Local Motive — Restaurant in Madison

I'm honestly surprised they currently have such high ratings... maybe we came at a bad night, but the bar was such a mess and the drinks weren't great. They used soda from 2 liter bottles and our drinks were totally flat... zero carbonation. I was watching the 2 bartenders while waiting to put my drink order in and the amount of contamination happening behind the bar is so concerning. The woman who made my drink dropped a knife on the floor, picked it up, put it in a tiny sink in the corner, wiped her hands on her pants, and then continued to touch garnishes that were being put in people's drinks. She was constantly readjusting a scarf that was around her neck, then continued to prep garnishes without any sort of hand washing. I understand all garnishes behind a bar are typically not handled with gloves, but with how nice this place is supposed to be I was just shocked at how little they cared about contaminating everything behind the bar. Aside from that, the place is incredibly small, and it's near impossible to get up to the bar to get the bartenders' attention...

Rented out for graduation party with family and friends of UW-Madison grads. It was a great place for us all to meet up after all the ceremonies! We were able to cater any food we wanted (they provide great recommendations of past catering they have worked with also) and the drink list they provide at the bar was perfect for our group. They took cash and card at the bar and even offered to order us a keg if we were interested. There was nice options for indoor and outdoor seating (patio covered). They had bluetooth for music, LED lights, and a TV to airplay pictures/videos of the grads. Overall it was a perfect place for our group and would recommend! The flexibility of ordering at the bar and being able to cater from anywhere allowed to be as fancy/expensive or chill/inexpensive as we wanted! Prasanna was extremely communicative from time of touring the space, in months prior to the event, day of, and following up...

Local Motive is an awesome and unique event venue, and the people who run it are just as great. We had a small wedding reception here a few weeks ago with about 40 people. We all fit comfortably. There’s a small bar as you walk in and a larger, living room-like space past that. It’s very laidback and comfortable, and the furniture can be configured in advance however you’d like. We had full control of the music and lighting and had a great time.

I mentioned that the staff are awesome. We were originally supposed to have our event in October but caught covid the day before. We thought we would lose our money, but Local Motive allowed us to reschedule our event free of charge. They were so flexible and kind. They were also great communicators throughout the entire process.

If you’re looking for something different than your typical banquet hall venue, look no further than...