It has a great atmosphere, the service was good at all levels.
The food was a bit disappointing. We ordered several of the small plates that sounded good on paper, but had taste and appearance of ingredients being assembled together rather than being a a cooked dish. None of the items served had texture. Patatas weren't crispy, chicken wraps were drowning in sauce, and everything came with too much salad.
The drinks were good, but verge on the sweeter side. That may be some peoples preference, but to me they tasted out of balance. It's almost all daiquiris on the menu, which if you don't know what that means, you probably won't care. Aside from that, they had good presentation, nice glassware, and they invest in their ice which is always a good sign.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 5
Alexander Montie
This is probably my favorite place to have a drink in Madison. Inherently classy, with verdant decor and a sort of dark panache, the Botanist Social is a luxury that stands out from the other bars on state street - honestly it's more than just a bar.
They have great food, especially the mushroom risotto. Fantastic drinks. However the best part is the wait staff. One particular lady took especially wonderful care of me when I brought my baby in. She gave her cherries, strawberries, a special cup to drink water from...she was such a wonderful barkeep.
Stop in and drink here. Great place.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Mushroom Risotto and Potatoes, Truffle Fries, Dessert Death by Chocolate
Trent Nimmo
Had an awesome experience. Bartender from Boston was - amazing - very professional, personable and knowledgeable as well as efficient - great conversationalist and definitely easy on the eyes. Wonderful atmosphere, a great place to decompress. The food menu looked fantastic and the drinks were top tier at very approachable price points. 10/10 would recommend for friends to stop in for a spot to gather.
Atmosphere: 5
Service: 5
Jeremy White
Great spot for drinks with a really good cocktail menu. We often stop at the bar before or after dinner reservations elsewhere just for the cocktails, though the food is great too (you will need a reservation for a table)
John
Great experience! We came here just looking for some French fries and nothing else but ended up ordering some drinks and some starters! The atmosphere in The Botanist Social is top tier, we got seated in a half circle booth with mood candles! The drinks we had ordered were brought out quickly and both tasted great! Our starters were also both very delightful. The bill took a while to come out but they were busy so you can't flag them for that at all. You can pay on your phone too which makes it very easy to leave when you're ready! I would recommend coming in for a drink!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Zy Webb
I absolutely adore Emily!! I travel for work and she is the first bar tender to truly make my drinks the way I’d make them the first time! I never have to send a drink back from her! I absolutely adore this place! It is super cute, the food is amazing! I swear by this place and I’m not even from Madison nor do I live here I just love this place so much!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Crab Cakes
Elizabeth E
Nice place to have a drink. Great dirty martini!
Atmosphere: 5
Service: 5
Rancorous
I love the earthy vibes. Music, service, and cocktails were good.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
John keel
Attentive waitress, nice ambiance, beer prices reasonable, clean multi-gender restroom, specialty gin seemed too expensive for us. I asked for medium rare rib eye, felt like I got medium/medium well, sauces were flavorful, mashed potatoes nice and fluffy. Asparagus was a little stringy (perhaps not the right season). Friend's chicken was dry/overcooked and vegetable (brussels sprout, I think) slightly undercooked, but sauces were flavorful. Overall, underwhelming food for the price. Go for the beer, mixed drinks, and ambiance not the food.
If you are looking for a nice cocktail place.....this is it...cozy place with tons of drink options....go for "Burn After Reading". Amazing but Caution.....Spicy and has limit of 2.....
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Abbey M
john is papi and good service
Atmosphere: 5
Service: 5
Gergana Ivanova
My husband and I picked this place on a Friday night on our way to Madison just because of its location. We wanted something close to Overture Center where we attended a show after dinner. We liked the atmosphere from the photos, so we reserved a table. As soon as I got my drink, I loved it. The food was exquisite! We enjoyed every bite! It's such a great place! Such a great surprise! Will definitely go back! Short ribs and red snapper are amazing! Cherry blossom cocktail was delicious!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Red Snapper, Creme Brulee
Laura Olsen Dugan
Drinks were good, ambience is nice but dark, service was very good, food was average. I made a second reservation for another visit and I’m attempting to cancel. I cannot locate a phone number for the establishment and my emails remain unreturned. I find this frustrating.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 4
Karoline Shannon
We were in town for a sports competition and had looked up best restaurants in Madison. Ugh, I hope this isn’t one of your best. We ordered a flatbread and then filet with mashed potatoes and broccolini. Both were disappointing. First, the food came out so fast that it seemed suspicious. Normally, this wouldn’t be a complaint. But the flatbread had zero taste and the odor coming from the sauce on the filet made the both of us want to gag. Did I complain, No! Not worth it as we just wanted to leave. We couldn’t wait for the plate to be taken away from our table. I basically ate mediocre mashed potatoes and broccolini for $42. The filet was supposed to be medium rare and it was past medium. It was the toughest filet I’ve ever had. But really what did us in was the feet smelling sauce that slathered the whole dish. It wasn’t even recognizable as being beef at first. Wish I would have taken a photo. Kind of looked like Cracker Barrel’s chipped beef and gravy:) Come on guys, Madison deserves better food than this.
