Loved the food and the atmosphere. Casual dining with excellent food. Service was decent, not terrible not great but friendly so we had fun. Tip: we ordered many small dishes than entrees for each of us. Was too much (those words have never come out of my mouth), could have just eaten all the small dishes and would have been just fine. Drinks were delicious. read more

Had the peanut butter burger and it was AMAZING!!! Gorgeous view of the capital from our seats just added to the experiences.

For a Korean bowl in Wisconsin it passed my expectations. Great food and service. I would love more kimchi but I think that's a person problem. I could each kimchi all day. read more

My wife and I came here for lunch on her birthday and we were both very excited to come. Where can I start with this place? At first it looked very promising as you first enter the restaurant. Lots of people enjoying their meals which looked great. Upon meeting the hostess we were seated very quickly and someone gave us our menus very quickly as well as being served water. The menu looked very appetizing. The water was decently cold and in a clean glass. That was it. We sat for 15 minutes without a waiter approaching us. We looked around making eye contact with several workers without acknowledgement. We left and was treated with a have great day. I guess that counts for 1 star. read more

Graze was one of the very first restaurants we tried when our oldest moved here for college. We try to get here a couple of times per year with him. The gorgeous windows overlook the capitol and the farm to table food is spectacular. Our son is a vegetarian and looks forward to us coming to town because it means he gets to have one of his favorite dishes, the Bibimbap with crispy tofu, on our dime. A few more of our favorites are: the cheesecurds (the batter is incredibly light and crispy), smash burger (duck fat bun *chef's kiss*), and the cheese board (where we fell in love with Hook's cheddar). read more

Very, very cool vibe and friendly to boot. Modern menu, drinks, and furnishings. Bartender Ben took time to answer our questions, and was clearly skilled at his craft. Reasonable prices also. Enjoy this cool spot on the capitol square. read more

When in Wisconsin, you got to try the cheese curds. So when I yelped amd it was proclaimed that the "Old Fashioned" restaurant had the best cheese curds in Madison, I was really sad that I was informed that the wait was 45-minutes. So instead, I walked a block down to Graze, also supposedly having one of the best cheese curds in Madison. So much going on on the menu... it was so hard to decide on what to order. Soooo, I ordered several items: * Fried cheese curds, of course! It had the perfect amount of breading and was pretty tasty. The sauce that came with it, I could live without, but overall, the appetizer was nice and flaky. * Biscuits and gravy were the really good. There was a lot of gravy, but it wasn't overpowering. The chicken strips that came on top of the dish was a great touch and the combo of gravy, chicken strips, and biscuits were great. * Chicken and waffles. A large drumstick and wing. Breading was excellent. The waffle that it sat on top of was soft and fluffy. You can't beat the combo of syrup, waffle, and fried chicken. The cinnamon butter that came with it, I could do without as well. But overall, the best part, much like the fried cheese curds, was the breading. This place sure got its breading down! BATHROOM REVIEW: one unisex bathroom at the bottom, main bathrooms upstairs. Two urinals one stall. Stall seemed clean. I asked the dude coming up sit or squat and he looked at me funny. The price I'm willing to pay, to let yall know about them bathrooms. read more

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Came here for dinner on a Friday night without reservations and was luckily seated! The floor to ceiling windows make a very open and light space. We started off with the shishito peppers and fried cheese curds. The cheese curds were perfectly light and crispy on the outside and nice and cheesy on the inside. For dinner, I had the Graze burger. The burger was very juicy. My friends had the pork belly, mac & cheese, and beet burger. All the dinner entrees were good, but nothing exceptional. For dessert, we had the warm chocolate chip cookies with milk. Overall, a nice place to grab dinner in the downtown Madison area. read more

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I went here with some people I met in a business trip for dinner because The Old Fashioned wait was over an hour. We were seated immediately here and decided to get some appetizers and a light meal in case we can go back to the other place in time. I got fried cheese curds to share as well as the pork bun and deviled egg. Given that it's Wisconsin, I am still struggling to adjust to how low cost of living here is. Thinking it was a light meal, I actually got 2 buns in the order and 3 half eggs in the order, all for around $10! The pork buns have kimchi and a sweet glaze, with a slightly fatty yet flavorful pork belly. The pork was not overly fatty as I didn't have to spit out extraneous fat, as it mostly helps make the meat more tender. I don't think the kimchi works as an ingredient, but otherwise, the pork buns are good. The deviled egg is not that great; given the low price of $3, I think you kind of get what you paid for. I only ate 2 since the vinegar flavor from the filling was too strong, and another person in our table pointed that out as well. Filling is pretty generous, but I had to scrape off almost all of it. The cheese curds were pretty filling, and I am glad I met some people to get dinner with so that we could appropriately split the dish and not get terribly full in just one restaurant. This is my first exposure to fried cheese curds, but during my trip, I have had multiple opportunities. The cheese curds here are not as melty or "squeaky" but it was still solid. When I tried to pull apart some cheese curds, none of the cheese was oozing out. Service here is good but slow. Plan a good amount of time here but it was bearable given that we were socializing over drinks. Bonus points they were able to do some complicated check splitting (we each got our drink check separate from the food, and for the food check, we had itemized 1/4 of an order of cheese curds amongst us plus whatever food we ordered ourselves). read more

