The food was good but the noise level was so loud that all of us agreed we would not return.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 4
Service: 5
Jesus
The staff carried themselves with professionalism and warmth.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Cathy
The service was smooth and carried out with care.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
colleen boncosky
The best thing I had were the frites and escargot and the toast that it came with.I didn’t care for the mignonette on the oysters or the broth the mussels were cooked in, too sweet, strange combination. The acoustics are bad. Our waitress was lovely, very attentive and friendly.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 5
Charles Nguyen
Delightful food and excellent service. I was a first-time visitor and asked for suggestions on what to eat and how much food it would be. Excellent advice and excellent food to match.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
thomas ott
Amazing food. Visited during Restaurant Week, so limited menu, still phenomenal.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Paola Rueda
We went in with really high hopes since we had heard such great things about the place and wanted to see for ourselves! It has a fancy vibe for the price, but we found the food to be just okay. While we were a bit let down, we appreciated the experience. The service could improve, and the food didn’t quite meet our expectations. I felt like the food looked better than what it tasted. The cocktails were also okay. Would I put it in my top-of-restaurants list? No. Would I recommend it? No. However, I also wouldn't say it was a terrible experience. It was just meh, nothing crazy, and none of the dishes were unique and crazy good.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 3
Jim Hermanson
Great food and dinning experience!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
T. Ryan S.
Highly recommend Cadre restaurant for a high-end dining experience with authentic Alsatian flavors in a fun atmosphere. We met up here last night for a girl’s dinner and Cadre did not disappoint. Our server was a gem - super friendly and attentive. The sommelier was extremely knowledgeable and led us through a flavor journey of French wines, recommending delightful wines that perfectly complimented each course. We shared appetizers, small plates, large plates and desserts and all had different favorites, including the buttery escargot, beautiful oysters with a blood orange mignonette, to-die-for beef bourguignon, and a brown butter ravioli that makes me want to go back to cadre tonight for more. Grab your friends and go to Cadre for a beautiful evening of flavorful French cuisine! Also, kudos to Cadre for ensuring their staff is well taken care of with the service charge. It makes sense to take care of the people that take care of us!
It's probably best not to think of this as anything other than a casual place, as the food is only average, the service is barely a notch above non-existent, and the atmosphere resembles the love child of a diner and a bar.
My husband and I visited Cadre on the eve of 2/13/25 to celebrate my birthday; we were unimpressed and disappointed.
The food was adequate. We had appetizers (Blood Orange Salad, Chickpea Panisse), entrees (Scallops on lentils, Duck Breast with tart cherries), and dessert (Crème Brûlée, Napoleon in Rags), as well as the sommelier suggested wine. The appetizers were the best, food-wise, of the night--flavorful and a good combination of taste and texture.
The scallops left much to be desired. They needed more sear, were a bit tough, and overly salty. The flavors did not complement each other at all. The duck was better, with less discordant flavors than the scallops, but the dish was was more of a collection of individual flavors and textures (crisp mushrooms, limp spinach, smooth pureed sunchoke), which were fine on their own but did not contribute to a harmonious whole.
Dessert was okay. The brandied crème brûlée tasted mostly of brandy. There was a crunchy layer of sugar on top, as crème brûlée requires, but it was rather thin and the accompaniments did not seem to add anything (other than dressing up the plate). The Napoleon was basically chocolate mousse with freshly diced mango. The puff pastry garnish was more akin to thin, salty cracker pieces and the two herb leaves on top didn't add much. It looked nice, but was basically a deconstructed mango chocolate mousse.
The best part of the meal was the sommelier-suggested wine, a Pinot Meunier. It brought out the nuttiness of the salad and the cherries from the duck. Top-notch pairing despite the so-so food. Food presentation (how the food looked) was also great.
The worst part of our visit was easily the service. (We made reservations well in advance, so it wasn't like a surprise visit.) Food was slow to come out. Our server barely interacted with us and, more importantly, was highly inattentive. She left our water glasses empty for quite a while and my husband had to explicitly ask for more water when she next visited, after which she brought out a water jug to set on our table (she didn't even pour to refill the glass while she was there). I don't think she even gave us her name, much less ask if we were celebrating anything, which would have been an easy conversation starter given that their Valentine's menu was out.
