Madison’s Grill

A solid 3 star place! A-​OK with me. My writing group has moved their meetings to Madison’s. And 7 – 9 on a friday is not particularly busy here. Maybe it was Thursday, but now they’re on Friday. either way, pretty mellow. We met upstairs, which is a cute little area of extra tables. The place is decent sized, and I had no problem finding parking nearby on the street.
The place feels like an irish pub, but bigger. Looks like there might be some little nooks to explore if I’m not meeting a group. Seems like it would be a cool place for a date or girls night out. And of course, it’s completely unlike me to not experience a happy hour on my first time… so with the benefit of happy hour prices and a little merriment, maybe this place would rise to 4 stars.
Both drinks and food are somewhat reasonable priced. We had tots and a hummous plate. And since a hoummus plate generally bores the crap out me me and tots… well they’re tots, I can only do 3 stars. But I like the feel and look of this place. The staff were just peachy, and I will check it out under different circumstances soon!

I came here for a bitcoin meetup. Yes, this bar accepts that fun new cryptocurrency that dipped below $ 100 per coin after the online drug bust a few weeks ago and today hit $ 233, and if you’re critical of our government’s relationship with the banking industry, interested in futuristic technology, or if you simply want to try your hand at some day trading, you should look into it!
So I was already biased to like the place, but really, it was fantastic. Most notably, the SUPER friendly service from both the server and bartender. We’d had some interesting experiences with Portland bartenders, but this one was just plain awesome. Also, pints of their draft beers were only $ 2.50 due to their Tuesday special! I asked the bartender to pick a beer for me saying I liked Tricerahops, and he served me Diabolo Rojo which was perfect.
The veggie quesadillas were cheap at $ 6 and so delicious. Has onions, so be prepared!
Our meeting was in a very nice private room upstairs with a pool table. They also have a deck outside.

Come for breakfast-​bottomless mimosa’s in a PINT glass. I’m here right now, and let me tell you, they’re delicious and only $ 7.
Great breakfast food as well; tons of options and it’s all hearty food! All breakfast entrees are under $ 13.

«On the good ship happy hour, it’s a sweet place for a drink that’s sour…»
I joined a friend here for happy hour the other afternoon and while it was okay, it wasn’t anything special. The chicken wings were average, not inedible by any means but not mind blowing. I got them in Asian chili sauce, which I did enjoy. We also split the fries, which were great. They are battered, crispy and totally tasty.
I tried two of the special happy hour cocktails and wasn’t really impressed. I first had the blue capirinha, which I thought would be sweet with a slight sting of alcohol. Instead, it was mainly tart/​sour tasting, with a mild alcohol flavor. I then tried the Cubano, which I thought would be ginger-​y and sweet, but it mostly just tasted like a slightly minty version of the first drink. They were both sour and not very strong, which wasn’t great, given the very high prices. I did really like that it wasn’t crowded and the server/​bartender was excellent, very friendly and efficient. I’d be willing to try Madison’s Grill again, but wouldn’t rush back.

I went to a bitcoin meetup here and met some really interesting people. The restaurant takes bitcoin. I got the french dip sandwich which was sort of small and average tasting. The fries were not good at all… and with all the great restaurants around I would drink here and eat elsewhere.

I wanted to give it 3 stars, but the food was so good and our waitress was really good despite having to run nearly the entire downstairs by herself. As I said, food was so good. We ordered the biscuits and gravy as well as the chicken-​fried steak. I’ll be back for those indeed. The gravy was really, really good.
My only complaint is that we called over an hour ahead of time to let them know that we had a party of 11. When we got there they told us that they couldn’t seat us together because we didn’t leave any contact info. Well, you didn’t ask for it… but you did in fact have us written down for a party of 11, at the time we discussed. We did get booths across from each other, which was better than being scattered all around. Hopefully next time it works out.

