Otto's Restaurant and Bar - Madison
Please Note: Otto's Restaurant is now open the first Monday of each month excluding holidays.
Note: Online reservations are available for the dining rooms only. Bar and deck table reservations must be made via telephone. Reservations are required at this time for dining in the bar, outdoors, and inside for parties of 6 or less.
Experiences
3 Course Chef's Tasting Menu
Multiple dates available
Enjoy our 3 course Chef's Tasting Menu highlighting seasonal ingredients. The menu is offered Tuesday -Thursday nights.
Safety precautions
- Surfaces sanitized between seatings
- Common areas deep cleaned daily
- Digital, disposable or sanitized menu provided
- Sanitizer or wipes provided for customers
- Sealed or wrapped utensils used
- Distancing maintained in common areas
- Extra space between tables
- Waitstaff wear masks
- Sick staff prohibited in the workplace
Popular dishes
Caesar Salad
garlic croutons, asiago cheese
6 reviews
Seafood Trio
shrimp, scallops, salmon, roasted fennel, marinated artichokes, red potatoes, red peppers & basil pesto
3 reviews
Steak Frites
4 oz. petite filet mignon, French fries, horseradish dijonnaise
3 reviews
Great bar staff.
Wait staff was rushed.
Food was missing key menu items ( ie.....scallops, out of risotto, had substitutions- only three scallops seems low for the price)
Great ambience
I love Otto's. The food and service is always fantastic. I recommend it everyone!
Lovely, quiet place with outstanding cuisine and exceptional service. We almost always choose Otto's for birthdays, anniversaries, and other special occasions. The management continues to make the whole experience very relaxing and inviting, even while adhering to COVID restrictions.
Absolutely terrible. They are clearly in the process of shutting down. Menu and drink items aren’t available. They can’t even serve the items on their own tasting menu. The guy at the front desk couldn’t care less about customer service. Don’t go there.
Always a nice place for a quiet dinner and a post cocktail. Not sure whey we don’t go more often but never been disappointed.
Another outstanding dinner at Ottos. Mackenzie was outstanding as our server and the food as always was fantastic.
Stared out on the wrong foot...didn't have our reservation. We still got seated. My wife's Halibut was okay, not hot. My Scallops were great, but the Star of the show was the Brussel Sprouts with Bacon! Like eating candy!
Always a fantastic meal with top notch service, cocktails and wine! They source the freshest ingredients and you can tell in the quality of the dish. They are very accommodating to food allergy modifications and makes every meal special. Highly recommended!
Great find - once you find it. It is located behind other buildings, so look for the big black Ottos sign, not something that is obviously a restaurant. Otto's is requiring reservations for the bar and restaurant, so call before going. COVID procedures - masks were required and properly worn by all employees, tables were spaced out. Food was very good, particularly the Mediterranean platter. Service was attentive but not intrusive. Good selection of wine by the glass. We found this through TripAdvisor and will be back to enjoy dinning outside when the weather permits.
Excellent food and service. Safe COVID protocols. Thank you
Great food, service and patio. Will definitely be back.
Beautiful restored farmhouse with an evening style menu available at lunch...reasonable prices and portions. Butternut squash soup was very tasty.
They did a great job making us feel safe and the service and food were excellent, as always.
Great food and service with intimate ambiance. Very nice dining experience.
Otto's has been a Madison favorite since I can remember. We have thoroughly enjoyed the outdoor patio during the current COVID pandemic. We just went this past Saturday, and we could eat outside on the patio with heat lamps. I didn't even need my jacket. They usually have live music, which is typically quite pleasant.
My favorite dish is the Sea Bass and Caesar salad, SO delicious!!! The Caesar salad is exceptional, best in town. For a cozy, quality restaurant, I highly recommend Otto's on the West Side of Madison.
Food and service were great! We were a little apprehensive sitting on the deck with the colder weather but the heat lamps kept us very comfortable. We were glad we did as there was a string quartet which really added to the ambience on our wedding anniversary. After dinner the bar was accommodating and fun. The bartenders were great together!!
Great place to go rather it be lunch or dinner. Definitely worth the hour drive.
First time diner, the music was amazing we sat on the patio. Service was great and the food was delicious. I would highly recommend.
Nothing about this experience was great
Always reliable and consistent. Highly recommend.
Great food and great service. Good music on Wednesdays. S
My wife and I dined at Otto's while traveling through Madison. I had an excellent filet, and my wife enjoyed salmon in grape leaves, although it was slightly overdone for her taste (never hurts to specify your preference.) Good food, good wine, and good service.
All 4 of us really liked our delicious different entrees. Steaks and seafood. The bruschetta was a great appetizer as well. It was quiet and we were able to talk easily . Tables were spaced with great regard to the COVID pandemic.
