Eno Vino Downtown — Restaurant in Madison

Eno Vino was accidentally the perfect place for my evening, and I just want to tell y'all about it:

A friend I hadn't seen in a year was coming to town for work, so we planned a late dinner at a different restaurant I had never been to when last-minute I realized that restaurant closed at 8 and we needed to pivot. After nothing really sounding great, we decided to allow ourselves to splurge on the occasion and decided on Eno Vino Downtown.

My first surprise was that it was on the 10th floor of the Marriot hotel. I had heard of Eno Vino, and it was always good things, but nobody ever mentioned that it was inside a hotel and up a long elevator ride. It has a near-perfect, 2-story view of the capitol and surroundings. I was confused, but then kinda taken aback.

Then, since it was a last-minute decision, I was not dressed for it. I had worked all day, and I came comfortable in cargo shorts and a Mudvayne t-shirt. I was worried I might not even be let in, but I was sure I'd be judged. We got to the host and he asked if we had reservations with some snark and I really got worried. Then he made a play to study his screen, and then at the rest of the restaurant, which was pretty empty, I realized he was making a joke. He said we could sit anywhere we could see and that there was more downstairs and that someone would come find us, which is the best way to be seated. So we got the best view.

Then the rest of the night was exactly what we wanted without even knowing it would be like that. We studied the menu and decided to pick a few things to share and then were informed that they would pace our meal, bringing out a plate at a time. We ordered the ceviche, pork shumai, and tortellini. They each came out about 15 minutes apart and were just as good as expected but also perfectly accented out time catching up together. When the tortellini still had sauce leftover and we were joking with the server how we'd love something to scoop the sauce up, she brought us some bread to do just that (it should just be served with bread to make sure that sauce is never wasted). Then we wanted more, so we ordered the risotto to top us off.

There wasn't a bad cocktail, the merlot was great, and our server was happy to entertain my "bring me anything" request without trepidation and sent me a wildcard cider. I really just had a great time. It really was just happenstance that we went there, and it was just the perfect place I needed.

The only negative I had were that there were two TikTok divas using their camera flashes and shamelessly twerking for the views, but I don't have perfect etiquette either.

Photos courtesy of my fiancé. Me, the view from the ladies restroom, and the lava cake with...

I ate here when it first opened, and it was amazing. Yesterday night, was disappointing to say the least. I NEVER go out to eat anymore these days, as I am disabled, so can't afford finer dining and stay away in general bc of my health and Covid. The last time I went out to eat was 12 months ago, for my lady's birthday, so it was a big deal to take her out for her bday again this year. I looked at online pictures of the food for about a month and had our picks so ready....she left hungry with basically only eating some odd carrots despite 4 dishes ordered. We got the langoustine risotto. That was the one dish that I thought was very good. She had a few bites of risotto, but wasn't having it; I guess that isn't your fault, just not her preference I guess. Unfortunately, the rest was subpar. The heirloom carrots had so many flavors that seemed to contradict each other with each bite. Sometimes it was spicy; sometimes an overly strong five spice or garam masala flavor? sometimes Latin flavors? sometimes just so complex it left you wondering what you were eating. The onions over dominated your tastebuds initially, and was tough to enjoy. We also ordered the two steak dishes on the bottom of the menu. We were so pumped for it....horrible. Really? Yes. Both Extremely over-salted. We made it known that one was for me (med rare), and hers would be medium well. Mine came first, cooked right inside, but each bite had an over charred flavor. That's all I tasted. And you guys should give out steak knives when served, as the knife provided was very dull and was not enjoyable sawing or pushing thru the steak to cut up, despite not really being a tough piece of meat. The Romano potatoes had a funky flavor that just tasted like the earth or something. I have never not finished mash potatoes out for dinner, especially with any cheese in them, and honestly stopped after I actually gagged on the last two bites. Still trying to put on a smile for my lady....as she watched me eat my steak and hers came after I was done. It was still raw in the middle, nowhere near med-well. Our waitress, was very concerned and looked shocked and commented that it was almost blue it was so raw. She took it back. 10 minutes later, another came back, still very very red in the middle. She didn't touch it. She had enough and was just frustrated. I felt so uncomfortable for her. So she basically ate some odd carrots and went home hungry. It was much appreciated that the waitress comped her steak, and gave her some dessert to go home with. Kudos to her, she was the only thing positive last night except for the ambiance. So...

TL;DR: amazing views, amazing staff, and eat the chefs specials! They are the best things on the menu! 5/5 and one of the most memorable restaurants I've been to! This is a must for anyone visiting Madison!

Eno Vino was an incredible and fun dining experience with a ridiculous view of the capital!

When we arrived we took the elevator up to the 10th floor and entered a fairly chaotic hostess space, but the hostess was doing an incredible job to try and catch up with the number of people exiting the elevator at the same time.

We were waited on by Eliza and the incredible team of waitresses who were very friendly and relatable, offering great recommendations and serving us with great speed despite how busy it was! I say team in this review because the entire wait staff operated as one unit constantly helping tables out, delivering food the moment it left the kitchen. The manager, Amy, also came and greeted us and asked us how our night was going. I saw her do this with most if not all guests! It was a nice touch that you don't see in enough restaurants!

First we ordered the Chef Special Corn Bisque which was so creamy with a very bold and delicious flavor profile. The roasted red peppers were the perfect addition to this soup!

Then we ordered the Bruschetta (Brie + Apple, Mediterranean, Prosciutto, Smoked Salmon).

Brie + Apple: a little bland in flavor with dry apples slices and no brie flavor coming through.

Mediterranean: full flavor and I enjoyed it a lot despite not really liking olives

Prosciutto: the flavor was good but it strangely tasted very strongly of peanuts, could have benefitted from some more heat

Smoked Salmon: the pickled onions added too much sweetness to the dish and muddled the usually saltiness of a salmon with capers.

Overall they also tasted good but didn't have the wow factor to make me grab another bite!

We then had the Chef Special Citrus & Beet Risotto with goat cheese. This was the best Risotto and one of the best overall dishes I have ever eaten. The flavor pallette was incredible, every bite magic! It was also one of the prettiest dishes I have ever eaten! This was the star dish of our meal.

Finally we had the Lamb Lollipops which were cooked perfectly in a perfect sweet potato puree with hazelnuts which aren't used often enough in cooking. It was a fun and fresh twist on a...