Though we have eaten at many downtown Madison restaurants, for some reason Johnny Delmonico's was one we had not tried. After trying unsuccessfully to get a reservation at L'Etoile (still one of our all time favorites) for our anniversary, we decided to give Delmonicos a try.
Parking is easy enough (there is a ramp kiddie corner to the restaurant) and it is a very quick walk to the door. We were seated right away and though we had to wait sometime for the waiter to come to our table, he was very pleasant when he arrived. I had some questions about the cocktails and though the waiter did not know the answers right away, he quickly checked and came back to our table immediately. They do offer Stella Artois on tap which is the preferred beer for my dining partner and I when we go to a nice restaurant and the cocktail I ordered was flavorful and strong.
For appetizers we ordered a half order of the calamari and the shrimp cocktail. The calamari has a wonderful sweet and spicy asian sauce and is really a must have. I would say it was probably the best calamari we have ever had. My date said he could just eat that and be happy.
Next came the mixed green salad for me and the soup of the day (butternut squash) for him. Both were wonderful. The greens were fresh and peppery and the soup was amazingly smooth with a hint of maple.
For the main course my partner chose the Shichimi Togarashi -Crusted Ahi Tuna. The tuna itself was well prepared but had little to no flavor, the broth was nice and mild but the garnish was very spicy. The taste itself was "fine". He was glad he ordered it but would not order it again. I chose the ribeye done medium rare, oscar style, with the double baked potato. It was absolutely perfect. It is easy to see why Johnny Delmonico's is consistently voted best steakhouse and the double-baked (twice baked) potato was again the best either of us had ever had. The portions were generous and we actually boxed half of it up to bring home. Suprisingly, the waiter sliced the steak for us and included bread which made for a wonderful steak sandwich the next day. We also ordered a side of wild mushrooms which never arrived at the table but did appear on the bill. The waiter removed them without hesitation. The timing between courses was perfect and though we were there 2 hours, it felt right.
No meal is complete with out dessert so we settled on the seasonal creme brulee (though no indication was made as to what the flavor might be ahead of time, it was vanilla bean and excellent) and the homemade chocolate cake with vanilla bean ice cream, coffee and a cappuccino. The cake was just so-so (as a dear fried of mine would say not worth the calories) and the cappuccino was luke warm. Certainly not what we had expected.
Total bill was 130.00 plus tip
Bottom Line:
Service is very pleasant but can be spotty
Get the calamari
Order a steak with the double baked potato and you will be happy
Definitely baby sitter worthy
4/5
http://www.johnnydelmonicos.com/
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