Monona Bakery and Eatery — Restaurant in Madison

The place is ABSOLUTELY CONSTANTLY BUSY! The people never once stopped coming in while we were there. Their Bakery is the bomb! SO much 2 chose from. It ALL looks delishl! And the prices can absolutely not B beat! We spent $57 just on the Bakery products. We could not make up our minds. We left with 3 bags full of goodies. And the food was nothing short of AMAZING! Everything we had was beyond yummy and delicious. And absolutely NOTHING was too spicy. U can ask for it 2 B made that way and to ask 4 spicier sauces. But as a general rule, it's absolutely all edible with out the aid of multiple Alka Seltzers or Tums afterwards. And they had a huge assortment of pops in bottles and cans to choose from. We chose Mexican Coke to drink. But then took home 3 cans each of a juice beverage that was pineapple flavored and guava flavored. We also took home a case of Jarritas pop. Love that stuff. Got mandarin, pineapple, Mango, guava and strawberry. I was born and raised in Monterey, MX and have been drinking Jarritas my whole life, and I'm 63 yo now. Any time I find it, I always buy a flat of them. We R gonna go back here to get some food for our Christmas Eve as we always make that night all about my Mexican upbringing. And we will definitely B getting more Bakery products and more of their spritz cookies as well. Also have a Buche Noel ordered for our Christmas day dessert. U could get it with Strawberries or Raspberries. We got one of each. The Strawberries with chocolate cake and the Raspberry with white...

I have never walked out of a place without eating my food before... until I ate here. And the customer service is awful.

Waitress spilled my drink on the table. It was basically water and not a mocha anyway, so I didn't miss it. The eclairs were stale and not properly made. You aren't supposed to cut them in half and spread the filling. Eggs hollandaise is supposed to have a HINT of lemon in the sauce, not be the main ingredient. Eggs hollandaise is not supposed to be a sandwich. On a stale croissant, at that. Why would you put entire, barely-cooked asparagus stalks in a sandwich? Why would you roast potatoes as a side and COVER them in lemon?

My entree was inedible. I couldn't get the awful sourness of lemon out of my mouth for hours when I got home and could brush my teeth.

The waitress told me that's "just how they make it". When I said, "Okay. Well I didn't eat any of my food because it's awful." She just stared at me.

What kind of restaurant is this? I paid in advance with a good tip and didn't get any service. I may as well just call my credit card company and cancel the payment because I hardly got anything I could actually eat and no one cared?! This is fraud. You're actually stealing from people when you don't provide proper service and there's no customer service...

We went to Monona Bakery for a late afternoon lunch on the weekend. We were just after the lunch/brunch crowds so it was not busy (thankfully.) We started off with an order of chips and medium salsa. Chips were FRESHLY made and still hot!! Yum. The medium salsa wasn’t too spicy. I ordered the Enchiladas Mole (one steak, one chicken, one cheese) and the hunny got chilaquiles with green sauce and a bowl of chili. Enchiladas were delicious! I think for my tastes the chicken worked best for the mole sauce, which was surprisingly nutty. Loved it! My husband loved the chilaquiles. Unique with the green sauce and feta cheese, and he said it hit the spot. The chili was decent. But was fairly average in flavor. Not bad, but didn’t have the flavor pizzazz we were anticipating. I took one star off for atmosphere only because there was someone continually sweeping the floor and moving chairs the whole time we ate (which was a little loud at times and distracting.) But to be expected when you dine at off hours I suppose. Not a deterrent, just an observation. Definitely will return and try another great dish. (Or get the Mole again with all 3 chicken...