Graze - Fried Hook 's Cheese Curds - New American Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

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Great service, usually great ambiance, delicious food. Service is top-notch. Loved the vodka-blueberry drink that was the weekly special. I enjoy how the menu changes slightly to incorporate local foods. Mac n cheese was good although the aged Hooks is too sharp for me. Foccacia was delicious, light with nicely grilled vegetables and a fresh sauce. I didn't love the nearby toddler having a tantrum, so be forewarned that some people will consider this a place appropriate for small ones. read more

Stopped here a week ago. They are very strict on COVID protocols. They asked questions and then temp checked people to ensure. This is a very interesting "eclectic" place. We ordered the cheese board, which was pretty good. I ordered the bibimbap, which was delicious. The sticky rice, once you broke it apart helped add more texture to a very texture heavy dish. It was very good, but I want to try a couple other local restaurants before I make this a mainstay. read more

I am so glad that we made reservations ahead of time for Graze. Google maps has the wrong address, so be sure to walk in towards the capital so that you don't miss the entrance. Everything here was amazing. Our group started with the best cheese curds which came with this homemade dipping sauce that we saved for our entrees. We also split a beet salad which was so fresh. I could eat that everyday. For dinner I had the special burger which featured an awesome burger patty with mozzarella, tomatoes, and the most flavorful pesto. Everything is homemade and tastes like it had just been picked from the ground. For dessert our waitress talked us into some gluten free made to order chocolate chip cookies. These were the best part of the meal, hands down. The atmosphere is fun. They have a great bar and an even better beer and cocktail menu. I loved Graze and would highly recommend it to anyone passing through Madison, WI. read more

Atmosphere: The view of the Capitol was beautiful! Food and Drinks: The food was delicious and appropriately priced. The drinks were delicious. Customer Service: Let me just say, I've never been taken care of so much by a server before. I have a lot of food allergies (nuts, fish, you name it), and my server took that in stride. She was able to give me personalized recommendations to fit within what I could eat. Honestly, I've never been treated so well regarding my allergies! read more

Tall ceilings and large glass open windows overlooking the capitol square mark this restaurant. If you have lived in this city, have friends that live here, or are just visiting it is likely that you have heard of this place. I ended up here long after I expected to, filled with much hope. The menu (you look it up online on your phone in the restaurant) is modest in variety and comprises mostly of American cuisine with a few straggling fusion dishes. Your standard drink menu for Wisconsin is available. We had the much raved about cheese curds, which were crisp, oily, and ok. We would try the smash burger with fries and the bibimbap. The burger was sizable, cheesy, and salty but not much else, and true to the region taking every effort to avoid any semblance of vegetable matter in it. The fries were crisp if everything plated in a somewhat unappetizing "plop". The bibimbap consisted of cubes of rice deep-fried and topped with softish tofu some veg and an interpretation of gochujang which felt just wrong. It is someone's idea of bibimbap, someone who'd rather have tater tots. Up to this stage of the meal along with the drinks, I would give everything a maximum of 3/5. However then I had the bright idea of having dessert. A thick, heart-stopping slice of basque cake with blueberry compote and ice cream arrived. The cake rich in cheese and dense crispy goodness has your arteries shrieking in sadomasochistic pleasurable joy. The dessert being a 5/5 had me feeling conflicted about Graze. I ended up concluding on a 3.5/5 for this place with great service (although weird service charges as others have mentioned) and convenient location making up for the food trying to be a little more than it is. I'd come back for the dessert mostly. read more

Long wait times and no consideration given to those who decide to wait. At least make the bar accessible.