My meal at Otto's was delicious as always, and my server was helpful and friendly. Plus it was busier than usual for pandemic times, but of course still socially distanced. I am glad to see them doing well.
First time here. I’d have to say pretty disappointed is an understatement. Service was horrible. New waiter, but he was way in over his head. The food messed up a couple times. Super slow. Drinks way slow. A $40 steak should be offered with some sort of sauce. Really bad experience. I’m not sure it would be worth coming back. The only plus I found is the live music but even then you couldn’t be in the room to listen directly
Large roof-covered open-air porch with socially-distanced tables and charming lighting is an appealing environment that feels safe. There are heat lamps that hopefully extend the season for outdoor eating. Service is excellent.
All was lovely EXCEPT we waited over an hour for our food...at lunch! And we were the very first party there. And other tables had their food before us.
Our waitress/part owner was VERY busy so we didn’t complain at all. But neither did she seem to notice how long we had sat with no food. I ended up being late for a meeting afterward. I had thought an 11:45 reservation would give me plenty of time to make my 2:00!
Despite this unusual hiccup in service, Otto’s is still one of our favs and I think the couple we brought there that day will give it another chance too.
We waited to get seated. Then we for almost hour to get our food. Then we waited for a long time for our check and then Waited again for Kim to take our Credit card. Apparently, there were issue in kitchen. Also, only one waitress for 5 or 6 tables.
Food is always great and we love this restaurant. We will return.
Nice ambiance, good service, good food. Appetizers outstanding. Seafood incredible! Just a great place to have good food, good conversation, and an elegant time out.
Outside seating on an upper level porch for safer dining. A jazz quartet playing their own arrangement of standards an excellent food. A great evening.
The service, food, drinks, and music was wonderful will be going again very soon !
Wonderful! Food was amazing.
The food was disappointing given the price. Very sad given past experiences.
Lovely dining experience. Sat inside. Tables safely distanced and staff all wore masks n used gloves. Felt very comfortable. Staff warm n welcoming. Gods n serve very good. Lamb chops were outstanding. Cioppino was alright - shrimp a bit overcooked. Nice wine list. Menu very friendly if eating gluten free. Will definitely return.
We drove in from Chicago to celebrate our son's 21st birthday during COVID. The restaurant was super accomodating. We were their last customers and they were willing to seat us. The food and the service were great. We ordered four of their desserts and loved them all. The strawberry Napoloeon and the Creme Bruelle were out standing. I have to say I like this retaurant much better than the restaurants near the Capitol. It's warm and charming. The out door patio is a real plus. I would defintely recommend this restaurant.
Food was pretty good but not worth the price. $5 for 3 spears of asparagus? Ridiculous. Nothing special was even done to then. And $5 for McDonald type fries? I would expect better quality.
Ottos is now open for lunch and they have a fabulous patio on which to enjoy it. Excellent service and great food. It was hot on the day we went with a nice breeze. Our server was considerate enough to leave a carafe of water on our table. The lunch menu is limited to a few appetizers; calamari, shrimp, crab cakes caesar salad, soup, sandwiches; short rib, chicken, turkey, fish and entrees; cioppino, steak and risotto among others. I ordered a cup of tomato bisque and a Caesar salad. Our waiter asked if I wanted the side or large salad and if I wanted chicken or shrimp on it. I was impressed as only the side salad was on the menu. Very accommodating. I ordered the large salad with grilled chicken. The chicken was the star. Moist flavorful and tender. My husband ordered the cioppino. It’s very large. I was amazed by the amount of seafood it contained. About 20 mussels, shrimp, salmon, whitefish and plenty of bacon in a smokey red broth. He almost couldn’t finish all of it. It was definitely more of a dinner serving than lunch. Excellent choice. Upon being served he wished lunch included the sour dough bread served at dinner so he could soak up the excellent broth.
We’ll be back soon for sure as this is our favorite supper spot as well.
Otto’s was clean, well spaced, and compliant with local sanitation rules. Our server was very pleasant. The food was very good. Our only issue was that the bills for both couples were incorrect. More cocktails were on the bills than were actually consumed. They adjusted the bills, of course. It was just odd.
We always have a pleasant time at Otto's, and the staff consistently is friendly, helpful and efficient. My husband enjoyed his sirloin tip dinner. My halibut entree was very good, except that the fish seemed watery for some reason. We still will be back!
Seating outside was not 6 ft apart and table was right behind the band. Food was just fair so will not eat here again
FAQs
Otto's Restaurant and Bar - Madison offers takeout which you can order by calling the restaurant at (608) 274-4044.
Otto's Restaurant and Bar - Madison is rated 4.7 stars by 1267 OpenTable diners.
Yes, you can generally book this restaurant by choosing the date, time and party size on OpenTable. Due to local restrictions, this restaurant may not be accepting reservations at the moment.