We end up here for breakfast more often than not while we wait for an oil change on my car, so we’ve been here a few times, here’s our last trip:
Me: Huevos Rancheros-​Flavorful, and a great helping for nine bucks. Having a bottle of Secret Aardvark on the table helped bring the heat. Me Gusta. Sir had to eat at least a third of mine to get himself filled up, and I still left sated. well played.
Sir: French Toast– The saddest, coldest, smallest portion of wonderbread with egg flavoring and cold maple syrup and rock-​hard butter pats you ever did see. Even the expansive, ice-​cold plate seemed to be apologizing to us for this seven-​dollar sad-​ganza.
This seems to be the typical experience here for us in the morning; it is very hit or miss, with the misses being on the sharp end of the bummer stick. I suppose having had a bottomless mimosa would have made me care a little less, and they did look yummy, but I did have to drive home, you know, at eleven in the morning=)
Verdict: Okay, but YMMV.

CONS: Even though we had reservations we were seated in a corner upstairs in the banquet room where two large loud groups were sitting. Ours was the only table not associated with the groups. I know it was New Year’s Day and the place was busy, but the service was really slow, even for a busy morning. We had been seated for 20 minutes before our order was taken and then it was 35 more minutes before our food arrived. We’d been there 40 minutes before we got water refills.
I asked for English Breakfast tea and got Earl Grey instead. Since our waitress was nowhere to be seen for the 35 minutes we waited for our food I just drank it instead of asking for a replacement. When the food arrived we had to go in search of our own salt, pepper, ketchup, and tabasco. Two of us were supposed to get toast that never arrived. My veggie hash was supposed to have onions in it and did not.
PROS: Once the food finally arrived it was really good. Between the three of us we had french toast, hash browns, an omelet, and the veggie hash. All three of us enjoyed our food and cleaned our plates.
CONCLUSION: Four stars for food. One star for service. Since the food was good I’d like to give this place another try, but on a less-​busy day. Also, I would INSIST not to be seated upstairs where we were almost completely ignored.

Great service. Lots of food. Brunch is amazing, and short lines. None of the overpriced scramble BS you get at other hotspots (seriously, why would you pay 15 $ for a scramble! way too easy to make at home!). and clean. place def does not get the hipster vibe, a little more midwestern aesthetically (which could use updating, but imo, who cares?)
go!

Always consistently good. Not sure why they don’t have higher ratings on here?! Confusing because we don’t live close but when we are in the area we choose to go here (and one other place, we alternate).
Really good «Grande Benedict» … Chicken fried steak and eggs is pretty good. There brunch drinks list has good options.
This is a solid place to grab breakfast/​brunch. (we haven’t really done the other menus but they look good!)

I’ve had several good happy hours here and a few burgers. All have been pretty good. And I keep returning :)

I’ve been here several times before and have enjoyed it in the past. I was looking for a place to grab a couple drinks with a friend. Sadly, as I said in my Quick Tip, the service was very poor this time.
We each had a mixed drink and we split some onion rings. We would have had a second drink, at least, but once our server dropped off the rings, we never saw her again.
After finishing our drinks and rings, we waited another 45 minutes for her to come back for another round or our check … but no. Finally we went to the bar to ask for our check and she gave us the wrong one. When she did give us the right ticket, we waited another 5 minutes to pay, even though we were standing right behind her.
In fairness, she was tending bar and waiting tables, but honestly, 45 minutes? You ask another server to check on your tables or something. You don’t just blow them off. (And yes, there was another server waiting on tables right next to us. He didn’t say a word to us, though.)
Additionally, the manager obviously needs to staff this place a little better. This experience was really bad, but I’ve never gotten stellar service here to tell the truth; Madison’s usually seems understaffed.
I’m giving 2 stars because even though this was definitely a 1-​star experience, I’ve had several 3-​star experiences here before.
Sad. I was really looking forward to giving their brunch a try.

We have always liked Madison’s for breakfast. They have always been very nice to us and to our kid. They have seating where you can have your kiddo in there away from the bar area. I think they are plenty kid friendly given how some other places in the area have been to us. (as in, not kid friendly).
The eggs are good, coffee is good, and we like the french toast. They have a nice kid’s menu too.
We’ve been for lunch, but we like brunch a bit better.
Service was always decent.

