went on Tuesday for the date night special. Food was good and so was the service. I could see us utilizing this offer again in the future. We would recommend it to friends or family.
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February 2024 by KCB72817
Only disappointment was in ordering Diet Coke. We ordered 2 with dinner and were served in VERY small rocks glasses. When my fiancé asked for a refill- they brought him a can (which nearly filled both glasses). Then we got the bill...$3 each. Nice rip off.
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February 2024 by ElizabethT
I sincerely cannot remember the last time I left a restaurant without being served. We had reservations for 5pm. Showed up at 4:58pm. We were seated promptly. 10 minutes later we still didn't have a server (though the hostess had brought water). No one even looked at us, even though we were seated directly next to a serving station and the front of house manager was glancing at tables regularly. And the restaurant was 2/3 empty. This was their second chance. We had been months ago and didn't have a great experience. But it was busy and we were a large group. So we gave them the benefit of the doubt. Shame on us. We will not be back.
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February 2024 by NVmadisonfoodie
Food good; but the bathrooms were filthy! Very unappetizing to wash hands before your meal in a dirty bathroom. Both the men's and women's bathrooms were disgusting. We mentioned it to our server and he apologized but no one attended to the problem.
