Madison Tavern

I was excited when this bar opened as it’s perfect location for my friends to hang out after work before getting the train home. The ambience is great and they have done really well with the layout and decorations etc. However, the menu is disappointing. We ordered the roasted beet salad with arugula. I wish i had taken a photo. The dish cost $ 10 and i could have eaten it in 3 bites. I know it’s on the appetizer menu but that doesn’t allow the restaurant to serve such a small portion for $ 10. It was a salad, you can afford to throw a few more arugula leaves on there, how much would that cost? How dare they get away with charging $ 10 for that dish. It says something about the integrity of the management, or lack thereof.

A nice place for the after work drink. For people have been around for a while, we know this was an average Thai restaurant. So glad to see a bar here and big enough for the big team.
Typical bar decoration with huge bar area in the middle with large TVs. Most tables are high stool and tables. The nice thing is that they do take reservations which helped us a lot. The place was packed where we were there around 5:30PM. Very noisy, You will have to yell to the people across from you.
We ordered a bunch of appetizers to share. Nachos were loaded and tasted great. Hummus was good too. Hot pretzel was great. Guac with chips was average. Might try something else over lunch next time.
A Nice place to hang out. Somewhat difficult to talk in a big group. Services were decent.

Food is mediocre at best.
Service is awful. I’ve visited Madison Tavern twice and had horrible service both times. Today I had a 12:30 reservation for lunch with a group. We were promptly seated but waited until 12:50 for anyone to come to the table. Numerous attempts to flag down a server (any server) failed despite eye contact being made. When someone finally came to our table they didn’t take drink orders, acted annoyed that we were there, and didn’t know what the daily soups or market specials were. The loop /​west loop is a large area with lots of restaurants. This one is not worth the time.

I had to stop here while waiting to catch a later train earlier today. The service was superb. The waitress was so nice and attentive. The wine menu was great. The waitress made a red wine recommendation and it was a great choice, I had 2 glasses. However the food was the worse I’ve ever had at similar joints. I would rather have had Mcdonalds then this food. I first ordered the flatbread. It was disgusting, no flavor and the entire pizza was purely hard like those dry toasts. It was so bad I had to return it. Then I ordered the fried calamari. That too was terrible!!! but I didn’t return it as I felt bad and was embarrassed to return food a second time. I felt nauseous after the full experience. Probably would only visit again for drinks only.

Atmosphere: Great! Comfy chairs and a big spacious bar with elbow room and deep counters so you can spread out. Tables are average with no complaints. Lighting is dim and easy on the eyes. Nice décor.
Food: Just ok. They can improve. Been back several times and tried many dishes. Some hits and misses. I’d avoid the Korean wings as they’re very bland and you may not even finish them (This is the only time I’ve lost interest in eating wings mid way through). Burgers are basic, but on the salty side. They’re comprised of two thin patty’s so they’re quick, but pre-​made and just meh. Salads are ok but not too memorable either. I recommend the cobb if you get a salad. Good size portion and decent. The pepper-​steak (About 30 bucks), way too salty, drowned in gravy, and just a mess. Skip the pepper-​steak. Their daily skillets are tasty. This is about the only dish that is somewhat memorable. Ingredients change daily, but all have been good.
Drinks: Decent beer selection and a handful of craft beers. Full bar and ample selection of liquor for cocktails. They should be able handle most requests unless you’re craving super crafty stuff. Can’t comment about the wine selection, but there appears to be a good selection.
Service: Decent. Well staffed and attentive. Bartenders do a good job with small details like providing you with a glass without asking if you order a bottle or can of beer. They’re also quick to offer a refill. Table service is average, but no complaints here.
Conclusion: I mostly go for the comfy atmosphere and proximity. They get a solid B-.

I really want to like this place because it’s conveniently located in my office building, but geez this place is yucky! Sorry Madison Tavern… I really was rooting for you to be good.

Terrible hostess service. When the front of your house is rude, condescending, and not accommodating not am I not going to stay and spend money in your establishment, I’m never coming back!

Won’t seat you if your full party isn’t present. Arbitrarily reserves tables making seating for large parties impossible. (These tables are not actually reserved. They just want the bar full first.) When you relent to not getting a seat and your party crowds around the bar as they’ve designed, you are told to move. When asked where to, you’re told to «figure it out.» At that point, if you have any self respect, you leave because why would you give your hard earned money to a place that doesn’t value its customers?

