Everyone was so friendly and helpful with suggestions on menu items. We Loved everything we had. We shared a pasta & entree. It was plenty of food with wonderful flavor.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
allison wilkins
My sister and I were excited to try a new restaurant in town but unfortunately I would not recommend this nor would I go back. We started with the lasagna fritto. It came out luke warm which was weird...taste was good but basically just taste like fried mozzarella which almost always tastes good. My sister tried that Pachheri which was odd...there wasnt much of a sauce, kindof like a broth and shredded meat on pasta. I tried the ricotta gnocci, which I had high hopes for as I have tried it a couple other times at other restaurants but I dont see it too often on menus. Letdown...it was so mushy and it had tiny very hard pieces of squash in it and the textures together didnt work for me. The sauce was okay but needed salt. We requested bread which we had to pay for.. kindof annoying. We tried the chocolate torta dessert and at the point I had no hopes and sadly I was correct. It reminded me of a mug cake - texture and taste wise. I recalled seeing brown butter in the description, that flavor was no where to be found. Just taste like a bland chocolate cake with raspberry sauce around. 100$ was spent on that meal. Restaurant has a nice vibe and no complaints about service.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 2
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Strawberry
Sandi Neville
Our visit to Amara started with our bar waitress requesting my 22 year old daughter’s ID and telling us it’s a fake and bending it in half. I immediately told her I was her mother and here is my ID to prove it was legit. We are from Utah and apparently our licenses look fake? She ended up serving her but was rude and condescending. I understand it’s the law but it could have been handled so differently. Dinner was very mediocre especially for the price. We sat for 20 minutes after we were done eating with dirty plates on our table and no water. My husband and son left to return to our hotel which final got the attention of our waiter to bring our check. Overall not a great experience…
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 1
Service: 2
Dustin
We were one of two tables in the lounge. The service was slow and the food was given to the only other table. When the food did finally arrive 25 minutes later it was lacking flavor.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 1
Steven Buna
Sunday lunch looked slower considering it's size. Food was really good though
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 4
Greg Katechis
A very mediocre experience that does not match the price. The service was abysmally slow and the food was just ok, but not at the prices they’re charging. Also, I don’t know if you have some sort of deal with Sargento, but having “SarVecchio” prominently displayed on 5 of your 8 dishes is a bit awkward.Please also train your service staff not to use the word “guys” constantly. You’re going for a casual fine thing with your pricing, but the service is basically Denny’s. On that topic, how in the world are you using the bottom of the barrel silverware that couldn’t be polished even if you tried? It’s honestly embarrassing. The one positive was the host that seated us was very nice and attentive.If you want an experience that matches the price, do not go here. It’s a bad attempt at casual fine and should be avoided.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 2
Glenn Fung
Good food. Just ok service
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 3
Julie
We stopped by for dinner during my family’s trip to Madison. The server was very sweet, helpful and attentive. We received excellent service. The restaurant was very understanding and accommodating of food allergies and allowed us to make additions to meals that were not in the menu (like ordering a side of protein with the kids pasta meal). As for the food itself…it was decent. Not impressive but not the worst and felt like it was overpriced for what we received. I would try the place again thanks to the excellent service we received but maybe for brunch or lunch instead of dinner this time
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 5
Shauna Dinsart
100% recommend. The food, service, and atmosphere are all 10/10
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Bar and wait staff are incredibly slow. Bartender was not attentive at all. Waited for a drink when only 2 other people were sitting at the bar. Sat down at our table for our waitress to come 20 minutes later for drinks and apps order.
My wife and I have dined at Amara multiple times, but this time will make us rethink our next visit. The server brought menus and stopped back soon after to take our food offer without asking if we would like to order drinks. We had to prompt the server to take a drink order. For my entree, I ordered their Ravioli special and although the presentation was unique, it was not at the expected level of quality. The dish seemed to have spent some time under a broiler and sections were dried out, but it was just bland with very little flavor.
Brianna Cacchione
The regular menu was pretty limited, so we tried 3 apps and a salad instead. The server was kind and notified us that the happy hour menu was only available in the bar. Of those 4, I'd only recommend the Lasagna Fritto. The fried baby mozzarella and the calamari were just ok. We had a "No Hito" which was tasty and I had no complaints about the salad. Including tax and tip we paid $80 which seemed high for what it was.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 4
Kayla Phelps
We tried the calamari, crab and avocado bruscetta, fingerling potatoes, gnocchi, and porchetta. For drinks, the grapefruit Paloma, the cranberry brandy old fashioned and a mule. Everything tasted amazing, particularly the potatoes, porchetta and bruscetta. Biggest negative is hilldale prices. Service was very good. Entrees were $35ish and starters were $17ish. Drinks were average Madison prices.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Calamari, Crab and Avocado Bruschetta
JamesS
The bartenders really know their amari and the flights are fun and tasty. All of the food is delicious and the portions are sizeable. It's a great Madison food scene addition. One of our go-tos.
