9 splurge places in Madison, editor-picked. tasting menus and the full big-night-out treatment in Madison. All Madison food.
L'Etoile ★ 4.8
1 S Pinckney St, Madison, WI 53703
L'Etoile on Capitol Square, opened by Odessa Piper in 1976 and run by James Beard winner Tory Miller since 2005, is Madison's seminal farm-to-table flagship.
Heritage Tavern ★ 4.7
131 E Mifflin St, Madison, WI 53703
Heritage Tavern on East Mifflin, Dan Fox's farm-to-table dining room a block off Capitol Square since 2013, anchors Madison's chef-driven new-American tier.
Graze ★ 4.6
1 S Pinckney St, Madison, WI 53703
Graze on Capitol Square, Tory Miller's American gastropub next door to L'Etoile since 2010, sources about 80 percent of its food locally with Capitol views.
Mint Mark ★ 4.5
1874 E Washington Ave, Madison, WI 53704
Mint Mark on East Washington, the produce-forward small-plates room with an open kitchen, runs fine-dining brunch and dinner from Wisconsin farm produce.
Cento ★ 4.4
122 W Mifflin St, Madison, WI 53703
Cento on West Mifflin, the Food Fight group's downtown Italian flagship under chef Michael Pruett, runs handmade pasta, wood-fired pizza and a chef's table.
Tornado Steak House ★ 4.3
116 S Hamilton St, Madison, WI 53703
Tornado Steak House on South Hamilton, Madison's traditional supper club tier a block off Capitol Square, runs aged steaks and the Friday fish fry every week.
Sardine ★ 4.2
617 Williamson St, Madison, WI 53703
Sardine on Williamson Street, the long-running French bistro in the historic Machinery Row building on Lake Monona, runs steak frites and moules-frites.
Lombardino's ★ 4.1
2500 University Ave, Madison, WI 53705
Lombardino's on University Avenue, the west-side Italian fine-dining room reborn under Michael Banas in 2000, runs hand-cut pasta and wood-fired veal.
Lucille ★ 4.0
101 King St, Madison, WI 53703
Lucille on King Street, in a historic bank on Capitol Square, runs wood-fired pizza, a Wisco-Detroit pan pizza and Pan-Latin small plates from one kitchen.