Rare Steakhouse is an excellent place for a fancy night out. It will cost you, but the service and food are worth it. Our waitress was on top of everything and even made unconventional recommendations. What I mean by unconventional recommendations, is her asking how I liked my steak tenderness and what flavors I'm looking for. Once I gave my preferences, then she recommended options instead of just telling me the most expensive thing on the menu. Highly encourage Madison diners to go here.

Don't forget the Banana Foster dessert either!

Excellent in all respects

The food was amazing! Definitely made our 15th wedding anniversary feel very special.

New Years eve

New Year’s Eve dinner with good friends. Genevieve was a fantastic server! As always, amazing dinner experience.

Had a fantastic dinner! Amazing food. Very much worth the price! Very friendly staff.

Everything was outstanding, from the food to the service and atmosphere. I highly recommend this restaurant to anyone looking for a great steak / dining experience in Madison.

Fantastic steak and Wagyu is to die for. Service is attentive but not intrusive. A must try experience.

Great food and waiter!

We had some out-of-town gas come to Madison from Milwaukee Wisconsin and we had the perfect table overlooking the capital food was fabulous service was fabulous so wonderful with going back for New Year’s Eve! They’re doing a fabulous job trying to be successful during the Covid… I highly recommend anyone dine at Rare

Pricey, but quality matches price. Superb meal all the way around, great staff.

Food was awesome as was our server however the music was too loud and we were celebrating a birthday and no staff even mentioned this so I was sadly disappointed!

My husband enjoyed his birthday! We loved every aspect of the restaurant!

The food was excellent! One of the best lobster bisques we’ve ever had, incredible steak, and the bananas foster was to die for. The cocktails were also great. The service was outstanding and they made our anniversary dinner special!

We have eaten at Rare more than 50 times pre Covid, it’s a true favorite. We even used to know some of the staff by name. I was very excited to take my two children there for thanksgiving because I know the have been very good at social distancing. We were seated in a booth and there were about 20 people total in a restaurant made for well over a hundred. Then, with seven open booths and many tables, they sat a loud foursome 5 feet from us. All we could hear the whole time was their stories and my daughter was freaking out about them being so close. I too tried to play it off but was concerned. The service was excellent the food was good, but this ruined the night and their tip. Oh the way out past all the open booths and tables my daughter asked me again why those people had to be so close to us and all I could do was just shake my head.

Very good food, treated very well! Try the bananas foster

Best meal of my life. I had such a great dinner, and the staff was wonderful.

Great service, great food, cool atmosphere, pricey

Everything was great, they handled social distance very well, staff was great, Food was Awesome!

Another great meal at Rare. I would definitely recommend.

We had the absolute best waitress that we’ve ever had anywhere!

So delicious. Outstanding view/location. The lobster bisque is such a treat.

Despite all necessary precautions due to Covid 19, we had great food and fabulous service. I would highly recommend it. For us it was fantastic to finally get out and have a fabulous dinner.

Good food, nice atmosphere
Service very good
Pricey

Overall it's a great experience ... The bread is so crispy, perfect when mixed with honey butter. The scallop is the best! The only regret is that there's no special offer for celebrating the anniversary.

The rib cap was amazing and so were the whipped potatoes. Everything we had was good.

2nd time we've eaten there, first was terrific this visit was good. Co-Vid probably onky reason not as good menu limited from last visit. We'll still be back.

We love EVERYTHING about our experience here. This was our 2nd trip and we come all the way from Chicago to eat here when we can. Our server, Genevieve, is the best you could ask for. We will definitely be back, thank you for taking great care of us!

Very knowledgeable waiter. Awesome dry aged steaks

As always, SUPERB experience. We have NEVER had anything less. Moving from Chicago a year and a half ago, we quickly became RARE lovers, as this sits right up there with the quality, ambiance and service level of a renowned Chicago steakhouse. From the moment we are greeted by the hostess, to when we step out the door to depart, the experience is fantastic.

We dined on this visit for my significant other's Birthday (we LOVE coming to RARE for all of the special occasions in our lives and has come to be a tradition!). We aren't quite comfortable dining indoors yet, with Covid, however, we requested a more-secluded table and they offered us 3 different locations within the restaurant - all offering privacy and plenty of distance from other guests/potentially high traffic areas.

Our waitress was upbeat, lively, welcoming, polite, courteous, timely and professional.

For food, we shared the Oysters Rockefeller (divine and so flavorful!), a "Wisco" Wedge -- split for us and so fresh, the 6 oz. Filet, the Bone-Ribeye, the Whipped Potatoes, Caramelized Onions and a side of Bernaise. All - just mouthwatering, melting in your mouth with every bite! The filet always cuts like BUTTER and the ribeye with a perfect amount of marbling. The potatoes are creamy and hold incredible taste while the caramelized onions were the perfect finishing touch. Love the garlic cloves that they garnish the steak with, as well - nice little addition and a great compliment to the protein.

RARE is without a doubt our go-to spot for steak and this restaurant checks off every box, every single time.

HIGHLY recommend. The perfect special occasion spot and a fabulous experience for anyone looking to host a client to dinner.

Thank you for yet, another wonderful experience RARE. You've done it again!

Wonderful experience, they took lots of safety precautions to account for the pandemic.

Our waiter was talkative but in a helpful way. Initially we were seated at a two person table in a dark part of an empty room but we asked to move and that was fine. Although the creamed spinach was recommended as a side, it was way too much creamed and I would not recommend it.

We ate outside and got a drag show or entertainment!! Was a bit windy but the food was excellent as always as was the service.

History of Rare has been great - it now appears they will not survive much longer - we probably will never be back and over the years, twice a year with a large group.

Wes Miller

Expensive but yummy, especially for steak and wine lovers. Great wine list. Great steak list. Decadent other options like various oysters. It's a gourmand delight.

As always, food was delicious. Filet was tender and cooked perfectly with a fabulous crust. Crab cake accompaniment was delicious and nicely browned. My companions scallops were seared well and tender, cooked perfectly. The mediteranean salad was lightly dressed, fresh, and full of flavor. The honey-crema butter accompanying the popovers had little flavor and the popovers were not hot. But that is only a very tiny complaint. The table captain was timely and unobtrusive. Coffee was refreshed without asking. Food came with impeccable timing. The Covid-19 precautions were obvious. We were in a booth with noone in the booths to either side. The normal tables in the middle of the main dining area were not used and those in the other dining room were well spaced. This was our first time going out to dinner since early March because of Covid concerns. We felt perfectly safe at Rare and have no concern at all about potential exposure. We appreciate their efforts to provide safety while keeping their service and food experience as perfect as ever. Thank you.

Service was VERY slow. Food as usual was outstanding. Won’t be back there for some time.

Excellent food and ambiance, sad to see the entrance all boarded up, along with the businesses surrounding Rare.

The food was great, the service wasn’t over the top which you would expect for a restaurant like this.

Outstanding meal, fantastic server (Case) and overall a wonderful experience.