Diners' Choice: Best Ambiance restaurants in Madison

OpenTable

Updated June 05, 2025

Looking for restaurants with the best ambiance in Madison? You’re in the right place. Each month, OpenTable analyzes nearly 2 million global diner reviews from the past four months. We sort the results by location and category to help you discover new favorite restaurants. It's a great partnership: you reserve, eat, and review. We listen...and deliver the results for all to benefit. Enjoy!

Williams's Pine Gables Supper Club

5.0

5 (530)

$31 to $50

American

Madison

About the restaurant

Welcome to William's Pine Gables Supper Club.
We look forward to seeing you soon

Top review

Ruth

Dined on Jun 11, 2025

Our waitress was great. Very knowledgeable and a wonderful person. The restaurant is spotless and would recommend you to everyone. Thank you.

Paoli Schoolhouse American Bistro

4.8

4.8 (1019)

$31 to $50

Farm-to-table

Madison

About the restaurant

Paoli Schoolhouse American Bistro is located on the banks of the Sugar River in Paoli, WI. The Schoolhouse was built in 1864 and was converted into a restaurant in 2008. We pride ourselves in supporting local vendors and ingredients to bring you the best quality dishes.

Enjoy a meal in our beautiful bistro or on the deck/patio as weather permits. We have a great selection of wine, cocktails, and carry a variety of domestic and craft beers.

The Schoolhouse is also a great venue for small events - micro weddings, rehearsal dinners, bridal showers, baby showers, and any other celebrations!

Top review

Marjorie

Dined 6 days ago

This is a gem of a Resturant! Fabulous food in a wonderful setting and world class live musical entertainment to boot! The music is not loud or over whelming, instead, it provides a great ambiance. Great place to go for a romantic dinner or dinner with group of friends.

Villa Dolce

4.9

4.9 (656)

$30 and under

Italian

Middleton

About the restaurant

A modern Italian cafe in the heart of downtown historic Middleton. With a contemporary vibe this fusion Italian gem features unique topping gourmet pizzas, handmade pasta and famous Gelato.

Top review

Aubree

Dined on Jun 9, 2025

Amazing food, great service. A little noisy for a business dinner but would come back again and again!

Discover more

Popular dish

Meat Lovers

Eno Vino Downtown

4.8

4.8 (2262)

$31 to $50

Bistro

Madison

About the restaurant

Eno Vino Wine Bar & Bistro Voted "Madison's Best Wine Bar" By Madison Magazine Readers, consistently over the years. Eno Vino offers 200+ wines by the bottle & another 45 by the glass. From the beginning, Eno Vino was established as a place to share great wine, sensational, hand-crafted cocktails and fresh, inviting food. Whether you would like to entertain friends, enjoy an evening out with a loved one or unwind during happy hour ~ we invite you to enjoy an evening at Eno Vino.

**Please note**
For outdoor terrace reservations- Please call the restaurant at 608-455-0663.
All guests must be 21 years of age to drink alcohol, regardless of parental accompaniment.

Top review

Robin

Dined 1 day ago

Eno Vino is one of our favorite places. The food and the services is always excellent. The drinks are amazing! The view from anywhere in the restaurant is also amazing. We’ve never been disappointed at Eno Vino!

The Statehouse

4.5

4.5 (1227)

$31 to $50

Contemporary American

Madison

About the restaurant

Join us at our signature restaurant, The Statehouse, or simply stop in to catch the sunset over Lake Mendota while enjoying a cocktail at the bar. Located at the corner of Langdon and Wisconsin, you’ll be comfortable in our inviting dining room and regaled by gorgeous views of the lake and surrounding area. Our beautiful restaurant serves regionally sourced, Modern Midwestern Cuisine. Augie's Tavern offers classic cocktails with new twists, an extensive wine list, and of course, the best Wisconsin craft beers.

Top review

Nancy

Dined 6 days ago

Delicious food, lovely atmosphere. Great place for brunch.

Discover more

Popular dish

Fried Clockshadow Cheese Curds

D’Vino

4.7

4.7 (721)

$31 to $50

Contemporary Italian

Madison

About the restaurant

Wine/Cicchetti (pronounced: che-kett-ee) Bar
Fine Italian Dining
Irresistible little snacks of every imaginable configuration from the varied regions of Italy. Eat them at the bar with an ombra (shadow) of wine with an aperitif. Fine Dining Menu Also available Wed-Sat-Classic Italian favorites and daily chefs specials including Chicken Parmigiano, Sicilian Steak and Shrimp Scampi. Sunday Supper 5-8:30PM
Patio Reservations now available, in cases of weather changes we will do our best to accommodate seating at available tables or bar.

