Enjoyed the scampi, although it was a little spicier than expected. The chicken parm was just fair. The chicken was mostly breading and dry, there wasn't enough sauce, and the noodles were very dense and chewy. My husband and I split both the dishes we ordered and we both only took a few bites of the chicken parm and had the rest boxed up. Not sure we'll get back to it, maybe we'll add more sauce at home and try it again. Service was great. We said that we planned to share our dishes and everything came up "pre-split," with no added charge. We very much enjoyed the complimentary (special occasion) cheesecake!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 5
Michael Weaver
Another in a long line of really good meals at Cento. Probably my favorite place in Madison.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Bill Schrum
Wonderful environment and consistently wonderful food & beverages. Our server, Mitchell, was exceptional.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Teresa Andrews
Great service and atmosphere. Food was excellent.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Raymond Duncan
Treat yourself :)
William Karasov
Erin was an excellent waitress, the Merluzzo Puttanesca was an excellent dish, and the Pecorino wine was very good. 3 other foods we ordered fell below our expectations. Fried artichoke seemed to have too much fried batter and we were searching for the artichoke flavor. The scallops dish seems not well balanced; scallops are delicate but the brocollini spicing was overpowering and the underlying polenta was blah. The Burnt Basque Cheesecake, on whole, seemed desiccated - can't the cherries be more liquid and luscious and the whipped cream fresher? This dessert seemed to have sat in the refrigerator overnight. The pacing of service seemed poorly coordinated - main dishes came while we were eating appetizer, and coffee was served before dessert. As regards atmosphere - very noisy. Overall, despite high hopes, our time at Cento was not an experience of fine dining.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 5
Marcy Kushner
Best food in downtown Madison.Gorgeous ambiance, great servers & a nice menu with plenty of options.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Kenneth Brown
Great food and great service! Will be back again!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Spuntini Salad Pasta Course Entrée and Dessert
Karen Drissi
I wish there wasn't loud music playing in the background. It was hard to carry on a conversation with table mates.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Breakfast Pizza
Marcia Thomas
Did not disappoint. We had the special Lobster Ravioli. Amazing! They need to add that to the menu .. I would definitely go back.
Food was ok, service was absolutely horrible. I’ve never been to Wisconsin before so I planned a weekend trip with my hubby. He picked this restaurant and made a reservation for brunch. Our waiter seemed to avoid us as much as he could. I went the whole meal without a drink, we ordered a cannoli and he brought it to us to-go. Seemed to just want us to leave so he didn’t have to work. Very disappointed and do not recommend
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 1
Les C.
Cento has a great ambiance and respectful servers (even if hard to audibly understand due to gutteral speak,) lovely menu selection, including wines, appetizers & dessert & convenient Downtown location. The prices are "Madison normal" (high.) But the food IS very good.*recommend*
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Kari Dinegan
3rd time dining here. The food was excellent. I brought my mom tonight before our show at Overture and she loved the place. When we come to Madison for a show, we will be making Cento our go to restaurant.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Steve Grant
The food and service at Cento was top notch. Sophia was our waiter and was so personable and knowledgeable with the menu. Our entrees were delicious along with the wine, appetizer, and dessert. We will be back!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Henry Schellhorn
We went to Cento for brunch. Their Boozy Brunch for $35/person was a great deal. I was very underwhelmed by my entree and the ambience. There wasn’t any fun background music on, especially for a Saturday on a nice day. The service was okay—our server seemed to become irritated and upset during the middle of our dining experience. She was accommodating as I ordered the Breakfast Negroni and did not like it, and then exchanged it for a different cocktail. However, that happened to be the time when she became fed up. Anyways, the Black Coffee Manhattan and Lemon Capri were amazing. Highly recommend both for brunch cocktails. The Cannolis were also some of the best I’ve had. My entree was the Crab Cake Benedict that I didn’t care for too much. I would pick something else on the menu unless you’re in love with crab cakes. Overall, I think they could create a better atmosphere that is more fun for both the customers and the employees to be in.
Enjoyed the scampi, although it was a little spicier than expected. The chicken parm was just fair. The chicken was mostly breading and dry, there wasn't enough sauce, and the noodles were very dense and chewy. My husband and I split both the dishes we ordered and we both only took a few bites of the chicken parm and had the rest boxed up. Not sure we'll get back to it, maybe we'll add more sauce at home and try it again. Service was great. We said that we planned to share our dishes and everything came up "pre-split," with no added charge. We very much enjoyed the complimentary (special occasion) cheesecake!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 5
Another in a long line of really good meals at Cento. Probably my favorite place in Madison.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Wonderful environment and consistently wonderful food & beverages. Our server, Mitchell, was exceptional.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Great service and atmosphere. Food was excellent.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Treat yourself :)
Erin was an excellent waitress, the Merluzzo Puttanesca was an excellent dish, and the Pecorino wine was very good. 3 other foods we ordered fell below our expectations. Fried artichoke seemed to have too much fried batter and we were searching for the artichoke flavor. The scallops dish seems not well balanced; scallops are delicate but the brocollini spicing was overpowering and the underlying polenta was blah. The Burnt Basque Cheesecake, on whole, seemed desiccated - can't the cherries be more liquid and luscious and the whipped cream fresher? This dessert seemed to have sat in the refrigerator overnight. The pacing of service seemed poorly coordinated - main dishes came while we were eating appetizer, and coffee was served before dessert. As regards atmosphere - very noisy. Overall, despite high hopes, our time at Cento was not an experience of fine dining.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 5
Best food in downtown Madison.Gorgeous ambiance, great servers & a nice menu with plenty of options.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Great food and great service! Will be back again!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Spuntini Salad Pasta Course Entrée and Dessert
I wish there wasn't loud music playing in the background. It was hard to carry on a conversation with table mates.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Breakfast Pizza
Did not disappoint. We had the special Lobster Ravioli. Amazing! They need to add that to the menu .. I would definitely go back.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
Food was ok, service was absolutely horrible. I’ve never been to Wisconsin before so I planned a weekend trip with my hubby. He picked this restaurant and made a reservation for brunch. Our waiter seemed to avoid us as much as he could. I went the whole meal without a drink, we ordered a cannoli and he brought it to us to-go. Seemed to just want us to leave so he didn’t have to work. Very disappointed and do not recommend
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 1
Cento has a great ambiance and respectful servers (even if hard to audibly understand due to gutteral speak,) lovely menu selection, including wines, appetizers & dessert & convenient Downtown location. The prices are "Madison normal" (high.) But the food IS very good.*recommend*
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
3rd time dining here. The food was excellent. I brought my mom tonight before our show at Overture and she loved the place. When we come to Madison for a show, we will be making Cento our go to restaurant.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The food and service at Cento was top notch. Sophia was our waiter and was so personable and knowledgeable with the menu. Our entrees were delicious along with the wine, appetizer, and dessert. We will be back!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
We went to Cento for brunch. Their Boozy Brunch for $35/person was a great deal. I was very underwhelmed by my entree and the ambience. There wasn’t any fun background music on, especially for a Saturday on a nice day. The service was okay—our server seemed to become irritated and upset during the middle of our dining experience. She was accommodating as I ordered the Breakfast Negroni and did not like it, and then exchanged it for a different cocktail. However, that happened to be the time when she became fed up. Anyways, the Black Coffee Manhattan and Lemon Capri were amazing. Highly recommend both for brunch cocktails. The Cannolis were also some of the best I’ve had. My entree was the Crab Cake Benedict that I didn’t care for too much. I would pick something else on the menu unless you’re in love with crab cakes. Overall, I think they could create a better atmosphere that is more fun for both the customers and the employees to be in.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4