I was visiting Milwaukee for the second time and I told my friend that this time, I had to make it to Madison. So she and her boyfriend took me for a lovely day trip that included brunch at this awesome spot with an awesome view. First I have to commend the great service. Our server was friendly, helpful in making a decision on what to order, and fast. By his recommendation, I started with an awesome Bloody Mary that was followed by a delicious Eggs Benedict. Everything tasted fresh and portions were generous. As amazing as the food and service was, what really set this restaurant apart from others, was the epic view of the state capital. Although I was day drinking with friends, a part of me felt like I was having a power lunch while in the shadow of the state capital building. It was a good feeling lol. I will be going back to Wisconsin next year and will insist on returning here. read more

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Love this restaurant. However, last time I went the line for the hostess was 10-15 mins long. We got to through the line 15 mins late for our reservation to find out that they gave our table away. Had they just called, or had a hostess at the stand we wouldn't have on time. read more

Waited an extremely long time for food and had poor and slow service. Inattentive waitress. Order was wrong and it took them another 20 minutes to fix it. Still came back wrong. They removed $5 off the bill. Really wasn't impressed! When we finally ate the food was just subpar. read more

This was our third time at Graze - and we aren't from Wisconsin. That's because the first two times were such good experiences we wanted to come back sort of as tradition. We decided to take our parents (my in laws) with us because we were in town for a wedding and thought this place would impress us all. Not this time. Disclaimer: one out of three isn't bad. PLEASE give this place a try if you're in Madison. It has a great view and atmosphere and the food is, for the most part, good. This visit however... The goods: the view was nice at 7:30. No sun and all Capitol rotunda. The oysters and marionette were delicious and so were the cheese curds. The burgers were also tasty and their fries and aioli were addicting. My MIL liked her bibimbap and the kids ate their Mac and cheese plates. Portions ranged from good size, to too much in the case of the bibimbap. The bads: The experience & the rigatoni. we had a 730 reservation and did not get out of there until maybe 915. It may seem like 1.5 hrs is a normal dinner length but it felt like an eternity at times waiting for our food. Things were just spaced weird. Soft drinks came out. Curds came out. Then 5-10 mins later oysters. And another set of curds which we didn't order so they took back. Then 10 mins later the kids meals -- which thank God bc my daughter was crying from hunger for her Mac and cheese. All the appetizers and kids meals were super to come out together. They even asked us if the kids meals should come out with apps and we said yes. So not sure why that was spaced that way. And then like 10-15 mins later, the entrees. I think the saddest part for me was my wife ordered the rigatoni but nowhere in the description does it say crushed red peppers or spice. It was too spicy for her so I offered her my delicious burger to be a good husband and we swapped. I don't mind spice. But oh man.. I'm sorry but the rigatoni was not good. It had all the right possible ingredients on paper (oyster mushrooms, asparagus, "sorrel-ricotta cream sauce") - but when I ate it it was so dry and bland. I tried mixing it to make sure the sauce didn't all fall to the bottom but to no avail. It needed more sauce or more cream to fatten it up and maybe some salt to bring out everything else. And I'm not saying an obnoxious amount of cream... just that this was the extreme opposite. fat is flavor (and moisture) and this needed more of both. I literally pushed the rigatoni to the middle of the table only partially eaten. I don't normally do that. Anyway I didn't love it and the whole experience was a little off this time. What is dinner supposed to be but good food and a good experience? Even my wife said it; this meal was "disappointing" and not the one we wanted to show off to our parents. She also saw how miserable I was at the end. Sad. For $180 (incl tip) it could - no, "should" have been better. Final words - Covid hit everyone hard, especially restaurants. I sympathize but I wish managers would book table capacity appropriately to match the back and front house staff. This is the second time in a row I've gotten burned on long waits and poor experiences tied to service times. Timing is equally as critical to enjoying one's meal. read more

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Love this restaurant. Everything is high quality, thoughtful, but still unpretentious. The food is flavorful, creative, and a joy to eat. And two can eat well, with drinks and dessert, for around $100. One of my madison favorites. read more

One of our favorite Madison restaurants! Usually when we are celebrating something we come to Graze. The view of the capital and the ambiance of the restaurant are amazing. It is an all window building with very high ceilings and cool lighting around the bar. We have been here many times and have always had great, knowledgeable service. The food is local, and packed with flavor. They have great seasonal items as well. Some of my favorites from their menu - cheese, jam, and bread as an appetizer (they have so many local cheeses to pick from) - the beet and walnut burger -bibimbap -Friday night fish fry -anything on their dessert menu During the summer they often have a pop up set up outside so you can grab a pastry and coffee while strolling around the farmers market at the capital. read more

