L'Etoile

Repeat customer who had a brilliant dinner a while ago, returned this week for another experience. The Tasting menu and wine pairing is a must…expensive no doubt but these people pull off the most magical dish creations with masterfully paired wines. Truly amazing experience. Even the vegetarian tasting dishes were imaginative, beautifully plated, and an explosion of flavors. Allow 2 hours to enjoy the experience.

I dined here as part of a group that reserved a tasting menu. I was pleasantly surprised at how approachable all of the dishes were. They were very accommodating to our groups various dietary restrictions. Overall a very special experience, I would highly recommend for any group special occasion.

The staff was very accommodating and welcoming. They are very knowledgeable about the menu and the produce that is used to prepare the meal. Joe ensured our anniversary experience was top notch and we will be returning to try Graze as recommended.Dine in: Yes

Got the set menu plus reserve wine pairing. Found the service to be very nice and staff friendly and attentive. The ambiance was nice as well. As a local from Madison, I think for a restaurant in Madison it’s not bad since there’s not much competition as a big fish in a small pond for a gastro restaurant / fine dining but I feel like it lacks many elements in quality and taste. Paid $580 for two people. Worth probably $50/pp at most in terms of quality and taste. I guess if you compare to any restaurant at this price point or even half the price in other places in the world, this wouldn’t be able to compare. Almost every dish was extremely over sauced, over seasoned, over salted. Starter fish couldn’t even be tasted due to how heavy the seasonings were. Tortellini had so much butter and salt that it also overpowered the main ingredient once again. The halibut fish was the only dish that didn’t have the supporting cast of ingredients overpower the main star. But it was just bland. The steak was cooked well rare to med rare but once again totally overpowered by it being drowned out by sitting in a salty and rich sauce. Overall I just felt like this restaurant could do so much better and has so much more potential. The supporting cast of each dish should empower the main quality ingredients, instead it was a missed opportunity and ended up drowning out the main with overly sauced salted and buttered components. I hope this review serves as a wake up call for this restaurant and chef. I hope they don’t call it French inspired though much longer because it gives French cuisine a bad name

We’ve eaten at some of the best restaurants in the world and are delighted to say that L’Etoile is among them. We celebrated a perfect evening at L’Etoile due to the fantastically talented staff and chefs. From the preservation process and personal communications with the staff that led to us getting a special booth and our pescatarian preferences acknowledged with a special tasting menu - to complimentary sparkling wine and anniversary wishes from all of the staff - to the spectacular meal, cocktails, and desserts -to a take home pastry present – L’Etoile was outstanding in every aspect. Some details: a gorgeous setting at sundown in a private booth, knowledgeable, friendly, and attentive but not intrusive hospitality and waitstaff, the best boulevardier I’ve ever had made with Whistle Pig rye, Zucco Rabararo, and Sfumato, and amazingly delicious and beautiful entrees. Our favorites were the Soy Glazed Hamachi, Chèvre Gnudi, Sweet Onion Potatoes Perogies, and … fresh Croissant Doughnuts with brûlée bananas. I can’t imagine a better dining experience. Best of all – my beautiful wife of 2 years <3 Thank you from both of us. Vegetarian options: AN entre tasting menu for vegetarians!

Destination dining! My friend grew up in Madison and described this as the prom dream date. Now we travel together a lot and will frequently do what we did tonight. We ordered everything on the starter menu and one dessert item. Starters/appetizers are always so much more creative than entrées. Let’s face it, there’s only so many ways you can cook a steak or chicken or fish. It is the starters/appetizers and the desserts where chef’s truly shine.

I love the foie gras and pork belly in the first course. The rest are okay but not as great as expected. Unfortunately, I’m not a fan of the dessert. I felt that the cake, sorbet, and the fruit in the plate didn’t make a good combination. The cake was mediocre. That being said, I’d still like to try their other menus. The service was great :.

Thank you for the wonderful NYE experience! The prix fixe menu and wine pairing was stellar. Great ambiance and perfect service, and you can't beat the view of the capitol. Happy New Year to all of the staff and ownership at L'Etoile!

The experience itself was positive: friendly staff, complimentary champagne for our anniversary, and an overall clean, simplistic atmosphere. If I had feedback to give about the venue, it would be to set the shades to either cover more of the front windows as the evening begins, or not seat the tables nearest the front windows, as the sunlight there is a bit overpowering. We chose to have the Chef's tasting experience, which we've done before at such places as The French Room in Dallas,TX and Different Pointe of View in Phoenix, AZ, which were both extraordinary experiences, so we had high hopes for L'Etoile given the $145/person cost which was more than we'd paid for our prior experiences. Unfortunately, we can only say we left saying "meh". It was a very expensive, mediocre 6-course meal, with a few highlights and some delicious cocktails. It started with a surprisingly good 1-bite, tasty bacon aioli salad that was both flavorful and refreshing. We moved on to a sushi and cucumber dish that, while beautiful, seemed to be a collection of vegetables that didn't compliment well, with an overly salty sauce. It did have some theatrics with a nitrogen-infused sauce that I couldn't taste because, nitrogen freezes things. To follow was a lobster bisque and corn mixture that was tasty, if only for the lobster and ravioli. After this was a "surprise" course of a Cajun style rice with caviar and a chicken pate that was spicy and delicious if not a bit overpowering with the cayenne. After this point, I'd have expected the Chef to wow us. Instead, we found that we'd already had the best they had to offer. The halibut dish was salty and bland, and the sauce was both not enough and not flavorful. I barely touched mine, as it was unappealing. I will say that the beets in the dish were better than I expected and probably the best part of it. To follow was a cut of NY strip steak that was very overcooked and dry, with a clumpy tomato-based sauce that was a bit bland and overcooked, all sitting atop bland potatoes and cooked tomatoes. For dessert, we received a small wedge of cheese with a cherry sauce that was just fine, and finished with a blueberry souffle that was quite tasty. The french-pressed coffee was good as a finisher to the dessert. While the food was beautiful and a nice experience overall, I wouldn't say it was $400+ good. More like something I'd expect from Olive Garden or Red Lobster, except at those places they'd know how to cook a steak.

What an incredible meal! The service and food were outstanding. The restaurant actually printed special tasting menus for my husband and I because we said we were "pescatarians" when we made the online reservation. The servers were knowledgable, friendly, and attentive. We felt so well taken care of, course after course. This restaurant has a romantic, hip atmosphere without being pretentious. It would be an amazing place to celebrate any kind of special event.