Diners' Choice: Best Overall restaurants in Madison

OpenTable

Updated May 05, 2025

Looking for the best overall restaurants 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 (521)

$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

Gregory

Dined 4 days ago

Great food and great service great atmosphere Would highly recommend

Paoli Schoolhouse American Bistro

4.9

4.9 (1002)

$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

DavidVIP

Dined 4 days ago

Brie en croute was fabulous, Roquefort salad was delicious, sea bass was other worldly, and service was delightful. Overall wonderful experience.

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Sugar River Pizza Company

4.9

4.9 (491)

$30 and under

Pizzeria

Madison

About the restaurant

Made from scratch pizza and hometown comfort food are the focus of this family-run restaurant. Come join us for an evening among friends.

Top review

danielle

Dined 2 days ago

Our waiter was nothing short of awesome. The best service we have in a long time. Thanks Sugar River for the wonderful meal

Villa Dolce

4.9

4.9 (654)

$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

Jeffrey

Dined on Apr 26, 2025

A Middleton Gem. Wonderful food. The burrata board is wonderful as are all the pastas.

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Popular dish

Meat Lovers

Orchard

4.8

4.8 (12)

$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

Andrew

Dined 2 days ago

The food was excellent, and the staff provided attentive service. Although service was a little slower than usual, it was Mother's Day, and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. I enjoyed speaking with the owner about the various artisan and heritage apples from his orchard. The ciders were uniquely delicious and the highlight of the experience.

Buck & Honey's - Sun Prairie

4.6

4.6 (1593)

$30 and under

Contemporary American

Sun Prairie

About the restaurant

At Buck & Honey’s, we've taken great care to ensure your first visit makes you feel like you're stopping by an old friend's. We're locally owned and offer a wide variety of traditional fare made from scratch with only the freshest available ingredients.… Sun Prairie's taken notice by awarding Buck & Honey's 'Best Restaurant', 'Best Steak', 'Best Dinner', 'Best Place for Live Music', 'Best Lunch', (and more) every year! Great pastas, tender steaks, fresh entree salads, unique specialty sandwiches, critically acclaimed Friday fish fry and our deliciously crispy thin crust pizzas round out our offerings. Check out the extensive wine list. Join us for live entertainment and special events. Now serving brunch from 10A-2P on Sunday!

Top review

Kari

Dined 2 days ago

Great food, great service, great atmosphere. Highly recommend.

Bonfyre American Grille

4.8

4.8 (2375)

$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

KirbyVIP

Dined 2 days ago

Anika was a great server. Wonderful Mother’s Day buffet.

D’Vino

4.7

4.7 (706)

$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 5-8PM

Top review

Thomas

Dined on May 3, 2025

Excellent food,ambience,and service! Highly recommended.

Buck & Honey's - Monona

4.7

4.7 (1516)

$30 and under

Contemporary American

Madison

About the restaurant

At Buck & Honey’s, we've taken great care to ensure your first visit makes you feel like you're stopping by an old friend's. We're locally owned and offer a wide variety of traditional fare made from scratch with only the freshest available ingredients.… Great pastas, tender steaks, fresh entree salads, unique specialty sandwiches, critically acclaimed Friday fish fry and our deliciously crispy thin crust pizzas round out our offerings. Check out the extensive wine list, craft cocktails and beer selections. Join us for live entertainment and special events. Located on the Yahara River in Monona, featuring 23 boat slips for boat parking and dock side carry out.

Summer months include patio seating, that is first come first serve, and non-reservable.

Top review

AnnVIP

Dined 3 days ago

We really enjoyed our meal at Buck and Honey’s to celebrate a family graduation. The bacon wrapped dates and the firecracker shrimp were delicious for appetizers. The Mahi mahi and Spanky’s meatloaf were also very tasty! Our waitress was very attentive as well!

Eno Vino Downtown

4.8

4.8 (2243)

$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

Karen

Dined 6 days ago

Love taking new friends to see this gem and eat amazing food and drink incredible wine and mixed drinks. The service is outstanding!

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