Best Authentic Restaurants in Madison

2nd time at Pelato and another great experience. Service is fast and everyone is lovely. Food itself if truly great. Have yet to have a dish I haven’t liked. They recommend 3-4 plates per person. Some dishes are on the heavier side so I would order on the smaller side (3 per) and add from there. Have to admit I thought getting the broccolini would be a mistake but it might be my second favorite dish. Nothing beats their vodka sauce. And as a New Jersey transplant I’ve eaten a lot of vodka sauce.

What an amazing experience! This was our first time at the Authentique and we will definitely be back! The food was delicious, genuine French cuisine. They had the best crepes I’ve had in years! The wine selection was great and the service was friendly. I highly recommend this place, they even had live jazz music! A tout a l’heure, Authentique!

Always a great experience dining here. The food and drinks were excellent and the service as well as the overall aesthetic/atmosphere were fantastic!

Greeted at the door by the chef, my wife and I were whisked away (cooking pun there…) to the back room of the restaurant. There we were seated and greeted by an attractive server and had our special menu explained to us. We had the choice of escargots, a brief interlude of boeuf bourguignon, and I had the steak frites while my wife enjoyed the confit of duck. We were finished off with a traditional cheese plate with a variety of cheeses from around Europe. All the food items were fabulous and the wine pairings were perfect! I will complain that the portions were oversized for me. We were nearly full from the escargots, and the boeuf was a full dinner portion in itself. The ribeye steak was as the chef explains it “what Americans expect”. I can’t fault him for giving his customers what they want, although I personally would prefer a more authentic experience with a smaller skirt or flank steak and about half the amount of fries. To summarize: go there. Eat. You will not regret a thing!

For being out in the burbs this is legendary wood-fired pizza!