We're believers in waitstaff being able to make a living wage, but if there was ever an argument for why tipping should be a thing, this was it; we would have been better off without a server, even if we had to wait to be called up to get our own food or use a drink dispenser. The automatic 20% service charge was just salt in the wound.
The atmosphere was definitely more on the casual side. Most of the patrons we saw were dressed more casually (or just plain casual). If you're looking for a place to dress up and not feel out of place, this is not it. I was in a knee-length dress with a knit cardigan, black tights, and boots and I felt overdressed.... Parking was not great. There's a little lot to the side that was full when we arrived and full when we left. We parked on the street, which had space due to all the snow piled up there.
All in all, if you're looking for a place to be forgotten about, unacknowledged, and for imitation eye candy that tastes bland (or maybe just for the bar), yeah, this is your place. If you're looking to celebrate a special occasion or to make (good) memories, look elsewhere. There are MANY better options with better food and service at this price point, and we'll be going to one of those for all our future celebrations.
Eric Anders
I wish I found Cadre sooner! Legit regional French dishes and great wine selection, executed well and more approachable than many French restaurants. Very impressed
M B
The food was amazing. We started with the frietes and aioli and you get a bowl of frietes! Our main entree was beef bourguignon, the beef was melt in your mouth good. No knife needed, and the pommes puree was divine. So good. Can't wait to go back.
JJ Strange
Cadre is one of my favorite restaurants in Madison, the food is great but the people are spectacular. Colton and Carri, the GM and Bartender, are staples to the experience. Evan, the head chef is a always good for a story when the dinner rush calms down. All the servers are extremely kind and very capable to help you make a decision on the new menu items. If you sit at the bar be sure to check put the snacks menu!
Bernard Agrest
This is by far one of the best restaurants in Madison. My partner and I consistently come back specifically because of how lovely Colton, Cari and Evan are. Great mix of food and you can get something awesome for as cheap as 20 bucks during happy hour.
The food was good but the noise level was so loud that all of us agreed we would not return.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 4
Service: 5
The staff carried themselves with professionalism and warmth.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
The service was smooth and carried out with care.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
The best thing I had were the frites and escargot and the toast that it came with.I didn’t care for the mignonette on the oysters or the broth the mussels were cooked in, too sweet, strange combination. The acoustics are bad. Our waitress was lovely, very attentive and friendly.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 5
Delightful food and excellent service. I was a first-time visitor and asked for suggestions on what to eat and how much food it would be. Excellent advice and excellent food to match.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Amazing food. Visited during Restaurant Week, so limited menu, still phenomenal.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
We went in with really high hopes since we had heard such great things about the place and wanted to see for ourselves! It has a fancy vibe for the price, but we found the food to be just okay. While we were a bit let down, we appreciated the experience. The service could improve, and the food didn’t quite meet our expectations. I felt like the food looked better than what it tasted. The cocktails were also okay.
Would I put it in my top-of-restaurants list? No. Would I recommend it? No. However, I also wouldn't say it was a terrible experience. It was just meh, nothing crazy, and none of the dishes were unique and crazy good.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 3
Great food and dinning experience!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Highly recommend Cadre restaurant for a high-end dining experience with authentic Alsatian flavors in a fun atmosphere. We met up here last night for a girl’s dinner and Cadre did not disappoint. Our server was a gem - super friendly and attentive. The sommelier was extremely knowledgeable and led us through a flavor journey of French wines, recommending delightful wines that perfectly complimented each course. We shared appetizers, small plates, large plates and desserts and all had different favorites, including the buttery escargot, beautiful oysters with a blood orange mignonette, to-die-for beef bourguignon, and a brown butter ravioli that makes me want to go back to cadre tonight for more. Grab your friends and go to Cadre for a beautiful evening of flavorful French cuisine! Also, kudos to Cadre for ensuring their staff is well taken care of with the service charge. It makes sense to take care of the people that take care of us!