It has a great atmosphere, the service was good at all levels.
The food was a bit disappointing. We ordered several of the small plates that sounded good on paper, but had taste and appearance of ingredients being assembled together rather than being a a cooked dish. None of the items served had texture. Patatas weren't crispy, chicken wraps were drowning in sauce, and everything came with too much salad.
The drinks were good, but verge on the sweeter side. That may be some peoples preference, but to me they tasted out of balance. It's almost all daiquiris on the menu, which if you don't know what that means, you probably won't care. Aside from that, they had good presentation, nice glassware, and they invest in their ice which is always a good sign.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 5
This is probably my favorite place to have a drink in Madison. Inherently classy, with verdant decor and a sort of dark panache, the Botanist Social is a luxury that stands out from the other bars on state street - honestly it's more than just a bar.
They have great food, especially the mushroom risotto. Fantastic drinks. However the best part is the wait staff. One particular lady took especially wonderful care of me when I brought my baby in. She gave her cherries, strawberries, a special cup to drink water from...she was such a wonderful barkeep.
Stop in and drink here. Great place.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Mushroom Risotto and Potatoes, Truffle Fries, Dessert Death by Chocolate
Had an awesome experience. Bartender from Boston was - amazing - very professional, personable and knowledgeable as well as efficient - great conversationalist and definitely easy on the eyes. Wonderful atmosphere, a great place to decompress. The food menu looked fantastic and the drinks were top tier at very approachable price points. 10/10 would recommend for friends to stop in for a spot to gather.
Atmosphere: 5
Service: 5
Great spot for drinks with a really good cocktail menu. We often stop at the bar before or after dinner reservations elsewhere just for the cocktails, though the food is great too (you will need a reservation for a table)
Great experience! We came here just looking for some French fries and nothing else but ended up ordering some drinks and some starters! The atmosphere in The Botanist Social is top tier, we got seated in a half circle booth with mood candles! The drinks we had ordered were brought out quickly and both tasted great! Our starters were also both very delightful. The bill took a while to come out but they were busy so you can't flag them for that at all. You can pay on your phone too which makes it very easy to leave when you're ready! I would recommend coming in for a drink!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
I absolutely adore Emily!! I travel for work and she is the first bar tender to truly make my drinks the way I’d make them the first time! I never have to send a drink back from her! I absolutely adore this place! It is super cute, the food is amazing! I swear by this place and I’m not even from Madison nor do I live here I just love this place so much!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Crab Cakes
Nice place to have a drink. Great dirty martini!
Atmosphere: 5
Service: 5
I love the earthy vibes. Music, service, and cocktails were good.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Attentive waitress, nice ambiance, beer prices reasonable, clean multi-gender restroom, specialty gin seemed too expensive for us. I asked for medium rare rib eye, felt like I got medium/medium well, sauces were flavorful, mashed potatoes nice and fluffy. Asparagus was a little stringy (perhaps not the right season). Friend's chicken was dry/overcooked and vegetable (brussels sprout, I think) slightly undercooked, but sauces were flavorful. Overall, underwhelming food for the price. Go for the beer, mixed drinks, and ambiance not the food.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 5
Food was very good . Love the atmosphere
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 3
Recommended dishes: Lobster Roll
Restaurantji Recommends
If you are looking for a nice cocktail place.....this is it...cozy place with tons of drink options....go for "Burn After Reading". Amazing but Caution.....Spicy and has limit of 2.....
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
john is papi and good service
Atmosphere: 5
Service: 5
My husband and I picked this place on a Friday night on our way to Madison just because of its location. We wanted something close to Overture Center where we attended a show after dinner. We liked the atmosphere from the photos, so we reserved a table. As soon as I got my drink, I loved it. The food was exquisite! We enjoyed every bite! It's such a great place! Such a great surprise! Will definitely go back! Short ribs and red snapper are amazing! Cherry blossom cocktail was delicious!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Red Snapper, Creme Brulee
Drinks were good, ambience is nice but dark, service was very good, food was average. I made a second reservation for another visit and I’m attempting to cancel. I cannot locate a phone number for the establishment and my emails remain unreturned. I find this frustrating.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 4
We were in town for a sports competition and had looked up best restaurants in Madison. Ugh, I hope this isn’t one of your best. We ordered a flatbread and then filet with mashed potatoes and broccolini. Both were disappointing. First, the food came out so fast that it seemed suspicious. Normally, this wouldn’t be a complaint. But the flatbread had zero taste and the odor coming from the sauce on the filet made the both of us want to gag. Did I complain, No! Not worth it as we just wanted to leave. We couldn’t wait for the plate to be taken away from our table. I basically ate mediocre mashed potatoes and broccolini for $42. The filet was supposed to be medium rare and it was past medium. It was the toughest filet I’ve ever had. But really what did us in was the feet smelling sauce that slathered the whole dish. It wasn’t even recognizable as being beef at first. Wish I would have taken a photo. Kind of looked like Cracker Barrel’s chipped beef and gravy:)
Come on guys, Madison deserves better food than this.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 1
Service: 3
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