The Plaza Tavern ★ 4.3
The Plaza Tavern on North Henry, the State Street campus bar since 1930, runs the legendary Plazaburger and cheap beer pitchers in a student-friendly room.
Try: Plazaburger with fries
Glass Nickel Pizza Co. is a pizza budget eat in Atwood, Madison.
Glass Nickel Pizza on Atwood, the east-side specialty pizza chain founded in 1998, runs creative pies and weekday slices at student-budget prices in Madison.
Address: 2916 Atwood Ave, Madison, WI 53704
The Plaza Tavern on North Henry, the State Street campus bar since 1930, runs the legendary Plazaburger and cheap beer pitchers in a student-friendly room.
Try: Plazaburger with fries
State Street Brats on State Street, the campus bar since 1953, sells red and white Wisconsin brats with cheese curds and Spotted Cow taps for game-day crowds.
Try: Red brat with a side of cheese curds
Paul's Pel'meni on West Gilman, the late-night Russian dumpling counter near campus, sells a single dish of pelmeni with butter, curry powder and sour cream.
Try: Russian pelmeni with butter, curry and sour cream
Parthenon Gyros on State Street, the long-running Greek counter on the pedestrian strip, serves gyro plates and souvlaki for a student-budget lunch.
Try: Gyro plate with fries and tzatziki
Dotty Dumpling's Dowry on North Frances, downtown Madison's burger institution, runs cheese-curd-topped burgers and hand-cut onion rings under $15 at lunch.
Try: Melting Pot burger with onion rings
Ian's Pizza on State Street, the State Street outpost of Madison's slice institution founded on Frances Street in 2001, runs mac-and-cheese pizza and rotating creations from a late-night counter.
Try: Mac and cheese pizza by the slice