Food was mediocre and service was terrible.
Restaurantji Recommends
It's probably best not to think of this as anything other than a casual place, as the food is only average, the service is barely a notch above non-existent, and the atmosphere resembles the love child of a diner and a bar.
My husband and I visited Cadre on the eve of 2/13/25 to celebrate my birthday; we were unimpressed and disappointed.
The food was adequate. We had appetizers (Blood Orange Salad, Chickpea Panisse), entrees (Scallops on lentils, Duck Breast with tart cherries), and dessert (Crème Brûlée, Napoleon in Rags), as well as the sommelier suggested wine. The appetizers were the best, food-wise, of the night--flavorful and a good combination of taste and texture.
The scallops left much to be desired. They needed more sear, were a bit tough, and overly salty. The flavors did not complement each other at all. The duck was better, with less discordant flavors than the scallops, but the dish was was more of a collection of individual flavors and textures (crisp mushrooms, limp spinach, smooth pureed sunchoke), which were fine on their own but did not contribute to a harmonious whole.
Dessert was okay. The brandied crème brûlée tasted mostly of brandy. There was a crunchy layer of sugar on top, as crème brûlée requires, but it was rather thin and the accompaniments did not seem to add anything (other than dressing up the plate). The Napoleon was basically chocolate mousse with freshly diced mango. The puff pastry garnish was more akin to thin, salty cracker pieces and the two herb leaves on top didn't add much. It looked nice, but was basically a deconstructed mango chocolate mousse.
The best part of the meal was the sommelier-suggested wine, a Pinot Meunier. It brought out the nuttiness of the salad and the cherries from the duck. Top-notch pairing despite the so-so food. Food presentation (how the food looked) was also great.
The worst part of our visit was easily the service. (We made reservations well in advance, so it wasn't like a surprise visit.) Food was slow to come out. Our server barely interacted with us and, more importantly, was highly inattentive. She left our water glasses empty for quite a while and my husband had to explicitly ask for more water when she next visited, after which she brought out a water jug to set on our table (she didn't even pour to refill the glass while she was there). I don't think she even gave us her name, much less ask if we were celebrating anything, which would have been an easy conversation starter given that their Valentine's menu was out.
We're believers in waitstaff being able to make a living wage, but if there was ever an argument for why tipping should be a thing, this was it; we would have been better off without a server, even if we had to wait to be called up to get our own food or use a drink dispenser. The automatic 20% service charge was just salt in the wound.
The atmosphere was definitely more on the casual side. Most of the patrons we saw were dressed more casually (or just plain casual). If you're looking for a place to dress up and not feel out of place, this is not it. I was in a knee-length dress with a knit cardigan, black tights, and boots and I felt overdressed.... Parking was not great. There's a little lot to the side that was full when we arrived and full when we left. We parked on the street, which had space due to all the snow piled up there.
All in all, if you're looking for a place to be forgotten about, unacknowledged, and for imitation eye candy that tastes bland (or maybe just for the bar), yeah, this is your place. If you're looking to celebrate a special occasion or to make (good) memories, look elsewhere. There are MANY better options with better food and service at this price point, and we'll be going to one of those for all our future celebrations.
I wish I found Cadre sooner! Legit regional French dishes and great wine selection, executed well and more approachable than many French restaurants. Very impressed
The food was amazing. We started with the frietes and aioli and you get a bowl of frietes! Our main entree was beef bourguignon, the beef was melt in your mouth good. No knife needed, and the pommes puree was divine. So good. Can't wait to go back.
Cadre is one of my favorite restaurants in Madison, the food is great but the people are spectacular. Colton and Carri, the GM and Bartender, are staples to the experience. Evan, the head chef is a always good for a story when the dinner rush calms down. All the servers are extremely kind and very capable to help you make a decision on the new menu items. If you sit at the bar be sure to check put the snacks menu!
This is by far one of the best restaurants in Madison. My partner and I consistently come back specifically because of how lovely Colton, Cari and Evan are. Great mix of food and you can get something awesome for as cheap as 20 bucks during happy hour.
Loading...