Top review

Joan

Dined on Jun 4, 2025

Had a wonderful experience, great waitstaff, the owner came by to list the specials and chat, food was exceptional and the vibe lively yet intimate. Chef/owner shopped at the farmer's market that morning so the specials were very specific (and fresh) to the season.

Rare Steakhouse

4.7

4.7 (2004)

$31 to $50

Steakhouse

Madison

About the restaurant

Dining and libations on Capitol Square with an incredible view of the Capitol, Rare combines craft cocktails, in-house dry aged steaks and attentive service in an unabashedly old-school steak house setting. Madison's downtown steakhouse features specialty cuts dry aged in-house, like the Rib Cap and the Delmonico as well as offering more traditional cuts like our filet and our rib eye. Rare is also one of the only purveyors of A5 Wagyu in Madison.

Complimenting our steaks and entrees is a specialty cocktail list and an extensive wine list with everything from wines for a big celebration to a weekday dinner.

If you're just looking for a drink after work, Rare offers discounted cocktails, wines and snacks at happy hour.

Top review

Lisa

Dined 6 days ago

Amily was wonderful along with the hostesses. They made my birthday dinner exquisite! Thank you so much!

Orchard

4.6

4.6 (24)

$30 and under

Gastro Pub

Verona

About the restaurant

Orchard is a stylish yet inviting restaurant that celebrates the best of Wisconsin’s culinary heritage with a fresh, global twist. Rooted in an actual organic orchard growing English and French cider apples, Orchard crafts exceptional wine-like ciders and European-style apple brandies. The kitchen, led by Chef Ian Hutchins—newly arrived from Vancouver—emphasizes locally sourced ingredients, complemented by thoughtfully curated ciders, craft beers, wines, and cocktails from sustainable producers. With over 30 years of experience in the organic community, we partner with local farmers and growers to bring the freshest, highest-quality ingredients to every dish. The Orchard experience is both exciting and approachable, offering a warm Midwest welcome alongside internationally acclaimed ciders, innovative plates, and inspired cocktails.

Top review

Brenda

Dined 5 days ago

Service and food were both excellent! Highly recommend!

Bonfyre American Grille

4.8

4.8 (2374)

$30 and under

Contemporary American

Madison

About the restaurant

Bonfyre features Contemporary American Cuisine in an upscale-casual environment. In addition to our hand-cut, wood-fired steaks, guests can enjoy fresh seafood, rotisserie chicken, pastas, signature salads and so much more from our seasonally changing menu.

To complement the cuisine, Bonfyre’s bar features classic cocktails with a modern twist, creative new libations, domestic craft beer selections and a wine list consisting of 60 labels from both North and South America.

Top review

VernVIP

Dined on Jun 2, 2025

We had the Tomahawk Steak dinner for two, and it was outstanding. Our server was friendly and attentive. We thoroughly enjoyed our dining experience at Bonfyre, as always.

Ruth's Chris Steak House - Middleton

4.6

4.6 (1207)

$50 and over

Steakhouse

Madison

About the restaurant

One day call-in advanced reservation is required for Wine Dinners, all guests must order from Wine Dinner Menu, no substitutions.

For reservations on holidays, 20% GRATUITY WILL BE ADDED TO ALL CHECKS

For parties of 6 or more, please call the restaurant and ask to speak with a manager.

For parties of 5 or more, gratuity of 18% will be included.

***Separate Checks will not be accepted for parties of 9 or more***

Ruths Chris Steak House serves the finest aged, corn-fed USDA Prime beef. Broiled in a trademark 1,800° oven & served on a plate heated to 500 degrees, your steak is presented sizzling hot at your table.
Additionally, the menu includes select fresh seafood & other meat entrees. A variety of fresh-cooked vegetables, including seven kinds of potatoes, salads, homemade desserts & an extensive selection of over 100 domestic & imported wines complete your dining experience.
Ruths Chris never fails to please

Top review

Karen

Dined 3 days ago

It was my boyfriend's birthday and we received the best service from the staff at this restaurant, the food was very delicious

Explore Diners' Choice best of Madison

Explore more Diners' Choice lists