Had a late lunch/​early dinner with friends. It was fairly empty so they sat us right away and served us waters. Their play on the menu names are pretty funny. We were too late for one of their lunch special ($ 12 for pick 2 soup/​salad/​sandwich)
Our waiter, Brandon was AMAZING! He gave his recommendations and even joked around with us. I like when waiters are not on top of us or trying to rush us. Perfect combo of giving us space and being attentive.
Since this was our first time here, we took a little longer to order. I loved the avocado toast. The waiter did warn me that it’s like Guac more than just avocado. I didn’t mind. He said the name of it and the description doesn’t describe it well as another customer got mad when they received their food. The fries are excellent! My friend agreed as well. It says a lot about a place based on their fries haha
I didn’t get to take a picture of the mash but my friend said it was delicious and my other friend, said the chicken was moist and not dried. It was really good.
Overall, a great experience and atmosphere. We did have to wait a little while for our food but our waiter did apologize as they only have one cook. I’d go again.

We came here for an old coworker’s birthday lunch, and it worked out well. We didn’t get a chance to make reservations in advance, but they still had room to accommodate the 5 of us at a high top table. I am pretty impressed with how quickly our food came out. Our server was pretty good. I was only disappointed with no refills on my coffee. The prices were reasonable and my trout and sprouts salad was pretty delicious, despite only getting one slice of grapefruit in my whole salad. It was a nice lunch option.

Food was good, service was ok. I had a drink brought at 9pm which is the time they apparently close. My first sip into the drink this obnoxious bartender started loudly saying…“Have a great night guys” over and over sarcastically to try to get us to leave. Ok… you just brought me the drink I ordered 25 minutes ago and you’re telling us to leave. If you are closing let me know politely and give me ample time to finish my drink. Don’t be loud and annoying when we were unaware of your closing time and your staff just brought me a drink.

While the restaurant appears to have a fresh and inviting atmosphere, the menu and service is definitely lacking in imagination and quality. I asked for Diet Coke, the waiter said Pepsi? I said no thanks l’ll do Mountain Dew, she said Dr. Pepper? My friend ordered an ice tea that had two cubes of ice and the waiter gave it to me after i opted for water given the lack of soda selection. So much for a fully stocked tavern. The Pastrami rueben was cold and the sweet potato tots were the only bright light in what was a dark experience for this diner.

Slowest drink service I’ve ever experienced. 20 – 30 minutes per drink is unacceptable. 2 hours and it never got better.

SOOO LOUDDDDD. I’m not old, I just like the people that I go to happy hour with and want to be able to hear them. The music is obnoxiously loud. Service was fine, food was fine but normally a Mediterranean plate would have veggies – not chips and a couple sauces. Was strange to everyone at our table.

Had lunch and we asked waiter to split the bill on our cards. Somewhere between our table and the register he lost one of our cards. After 15 minutes of looking for the lost card he told us he could not find it. So we asked to speak to the manager who offered to waive the lunch bill. Two minutes later the waiter finds the lost card and then decides to waive one lunch item on the bill but still charge us for the rest of lunch. We all missed our 1 pm meetings and will not be back for lunch again.

I love this place! I went there this past week and everything was great! The hostess Tabanne, I think I spelled that correct. She was very welcoming and the most polite and nicest young adult I’ve ever met at a restaurant! The lobster rolls were the best! Will be coming back!

Really great food and service! Tabanne the host was very welcoming, I didn’t have reservations on a Friday night and she got us in with no problem, I definitely will be coming back!

Nice new place in the city. I really love the ambience — has casual and lively vibes like a sports bar but a little more upscale and trendy.
Food is decent. I had the short rib pot pie special and it was sizable and delicious — also unique as I rarely see pot pies that aren’t chicken? The salads are alright, but the chicken on top was cooked a little dry.
I think they are still working things out as they are so new. The food definitely took a while and the busboys seem very confused about which table to deliver food to… but the waitress was very nice and attentive which made up for it.

This has to be one of my favorite new restaurants in Oglivie train station. The service was great, the food was excellent, and the beer was good. I thought the selection for craft beer was good, but it was missing a lot of local Chicago beers, so I took off a star. I had the Salsa Verde Chicken tacos, and they were cooked perfectly. Juicy and seasoned well, fresh guac, and a salsa with just enough kick. My friend had the breaded chicken sandwich, to which he also said was great. Highly Recommend!

4 friends went here on the 19^th, to see what all the excitement and anticipation was about, where Madison Tavern delivered quite nicely! While the craft beer selection was vast and the wines offered were tempting and varied, I tried the interesting 10 Ride — with pear brandy and champagne, was smooth and lovely. I could have easily downed 2, but 1 was sufficient and provided a decent buzz. We split the smoked trout dip with toasted rye, the Korean wings with a slightly sweet/​tangy orange and sesame glaze, the Korean short rib tacos and the Quinoa salad with dried cherries, almonds, feta, fennel, and a delicious citrus vinaigrette that’s very similar to Wildfire’s on their chopped salad. The food was way above average and better than typical bar food and the drink selections were impressive. The number of massive TV’s and a noise level that’s deafening is what gives this a 4 instead of a 5 star. The apps were just phenomenal with portions enough for the 4 of us to leave sufficiently full.