After helping a friend move the gang was on a mission for brunch and being so close to here we gave it a try. Looks like there is nice outside seating however we could’t sit out there because it was «not possible» to put table together for our group of 7, a little bit of a let down.
The menu has a nice variety with vegetarian/​vegan options. The spicy bloody mary was good but could have been a little spicier for my taste. Overall the food was pretty darn good but it seemed to take an eternity from the time we ordered until it came to the table, strange as there weren’t many other tables inside or out with people at them.
I’ll still go again, apparently they have «almost bottomless mimosa’s» so of course that’s a deal not to be missed.

Madison’s looks like the kind of bar/​grill that Murphy Brown would have frequented. It has that «law library come workplace lunch bar» sort of ambiance. The service here was superlatively friendly, and for some reason I was charmed by the bank of child height stools on the face of the bar. So much so, that for some reason I sat there, but it did afford me a glance of their fairly well appointed bar. A good number of beers on tap count in the plus column for Madison’s, however, speaking frankly, my salad was borderline not really good at all. I know that’s sort of harsh, after all, how bad can a salad be? Well I ordered a chicken Caesar, which had nearly no dressing and a plethora of soggy jar style roasted peppers.
All in all, Madison’s means well, but just doesn’t really have that sort of magnetic draw that would bring me back.

Just had brunch at Madison’s.
For starters, I thought I’d had the best biscuits and gravy in town, but — Madison’s can give that other restaurant a run for it’s money. I’m sensing a conspiracy and am thinking both restaurants purchase the white country gravy (with sausage) from the same supplier. Sisco’s maybe? (After all, they make the BEST soups so why not the best gravy??)
The hash browns were good, but different. If I wasn’t still burping the oregano they seasoned them with — I’d be even happier.
The endless Mimosa’s are now «almost» endless. That’s okay with me, since champagne gives me a headache. However; the restaurant was packed so my friends that ordered them probably only got 1 or 2. That’s 2 or 3 less than «almost endless».
The best part of the restaurant is there fabulous deck. It’s not for most Oregon days, but gorgeous days like today make a table outside a coveted spot to be.
We had a very large group, so we were given the entire upstairs. Service was a little slow but that was to be expected with such a big group. Luckily, the waiter was very nice and got everything right. He also gave us zero hassle about separate checks. To me — that is a very big deal and we greatly appreciated it!
With our large group the waiter had his hands full — but did a great job and came out a winner (in the tip department)

If you’re in the neighborhood or in the building for an event, you might want to have a bite to eat at Madison’s Grill. The food is decent, but won’t blow you away, but the service is good and the beer selection is above average.
My wife and I stopped at the Grill before an Art Show in the building. We ended up trying the burgers since they looked good and the menu is a bit limited. We were pretty happy with them overall. The fries were decent.
Our server was attentive and knowledgeable and turned me on to 10 Barrel Brewing’s Apocalypse IPA out of Bend. Great! I’m always up for a new — and good — beer.
Overall, the experience was good, but Madison’s Grill isn’t a destination. It is a place to eat if you’re in the area.

I’d been to Madison Grill previously for breakfast and when it was a matter of convenience, I thought I’d give it a try for dinner, especially because they have a wild Coho salmon on the menu. They call it Baked Wild Coho Salmon with Champagne Citrus Butter. Wow, how does that sound? Wild Coho salmon pan seared and baked until just firm and garnished with compound butter. Served with rice or mashed potatoes and fresh vegetables. All for only $ 13. Sound too good to be true? Well, it was.
I walked in and I’m telling you I had to wait almost 5 minutes for someone to even acknowledge my presence. Servers walking by and never even looking at me. What, am I invisible? OK, sometimes that would come in handy, but this wasn’t one of them. I got a glare from the bar and that was it. A customer who witnessed smoke billowing from my ears, went to the bar and told them to do something. What the hell?
It was nearly 5 minutes until someone came to my table to even take my drink order and then it was nearly 10 minutes until it arrived. So, at the 20 minute mark, oh yes I was timing it by now, she actually took my order. You know how bad it is when you hear your server repeatedly apologize to the table behind you. She was walking around looking like she was dazed and confused and I will tell you it is not beneath me to stiff them and I was seriously considering it. Alas, I did not.
Now, here’s the clincher and this is something that would get them 1 star right out of the gate… INSTANT ICED TEA! Yes, I can smell the stuff at 50 yards. How can you have a wild caught Coho salmon on the menu and serve this stuff? I don’t get that.
Finally, my food arrived and what a disappointment. So much for presentation. The veggies were mostly onions and flavorless and most of the asparagus in this dish was tough ends. How can you have the nerve to serve this to someone? The fish was overcooked and salty, if you can believe that. The menu description as above says «baked until just firm». No it was baked until almost inedible.
So, when all is said and done, I’m 57 minutes total until I got my check and over an hour to get out of there and that’s with no lingering. It’s a good thing I wasn’t in a hurry. I could almost believe this was a fluke and I would be willing to give them a second chance, until I read the other reviews with similar experiences. This place is on the X list, believe me.