AmyH
Amazing pasta, especially the paccheri. More expensive / good for special occasions, but the increased price is reflected well in the elevated quality of the food. Wonderful service.
Everyone was so friendly and helpful with suggestions on menu items. We Loved everything we had. We shared a pasta & entree. It was plenty of food with wonderful flavor.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
My sister and I were excited to try a new restaurant in town but unfortunately I would not recommend this nor would I go back. We started with the lasagna fritto. It came out luke warm which was weird...taste was good but basically just taste like fried mozzarella which almost always tastes good. My sister tried that Pachheri which was odd...there wasnt much of a sauce, kindof like a broth and shredded meat on pasta. I tried the ricotta gnocci, which I had high hopes for as I have tried it a couple other times at other restaurants but I dont see it too often on menus. Letdown...it was so mushy and it had tiny very hard pieces of squash in it and the textures together didnt work for me. The sauce was okay but needed salt. We requested bread which we had to pay for.. kindof annoying. We tried the chocolate torta dessert and at the point I had no hopes and sadly I was correct. It reminded me of a mug cake - texture and taste wise. I recalled seeing brown butter in the description, that flavor was no where to be found. Just taste like a bland chocolate cake with raspberry sauce around. 100$ was spent on that meal. Restaurant has a nice vibe and no complaints about service.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 2
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Strawberry
Our visit to Amara started with our bar waitress requesting my 22 year old daughter’s ID and telling us it’s a fake and bending it in half. I immediately told her I was her mother and here is my ID to prove it was legit. We are from Utah and apparently our licenses look fake? She ended up serving her but was rude and condescending. I understand it’s the law but it could have been handled so differently. Dinner was very mediocre especially for the price. We sat for 20 minutes after we were done eating with dirty plates on our table and no water. My husband and son left to return to our hotel which final got the attention of our waiter to bring our check. Overall not a great experience…
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 1
Service: 2
We were one of two tables in the lounge. The service was slow and the food was given to the only other table. When the food did finally arrive 25 minutes later it was lacking flavor.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 1
Sunday lunch looked slower considering it's size. Food was really good though
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 4
A very mediocre experience that does not match the price. The service was abysmally slow and the food was just ok, but not at the prices they’re charging. Also, I don’t know if you have some sort of deal with Sargento, but having “SarVecchio” prominently displayed on 5 of your 8 dishes is a bit awkward.Please also train your service staff not to use the word “guys” constantly. You’re going for a casual fine thing with your pricing, but the service is basically Denny’s. On that topic, how in the world are you using the bottom of the barrel silverware that couldn’t be polished even if you tried? It’s honestly embarrassing. The one positive was the host that seated us was very nice and attentive.If you want an experience that matches the price, do not go here. It’s a bad attempt at casual fine and should be avoided.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 2
Good food. Just ok service
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 3
We stopped by for dinner during my family’s trip to Madison. The server was very sweet, helpful and attentive. We received excellent service. The restaurant was very understanding and accommodating of food allergies and allowed us to make additions to meals that were not in the menu (like ordering a side of protein with the kids pasta meal). As for the food itself…it was decent. Not impressive but not the worst and felt like it was overpriced for what we received. I would try the place again thanks to the excellent service we received but maybe for brunch or lunch instead of dinner this time
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 5
100% recommend. The food, service, and atmosphere are all 10/10
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Bar and wait staff are incredibly slow. Bartender was not attentive at all. Waited for a drink when only 2 other people were sitting at the bar. Sat down at our table for our waitress to come 20 minutes later for drinks and apps order.
Restaurantji Recommends
My wife and I have dined at Amara multiple times, but this time will make us rethink our next visit. The server brought menus and stopped back soon after to take our food offer without asking if we would like to order drinks. We had to prompt the server to take a drink order. For my entree, I ordered their Ravioli special and although the presentation was unique, it was not at the expected level of quality. The dish seemed to have spent some time under a broiler and sections were dried out, but it was just bland with very little flavor.
The regular menu was pretty limited, so we tried 3 apps and a salad instead. The server was kind and notified us that the happy hour menu was only available in the bar. Of those 4, I'd only recommend the Lasagna Fritto. The fried baby mozzarella and the calamari were just ok. We had a "No Hito" which was tasty and I had no complaints about the salad. Including tax and tip we paid $80 which seemed high for what it was.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 4
We tried the calamari, crab and avocado bruscetta, fingerling potatoes, gnocchi, and porchetta. For drinks, the grapefruit Paloma, the cranberry brandy old fashioned and a mule. Everything tasted amazing, particularly the potatoes, porchetta and bruscetta. Biggest negative is hilldale prices. Service was very good. Entrees were $35ish and starters were $17ish. Drinks were average Madison prices.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Calamari, Crab and Avocado Bruschetta
The bartenders really know their amari and the flights are fun and tasty. All of the food is delicious and the portions are sizeable. It's a great Madison food scene addition. One of our go-tos.
Amazing pasta, especially the paccheri. More expensive / good for special occasions, but the increased price is reflected well in the elevated quality of the food. Wonderful service.