For a restaurant to have their executive chef appear on Iron Chef and BEAT an Iron Chef you would think that the food would give your mouth an orgasim but my mouth basically said meh and rolled over without smoking a cigarette. When you spend $21 on a burger, you shouldn't have to send it back because it was cooked well done when you asked for it to be medium. You should also have an experience of euphoria and moan like Sally did in When Harry Met Sally. But there was no euphoria or slapping of the table with moans of pure foodgasim. The only thing going for Graze was the mac and cheese which was one of the best I've had in quite sometime. To sum things up, two words come to mind when I think of Graze: Overpriced. Overrated. read more

Went here with my daughter on a recent college visit. They're located in the Capital Hill area and offer gorgeous views of the grounds with their floor to ceiling windows. Decor is very swank for "farm to table" but not overly pretentious. We started with a basket of cheese curds and the fried wontons as an app. The latter was recommended by our server. You receive four pieces, so plan accordingly. They were a tasty mix of fried dough, seasoned vegetables and ground pork. The cheese curds were some of the best I've had and this is in Wisconsin folks. The dipping sauce was a sour cream and chive variety. The crispiness of the breading and how flaky it was is what sets them apart. For entree's we went Asian fusion. My daughter had the bimbap (spelling?) and I had the noodle dish. The bimbap was unique in that the veggies weren't cooked and were cool. There was the fried rice cakes to offset that with their warmth. My noodles had some spice to them, but WI spicy. They were a bit over seasoned with the Chinese five spice seasoning for my taste. Ok, but I wouldn't order again. read more

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Graze is worth all the hype that it gets in Madison. It is really hard to get a reservation here but I was so happy to sneak in at the bar one night. The food was awesome and feels like a really high class dining experience which is fun. Overall expensive but for the quality of food was definitely worth it. read more

I stopped in for a late lunch after flying in, and I had a good experience. This is right in capitol square and super close to most downtown hotels. I walked in around 1pm on a Wednesday and was seated right away, my server David was amazing and super attentive. My first time and first meal in Wisconsin, I had to get the cheese curls (very thankful they had a half size portion on the menu). These were amazing, everything I expected, and the aioli that came with it was sweet and creamy, a very tasty combo. The tomato soup was very standard, not problem for me, but I was a little disappointed in the pork belly buns. The buns were a bit soggy, as if when you lift the steamer lid, the condensation dripped on the buns, so it was a bit hard to hold, and messy to eat because the buns were wet and sticking to my fingers. Overall, this is a nice place, price as expected of a nicer restaurant close to the downtown/business area of any major city. read more

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We were extremely disappointed with our experience at Graze. The food was amazing but the service was the worst we have had in years. We were sat 10 minutes after our reservation and the service was inconsistent and inattentive throughout our meal. It was particularly frustrating as we had a late reservation so the restaurant was not full throughout our meal, making the poor service even more puzzling. Additionally, we could tell that some of the other tables were also having issues with their service as we over heard them talking about their displeasure. read more

Modern ambiance, located in bustling capitol square, delicious cheese curds! Visited Madison for work so I wanted to try the best cheese curds in town and this place came up in my research asking around the locals. I was staying the Hyatt Place Downtown so I was able to walk over to this place for dinner. The cheese curds were definitely worth trying. I also had the Graze Burger but while it was delicious, it was nothing special. I saw that the Bibimbap was one of the most popular items but as a Southern California-native Asian who lived near Koreatown, I cannot help but be suspicious. Maybe someone with a similar background else can confirm for me so I can try when I come back? :) read more

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Graze is our favorite restaurant in Madison. We keep coming back! The food is AMAZING and the menu changes frequently (but thank God the Graze Burger and bibimbap are always there...). I think it probably has the best ambience of any restaurant in Madison. Service is always great. read more

The staff was super nice and friendly. The atmosphere was awesome. We sat outside which was really neat. The food-smash burger was good, just different. Fries were over salted. We found ourselves dusting the extra salt off. Pulled pork and Mac was just good-for the price, maybe we expected a little more than what we got. read more

Went here with a couple of friends from out of town but unfortunately our experience wasn't perfect. My gin and lemonade was heavily watered down.. It tasted like cheap vodka and water with a raspberry somewhere in it. The food was OK at best. Kind of overpriced - especially the $7 pickle. Needless to say the service was great and it had an amazing view of the capital. It has a nice vibe to it but not a fan. I'd give this another try sometime again since they change their menu. read more

