Benvenuto's — Restaurant in Beaver Dam

Over the years, I have eaten plenty of meals at this location. After I moved back to Madison in the early 1990s, Beaver Dam was a convenient location to meet up with my parents for the occasional celebratory meal. So when my mother and I recently decided to get together for lunch, Benvenuto's was our obvious choice.

I have come to expect stellar service at this restaurant and my most recent visit did not disappoint. Our server (Donna - they write their name on the table) cordially greeted us, shared the daily specials and took our order. She immediately provided with freshly baked, herb-encrusted bread and bottle of olive oil poured on to a plate of dried herbs. I am a fan of this bread, which has olive oil baked into the crust of the bread, amping up both its flavor and its texture. Throughout of meal, Donna checked periodically to keep my coffee topped off, clear dishes and to make sure were satisfied with our entrees. If we raised an issue with the food (a little foreshadowing, kids), she promptly and professionally resolved the issue. For a casual dining environment, she provided five star service.

While the kitchen demonstrated some decent technique to my meal, the run-of-the-mill ingredients left me largely underwhelmed. After glancing at my soup and sandwich, my eighty year-old mom snidely commented "looks like you got the Sysco special"

My cup of cheddar beer soup looked and tasted more like melted American cheese. The beer and cheese flavors just did not mesh very well. The texture was OK and it actually served as a decent dipping sauce for my sandwich. It just was not much to get excited about as a soup.

The grilled ham and cheese sandwich looked well constructed, with its nicely browned bread and mounds of sliced ham. Despite the fact that the kitchen did a nice job of preparing the sandwich, the use of unexceptional ingredients sabotaged their efforts. Instead of a daily special that highlights the uniqueness of the restaurant, I got a generic tasting ham and cheese sandwich. It wasn't bad, just nothing "special". The most frustrating component was the cheese, which reminded me of a melted Kraft Single. It's a shame that in a state with so many award winning cheese makers the restaurant would utilize such a bland choice.

My mom ordered the garlic shrimp pizza (sautéed shrimp, roasted garlic, sliced tomatoes, fresh mozzarella and basil on an.), a dish she enjoyed in the past. Like my sandwich, her pizza passed the eye test. However, the promised roasted garlic was missing in action and while the shrimp were plump and tender, they did not appear to be sautéed. Again, this entrée did not bring robust flavors to the table. After expressing our disappointment with pizza, the server confided that the restaurant recently changed its recipe, ditching the flavorful Alfredo sauce for a more restrained olive oil brushed crust. She did offer to get us some Alfredo sauce for a 50-cent up charge, which we gladly agreed to pay. She also added that we could request this dish be prepared in the old way with the Alfredo sauce.

At the end of the lunch, I had plenty to eat, but the meal was far from satisfying. In many ways, is Benvenutos is morphing into a locally owned version of Olive Garden, but with superior service. The managers this location generally run a tight ship - the restaurant is impeccably clean, the cooks seem proficient and the servers remarkably well trained. The formula definitely works, as demonstrated by a full house for Thursday lunch service. However, an Italian - American menu that seems a bit clichéd and the use of unremarkable ingredients is relegating this popular franchise...

We recently stayed at the adjacent hotel for a mini fall vacation, and I just want to acknowledge the excellent experience we had here. We placed a rather extensive phone order for pick up around 8pm for 5 people. The initial phone service was very friendly and thorough in making sure that everything was right, which was definitely appreciated. When we walked over to pick it up, I was surprised at how lovely it was inside. It was very cozy and a very comfortable atmosphere. I was also pleasantly surprised that every staff member came to say hello or ask if we had been helped within seconds of arriving. It is a small gesture but one that, unfortunately, is usually lacking these days. It was very welcoming and refreshing. Unfortunately, there had been a mix-up, and our large $116 order had mistakenly gone out with a delivery. I started to panic, as by this time, it was close to closing, and I worried about the quality or timing of a new order. I had 5 ppl to feed, including a hangry toddler. To my surprise and delight, the staff remained calm and cool and were not visibly irritated or upset about having to make so much more new food. Everyone apologized sincerely, and the young lady manager was very genuine and professional in explaining what happened and that they would fix it quickly. This was also extremely refreshing. Sadly, it is pretty common now to have mistakes when going out. We feel like it has almost become the norm, so we almost expect it. The difference here was that a mistake had happened, but it was how well they responded AND corrected the problem. Top notch service all the way; It was customer service as it should be. Everyone was gracious, professional, pleasant, and sincere. Amazingly, they were able to remake the entire order very quickly. They generously included extra bread and cookies and offered drinks if we needed any. The manager also graciously discounted our meal, which was also very appreciated. We left feeling grateful and content instead of being angry or frustrated with an experience that could have gone either way. When we returned to the hotel to eat, everyone absolutely LOVED every single thing we had ordered. The bread was fresh and absolutely delicious. The apps were fresh and light and not greasy at all. The salads were fresh and lovely, and the soups were very flavorful. The enterees were sizable and wonderfully tasty with quality ingredients. We go out a lot, and this was the best food and service we have had in a long time. I have also managed bars for many years, and I was very impressed and proud that this level of service still exists. I rarely write reviews, and unfortunately, when I've been prompted to lately, it's because something was outrageously terrible. This place was a breath of fresh air from start to finish. Excellent atmosphere, staff, customer service, AND the food was incredible. I'm not sure why it doesn't have more stars because it definitely should! Initially, we were hesitant to try it because of that, but I'm so glad that we did! Next time we come up that way it will be our first stop. 5 stars all the way! Thanks Benvenuto's!! You were AWESOME and very...

This place has gone downhill over the years. The service was great, the restaurant was clean, and the portions are still huge, but the food was awful on this visit for dinner. My salad was old, dead wilted and totally unappetizing. My fettuccine Alfredo was dry as a bone with very little sauce on it, but the noodles were cooked perfectly at least. My calamari appetizer was mostly banana peppers rather than actual calamari so it looked like a very large portion, but since it was mostly peepers, it was very disappointing. What calamari was there, were very tiny pieces from tiny squids, but the marinara sauce was good. I would never order it again. My husband's lasagna was overpowered by so much Parmigiano cheese, as was the artichoke dip. It was really overwhelming. That's all that could be smelled or tasted and it was quite unpleasant. We boxed up most of our food to be given to our neighbors so as not to waste it by throwing it away. My nephew's 10" pizza was good & tasty though so he lucked out for getting the good food..lol I think next time, I'll stick with pizza and skip all the other stuff. That's IF there is a next time. They need to lay off the Parmigiano cheese quantities in their foods, it's just too much so it made most of the food unappetizing. I'd also suggest giving the option of getting plain Italian bread pieces for dipping into their delicious oil & seasonings because they've been using the same overpoweringly seasoned bread for 20 years now and I still can't even eat it. Give plain, crusty Italian bread as an option at least in the future PLEASE! We were never offered dessert after dinner so I don't know if they even serve dessert anymore.. lol They used to have the best cheesecake in the world years ago and once they stopped serving that, we were very disheartened, but nothing was offered at all, sadly. Truthfully, after the bad meals, desert could've at least tried to make up for it, but no such luck. Sure we could've asked what they had, but at that point, the disappointment was enough to just ask for the check. After that dinner fiasco, I don't think we'll ever be back again as we've given up on this restaurant after coming here many times over many years & saw how it's changed. If we do return, it'll strictly be for their...