Madison｜L’Etoile 🌟 Elegant & Refined Dining

Started with a pre-meal snack: nori-flavored bites and some unexpectedly tangy pickled radish. A bit confusing but interesting 😅 The first course was complex and hard to figure out—a soft quail egg and potato cake with some foamy elements. I never really “get” foam dishes tbh 🫧 First dish I truly liked: ham + Italian ravioli 🥟 The sauce was delicious, though a tad salty. The bread was perfectly toasted and paired with excellent cheese. Halibut—better than Fairchild’s, but still… is halibut just hard to excel at? 😅 I prefer the fish at Heritage Tavern more. Mini duck course—tasty and well-executed, though not mind-blowing 🦆 The beef was very good 👍 I don’t eat mushrooms, so they swapped it for another side—nice touch! Pre-dessert: a canelé! I’ve always thought canelés taste like dried sweet potato… and I love both, so no complaints here 😆 This one had a strong vanilla flavor—lovely! Petit gâteau with a layer of caramel and gelatin on top. Rich in texture and not too sweet—just right. My pescatarian mom’s alternate menu: Yellowtail with matcha-flavored sauce—refreshing and creative 🍵🟡 The lobster felt like great value—obviously there was lobster, but even the crispy layer underneath was packed with more lobster meat 🦞 Dessert was also a win: mango sorbet + passion fruit cake + crunchy chocolate bits at the bottom for texture 🥭🍫 Overall, treating ourselves to this kind of fine dining once in a while felt totally worth it and left us happy (^_−)−☆ We got a window seat with a great view—beautiful atmosphere 👍 #Madison #USA