What more can I say?
Bottomless Mimosas
Bottomless Mimosas
Bottomless Mimosas
Well they are «almost» Bottomless Mimosas. You get 3 pint glasses (Only $ 7.00) and that is plenty! I discovered this place a few months ago and I look forward to Sunday Breakfast and Mimosas there.
Service: Good service. Can be a little slow in the restaurant due to the volume of people but sitting at the bar, service is faster.
Food: What I’ve had, I’ve enjoyed. I do dream about their Huevos Rancheros. It is delicious! I sub the cottage potatoes for their hash browns. It is YUMMY! I recommend you try it!
Cheers!

Yippy skippy! Another new place to hang out with friends, eat, drink and be merry.
I was happy to be joining a group of friends for some mingle time, and double happy because I was getting to try a new place that I have noticed a bazillion times since moving to Portland.
No one I knew really ever talked about it, I’d never heard anything bad about it, I’d also had no real reason to stop in since so many other places beckoned. But now I know about it, and I don’t really want to tell anyone about these two best things I discovered… so do me a favor and keep them under your hat.
I live somewhat south of the location, and there is not dependable public transportation to return home if I stay out until the witching hour, so as I approached in my «much too big for one person» vehicle, I was considering which way I wanted to turn and just how many blocks I should go before I would expect to find any parking at this busy part of town.
Lo and behold, the place has it’s own parking lot! Score one for Madison’s.
I had skimmed the review here on Unilocal,and wasn’t really expecting to get a very good meal or get great service, but hey, who cares when your dining companions are as great as mine?
We were supposed to be one of those annoying large parties who wants to be seated as soon as we cross the threshold, and of course, we want our meals served correctly, regardless of the numerous special requests.
We were expecting at least 16, but for the first hour it appeared that more than half our party were MIA. So the five of us, ordered water, brews and vino. Next, we each ordered some food, now you might expect that we would all order at the same time, why not? You would be wrong.
First G ordered the Reuben. No one else was anywhere near ready. Our server was amazing! No biggie, he’d be back. He was back a zillion times, before anyone could ask for anything he was there.
Our food, once we ordered: Fish and Chips (shared by me and S) and served already split on two plates, Meatloaf with Mashed Potatoes (half served for L, and half in a to go box ahead of time, so she’d have lunch the next day) she described it as good tasting comfort food. Pasta with Prawns for J, who arrived sometime well after 8pm — she described it as delicately flavored with a kick. Hamburgers and sandwiches for the other late comers who settled at the far end of the long table.
I know the Fish and Chips was well prepared, large pieces of flaky fish in a well seasoned light batter, accompanied by really good thick cut fries, cole slaw, lemon wedge, and the appropriate sauce on the side. Our dinner also included salad or soup, we opted for field greens salad with a house balsamic on the side, which was served first, on two plates.
I don’t know what the rest of the folks thought about their meals, but no one left anything on their plates, always a good sign.
I have to say that the service was super incredible, really above and beyond. Individual tabs without us even asking. (this is my Score 2!)
Oh, and everyone liked their Beer!
When you go, please save a parking place for me, oh, and I hope you don’t mind if I sneak a fry or three off your plate.
Overall, I recommend.