Graze is popular and justifiably so. It has a beautiful location, unique dishes, and it's fairly priced. It also doesn't take reservations for smaller parties, so I would definitely plan accordingly! I heard from multiple people that the Cheese Curds are a MUST at Graze, being some of the best in Madison. I thought they were delicious, though I can't attest to them being the best cause I simply haven't had enough to judge. Their menu seems to change with the seasons, so there's always a new and interesting entree to try. read more

We drove through Madison with 10 people and stopped into Graze for brunch on recommendation of a few friends. They were able to accommodate our large party as we called ahead-- they don't take reservations but it didn't take long for them to pull together some tables. Service was fantastic! We sat by the window and had a nice view of the capitol building. Parking was also easy in a nearby lot for $5. The cheese curds were SO good. Probably will have dreams about them. I got the egg sandwich and it wasn't as good as what I was hoping it was. It was very garlicky (which I love) but something seemed to be missing. The smash burger was really good. For the kiddo we ordered the kids Mac and cheese but it was lacking salt and we upgraded the side to fruit but it was just a cut apple. I would go back and definitely get the cheese curds. read more

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Food was not great, very bland. They were out of everything. Service was awful. Took 45 mins to get a drink order and another hour an a half to get food. staff didn't care. Got ran into walking down the aisle. Over price too. Just can't come back to this place or even recommend it. read more

Love their cheese curds and cocktails. There is not a lot if menu but their fish fry and bibim-bob are always great as a main dish.

Good food although odd menu - a little pricey Server was great Loved the view of the capital read more

This was one of the few spots open for brunch, so we decided to give it a try. It was nice and clean, but the brunch options didn't look too appetizing. We tried a salad and per the waiter's suggestion the savory cornbread french toast. It was way too rich and too many flavors at once. I wouldn't suggest it, but our service and the ambiance was otherwise just fine. read more

Fresh ingredients The walnut beet burger was surprisingly good & I don't like beets. I wanted to try something unique and I'm glad I did. It was a tad smaller than the other burger my husband got but It was filling & I would not let that prevent you from ordering it. Plus now I have room for dessert! read more

Graze - Walnut beet burger - New American Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

It seems that there is a constellation of very, very good restaurants surrounding the Capitol. One in that constellation is Graze. We visited early evening, nearly opening the place. The setting is open, airy, convivial, relaxed, effervescent. The service was attentive, our server very knowledgeable about preparations and willing to step up and make actual recommendations. Our meal included Roasted Fall Squash, Artesian (a local farm) Trout, a burger and an apple crisp. The Roasted Fall Squash came with goat cheese. It almost seemed designed by some 'foodologist', offering and exploring subtle complimentary tastes. Fresh, seasonal. The Roasted Artesian Trout came with celery root purée, delicata squash, lemon browned butter, and rye croutons. Generous and a wonderful medley of tastes. The burger was good, it being hard to stretch limits on that, but the accompanying fries got my partner's comment of 'best fries ever!' The menu offers choices for diners with a view of their diet. For us, that meant seeing gluten free choices. The apple crisp was made gluten-free at our request. Very tasty, our waitress explaining for the gluten free it just different components to the crumble, recommending it. Ice cream was on the side per our request--delicious! So, out of this world good! Actually, out of this world great! read more

Graze - New American Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

If you're coming here because there's a wait at Old Fashion like we did, you're making a mistake! I eat out a lot and the food here is terrible. I ordered the Kale and Beet salad and when it came out, it looked like someone chewed on it. The kale was soggy and the hard boiled egg yolk was all mushed up. We got the wild sockeye salmon and lamb carnitas for entrees and both were dry and bland. I do not recommend this place read more

Graze - Soggy kale and mushy eggs - New American Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

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Here in town for a meeting a stumbled into this place while there was a symphony concert at the capital. It was really busy so we sat at the bar. I order the graze burger with a side of salad and I loved it. First the burger has a crispy outside but super juicy patty at medium well it was perfect. The Caramelized onions were flavor but offered a great texture. And of course there is the bun. It is so light and fluffy you forget you are eating a burger it's almost a brioche texture but kinda of like a croissant but egg-ier if that makes sense. I was expecting a plain old dry salad that most places serve with the burgers and I was totally wrong. The salad is diverse with sliced carrots, cucumbers and three types of greens with a perfect light sauce and sprinkles of parmesan cheese. If I had know I'd probably order a full order of just the salad. Highly recommend it! As I ate 3 meals of cheese during the day, this was the perfect way to end my trip to Madison. read more

Graze - New American Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin