Best Casual Restaurants in Madison

This is a fun tapas style place to go. Likely better with more than two people as you'll be able try more things. The menu is so fun. Waiter suggested 2-3 items per person. Three is definitely too many. We didn't have room for dessert. Overall, a fun place! We'd go back for sure.

Birthday party for my wife, with friends and family. They made it a wonderful experience. A++

10/10 experience. The service, food and atmosphere at O-Ku is top notch. We celebrated my dad’s 60th birthday and the way they catered to us was so intentional and thoughtful! Our waitress and the manager both were so kind and attentive and made our experience so special!

We enjoyed every single bite and sip! We ordered the beef tartare, broccolini, and sweet potatoes for the table, and then had the ribeye and the pork chop as entrees. Every bite was spectacular!! No notes at all on the food. Our only mild disappointment was that we ordered a round of drinks for the kitchen staff (which is an option on the menu called ‘Rock Stars’) when we ordered our own drinks at the start of our meal, and we never saw any drinks delivered to them. It’s an open kitchen in plain view of the dining area, and we were bummed that we never saw them take a shot or pass out beers to sip on as they cook or anything like that. We were hoping to raise a glass with them in cheers, or at least see some drinks set out for them, but I’m not sure they ever got the round we paid for. It’s a small thing, but I was expecting a bit more fanfare for that to be an option on the menu. Still, this was a five-star anniversary meal, and I cannot say enough about the food. We’ll be back for another special occasion soon!!

We were super excited to get a reservation at Noko because our friends (who are serious foodies and excellent home chefs) recommended Noko as their favorite restaurant. Noko did not disappoint! The welcome as we entered was warm and generous, they took my coat and hung it for me. : ) we had a small table in the dining room that was reserved, but opted to sit at the bar! It was fantastic! Our bartender Jena was super knowledgeable and so kind. She had many diners at the bar and took great care to engage with everyone. We started with sake and beer, a very interesting sake selection, and had spicy tuna crispy rice & hamachi crudo to start both so flavorful and delicious, then moved on with burnt ends with lettuce both of us LOVED this dish and really enjoyed the delicate crab fried rice! We had the Caesar salad which we shared but could have had my own it was so tasty! Our meal was so delightful we didn’t save room for dessert! We might try to go back tonight for dessert to try the coconut cake with wood fired pineapple or the brookie with Chocolate brownie, black sesame cookie, miso caramel, vanilla gelato! Our only missed opportunity due to dining so late is we missed the dumplings!! No doubt they are as fantastic as all the dishes we tried! Make a reservation ASAP, the food, drinks and staff are⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Might I add that we went to a distillery recommended by Jenna and ran into another couple that was seated at the bar too!! Great recommendation, thank you Jenna! You nailed it!