Great steaks! Really great steaks!
At the risk of dashing memories — I had dinner at the Tornado Room last night after a long absence. It was subpar, at best. I will say it was very crowded for a Thursday evening, very loud and tight. I couldn’t help but think that the refugees from the recently closed Smoky’s had found a new home. Filet was over-cooked and included gristle for no extra charge. Brussel sprouts chewy and burned. Salad and wine/drinks were good. They literally do not open the door until 5 pm, and if you’re like me and know the other way in, they just ignore you until 5+. Went to the bar to wait, where the bartender looked at me, then continued to go about his business setting up and moving things that should have been done earlier. Sorry, I was let down and under impressed by food and service.
Honestly kinda disappointed in this steak house. I ordered fried shrimp and it was gross. It was over coated in batter (with about an inch of batter on each side) and therefore wasn’t cooked all the way through. The shrimp itself also didn’t have great flavoring as I tried to eat it without the soggy batter. The fries were very average and as shown in the picture, I don’t know what was in my cocktail sauce. Also not a fan of the random herbs on the plate. This dish was $32 with a salad and I wouldn’t even pay $5 for this soggy shrimp. It looks like a plate I could get at a bar.The reason I’m giving this three stars is that my boyfriend got a New York steak and it was very good. He also got French onion soup which was also amazing. The waiter was also super friendly and attentive.I also like romantic lighting but this restaurant is actually hard to see in. Very dark and walking back outside gives you a shock. Overall very disappointed in the lack of quality cooking on my dish. Probably will not be going back.
I dined here with a business group of about 10 people. We had many of the appetizers, different entrees and desserts. Everyone was very happy with their steak, in my case a 10 oz filet with mushrooms in a vodka sauce. I would definitely recommend this establishment if you’re in Madison, particularly downtown.
The foods are just so-so, in a very routine taste, nothing special or fantastic. The appetizer frog legs tasted bland and insipid. The steaks (medium cooked) are too raw—bleeding and gamy inside, and the rest parts are stringy and gristly. Due to its location, the restaurant is super crowded and noisy at weekends. And it is uneasy to find a parking spot. The dining space inside is quite limited and dark due to the dim light—I cannot even clearly see the menu or what I am eating! Even more disappointingly, a young boy and his siblings hanged around here and tried to sell his M&M candies to us and other customers when we were eating. I don’t know why the restaurant staff allowed this! Not recommended, and will not come here again in the future.
best crab legs in Madison!!
Had the bone in ribeye. Cooked exactly as ordered. Good service. Nice selection of starters and salads. Very reasonable prices when taking into consideration the quality and size of the steaks.
The specialty cocktails, ambience and service were good. Kitchen was bussy. By the time they took our food order they already run out of the coquilles and escargots dishes. We all ordered the steak sandwich and it was delicious as well as the onion rings. The batter for the cheese curds was great but the flavor and doneness of them were off. They probably needed another 30secs in the frier. About 90% of them were still cold inside. The basement is no longer open to the public, only for reserved events. Overall a good experience.
Maybe it's Covid. Maybe it's bad management. Maybe it's bad people. It's probably all of that ... but the service at this place has gone to hell. Hadn't been to the place since my 60th birthday, which was memorable. Went back for my 62nd, and after 45 minutes of being jostled around, waiting (we had a reservation), treated rudely, ignored ... we left. Not before my wife, one of the truly nice people on earth, found the manager and let him politely have it. She reported that he could have cared less. We'll never go back. Just a truly awful experience. (The food has always been good, though overpriced. It was the experience that made it worth it. Now the experience is rotten.)
I came with my brother and his girlfriend. We had an excellent dinner. We were seated quickly. The drinks were strong and very good. We had oysters, venison, roasted chicken, and walleye. They were all tasty. The service was a little slow but overall good.